Donald Trump’s first full day includes firings and an infrastructure announcement
The new president posted on his Truth social media network early on Tuesday that he would fire more than 1,000 presidential appointees.
US President Donald Trump is spending his first full day back in the White House meeting congressional leaders, making an infrastructure announcement and demonstrating one of his favoured expressions of power – firing people.
The new president posted on his Truth social media network early on Tuesday that he would fire more than 1,000 presidential appointees “who are not aligned with our vision”, including some high-profile names.
Mr Trump fired chef and humanitarian Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition; retired general Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council; former State Department official Brian Hook from the board of the Wilson Centre, and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council.
Former president Joe Biden also removed many Trump appointees in his first days in office, including former press secretary Sean Spicer from the board overseeing the US Naval Academy.
Mr Trump planned to continue to build on his barrage of Inauguration Day announcements, with the White House promising a “massive announcement” on infrastructure.
Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to detail the announcement in advance, but she said in an interview on Fox News that it would send a message to the world.
“You won’t want to miss it,” she said.
It was enough of a pattern that Mr Biden joked about how his predecessor could not pull off even a week of focus on infrastructure, while his administration oversaw the passage of billions of dollars for bridges, tunnels, roads and other projects for the coming 10 years.
“He didn’t build a damn thing,” Mr Biden said frequently of Mr Trump, adding that his own administration delivered “infrastructure decade”.
Mr Trump wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital US infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and he says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardise America’s national security”.
Mr Trump also attended a national prayer service on Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, a customary visit for new presidents and one that will wrap up his four days of inauguration-related events.
“You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” said Ms Budde, who has criticised Mr Trump before.
Asked afterwards what he thought of the service, Mr Trump said: “Not too exciting was it? I did think it was a good service. They could do much better.”
Later in the day, the president was expected to meet House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican legislators.
It is the first formal meeting for the Republican leadership teams and the new president as they chart priorities for using Republican power in Washington.
Mr Trump used the first hours of his presidency on Monday to sign a series of executive orders and memorandums, moving quickly to show that his new hold on the US government would be a stark change from his predecessor.
He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the January 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords and the World Health Organisation, began his immigration crackdown by declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, and sought to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in America, which is expected to run into constitutional challenges.
He also signed an order that intends to pause a ban on TikTok for 75 days to give its China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer.
