--- title: President Donald Trump's 5 Biggest Policy Changes in 2017 description: President Trump often brags that he's the most successful President in history. That's debatable, but he has brought along major changes. canonical: https://time.com/5075771/donald-trump-policy-changes/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-21T16:45:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:43:15.575Z article:section: Politics og:title: These Were President Trump's 5 Biggest Policy Changes in 2017 og:description: From tax reform to environmental protections og:url: https://time.com/5075771/donald-trump-policy-changes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87c47c4385a3ea37/6988f632db2987442925e32a/president-trump-policy-changes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6000 og:image:height: 3375 og:image:alt: President Trump Policy Changes og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Were President Trump's 5 Biggest Policy Changes in 2017 twitter:description: From tax reform to environmental protections twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87c47c4385a3ea37/6988f632db2987442925e32a/president-trump-policy-changes.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Were President Trump's 5 Biggest Policy Changes in 2017 > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ff3da031-8dfe-404d-82c2-93b16ed04362&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Year in Review: 5 Top Public Policy Changes [Watch (HLS stream): Year in Review: 5 Top Public Policy Changes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Xl6r1BVO.m3u8) (4:27)  _Published 2017-12-21. A look at the year's policy changes with the largest impact on the American people._ by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/), [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/) and [Ang Li](https://time.com/author/ang-li/) Dec 21, 2017 4:45 PM UTC A look at the year's policy changes with the largest impact on the American people. by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/), [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/) and [Ang Li](https://time.com/author/ang-li/) Dec 21, 2017 4:45 PM UTC President Trump often brags that he’s the most successful President in modern history. His detractors, however, argue that he doesn’t yet have much to show for his first year in office. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. As 2017 draws to a close, President Trump can lay claim to at least two concrete victories: The confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and the passage of the biggest tax reform plan in decades (though he has yet to sign that plan into law.) Still, despite the Republican majority in Congress, President Trump largely failed to bring about two major promises of his campaign: The repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, and the construction of a wall along the United States’ border with Mexico. But all told, the Trump Administration has brought about changes that, while perhaps not as sweeping as dismantling his predecessor’s health care overhaul, impact the daily lives of everyday Americans in significant ways. As TIME’s Massimo Calabresi [reported in October,](http://time.com/4998276/demolition-crew/) “the Administration has taken thousands of actions, affecting everyone from the poorest day laborer to the richest investment banker.” Above, see the five biggest policy changes of 2017, following Trump’s inauguration in early January. ## Transcript [00:01] President Trump likes to brag about all he's gotten done in [00:03] his first year of office, in fact he's declared himself the most [00:07] successful of quote, any President in history. There has [00:11] never been a ten month President that has accomplished [00:14] what we have accomplished. [ APPLAUSE ] But the [00:17] American people Aren't so sure. In a national survey in [00:20] November, 65 % of respondants said they hadn't seen [00:24] many accomplishments coming out of the White House so [00:27] far. [ SOUND ] But the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's [00:31] true that Trump hasn't exactly succeeded in pushing [00:33] through big pieces of signature legislation. There's been [00:37] no TrumpCare, there's been no wall with Mexico, one of his [00:40] biggest campaign promises, but the Trump Administration [00:43] has also done all kinds of other stuff. From executive [00:46] orders, to changes to the regulatory state that will [00:49] fundamentally change the way a lot of us live, here are 5 [00:53] top policy changes that you'll notice from your kitchen table. [00:57] Number one. The tax bill. This is a giant piece [01:01] of legislation. It's the largest tax cut in the history [01:06] of our country. It cuts taxes for corporations and the very [01:09] rich. Believe me. Believe, this is not good for [01:13] me. But if you're in the middle or lower class. It's a little [01:17] more Ambiguous. you might get a small tax cut over the [01:20] next few years but all middle class tax cut end in 2025. [01:26] Number 2, ObamaCare, well trump and his allies failed [01:30] Failed to push through a total repeal of Obamacare in [01:32] Congress. They have been chipping away at it along the [01:35] edges. For example, Trump scrapped the federal subsidies [01:38] for health insurance companies. Which were used to lower [01:41] out of pocket costs for low- income people. He also ordered [01:45] sweeping changes in the nation's insurance. System, [01:48] allowing sales of cheaper policies with fewer benefits and [01:52] fewer protections. That unravels a whole lot of what [01:56] Obamacare is as a law, and depending on where you live, [01:59] that means bracing yourself for soaring insurance [02:02] premiums next year. Number three. Immigration. On the [02:06] campaign trail, Trump promised a border wall. He hasn't [02:09] done that, but he has overseen an explosion in [02:12] deportations. Immigration officials have arrested 25 % [02:17] more people this year than last year. And in December, [02:21] the Supreme Court approved the third version of Trump's [02:24] embattled travel ban. His anti- immigration rhetoric has [02:28] also just changed the way a lot of us think of America. [02:31] When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their [02:35] best. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. [02:39] They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. [02:43] According to the FBI, hate crimes in the US rose 10 % [02:47] between 2014 and 2016. And in late November Trump [02:51] himself retweeted three videos supposedly showing [02:55] Muslims committing acts of violence. The videos had been [02:58] posted by an anti- Islam organization, a hate group in [03:01] United Kingdom. To drive Islam out of this country forever! [03:03] Number four. Overtime. [03:09] Trump's justice department ended an Obama- era [03:11] expansion of the federal overtime rule. That means that [03:15] about 4 million americans who currently make low incomes [03:18] will no longer be eligible for time- and- a- half once they [03:21] work more than 40 hours a week. Number five. The [03:24] environment. Under Trump the EPA has dismantled [03:28] dozens and dozens of Obama- era rules reducing the [03:31] amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It's also rescinded a [03:34] rule designed to protect lakes, ponds and streams. It's [03:37] reopened the Arctic to drilling. It's cleared the way for [03:41] Keystone XL Pipeline. It's shrunk national monuments. It's [03:44] allowed coal mining on public lands. We could go on. The [03:47] problem with all this stuff, with environmental laws and [03:49] regulations, is that it's really hard to measure what that [03:52] means for us right now. They're designed in the long- term [03:55] interest of the country and the earth. So, get [03:59] rid of clean air and water rules, and is the sky going to turn [04:02] black next week? No. But is it going to result in a [04:06] return to the smog and scummy lakes of the 1970's? Yes, [04:11] eventually. So, Trump hasn't delivered on every campaign [04:15] promise but he's definitely had a significant impact on our [04:19] lives already and it's just year one. 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