A “fired up” President Obama vowed Monday that Donald Trump will
find it’s not so “easy” to roll back his myriad regulatory policies, previewing
a long fight ahead between his allies and majority Republicans taking control
next year.
President-elect Trump has vowed to repeal and replace ObamaCare,
while canceling “every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order
issued by President Obama.”
Trump also pledges to sharply increase oil and gas drilling on
federal lands while opening up offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and other
areas where it is blocked. Further, he wants to repeal the Clean Power Plan,
Obama's signature effort to limit carbon pollution from coal-fired power
plants. The plan -- the linchpin of Obama's strategy to fight global warming --
is currently on hold awaiting a court ruling.
It is all but assured that Trump, together with the
Republican-controlled Congress, will try anew next year to repeal or
significantly change ObamaCare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
But in a conference call with Democrats Monday, Obama warned
that unraveling his policies is “not as easy” as some say. Plus, he said even
if the Trump administration rolls back 15-20 percent of his work, they’re still
“80 percent” ahead.
The outgoing president did not specify what his post-presidency
role will be, but hinted he’d be involved and said he’d be “working shoulder to
shoulder” with Democrats for “many years.”
Obama said he’d be in a position to make the case for why
policies like ObamaCare should be preserved and said, “I’m still fired up,”
referencing his 2008 campaign catch phrase.
In an earlier White House press conference before he left the
country for his final overseas trip as president, Obama specifically addressed
Republican plans to upend ObamaCare.
“Now that Republicans are in charge, they got to take a look and
say, let's see. We got 20 million people who have health insurance who didn't
have it before,” he said. “Health care costs generally have gone up at a
significantly slower rate since ObamaCare was passed than they did before,
which has saved the federal Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars.”
Some Democrats, though, have acknowledged a need to at least
change the system to address rapidly rising premiums and other issues.
Trump has indicated a willingness to keep certain elements of
the law in place.
His potential picks for key positions, meanwhile, signal big
changes ahead for environmental and energy policies.
Those under consideration for energy secretary include Harold
Hamm, an Oklahoma oil tycoon and leading proponent of fracking, and North
Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer, an early Trump supporter from a major oil drilling
state, according to transition planning documents obtained by The Associated
Press.
Venture capitalist Robert Grady, who worked in President George
H.W. Bush's administration, is listed as a contender to lead both the Energy
and Interior departments.
It's unclear whether the list is exhaustive or has been reviewed
by Trump. The Republican is in the early stages of setting up his
administration.
A coalition of conservative states has challenged both the Clean
Power Plan and a controversial water rule, which expanded the definition of
waters protected under the Clean Water Act to smaller non-navigable waters and
seasonal tributaries.
The administration says the rule would safeguard drinking water
for 117 million people, but Republicans and some Democrats representing rural
areas say the regulations are costly, confusing and amount to a government
power grab. Federal courts have put the rules on hold as judges review
lawsuits.
The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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