During the campaign, Donald Trump put out his so-called “Contract with the American Voter,” that begins “What follows is my 100-day action plan.” While a few of the items, such as a hiring freeze that’s hurting military families, have been instituted, many more, such as labeling China a currency manipulator, have not. The entire second page of his two-page plan is missing in action. Why? The clue is in the header.
I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:
Every single thing that Donald Trump promised that ends with the word “Act” has failed to become more than acting. Not a single one of Donald Trump’s bills have been passed, and only one of them—Trumpcare—has moved beyond the vague paragraph on Trump’s contract.
But everything Trump slated for his first 100 days isn’t in that contract, because he kept adding on promises after the election. That includes one of his big promises on security.
President-elect Donald Trump was very clear: “I will appoint a team to give me a plan within 90 days of taking office,” he said in January, after getting a U.S. intelligence assessment of Russian interference in last year’s elections and promising to address cybersecurity.
Thursday, Trump hits his 90-day mark. There is no team, there is no plan, and there is no clear answer from the White House on who would even be working on what.
Trump’s cyber-security promise came in the wake of further revelations about Russia’s interference in the US election and intelligence revelations about the growing frequency and intensity of attacks. Back in January, Trump even held an event on cyber-security.
But even as the level of continuing contacts between Trump’s team and the Russian government became public, Trump apparently sidelined any effort to safeguard America’s information infrastructure. One of the imaginary bills on page two of Trump’s “contract” with voters was the “Restoring National Security Act,” which supposedly included “protecting our vital infrastructure from cyber-attacks.”
No such bill has emerged. It’s not been signed. It’s not been considered. It’s not been drafted.
Included in his 90-day cyber plan was a promise from Trump that he would have a final report on Russian hacking by … this week.
Trump made the deadline promise repeatedly. A week after the initial statement, he tweeted on Jan. 13, “My people will have a full report on hacking within 90 days!”
But like everything else in Trump’s initiative, that report appears to have been imaginary.
Given the issues at play, cyber security experts worry that missing this particular set deadline could have significant consequences and speaks to deeper concerns about the White House not grappling with clear threats.
It’s an open question whether Trump has generated more days in office, or broken promises.