Donald Trump Elected President, GOP Retains Majorities in Senate and House

Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States. His victory has stunned pollsters, political prognosticators, and represents a severe rebuke to the political and media establishment. Voters have selected the ultimate political outsider.
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Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States. His victory has stunned pollsters, political prognosticators, and represents a severe rebuke to the political and media establishment. Voters have selected the ultimate political outsider.

Trump's triumph spilled over into Congressional races as well. Republicans maintained control of both the House and Senate, despite incurring losses in both bodies.

The question now becomes how will these results translate into policy decisions. One of Donald Trump's big promises for his first 100 days was to work with Congress to introduce legislation to "spur $1 trillion infrastructure investment" over the course of a decade, leveraging "public-private partnerships" and private investments through tax incentives.

Done properly, a major infrastructure bill could be a positive development for the travel plaza industry. Done improperly -- by, for example, privatizing the nation's highways or expanding tolling as a revenue-raising opportunity -- it could have undesirable consequences. NATSO will work actively with the new Congress and Trump Administration as infrastructure and transportation policy is considered and debated in early 2017.

On labor policy, Trump's election will likely result in positive developments for the travel plaza industry, as Trump is likely less inclined to implement aggressive regulatory changes that expand employers' obligations to their employees. A fundamental dismantling the healthcare reform law known as Obamacare is more likely today than ever before.

Fuels and environmental policy present a more complicated picture. Trump has indicated that his energy policy preferences are diametrically opposed to that of his predecessor. He has vowed to scrap Obama's climate plans, ease regulations, loosen restrictions on oil and gas companies and promote enhanced construction of energy-related infrastructure, such as oil and gas pipelines.

However, he has also expressed a willingness to reconsider the Renewable Fuel Standard, which has been a largely positive program for fuel retailers.

President-elect Trump's energy views, and general policy views, at a high level, could be good for the travel plaza industry. But until we are able to get a better sense of how his Administration will go about undoing President Obama's agenda policy achievements, and what exactly Mr. Trump's policies will look like, much uncertainty remains.

NATSO will provide a more fulsome analysis of the election results in the coming days.

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