Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.
Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on people from seven mainly Muslim countries has been rolled back after a judge suspended it.
The state department said it was reversing the cancelation of visas, 60,000 of which were revoked after the executive order.
Judge James Robart ruled there were legal grounds to challenge the ban.
President Trump reacted furiously, calling Judge Robart’s ruling “ridiculous” and vowing to restore his ban.
People affected by the ban treated news of the suspension warily as airlines began allowing them to board flights to America on February 4.
Judge James Robart’s temporary restraining order on February 3 halted the ban with immediate effect.
Image source Getty Images
Since then, the state department has said it is reversing visa cancellations and US homeland security employees have been told by their department to comply with the ruling.
Customs officials told airlines that they could resume boarding banned travelers. Qatar Airways, Air France, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and others said they would do so.
The Trump administration argues that the travel ban is designed to protect the United States.
It has promised to seek “at the earliest possible time” an emergency stay that would restore the restrictions.
Meanwhile, the US president has raged against Judge James Robard on Twitter.
He tweeted: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!
“When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot, come in & out, especially for reasons of safety & security – big trouble!”
The executive order which has now been suspended banned Syrian refugees indefinitely.
Anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan or Yemen faced a 90-day visa suspension.
Huge protests greeted the ban in the US, where demonstrators swamped airports to convey their message that America still welcomed refugees.
Seattle Judge James Robart has issued a temporary nationwide block on President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven mainly Muslim nations.
The federal judge ruled against government lawyers’ claims that US states did not have the standing to challenge Donald Trump’s executive order.
Last week’s order has led to protests and confusion at US airports.
Customs officials have told US airlines that they can resume boarding banned travelers while a legal case is heard.
Gulf carrier Qatar Airways told Reuters it would start accepting all passengers with valid travel documents.
Trump administration, however, could again block them if it were to win an emergency stay. The justice department says it will appeal against the Seattle ruling.
In a statement, the White House described Donald Trump’s directive as “lawful and appropriate”.
“The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,” the statement said.
President Trump’s order suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days.
There is also an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan or Yemen faces a 90-day visa suspension.
The lawsuit against Donald Trump’s ban was initially filed by Washington State, with Minnesota joining later.
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson described the ban as unconstitutional.
Donald Trump has argued that his directive is aimed at protecting America. Critics respond by saying that most terror attacks in the US in recent years have been carried out by home-grown militants.
He said visas would once again be issued once “the most secure policies” were in place, and denied it was a ban on Muslims.
Courts in at least four other states – Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan – are hearing cases challenging President Trump’s executive order.
On February 3, a judge in Boston declined to extend a temporary ban that prohibited the detention or removal of foreigners legally authorized to come to America.
The ban – which only applied to Massachusetts – is due to expire on February 5.
Former Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has confirmed former first lady Marisa Leticia da Silva, who had been earlier pronounced brain-dead, died at the age of 66.
The funeral service will be held in Sao Paulo on February 4 and her body will then be cremated.
Marisa Leticia da Silva was taken to hospital last week with a brain hemorrhage. Doctors later said her condition was “irreversible”. Her organs will be donated.
Image source Wikimedia
Ex-President Lula’s spokesperson said in a statement: “Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his family are sad to confirm the death of Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva.
“The former Brazilian president’s wife of 43 years passed away peacefully this evening in Sao Paulo surrounded by her family.
“The whole family is absolutely devastated by Marisa’s untimely death and this is a sad day for many people across Brazil.”
Regional leaders have sent their condolences to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and there was a minute’s silence in Brazil’s Congress.
Marisa Leticia da Silva had helped her husband found the Worker’s Party, and the former president said in a Facebook message that she had made its first flag.
Once adored by many in Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ended his second term in 2011 with an 83% approval rating.
He had boosted Brazil’s global profile and overseen rapid economic growth during a commodities boom.
However, last year Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife became ensnared in a far-reaching corruption investigation involving the state oil company, Petrobras.
They said the accusations against them were politically motivated and designed to prevent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva standing for president again in 2018 elections.
President Donald Trump says he will review an Obama-era agreement to take up to 1250 refugees from Australian detention camps on Nauru and Manus after a phone conversation with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull.
The president called the conversation “the worst by far” of his calls with world leaders that day, and cut it short, The Washington Post reported.
Donald Trump later tweeted that he would “study this dumb deal”.
Australia has controversially refused to accept the asylum seekers and instead holds them in offshore detention centers on the Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
PM Malcolm Turnbull had been seeking clarification on the future of the deal after President Trump on January 27 signed an executive order temporarily barring the entry into the US of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The phone call between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull took place on January 28, and was one of four the president had with world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Image source Wikimedia
The Washington Post quotes senior US officials, briefed on the call, as saying that the conversation should have lasted an hour but was abruptly ended after 25 minutes by President Trump.
Malcolm Turnbull was seeking assurances from Donald Trump that the deal would be honored.
Donald Trump reportedly said accepting the refugees would be like the US accepting “the next Boston bombers”, who were from the Caucasus region of Russia.
The official version of the call from the US was brief, but said both leaders had “emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the US-Australia relationship”.
On January 30, Malcolm Turnbull confirmed he had spoken to Donald Trump and thanked him for agreeing to uphold the deal.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer has since also said President Trump intends to uphold the deal.
However, Donald Trump’s tweet on February 1 – coming after the Washington Post report – has thrown fresh doubt on the arrangement.
Malcolm Turnbull later said he was disappointed that details of the call – which he described as “very frank and forthright” – had been made public.
The prime minister told a Sydney radio station that “the report that the president hung up is not correct”.
Australia announced in November 2016 that the United States had agreed to a one-off deal to resettle refugees currently being held on Nauru and Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, would oversee the deal and the “most vulnerable” would be prioritized, Malcolm Turnbull said.
