Trump cites tax cuts over judges as having biggest impact of his presidency

President Trump said his tax cuts and cuts to government regulation, not the appointment of conservative federal judges, will be his lasting legacy when he leaves the White House.

In his Sunday interview, ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos asked Trump if he views the appointment of more than 100 federal judges and two Supreme Court justices to the bench as his most lasting impact.

“Well it could, people have said that. I don’t think of it that way, because we’ve given the biggest tax cut in history, we have ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], we have the biggest regulation cut by far,” he told ABC News.{mosads} 

The lifelong appointment of conservative federal judges can have lasting impacts on the nation’s laws, long after Trump’s first and possible second term in office. 

Although Trump agreed with Stephanopoulos that tax cuts “come and go,” he said he still believes it’s his administration’s biggest impact and said his tax cuts are “the reason the economy is so good.” 

“The reason the economy is so good, and the reason that so many people are pouring up through Mexico and wanting to get into our country, including people from Mexico, is because the economy is so powerful, so good,” Trump said. 

Trump and congressional Republicans passed a plan in 2017 to cut taxes, with the largest cuts for the highest earners.

The tax plan also limited state and local tax deductions, which hurt some residents in high-tax states such as New York and New Jersey. 

It also included a provision allowing drilling in the ANWR. The controversial provision is being challenged by House Democrats, who approved a bill repealing the measure in the House Natural Resources Committee in May. 

Trump furthered his ambitious regulatory cuts last week, issuing an executive order directing all agencies to cut their advisory boards by “at least” one third by Sept. 30. It is the most dramatic step in the Trump administration’s escalating pushback to advisory committees.