Today in the Trump Administration News

Michael Flynn negotiating with intel committees, seeks protection, lawyer says



Michael Flynn, President Trump’s embattled former national security adviser, is in ongoing negotiations with the Senate and House Intelligence Committees about testifying in their investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Senate Intel Russia hearings

“Follow the trail of dead Russians,” Former FBI special agent Clint Watts said at the hearing Thursday. “There’s been more dead Russians in the past three months that are tied to this investigation who have assets in banks all over the world.”

Trump threatens war on House Freedom Caucus in 2018

President Donald Trump declared war against the House Freedom Caucus for 2018 in a Thursday morning tweet, saying they must be fought along with Democrats in the next election cycle. It was a action that drew quick responses from conservatives.

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Deputy chief of Staff leaves

Katie Walsh, who served as deputy chief of staff under Reince Priebus, has left the White House for a position with “an outside organization.”

Paul Ryan says he doesn’t want to negotiate with Democrats on health care

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he doesn’t want to negotiate with Democrats on health care reform despite Republicans’ failure to pass a White House-backed measure last week to repeal and replace Obamacare.

“This is a can-do president, who’s a business guy, who wants to get things done, and I know that he wants to get things done with a Republican Congress, but if this Republican Congress allows the perfect to be the enemy of the good, I worry we’ll push the president into, um, working with the Democrats; he’s suggested as much,” he added.

Paul Ryan suggests Congress will delay border wall funding until next year

“We’re not gonna have a government shutdown,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview that aired Thursday with“CBS This Morning” host Norah O’Donnell. “The president doesn’t want to have a government shutdown. It’s funding the government from April 28 to September 30.”

Congress must pass a new spending package by April 28 or the government will shut down. Last year, lawmakers twice delayed the passage of 2017 funding in order to give the Trump White House more control over spending levels. The government is currently running on funding from fiscal 2016, which ended last September.

Russia had the capacity to influence key precincts in swing states with fake news-disseminating bots during the 2016 presidential election, and could still be disrupting American politics, experts said Thursday in the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s first public Russia hearing.

Melania Trump Petition

A petition involving the First Lady was posted on the website change.org. It calls for the First Lady to either move to the White House or personally pay for additional security expenses that continue to grow while she resides in New York.

Economic Outlook

Congressional Budget Office released the long term economic outlook on its website.

Denmark

President Trump meets with Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen of Denmark

Recent Trump Administration News:

Richard Burr: Senate Russia probe has seven full-time staffers



The Senate Intelligence Committee has seven full-time professional staff members working to evaluate intelligence and documents related to the committee’s investigation on Russian election interference, Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said Wednesday.

“This investigation’s scope will go wherever the intelligence leads it,” he said at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday afternoon. “So it is absolutely crucial that every day we spend trying to separate fact from fiction and to find some intelligence thread that sends us to the factual side of all the names and all the places that you in this room have written about.”

Speaker Paul Ryan sat down for an interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell in the Capitol Wednesday afternoon. They discussed the pressing issues of the day, including the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. More from the interview, including Ryan’s views on the failure of his health care legislation and his relationship with President Trump, will air Thursday morning on “CBS This Morning.”

Ryan: So the nation, the world super power, the American government needs to do everything we possibly can not only to undercut what they are trying to do but to uncover what they are trying to do and help our allies prevent this from happening. Because with Russia trying to influence elections in Eastern Europe and Europe, around the globe I think we have a special responsibility given our capabilities to make sure we help our allies guard against this meddling by Russia in their elections just like they tried to with our election.

Seattle sues Trump administration over “sanctuary city” threat

A lawsuit was filed by Seattle on Wednesday over President Trump’s executive order that threatens to withhold federal funds from communities that refuse to cooperate with efforts to find and deport immigrants in the country illegally.

Mayor Ed Murray said the order issued in January punishing “sanctuary cities” is unconstitutional and creates uncertainty around the city’s budget.

Trump travel ban

The Trump administration is appealing a Hawaii federal judge’s ruling blocking President Trump’s revised travel ban.

Ivanka Trump will officially become a White House employee

Ivanka Trump will become an official — albeit unpaid — government employee subject to ethics rules as an assistant to her father in the White House, CBS News confirmed Wednesday.

Trump already has an office in the West Wing, and her husband, Jared Kushner, already serves President Donald Trump as an unpaid senior adviser. Mr. Trump’s 35-year-old daughter has contributed significantly to her father’s campaign, transition, and now, his presidency, drawing criticism because she hasn’t been subject to the same ethics rules as an official, on-the-books White House employee.

Her title will be assistant to the president.

Can Trump make deals with Congress?

After the failure of the health care bill, looking ahead, there’s a large partisan divide on President Trump’s legislative prospects: most Democrats (83 percent) and independents (55 percent) are not confident in his ability to make deals with Congress, but nearly eight in ten Republicans are confident. - CBS News poll

Petition about Melania Trump continues to surge in popularity

A Change.org petition about first lady Melania Trump continues to explode in popularity, attracting over 230,000 signatures and becoming the site’s most signed campaign this week. The petition calls for her to either move to the White House or personally pay for her New York City security expenses.

“The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City,” the petition reads. “As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded.”

Republicans blame bill, not Trump, for health care defeat

President Donald Trump’s overall job approval is at 40 percent, underpinned by continuing strong support from Republicans who don’t appear to blame him for the failed health care bill, a new CBS News Poll shows.

The president’s approval rating is about where it has been since he took office in January. It was at 39 percent in late February and 40 percent in early February.

White House staff said Tuesday that they won’t be attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner out of “solidarity” with President Trump, who announced last month that he would not be attending the annual event.

“The WHCA board regrets this decision very much. We have worked hard to build a constructive relationship with the Trump White House and believe strongly that this goal is possible even with the natural tension between the press and administrations that is a hallmark of a healthy republic,” White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) President Jeff Mason said in a message to members.