No numbers were given and Australian Immigration Department Secretary Mike Pezzullo later told a Senate inquiry that, while those who were eligible could express an interest, it was up to the US to decide how many people it wanted to take.
A total of 1,254 people were being held in the two camps, 871 on Manus Island and 383 in Nauru, as of 30 November 2016, according to Australian government statistics.
Donald Trump’s tweet incorrectly labeled refugees as illegal, and recast the number who might be resettled as “thousands”.
Australia refuses to accept refugees who arrive by boat, under a tough deterrent policy. It has already struck resettlement deals with Cambodia and PNG, but only a handful of refugees have been resettled. Critics say the two nations are completely ill-equipped to resettle refugees.
So the US deal was a boon to the Australian government from a close political and military ally.
Australia has faced fierce international criticism for its offshore detention policy and which wants to close the Manus Island camp. Conditions in the offshore camps have been roundly condemned by rights groups, who say the policy is punitive and inflicts harm on refugees.
According to official figures, about 80% of those held on Manus Island and Nauru have been found to be genuine refugees (those found not to be are not eligible for the US deal).
All of the occupants of Manus Island are male. By far the largest number are from Iran, followed by Afghanistan and Iraq. There are also sizeable contingents from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar.
The Nauru camp holds men, women and children. Again the largest number come from Iran, followed by Sri Lanka and those who are stateless.
Some of those being held have spent several years in the camps awaiting a decision on their fate.
Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has been confirmed by the Senate to become President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
Rex Tillerson, 64, was cleared for full Senate approval in a 56-43 vote.
The vote came after Senate Republicans changed the rules in order to approve President Trump’s nominees for health and treasury, despite a Democratic boycott.
Rex Tillerson, who has never held political office, faced intense scrutiny over his ties to Russia.
The former oil chief forged multibillion-dollar deals with Russia’s state oil company, Rosneft, and was awarded the Order of Friendship by the Kremlin in 2013.
Image source Flickr
In his Senate confirmation hearing, the Texan native admitted that the West had reason to be alarmed by Russian aggression, but he refused under questioning to label Vladimir Putin a war criminal.
As America’s top diplomat, Rex Tillerson will handle relations with countries including China and Russia and negotiate matters such as climate change and human rights, on behalf of President Trump.
The Senate voted largely along party lines, despite speculation that some Republicans would not approve his nomination.
Though some critics suggested Rex Tillerson would not be able to give up his corporate interests, supporters contended his background as a global dealmaker would bring fresh perspective to the role.
Rex Tillerson’s confirmation was more contentious than those of his predecessors.
The Senate confirmed President Barack Obama’s selections John Kerry 94-3 and Hillary Clinton 94-2.
President George W. Bush’s secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, was confirmed 85-13 while Colin Powell was approved by a voice vote.
France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen missed a European Parliament deadline to return more than 300,000 euros ($321,000) it says she has misspent.
Marine Le Pen had until midnight to repay the money, but said she had no intention of doing so.
According to the European Parliament, the French presidential candidate wrongly used the funds to pay an aide at the National Front’s headquarters in Paris.
Marine Le Pen says she is the victim of a politically motivated vendetta.
If she does not repay the money, the parliament could now respond by withholding as much as half of her salary and allowances, which her opponents say total almost €11,000 a month.
Marine Le Pen is one of the front-runners in the French presidential election to be held in April and May. If she wins, she has promised a Brexit-style referendum on France’s membership of the EU.
Polls suggest that Marine Le Pen will make it to the run-off where she is likely to face conservative candidate Francois Fillon or centrist Emmanuel Macron.
“I will not submit to the persecution, a unilateral decision taken by political opponents… without proof and without waiting for a judgement from the court action I have started,” she told Reuters on January 31.
The money the European Parliament wants returned was used to pay the salary of Catherine Griset, a close friend of Marine Le Pen as well as her cabinet director.
The funds were conditional on Catherine Griset spending most of her working time in Brussels or Strasbourg.
However, the parliament says most of Catherine Griset’s time was instead spent working in the National Front’s headquarters in Paris. The party will face a second demand for 41,554 euros in wages paid to her bodyguard.
Marine Le Pen also tried to distance herself from financial allegations overshadowing Republican candidate Francois Fillon, who has vigorously denied that his wife was paid 834,000 euros for fake jobs.
Asked if she would pay back the money, the far-right leader told AFP: “To pay the money back, I’d have had to have received the funds, but my name isn’t Francois Fillon.”
Quite apart from her refusal to pay back the funds, Marine Le Pen might struggle to find the money. Her party has been unable to raise funds from French banks and has had to seek financing abroad.
In 2014, the FN received a €9 million loan from Russian lender First Czech-Russian Bank, which collapsed in 2016.
Colorado federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch is President Donald Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court.
If confirmed by the Senate, Neil Gorsuch, 49, would restore the court’s conservative majority, lost with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
The Senate Democratic leader has said he has “very serious doubts” about Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination.
The court has the final legal word on many of the most sensitive issues, from abortion to gender to gun control.
President Trump said Judge Gorsuch had a “superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to text”.
“Judge Gorsuch has outstanding legal skills, a brilliant mind, tremendous discipline, and has earned bipartisan support,” he said.
Neil Gorsuch was picked from a shortlist of 21 choices, which Donald Trump made public during the election campaign.
Image source Getty Images
Accepting the nomination, Neil Gorsuch said: “It is the role of judges to apply, not alter, the work of the people’s representatives. A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands.”
Judge Gorsuch is a so-called originalist, meaning he believes the US Constitution should be followed as the Founding Fathers intended.
If successful, Neil Gorsuch’s nomination will restore the 5-4 conservative majority on the nine-seat high court.
Protests against Donald Trump’s choice were held outside the Supreme Court following the announcement.
Neil Gorsuch’s nomination is expected to spark a political showdown in the Senate.
Former President Barack Obama had put forward Judge Merrick Garland after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February 2016.
