WEST WING READS 12/12/2018 PRESIDENT SIGNS EO PROMOTING ...

President Trump Signs Executive Order Promoting ‘Opportunity Zones’ in Distressed Towns “President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to create a new White House council for promoting private investment in ‘opportunity zones’ in more than 8,700 distressed communities across the U.S., aiming to expand prosperity to neglected zip codes,” Dave Boyer reports for The Washington Times. “Our goal is to ensure that America’s great new prosperity is broadly shared by all of our citizens,” President Trump said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House yesterday. Click here to read more.

“With only a handful of legislative business days left on the books, we have one final chance to live up to the promise that we made to the parents, small business owners, blue collar workers, farmers, teachers, and ordinary people who helped us gain control in the first place. Simply put, it’s time to build the wall,” Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) writes in the Washington Examiner.

“The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it is rolling back some of the excessive, and possibly illegal, water regulations imposed by the Obama administration. EPA’s announcement is a welcome relief for homeowners and property owners impacted by overly aggressive EPA officials,” Tim Huelskamp and James Taylor of the Heartland Institute write in The Hill.

“The number of people arrested for illegally employing or working at U.S. companies skyrocketed more than 700 percent during President Trump's first full fiscal year in office,” Anna Giaritelli reports for the Washington Examiner. “An official with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations arm said the surge in arrests was the result of the Trump administration's changing the focus of the agency's mission to crack down on all illegal immigration.”

“The Senate has agreed to a vote on a version of a bill supported by President Donald J. Trump, called the First Step Act. That bill is part of a criminal justice reform effort that includes steps by President Trump, through executive action, to reform our broken criminal justice system,” Corey Lewandowski writes in The Hill. “Conservatives support reforms that will help released prisoners to change their lives and become productive members of society.”