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Border security is national security
Today, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence met with Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the Oval Office.
Their dialogue was constructive. The President and the Democrat leaders agreed to support the passage of historic criminal justice reform, and they discussed significant progress with the Farm Bill, which passed in the Senate today. Major disagreement remains, however, on the crucial issue of border security and transparency.
“The wall will get built,” President Trump said. “A lot of the wall is built. It’s been very effective.” The numbers back him up. It’s time for Congress to step up and finish the job.
The Democrats’ priority is clear, however: They would rather keep the U.S. border open to illegal immigrants than keep the Government open to serve American citizens.
Open borders are dangerous. The Department of Homeland Security reports that it stops an average of 10 known or suspected terrorists each day from entering the United States. And despite claiming to support border security, Democrats in practice have blocked all efforts to secure our southern border and protect our communities.
In 2006, when their base was different, Democrats were singing another tune. Back then, party leaders such as Senators Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Schumer himself all voted for the Secure Fences Act. Democrats openly admitted that stronger border security was essential for a safer America.
Democrats did the right thing then. So why won’t they now?
Watch: President Trump hosts Democrat leaders in the Oval Office.
Transcript: The President’s conversation with Sen. Schumer and Rep. Pelosi |
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Stat of the day: Walls work
Democrats claim America doesn’t need a wall to protect its southern border. Common sense says otherwise—and so do the numbers.
Building walls at key sections of the border caused illegal traffic to drop by 90 percent or more in the years that followed:
- San Diego, CA (built in 1992): Illegal traffic dropped 92 percent over 23 years
- El Paso, TX (built in 1993): Illegal traffic dropped 95 percent in 22 years
- Tucson, AZ (built in 2000): Illegal traffic dropped 90 percent over 15 years
- Yuma, AZ (built in 2005): Illegal traffic dropped 95 percent over 9 years
Get the facts: Democrat-backed policies have created a border crisis. |
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| Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian |
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President Trump is joined by legislators and Archbishop Bashar Warda of Iraq as he signs the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2018 | December 11, 2018
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A busy holiday season at the White House
As Christmas approaches, President Donald J. Trump and the First Family have been hard at work to ensure every American has a wonderful holiday season.
On the policy side, the President has focused on delivering several crucial wins before the calendar turns to 2019:
- On Tuesday, he met with Democratic leaders in the Oval Office to make clear border security is nonnegotiable when it comes to funding our Government.
- Yesterday, he signed an “Opportunity Zones” executive order that will help drive investment into the most underserved communities in America.
- This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vowed to bring the First Step Act—historic criminal justice reform that President Trump is backing strongly—to the Senate floor.
The Christmas season is also about supporting our fellow Americans.
The First Lady kicked off the week by joining the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for its annual Toys for Tots drive in Washington. “As a mother, I believe children are the most precious gift,” she said, donating 100 books for the Toys for Tots Literacy Program—a project that dovetails with the First Lady’s own “Be Best” initiative for children. (See photos from the event.)
Yesterday, the First Lady honored our heroes in uniform—many of whom will be serving our country over the Christmas season. She made stops at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. She also flew in a V-22 Osprey military plane, becoming the first First Lady ever to do so.
And today, the First Lady traveled to Children’s National Hospital in Washington. The visit is a special tradition that’s been followed by every First Lady since Bess Truman more than 60 years ago.
Watch highlights from the First Lady’s recent visit to the Red Cross.
A special tribute: See how the First Lady honored the USS. George H.W. Bush |
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America’s new Governors have a partner in the White House
President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and senior members of the Trump Administration welcomed a bipartisan group of America’s 13 newest Governors to the White House this afternoon.
Government works best when our elected officials focus on shared priorities—regardless of party label. By forging relationships with State leaders, President Trump and his Administration can tackle the issues that matter most to working Americans, including job training, support for veterans, and the war on opioid abuse.
“Congratulations to each of you. And consider us a resource and a partner in working with you on some issues of the day, like workforce development, prison reform, opioids and the fentanyl crisis, and obviously all things economic," Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said.
What the Governors-elect told President Trump at the White House today.
