President Trump went straight to work on Monday, issuing three major executive orders. One withdrew the US from the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) trade deal that critics claim would have sent more US jobs overseas. That one actually drew cheers from Bernie Sanders. Trump also brought back a ban on giving federal funds to nongovernmental health organizations in other countries that provide, promote or counsel women to have abortions. This policy has been in effect under Republicans and rescinded by Democrats ever since the Reagan era. It’s already illegal to use federal funds to provide abortions, but Trump’s version extends it to promoting abortion.

Finally, Trump instituted a hiring freeze on federal workers. This has been done before, and the government got around it by simply hiring more contractors, a loophole that Trump will have to police for it to do any good. Some critics warn that the entrenched bureaucracy might try to retaliate by working slower (is that even possible?), leaking damaging stories to the press and other tactics. Of course, with both the Congress and White House in GOP hands, that might finally prompt the laws to be changed to make it easier to fire federal workers.

The easiest solution for paring down the bloated federal payroll: if all those federal workers who vowed to quit if Trump won would actually do it.