Transcripts For CSPAN White House Says Burden Was On General Flynn To Disclose Foreign Work 20170311

This is just under one hour. Mr. Spicer happy friday. Good to see you all. Good afternoon. Two more days until the workweek is over. Full attribution to rahm emanuel for that one. As many of you know, today is day 50 of President Trumps administration. A lot to talk about and a lot has gotten done. I want to acknowledge today is also brians birthday, so happy birthday to brian. Ill let you guys celebrate among yourselves. In these first 50 days, the president has taken many key steps toward delivering on the pledges he made to the American People as a candidate. Hes jumpstarted job creation, and not only because of his executive actions, but through the surge of Economic Confidence and optimism that has been inspired since his election. President trump knows exactly what businesses need to thrive and grow, and therefore adding well paying and steady jobs so the market. Obviously, were pleased to seat jobs report. It is great news you for american workers. Hes jumpstarted job creation, during the first full month of the trump presidency, the economy added 235,000 new jobs on the Unemployment Rate ticked down to 4. 7 . Notably, we also saw Significant Growth in the construction, manufacturing, and mining sectors. The Unemployment Rate ticked down and Labor Force Participation rate ticked up showing that even as more people are reentering the job market, businesses are continuing to grow and create new jobs. The president looks forward to continuing his work with the private sector to clear during the first full month of roadblocks, to key infrastructure projects, withdraw from job killing trade deals like the Transpacific Partnership and slash the bureaucratic red tape that makes additional hiring difficult for american businesses. Hes taken action to ensure the safety and security of the United States homeland, its borders, and its people. Hes proposed great rebuilding of our nations military, following a full review of the military readiness and supported by 54 billion budget increase. Hes implemented new protections to prevent people from coming into our country that seek to do us harm. As a result of the president ial memorandum that he signed on january 28, the president received a plan to defeat isis designed by the secretary of defense and the National Security team. Just as hes promised during the campaign, hes made enforcing our nations immigration laws a top priority, signing executive orders that start work on a southern border wall, that enhance the Public Safety of americans through ordering the strong enforcement of immigration laws that already on the books. Halting funding to jurisdictions in the United States that dont complain with federal immigration rules and directing the department of Homeland Security to hire a combined 15,000 new officers and agents to support the system and protect nation. Hes outlined an aggressive legislative agenda that includes tax reform, that bring relief to Small Business in the middle class, a massive commitment to infrastructure that will help jobs. He began working with congress directly on repealing the worst parts of obamacare and replacing it with the American Health care act. And this particular legislation is just one prong in the president s comprehensive approach to reforming our Health Care System. The administration is also taking additional steps to stabilize Health Insurance markets and start bringing down costs for the millions of americans that have been affected by obamacare such as stabilizing Insurance Markets through regulatory row formeform, purchasing insurance across state lines, providing individuals and families with lower access with with access to lower cost options by loosening the restrictions on the financial structure of plans offered through the obamacare exchanges. And finally, the president is committed to working with congress on additional legislation that wont be subject to the budget reconciliation process. That will allow the purchase of Health Insurance across state lines, that will streamline the process of the fda, to bring down the cost of critical medicine, to allow for the expansion of Health Savings accounts, to allow more americans to use their funds for more health care costs, Health Care Related costs and so much more. There is one page fact sheet that lays out the throw prongs to the president s plan to repeal and replace all americans can see that. One pager available at whitehouse. Gov repealandreplace. This administration is already looking forward to all that we have been planning to accomplish in the days and weeks ahead. You should have a document outlining each of the email boxes of the president s major actions during the 51st days. We made it available to the public as well at whitehouse. Gov. In terms of the schedule for the 50th day in office, the president will have a series of meetings and calls moving further along on some of the most significant Campaign Promises he made to the American People after receiving his daily intelligence briefing, he led a Health Care Discussion with Key House Committee chairs. The president thanked and congratulated the chairs on ushering the Health Care Act through the first phase of the legislative process. He noted he was pleased to seat bill pass through both the committees, the energy and Commerce Committee and ways and means committee. President and republicans in congress will act business. Today, the president and republican in congress will act decisively to keep their prommits to promise to the people. In attendance at the meeting including the Vice President were congresswoman black, chair of the house budget committee. Congressman brady, chair of ways and