However, Republicans refused to debate the choice, saying it was too close to an election, which left Democrats embittered.
Even if Judge Neil Gorsuch makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, he will still face challenges when the entire chamber convenes for a final vote.
Democrats may seek to prevent that second vote by prolonging or filibustering the debate. In that case, the nomination would need 60 votes rather than a simple majority.
With Republicans only holding 52 Senate seats, they may have to change Senate rules in order to approve Donald Trump’s nominee.
The Supreme Court is often the ultimate arbiter on highly contentious laws, disputes between states and the federal government, and final appeals to stay executions.
The highest court hears fewer than 100 cases a year and the key announcements are made in June.
Each of the nine justices serves a lifetime appointment after being nominated by the president and approved by the Senate.
The Supreme Court already has cases this term on the rights of transgender students, gerrymandered voting districts and on the Texas death penalty determination.
It is also likely the court will hear cases on voter rights, abortion, racial bias in policing and US immigration policy, and possibly on Donald Trump’s controversial executive order banning refugees.
Democrats have boycotted a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee in which Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), President Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary, would have likely been approved for consideration by the full Senate.
They said they wanted more information about the financial activities of health nominee Tom Price and treasury pick Steven Mnuchin.
A vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions was also postponed.
On January 30, the acting attorney general was sacked for questioning the legality of Donald Trump’s immigration order.
It imposes a temporary travel ban on seven mainly-Muslim countries.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates had been appointed by President Barack Obama.
Finance Committee Democrats told reporters outside the hearing that they were seeking more information about Tom Price’s trading in health company stock.
The Georgia Congressman has been nominated for the post of health and human services secretary in the new administration.
The senators said they were also concerned by reports of financier Steven Mnuchin’s behavior involving foreclosures at his former bank OneWest.
However, Senator Orrin Hatch, the Republican committee chair, described the Democrats’ behavior as “posturing and acting like idiots”, AP reported.
A battle also raged in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Jeff Sessions came under heavy criticism.
An early Donald Trump backer, Senator Jeff Sessions has faced racism allegations which overshadowed his confirmation hearings.
Committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley began January 31 meeting by saying that neither Jeff Sessions nor any of his current staff, “had a role in formulating or drafting the executive orders” – including the controversial travel ban.
Several Democratic Senators spoke in the committee meeting to say that they intended to vote against the 69-year-old Alabama senator.
Senator Diane Feinstein criticized his role in Donald Trump’s election campaign and his closeness to the new president during it.
“It is very difficult to reconcile for me the independence and objectivity necessary for the position of attorney general with the partisanship this nominee has demonstrated,” she said.
The Democrats’ lengthy speeches extended the hearing into the afternoon, eventually forcing Sen. Chuck Grassley to postpone the vote until February 1.
If Jeff Sessions’ nomination is approved by the judiciary committee, the full Senate – where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority – is expected to vote on it by the end of the week.
The Alabama senator faced two days of tough questioning during his confirmation hearings this month.
One of the most conservative members of the Senate, Jeff Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 after the judiciary committee heard testimony about his remarks on race.
President Donald Trump has fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she questioned the legality of his immigration ban.
Sally Yates, who had been appointed under President Barack Obama, earlier ordered justice department lawyers not to enforce the president’s executive order.
Dana J. Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, replaced Sally Yates as acting attorney general.
He has directed the department to enforce Donald Trump’s order.
In a statement, the White House said Sally Yates had “betrayed” the department.
Donald Trump’s order temporarily banned nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US, and sparked street protests in the country and abroad.
In a letter, Sally Yates had said she was “not convinced” that the president’s order was lawful.
She said: “As long as I am the acting attorney general, the department of justice will not present arguments in defense of the Executive Order.”
Within hours, the White House announced: “President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties.”
Image source Wikipedia
Sally Yates had “betrayed the department of justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States”, a statement from the press secretary said.
The statement also described her as “weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration”.
Sally Yates’ replacement, Dana Boente, was also appointed by Barack Obama, in 2015. He was confirmed by the US Senate – making him eligible for appointment while President Trump waits for his own nominee to be approved.
Senator Jeff Sessions is awaiting a confirmation hearing for the role later this week.
Meanwhile, hundreds of diplomats and foreign servants have been drafting a “dissent cable” to formally criticize Trump’s executive order.
A draft version of the cable said that immigration restrictions will not make the US safer, are un-American and will send the wrong message to the Muslim world.
The ban bars citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The White House has consistently defended Donald Trump’s executive order despite the controversy, with press secretary Sean Spicer saying diplomats should “get with the program”.
In addition, former President Barack Obama has apparently broken with the convention of former presidents avoiding comment on their successors.
Commenting on the protests about the immigration order, Barack Obama said he was “heartened”.
In a statement, which did not mention Donald Trump by name, Barack Obama said: “Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organise and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.”
Donald Trump also replaced the acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Daniel Ragsdale, who has been in the post since January 20. He is the former deputy director.
The president appointed Thomas Homan, the executive associate director of enforcement and removal, as the new acting director.
A statement from the Department of Homeland Security announcing the change did not explain the reason for it.
Benoit Hamon has become the French Socialist Party’s candidate in this year’s presidential elections, after winning a run-off vote on January 29.
The ex-education minister comfortably beat former PM Manuel Valls, who conceded before the final tally was completed.
However, the Socialists are not expected to do well in the election as the outgoing president, Francois Hollande, has a very low approval rating.
Conservative Francois Fillon, right-wing Marine Le Pen, and centrist Emmanuel Macron lead the polls for April elections.
With 60% votes counted in the Socialist run-off, Benoit Hamon had just over 58% to Manuel Valls’ 41%.
After his win was announced, Benoit Hamon said: “Despite the differences, the forces of the left have never been so close in terms of ideas. Let’s come together.”
