| | | | The presser no one was prepared for | | President Donald Trump held a surprise presser and managed to shock plenty of people after his announcement of new secretary of labor nominee Alexander Acosta turned into an hourlong, combative event in which Acosta was never mentioned again.
A senior administration official told CNN's Jeremy Diamond that Trump walked into the Oval Office this morning and told his top aides: "Let's do a press conference today." He "just wanted to do it," the official said when pressed on whether the flow of leaks and controversial news reports pushed Trump to want to address these issues head on in a news conference. So what happened? CNN's Stephen Collinson explains: The President launched an extraordinary denunciation of his critics and media reports that his White House is in chaos, complaining he inherited a "mess" and slamming stories that his campaign was constantly in contact with Russia as "fake news."
But let's not get distracted. CNN's Jake Tapper had a good wrap after it ended: "If you are a soldier in harm's way right now, if you are a hungry child in Appalachia or the inner city, if you are an unemployed worker in a hollow shell of a steel town, that's not a President who seemed focused on your particular needs and wants. That's a President focused on his bad press. It was unhinged, it was wild and I can't believe that there are Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House who don't understand that might play well with the 44% of the population that voted for the President, but a lot of Americans are going to watch that press conference and think, 'That guy isn't focused on me. I don't know even what he's focused on.'"
And CNN's Tom LoBianco captured the various reactions on Trump's speech at Capitol Hill: One Republican lawmaker tried to keep the President's comments in context with his overall demeanor: "The people that love him will love him more, the people that hate him will hate him more and the people in the middle probably will look at it the way that we look at in Congress, which is that's just the new normal. That's just the s--- that happens." | | Who is he? With a conservative background likely to antagonize unions and Democrats, he's a college dean in Florida and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.
Acosta has a significant legal background: Among other things, as Politico's Josh Dawsey and Marianne LeVine point out, he served as the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida in the mid to late 2000s. He was involved in the prosecution of the wealthy pedophile Jeffrey Epstein -- noted acquaintance of both former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.
Important point noted by CNN's Dan Merica: If confirmed, he'd be the only Hispanic member of Trump's Cabinet so far. | | Harward says no to national security adviser role | | | Ret. Vice Adm. Bob Harward turned down Trump's offer to be national security adviser, CNN's Jim Sciutto, Ryan Browne and Jeremy Diamond report. A friend of Harward's said he was reluctant to take the job because the White House seems so chaotic. Harward called the offer a "s--- sandwich," the friend said. A senior Republican familiar with the process said "a question of clarity regarding the lines of authority" was central in Harward's decision. "I wouldn't call it a disagreement as much as questions that could not be resolved to his comfort level," the Republican said. | | "I have no idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today. Of course, Sen. Schumer never told me to skip a meeting with the President." -- Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings' response to Trump saying at his news conference that Cummings probably didn't want to meet with him because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told him not to. | | | | "It was the speaker's staff that came to me, and I know her very, very well, and she said she was speaking on behalf of the speaker, that there were a limited number of seats," Rep. Luis Gutiérrez told The Hill's Rafael Bernal. Rep. Norma Torres was also asked to leave the room, while several other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were not allowed into the meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Tom Homan. | | Trump: I didn't tell Flynn to talk sanctions with Russia | | | But he would have: President Donald Trump repeatedly made clear during the news conference that he asked for his former national security adviser Michael Flynn's resignation because he misled Vice President Mike Pence about that conversation, not because he took issue with Flynn's discussing sanctions with a Russian ambassador, CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports. "Mike was doing his job. He was calling countries and his counterparts. So it certainly would've been OK with me if he did it," Trump said. "I would've directed him to do it if I thought he wasn't doing it."
In other news: The FBI is not expected to pursue any charges against Flynn regarding his phone call with Russia's ambassador, barring new information that changes what they know, law enforcement officials told CNN. | | #DayWithoutImmigrants is felt in the District | | From CNN's Tal Kopan: The "Day Without Immigrants" -- dedicated to demonstrating the importance of immigrants in the United States -- was felt citywide today with government institutions, including the Capitol and Pentagon.
Will it matter? The demonstrations come as Hill leaders met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Capitol this afternoon to discuss recent enforcement actions that netted nearly 700 arrests, but Democrats and advocates are concerned ICE will expand the targets beyond those of the Obama administration. | | | This is too good: Rep. David Cicilline showed up at a House debate with a poster referencing one of Netflix's most popular shows last year, "Stranger Things." "Like the main characters from 'Stranger Things,' we are now stuck in the upside down. Right is wrong, up is down, black is white," he said about President Donald Trump's administration. | | 5 things you may have missed today | | Mulvaney is confirmed: The Senate confirmed Mick Mulvaney as President Donald Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget. Sen. John McCain joined the full Democratic caucus in voting against him. Read more from The New York Times' Alan Rappeport.
Trump's Israel pick tries to make nice: A day after Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his pick for ambassador to Israel offered an apology for some of his more strident language. Foreign Policy's John Hudson takes you into his hearing.
Trump tells a Jewish magazine's reporter to "sit down": In response to a question Thursday about threats to Jewish centers nationwide, Trump called a Jewish reporter a liar, told him to sit down and later said anti-Semitism was coming from "the other side." More from Eli.
Tillerson heads to G20: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made it to Germany for the G20 summit -- his first overseas trip since taking office. Bloomberg's Nick Wadhams and Patrick Donahue report he's staying at a sanitarium.
Carter Page makes an appearance: Trump once referred to him as an adviser, and he has been under the microscope over reports of contacts with Russia. The Intercept's Jon Schwarz reports about the letter Page sent to the Department of Justice, making bizarre claims about "the Clinton regime." | | | Take a look at liberal preparations for upcoming town halls. ... President Donald Trump signed off on eliminating a coal mining regulation from former President Barack Obama. ... Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has avoided the press and did so again while meeting with his Russian counterpart. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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