means. Congressmanual wallis from energy commerce. Congresswoman foxx. Lack. Hairman good and in addition to this hill outreach, senior officials at department of health and Human Services met to discuss the bill. And will be meeting with additional stakeholders in the. Oming days through th the president is committed to make the system better that is including hearing from all interested groups for a more affordable and Accessible Health care. The president had a call with the palestinian authority. We will have a readout of that call soon. The president had lunch with secretary of state tillerson and this afternoon the president will meet with secretary of housing and urban development dr. Ben carson. He looks forward to discussing the president had lunch withhue communities with quality affordable housing. Especially the ways in which we can partner with the private sector to come up with Innovative Solutions to turn our Public Housing system around and empower community. Looking ahead to the weekend, the president will spend the weekend here at the white house in a series of meetings with his team. The Vice President s office announced details of his trip to louisville, kentucky where he will participate in listening sessions with Small Businesses and job creators throughout the community and joined by Governor Bevin and hear from local Small Businesses. The Vice President will discuss the president s economic agenda, especially the repeal and replacement aspects of obamacare and how itll reduce the burden on Small Businesses. He will then conclude with formal remarks at the train parts and distribution center. Also coming up, judge gorsuchs confirmation hearings begin on march 20. Yesterday, the American Bar Association reported their committee determined that by unanimous vote, judge gorsuch was given a well qualified mark for the supreme court. The president looks forward to seeing judge gorsuch receive a speedy and fair hearing up and down the floor. The president s weekly address is out. It discusses womens History Month and has plans to repeal and replace obamacare. It aired this morning on Facebook Live and is available on youtube and whitehouse. Gov. I encourage everyone to check it out. With that, i will be glad to take your questions. Take your questions. Pin is upside down. Mr. Spicer always helping with the fashion tips. I appreciate that. No pin promo. John, onto your question. Thank you. Our involvement of setting rangers and marines into syria marks a dramatic change in our presence on the ground there. Im wondering how much autonomy is the president giving general james mattis to involve u. S. Forces on the ground in syria . Mr. Spicer a u. S. Marine artillery unit and team of rangers have recently been positioned in syria to provide a combined joint Task Force Operation inherent resolve. The commander of the agility to expedite the destruction of isis in raqqa in particular. The exact number and position of forces are still a sensitive order to protect the location of the forces. But approximately 400 enabling forces will be deployed for a temporary period to enable our syrian partnered forces to accelerate the defeat of isis specifically in raqqa. I think as ive mentioned before, one of the things that the president has ensured is that the commanders have the flexibility to do what they need to fulfill the mission. The president is obviously as commanderinchief made aware and signs off on all of those missions. But at the end of the day, it is up to the generals to execute their mission to make sure that we continue to defeat isis and protect the nation. Now our involvement there really sort of complicates the whole picture because we are aligned with the kurds, but at the same time, the nato ally turkey sees the kurds as the enemy. Then theres what happens with russia and its involvement with the syrian government. The big problem with iraq was we never planned for the day after. Mr. Spicer right. What are the plans for the day after here when raqqa falls . Who occupies it . Mr. Spicer one of the things that, you know, i mentioned in the script, that is part of what the president has done during his first 50 days, is issue an executive order on january 28 for the secretary of defense to submit a comprehensive plan in consultation with the joint chiefs and other members of the National Security team to defeat isis. That is part of that plan. I think you are seeing a comprehensive approach to not only how we engage in syria but the total defeat and elimination of isis. That is part of an ongoing process that secretary of defense, chairman of the joint chiefs and others have been involved in in briefing the president. Does the president have an idea of who should occupy raqqa . Should it be kurdish mr. Spicer as we default that plan, we will have more on that. You have already killed one question friday. We will get back to john carl. Chair Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee has asked the Justice Department to turn over any information he had, if there was any wiretapping of president elect trump, trump tower. If there is no evidence wiretapping to place, will the president apologized to president obama . Mr. Spicer lets not get ahead of ourselves. It is important to see where that goes and i dont want to prejudge their work at this time. Reporter but there is no evidence. Mr. Spicer again, youre asking what if there is evidence. Going to get into hypotheticals prejudging the outcome of a report on an investigation that hasnt occurred yet. Once that is done, we will respond appropriately. Gardner senator cory was reported by policito to have said he doesnt believe the 14 billion wall along the border is the best way to provide border security. Does the white house see