"Every day for the next four years, I will devote every ounce of my energy and every piece of my heart to making Arkansas the greatest state in America, so help me God," pledged Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her inaugural address just after being sworn in on Tuesday.
In addition to being Arkansas' 47th Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the first woman to lead the state and now the youngest governor currently serving in the United States. After taking the oath of office, Huckabee Sanders and her team wasted no time in getting to work implementing conservative policies.
"I did not seek this office to be the first anything – I ran to make Arkansas first in everything," Huckabee Sanders explained in her address. "I’m not interested in making history because of who I am. I want ALL of us to make history for what we achieve together over the next eight years," she added. "So today, let us begin a new chapter in the story of Arkansas – to be written by a New Generation of proud Arkansas sons and daughters who are stepping forward to lead."
Huckabee Sanders called on this new generation to "go forward with confidence and courage" as "the heirs of pioneers and patriots" in "the state that feeds and clothes the world. We are the state that hauls products from factories and farms to the marketplace, rain or shine," Huckabee Sanders explained. "We are the home of working class heroes who are the beating heart of America. We are the Land of Opportunity, where a mom-and-pop store is free to grow into the most successful business on the face of the earth," the new governor said.
"Fear of the unknown paralyzes us, but faith propels us to charge boldly ahead," Huckabee Sanders emphasized. "My fellow Arkansans, we are not called to stand still in the face of great challenges. You and I were put on this earth, at this very moment in time, to charge boldly ahead," she said.
"We know not what the future holds, but we know who holds the future in His hands," Huckabee Sanders reminded. "And with God as our witness, we will show the world that there is still a place in America where freedom reigns and liberty will never die, and that place is Arkansas," she pledged. "Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work."
And get to work Governor Huckabee Sanders did.
After being sworn in, Huckabee Sanders signed a flurry of executive orders to set the tone for her next four years as the chief executive of Arkansas including taking action to:
- end use of the "culturally insensitive" word "latinx" by the government
- prohibit the promulgation of unnecessary rules and regulations that burden businesses
- review the Department of Education to identify any items that may, purposely or otherwise, promote teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as CRT, that conflict with the principle of equal protection under the law or encourage students to discriminate against someone based on the individual's color, creed, race, ethnicity, sex, age, marital status, familial status, disability, religion, national origin, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law.
- enact a moratorium on hiring and promotion to promote the fiscal efficiency and financial integrity of the State of Arkansas
- direct a complete and exhaustive review of all previously issued Executive Orders to simplify and streamline government
- protect state information and communications technology from the influence of adversarial foreign governments including a prohibition on the installation of, connection to, or use of TikTok on any state network or state-issued information or communications technology device
- review and implement measures to enhance the integrity of the Unemployment Insurance Program, reduce the rate of inappropriate payments to ineligible applicants, and reduce fraud