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Trump wields his presidential pen, signing orders on trade, hiring, abortion

President Trump signed three presidential directives Monday, withdrawing U.S. support for a Pacific trade deal, imposing a hiring freeze in civilian agencies, and restoring the so-called Mexico City policy that prohibits U.S. aid from supporting international groups that promote abortion.

<p><span style="color: rgb(26, 26, 26); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">US President Donald Trump signs an executive order alongside White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (R) in the Oval Office, January 23, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)</span></p>

President Trump signed three presidential directives Monday, withdrawing U.S. support for a Pacific trade deal, imposing a hiring freeze in civilian agencies, and restoring the so-called Mexico City policy that prohibits U.S. aid from supporting international groups that promote abortion.

"Everybody knows what I'm about to do," Trump said before withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 13-nation trade deal signed by the Obama administration but not ratified by the Senate. "We’ve been talking about this for a long time. A great thing for the American worker, what we just did."

When Chief of Staff Reince Priebus handed him an order directing a hiring freeze, Trump emphasized, "Except for the military."

The White House did not immediately release the text of the directives, and it was not immediately clear whether they were executive orders or took some other form.

The Mexico City policy was first adopted by President Ronald Reagan, and has been subject to presidential ping-pong ever since. Democratic presidents repeal it as one of their first acts in office; Republicans reinstate it.

Trump already signed his first executive order on Friday, directing agencies to allow more flexibility to states, companies and consumers in carrying out the Affordable Care Act while the Republican-controlled Congress works to repeal it.

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