Inside look: See the full group meet with the President in the Cabinet Room |
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| Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks |
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First Lady Melania Trump observes flight operations with U.S. Navy Capt. Chris Hill during a holiday visit with sailors aboard USS George H.W. Bush | December 12, 2018
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President Trump helps restore Project Safe Neighborhoods
Last Friday, President Donald J. Trump traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, to speak at the Project Safe Neighborhoods Conference. The goal of the visit was simple: to show appreciation for our great law enforcement officials and help revive a program with a record of effective crime prevention in American communities.
“Everyone here today is committed to the same vital goal: liberating our communities from crime and securing the right of all citizens to live in safety and to live in peace,” the President said to an audience of men and women in law enforcement.
Restoring respect for our law enforcement is essential. “For too long, many politicians and radical activists have been smearing and slandering our police, making life easier for criminals and harder for law-abiding Americans,” the President explained. The results of this renewed commitment have begun to show: This year, an all-time record has been set for prosecution of violent crimes. And in a remarkable turnaround, murder rates in America’s largest cities are projected to drop by more than 8 percent compared to 2016.
“You keep America safe. And you maybe don’t hear it enough, or sometimes don’t feel it enough: You do an incredible job,” President Trump said. “We stand with you 100 percent.”
See the President’s full remarks at the 2018 Project Safe Neighborhoods National Conference |
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President Trump attends the 2018 Army-Navy Game
The Commander in Chief presided over a coin flip between historic rivals at this year’s Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Flanked by Secretary of Defense James Mattis, President Trump flipped the coin in favor of the Navy football team—but Army ultimately took the win. The Army and Navy football teams have faced off on the gridiron nearly every year since 1890, and with President Trump’s appearance over the weekend, he becomes the 10th Commander in Chief to attend the game.
“It was my honor to attend today’s #ArmyNavyGame in Philadelphia. A GREAT game played all around by our HEROES. Congratulations @ArmyWP_Football on the win!” the President tweeted.
Watch: President Trump attends this year’s Army-Navy Game |
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| Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian |
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| President Donald J. Trump, joined by Secretary of Defense James Mattis, participates in pre-game ceremonies at the Army-Navy football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia | December 8, 2018 |
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First Lady Spreads Anti-Bullying Message at Kids’ Hospital
“Melania Trump spread her anti-bullying message on an annual Christmas season visit to a Washington children’s hospital on Thursday, reading a story about a Christmas ornament named Oliver who is bullied by other ornaments in a family’s collection,” Darlene Superville writes for The Associated Press.
The author of the children’s book sat a few feet away, thanking the First Lady “from the bottom of my heart” for inviting him to join her. “Mrs. Trump launched an initiative earlier this year to teach kindness to children, naming it Be Best,” Superville adds.
Click here to continue reading. |
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| “The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged by 27,000 in early December to 206,000, erasing a surge around Thanksgiving that now appears to have been a temporary blip triggered by an earlier-than-usual holiday,” Jeffry Bartash reports for MarketWatch. “The decline in applications for benefits puts claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, back near a half-century low.” |
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| “Top Trump adviser Jared Kushner is winning bipartisan praise for driving a 20-year effort to reform prison sentencing and criminal justice to the finish line and ignoring repeated declarations that it was dead right up to last week,” Paul Bedard writes in the Washington Examiner. Both liberal and conservative prison reform advocates are giving Kushner credit for uniting “an unlikely coalition that has the package on the verge of Senate passage.” |
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| “Congress must fund President Donald Trump’s border wall and close the ‘catch and release’ loopholes in the upcoming must-pass spending bill. We must do it now.” Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) writes in The Daily Signal. “The problem of illegal immigration is solvable, but will require compromise. A good place to start will be with border security measures that Democrats have historically agreed to.” |
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“National security adviser John Bolton unveiled the Trump administration's new strategy for Africa as it works to counter Russia and China, as they expand their financial, political and military investments across the continent,” Elizabeth McLaughlin reports for ABC News.
President Trump Signs Executive Order Promoting ‘Opportunity Zones’ in Distressed Towns
“President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to create a new White House council for promoting private investment in ‘opportunity zones’ in more than 8,700 distressed communities across the U.S., aiming to expand prosperity to neglected zip codes,” Dave Boyer reports for The Washington Times.
“Our goal is to ensure that America’s great new prosperity is broadly shared by all of our citizens,” President Trump said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House yesterday.
