President Trump has surprised the intelligence community by getting up to speed fast on world affairs and for his appetite for briefings.



“He has the grounding for him to be able to grasp this information and ask specific questions that then lead to important policy discussions,” said CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

The intelligence chief told a policy group that he regularly briefs the president and that Trump gets the daily briefing while on the road.

.@CIA Director Pompeo on intelligence briefings for President Trump: "It's not daily, but it's near daily." pic.twitter.com/zNUin5P2Md — CSPAN (@cspan) January 23, 2018



Pompeo said the key for Trump is the “value” of the information. “The day that we can’t deliver, that will be the day it starts getting pushed off, and other things take that time and space.”...

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ breakfast of champions includes Craisins. Every morning, he mixes up a bowl of oatmeal, walnuts, and Craisins. He adds a cup of water — no milk — and heats it in a microwave. Then, with a cup of coffee, he has breakfast at his office desk. …

• Central and South American nations, planning for the April Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, are eager for Trump to commit to attending as did all other former presidents since Bill Clinton. A Peruvian official said Trump "has indicated that he has the intention to assist, but we have not yet received a confirmation of his visit to Peru." ...

• Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, facing death threats for his repeal of net neutrality rules, is scheduled to make his biggest speech yet at the annual National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas April 10. It typically draws 10,000. …

Gotta imagine the best part of dating me is waking up to a mile of texts of me ranting about Morning Joe beginning at 6am 🤔 — Alyssa Farah (@Alyssafarah) January 24, 2018



• The tweet of the week came from Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Alyssa Farah, venting about "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough. She wrote, “Gotta imagine the best part of dating me is waking up to a mile of texts of me ranting about Morning Joe beginning at 6 a.m.” ...

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com