support weakening in congress . Mr. Spicer the president was very clear and promised the American People to protect National Security and Economic Security and will fulfill that pledge. He has started to work with the department of Homeland Security on the bidding process. That is a pledge that he intends to maintain. April 28 is right around the corner, government funding expires. Given that during the transmission. Period, what is the white house doing right now to avoid a shutdown. I talked to said sources they couldnt point to specific talks. Mulvaney isdirector going to release his budget on the 16th. That is the first step in working them with them to get the budget under control. Approaching 20 trillion of our debt and we need to get spending under control, and so part of funding the government goes handinhand with keeping track of what we are spending and how we are spending and what our priorities are carried we have begun that process internally within the executive range. Director mulvaney has had several conversations with members on the hill on both sides. The Vice President has been engaged as well. To your eschew, that is part of the process. You need to release a budget first about our priorities for the fiscal year and make sure we do what we can going forward. This goes handinhand with that. Finish out the current i understand. Fiscal year 2017. But they go handinhand. 2017 andto close out once we have a handle on fy 18, we can backfill 17. Appreciate we are not having that discussion here. The president has said in the past that he welcomes compromise and is very open to compromise on the immigration legislation that is coming up. Morning, when she spoke at the Christian Science monitor press breakfast, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that she would like to see comprehensive immigration package that passed the senate before stopped in the that was her version of a compromise on immigration. What is the administrations position on what former speaker and minority leader you are referring to the gang of eight . I think the president was clear on the campaign trail that that is not a bill he supports. He looks forward to engaging with members to find a way forward to fixing our broken immigration system. Is a nonstarter, it was when he came out the first time. It continues to be. Recognizes that the system is broken and he wants to work with congress to fix it. Reporter does the white house believe there is such a thing as the the state working to undermine the president . Mr. Spicer i think there is no question when you have eight years of oneparty in office, there are people who staying government affiliated and continue to a spouse the agenda of the previous administration. It shouldnt come as any surprise that there are people burrowed into government in eight years of the last administration, and may have believed in that agenda and want to continue to seek it. Reporter the director of the residential mandate to seek these people out and purge them from government . Mr. Spicer that is not part of the cias mandate under any circumstances. The dsa just put out a statement saying it is president obama who deserves the credit for the februarys job the february job number. How much do you feel President Trump should be credited with that and how would you characterize the economy President Trump was handed . Mr. Spicer look, numbers will go up and down. We recognize that. There is no question when you look at the ceos that hire people and the ceos that have been talking about the investment they want to make in america. You can look back over the last several administration. Administrations. I havent seen the number of ceos and businesses talk about the of investments and expansion of investment or hiring based on the vision and agenda of an administration the way they have in this one. It is not just a question of what we believe, i think if you look at the automakers, the other manufacturers, and frankly some of the serviced industries, that have talked about the investments they will make or the continuation of a project they had going or the movement plant a manufacturing or job investment. Those speak for themselves. It isnt a question of what we believe, but the commitment u. S. Manufacturers and businesses are making because they want to buy into the president s agenda and vision for creating more tax and regulatory business friendly environment to grow here. Those speak for themselves. Reporter do you believe the policies have already had an impact . Mr. Spicer absolutely. Look at the confidence indexes. The stock market has generated over 3 billion of additional wealth since he was elected. There are several Economic Indicators that show signs of strength because of the president s vision and agenda. That is a secret. You talk to economists and Business Leaders, a have confidence in the president s agenda that it will yield for a more favorable Business Climate to hire more americans, expand the manufacturing base, because more competitive around the globe, so i do believe that. I dont think it is a question of what i were the administration the league believe. If you look at what Business Leaders do, they confirm that. Reporter in the past, the president has referred to jobs reports as phony or fiction. Does the president believe this jobs report was accurate . Mr. Spicer i talked to the president prior to this and he said to quote him clearly. A hate he said they may have been phony in the past, but they are very real now. [laughter] reporter can you clear up what between what you said yesterday when the administration was made aware of general thing general Michael Flynn, today that team was informed. Mr. Spicer there was a difference between when he filed, two