By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to provide a coordinated process for developing and monitoring the implementation of national space policy and strategy, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. The National Space Council (Council) was established by Title V of Public Law 100-685 and Executive Order 12675 of April 20, 1989 (Establishing the National Space Council). The Council was tasked with advising and assisting the President regarding national space policy and strategy. The Council was never formally disestablished, but it effectively ceased operation in 1993. This order revives the Council and provides additional details regarding its duties and responsibilities.
Sec. 2. Revival and Composition of the National Space Council. (a) The Council is hereby revived and shall resume operations.
(b) The Council shall be composed of the following members:
(i) The Vice President, who shall be Chair of the Council;
(ii) The Secretary of State;
(iii) The Secretary of Defense;
(iv) The Secretary of Commerce;
(v) The Secretary of Transportation;
(vi) The Secretary of Homeland Security;
(vii) The Director of National Intelligence;
(viii) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(ix) The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs;
(x) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(xi) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
(xii) The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism;
(xiii) The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and
(xiv) The heads of other executive departments and agencies (agencies) and other senior officials within the Executive Office of the President, as determined by the Chair.
Sec. 3. Functions of the Council. (a) The Council shall advise and assist the President regarding national space policy and strategy, and perform such other duties as the President may, from time to time, prescribe.
(b) In particular, the Council is directed to:
(i) review United States Government space policy, including long-range goals, and develop a strategy for national space activities;
(ii) develop recommendations for the President on space policy and space-related issues;
(iii) monitor and coordinate implementation of the objectives of the President’s national space policy and strategy;
(iv) foster close coordination, cooperation, and technology and information exchange among the civil, national security, and commercial space sectors;
(v) advise on participation in international space activities conducted by the United States Government; and
(vi) facilitate the resolution of differences concerning major space and space-related policy matters.
(c) The Council shall meet at least annually.
(d) The revival and operation of the Council shall not interfere with the existing lines of authority in or responsibilities of any agencies.
(e) The Council shall have a staff, headed by a civilian Executive Secretary appointed by the President.
Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Chair. (a) The Chair shall serve as the President’s principal advisor on national space policy and strategy.
(b) The Chair shall, in consultation with the members of the Council, establish procedures for the Council and establish the agenda for Council activities.
(c) The Chair shall report to the President quarterly on the Council’s activities and recommendations. The Chair shall advise the Council, as appropriate, regarding the President’s directions with respect to the Council’s activities and national space policy and strategy.
(d) The Chair may recommend to the President candidates for the position of Executive Secretary.
(e) The Chair, or upon the Chair’s direction, the Executive Secretary, may invite the heads of other agencies, other senior officials in the Executive Office of the President, or other Federal employees to participate in Council meetings.
(f) The Chair shall authorize the establishment of committees of the Council, including an executive committee, and of working groups, composed of senior designees of the Council members and of other Federal officials invited to participate in Council meetings, as he deems necessary or appropriate for the efficient conduct of Council functions.
Sec. 5. National Space Policy and Strategy Planning Process. (a) Each agency represented on the Council shall provide such information to the Chair regarding its current and planned space activities as the Chair shall request.
(b) The head of each agency that conducts space related activities shall, to the extent permitted by law, conform such activities to the President’s national space policy and strategy.
(c) On space policy and strategy matters relating primarily to national security, the Council shall coordinate with the National Security Council (NSC) to create policies and procedures for the Council that respect the responsibilities and authorities of the NSC under existing law.
Sec. 6. Users’ Advisory Group. (a) The Council shall convene a Users’ Advisory Group (Group) pursuant to Public Law 101-611, section 121, composed of non-Federal representatives of industries and other persons involved in aeronautical and space activities.
(b) Members of the Group shall serve without any compensation for their work for the Group. Members of the Group, while engaged in the work of the Group, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of funds.
(c) The Group shall report directly to the Council and shall provide advice or work product solely to the Council.
Sec. 7. Administrative Provisions. (a) To aid in the performance of the functions of the Council:
(i) The Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President shall provide the Council with administrative support on a reimbursable basis; and
(ii) Legal advice to the Council itself with respect to its work and functions shall be provided exclusively by the Office of the Counsel to the President.
(b) To the extent practicable and permitted by law, including the Economy Act, and within existing appropriations, agencies serving on the Council and interagency councils and committees that affect space policy or strategy shall make resources, including, but not limited to, personnel, office support, and printing, available to the Council as reasonably requested by the Chair or, upon the Chair’s direction, the Executive Secretary.
(c) Agencies shall cooperate with the Council and provide such information and advice to the Council as it may reasonably request, to the extent permitted by law.
Sec. 8. Report. Within 1 year of the date of this order, and annually thereafter, the Council shall submit a report to the President setting forth its assessment of, and recommendations for, the space policy and strategy of the United States Government.
Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) This order supersedes Executive Order 12675 of April 20, 1989 (Establishing the National Space Council). To the extent this order is inconsistent with any provision of any earlier Executive Order or Presidential Memorandum, this order shall control.
(b) If any provision of this order or the application of such provision is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and other dissimilar applications of such provision shall not be affected.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(d) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(e) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to support the essential functions of the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Amendment to Executive Order 13597. Executive Order 13597 of January 19, 2012 (Establishing Visa and Foreign Visitor Processing Goals and the Task Force on Travel and Competitiveness), is amended by deleting subsection (b)(ii) of section 2 of that order.
Sec. 2. Updated Implementation Plan. The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, in consultation with the heads of such executive departments and agencies as appropriate, shall revise the implementation plan described in section 2(b) of Executive Order 13597, as necessary and appropriate, consistent with the amendment described in section 1 of this order.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to promote affordable education and rewarding jobs for American workers, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. America’s education systems and workforce development programs are in need of reform. In today’s rapidly changing economy, it is more important than ever to prepare workers to fill both existing and newly created jobs and to prepare workers for the jobs of the future. Higher education, however, is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Furthermore, many colleges and universities fail to help students graduate with the skills necessary to secure high paying jobs in today’s workforce. Far too many individuals today find themselves with crushing student debt and no direct connection to jobs.
Against this background, federally funded education and workforce development programs are not effectively serving American workers. Despite the billions of taxpayer dollars invested in these programs each year, many Americans are struggling to find full-time work. These Federal programs must do a better job matching unemployed American workers with open jobs, including the 350,000 manufacturing jobs currently available.
Expanding apprenticeships and reforming ineffective education and workforce development programs will help address these issues, enabling more Americans to obtain relevant skills and high-paying jobs. Apprenticeships provide paid, relevant workplace experiences and opportunities to develop skills that employers value. Additionally, they provide affordable paths to good jobs and, ultimately, careers.
Finally, federally funded education and workforce development programs that do not work must be improved or eliminated so that taxpayer dollars can be channeled to more effective uses.
Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the Federal Government to provide more affordable pathways to secure, high paying jobs by promoting apprenticeships and effective workforce development programs, while easing the regulatory burden on such programs and reducing or eliminating taxpayer support for ineffective workforce development programs.
Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term “apprenticeship” means an arrangement that includes a paid-work component and an educational or instructional component, wherein an individual obtains workplace-relevant knowledge and skills; and
(b) the term “job training programs” means Federal programs designed to promote skills development or workplace readiness and increase the earnings or employability of workers, but does not include Federal student aid or student loan programs.
Sec. 4. Establishing Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships. (a) The Secretary of Labor (Secretary), in consultation with the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, shall consider proposing regulations, consistent with applicable law, including 29 U.S.C. 50, that promote the development of apprenticeship programs by third parties. These third parties may include trade and industry groups, companies, non-profit organizations, unions, and joint labor-management organizations. To the extent permitted by law and supported by sound policy, any such proposed regulations shall reflect an assessment of whether to:
(i) determine how qualified third parties may provide recognition to high-quality apprenticeship programs (industry-recognized apprenticeship programs);
(ii) establish guidelines or requirements that qualified third parties should or must follow to ensure that apprenticeship programs they recognize meet quality standards;
(iii) provide that any industry-recognized apprenticeship program may be considered for expedited and streamlined registration under the registered apprenticeship program the Department of Labor administers;
(iv) retain the existing processes for registering apprenticeship programs for employers who continue using this system; and
(v) establish review processes, consistent with applicable law, for considering whether to:
(A) deny the expedited and streamlined registration under the Department of Labor’s registered apprenticeship program, referred to in subsection (a)(iii) of this section, in any sector in which Department of Labor registered apprenticeship programs are already effective and substantially widespread; and
(B) terminate the registration of an industry-recognized apprenticeship program recognized by a qualified third party, as appropriate.
(b) The Secretary shall consider and evaluate public comments on any regulations proposed under subsection (a) of this section before issuing any final regulations.
Sec. 5. Funding to Promote Apprenticeships. Subject to available appropriations and consistent with applicable law, including 29 U.S.C. 3224a, the Secretary shall use available funding to promote apprenticeships, focusing in particular on expanding access to and participation in apprenticeships among students at accredited secondary and post secondary educational institutions, including community colleges; expanding the number of apprenticeships in sectors that do not currently have sufficient apprenticeship opportunities; and expanding youth participation in apprenticeships.
Sec. 6. Expanding Access to Apprenticeships. The Secretaries of Defense, Labor, and Education, and the Attorney General, shall, in consultation with each other and consistent with applicable law, promote apprenticeships and pre apprenticeships for America’s high school students and Job Corps participants, for persons currently or formerly incarcerated, for persons not currently attending high school or an accredited post-secondary educational institution, and for members of America’s armed services and veterans. The Secretaries of Commerce and Labor shall promote apprenticeships to business leaders across critical industry sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and health care.
Sec. 7. Promoting Apprenticeship Programs at Colleges and Universities. The Secretary of Education shall, consistent with applicable law, support the efforts of community colleges and 2 year and 4 year institutions of higher education to incorporate apprenticeship programs into their courses of study.
Sec. 8. Establishment of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. (a) The Secretary shall establish in the Department of Labor a Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion.
