EXCELLENT IDEA: Trump asks Betsy DeVos to study federal overreach in education.

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the Education Department to study whether the federal government has overstepped state and local control of education.

“We know that local communities do it best and know it best,” Trump said during a signing ceremony on Wednesday, according to the White House press pool. “Previous administrations have wrongly forced states and schools to comply with federal whims and dictates for what our kids are taught. The time has come to empower teachers and parents to make the decisions that help their students achieve success.”

Under the executive order, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will have 300 days to review any regulations or guidance that might be deemed as overstepping the federal department’s bounds.

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the Education Department to study whether the federal government has overstepped state and local control of education.

“We know that local communities do it best and know it best,” Trump said during a signing ceremony on Wednesday, according to the White House press pool. “Previous administrations have wrongly forced states and schools to comply with federal whims and dictates for what our kids are taught. The time has come to empower teachers and parents to make the decisions that help their students achieve success.”

Under the executive order, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will have 300 days to review any regulations or guidance that might be deemed as overstepping the federal department’s bounds.

This doesn’t fit the left’s fascism narrative, but they’ll probably still call it fascism.

KURT SCHLICHTER: I Am a Victim of Your Hateful Hate Crimes, You Hate-Criminals.

CHANGE? Trump tells Canada, Mexico, he won’t terminate NAFTA treaty yet.

The first administration source told Reuters that there were diverging opinions within the U.S. government about how to proceed and it was possible that Trump could sign the executive order before the 100-day mark of his presidency.

The source noted that the administration wanted to tread carefully. “There is talk about what steps we can take to start the process of renegotiating or withdrawing from NAFTA,” this source said.

Mexico had expected to start NAFTA renegotiations in August but the possible executive order could add urgency to the timeline.

The Mexican government had no comment on the draft order. The country’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Mexico would walk away from the negotiating table rather than accept a bad deal.

Trump recently ramped up his criticism of Canada and this week ordered 20 percent tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber, setting a tense tone as the three countries prepared to renegotiate the pact.

What’s our problem with Canada?

IT’S TRUE! AND IT’S TRANSPHOBIC, TOO! WHAT ABOUT WOMEN WITH PENISES AND NO BREASTS? Study: Describing Breastfeeding as ‘Natural’ Is Unethical Because It Reinforces Gender Roles.

CHANGE: Trump administration weighing order to withdraw from NAFTA.

The Trump administration is weighing an executive order on withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to a source familiar with the plans.

The measure is in draft form and has been submitted to the White House staff secretary for the final stages of review, the source said. The order could be unveiled later this week or early next week, and changes could be made during the review process.

If the administration follows through with the order, it could signal its intent to begin the process of the pulling out of the major trade pact with Canada and Mexico.

President Trump does not need an executive order to withdraw from the trade agreement. Under NAFTA, any parties are allowed to leave six months after providing written notice to the other countries.

But an order declaring that intent could be used as leverage by the Trump administration against Canada and Mexico to broker better trade terms, short of leaving the deal entirely.

The art of the deal.

EVERY SPENDING CUT PAYS FOR AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE TAX CUT: White House Hopes Big Tax Cuts Will Pay for Themselves.

APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY: Judge who ruled against sanctuary cities order was an Obama campaign bundler.

CHANGE MORE OF THE SAME: Turkey arrests 1,000 and suspends 9,100 police in new crackdown.

YOU SAY THIS LIKE IT’S A BAD THING: ‘Drop dead’? Trump tax plan takes aim at high-tax blue states.

Hmm. Where have I heard that idea before?

Plus:

This is, by the way, the same Brad Todd who wrote this great essay, just after 9/11.

PUNCHING BACK TWICE AS HARD? White House unveils dramatic plan to overhaul tax code in major test for Trump.

White House officials are ambitious, but the path to overhauling the tax code is riddled with political land mines. Many budget experts say they believe the White House’s plan would reduce federal revenue by so much that it would grow the debt by trillions of dollars in the next decade, growing interest costs and slowing the economy.

And Trump’s advisers are looking to ax some tax breaks that are very popular in certain states, including the deduction Americans take for the state and local taxes they pay separately each year. Eliminating this deduction could save more than $1 trillion over 10 years but inflame lawmakers and governors in states that have high income tax rates.

Those high-tax states tend to vote for and be run by Democrats, and I seem to remember advice from the previous president about punishing enemies.

WHY PEOPLE LAUGH AT THE UN: UN warned Trump that ObamaCare repeal could violate international law.

Also, voters can’t help but notice how “international law” has somehow become a synonym for “whatever the left wants at the moment.”

GOOD MORNING: Liz Sheld’s Morning Brief will make it even better.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, LEGAL EDUCATION EDITION: Harvard Law School, The GRE, And Moneyball.

A CLEMSON PETITION: We Demand that CUSG Denounce Ideological Tests for Office. This is in response to the “multicultural litmus test” proposed by Clemson administrator Altheia Richardson of the Gantt Multicultural Center there.

SO, THE THIRD OF MY LIGHTER THAN AIR FLUFF, REISSUED COZY MYSTERIES IS OUT: A Fatal Stain (Daring Finds Book 3).

BUT DON’T YOU DARE HAVE A TIPPLE OR A SMOKE IN THAT COMFY CHAIR: Please Dylan, keep hammering away with that idea. Americans are absolutely ready for confiscatory taxes on alcohol, and they are so weary of owning their own cars. 

BAN EVERYTHING BUT THE COMFY CHAIR: Ban Cars!!!

THIS IS MY SHOCKED FACE: ‘Lamborghini’ Planned Parenthood Executive Caught Haggling over Baby Organs.

DEAR MEDIA: A Matter of Trust.

LAURA MONTGOMERY’S BOOK: Sleeping Duty is on sale for 99c this week.

GO TO TWITTER; ESCAPE THE PACK:These 25 tweets from someone who is “definitely not a wolf pretending to be a man” are comedy genius

WHEN YOU GET DEPRESSED, REMEMBER: Actually, Life Is Pretty Awesome.

DOES THIS OREO TASTE FUNNY TO YOU? Did Nabisco ruin America’s favorite cookie?