days ago, and what happened. With the ap is reporting is that a personal lawyer general flynns contacted a transitional lawyer and ask for guidance on what he should or should not do. The lawyer was instructed that that wasnt the role of the transition and it was up the to the personal lawyer to work at the appropriate authorities or subject Matter Experts to determine what was appropriate in terms of filing. , as was a personal matter business matter, not something that would be appropriate for a Government Entity to give guidance on when they should file as an individual citizen. That was the guidance that was given, which is consistent with what should be done and it shouldnt be a shock to anyone that if you are asked if you asked a government lawyer when you should do as a citizen, they will tell you you should consult experts in that area to determine what you should or should not do. Reporter the transition was aware about it, the president was made aware . Mr. Spicer there are tons of individuals who consult with lawyers and ethics experts and this stock, will i have to sell it . I own this business, this house, and for the most part, they are given for as to hey, go consult with a lawyer. It is almost like asking someone for tax advice. You call the irs and say, i want to know what to do with this, they will to you to consult a tax attorney. That is not the job of a Government Official to tell you what you should do in your capacity as a private citizen. It is a vastly different scenario regardless of what department you call in the department of education and ask them about standards, they will refer you to a local entity if you are asking about her own child. That is not why Government Officials are clear about the line of private action and government action. Reporter does the president Medicaid Expansion being moved up next year . Thespicer the bill before house right now, the reconciliation peace, and i cannot reiterated enough, it is a threepronged process. Is therent process it first time you are going to have a full addressing of an entitlement like this in decades. It is actually a very good thing for conservatives when you look at how were going to address medicaid and entitlements. Many conservatives have bought for years file for years, these need addressed. The president has made clear that as he meets with ms. Members of congress and outside groups that if someone hasnt has an idea you can make this legislation more accessible, give more choice to the American People, right down costs, he wants to listen to it. Right now, that is where the bill stands. We will work with members of the house and the senate. I dont want to prejudge the process itself, but the bill was crafted in a way that represents the president s thinking in a smart way of addressing title ix entitlements going forward. Reporter the president is willing to negotiate on the expansion method . Mr. Spicer right now, the date in the bill is what the president supports. He is willing to listen to individuals on aspect of the bill that might make it achieve the goals he set out. It is not a question of negotiation. Have a date in the bill and that is the date in the bill. The bill continues to work its way through the house and that goes for speaker ryan. Approaching him with ideas and he is listening to them as well. Senator mcconnell is probably dealing with the same in the senate. That is how the process will work. I have made it clear that this process is going to be one where we take the best ideas, listen to individuals and try to make sure we achieve the goals the president has laid out. Reporter at a breakfast this morning, nancy pelosi also said it couldnt possibly true of the president s allegations of the former president because that is not how our system works. She also said obama would not do that and it would be a waste of time for the House Intelligence Committee to investigate the allegation. Does the white house have any evidence to refute House Minority leader and former speaker pelosis claims and can you explain why the president hasnt announced this directly . Mr. Spicer we have spoken clearly. The house and senate Intelligence Committee have the appropriate forum and process and staff to look into this matter and report back. Can you say that the president was informed at all about this arrangement . Mr. Spicer no. Clear, general flynn filed with the department of justice two days ago. That is like asking what about the need to file . Hisspicer that is up to personal lawyer. Each person who goes through the processing governments counsel regarding the assets they own as to what they do or dont. This is something it is like asking if someone needed to file a disclosure form. To determine. R us that is for them and their counsel to determine if they engaged in activities in the past or if a doctor need to go up their certification. That is not for the government to determine. There are private citizens activities that you conduct and seek counsel on or professional advice. That is not up to the government. That is how the system works. You already got your question john. We are doing one question friday. It is not, john. Reporter you have an attorney calling the transition saying a person who is in line to begin National Security adviser may need to register as a Foreign Agent. That doesnt raise a red flag . Mr. Spicer it isnt a question of raising a red flag. It is whether they gave the advice they are supposed to. It is not up to them to make the decision on what to do. You are certain activities that fall under each of these requirements as far as what the threshold is, activities, could with the Funding Source was, etc. It is not up to, nor is it appropriate or legal for the government to go into