Trump talks with Barack Obama, shakes hands with Mike Pence during Carter funeral
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump shook hands with his former Vice President Mike Pence and spoke extensively with former President Barack Obama during the state funeral for late President Jimmy Carter on Thursday.
All five living U.S. presidents attended Carter’s service at Washington National Cathedral. Carter, the nation’s 39th president, died in late December at the age of 100.
Trump was the first of the presidents to arrive and sit in the second row, joined by his wife Melania Trump.
As he took his seat, Pence stood and the two men shook hands. It was a notable exchange as they have not interacted publicly in four years, after Pence broke with Trump by refusing his demands to unilaterally reject the 2020 election results.
Pence later launched his own campaign for the Republican nomination, though he dropped out before primary voting began. Pence also declined to endorse Trump for president.
Trump was seated next to Obama at the church. Before the program began, they were seen talking to one another and smiling in an extended conversation. Former first lady Michelle Obama was not in attendance.
Also in the second row were former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.
After they were all seated, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrived and took their places in the front row.
Harris, who faced Trump in the 2024 election and lost, did not greet Trump but at one point looked back as Obama and Trump were chatting with one another.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined Harris and Emhoff in the front row. Biden will deliver the eulogy for Carter.
Other high-profile figures spotted at Carter’s funeral were former Vice President Al Gore, Biden’s son Hunter Biden and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Monday that reverse several Biden administration initiatives related to the military and deliver on promises he made on the campaign trail.
Trump signed the orders while onboard Air Force One, White House staff secretary Will Scharf told reporters.
“First is an executive order, as he alluded to in his speech earlier, reinstating members of the military who were terminated or forced to separate because of the vaccine mandates. The second item was an executive order establishing a process to develop what we’re calling an American Iron Dome; a comprehensive missile defense shield to land the American homeland,” Scharf said.
“The third executive order that President Trump signed relates to eliminating gender radicalism in the military, and the fourth is about eliminating DEI set asides and DEI offices within the military,” Scharf added.
In addition those items, Trump signed a proclamation commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Reinstating military members who refused vaccinations
Trump signed an order directing the secretary of defense to “reinstate service members who were dismissed for refusing the COVID vaccine, with full back pay and benefits,” according to the White House.
The fact sheet on the order estimates that more than 8,000 troops were discharged between 2021 and 2023 following the Biden administration’s policy requiring vaccinations for service members. The order adds that the discharged military personnel will “receive their former rank.”
In August 2021, then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all military personnel. The fact sheet said that the decision was made in “spite of the scientific evidence,” and added that it led to the discharge “healthy service members — many of whom had natural immunity and dedicated their entire lives to serving our country.”
The White House also says the vaccine mandate had a “chilling effect on recruitment,” noting that the Department of Defense fell 41,000 recruits short of its fiscal year 2023 recruiting goals.
Service members were given the opportunity to rejoin the military in 2023 when the vaccine mandate was rescinded, but the White House fact sheet said that only 43 service members elected to do that. The issue of full back pay is complex and would likely require congressional approval.
The order follows one of Trump’s promises from his speech on Inauguration Day, when he said he would make this move shortly after he was sworn in.
Transgender service members
Trump signed an order directing the Department of Defense to update its guidance “regarding trans-identifying medical standards for military service and to rescind guidance inconsistent with military readiness.”
The order will require DOD to update all medical standards “to ensure they prioritize readiness and lethality.”
The order will also end the use of pronouns in the Department of Defense and will also prohibit males from “sharing sleeping, changing, or bathing in facilities designated for females.”
Last week, Trump revoked a Biden administration order allowing transgender people to serve in the military. In 2016, the Pentagon under then-President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on transgender people serving in the armed forces. But in 2017, Trump announced on what was then Twitter that transgender service members would no longer be able to serve openly in the armed forces, citing concerns over costs and readiness. The policy was implemented in 2019 and required transgender service members to serve in line with their biological sex unless they had already successfully transitioned or were grandfathered in under the Obama-era policy.
In 2021, the Trump policy was reversed under the Biden administration, allowing transgender service members to again serve openly and access related medical care.
“This change to the standards meant that men and women could join the military for the express purpose of transitioning, be nondeployable for a year, and take life-altering hormone therapy that would mean they would be nondeployable unless the military could guarantee the supply of medication,” now-Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said of the changes under Biden in one of his books.
Iron Dome
Trump has now officially begun the process of creating “the Iron Dome for America,” a nod to the Israeli missile defense system.
The order “directs implementation of a next generation missile defense shield for the United States against ballistic, hypersonic, advanced cruise missiles, and other next generation aerial attacks,” according to a fact sheet obtained by ABC News.
There are very few details about how this type of a system would be developed. There are no details in the fact sheet on a timeline for creating such a system, nor any mention of cost to construct it.
The order follows through on a pledge Trump made a number of times on the campaign trail.
“Americans deserve an Iron Dome and that’s what we’re gonna have we’re gonna have an Iron Dome,” Trump said during an New Hampshire rally in October 2023.
As ABC has previously reported, experts say replicating an Iron Dome system for the U.S. wouldn’t make much sense, given the U.S. has allies to the north and south, and oceans on either side.
Banning DEI
Another order that Trump signed takes aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. The order will ban the use of “discriminatory race- or sex-based preferences,” according to a fact sheet about the move.
The order directs Hegseth to internally review cases of “race- or sex-based discrimination” based on past DEI policies and requires DOD and DHS to review curriculum to “eliminate radical DEI and gender ideologies.”
