Saturday will be day 100 of Donald Trump’s presidency and the week is already off to a lousy start. The North Korea situation has escalated and had Trump talking with China and Japan overnight over the latest threats by Kim Jong Un.
Also on the agenda this week is Obamacare, the Mexican Border wall, major tax cuts and keeping Washington open. The week is scheduled to end Saturday night with a campaign rally in Harrisburg.
Bloomberg: White House Appears Ready to Go to the Mat for Its Border Wall
The White House appeared ready to go to the mat for its planned Mexican border wall in this week’s must-pass spending bill, setting up a clash with Democrats that may make a government shutdown at week’s end more likely.
“The Democrats don’t want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members,” President Donald Trump said in previewing the budget fight on Twitter on Sunday. (MS-13 is a criminal gang of mostly Central American origin.) Mexico will pay for the wall “at a later date,” Trump said.
Fox News: Trump discusses North Korea tensions with Asian leaders
President Trump talked to leaders of both China and Japan on Monday as tensions on the Korean Peninsula have boiled over and North Korea appears ready for an ICBM launch.
Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Reuters: Trump to set new executive orders on environment, energy this week
U.S. President Donald Trump this week will sign new executive orders before he completes his first 100 days in office, including two on energy and the environment, which would make it easier for the United States to develop energy on and offshore, a White House official said on Sunday.
“This builds on previous executive actions that have cleared the way for job-creating pipelines, innovations in energy production, and reduced unnecessary burden on energy producers,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
On Wednesday, Trump is expected to sign an executive order related to the 1906 Antiquities Act, which enables the president to designate federal areas of land and water as national monuments to protect them from drilling, mining and development, the source said.
Politico: White House to propose new tax rates Wednesday
President Donald Trump’s tax reform proposal, to be released Wednesday, will include new tax rates, but those will mostly be generalities for Congress to consider, the White House budget director said Sunday.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget director, said specifics about what tax cuts will be proposed Wednesday are still being determined. He said the announcement will include guidance, principles and “also some indication of what the rates are going to be.”
CNN: Trump’s grand plans collide with 100-day mark
President Donald Trump lives for superlatives — he wants the biggest, the best, the greatest. So it’s no surprise he’s already fuming about uncomplimentary reviews of his first 100 days in office.
