Obama’s First Acts in Office – Salary Freeze

With the Inauguration events now over, President Barack Obama went straight to work on his first day in office.  One of his first acts in office today were freezing all White House aides’ salaries and instituting new limits on lobbyists in the White House in an effort to adjust to the troubling economic times as well as tightening the rules in the White House to gain trust among the American people.

According to the Associated Press, Obama plans on holding the salaries of roughly 100 White House employees who make over $100,000 a year at the current level.  Some of those who fall within that 100 include the White House chief of staff, the national security adviser and press secretary.  Being that many Americans now are being cautious of how they spend their money, Obama believes Washington should do the same as well.

Additionally, Obama has tightened the lobbying rules in the White House by banning aides from influencing the administration when they leave his staff.  Lobbyists are not to give any gifts of any size to any member of his administration, and aides leaving his staff are not allowed to influence any former friends or colleagues within two years of leaving.

Obama said he hopes to “do something to make government trustworthy in the eyes of the American people, in the days and weeks, months and years to come.”  It looks like Obama has started off strongly in his first day in office.   Hopefully his deeds will continue to earn the trust and support of the American people, especially in the economic turmoil we are now facing.