The fact sheet adds that Trump is committed to a merit-based system with “sex-neutral policies and colorblind recruitment, promotion, and retention.” It blamed the so-called “‘woke’ assault” for the military’s flagging recruitment numbers.
This is just the latest of actions the Trump administration has taken to shut down DEI programs throughout the federal government and among federal contractors and to put pressure on private entities to end similar programs.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that President Joe Biden is looking to make as much progress as possible on foreign policy before he leaves office next month.
In an interview with “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Sullivan said that Biden is hoping to surge aid to Ukraine and move forward with ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas with his time left in office. Both conflicts have dogged the administration, with Ukraine struggling to retake territory it lost to Russia and little progress in Gaza despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“We are going to do everything in our power for these 50 days to get Ukraine all the tools we possibly can to strengthen their position on the battlefield so that they’ll be stronger at the negotiating table. And President Biden directed me to oversee a massive surge in the military equipment that we are delivering to Ukraine so that we have spent every dollar that Congress has appropriated to us by the time that President Biden leaves office,” Sullivan said.
When pressed on clinching a deal in Gaza and possibly broader diplomatic breakthroughs between Israel and Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Sullivan said, “The first step is getting the ceasefire and hostage deal. If we can get that into effect, then the possibilities for a broader diplomatic initiative in the region along the lines that you just described really open up, and we will use every day we have in office to try to generate as much progress towards that end as possible.”
Making progress on both fronts remains a tall order for multiple reasons. The U.S. has vowed to not make any decisions about Ukraine without Kyiv’s input and the Israeli government has appeared reluctant to wind down fighting in Gaza.
And with President-elect Donald Trump entering office, foreign policy priorities will undoubtedly be shaken up. Trump is believed to be unlikely to pressure Israel to scale back its military operations in Gaza, and he has appeared skeptical of sending aid to Ukraine at the same pace the Biden administration has.
“I’ve encouraged the Ukrainian team to engage the incoming team as well as to engage all of our allies and partners, because, again, on Jan. 21, the war in Ukraine doesn’t just go away. Obviously, the new team will have its own policy, its own approach, and I can’t speak to that, but what I can do is make sure that we put Ukraine in the best possible position when we hand off the baton,” Sullivan said, referencing the day after Trump takes office.
Still, Sullivan debunked a report suggesting that the administration is open to returning nuclear weapons to Ukraine.
“That is not under consideration. No. What we are doing is surging various conventional capacities to Ukraine so that they can effectively defend themselves and take the fight to the Russians, not nuclear capability,” he told Karl.
Sullivan did say, however, that the transition is going smoothly.
“We got a lot of work to do, and frankly, we’re going to try to do that also in a way where we have a smooth transition with the incoming Trump team. And I have to say that I’ve been gratified so far by the coordination I’ve been able to have with the incoming Trump team. They seem focused also on a smooth transition, because they want to be able to hit the ground running,” he told Karl.
After Trump takes office, however, things become less clear.
Trump on Saturday tapped Kash Patel, a loyalist and vocal critic of the Justice Department, as his pick to lead the FBI. Patel has railed against the so-called “Deep State,” naming Sullivan as a member.
When pressed on if that pick concerns him, Sullivan dodged.
“I’m not going to speak to President-elect Trump’s nominees. I’ll let him and his transition team speak to that,” Sullivan said.
“We inherited an FBI director who actually had been appointed by President Trump, Director Chris Wray, who has continued to serve in that role through the four years of the Biden administration, and served with distinction, served entirely insulated from politics where the partisan preferences of the current sitting president of the United States. This is a good, deep, bipartisan tradition that President Biden adhered to.”
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Justice Department — former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi — faces questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Democrats want to ask her about her vow to “prosecute the prosecutors — the bad ones” — referring to special counsel Jack Smith and other DOJ lawyers who investigated Trump.
Durbin raises concerns Bondi’s connections to Trump cases Durbin said he had concerns about Bondi’s work for Trump in his attempts to cast doubt on his 2020 election loss.
“You repeatedly described investigations and prosecutions of Mr. Trump, Trump as a witch hunt, and you have echoed his calls for investigating and prosecuting his political opponents. This flies in the face of evidence,” he said.
Durbin also as said he had concerns about Bondi’s controversial move to not investigate fraud claims against Trump University in 2016 when she was Florida’s attorney general.
“I also have questions whether you will focus on the needs of the American people rather than the wealthy special interests,” he said.
Durbin to challenge Bondi as hearing gets underway
In his prepared opening statement, top committee Democrat Dick Durbin will tell Bondi, “Ms. Bondi, you have many years of experience in law enforcement, including nearly a decade of service as attorney general in one of the largest states in the nation. But I need to know you would tell President Trump ‘No’ if you are faced with a choice between your oath to the Constitution and your loyalty to Mr. Trump.”
Trump says Bondi will end alleged ‘weaponization’ of DOJ
“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans – Not anymore,” Trump wrote in his announcement of Bondi for attorney general.
Bondi boosted Trump’s false claims of 2020 election fraud
Pam Bondi has developed a reputation as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s most loyal defenders — a vocal political and legal advocate who represented Trump during his first impeachment, boosted his efforts to sow doubts about his 2020 election loss, and stood by him during his New York criminal trial. Read more about her background here.
Democrats to grill Pam Bondi over loyalty to Trump Bondi – Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department – has vowed, in a 2023 interview on Fox News, to ‘’prosecute the prosecutors – the bad ones’’ who investigated Donald Trump.
Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — whose members will question Florida’s former attorney general – has said ‘’she has echoed the President[-elect]’s calls for prosecuting his political opponents, and she has a troubling history of unflinching loyalty to the President-elect.”