Image source Wikipedia
Benoit Hamon, 49, called on the Socialist Party, independent left-winger Jean-Luc Melenchon, and a Green candidate to unite and “construct a government majority”.
He was the most left-leaning of the seven initial candidates in the Socialist race, the first round of which was held last week.
Benoit Hamon has experienced a surge in popularity from a range of progressive plans, including a proposal for a universal monthly income for all citizens.
He also wants to legalize cannabis, and ditch the labor law passed last year that made it easier to hire and fire.
Anyone was allowed to vote in the primary, even those who were not party members.
According to organizers, the turnout was much higher than the previous week, when 1.6 million people cast ballots.
However, there have been reports of mismanagement, with one reporter from news site Buzzfeed saying she had been allowed to vote four times in the second round. She said she voided her ballot so as not to affect the outcome.
Journalists from Le Monde newspaper also claimed they were permitted to vote more than once in the first round.
Manuel Valls had built his campaign on his experience gained as prime minister between 2014 and 2016.
The presidential race has taken a turn in recent days, with the favorite for the post, Francois Fillon, becoming embroiled in a controversy over payments to his wife for political work – which a French publication claimed there was no evidence she carried out.
Francois Fillon denies the allegations, and said he would drop out of the race if there was enough evidence to launch an investigation.
On January 29, Francois Fillon and his wife were side by side at a Paris rally that sought to reinvigorate his candidacy.
In his speech, Francois Fillon said: “Leave my wife out of the political debate!”
Francois Fillon’s scandal could potentially be a boost for Marine Le Pen, the anti-immigration hardliner who has pledged to put “native” French people first.
President Donald Trump is standing firm over his ban on immigration from seven countries despite court rulings and mass protests against it.
In a statement, the president said visas would once again be issued once “the most secure policies” were in place, and denied it was a Muslim ban.
The move has been widely condemned.
Meanwhile, 16 state attorneys general have said the order is unconstitutional. Several federal judges have temporarily halted the deportation of visa holders.
Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on January 27, halted the entire US refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely banned Syrian refugees, and suspended all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Those who were already mid-flight were detained on arrival – even if they held valid US visas or other immigration permits. It is not known how many others were turned away at airports overseas as they tried to board flights to the US.
Thousands gathered at airports around the country to protest on January 28, including lawyers who offered their services for free to those affected.
Image source Flickr
Further demonstrations were held on January 29, including protests outside the White House and Trump Tower in New York.
As well as the ban on all refugees, travelers who have nationality or dual nationality of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are not permitted to enter the United States for 90 days, or be issued an immigrant or non-immigrant visa.
This includes those who share dual nationality with allied countries, although Canada has been told its dual nationals are not affected.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said US green-card holders – legal residents – would also not be affected, but some have been detained since the order came into effect.
President Trump tweeted early on January 29 that the US needed “extreme vetting, NOW” but later, in a statement, tried to offer more reassuring words, saying: “This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.
“We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.”
Reince Priebus rejected criticism that the implementation of the order had been chaotic, and said only 109 people, out of 325,000 travelling, had been detained and “most of those people were moved out”.
He told reporters on January 29: “We’ve got a couple of dozen more that remain and I would suspect that as long as they’re not awful people that they will move through before another half a day today.”
However, they have failed to allay concern among some in their Republican party. Senator John McCain said the order would “probably, in some areas, give ISIS some more propaganda”, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was important to remember that “some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims”.
Democratic Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer said the US now appeared “less humanitarian, less safe, less American” and said the Democrats would introduce legislation to overturn it.
In a joint statement, 16 attorneys general, from states including California, New York and Pennsylvania, said they would “use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order” and, until it was struck down, would “work to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created”.
Yesterday, federal Judge Ann Donnelly, in New York, ruled against the removal from the US of people with approved refugee applications, valid visas, and “other individuals… legally authorized to enter the United States”.
President Donald Trump has decided to reshuffle the National Security Council (NSC), downgrading the military chiefs of staff and giving a regular seat to his chief strategist Stephen Bannon.
Steve Bannon, formerly the head of the populist right-wing Breitbart News website, will join high-level discussions about national security.
The order was signed on January 28.
The director of national intelligence and the joint chiefs will attend when discussions pertain to their areas.
Under previous administrations, the director and joint chiefs attended all meetings of the NSC’s inner circle, the principals’ committee.
Image source Wikimedia
The NSC is the main group advising the president on national security and foreign affairs.
The group is led by retired lieutenant-general Mike Flynn, who was one of Donald Trump’s closest advisers and most ardent supporters during the campaign.
Donald Trump’s executive order said: “The security threats facing the United States in the 21st century transcend international boundaries.
“Accordingly, the United States Government’s decision-making structures and processes to address these challenges must remain equally adaptive and transformative.”
Last week, Steve Bannon described the US mainstream media as “the opposition party”, saying it should “keep its mouth shut”.
Breitbart News, the site Steve Bannon once managed, serves up an anti-establishment agenda that critics accuse of xenophobia and misogyny. Under Steve Bannon, Breitbart News became one of the most-read conservative news and opinion sites in the US.
PresidentTrump also ordered a restructuring of the Homeland Security Council.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has taken a stand on social media against the temporary US ban on refugees and immigration from designated countries.
In a series of tweets, Justin Trudeau underscored his government’s commitment to bringing in “those fleeing persecution, terror & war”.
Within hours, his tweets had been shared more than 150,000 times.
“Welcome to Canada” also became a trending term in the country.
The prime minister, who gained global attention for granting entry of nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees to Canada over the past 13 months, also sent a pointed tweet that showed him greeting a young refugee at a Canadian airport in 2015.
On January 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending entry to the United States from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen for 90 days.
Photo The Canadian Press
The US’s entire refugee admissions program has also been suspended for 120 days.
Those fleeing Syria as refugees are banned until further notice.
