White House website changes to reflect new president’s top issues

WASHINGTON — When the Trump White House website went up moments after the new president’s inauguration, the list of “top issues” it contained had a notable absence: no mention of his pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Nor did President Donald Trump mention health care among a set of goals he articulated in his inaugural speech’s pledge to end what he termed “American carnage” and improve the fabric of life for the nation’s citizens. The closest he came was to include among his scientific aspirations “to free the Earth from the miseries of disease.”

During his campaign and afterward, Trump pledged that fundamental changes to the health-care system would be a first priority. In a speech outside Philadelphia six days before the November election, Trump vowed to abolish the Affordable Care Act before he was sworn in.

“Have to do it,” he said. “I will ask Congress to convene a special session so we can repeal and replace.”

Last week, both chambers of Congress approved a budget resolution that was the first legislative step toward repealing the 2010 law, which was the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s health policies.

But health care was not among a half-dozen issue areas listed on the new WhiteHouse.gov website that debuted shortly after noon on Friday.

Trump’s administration is committed to eliminating Obama’s Climate Action Plan and other environmental initiatives to help boost the oil and gas industry, according to a statement posted on the White House website on Friday.

The announcement echoed pledges Trump frequently made during his campaign to become U.S. president, but their appearance on the White House website makes them his official policy.

“President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years,” the website said.

All references to climate change appeared to have been removed from the White House website, a word search showed.

Obama’s climate plan proposed cuts to U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, in part by preserving forests and encouraging increased use of cleaner renewable fuels.

Trump has expressed skepticism about whether human activity drives climate change, and he has railed against Obama’s efforts to combat it by targeting carbon dioxide emissions.

Trump has also suggested he could pull the United States out of a climate pact agreed by nearly 200 nations.

The statement on the White House website said that Trump’s efforts to boost the U.S. oil and gas sector would help increase government revenues to “rebuild our roads, schools, bridges and public infrastructure,” and lower the price of energy.

The statement said Trump’s administration would free the nation from dependence on foreign oil, and was “committed to clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry, which has been hurting for too long.”

An overwhelming majority of scientists say the burning of coal, oil and gas is a driver of global climate change, causing sea level rise and more frequent violent storms.