private citizens, telling them what they have to register or not. Equivalent ofthe walking through a tax return and saying that is not a deduction. When you contact agencies, they tell you to seek counsel or professional advice in whatever matter it is. It is not up to them to determine. Lane and simple. Plain and simple. Reporter moving beyond the legal question. Just a followup. It sounds like this is an issue of judgment about you want in your administration. The republic reports that your potential National Security advisor had dealings with the government of turkey, a controversial reaching. Regime. Sent asman cummings letter to mike pence informing him of this and raising a red flag. Mr. Pence was on television yesterday saying twice that he had no knowledge of that list. Mr. Spicer stop there, no, no. Before you accuse the Vice President of certain things. He said he was not aware of the filing. And he wasnt. Thank you. Reporter in the larger question , filling out forms, what does this say about the transition teams judgment about still appointing him it has National Security adviser when you had knowledge of this . Mr. Spicer you are asking me forget about the legalisms. We ask people to follow the law. You cant forget about the legalisms. That is what you said. I am saying that is what we did. They consulted a lawyer, which everyone who had is advised to do. We said it is your job to consult the appropriate lawyers and we beyond the legal issues, in terms of we are moving beyond the issue of the papers. Were talking about the judgment of the president , the Vice President and your team to select this man as National Security adviser when you had information that he had these dealings with turkey. Mr. Spicer but what dealings are you referring to . A fact that he had a client he was also the head of the department of the Defense Intelligence agency. Unbelievably qualified, 40 years in the military with impeccable credentials. What exactly are you getting at . Far, he has impeccable credentials, a stellar career in the military. Widely respected, and for you to impugn his integrity. But again, there was no disclosure at the time. The question is if his counsel work with whoever he worked with and determined he didnt. Is on thatden individual to seek a professional expertise to decide what they have to file and not. Have aliterally hypothetical question about someone who made an inappropriate filing on the tax professionalother qualification. At the end of the day, when people present it to you, they had are advised to seek legal advice about what is appropriate and not. That is not up to the transition attorneys to go through someones livelihood and determine what they need to seek. A were given proper legal ice, which was to seek expertise in already obtained counsel. Reporter let me clarify. The transition officials were not overly concerned by his relationship . Mr. Spicer it is not a question of overly concerned. The question is did they advising the avenue they were supposed to . And they did. That is what is supposed to happen. Plain and simple. Beorter the question would right now, does this raise concerns there may be other members of this administration or transition that were or are currently lobbying on behalf of foreign governments right now that may be advising the president of the United States . Mr. Spicer look, we trust people to fill out the appropriate forms they need to. And the president acted accordingly. Reporter he may have been taking actions though. Mr. Spicer you are asking me can, this is like saying gone throughe have every reporters background. We trust people to fill out the forms they are required to do so in an honest and legal manner. In this case, he retroactively filed the forms he was supposed to. We advised him to do the legal and proper thing, that is the right thing for this administration. We did the right thing then and expect every employee to follow the law. When it comes to ethics and lobbying, this president s to do to a fiveyear ban. He is committed to making sure we Institute High standards here and our help to them. At the end of the day, when he found out that general claimed and betrayed the trust of the trust trusts of the Vice President. He let him go. If somebody does something that is not in keeping with the president s standards that he set for every person in this administration, they will be let go. Whatieve everyone has done has been legally required of them. I cant tell you that every Single Person has done everything. I continue to president has made clear to every person in this administration, you are expected to live up to the high standards set for you. And if you dont, you will be dismissed. Removal, as for the what is the reaction of the white house to this . And also, we know that there will be a president ial very andtion soon in south korea candidates prefer less confrontation. So, does the white house look into the impact of the election . I believe they have to have an election within 60 days, there is an acting acting president we have strong relationships with and will continue to work at south korea. Aaron ally and friend in the region. This is an issue that we keep up on the developments. It is a domestic issue where the u. S. Takes no position in the outcome. It is at the up to the koreans dictate the future of their country. The United States continues to be a steadfast ally to the republic of korea and that is it. Obviously, you are excited about the jobs report. President tweaking within an hour of the jobs report coming out, which is a violation of federal rules, so i am wondering if they are counseling him. , hethe risk of doing that be nonpartisan, by the books. Mr. Spicer i understand that rule was instituted to deal with market fluctuations. I think tweeting out, great way to start a friday. Here are the actual numbers you have reported, dont make me make the podium move. [laughter] honest to god, every reporter had reported out that we 235,000 jobs, 4. 