(b) The mission of the Task Force shall be to identify strategies and proposals to promote apprenticeships, especially in sectors where apprenticeship programs are insufficient. The Task Force shall submit to the President a report on these strategies and proposals, including:
(i) Federal initiatives to promote apprenticeships;
(ii) administrative and legislative reforms that would facilitate the formation and success of apprenticeship programs;
(iii) the most effective strategies for creating industry-recognized apprenticeships; and
(iv) the most effective strategies for amplifying and encouraging private-sector initiatives to promote apprenticeships.
(c) The Department of Labor shall provide administrative support and funding for the Task Force, to the extent permitted by law and subject to availability of appropriations.
(d) The Secretary shall serve as Chair of the Task Force. The Secretaries of Education and Commerce shall serve as Vice-Chairs of the Task Force. The Secretary shall appoint the other members of the Task Force, which shall consist of no more than twenty individuals who work for or represent the perspectives of American companies, trade or industry groups, educational institutions, and labor unions, and such other persons as the Secretary may from time to time designate.
(e) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), may apply to the Task Force, any functions of the President under that Act, except for those of reporting to the Congress, shall be performed by the Chair, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Administrator of General Services.
(f) Members of the Task Force shall serve without additional compensation for their work on the Task Force, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701–5707), consistent with the availability of funds.
(g) A member of the Task Force may designate a senior member of his or her organization to attend any Task Force meeting.
(h) The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after it submits its report to the President.
Sec. 9. Excellence in Apprenticeships. Not later than 2 years after the date of this order, the Secretary shall, consistent with applicable law, and in consultation with the Secretaries of Education and Commerce, establish an Excellence in Apprenticeship Program to solicit voluntary information for purposes of recognizing, by means of a commendation, efforts by employers, trade or industry associations, unions, or joint labor-management organizations to implement apprenticeship programs.
Sec. 10. Improving the Effectiveness of Workforce Development Programs. (a) Concurrent with its budget submission to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the head of each agency shall submit a list of programs, if any, administered by their agency that are designed to promote skills development and workplace readiness. For such programs, agencies shall provide information on:
(i) evaluations of any relevant data pertaining to their effectiveness (including their employment outcomes);
(ii) recommendations for administrative and legislative reforms that would improve their outcomes and effectiveness for American workers and employers; and
(iii) recommendations to eliminate those programs that are ineffective, redundant, or unnecessary.
(b) The Director of OMB shall consider the information provided by agencies in subsection (a) of this section in developing the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 Budget.
(c) The head of each agency administering one or more job training programs shall order, subject to available appropriations and consistent with applicable law, an empirically rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs, unless such an analysis has been recently conducted. When feasible, these evaluations shall be conducted by third party evaluators using the most rigorous methods appropriate and feasible for the program, with preference given to multi-site randomized controlled trials.
(d) The Director of OMB shall provide guidance to agencies on how to fulfill their obligations under this section.
Sec. 11. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
STRENGTHENING THE CYBERSECURITY OF FEDERAL NETWORKS AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to protect American innovation and values, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Cybersecurity of Federal Networks.
(a) Policy. The executive branch operates its information technology (IT) on behalf of the American people. Its IT and data should be secured responsibly using all United States Government capabilities. The President will hold heads of executive departments and agencies (agency heads) accountable for managing cybersecurity risk to their enterprises. In addition, because risk management decisions made by agency heads can affect the risk to the executive branch as a whole, and to national security, it is also the policy of the United States to manage cybersecurity risk as an executive branch enterprise.
(b) Findings.
(i) Cybersecurity risk management comprises the full range of activities undertaken to protect IT and data from unauthorized access and other cyber threats, to maintain awareness of cyber threats, to detect anomalies and incidents adversely affecting IT and data, and to mitigate the impact of, respond to, and recover from incidents. Information sharing facilitates and supports all of these activities.
(ii) The executive branch has for too long accepted antiquated and difficult–to-defend IT.
(iii) Effective risk management involves more than just protecting IT and data currently in place. It also requires planning so that maintenance, improvements, and modernization occur in a coordinated way and with appropriate regularity.
(iv) Known but unmitigated vulnerabilities are among the highest cybersecurity risks faced by executive departments and agencies (agencies). Known vulnerabilities include using operating systems or hardware beyond the vendor’s support lifecycle, declining to implement a vendor’s security patch, or failing to execute security-specific configuration guidance.
(v) Effective risk management requires agency heads to lead integrated teams of senior executives with expertise in IT, security, budgeting, acquisition, law, privacy, and human resources.
(c) Risk Management.
(i) Agency heads will be held accountable by the President for implementing risk management measures commensurate with the risk and magnitude of the harm that would result from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction of IT and data. They will also be held accountable by the President for ensuring that cybersecurity risk management processes are aligned with strategic, operational, and budgetary planning processes, in accordance with chapter 35, subchapter II of title 44, United States Code.
(ii) Effective immediately, each agency head shall use The Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (the Framework) developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or any successor document, to manage the agency’s cybersecurity risk. Each agency head shall provide a risk management report to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 90 days of the date of this order. The risk management report shall:
(A) document the risk mitigation and acceptance choices made by each agency head as of the date of this order, including:
(1) the strategic, operational, and budgetary considerations that informed those choices; and
(2) any accepted risk, including from unmitigated vulnerabilities; and
(B) describe the agency’s action plan to implement the Framework.
(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of OMB, consistent with chapter 35, subchapter II of title 44, United States Code, shall jointly assess each agency’s risk management report to determine whether the risk mitigation and acceptance choices set forth in the reports are appropriate and sufficient to manage the cybersecurity risk to the executive branch enterprise in the aggregate (the determination).
(iv) The Director of OMB, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, with appropriate support from the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of General Services, and within 60 days of receipt of the agency risk management reports outlined in subsection (c)(ii) of this section, shall submit to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, the following:
(A) the determination; and
(B) a plan to:
(1) adequately protect the executive branch enterprise, should the determination identify insufficiencies;
(2) address immediate unmet budgetary needs necessary to manage risk to the executive branch enterprise;
(3) establish a regular process for reassessing and, if appropriate, reissuing the determination, and addressing future, recurring unmet budgetary needs necessary to manage risk to the executive branch enterprise;
(4) clarify, reconcile, and reissue, as necessary and to the extent permitted by law, all policies, standards, and guidelines issued by any agency in furtherance of chapter 35, subchapter II of title 44, United States Code, and, as necessary and to the extent permitted by law, issue policies, standards, and guidelines in furtherance of this order; and
(5) align these policies, standards, and guidelines with the Framework.
(v) The agency risk management reports described in subsection (c)(ii) of this section and the determination and plan described in subsections (c)(iii) and (iv) of this section may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate.
(vi) Effective immediately, it is the policy of the executive branch to build and maintain a modern, secure, and more resilient executive branch IT architecture.
(A) Agency heads shall show preference in their procurement for shared IT services, to the extent permitted by law, including email, cloud, and cybersecurity services.
(B) The Director of the American Technology Council shall coordinate a report to the President from the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of OMB, and the Administrator of General Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate, regarding modernization of Federal IT. The report shall:
(1) be completed within 90 days of the date of this order; and
(2) describe the legal, policy, and budgetary considerations relevant to — as well as the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness, including timelines and milestones, of — transitioning all agencies, or a subset of agencies, to:
(aa) one or more consolidated network architectures; and
(bb) shared IT services, including email, cloud, and cybersecurity services.
(C) The report described in subsection (c)(vi)(B) of this section shall assess the effects of transitioning all agencies, or a subset of agencies, to shared IT services with respect to cybersecurity, including by making recommendations to ensure consistency with section 227 of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 148) and compliance with policies and practices issued in accordance with section 3553 of title 44, United States Code. All agency heads shall supply such information concerning their current IT architectures and plans as is necessary to complete this report on time.
(vii) For any National Security System, as defined in section 3552(b)(6) of title 44, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, rather than the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of OMB, shall implement this order to the maximum extent feasible and appropriate. The Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence shall provide a report to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism describing their implementation of subsection (c) of this section within 150 days of the date of this order. The report described in this subsection shall include a justification for any deviation from the requirements of subsection (c), and may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate.
Sec. 2. Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure.
(a) Policy. It is the policy of the executive branch to use its authorities and capabilities to support the cybersecurity risk management efforts of the owners and operators of the Nation’s critical infrastructure (as defined in section 5195c(e) of title 42, United States Code) (critical infrastructure entities), as appropriate.
(b) Support to Critical Infrastructure at Greatest Risk. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the heads of appropriate sector-specific agencies, as defined in Presidential Policy Directive 21 of February 12, 2013 (Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience) (sector-specific agencies), and all other appropriate agency heads, as identified by the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall:
(i) identify authorities and capabilities that agencies could employ to support the cybersecurity efforts of critical infrastructure entities identified pursuant to section 9 of Executive Order 13636 of February 12, 2013 (Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity), to be at greatest risk of attacks that could reasonably result in catastrophic regional or national effects on public health or safety, economic security, or national security (section 9 entities);
(ii) engage section 9 entities and solicit input as appropriate to evaluate whether and how the authorities and capabilities identified pursuant to subsection (b)(i) of this section might be employed to support cybersecurity risk management efforts and any obstacles to doing so;
(iii) provide a report to the President, which may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, within 180 days of the date of this order, that includes the following:
(A) the authorities and capabilities identified pursuant to subsection (b)(i) of this section;
(B) the results of the engagement and determination required pursuant to subsection (b)(ii) of this section; and
(C) findings and recommendations for better supporting the cybersecurity risk management efforts of section 9 entities; and
(iv) provide an updated report to the President on an annual basis thereafter.
(c) Supporting Transparency in the Marketplace. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, shall provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, that examines the sufficiency of existing Federal policies and practices to promote appropriate market transparency of cybersecurity risk management practices by critical infrastructure entities, with a focus on publicly traded critical infrastructure entities, within 90 days of the date of this order.
(d) Resilience Against Botnets and Other Automated, Distributed Threats. The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall jointly lead an open and transparent process to identify and promote action by appropriate stakeholders to improve the resilience of the internet and communications ecosystem and to encourage collaboration with the goal of dramatically reducing threats perpetrated by automated and distributed attacks (e.g., botnets). The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall consult with the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the heads of sector-specific agencies, the Chairs of the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, other interested agency heads, and appropriate stakeholders in carrying out this subsection. Within 240 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make publicly available a preliminary report on this effort. Within 1 year of the date of this order, the Secretaries shall submit a final version of this report to the President.
