The Hill: GOP senator points to Iran deal, immigration as targets for Trump

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is detailing a wide-ranging list of Obama administration policies for Donald Trump to roll back when the president-elect takes office in January, including the Iran nuclear deal and immigration. 

 “In addition to enacting harmful policies, the current administration has failed to support commonsense reforms needed to improve the lives of hardworking Americans and protect our way of life,” Daines wrote in a congratulatory letter to Trump on Tuesday.  

The seven-page letter covers national security, agriculture, energy, privacy, innovation, protecting taxpayers and small business.

Among the recommendations is renegotiating the Iran deal, which Daines said was “poorly formed and negotiated.”  

“It is critical that this agreement is renegotiated to ensure that Iran is held to account for its actions that have destabilized the region, threatened our allies, and resulted in Americans being held hostage or even killed,” the senator wrote. 

During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly said he would either rip up or renegotiate the Iran deal, an agreement reached between the U.S., Iran and international powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program. 

Daines also asked the president-elect to “immediately rescind related executive orders” signed by President Obama on immigration, another crucial component of Trump’s presidential run. 

The letter details a list of other Republican policy objectives during the incoming administration, including repealing and replacing ObamaCare, approving the Keystone XL Pipeline and protecting Second Amendment rights.

The Montana senator also included several policy objectives specific to his home state’s constituents, including permits for coal export terminals, which he said is crucial to Montana jobs, and the eradication of the Labor Department’s overtime rule.

“This rule sets a national income threshold that is unfair to employers and employees alike in Montana since relatively more employees will qualify under the rule than in other parts of the country,” Daines said.