7, there isnt tv station that go live to it. To tweak out great way to start the president was excited to see more people go to work. I dont think that was market disruption. I think when we look at the policies the president has instituted to help put more americans back to work. I understand what the Obama White House for instance, went out of their way not to comment on that. They would rearrange the president s schedule around it. Mr. Spicer i get it. It is not about the economy. It is one thing to give analysis, literally tweeting out great news, yes, we are excited that when the president and the rest of the team saw the news this morning, as reported on every television station, twitter, the internet, and every major news site in the country and around the world, we are excited to see some of the americans to work. I apologize we were a little happy to see so many fellow americans back to work. Reporter in november laid out the general flame general Michael Flynn why did that not raise a red flag question mark mr. Spicer remember, i think we forget something. His attorney went to a transition attorney was told, you need to seek counseling get further guidance. It is not a question of raised flags. It is not for us to decide whether someone needs to file under the lobbying disclosure act, that is not the job of a transition attorney. Is to tell them to seek additional counsel or explain to them where to find that information. Not to tell them what to do or not to do. Reporter not saying you should go to this attorney, but why this information was brought to the attention, did he raise questions to look into it further . Mr. Spicer it is simple to say, why didnt this occur. Did they seek the appropriate professional advice and counsel and they did. Reporter i had a health care question. Mr. Spicer good. [laughter] about the fundable refundable tax portion of the house bill. Would he be willing to file thatlation that avoided provision because as you know, conservatives are concerned that is an additional entitlement. Thespicer i think as president talks more and more to members of congress and outside groups, i think they are excited to understand the totality of this. To continue to explain the comprehensive and aspect of this. The administrative piece that secretary price will institute and the additional legislation, buying health care across state lines, allowing Health Savings accounts to expand the ,treamlining of the federal fda going after medical malpractice. Being coste things out. If you get your health care through your employer, the majority of americans do, you are not taxed on that, your employer is not taxed on it. It is fairly inadequate and unbalanced for Small Business owners, ranchers and farmers, so proprietors to have to face a disproportionate cap tax burden because they are not a big employer. This is something conservatives should be embracing and the more they understand the comprehensive nature of this, they are beginning to support the president wants to say the refundable tax provision. Mr. Spicer absolutely. House republicans road what letter to the white house wrote a letter to the white house about why johnson is still in his job. Do happening on that . Do happening on that question mr. Spicer i do not. Reporter the president tweeted that during the obama presidency, russia ran over the United States and in particular, picked off crimea which the president described in his tweet as week. Given that he seems to be focused on crimea, with the president use the authority and funding granted him to send lethal defensive weapons to ukraine as is being called for by the house and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairmans and is in both party platforms, although the republican language was watereddown . And if he is not going to i ask you about this if the president doesnt want to do it, is that because he would rather focus his efforts with russia on partnering to try and defeat isis . Mr. Spicer i think Ambassador Haley has noted at the human that any attempt to undermine sanctions that exist because of the annexation of crimea will remain in place until that issue is resolved. Comes to his negotiating strategy, the president has made clear in a variety of circuit santas that his philosophy is not one where he tells you what to do. For he tells you what he will do very will do. Thenot going to get into president s negotiating strategy. I will take that as he continues to engage with the president of russia and secretary tillerson it is your birthday, youve got a question. Has several staff thousand emails and have talked to congressman this morning saying, you got to repeal and replace obamacare, why not give what congressman and senators get . Mr. Spicer what we are trying to do someone asked about federal benefits. Right now, one third of the counties in our country have one provider. That is not choice. The president understands that and that is why he is pushing the American Health care, why were doing this. So Many Americans dont have a choice. He wants there to be greater choice and lower cost. By doing the stuff were doing, especially the third round of is her choice. Prior to obamacare the open market through a variety of different options and details what is tailored to what you are the deductible you want to the choice obamacare legislation is no and hence an approach that you should be supporting. The perception that somehow congress, senators and congressmen get better care than the rest of us, can you adjust