(e) Assessment of Electricity Disruption Incident Response Capabilities. The Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, with State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and with others as appropriate, shall jointly assess:
(i) the potential scope and duration of a prolonged power outage associated with a significant cyber incident, as defined in Presidential Policy Directive 41 of July 26, 2016 (United States Cyber Incident Coordination), against the United States electric subsector;
(ii) the readiness of the United States to manage the consequences of such an incident; and
(iii) any gaps or shortcomings in assets or capabilities required to mitigate the consequences of such an incident.
The assessment shall be provided to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, within 90 days of the date of this order, and may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate.
(f) Department of Defense Warfighting Capabilities and Industrial Base. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on cybersecurity risks facing the defense industrial base, including its supply chain, and United States military platforms, systems, networks, and capabilities, and recommendations for mitigating these risks. The report may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate.
Sec. 3. Cybersecurity for the Nation.
(a) Policy. To ensure that the internet remains valuable for future generations, it is the policy of the executive branch to promote an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure internet that fosters efficiency, innovation, communication, and economic prosperity, while respecting privacy and guarding against disruption, fraud, and theft. Further, the United States seeks to support the growth and sustainment of a workforce that is skilled in cybersecurity and related fields as the foundation for achieving our objectives in cyberspace.
(b) Deterrence and Protection. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall jointly submit a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the Nation’s strategic options for deterring adversaries and better protecting the American people from cyber threats.
(c) International Cooperation. As a highly connected nation, the United States is especially dependent on a globally secure and resilient internet and must work with allies and other partners toward maintaining the policy set forth in this section. Within 45 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall submit reports to the President on their international cybersecurity priorities, including those concerning investigation, attribution, cyber threat information sharing, response, capacity building, and cooperation. Within 90 days of the submission of the reports, and in coordination with the agency heads listed in this subsection, and any other agency heads as appropriate, the Secretary of State shall provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, documenting an engagement strategy for international cooperation in cybersecurity.
(d) Workforce Development. In order to ensure that the United States maintains a long-term cybersecurity advantage:
(i) The Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, and other agencies identified jointly by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall:
(A) jointly assess the scope and sufficiency of efforts to educate and train the American cybersecurity workforce of the future, including cybersecurity-related education curricula, training, and apprenticeship programs, from primary through higher education; and
(B) within 120 days of the date of this order, provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, with findings and recommendations regarding how to support the growth and sustainment of the Nation’s cybersecurity workforce in both the public and private sectors.
(ii) The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of other agencies identified by the Director of National Intelligence, shall:
(A) review the workforce development efforts of potential foreign cyber peers in order to help identify foreign workforce development practices likely to affect long-term United States cybersecurity competitiveness; and
(B) within 60 days of the date of this order, provide a report to the President through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism on the findings of the review carried out pursuant to subsection (d)(ii)(A) of this section.
(iii) The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall:
(A) assess the scope and sufficiency of United States efforts to ensure that the United States maintains or increases its advantage in national-security-related cyber capabilities; and
(B) within 150 days of the date of this order, provide a report to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, with findings and recommendations on the assessment carried out pursuant to subsection (d)(iii)(A) of this section.
(iv) The reports described in this subsection may be classified in full or in part, as appropriate.
Sec. 4. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:
(a) The term “appropriate stakeholders” means any non-executive-branch person or entity that elects to participate in an open and transparent process established by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security under section 2(d) of this order.
(b) The term “information technology” (IT) has the meaning given to that term in section 11101(6) of title 40, United States Code, and further includes hardware and software systems of agencies that monitor and control physical equipment and processes.
(c) The term “IT architecture” refers to the integration and implementation of IT within an agency.
(d) The term “network architecture” refers to the elements of IT architecture that enable or facilitate communications between two or more IT assets.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
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(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
The White House would like you to know it has accomplished things
Donald Trump’s team sent out an email blast this morning to the press titled “President Trump’s 100 Days of Historic Accomplishments.” The list, which includes headings such as “getting the government out of the way,” contains comparisons to what former presidents had completed at this point in their terms. The list also highlights that Trump has signed 30 executive orders since taking office in January, compared to former President Barack Obama’s 19.
WH blasting out new email this morning listing first 100 days accomplishments
Trump’s email blast comes despite criticism from the president about the concept of using the first 100 days to judge effectiveness. In the last week, Trump has called the benchmark “not very meaningful” and suggested it’s overrated as a tool of evaluating a presidency.
The two fake news polls released yesterday, ABC & NBC, while containing some very positive info, were totally wrong in General E. Watch!
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The public weighs in
A new poll has some bad news for the president. Donald Trump’s approval rating is at 42 percent with just days left until he reaches his 100-day mark, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday. That’s the lowest for any president at this point in their term since pollsters began tracking it in the 1940s. For comparison, former President Barack Obama had a 69-percent approval rating at this juncture of his first term.
I am committed to keeping our air and water clean but always remember that economic growth enhances environmental protection. Jobs matter!
Trump unhappy with ‘100 days’ benchmark
The president has a bone to pick with the “first 100 days” benchmark used to evaluate how a presidency is going. Donald Trump criticized the standard in a tweet Friday, calling it “ridiculous” and insinuating the media would not give him credit for his successes. Trump’s main victory since entering office, which he highlighted in his post, has been the confirmation of Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch. Many of his other notable moves, such as his travel ban or healthcare replacement, have failed to be instituted.
Failing @nytimes, which has been calling me wrong for two years, just got caught in a big lie concerning New England Patriots visit to W.H.
Patriots visit the White House
With just 10 days left of Trump’s first 100 days in office, the White House played host to the New England Patriots today. The visit is in honor of their victory earlier this year at Super Bowl LI. The president met with the team’s players and gave remarks where he singled out around seven team members for their performance. But one player not in attendance was quarterback Tom Brady, who cited personal family matters as his reason for staying home. Donald Trump has long touted his friendship with Brady, but Brady wasn’t the only player to skip. Several team members opted out of the visit due to political disagreements with the president.
Dems failed in Kansas and are now failing in Georgia. Great job Karen Handel! It is now Hollywood vs. Georgia on June 20th.
New executive order says ‘Buy American’
On Tuesday, Donald Trump signed a new executive order essentially stating “Buy American; Hire American.” The order is meant to reduce the number of low-wage foreign workers in the country and improve the amount of job opportunities for American employees. The initiative is in line with his “America First” theme for his first 100 days in office, but defies his campaign rhetoric, where he suggested it would be unfair to crack down on H1-B visa holders.
Just learned that Jon @Ossoff, who is running for Congress in Georgia, doesn’t even live in the district. Republicans, get out and vote!
Next target: Jon Ossoff
The president stepped into campaign mode once again when he got involved in the Georgia special election. The election is being held to fill Tom Price’s congressional seat, following his confirmation as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump began tweeting about the main Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff, after polls made it clear that Ossoff was the leading character in the race. The district in question isn’t exactly a Republican stronghold; Trump won by less than 2 percent back in November. Nevertheless, it was expected that Ossoff would fall short of the 50 percent marker he needs to avoid a runoff election later this year.
I did what was an almost an impossible thing to do for a Republican-easily won the Electoral College! Now Tax Returns are brought up again?
Trump’s White House visitor logs will be private
The White House has announced that most of the visitor logs for those stopping by the Oval Office will remain private. Citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns,” the Trump administration will not willingly disclose the names of the president’s vistors. Unless the White House amends this policy, it could take years for that information to be revealed.
The president signed off today on a resolution that will allow states to defund family planning centers such as Planned Parenthood if they provide abortion services. The resolution overturns a late Obama-era policy that prevented the government from defunding these providers for any reason other than lack of “ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries in an effective manner.”
Though Republicans have long held a stance against taxpayer money being used to pay for abortion services, it’s a solution without a problem. The Hyde Amendment has prevented tax dollars from being used for abortion services for decades.
Jobs are returning, illegal immigration is plummeting, law, order and justice are being restored. We are truly making America great again!
The president is disturbed by the United Airlines video
The White House said Tuesday that Donald Trump has seen the viral video of United Airlines passenger Dr. David Dao being forcibly deplaned and that Trump is “disturbed” by the video. White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters during his daily briefing that he believes anyone would be bothered by how Dao was treated. “I don’t think anyone looks at that video and isn’t a little disturbed that another human being is treated that way,” Spicer said.
No troops in Syria… for now
In an interview set to air Wednesday morning on Fox Business, the president said that the U.S. is not putting ground troops in war-torn Syria. Literally. “We’re not going into Syria,” Trump told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo. Trump’s interview comes amid questions about the White House’s next move, after he ordered missile strikes last week against a Syrian airbase. The strikes were a response to Syrian leader Bashar Assad, who is suspected of using chemical weapons against his people last week in an attack that killed dozens.
“Look, what I did should have been done by the Obama administration a long time before I did it,” Trump said. “And you would have had a much better – I think Syria would be a lot better off right now than it has been.”
North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A.
Trump makes his mark on SCOTUS
Trump’s Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch was sworn onto the highest bench in the country Monday. His swearing in marks the president’s first landmark success with Congress since taking office. Gorsuch will serve as the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s replacement, more than a year after Scalia passed away. Gorsuch is considered very similar to Scalia in how he will decide cases, being a constitutional originalist.
The president ordered airstrikes on the Al-Shayrat airbase in Homs, Syria on Thursday, in retaliation for a chemical weapon attack that killed more than 100 people. The attack is suspected to be the work of Bashar Assad’s government, and these airstrikes are the first targeted U.S. action against Assad since the Syrian civil war began six years ago.
The administration says the site of the strikes was chosen because U.S. officials tracked the planes that carried the chemical weapons using radar. In remarks shortly after the strikes, Trump said they were “in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”
Eleven weeks in, Trump says he’s had the one of the most successful 13 weeks…?