Click here to read more. |
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| “With only a handful of legislative business days left on the books, we have one final chance to live up to the promise that we made to the parents, small business owners, blue collar workers, farmers, teachers, and ordinary people who helped us gain control in the first place. Simply put, it’s time to build the wall,” Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) writes in the Washington Examiner. |
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| “The Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it is rolling back some of the excessive, and possibly illegal, water regulations imposed by the Obama administration. EPA’s announcement is a welcome relief for homeowners and property owners impacted by overly aggressive EPA officials,” Tim Huelskamp and James Taylor of the Heartland Institute write in The Hill. |
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| “The number of people arrested for illegally employing or working at U.S. companies skyrocketed more than 700 percent during President Trump's first full fiscal year in office,” Anna Giaritelli reports for the Washington Examiner. “An official with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations arm said the surge in arrests was the result of the Trump administration's changing the focus of the agency's mission to crack down on all illegal immigration.” |
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“The Senate has agreed to a vote on a version of a bill supported by President Donald J. Trump, called the First Step Act. That bill is part of a criminal justice reform effort that includes steps by President Trump, through executive action, to reform our broken criminal justice system,” Corey Lewandowski writes in The Hill. “Conservatives support reforms that will help released prisoners to change their lives and become productive members of society.”
President Trump Was Right: Transparency a Good Thing in Border Wall Debate with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer
In the Washington Examiner, Philip Klein writes that “when House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York tried to move their Oval Office debate with President Trump over border wall funding behind closed doors, Trump had the right response.”
“It’s not bad, Nancy,” the President said. “It’s called transparency.”
Click here to read more. |
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| In Fox News, Brooke Singman reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) vowed to bring the criminal justice reform bill endorsed by President Trump to the Senate floor. “Criminal Justice Reform is something people have been working on for many years. It looks like it is going to be passing in a bipartisan way,” President Trump said in the Oval Office yesterday. |
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| “The 2018 Farm Bill that includes expanded safety-net programs for farmers could be voted on as early as Wednesday or Thursday after joint House-Senate negotiators released the final version of the legislation,” Jeff Daniels reports for CNBC. “President Donald Trump said the farm bill has bipartisan support and ‘is in very good shape,’” adding that our “farmers are well taken care of.” |
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| In The Kansas City Star, EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler writes that the Trump Administration’s proposed Waters of the United States rule “would end years of uncertainty over where federal jurisdiction begins and ends”—thus undoing a power grab by the previous Administration and bureaucrats in Washington. |
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“In Judaism, following the loss of a loved one, family and neighbors come to visit and comfort the mourners for a period of seven days, known as the shiva period. The second stage of mourning, called the shloshim period, lasts for 30 days,” Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt writes in Fox News. “The families of the 11 Jews murdered in the heinous attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh Oct. 27 have now marked the end of this 30-day period.”
Job Openings Back Over 7 Million and Near a Record High
“There were 1 million more jobs than unemployed workers in the most recent government count of job openings,” Jeff Cox reports for CNBC.
“Total available jobs stood at 7.08 million for October, the second-highest level surpassed only by the 7.3 million in August, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed. By comparison, there were just 6.08 million Americans classified as unemployed for the month.”
Click here to read more. |
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| “President Trump has courageously thrown his weight behind a reform bill that will dramatically improve how we rehabilitate criminals and help keep them out of overcrowded prisons. Joining him are a majority in the Senate as well as numerous groups representing law enforcers and prosecutors,” John Koufos writes in the New York Post. |
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| In Bloomberg, Alexandre Tanzi reports that openings in U.S. factories are surging like never before. “The job openings rate for the durable-goods manufacturing industry reached 4 percent in October, a record in data back to 2000, according to figures issued Monday by the Labor Department. That’s up from 3.7 percent in September and 3.1 percent a year earlier.” |
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| “A little over a year ago, President Donald Trump promised he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and, six months later, he delivered on that promise by officially moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Alex Titus writes in The Hill. “Standing up for Israel at the United Nations, confronting Iran, and empowering the Jewish state to defend its interests have been successful outcomes of [the Trump Administration’s] policy agenda.” |
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“Ronald Reagan understood it is only from strength that we may find a true peace,” White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro writes in RealClearPolitics. President Trump has embraced that banner and expanded it for more complex times with a key addendum: “Economic security is national security.”
President Trump Signs Hatch-Sponsored Child Pornography Victim Assistance Law
“Child pornography victims could have better access to federal restitution under a bipartisan bill President Donald Trump signed into law Friday. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a key sponsor of the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, called the signing a ‘momentous’ day that was many years in the making,” Dennis Romboy writes in Deseret News.