The executive orders created confusion in airports around the world as immigration and customs officials struggled to interpret the new rules.
The Canadian government is also in contact with the US administration “to get more clarity” on how the executive orders will affect Canadians citizens travelling to the US, said federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
According to State Department, all travelers – including those with dual nationality – from one of the seven designated countries will be barred from entering the US.
That includes people with valid immigrant or non-immigrant visas.
Justin Trudeau has refrained from criticizing Donald Trump, despite the fact the two leaders have very divergent political views.
In recent media appearances, Justin Trudeau has focused on the long friendship between Canada and the US and the deep economic ties between the two nations. The US is Canada’s primary trading partner.
Canada plans to allow 300,000 immigrants into the country in 2017, mostly through economic immigration, though that figure includes 40,000 refugees.
President Donald Trump held a series of phone calls with world leaders, including one with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the Kremlin, both sides had agreed to make fighting “international terrorism” – including ISIS and “other terrorist groups” in Syria – a top priority.
And the White House said the call was a “significant start” to improving a relationship “in need of repair”.
President Trump also spoke with leaders from Japan, Germany, France and Australia.
In a statement in English, the Kremlin provided more details of the first official call between the two leaders since Donald Trump took office.
The Kremlin said it was a “positive and constructive” conversation, during which they discussed the fight against terrorism, the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict, strategic stability, non-proliferation and Iran’s nuclear program, North and South Korea, the situation in Ukraine.
The Russian account of the call was also notable for its lack of any mention of economic sanctions against Russia by the US, which have been the subject of much speculation in recent days.
However, the statement did say both parties “stressed the importance of rebuilding mutually beneficial trade”, which, the Kremlin said, could aid the development of relations in other areas.
Russia considers all anti-Assad rebels in Syria as terrorist fighters, though the previous US administration has supported some moderate rebel groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
The White House did not offer additional clarity on the items discussed, but rather issued a short statement saying: “Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful that after today’s call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and other important issues of mutual concern.”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin also agreed to arrange a face-to-face meeting for a later date – and stay in “regular personal contact”.
In his other phone calls on January 28, President Trump invited Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to the White House in a meeting scheduled for February 10, press secretary Sean Spicer said.
A suggestion that United States may impose a 20% tax on Mexican imports to pay for President Donald Trump’s planned border wall has been widely condemned in Mexico.
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said such a tax would make imports more expensive for American consumers and they would end up paying for the wall.
Earlier, President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit to the United States over the row of who would pay for the wall.
The planned wall was one of Donald Trump’s key election campaign pledges.
At the beginning of this week, President Trump signed an executive order to create a wall along the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border.
Speaking on January 26, Luis Videgaray said: “A tax on Mexican imports to the United States is not a way to make Mexico pay for the wall, but to a way make the North American consumer pay for it through more expensive avocados, washing machines, televisions.”
The foreign minister also stressed that paying for Donald Trump’s wall “is not negotiable” for Mexico.
On January 26, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said a 20% tax could generate approximately $10 billion in tax revenue per year.
Image source Flickr
However, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus later said that the border tax is only one of several options being considered.
The rift between the neighbors and trade partners has deepened just days into Donald Trump’s presidency.
After President Enrique Pena Nieto pulled out of next week’s summit, President Trump said the meeting would have been “fruitless” if Mexico didn’t treat the US “with respect” and pay for the wall.
Earlier President Pena Nieto said he “lamented” the plans for the barrier.
In a TV address, the Mexican leader told the nation: “I’ve said time and again: Mexico won’t pay for any wall.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned that US consumers may wind up bearing the cost of the proposed tax.
“Any tariff we can levy they can levy. Huge barrier to econ growth,” he wrote online.
“Build that wall” was one of Donald Trump’s campaign rally slogans.
His executive orders also called for hiring 10,000 immigration officials to help boost border patrol efforts.
Donald Trump said: “A nation without borders is not a nation.
“Beginning today the United States gets back control of its borders.”
President Donald Trump is seeking a tax on goods imported from Mexico and use the revenue to build a border wall, White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said.
Donald Trump’s plan was announced just after Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit to Washington, amid a row sparked by the question of who will pay for the wall.
On January 25, the president signed an executive order to create a wall on the US southern border with Mexico.
Making Mexico pay for it was one of Donald Trump’s key election campaign pledges.
However, President Enrique Pena Nieto has always insisted that will not happen and on January 26 he pulled out of next week’s White House meeting.
Hours later, Sean Spicer told reporters that President Trump had discussed the funding proposal with lawmakers, and that they are considering making it part of a tax reform package the US Congress is planning.
Image source Flickr
Sean Spicer said that a 20% tax could generate approximately $10 billion in tax revenue per year.
He said aboard Air Force One: “Right now our country’s policy is to tax exports and let imports flow freely in, which is ridiculous.”
He added that the tax will “easily pay for the wall”.
The plan is still being finalized, Sean Spicer explained, saying that the tax could ultimately be as low as 5%.
The rift between the neighbors and trade partners has deepened just days into Donald Trump’s presidency.
After President Pena Nieto pulled out of the summit, Donald Trump said the meeting would have been “fruitless” if Mexico didn’t treat the US “with respect” and pay for the wall.
Earlier the Mexican leader said he “lamented” the plans for the barrier.
In a TV address, Enrique Pena Nieto told the nation: “I’ve said time and again: Mexico won’t pay for any wall.”
In a recent interview, President Donald Trump has said he believes waterboarding works, saying “we have to fight fire with fire”.
He told ABC News he would consult Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA director Mike Pompeo about what could be done legally to combat radicalism.
President Trump said while radical groups beheaded people in the Middle East “we’re not playing on an even field”.
However, ex-CIA director Leon Panetta said it would be a “serious mistake to take a backward step” on torture.
Donald Trump said he wanted to “keep our country safe”.