Donald Trump said Thursday that he thinks his administration has had “one of the most successful 13 weeks in the history of the presidency.” There are just two problems: First, he’s had one of the most controversial terms in history to date, with multiple Cabinet picks stepping down, ongoing investigations into his campaign’s ties with Russia, a failed healthcare bill, and low poll numbers.
Second, he’s only been in office for 11 weeks.
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Bannon removed from the National Security Council
White House senior adviser Steve Bannon has been removed from the National Security Council, according to reports. On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order reorganizing the NSC. In it, he restored the director of national intelligence, CIA director, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to full participation and removed Bannon from the panel. The White House did not announce the move publicly, so it wasn’t reported on until Wednesday. A White House source said Bannon can still attend any meeting where his expertise is needed, CNN reported.
As a reminder, Bannon has zero national security experience; rather he previously served as the publisher of alt-right white nationalist new org, Breitbart. His appointment did not require senate approval. We do not yet know why Bannon was removed, but we’re chalking it up to common sense.
Donald Trump is not done tweeting about Hillary Clinton. On Monday morning, the president tweeted about his former Democratic rival and her campaign manager, saying “Was the brother of John Podesta paid big money to get the sanctions on Russia lifted? Did Hillary know?” Shortly after, he followed up with a sarcastic question about whether or not Clinton apologized for an instance where she was provided questions in advance of an interview. The tweets appear to be an attempt to deflect growing criticism of his administration’s ties with Russia. Clinton has largely remained out of the spotlight since losing the election in November.
White House financial disclosures show that everyone is rich.
The White House released its employees’ financial disclosures Friday night; and to no one’s surprise, they showed enormous wealth. According to the documents, senior adviser Steve Bannon has more than $1 million in his bank account and has made significant income from his rental properties. Bannon values his consulting business at somewhere between $5 and $25 million, the disclosures show.
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, both list far higher numbers. Because Ivanka Trump was only just given an official title, her personal disclosure hasn’t been completed yet, but her assets appear on her husband’s forms. The two could be worth as much as $740 million, reports show. Much of their fortune comes from Kushner’s real estate holdings and Trump’s business.
The president’s former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is also a financial success. The disclosures show that she was worth as much as $40 million before she was named a White House staffer.
The president revived his fight against the Freedom Caucus on Thursday morning, tweeting that the ultra-conservative congressional group would damage Republicans in 2018. Trump has been highly critical of the Caucus since they aligned against his replacement healthcare plan, despite the fact that many moderate Republicans were also opposed to the bill.
If climate change was a hoax, it won’t be for long. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order undoing many of former President Obama’s climate change regulations. The order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to begin the process of withdrawing from the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era regulation that called for the replacement of coal-powered plants with new wind and solar farms.
The order also calls into question whether Trump will abide by the landmark Paris climate change agreements that the U.S. signed just a short time ago. The U.S. has agreed to cut its emissions by 26 percent over the next decade. Experts say such measures are essential to prevent the temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature they agree spells global catastrophe down the line.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is reportedly considering hearing the revised travel ban case with its full bench-rather than the panel of three judges who would normally hear it. In an order on Monday, the court asked both the government and the plaintiffs to address whether the full bench should hear arguments.
If all 15 active judges hear the case, it could potentially spell good new for opponents of the ban. The 4th Circuit is made up of nine Democratic appointees, five Republicans, and one appointed by a Democratic and later confirmed under a Republican. Basically: It skews left.
Donald Trump’s landmark replacement for Obamacare was shot down Friday when the House of Representatives decided not to even bother voting on it. The president and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan decided to pull the bill from consideration after it became clear it would fail if it went to vote.
The American Health Care Act’s rejection means that Obamacare will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
White House bans laptops in carry-ons for eight Muslim countries
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that people flying nonstop to the U.S. from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries would no longer be allowed to bring laptops in their carry-on luggage. Passengers are allowed to check them in with their baggage, however. The airports are spread across eight countries: Morocco, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar.
The administration has cited the need to do so for security but didn’t say there was any specific new threat or intelligence. Several hours after the announcement, the U.K. made a similar move, though their ban affects some different airports than the U.S. ban does.
Donald Trump went after allegations that he has ties to the Russian government again Monday, just hours before FBI director James Comey is set to testify in front of Congress. In a series of tweets, Trump wrote that the “The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign.” He added that “the real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information. Must find leaker now!”
Comey is expected to testify about Russian involvement in November’s presidential election, which committees in both houses of Congress have been investigating.
On Sunday, Donald Trump concluded his fifth weekend in Florida since taking office. Though Trump was regularly critical of former President Obama taking vacations, he has spent more than half of his weekends as president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach. Trump also spent time holding meetings at his local golf club, according to his press pool, where he may have stepped out “to hit some golf balls,” the Palm Beach Post reported.
Sooo, Trump’s budget is cool if you don’t like PBS or the environment
Donald Trump released his budget plan Thursday, and it cuts pretty much everything people expected. Among the agencies that would take hits are the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and many more. Almost no departments are spared from cuts-the only ones without any cuts are Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. But Trump did manage to find $2 billion for a down payment on the wall.
A federal judge in Hawaii blocked Donald Trump’s revised travel ban Wednesday evening, just one night before it was set to take effect. The new ban was a watered-down version of the first, excluding some of the more controversial policies-like the ban on green card holders. The Trump administration argued that the new executive order addressed all the legal criticism of the first, but Judge Derrick Watson was unimpressed. Watson wrote that a “reasonable, objective observer” would still view the ban as an attempt to discriminate against members of one religion (despite Trump’s statements to the contrary.)
A second judge ruled similarly in Maryland just hours later.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released it’s official estimates on the GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan today, and the news wasn’t good. According to the report, it’s projected that 14 million people would lose coverage next year under the new House bill. The number of uninsured would grow to 24 million by 2026.
The White House pushed back hard on the report, saying it disagrees “strenuously.” Health Secretary Tom Price said it will cover more individuals and lower costs. As for the estimate that 14 million people would lose coverage, he said, “It’s just not believable is what we would suggest.”
Trump endorsed the plan last week, despite the fact that, back in January, Trump told the Washington Post his health-care law would include “insurance for everybody.”
Red alert! The president went an entire day without tweeting on Sunday, capping off a contentious weekend with radio silence. That may not seem notable; but as The Hill reported, Trump has tweeted more than 260 times since his inauguration, meaning he averages more than five per day.
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The first thing we do, let’s fire all the lawyers
Over the weekend, the Trump administration asked for the immediate resignation of 26 U.S. attorneys from the Obama era. That’s pretty normal for a new administration, but Trump is drawing rebuke from Democrats for his handling of one specific case. Preet Bharara, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, declined to resign from his post and was fired-even though Trump had reportedly personally asked him to stay in his role. Bharara announced that he was fired on Twitter:
Friday marked the halfway point in Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, the time period generally used to determine how effective a new administration has been. In that time, Trump has signed 16 executive orders, which is on pace with former President Barack Obama. But unlike Obama, Trump’s first 50 days have been marred with controversy. Protests and court battles derailed his first travel ban, the replacement plan for Obamacare has been almost universally panned, and several members of his administration are under investigation for ties to Russian officials.
Trump has made strides toward keeping some of his more realistic campaign promises. His administration has caused either the repeal or delay of more than 90 Obama-era federal regulations, and he withdrew the U.S. from the TPP trade deal. An executive order he signed allowed work to recommence on the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite ongoing protests in North Dakota.
One thing Trump has not accomplished is a major legislative victory. At this point in his presidency, Obama had passed an $800 billion economic stimulus package through Congress as well as a law making it easier for women to sue over equal pay discrepancies. Trump is looking to make a repeal of the Affordable Care Act his first landmark achievement in Congress, but he has so far been unsuccessful.
Donald Trump has chosen Jon Huntsman, a Republican who ran for president in 2012, as his ambassador to Russia. This will be Huntsman’s third ambassadorship: He represented the United States to Singapore under George H.W. Bush, and to China under Barack Obama. It will also likely be his most heavily scrutinized role, as the Trump administration is investigated for alleged ties to Russian officials during his presidential campaign. Huntsman originally endorsed Trump for office, but had called on him to drop out after the release of a vulgar tape where Trump described grabbing women to Billy Bush.
Sean Spicer tries to explain what Trump is talking about
Donald Trump has “no regrets” about accusing former President Barack Obama of wiretapping him, at least, not according to Sean Spicer. The White House press secretary gave a news conference on Tuesday where he attempted to explain some of the president’s more controversial recent statements. Spicer said the president is waiting for the results of an investigation into his claims, despite the fact that there is no evidence to support his accusations.
Spicer also touched on Trump’s claim that Obama released 122 “vicious” Guantanamo Bay inmates that have since returned to fighting. In reality, Obama released just nine of those prisoners; the other 113 were released by George W. Bush’s administration. Spicer acknowledged that Trump’s comments were incorrect.
Donald Trump signed a new executive order today banning people from six Muslim-majority countries from applying for visas to the United States. The new ban, which no longer includes Iraq, bars citizens from those six countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days and suspends refugee admissions for 120 days. It will also slash the number of refugee admissions for this year from 110,000 to 50,000.
The new ban comes as a response to legal criticism of the first version, which argued that Trump’s ban amounted to little more than religious discrimination. It also opens the door to adding more countries. Trump will ask the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to determine whether any other countries should be included in future travel bans, the Daily Beast reported.
Donald Trump and a Russian official’s rejection of the Jeff Sessions allegations are weirdly similar.
Trump went off on Twitter on Thursday night. In his tweet-storm, the POTUS attacked Democrats for what he called their “witch hunt” of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The tweets came several hours after Sessions held a news conference recusing himself from any investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia.
Then, Friday morning, a Russian official seemed to agree with Trump’s assessment. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov borrowed a phrase from Trump and told a Russian state media outlet that the investigation was a “witch hunt,” Reuters reported.
Trump is pretty much ignoring Sessions allegations
UPDATE (4:52 PM EST): Jeff Sessions held a news conference Thiursday afternoon where he announced that he would recuse himself from any investigation into Russia’s actions during election season. In the conference, Sessions said “that since [he] had involvement with the campaign, [he] should not be involved in any campaign investigation.”
