Trump signs executive order targeting ObamaCare

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch - Pool/Getty Images)

Hours after he was sworn in on Friday, President Trump signed an executive order making it his administration's official policy "to seek the prompt repeal" of the Affordable Care Act, though he can't repeal it without a bill from Congress. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said the order's goal is "minimizing the economic burden" of "ObamaCare," giving the Health and Human Services Department and other federal agencies authority to try and ease the "fiscal burden" the law purportedly places on states, health care companies, and individuals. A Fox News poll on Thursday found that 50 percent of Americans view ObamaCare favorably and 46 percent unfavorably, a notable improvement in the law's standing from previous Fox News surveys.

Trump "has been told that he needs to comply with the law," Timothy Jost, an emeritus professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law, tells CNN, "but is directing the agencies to begin taking steps towards reducing regulatory requirements and giving more discretion to the states." Priebus also issued a memo telling all executive agencies to freeze pending regulations and delay enacting ones already approved. Such memoranda are pretty common for incoming administrations — former President Barack Obama's chief of staff issued a similar one in 2009.

Right after his inauguration, featuring a speech that scorched the do-nothing politicians in Washington, Trump had officially nominated his Cabinet choices in an office just off the Senate floor, surrounded by congressional leaders from both parties. It involved a lot of pen-swapping awkward jokes about who likes which Cabinet nominee. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.