Image source Flickr
He said: “When they’re shooting, when they’re chopping off the heads of our people and other people, when they’re chopping off the heads of people because they happen to be a Christian in the Middle East, when ISIS is doing things that nobody has ever heard of since Medieval times, would I feel strongly about waterboarding?
“I have spoken with people at the highest level of intelligence and I asked them the question <<Does it work? Does torture work?>> and the answer was <<Yes, absolutely>>.”
Donald Trump continued: “They chop them off and they put them on camera and send them all over the world. So we have that and we’re not allowed to do anything?
“I will rely on Pompeo and Mattis and my group and if they don’t want to do it that’s fine. If they do want to do then I will work toward that end.
“I want to do everything within the bounds of what you’re allowed to do legally but do I feel it works? Absolutely I feel it works.”
Donald Trump indicated in a TV debate during the Republican presidential race that he might order troops to carry out waterboarding “and tougher” on terrorism suspects.
However, he later softened his stance, saying he would not order the military to break international law.
Waterboarding is the practice of pouring water over someone’s face to mimic drowning as an interrogation tactic.
It is widely considered as a form of torture and has been banned by the United States.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said that his country will not pay for Donald Trump’s border wall.
In a message to the nation, Enrique Pena Nieto said he “lamented” the plans for the barrier, adding that “Mexico doesn’t believe in walls”.
However, he made no mention of cancelling or postponing a trip to Washington on January 31 to meet President Donald Trump.
President Trump has signed an executive order for an “impassable physical barrier” and has insisted Mexico will reimburse the US for it.
Enrique Pena Nieto told the nation in a televised address: “I’ve said time and again; Mexico won’t pay for any wall.
“I regret and condemn the decision of the United States to continue construction of a wall that, for years, has divided us instead of uniting us.”
However, President Pena Nieto said his country offered “its friendship to the American people and its willingness to reach accords with their government”.
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray – in Washington to lead a delegation that has held talks at the White House – told the Televisa network the president was still weighing January 31 visit but said “the meeting stands for now”.
Enrique Pena Nieto met Donald Trump – then a presidential candidate – in Mexico City in September and came under intense criticism at home and his current approval ratings are low.
Donald Trump said in an interview with ABC News that Mexico would “absolutely, 100%” reimburse the US for his wall.
However, Congress would have to approve funding for the structure, which is estimated to cost billions of dollars.
Building a 2,000 mile barrier along the Mexican border was one of Donald Trump’s key pledges in the election campaign.
The president spoke of a “crisis” on the southern US border as he signed the directives during a ceremony at the Department of Homeland Security on January 25.
The orders also called for hiring 10,000 immigration officials to help boost border patrol efforts.
“A nation without borders is not a nation,” Donald Trump said.
“Beginning today the United States gets back control of its borders.”
The executive orders are among a flurry expected on national and border security this week.
Donald Trump is next expected to announce immigration restrictions from seven countries with Muslim-majority populations in the Middle East and Africa. This could affect refugee programs.
These countries are believed to be Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.
President Donald Trump has announced a “big day” on national security, including an announcement to build a wall on the border between the US and Mexico.
He is expected to sign several executive orders regarding immigration and border security over the next few days.
The executive orders are likely to include the “extreme vetting” of people coming from seven predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa.
This would restrict refugee access.
Donald Trump tweeted on January 24: “Big day planned on national security tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!”
Image source Flickr
Building a 2,000-mile wall along the Mexican border was one of Donald Trump’s key proposals during the presidential election campaign.
There will also be measures that force so-called sanctuary cities in the US to co-operate with the authorities on deporting illegal immigrants.
“Sanctuary cities” are places that don’t arrest or detain immigrants living in the country illegally.
Later this week, Donald Trump is expected to announce immigration restrictions from seven African and Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
President Trump is also likely to halt access to the country for some refugees – until the vetting process can be made more rigorous.
He also took to Twitter to express his concern about the level of violence in Chicago.
Donald Trump threatened to “send in the Feds” – federal authorities – if the city did not “fix the horrible carnage” taking place.
Local media has said that more than 40 people have been murdered and 228 shot so far in 2017.
The White House has defended Donald Trump’s voter fraud claim, saying that the president believes that millions of people voted illegally in the US election based on “studies and evidence”.
Press secretary Sean Spicer said President Trump “does believe that”, but offered no evidence to support the claim when pressed by reporters.
Donald Trump has repeated his claim to explain why he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
However, any notion of widespread voter fraud has been widely rejected.
Sean Spicer told reporters on January 24: “He continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence that people have presented to him.”
The press secretary’s comments came after President Trump told congressional leaders behind closed doors on January 23 that three to five million undocumented immigrants had illegally voted in the election.
Donald Trump, who first made the claim in a late November tweet, has never provided any evidence.
Fact-checkers have rejected it as untrue and Republican election officials in key states have said they found no proof of fraudulent voting.
Image source CNBC
On January 24, the National Association of Secretaries of State said it had confidence in the “systemic integrity of our election process” and was not aware of any evidence related to Donald Trump’s claims.
Hillary Clinton received nearly three million votes more than Donald Trump, who won the presidency by prevailing in so-called swing states.
Republicans admonished Donald Trump and urged him to drop the matter a day after the closed doors meeting with congressional leaders.
Senator Lindsey Graham called the comments “inappropriate”, adding that Donald Trump should “knock this off”.
He continued that President Trump “seems to be obsessed with the idea that he could not have possibly lost the popular vote without cheating and fraud”.
House Speaker Paul Ryan also said there was no evidence to support Donald Trump’s claims.
Republican Pennsylvania Representative Charlie Dent also weighed in, saying Donald Trump needed to move on and “get to the serious business of governing”.
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said it was “nonsensical” and he feared Donald Trump was paving the way for Republican governors to “go forward with voter suppression”.