UPDATE (2:38 PM EST): The president has spoken out. On Thursday, Trump reportedly said he has “total confidence” in Jeff Sessions and that he “doesn’t think” the attorney general should recuse himself from the investigation into possible Russian activity.
ORIGINAL STORY: On Wednesday night, reports broke claiming that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with the Russian ambassador twice before the November election, despite saying he didn’t during his confirmation hearing. Democrats are up in arms, demanding Sessions’ resignation from his post. Even some Republicans are saying Sessions must, at a minimum, recuse himself from investigations into whether Russia attempted to interfere in the election.
One person not demanding answers, however, appears to be the president. In a statement Thursday morning, the White House denounced the allegations, saying “This is the latest attack against the Trump Administration by partisan Democrats. General Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony.”
And Trump hasn’t spoken out on Twitter, either. His only tweet (so far) since the news broke was an early-morning message about the stock market.
The president signed two bills Tuesday to “empower women.” The bills are H.R. 321, which “directs NASA to encourage women and girls to study science technology engineering, mathematics, and aerospace” and H.R. 255, which “authorizes the National Science Foundation to use existing entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women.”
Trump’s daughter Ivanka reportedly has been pushing for women-focused legislation. She released a statement about the bills, saying she “[looks] forward to working alongside [her] father to champion the economic empowerment of women and girls and encouraging gender diversity in STEM fields is critical to that mission.”
Trump gives a presidential speech
Donald Trump gave a speech Tuesday night in front of a joint session of Congress, where he took a much more conciliatory tone than any speech to date. In his speech, Trump discussed a healthcare overhaul, rebuilding the military and asked both sides of the aisle to put aside their fights and work together.
One of the most emotional parts of his speech came as he addressed Carryn Owens, the wife of Ryan Owens, who died in a raid in Yemen shortly after Trump took office.
But the speech was not devoid of his usual rhetoric: Trump also made some of his frequent claims, suggesting immigration enforcement makes us safer (studies show it drives crime up), saying 94 million people are unemployed (a misleading statistic), and claiming most terrorists are foreign-born (that’s false).
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White House will no longer contest Texas voter ID law
A lawyer for a voting rights group said Monday that the Justice Department told them it will no longer challenge Texas’ voter ID law in court, the Associated Press reported. The move represents an about-face from the Obama administration’s stance; in 2013, former President Obama’s government joined a lawsuit challenging the statute.
Last summer, a federal appeals court found that the law discriminates against minorities and the poor and ordered changes before the presidential election. The Trump administration’s position under new Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not necessarily surprising. Voter ID laws generally are divided on strict party lines.
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Another one bites the dust
The president lost yet another one of his Cabinet appointees Sunday when Philip Bildren, his nominee for Secretary of the Navy, withdrew from consideration. Bilden cited difficulties meeting the government’s ethics guidelines and the financial sacrifice he would have to make as his reason for withdrawing. Bilden isn’t the first Trump nominee to remove themself from the running; Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Army, Vincent Viola, also dropped out over business interests earlier this month.
Rumors that Bilden would quit were first reported February 18 by CBS, but White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed on Twitter at the time that the report was false.
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Trump breaks up with the Correspondent’s Dinner
Donald Trump is following in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps by becoming the first president since to skip the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Of course, when Reagan bailed on the press, he was recovering from an assassination attempt. Trump announced his plans via Twitter on Saturday, writing “I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!”
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The White House tries to literally stop the presses
The New York Times, CNN and Politico were among the news outlets banned from attending today’s White House press briefing-an escalation of the already historically poor relations between the media and the Trump administration. Press secretary Sean Spicer handpicked which outlets would be allowed to attend an off-camera media huddle. NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News were allowed to attend, along with conservative outlets like the Washington Times and Breitbart, but other outlets chose to boycott the event.
The White House Correspondents Association released a statement condemning the action, saying “We encourage the organizations that were allowed in to share the material with others in the press corps who were not. The board will be discussing this further with White House staff.”
Trump’s CPAC speech, in a nutshell
The president spoke today at the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, and repeated some of his favorite talking points.
Trump used a large chunk of his speech to continue his attacks on the “mainstream media,” to criticize NAFTA, suggest that Sweden’s crime rate is going up (it’s not), and claim that intelligence agency leaks are made up.
He also discussed the Affordable Care Act, saying that “Obamacare covers very few people” and claiming that many Americans had their healthcare taken away from them. In reality, roughly 20 million Americans became insured under the Affordable Care Act, and there are no reliable studies suggesting that “many” people lost their healthcare plans.
Trump also spoke about Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, once again claiming that the agency endorsed him for president. Numerous outlets have debunked that claim; federal agencies cannot endorse political candidates. A union representing ICE employees did endorse Trump, but not the agency itself.
White House wants the FBI to help them handle the press… Sad!
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus is in hot water after asking a top FBI official to dispute reports that Trump’s campaign advisers were talking to Russian intelligence agents during the election. A White House official reportedly said Priebus made the request after hearing from the FBI that it believed a New York Times report detailing the allegations was inaccurate. The FBI has not taken a public stance on this issue.
Democrats are angry about the request, arguing that the contact was inappropriate. “The White House is simply not permitted to pressure the FBI to make public statements about a pending investigation of the president and his advisers,” said Michigan Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, the AP reported.
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Trump makes it one whole (work) day without Twitter
Stop the presses. For the first time since taking office, Donald Trump made it a whole day without tweeting… sort of. The president was noticeably absent from Twitter until 5:53 PM on Thursday, when he broke his nearly 34-hour silence to tweet out a link to a Fox Business report about the stock market.
S&P 500 Edges Higher After Trump Renews Jobs Pledge
U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday, buoyed by energy stocks and a renewed pledge by President Donald Trump to chief executives of major U.S. companies to bring back millions of jobs to the United…
Spicer says Trump will lift transgender bathroom protections
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said today that Donald Trump will rescind federal guidelines allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. This would be a major reversal of an Obama administration policy that trans advocates say is necessary to protect transgender students. In a press conference, Spicer said “The president has made it clear throughout the campaign that he is a firm believer in states’ rights and that certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level.”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reportedly resisted the idea at first, until Trump sided with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and asked her to drop her objection. In addition to its impact on schools throughout the country, the new guidance could affect future Supreme Court cases, particularly one scheduled to be heard next month that involves a transgender student from Virginia who was denied bathroom access.
The White House released expanded immigration guidelines today that will dramatically increase the number of people targeted for deportation. Under former President Obama, immigration officials focused their efforts of undocumented immigrants who had been convicted of violent crimes. The new directives target people who have been convicted of any crime, including those who “have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits,” reported The New York Times.
Bizarrely, administration officials reportedly confirmed that the U.S. plans to deport anyone who enters the country illegally from Mexico back there, even if they are not actually from Mexico. The new guidelines will not affect people under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but the new policy is likely to result in a major increase in deportations.
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One month down
Monday marked the end of the chaotic first month of Donald Trump’s presidency. In his first month in office, Trump has signed 23 executive orders, the most notable being his Muslim travel ban, which is currently mired in court proceedings. He faced his first staff shakeup just 24 days in when his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned over controversial dealings with Russia. So far, he has spent one-quarter of his presidency in Florida, where he raised eyebrows for receiving a classified security briefing at a public dinner table at his Mar-a-Lago resort, and his campaign is under investigation by intelligence agencies for alleged collusion with Russia to hack the Democratic National Committee and influence the outcome of last year’s election.
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#LastNightInSweden
The Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C. is asking the State Department for an explanation over comments Donald Trump made yesterday suggesting there was a terror attack in Sweden. During his rally in Florida, Trump discussed national security and said, “You look at what’s happening in Germany. You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden.”
The only problem is that nothing happened Thursday night in Sweden. After the rally, the hashtag “#LastNightInSweden” went viral, and former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt tweeted: “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound.”
The White House has not yet clarified Trump’s remarks.
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Trump begins campaigning for 2020, because that’s a good use of his time
Although Donald Trump has been in office for less than a month, he’s already kicked off his re-election campaign. Despite a difficult week in the White House, Trump held a campaign-style rally in Florida on Saturday, where he doubled down on his feud with the media-at-large and reiterated his campaign promises. The rally drew roughly 9,000 to see Trump speak but garnered criticism for taking precious time away from his duties when the White House is in flux. Trump has not yet nominated a replacement for former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The event was hosted by his campaign group rather than the White House, which is highly unusual this early in a presidency. Trump filed paperwork for his re-election bid shortly after taking office. In contrast, it took former President Obama more than two years to file for his own re-election campaign.
Trump tried to appoint Bob Harward, but he said no, no, no
Retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down an offer Thursday from the Trump administration to become the new national security adviser. Harward was considered a top pick for Michael Flynn’s vacated post, and had previously served as Defense Secretary Mattis’ deputy when Mattis was in charge of U.S. Central Command. The White House said Friday that Harward turned down the offer because of the time commitment, but severalnews outlets are reporting that Harward was concerned about not being allowed to form his own team. The national security adviser role is often a highly sought-after position, so Harward’s rejection is notable.
Today’s news conference was… interesting
Donald Trump held a news conference this afternoon where he attacked the media (again), falsely claimed that he won the election in a landslide (again), asked a veteran black reporter if she was friends with the Congressional Black Caucus and criticized intelligence agencies for their “absolutely real [leaks]” of fake news.
He also made bizarre comments about uranium, asking reporters: “You know what uranium is, right? It’s a thing called nuclear weapons and other things. Like lots of things are done with uranium, including some bad things.”
Trump’s conference was impromptu and puzzling, perhaps a harbinger of new media practices from the White House.
Trump set to announce new labor secretary pick
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump’s labor secretary pick Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination, Trump is set to name a new one. He is expected to nominate Alexander Acosta, dean of Florida International University Law School. Acosta served as assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice under President George W. Bush, where he worked in the civil rights division. If confirmed, Acosta would be the first Hispanic member of Trump’s Cabinet.
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Trump picks the option “both parties like” to solve Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Donald Trump threw away decades of diplomatic policy on Wednesday when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a joint conference, Trump said he was “looking at two-state and one-state” options to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before adding “I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one that both parties like.”
