Week 6, Thursday
Attorney General Jeff Sessions held his first press conference today to declare that he didn’t lie to Congress during his confirmation hearing; he simply omitted any mention of his two meetings with the Russian ambassador because he didn’t think of those meetings as related to the question about Trump surrogates meeting continuously with Russians during the campaign.
AG Sessions also said he has decided to recuse himself from investigations regarding the Trump campaign’s connections with Russia because it was the appropriately ethical thing to do. Earlier today, Trump said Sessions should not recuse himself. Numerous Democrats have called for Sessions to resign.
Ben Carson was confirmed to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a position he previously claimed he was unqualified to hold.
Rick Perry was confirmed as Energy Secretary. He had previously said the Department of Energy should be eliminated, though he later admitted he didn’t really know what it entailed.
President Trump, who received 5 draft deferments during the Vietnam War, dressed up in a Navy hat and jacket to speak to sailors, marines, and shipbuilders aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford. He said America should build more aircraft carriers as he touted his planned $84B defense spending increase over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the White House’s EPA budget proposal cuts the climate protection program by 70% to $29M.