Rex Tillerson has been narrowly approved as secretary of state, despite concerns about his business ties to Russia.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee split along party lines, with all 11 Republicans voting in favor and all 10 Democrats against. A full vote will now be held in the Republican-run Senate.
The move capped a busy day for Donald Trump’s administration.
Most notable was the US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), fulfilling a campaign pledge.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to pull out from the 12-nation trade deal that had been a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy.
He said: “Great thing for the American worker what we just did.”
Also on January 23, the Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as Donald Trump’s CIA director.
Mike Pompeo’s immediate task, correspondents say, will be to establish an effective relationship between the spy agency and Donald Trump.
Image source Flickr
Donald Trump has been critical of the CIA for concluding that Russia had been actively working to influence the US presidential election in his favor.
In another development, new US Defense Secretary James Mattis said Washington had an “unshakeable commitment” to NATO, despite Donald Trump’s earlier description of the military alliance as “obsolete”.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Rex Tillerson after leading Republican Senator Marco Rubio dropped his opposition.
Marco Rubio sparred with Rex Tillerson during confirmation hearings earlier this month, accusing him of being soft on Russia.
The 64-year-old former head of Exxon Mobil knows Russian President Vladimir Putin through his business dealings.
However, Rex Tillerson has criticized Moscow for its annexation of Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula in 2014.
Marco Rubio said that although he had doubts over the choice, he believed a new president was entitled to deference in assembling his cabinet.
“Despite my reservations, I will support Mr. Tillerson’s nomination in committee and in the full Senate,” said Marco Rubio.
He had challenged Rex Tillerson over his refusal to call President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” over Russia’s air strikes in Syria and his failure to condemn strongly enough human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.
Marco Rubio was among the candidates who fought Donald Trump in the battle for the Republican presidential ticket.
The partisan split in the voting is unusual. Traditionally, nominees for secretary of state have been approved by overwhelming votes from both parties.
Senator Ben Cardin, the committee’s top Democrat, had said he would not vote for Rex Tillerson, also over his position on Russia as well as other issues.
He also suggested that Rex Tillerson’s “business orientation” could “compromise his ability as secretary of state to forcefully promote the values and ideals that have defined” America.
While critics raise concern about Rex Tillerson’s ability to trade in his corporate interest for a national one, some supporters suggest the former CEO’s background as a global dealmaker may bring fresh perspective to the nation’s top diplomatic post.
At a closed doors meeting on January 23, Donald Trump told congressional leaders he would have won the popular vote in the election if millions of undocumented immigrants had not voted illegally. He gave no evidence for the claim.
Hillary Clinton won nearly three million votes more than Donald Trump, who got more support in key swing states and won the Electoral College.
However, any notion of widespread voter fraud was widely rejected as untrue when Donald Trump made the same claim in November.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The 12-nation trade deal was a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy.
Donald Trump said as he dumped the pact with a stroke of a pen: “Great thing for the American worker what we just did.”
The president also cut funding for international groups that provide abortions, and froze hiring of some federal workers.
Donald Trump’s executive order on TPP was largely symbolic since the deal has not been ratified by a divided US Congress.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump criticized the TPP as a “potential disaster for our country”, arguing it harmed US manufacturing.
Donald Trump’s first weekday of administration began with a flurry of executive orders, which allow him to bypass Congress by issuing legally binding directions, mostly of limited scope, to federal agencies.
Image source Flickr
The president also signed an order blocking foreign aid or federal funding for any nongovernmental organization that provides abortions abroad.
The so-called Mexico City policy was first established by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984.
It is typically rescinded by incoming Democratic presidents, including Barack Obama in 2009, and reinstated by Republican presidents.
Donald Trump also signed an executive action placing a hiring freeze on non-military federal workers.
Also on January 23, the new president pledged to “massively” cut regulations and taxes on companies, but impose “a very major border tax” if they move factories outside the US.
“All you have to do is stay,” he told executives from 12 companies including Lockheed Martin, Under Armor, Whirlpool, Tesla and Johnson & Johnson.
After meeting business leaders at the White House, Donald Trump pledged to lower corporate taxes to 15% or 20%, from the current 35%, and slash regulations by up to 75% if they keep jobs in the US.
“A company that wants to fire all of its people in the United States, and build some factory someplace else, and then thinks that that product is going to just flow across the border into the United States – that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris told reporters afterwards he would take the president at his word.
He said: “He’s not going to do anything to harm competitiveness.
“He’s going to actually make us all more competitive.”
Donald Trump – whose protectionist rhetoric sent the US dollar falling – is due to meet labor leaders in the afternoon.
The Senate will meanwhile vote on his nomination of Mike Pompeo to be CIA director.
Rex Tillerson’s nomination as secretary of state was effectively guaranteed on January 23 as Senator Marco Rubio dropped his objections.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said it was “unquestionable” that Donald Trump’s inauguration “was the most watched” ever.
Although Ronald Reagan’s was top in terms of TV figures, attracting 41.8 million viewers, Sean Spicer pointed out that the 30.6 million who tuned in to see Donald Trump take the oath of office did not include the millions who watched the ceremony online.
Sean Spicer’s remarks followed Donald Trump’s stinging attack at the weekend on media reporting of attendance figures and the weather at his inauguration.
Donald Trump’s team has become embroiled in a fresh war of words with the media.
On January 21, President Trump had condemned media reporting of the number of people attending his inauguration.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said there was “an obsession… to de-legitimize this president. We’re not going to sit around and take it.”
However, photos show more people attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009.
Reince Priebus said on Fox News Sunday that the “media from day one has been talking about de-legitimizing the election”. He said Donald Trump’s presidency would fight such coverage “tooth and nail every day”.
The latest row was mainly sparked by the inauguration figures.
There were no official estimates. President Trump said during a visit to the CIA on January 21 that it “looked like a million and a half people”, but provided no evidence. He called reporters “among the most dishonest human beings on Earth” for saying it was far lower.