Of course, there is not really an option that “both parties like,” which is part of the reason the conflict has lasted more than 50 years. The Palestinians are unlikely to accept any deal that doesn’t give them a sovereign state, and Netanyahu is facing pressure from far-right members of his government to annex parts of the West Bank. Trump, for his part, did tell Netanyahu during the conference that he wants Israel to stop expanding settlements while they work on a deal and emphasized that both sides will need to compromise. But this message is somewhat undercut by Trump’s refusal to commit to a two-state solution.
Intelligence agencies reportedly withholding intel from Trump
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that U.S. intelligence officials have withheld information from Donald Trump because “they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised.” The report cites anonymous current and former officials and underscores that none of the sources know of an instance where information about security threats was withheld. This is not unheard of; intelligence agencies have withheld information from past presidents when they deemed it necessary to protect sources. What makes this instance different is the officials citing the president’s discretion as their reason for withholding.
Andrew Puzder withdraws his labor secretary nomination
Donald Trump’s secretary of labor nominee Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination today, just one day before he was scheduled to appear before the Senate. Puzder, a fast-food executive, had been facing growing pushback from Senate Democrats and Republicans alike after several scandals. Among them: that his family once employed an undocumented immigrant and past abuse allegations that rocketed into the public sphere after Politico obtained tape from an episode of Oprah where his ex-wife accused Puzder of leaving “permanent” damage from physical abuse.
Puzder’s withdrawal is the latest blow to the Trump administration, after a chaotic week that saw the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn less than one month into his tenure.
It wasn’t just Michael Flynn
Several of Donald Trump’s allies, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, were speaking with Russian officials during the election season, the New York Times reports. The “repeated contacts” between Trump allies and Russia were leaked by four current and former American officials, who intercepted the communications last year. Intelligence agencies have not yet found anything to suggest that the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to interfere with the election, but the agencies were reportedly worried because of the amount of contact that came while Trump was speaking highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the campaign trail.
Manafort strongly rejected these claims. “I have no idea what this is referring to” he said in a statement. “I have never knowingly spoken to Russian intelligence officers, and I have never been involved with anything to do with the Russian government or the Putin administration or any other issues under investigation today.” He then added, “It’s not like these people wear badges that say, ‘I’m a Russian intelligence officer.'”
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PSA: Do not shine cell phones at classified documents
Donald Trump is facing criticism from Democrats and security analysts after reports broke that he read sensitive documents in public at his Mar-a-Lago resort over the weekend. A member of the resort, Richard Agazio (who has since deleted his Facebook), posted photos online of Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviewing the documents at a dinner table while staff shined cell phones lights on them. As many have pointed out, aiming an internet-connected cell phone at classified documents is extremely inappropriate, as these devices’ cameras and audio can be hacked. Furthermore, it’s troublesome that Trump chose to receive classified information in a room full of his resort guests, most of whom likely do not have security clearances.
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*Mike drop*
UPDATE (11:21 PM EST): National security adviser Michael Flynn abruptly resigned from office Monday night after the Justice Department told the White House it believed he could be subject to blackmail by Russian entities. Flynn was in office for less than a month when reports began to circulate that he had deliberately misled Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with the Russian ambassador prior to Trump’s inauguration. Keith Kellogg will reportedly serve as the interim national security adviser until President Trump selects a new nominee.
Trump loves Flynn, loves him not
No one really knows where President Trump stands on his national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Late last week, reports surfaced suggesting Flynn misled Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation he had with Russia’s ambassador about lifting sanctions. Since then, Trump’s response-and the responses from his administration-have been mixed. Trump first suggested Friday that he was unaware of the controversy. Since then, several prominent members of his Cabinet have hedged, refusing to give a direct answer on whether Trump is considering replacing Flynn. Such an early staff shakeup would be very unusual, particularly because Trump has left the National Security Council with an unprecedentedamount of vacant positions.
Hundreds arrested in immigration raids around the U.S.
Hundreds of undocumented immigrants were arrested this week in raids across the country, marking the first major move toward enforcing President Trump’s campaign promise to deport the 11 million people living in the U.S. without visas. The raids, which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called “routine,” targeted people living in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and the Carolinas.
Similar raids during the Obama administration targeted undocumented immigrants with criminal records. The new raids are different, because ICE officials also rounded up immigrants with no convictions. In January, Trump broadened the criteria the Department of Homeland Security can use to target undocumented immigrants, allowing them to include people with minor or no criminal records.
The 9th Circuit Court is not here for Donald Trump’s travel ban. In a unanimous decision released Thursday evening, the appeals court ruled againstthe government, meaning Trump’s ban will remain suspended. The court’s decision said that the government “had not shown a likelihood of success on its merits,” or, in other words, the appeals court doesn’t believe the law will be upheld in court. Although this is a setback for Trump’s travel ban, it is not expected to be the end of the legal battle over the executive order. The government is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s legal battle with Washington State continues
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday night over Donald Trump’s immigration ban. The government is appealing a decision handed down by U.S. District Court Judge James Robart, who ruled last Friday that the ban was temporarily suspended nationwide. The three-judge appeals court panel is expected to rule in the next few days on whether the ban should be “immediately” reinstated or if the lower court’s suspension should remain in place. If they choose not to reinstate the ban, then it’s possible that the case would move forward with Robart. However, it’s more likely that the government will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump gives out fake news to the National Sheriffs Association
Donald Trump was criticized by media Tuesday for once again citing inaccurate murder rate statistics-this time, during a speech at the National Sheriffs Association. During his speech, Trump said “the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.” This is patently wrong; the murder rate in the U.S. is actually at its lowest, according to FBI crime data. Trump has been repeatedlycritiqued in the past for claiming the murder rate is up but appears to be sticking with his claim.
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Trump escalates his feud with the media
President Trump continued his attacks on the media Monday, accusing the New York Times of “making up stories [and] sources” and later accusing the press of intentionally covering up terrorist attacks in Europe. Though Trump has called the Times a “failing” newspaper regularly since he began campaigning in 2015, today’s unsubstantiated accusations are an escalation of his feud with the outlet.
In the afternoon, Trump gave a speech at United States Central Command, where he suggested the media is refusing to report on terrorism in Europe. He did not specify what attacks he is referring to and offered no evidence to support this claim, but said “In many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it.” It’s troubling that Trump continues to attack the legitimacy of any news company that publishes negative coverage about him; earlier in the day, he called “any” negative polls about his immigration ban illegitimate.
Russia wants an apology over Putin being called a “killer”
Russia is asking for an apology over comments Fox News host Bill O’Reilly made in an interview with Donald Trump that aired Sunday. In the interview, O’Reilly called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a killer,” and Trump did not disagree. He instead responded that “There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country’s so innocent?” Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized Trump for his refusal to condemn Putin and his authoritarian style of governing.
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Trump says Obamacare replacement could take a year
Donald Trump said in an interview aired Sunday that a replacement for Obamacare could take “till sometime into next year,” a notable walk-back from his earlier promises to have the Affordable Care Act repealed quickly. As recently as January 11th, Trump was suggesting that former President Obama’s landmark healthcare act would be overturned as soon as his pick for secretary of health and human services was confirmed. The walk-back suggests that the protests from Americans nationwide-as well as some members of Congress-who argue that repealing Obamacare without a replacement plan would be disastrous are having an effect.
Appeals court delivers a blow to Trump’s immigration ban
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused early Sunday morning to immediately reinstate Donald Trump’s immigration and travel ban, delivering a blow to the administration. Instead, the appeals court asked both sides-the Department of Justice and the State of Washington-to file legal briefs by Monday afternoon before the court makes its final decision. What this means is that the ban will remain suspended until at least Monday, and anyone affected by it can continue to enter the country. But regardless of how the appellate court rules, it is likely this case will quickly make its way to the Supreme Court.
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Federal judge puts a stop to Trump’s immigration ban
The Department of Homeland Security announced this morning that they are suspending “any and all actions implementing…the Executive Order” after a Republican-appointed federal judge suspended the ban nationwide. The State Department also announced this morning that they have begun re-issuing visas to travelers from the seven countries affected by Trump’s ban, and have notified Customs & Border Protection that approved refugees, travelers with valid visas, and green card holders are to be admitted. Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer has already announced that the Department of Justice will appeal the court’s order.
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Trump rolls back financial regulations because his friends “can’t borrow money”
President Trump signed an executive order Friday that scales back large portions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulations, which were designed after the recession to prevent banks from speculating with consumers’ money. Trump-and the financial industry-have been critical of Dodd-Frank for a long time, with Trump promising on the campaign trail to overturn it.
At a meeting with business leaders Friday, Trump said, “We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank, because frankly, I have so many people, friends of mine that had nice businesses, they can’t borrow money.” Though people commonly disagree over how much the financial industry should be regulated, it is noteworthy that the president has openly stated that he’s making policy to help his friends.
States plan to sue the president over the immigration ban
Hawaii has reportedly joined the growing number of states suing Donald Trump over his immigration ban. The state’s attorney general, Doug Chin, announced at a press conference that they would file paperwork in court today to challenge the ban. Several other states-Washington, New York, Virginia and Massachusetts-have already filed a suit, arguing that the ban is unconstitutional. Current legal challenges against the ban surround everything from due process to the establishment clause, which prohibits laws that favor specific religions. If these challenges are successful in district court, it is likely they will be appealed and potentially make their way up to the Supreme Court.
House Republicans repeal a ban on mentally ill people buying guns
The House GOP has overturned an Obama-era gun control regulation that would have helped prevent people with documented mental illnesses from buying guns. The policy meant that people who can’t manage their finances because of a mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder would be reported to the FBI so their names would appear during background checks. The National Rifle Association, as well as some disability advocacy groups, opposed the measure for being discriminatory-and now it’s off the table.
Kellyanne Conway makes up a massacre on MSNBC
White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway defended Trump’s immigration in a TV interview Thursday by saying that people didn’t know “that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. It didn’t get covered.” That’s true; it didn’t get covered-because it didn’t happen.
