President Trump's first Monday in office: What you need to know
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Pres. Trump has been busy, already signing half a dozen executive orders.
By:
Mark Belcher
Posted at 3:31 PM, Jan 23, 2017
and last updated2017-01-23 19:41:25-05
WASHINGTON — Much of the American working populace agrees — Mondays are the worst. President Donald Trump might disagree.
He's celebrating his first Monday as President of the United States, and he's moving quickly on a number of issues of note and campaign promises.
Pres. Trump has already signed a memorandum leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The move came as no surprise, as he spoke frequently on the move on the campaign trail. It officially ends the initiative started by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.
On Monday, the president also instituted a federal hiring freeze — excluding the military — something he suggested he would do on the campaign trail, as well.
The third document Pres. Trump signed Monday is one many are familiar with, as it's been on and off the books depending on the sitting president. He re-instated the Mexico City policy, which bans any foreign organizations that promotes abortion from receiving U.S. government aid.
The Mexico City policy was in effect from 1985 until 1993, when then-President Bill Clinton rescinded it. When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, he put the policy back in place. Obama rescinded it again in 2009.
On the day of his inauguration, Pres. Trump signed two additional orders, one of great significance. He signed documents expressing his desire to eventually see the repeal and replacement of the affordable care act, beginning the process of rolling it back.
He's also been involved in a host of other activities outside of the stroke of his pen.
—Lawyers file suit—
President Trump is the target of a new lawsuit suggesting he is violating the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit claims Trump — by virtue of accepting foreign payments from foreign governments at his hotels — is violating terms of the oath he took to uphold the Constitution.
The suit is not seeking damages, only to have his businesses stop accepting foreign payments.
—Breakfast with businessmen—
President Trump held a breakfast in the White House Monday morning for titans of business, including the leaders of companies like Under Armour, Dell and more. He also spoke to union representatives, something he said he plans to do regularly to both increase the success of business and the American worker throughout his term.
—Officially denied—
Donald Trump's campaign and his staff have finally said they never plan to release the president's tax returns — a standard practice among presidential candidates.
Pres. Trump's staff claims his constituents simply do not care about his tax returns.
—Press briefing held—
Pres. Trump's Press Secretary Sean Spicer held his first press briefing in the White House on Monday, speaking on a host of topics after detailing the president's agenda.
In addition to hinting at a future for pipelines crossing the U.S., future collaboration with other nations (including Russia) on fighting ISIS in Syria and more, Spicer answered a most of nagging questions by the U.S. press.
In the briefing, Spicer told journalists he will never "intentionally lie" to them, nor to the American people.
Denver7 will continue to cover Pres. Trump's first term. See more stories here.
