Trumps First Full Day and World Reaction
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to participate in a traditional prayer service today at the Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal parish with a dual role as a civic gathering place.
The cathedral has for years hosted a prayer service for the new president. But keeping the tradition has sparked debate this year among Episcopalians opposed to Trump's policies.
He and his wife attended three balls yesterday, including one honoring the armed forces, where they danced and he gave remarks. He used the balls to recount his victory and to let supporters know that "now the fun begins." The nation's 45th president then headed back to the White House.
During his third and final inaugural ball visit, the newly sworn-in president danced with U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Catherine Cartmell of Newport, Rhode Island.
Mrs. Trump danced with U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jose A. Medina of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, also got to dance with members of the military.
The Trumps and Pences also participated in the military's traditional cake cutting to honor the sacrifice and service of its members. The cake is cut with a saber.
Asked about his first day as president, Trump says, "It was busy but good — a beautiful day."
Trump tells agencies to ease health care burden
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed his first executive order as president, ordering federal agencies to ease the burden of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care law.
Presidential spokesman Sean Spicer refused to offer details on the order.
Trump was joined in the Oval Office by Vice President Mike Pence, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and other top advisers as he signed the executive order on the Affordable Care Act that he opposed throughout his campaign.
The White House says Priebus was also sending a memorandum to agencies and departments instituting an immediate freeze on regulations. No additional details were immediately available.
The memo says federal agencies shouldn't submit any completed regulations to be published in the Federal Register until President Donald Trump's administration can review them. The memo also freezes any regulations that were in the pipeline. Regulations that have already been published but haven't kicked in are to be postponed for 60 days to allow for a review.
The memo is similar to one that Obama's chief of staff issued the same day Obama was inaugurated in 2009.
British foreign secretary 'positive and optimistic' on Trump
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says he's "positive and optimistic" that the policies of newly inaugurated President Donald Trump would work in Britain's favor.
Johnson, who is visiting Myanmar, said Saturday he was "very optimistic" a trade deal could be done quickly with the new president, once Britain had left the European Union.
In his inaugural speech, Trump declared he would put "America first" in all his decisions. But Johnson said that whatever deal was done with the U.S. "it's got to work for the UK as well."
He says: "I think that the new president has made it very clear that he wants to put Britain at the front of the line for a new trade deal and obviously that's extremely exciting and important."
Women descend on DC a day after anarchist chaos
WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after anarchists created chaos, thousands of women are descending upon Washington for what is expected to be a more orderly show of force on the first full day of Donald Trump's presidency.
Organizers of Saturday's Women's March on Washington expect more than 200,000 people to attend their gathering, a number that could rival Trump's swearing-in ceremony. The organizers' mission statement says attendees are "hurting and scared" as the new president takes office and want a greater voice for women in political life.
The gathering features a morning rally and afternoon march.
It comes a day after protesters set fires and hurled bricks in a series of clashes that led to more than 200 arrests.
NEW: Kremlin hopes for rapport with US, but differences will stay
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin is voicing hope for a constructive dialogue with President Donald Trump's administration, but warning that differences will remain.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in an interview with state television broadcast Saturday that it would be an "illusion" to expect that U.S.-Russian relations would be free of disagreements. Peskov noted the intricacy of nuclear arms control and the complexity of the situation in Syria among other challenges.
Trump's victory has elated Russian political elites amid bitter tensions with Washington over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections.
"Successful development of bilateral ties will depend on our ability to solve these differences through dialogue," Peskov said. He said Putin will call Trump soon to congratulate him.
Chinese express doubts about US relations under Trump
BEIJING (AP) — Citizens of China's capital Beijing are expressing doubts about President Donald Trump's ability to steer the U.S. economy and manage China-American relations.
Aaron Wang, who works for a logistics company, said Saturday he hoped for the best but would take a wait-and-see attitude, referring to Trump's threat to impose a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports.
A retired teacher, who would only give her surname, Wei, said Trump hadn't yet shown that he could handle the U.S. presidency.
Visiting Beijing, Dunkin' Brands CEO Nigel Davis said he wanted to reinforce the importance of global free trade to Trump, who opposes the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership and has suggested he might renegotiate the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
China is the world's second largest economy behind the U.S.