White House Week in Review 1/5/18 through 1/12/18

Beginning with a Camp David meeting to plan out the 2018 legislative agenda and ending with the signing of a proclamation honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., President Donald Trump had a full week.

Friday, Jan. 5 and 6 – Camp David (schedule)

On Saturday, the president and congressional leaders spoke from Camp David’s Hackberry Hangar about the meetings being held at Camp David.

January 8, 2018 (schedule)

The president signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act on Monday which renamed the Martin Luther King, Junior National Historic Site in Georgia to the “Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park” and updates the park’s boundaries to those in a 2015 map. The signing took place onboard Air Force One en route to Nashville, Tennessee.

Later that day, President Trump visited Nashville, Tennessee where he spoke at an American Farm Bureau Federation conference and signed executive orders to promote broadband in rural areas.

That evening, the president attended the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship where he appeared on the field to honor the flag and national anthem then watch the game from the stands.

January 9, 2018 (schedule)

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea said Tuesday that Trump deserves credit for the talks happening between North and South Korea.

President Trump led a meeting of a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators to urge cooperation on immigration reform during which he afforded the press unprecedented access.

Later that day, the president signed an executive order to aid veterans.

January 10, 2018 (schedule)

The president met with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway before the two held a joint press conference.

Later that afternoon, the president met with Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

That evening, the president signed The Interdict Act to increase Customs and Border Patrol’s ability to detect synthetic opioids as they are smuggled into the country.

January 11, 2018 (schedule)

President Trump held a meeting with prison reform advocates.

Later that day, Jeff Flake (R-AZ) presented an immigration reform plan to the president. During the presentation, the president used what he called “tough language” in criticizing the plan which did not contain the items a bipartisan group had agreed to earlier in the week. A Democrat Congressional staffer told The Washington Post that the president called Haiti and some African nations “shitholes” which the president denies and others in the room also say they don’t remember him saying. The focus on what word the president used is likely a partisan attempt by Democrats to derail the bipartisan effort to increase border security and reform immigration. It could have the side-effect of delaying or canceling any fix for DACA with the blame squarely on Democrats.

January 12, 2018 (schedule)

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday then headed off to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.

All still photos are courtesy of The White House and were taken by White House photographers Shealah Craighead, Joyce N. Boghosian, Andrea Hanks and D. Myles Cullen