First of all, former President Obama never banned Iraqi refugees. Instead, he ordered a re-vetting of more than 57,000 Iraqi refugees, which caused a temporary delay in admitting new ones.
Second, there was no massacre at Bowling Green. Conway later clarified that she meant “Bowling Green terrorists,” but the two men she’s referring to-Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, who settled in Bowling Green, Kentucky-never carried out (or even planned) an attack on U.S. soil. They were arrested for trying to get weapons to Al Qaeda in Iraq.
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Spicer uses attack Iran didn’t carry out to justify putting them “on notice”
At a press conference Thursday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer falsely claimed that Iran attacked a U.S. naval ship, which would be an act of war. In reality, the attack was carried out by Houthi rebels on a Saudi Arabian ship, the Intercept reported. Spicer’s comments were an attempt to justify the White House putting Iran “on notice” several days before, and he has not yet addressed his false statement that Iran was behind the attack.
Trump wants to build a bridge between church and state
Donald Trump said at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast that he wants to “destroy” the Johnson Amendment, a federal law that prevents tax-exempt churches from engaging in political activity. Trump had promised evangelical voters that he would overturn the amendment during his campaign, but to do so as president would require approval from Congress. It also would mark a serious move away from the separation of church and state that has been a traditional hallmark of American democracy.
Trump prays for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s TV ratings
Trump is now feuding with Arnold Schwarzenegger. At this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast, the president referenced leaving The Apprentice and how “the ratings went right down the tubes.” He then said he wanted to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger, “for those ratings.” Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, fired back on Twitter, saying “Hey Donald. I have a great idea. Why don’t we switch jobs? You take over TV, cause you’re such an expert in ratings. And I take over your job, so that people can finally sleep comfortably again.” Trump’s comments may have been a joke, but they represent a departure from how former presidents have addressed the breakfast.
Republicans suddenly care about having a full Supreme Court
The New York Times reported yesterday that President Trump is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “go nuclear” with the Supreme Court vote if Democrats try to stall his pick. The so-called nuclear option would allow Republicans to approve Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch by simple majority, rather than with the traditional 60 votes. This would be an expansion of an action Democrats took in November 2013, when they used the nuclear option to eliminate filibusters on executive branch nominations and federal judicial appointments other than the Supreme Court. But Democrats are furious that Republicans are asking for a smooth confirmation process after stalling action on Obama nominee Merrick Garland for almost a full year.
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U.S.-Australia relations go down under
On Wednesday, Donald Trump threatened to break an international deal on Twitter.
The tweet was the latest in a new dispute between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, after Trump shouted at Turnbull during a scheduled call, told Turnbull it was “the worst call by far” that he’d had with a foreign leader, and then hung up 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hourlong talk. Australia is one of the United States’ staunchest allies, so Trump’s treatment of Turnbull raised some eyebrows, and some worry this could cause a rift in the countries’ relationship.
Republicans push Trump nominees through without Democrats present
The Republican-run Senate Finance Committee approved two of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks-Steve Mnuchin for the treasury and Tom Price for the department of health and human services-by overriding a rule that requires at least one Democrat to be present. (Democrats were boycotting the committee meeting for a second straight day.) The move is an unusual about-face from normal procedures-and will likely increase tensions between the parties.
Trump’s Black History Month speech is about everything but black history
Donald Trump gave a speech today in honor of Black History Month, but spent most of it talking about himself, how he did with black voters in the election, and why CNN is “fake news.” Although Trump referenced several African-American heroes, most mentions were brief. He also seemed to claim during his speech that he got “substantially more [black votes] than other candidates who had run in the past years.” This is false; exit polls showed that Hillary Clinton won around 88 percent of the black vote.
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Trump nominates Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court
In a primetime livestream, Trump announced Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to fill Antonin Scalia’s nearly year-long vacant seat on the Supreme Court. He’s very much in the mold of Scalia, a “textualist” conservative who many believe-based in part on his famous decision to allow Hobby Lobby to deny employees contraception coverage for religious reasons-could put women’s reproductive rights in jeopardy if confirmed. (Read 10 key takeaways about Gorusch here.)
Now, the confirmation process begins in the Senate, where Gorsuch needs 60 votes-eight of which must come from Democrats-to be confirmed.
Trump meets with his potential Supreme Court nominees ahead of announcement
The New York Times reports that Trump is meeting with his top two choices for Supreme Court nominee today ahead of his official announcement, which will take place at 8 p.m. The two judges are Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman.
Trump won’t touch LGBT rights
Despite rumors that the Trump administration had drafted a new executive order that would affect federal benefits, adoption rights, and access to services for LGBT citizens, the White House issued a statement this morning saying the president would let Obama’s protections stand. “President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of L.G.B.T.Q. rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the statement said.
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Trump fires acting Attorney General Sally Yates
Just over two hours after she told the DOJ not to defend Trump’s immigration ban, he fired her. In a press release, he claimed that Yates had “betrayed the Department of Justice” by refusing to enact the order. His administration swore in Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, as her replacement.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tells Department of Justice not to defend the immigration ban
In a tweet, the president referred to the mainstream media as “the opposition party,” an idea introduced by Steve Bannon last week in an interview with the New York Times. Trump’s ongoing feud with the media is unusual; though most presidents conflict with media outlets at some point, Trump’s statements about what the press’ role is, comments about holding reporters “accountable” for treating him “unfairly” (which is to say reporting on his actions), and repeated attacks on the legitimacy of certain legacy news outlets are a notable escalation.
Trump announces that he’ll announce his Supreme Court nominee tomorrow
In a bit of reality-TV flair, President Trump teased that he will announce his Supreme Court pick tomorrow at 8 p.m. (two days earlier than originally planned, which may be an attempt to shift the news narrative away from the immigration ban). Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley also announced today that Democrats will filibuster any pick other than Merrick Garland, who was Obama’s nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago, and who Republicans have actively resisted confirming so Trump could make the pick instead.
Trump institutes new federal regulation swap
Trump signed an executive order this morning that for every new federal regulation, two must be revoked.
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The White House softens the immigration ban-but only for green card holders and permanent residents
Senior White House official Reince Priebus appeared to reverse the administration’s position on green card holders Sunday. In an interview, Priebus said that the immigration and travel ban would not apply to permanent residents “moving forward.” But he also added that people traveling to and from the listed countries-potentially including U.S. citizens-could be subject to extra questioning if Customs officials deem them “suspicious.
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People continue to be detained at airports
Customs and Border Protection is reportedly ignoring the court order and continuing to detain people with valid visas at airports across the country.
A federal judge assists detained refugees and requests further legal review of the ban
A federal judge ruled around 9 p.m. that the government could not return refugees to their country of origin until further legal review of the ban. Several other judges have since ruled along similar lines.
Steve Bannon gets unprecedented power on the National Security Council
The Trump administration downgraded the national director of intelligence and joint chiefs of staff from their permanent positions on the National Security Council and replaced them with White House senior adviser Steve Bannon, the former publisher of alt-right white nationalist news hub Breitbart. Restructuring the National Security Council this way puts the controversial Bannon-whose appointment to Trump’s administration did not require Senate confirmation-in a key decision-making position about war and other critical threats to the country.
Protests erupt amid refugee ban outrage
Thousands of protesters demonstrated across the country in reaction to what Democrats-and Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani-are referring to as the “Muslim ban,” the implementation of which has resulted in the detention of refugees and green card and visa holders at airports across the U.S. Because the executive order was drafted without the input of various government agencies, it took officials by surprise, and they’re struggling to determine who can enter the country and who, now, cannot.
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Trump signs a monumental executive order preventing citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States
President Trump signed a controversial refugee ban that, under the auspices of preventing radical Islamic terrorists from committing crimes against our citizens, bars all Syrian refugees from entering the country indefinitely, halts the remaining refugee program for 120 days, and blocks any entry by citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for 90 days, regardless of visa status. It’s worth noting that the ban excludes countries where Trump has business ties.
The White House shows unprecedented support for the March For Life demonstration
President Trump tweeted out his support for the anti-abortion March For Life, saying their demonstration is “so important.” Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the rally, making him the highest ranked public official to ever speak at the annual March For Life event.
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Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto cancels his meeting with President Trump
President Trump tweeted Thursday that if Mexico is unwilling to pay for his proposed border wall-one of his campaign promises-that they should cancel the planned meeting between the two countries. Following this announcement, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto did cancel the meeting, saying “This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the POTUS.”
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Trump does his first White House interview
The president’s first interview-with ABC’s David Muir-aired tonight. He doubled down on false claims about the size of his inauguration crowd and the amount of voter fraud in the United States. See the interview’s five most talked-about moments here.
Trump orders the construction of the wall
He’s making good on what is perhaps his most notorious campaign promise: to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Today he signed an executive order that directs the government to “take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design, and construct a physical wall along the southern border, using appropriate materials and technology to most effectively achieve complete operational control…”
What remains to be seen-but is hotly contested-is who will pay for it.
Trump orders an immigrations and customs enforcement hiring increase
Trump orders large-scale investigation into voter fraud
Despite all evidence to the contrary, President Trump remains convinced that millions of Americans voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election-and maintains that none of these alleged illegal voters cast ballots for him. After reporters point out that if it were true, it would be a massive blow to democracy (and suggest that he put his money where his mouth is and investigate if he truly believes it), he announced that he will, in fact, order an investigation.
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Trump orders approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline construction project
Trump released a memorandum restarting construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline, which the Obama administration had effectively squashed. The Dakota Access Pipeline has faced significant opposition from environmentalists and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe because the pipeline crosses through the Tribe’s sacred land and could impact the quality of their drinking water.
Trump signals that the Keystone XL pipeline will resume construction again
President Trump released a memorandum allowing TransCanada to re-submit its petition to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which has faced serious opposition from environmental activists.
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Trump signs a federal hiring freeze
Donald Trump signed a presidential memo freezing hiring on all federal government roles, excluding military and national security positions.
Trump reinstates an international abortion gag order
The president has implemented a Reagan-era policy preventing foreign NGOs from receiving U.S. funds if they perform or promote abortions. This policy has flip-flopped with every recent president-Bill Clinton revoked the rule during his time in office, George W. Bush reinstated it, and Barack Obama revoked it again in 2009.