Image source CNBC
Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer outlined figures amounting to 720,000 people in Washington’s National Mall, despite also saying that “no-one had numbers” for the inauguration.
Sean Spicer also said it was the “largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period – both in person and around the globe”.
Many outlets, using photos of the National Mall showing the difference in numbers attending the 2009 inauguration and Donald Trump’s, hit out at Sean Spicer’s statements.
The New York Times denounced “false claims” and described the statements as a “striking display of invective and grievance at the dawn of a presidency”.
Both CNN and ABC News went into detail to refute Sean Spicer’s claims.
Donald Trump’s aide Kellyanne Conway also criticized the media in a feisty exchange on NBC.
Kellyanne Conway was challenged by Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press to say why Sean Spicer’s first appearance had been to “utter a probable falsehood”.
“If we are going to keep referring to our press secretary in those type of terms, I think we are going to have to rethink our relationship here,” she said.
Pressed on Sean Spicer’s claims, Kellyanne Conway said he had been presenting “alternative facts”.
“Alternative facts are not facts they are falsehoods,” Chuck Todd replied.
Kellyanne Conway insisted there was “no way to really quantify crowds” and, taking offence at a laugh from the reporter, said: “You can laugh at me all you want. It’s symbolic of the way we are treated by the press the way you just laughed at me.”
She also highlighted another issue that caused friction with the media – the Time Magazine reporter who incorrectly reported that a bust of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. The reporter later apologized for the error.
On January 22, Donald Trump tweeted about TV ratings of the inauguration, saying that 31 million people had watched, 11 million more than four years ago.
The president also referred to January 21 protests that saw millions in the US and hundreds of thousands around the globe take to the streets in some 600 demonstrations against his presidency.
Donald Trump’s initial tweet said he was “under the impression that we just had an election”, asking: “Why didn’t these people vote?”
A later tweet said that “peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy”.
Pope Francis has said that is too early to judge President Donald Trump, but he warned against a rise in populism and the dangers of allowing political crises to usher in dictators like Hitler.
In a wide-ranging interview with Spain’s El Pais, the pontiff condemned the use of walls and barbed-wire to keep foreigners out.
Donald Trump has caused controversy with his comments on Mexican immigrants and his plans for a wall to keep them out.
Asked if he was worried about the rise of populism in Europe and the US, Pope Francis said: “Crises provoke fear, alarm. In my opinion, the most obvious example of European populism is Germany in 1933.
“Germany is broken, it needs to get up, to find its identity, a leader, someone capable of restoring its character, and there is a young man named Adolf Hitler who says: <<I can, I can.>>
“And all Germans vote for Hitler. Hitler didn’t steal the power, his people voted for him, and then he destroyed his people.”
On President Trump, Pope Francis said he would “wait and see”.
“I don’t like to get ahead of myself nor judge people prematurely. We will see how he acts, what he does, and then I will have an opinion,” the pontiff added.
Donald Trump and Pope Francis publically disagreed during the presidential campaign, with the Pope appearing to question Trump’s Christian faith over his plans to build a border wall with Mexico.
Donald Trump has accused the media of dishonestly reporting the size of the crowd at his inauguration on January 20.
The president said the crowd had reached the Washington monument as he spoke at the US Capitol, despite photographic evidence to the contrary.
Later, his White House press secretary said it had been “the largest audience to ever see an inauguration, period”.
On January 21, millions of demonstrators in the US and around the globe protested against Donald Trump’s new administration.
The largest rally was in Washington, which city officials estimated to be more than 500,000-strong. By most estimates, it surpassed the crowd at January 20 inauguration.
The protest’s aim was mainly to highlight women’s rights, which activists believe to be under threat from the new administration.
Donald Trump did not mention the protests during a bridge-building visit to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on January 21 but instead turned on the press.
The president accused the media of inventing a feud between him and the intelligence community and he called reporters “among the most dishonest human beings on earth”.
Donald Trump said TV footage and photos of his inauguration had painted an inaccurate picture.
Image source USA Today
“It looked like a million and a half people” there on Friday, he said, rubbishing media reports that there were as few as 250,000 people.
Donald Trump also said the crowd extended all the way back to the Washington Monument, although this claim is contradicted by aerial shots from the day.
Later, White House press secretary Sean Spicer berated reporters at a news conference over photographs that had shown large, empty spaces during the ceremony.
“This was the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe,” Sean Spicer said in a fiery statement.
“These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm about the inauguration are shameful and wrong.”
In addition to the photographic evidence, Washington’s Metro system said trips were down on previous inaugurations.
According to TV views were less than Barack Obama’s and Ronald Reagan’s first inaugurations.
Sean Spicer, who did not take questions, added: “There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the responsibility to hold Donald Trump accountable, and I’m here to tell you it goes two ways. We’re going to hold the press accountable as well.”
Outgoing CIA chief John Brennan accused Donald Trump of “a despicable display of self-aggrandizement” over the statement at Langley.
His former deputy, Nick Shapiro, said in a statement carried by CNN: “Former CIA Director Brennan is deeply saddened and angered at Donald Trump’s despicable display of self-aggrandizement in front of CIA’s Memorial Wall of agency heroes.
“Brennan says that Trump should be ashamed of himself.”
Last week, John Brennan called on Donald Trump to be more “disciplined” in what he said and warned him not to underestimate Russian intentions.
Donald Trump’s visit had sought to mend relations with the intelligence community after weeks of doubting their conclusions about alleged Russian interference into the US election.
“I love you, I respect you,” he said, adding that he was “1,000%” behind the spy agency.
The president said the media had invented a feud between them, although in a recent row over a leaked dossier that alleged the Kremlin held compromising material on him, he had likened the actions of intelligence agencies to Nazi Germany.
Donald Trump tweeted: “Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to <<leak>> into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?”
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