President Trump, Vice-President Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Price, stood united in defeat in the Oval Office as President Trump shares his thoughts on the failure of the ObamaCare repeal/replace bill to pass the House of Representatives.
President Trump points out that any future attempt at repairing ObamaCare will necessarily include Democrats. Ultimately that means a much worse future outcome caused by the intransigent CONservative caucus today with their opposition.

President Trump thanks VP Pence, Speaker Paul Ryan and Secretary Tom Price for their united team effort toward the repeal and replace road map created by Secretary Price.  President Trump also affirms his intention not to let Americans suffer as a consequence of the democrat or republican party and their inability to deliver an appropriate healthcare outcome.
Moving forward, any tax legislation will now have to keep the $1 to $2 trillion ObamaCare spending in place; ultimately meaning far less room for comprehensive tax reform.  Again, the intransigent CONservative caucus just dealt a blow to tax cuts – this is “disappointing” to the Trump economic agenda and will ultimately mean lesser job growth.
[TRANSCRIPT] 4:26 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. We were very close, and it was a very, very tight margin. We had no Democrat support. We had no votes from the Democrats. They weren’t going to give us a single vote, so it’s a very difficult thing to do.
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Perfect.

President Trump, through OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, has demanded the House of Representatives vote tomorrow on the current bill for ObamaCare Repeal and Replacement.
This directly calls out the UniParty structure of Washington DC.
The time for endless political talk in circles is over.  Time for action.  The Koch Brothers wing (House Freedom Caucus), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wing (Ryan/GOPe), will have to vote to support the Health and Human Services construct of Tom Price, or kill it by voting against it.

Either way they vote President Trump has delivered on his promise: an opportunity to vote for the repeal of ObamaCare.

All those who vote “NO” on the bill will own the outcome. Meaning, they support the continuance of ObamaCare and all of the subsequent outcomes therein.  Get them all on record. (more…)

Against the backdrop of Devin Nunes announcing jaw-dropping revelation of surveillance of President-Elect Trump and his transition team by the Obama intelligence community, most of the Democrat political leadership (Elijah Cummings included) went into immediate rapid response and emergency action mode.  Simultaneously…
President Trump stomps on the political gas, targets a key and essential constituency, and strategically applies pressure with a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus leadership.

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Seamless. Well done. The timing just seems so unscripted.
[TRANSCRIPT] 3:10 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m deeply honored to welcome the members of the Congressional Black Caucus to the White House. We’re going to have a lot of meetings over the years, and I very much appreciate you being here.
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Spidey Sense Level remains elevated…

(Via Reuters)  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will make his first state visit to Washington during the first week of April at the invitation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Sunday.
The trip will be Sisi’s first U.S. state visit since being elected president in 2014 as former U.S. President Barack Obama had never extended an invitation.

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President Trump has initiated a new administration protocol of greeting each foreign dignitary personally at the entrance to the White House upon each visit.

Today German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the White House and attended a cabinet room roundtable discussion with U.S. and German business leaders on the topic of vocational training.  Anticipating a future trade negotiation President Trump also brought Commerce Secretary Wilburne (Ross) to engage:

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12:58 P.M. EDT [Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Chancellor, thank you very much. Such a great honor to get to know you, to be with you. I want to thank all of the business leaders who have joined us to discuss a subject that’s very important to me — training our workforce for the 21st century, especially with respect to manufacturing jobs.
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President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence and VA Secretary David Shulkin meet today with veterans to discuss ongoing VA programs including healthcare and veterans support initiatives.
The purpose of today’s meeting was to listen to the ongoing concerns, understand the proposals being implemented, and further recommit to institutional reform and improved standards of care for veterans.

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The White House has been in 24/7 negotiations with Republican leadership and committee members in the House of Representatives over the healthcare bill.  Those negotiations continued throughout the night with members and key staff.
Modifications to the Price/Ryan Healthcare bill have been made with the input from multiple concerned House Republicans.  Earlier today they held a brief presser in the oval office to discuss their support.  Previous opposition now supporting the modified bill.

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Earlier today President Trump, Vice-President Pence, and a host of congressional politicians and diplomats participated in a luncheon to celebrate St. Patricks Day.
President Trump remarks are below.  [A video of the full event to include all speakers is below the fold]

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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was created as an outcome of the 911 Commission Report to work as a hub of intelligence sharing amid all of the intelligence agencies.  The primary function of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is to ensure all agencies are working with the same information.
After a senate confirmation vote yesterday (85-12), today Senator Dan Coats accepted his commission; and with the swearing in by Vice-President Mike Pence, becomes President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.

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AMERICA FIRST

Beginning a New Chapter of American Greatness

A MESSAGE TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people elected me to fight for their priorities in Washington, D.C. and deliver on my promise to protect our Nation.
I fully intend to keep that promise.
One of the most important ways the Federal Government sets priorities is through the Budget of the United States. Accordingly, I submit to the Congress this Budget Blueprint to reprioritize Federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people.
Our aim is to meet the simple, but crucial demand of our citizens—a Government that puts the needs of its own people first.
When we do that, we will set free the dreams of every American, and we will begin a new chapter of American greatness. A budget that puts America first must make the safety of our people its number one priority— because without safety, there can be no prosperity.
That is why I have instructed my Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney, to craft a budget that emphasizes national security and public safety. That work is reflected in this Budget Blueprint. (more…)