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Kellyanne Conway says the White House’s crowd size claims are “alternative facts”
Kellyanne Conway appeared on NBC’s Meet the Pressand told Chuck Todd that President Trump and White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s false claims about the size of President Trump’s inaugural crowd are “alternative facts.” Shortly afterward, #alternativefacts went viral online.
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Trump speaks about his crowd size and the media at the CIA
President Trump visited the CIA and, in front of the Memorial Wall commemorating fallen agents, gave a seemingly unscripted and wide-ranging speech. He said the media is to blame for making it sound like he “had a feud” with the agencies, although Trump personally criticized the intelligence community several times prior to the meeting.
Press secretary Sean Spicer rails against the media in first briefing
At his first press briefing after the inauguration, in his first official capacity as journalists’ liaison to the White House, press secretary Sean Spicer lambasted the media for what he claims is unfair reporting about the inauguration crowd size. Watch here.
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Trump waives rules that would prevent cabinet members from serving
Donald Trump’s first executive order suspends a planned decrease in mortgage rates for first-time home buyers that was announced in the final weeks of former President Obama’s term. While Republicans say the move is an effort to prevent another taxpayer bailout of Wall Street, Democrats argue that it only raises costs for low-income and middle-class home buyers.
The administration also releases an executive order directing federal agencies to “waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation” of any part of the Affordable Care Act that creates an “economic burden” for states.
Inauguration Day gets a special name
Among his first official actions is to declare January 20, 2017, the “National Day of Patriotic Devotion.” Other presidents have named their inaugural days; historically, the names are chosen to mark an American value. Former President Obama, for example, named his 2009 inauguration the “National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation.”
Trump takes office
Today Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. In his speech, he promises to end “American carnage” and says that his administration will prioritize “America first.”
ESTABLISHING ENHANCED COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF
ANTIDUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTIES AND VIOLATIONS
OF TRADE AND CUSTOMS LAWS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote the efficient and effective administration of United States trade laws, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Importers that unlawfully evade antidumping and countervailing duties expose United States employers to unfair competition and deprive the Federal Government of lawful revenue. As of May 2015, $2.3 billion in antidumping and countervailing duties owed to the Government remained uncollected, often from importers that lack assets located in the United States. It is therefore the policy of the United States to impose appropriate bonding requirements, based on risk assessments, on entries of articles subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, when necessary to protect the revenue of the United States.
Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:
(a) the term “importer” has the meaning given in section 4321 of title 19, United States Code; and
(b) the term “covered importer” means any importer of articles subject to antidumping or countervailing duties for which one of the following is true: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has no record of previous imports by the importer; CBP has a record of the importer’s failure to fully pay antidumping or countervailing duties; or CBP has a record of the importer’s failure to pay antidumping or countervailing duties in a timely manner.
Sec. 3. Implementation Plan Development. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, develop a plan that would require covered importers that, based on a risk assessment conducted by CBP, pose a risk to the revenue of the United States, to provide security for antidumping and countervailing duty liability through bonds and other legal measures, and also would identify other appropriate enforcement measures. This plan shall be consistent with the requirements of section 4321 and section 1623 of title 19, United States Code, and corresponding regulations.
Sec. 4. Trade and Suspected Customs Law Violations Enforcement. (a) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Commissioner of CBP, shall develop and implement a strategy and plan for combating violations of United States trade and customs laws for goods and for enabling interdiction and disposal, including through methods other than seizure, of inadmissible merchandise entering through any mode of transportation, to the extent authorized by law.
(b) To ensure the timely and efficient enforcement of laws protecting Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) holders from the importation of counterfeit goods, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate steps, including rulemaking if necessary, to ensure that CBP can, consistent with law, share with rights holders:
(i) any information necessary to determine whether there has been an IPR infringement or violation; and
(ii) any information regarding merchandise voluntarily abandoned, as defined in section 127.12 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, before seizure, if the Commissioner of CBP reasonably believes that the successful importation of the merchandise would have violated United States trade laws.
Sec. 5. Priority Enforcement. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop recommended prosecution practices and allocate appropriate resources to ensure that Federal prosecutors accord a high priority to prosecuting significant offenses related to violations of trade laws.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
PROVIDING AN ORDER OF SUCCESSION WITHIN
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq., it is hereby ordered that:
Section 1. Order of Succession. Subject to the provisions of section 2 of this order, the following officers, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of Attorney General during any period in which the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, and any officers designated by the Attorney General pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 508 to act as Attorney General, have died, resigned, or otherwise become unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Attorney General, until such time as at least one of the officers mentioned above is able to perform the functions and duties of that office:
(a) United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia;
(b) United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina; and
(c) United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Sec. 2. Exceptions. (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 1 of this order in an acting capacity, by virtue of so serving, shall act as Attorney General pursuant to this order.
(b) No individual listed in section 1 shall act as Attorney General unless that individual is otherwise eligible to so serve under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this order, the President retains discretion, to the extent permitted by law, to depart from this order in designating an acting Attorney General.
Sec. 3. Revocation of Executive Order. Executive Order 13775 of February 9, 2017, is revoked.
Sec. 4. General Provision. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure the informed exercise of the authority over international trade granted to me by law, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Free and fair trade is critical to the Nation’s prosperity, national security, and foreign policy. It is in America’s economic and national security interests to promote commerce by strengthening our relationships with our trading partners, vigorously enforcing our Nation’s trade laws, improving the overall conditions for competition and trade, and ensuring the strength of our manufacturing and defense industrial bases.
For many years, the United States has not obtained the full scope of benefits anticipated under a number of international trade agreements or from participating in the World Trade Organization. The United States annual trade deficit in goods exceeds $700 billion, and the overall trade deficit exceeded $500 billion in 2016.
The United States must address the challenges to economic growth and employment that may arise from large and chronic trade deficits and the unfair and discriminatory trade practices of some of our trading partners. Unfair and discriminatory practices by our trading partners can deny Americans the benefits that would otherwise accrue from free and fair trade, unduly restrict the commerce of the United States, and put the commerce of the United States at a disadvantage compared to that of foreign countries. To address these challenges, it is essential that policy makers and the persons representing the United States in trade negotiations have access to current and comprehensive information regarding unfair trade practices and the causes of United States trade deficits.
Sec. 2. Report. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Defense, Agriculture, and Homeland Security, and the heads of any other executive departments or agencies with relevant expertise, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce and the USTR, shall prepare and submit to the President an Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits (Report). To aid in preparing the Report, the Secretary of Commerce and the USTR may hold public meetings and seek comments from relevant State, local, and non-governmental stakeholders, including manufacturers, workers, consumers, service providers, farmers, and ranchers. The Report shall identify those foreign trading partners with which the United States had a significant trade deficit in goods in 2016. For each identified trading partner, the Report shall
(a) assess the major causes of the trade deficit, including, as applicable, differential tariffs, non-tariff barriers, injurious dumping, injurious government subsidization, intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, denial of worker rights and labor standards, and any other form of discrimination against the commerce of the United States or other factors contributing to the deficit;
(b) assess whether the trading partner is, directly or indirectly, imposing unequal burdens on, or unfairly discriminating in fact against, the commerce of the United States by law, regulation, or practice and thereby placing the commerce of the United States at an unfair disadvantage;
(c) assess the effects of the trade relationship on the production capacity and strength of the manufacturing and defense industrial bases of the United States;
(d) assess the effects of the trade relationship on employment and wage growth in the United States; and
(e) identify imports and trade practices that may be impairing the national security of the United States.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION ON COMBATING DRUG ADDICTION AND THE OPIOID CRISIS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to combat the scourge of drug abuse, addiction, and overdose (drug addiction), including opioid abuse, addiction, and overdose (opioid crisis). This public health crisis was responsible for more than 50,000 deaths in 2015 alone, most of which involved an opioid, and has caused families and communities across America to endure significant pain, suffering, and financial harm.
Sec. 2. Establishment of Commission. There is established the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis (Commission).
Sec. 3. Membership of Commission. (a) The Commission shall be composed of members designated or appointed by the President.
(b) The members of the Commission shall be selected so that membership is fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed by the Commission.
(c) The President shall designate the Chair of the Commission (Chair) from among the Commission’s members.
Sec. 4. Mission of Commission. The mission of the Commission shall be to study the scope and effectiveness of the Federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis described in section 1 of this order and to make recommendations to the President for improving that response. The Commission shall:
(a) identify and describe existing Federal funding used to combat drug addiction and the opioid crisis;
(b) assess the availability and accessibility of drug addiction treatment services and overdose reversal throughout the country and identify areas that are underserved;
(c) identify and report on best practices for addiction prevention, including healthcare provider education and evaluation of prescription practices, and the use and effectiveness of State prescription drug monitoring programs;
(d) review the literature evaluating the effectiveness of educational messages for youth and adults with respect to prescription and illicit opioids;
(e) identify and evaluate existing Federal programs to prevent and treat drug addiction for their scope and effectiveness, and make recommendations for improving these programs; and
(f) make recommendations to the President for improving the Federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis.
Sec. 5. Administration of Commission. (a) The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide administrative support for the Commission.
(b) Members of the Commission shall serve without any additional compensation for their work on the Commission. Members of the Commission appointed from among private citizens of the United States, while engaged in the work of the Commission, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of funds.
(c) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (Act), may apply to the Commission, any functions of the President under that Act, except for those in section 6 and section 14 of that Act, shall be performed by the Director of the ONDCP, in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services.
Sec. 6. Funding of Commission. The ONDCP shall, to the extent permitted by law and consistent with the need for funding determined by the President, make funds appropriated to the ONDCP available to pay the costs of the activities of the Commission.
Sec. 7. Reports of Commission. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Commission shall submit to the President a report on its interim recommendations regarding how the Federal Government can address drug addiction and the opioid crisis described in section 1 of this order, and shall submit a report containing its final findings and recommendations by October 1, 2017, unless the Chair provides written notice to the President that an extension is necessary.
Sec. 8. Termination of Commission. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report, unless extended by the President prior to that date.
Sec. 9. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Alex Infohub 