“This bipartisan legislation will provide meaningful assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and allow them to reclaim their lives,” Senator Hatch said.
Click here to read more. |
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| “Liberals are tripping over themselves to explain why the economy has performed so much better under Donald Trump than it did under Barack Obama,” Stephen Moore writes in The Wall Street Journal. “The economy has grown by nearly 4% over the past six months, and the final number for 2018 is expected to come in at between 3% and 3.5%. The U.S. growth rate has doubled since Mr. Obama’s last year in office.” The bottom line: President Trump’s tax cuts have primed this economy for “long-term growth, not a short-term buzz.” |
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“President Trump attended the annual Army-Navy football game Saturday and officiated the pre-match coin toss on the field flanked by top military officials,” John Bowden writes in The Hill. The President was joined on-field "by top members of the military including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who watched as a smiling Trump tossed the coin following a moment of silence for former President George H.W. Bush. The annual football game between the Naval Academy in Annapolis and the Military Academy at West Point is a major tradition dating back to 1890 that has been attended by multiple former presidents.”
Watch: President Trump attends this year’s Army-Navy game |
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“President Trump recently made an excellent move to promote the education of children in developing countries. His administration freed resources already appropriated within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to be given to privately run schools,” Ken Blackwell writes in The Hill. “This will allow for a higher population of genuinely underprivileged kids to gain an education despite their circumstances and safeguard the educational systems for the world’s most vulnerable people.”
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‘A Great and Noble Man’: Bush Honored One Last Time in Washington
-The Washington Times
“A military band played ‘Hail to the Chief,’ cannons sang out a 21-gun salute and the presidential jet took to the sky, lifting former President George H.W. Bush away from Washington one last time,” Stephen Dinan writes. “The capital gave a solemn but fervent farewell Wednesday to the 41st president, whose death [last] Friday at 94 launched a week of commemorations.”
In photos: America’s solemn farewell to its 41st President |
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Trump Declares Day of Mourning for Bush
-The Wall Street Journal
“President Trump declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for former President George Herbert Walker Bush,” Courtney McBride and Michael Wright report. “Along with his full life of service to country, we will remember President Bush for his devotion to family—especially the love of his life, Barbara,” President Trump said in a statement with First Lady Melania Trump.
Watch: President Trump and the First Lady pay their respects |
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Trumps Meet Privately with George W., Laura Bush to Offer Condolences
-The Hill
“President Trump and first lady Melania Trump met privately Tuesday evening with former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush on the eve of funeral services for former President George H.W. Bush,” Brett Samuels reports. Thousands of Americans visited the U.S. Capitol this week to pay their respects. |
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Vice President Pence: George H.W. Bush ‘Never Failed to Answer the Call to Serve His Country’
-The Washington Free Beacon
As former President Bush lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Monday night, Vice President Mike Pence honored the 41st President’s extraordinary life. “While he was known as the ‘quiet man,’ it was not for lack of nerve or daring,” the Vice President said as President George W. Bush and other family members looked on. |
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Trump Celebrates Hanukkah at the White House
-CBS News
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hosted two Hanukkah receptions in the White House East Room on Thursday, celebrating the fifth night of the Festival of Lights. In his remarks, the President condemned anti-Semitism and reflected on the horrific shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue this year. Thursday’s receptions came exactly one year after President Trump announced that the U.S. Embassy in Israel would be moved to Jerusalem. |
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Laura Bush Thanks Melania Trump for a ‘Sweet Visit’ to the White House
-The Hill
Emily Birnbaum reports that First Lady Melania Trump hosted members of the Bush family, including former First Lady Laura Bush, for a special tour of the White House Christmas decorations this week. “A sweet visit during this somber week," the former First Lady wrote on Instagram. “Thanks to Mrs. Trump for inviting our family.” |
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Liz Peek: Trump Scores Big Wins at the G-20
-Fox News
“President Trump scored major successes at the G-20 summit that concluded over the weekend in Argentina. Specifically, the community of nations agreed in their official communique to ‘necessary reform’ of the World Trade Organization, a top White House priority,” financial expert Liz Peek writes. “The Chinese promised to up their purchases of U.S.-made goods and to discuss other demands in exchange for postponing an expected hike in tariffs.” |
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