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Sat, Jan. 21, 2017: Trump visits CIA with nominee Mike Pompeo (Video)

President Trump visited the CIA on Saturday in a conciliatory bid to end a feud with the intelligence community — a dispute he suggested was overblown by the media — while making clear one of his top priorities will be to destroy Islamic State terror groups.

“We have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. Radical Islamic terrorism, it has to be eradicated,” said Trump, on his first full day in the White House and his first official agency stop of his presidency.

Trump’s decision to travel to CIA headquarters so quickly after taking office was seen as an attempt at a fresh start with the intelligence agencies he will now rely on for guidance as he makes weighty national security decisions. Following his private meeting with top CIA leaders, Trump said the U.S. had been “restrained” in its efforts to combat terrorism, calling the threat “a level of evil we haven’t seen.” Continue reading “Sat, Jan. 21, 2017: Trump visits CIA with nominee Mike Pompeo (Video)”

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Sat, Jan. 21, 2017: Trump attends National Prayer Service

The day after his swearing-in, President Donald Trump participated in an age-old inaugural tradition.

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence attended an interfaith prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral — a tradition that dates back to George Washington.

Over two dozen religious leaders from different faiths were in attendance, according to a statement released from the presidential inaugural committee.

“The interfaith ceremony will be in keeping with the uniting and uplifting inaugural events,” the statement read.

The group of 26 leaders included Dr. Alveda King, a niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, and Cleveland Pastor Darrell Scott, who led the National Diversity Coalition for Trump’s campaign and was later named a vice chair of Trump’s transition team.

SOURCE: ABC News

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Trump enters Oval Office for first time as President; Signs bill directing agencies to ease Obamacare regulations

In his first executive order, President Trump on Friday directed government agencies to scale back as many aspects of the Affordable Care Act as possible, moving within hours of being sworn in to fulfill his pledge to eviscerate Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

The one-page order, which Mr. Trump signed in a hastily arranged Oval Office ceremony shortly before departing for the inaugural balls, gave no specifics about which aspects of the law it was targeting. But its broad language gave federal agencies wide latitude to change, delay or waive provisions of the law that they deemed overly costly for insurers, drug makers, doctors, patients or states, suggesting that it could have wide-ranging impact, and essentially allowing the dismantling of the law to begin even before Congress moves to repeal it. Continue reading “Trump enters Oval Office for first time as President; Signs bill directing agencies to ease Obamacare regulations”

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First acts as President: Trump signs bill allowing Mattis confirmation, proclaims National Day of Patriotism

President Donald Trump signed his first bill into law Friday, moments after being sworn in, clearing the way for his defense secretary to be confirmed.

The 45th President signed a bill passed by Congress earlier this month that would allow retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary by waiving the legal requirement that he be out of the military for seven years before doing so, according to White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Cameras rolled as Trump signed his first orders as President in the Capitol, surrounded by congressional leaders. Continue reading “First acts as President: Trump signs bill allowing Mattis confirmation, proclaims National Day of Patriotism”