that . Yes, i think that is why we are trying to pass it the way that we are. We want more choice, more competition, and lower cost. Deserve aan People Better Health Care System and that is what we were pushing for. [inaudible] growing north korean threat, and what are his marching orders . You talked about the flexibility the president has given to his generals. What flexibility has he given to the secretary of state . I know the trip was one of the topics of discussion and so i will try to follow up with that. With respect to the first part of the question, the press is being invited. There is a press logistics component to make sure they can get everywhere, they are given access. [an audible] [inaudible] they have made accommodations for the press. We do not get involved in the logistics for every cabinet members trip. They have made aware of the concerns of some of your colleagues and are making accommodations in the future with respect to the size of the plane, but make no respect make no mistake about it, there is a logistics component to make sure the press is welcome throughout the trip and at every stop. And that accommodations are taken care of and the Logistical Support to do that. There will be a press conference component as well. Show less well. Would you like Public Diplomacy and this important Diplomatic Initiative for the administration to be covered fully i hope itll be covered fully with the reporters o to be on the plane with the secretary as they have and when appropriate they can. There is a big difference between carving out a number of seats and between having transparency and they make sure you have hotels, travel support, combination answers filing centers. At some point, you know, this isnt about blocking anybody. Theyve gone above and beyond. Not every plane can accommodate every member of the press. Can you get a bigger plane. There is an element of cost savings that the secretary is trying to achieve. But at the end of the day, theres a press component to every stop of the secretarys trip. He is doing everything he can to logistically support the press who want it come and cover them. And they are open to making sure the secretary is available throughout the trip. Yes . Show yes . President trump has been very critical of german chancellor merkel on the campaign trail. How does the white house think that will effect the tone of the meeting on tuesday and what type of tone does the president plan to take . I know we did a bit of a readout earlier today on that. There is a lot of excitement on both sides of the ocean for this trip. I know that we are looking forward to meeting with the chancellor and her team and i have talked to her folks over there and they are very excited about coming over. There is a lot of trade and economic interest on both sides and obviously an element of National Security that we share and so i will let the trip, look forward to the readout but there is a , lot of excitement. I think the president looks forward to meeting with the chancellor and discussing areas of shared interest. Athena . With all of this plane discussion i gather from today and yesterday, i want it make sure i understand the answer to this question. Are you saying the president was not aware that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn was acting as a National Agent as a Foreign Agent when he was appointed as National Security advisor . Correct. You wouldnt know that, he didnt file until two days ago, and nobody would have known that because he didnt file for Foreign Agent until two days ago. What about filing with congress in november . Again, thats different than filing with the doj. One question friday. It is very much attached. All right. Did flynn disclose he was acting as Foreign Agent in the security clearance review before he became nsa . I dont know the answer it that question. That is something to follow up with general flynn on. April . When is it when a president s, former president s spillover ends and new president stands on his own merit, when does that happen . I think on january 20th at noon you start to assume command of the government. And you know, what specifically are you asking for . Numbers from jobs. I think that this is the first full month that encapsulates the president s administration. Thats a very telling number. Look, i get it, the numbers will go up and down. For the first full month we see the enthusiasm and spirit that so many Business Leaders have been drawn to, and it is exciting as the first month. This encapsulatees a full 30 days of the trump presidency. So you know, we will continue to work forward with policies that will lower regulation and lower taxes, create a more businessfriendly and entrepreneurialprendly Business Climate to allow the expansion of u. S. Companies and grow u. S. Jobs. Lastly, over the last couple of weeks, a large portion of negatives over the new Affordable Care act and how you are looking to make it patient care. Right. With that, are there any positives that you can articulate from aca that will carry into possibly patient care . I think children staying on their plans to 26. Preexisting condition piece. But again, remember thats the subject to no, no, youre asking if there is elements. Those are some things. And again, remember, there is stuff that is part of the aca that is stuff that republicans support for a while as well. This is making sure that this is the most effective and comprehensive Health Care Policy that achieves the president s goal. [ inaudible ] i dont know, april. Im sure can i go through the bill and get back. It is very long as you saw. 974 pages. David jackson . House saying that President Trump inviting [ inaudible ] can you confirm that . I can. Thank you very much. Lets end on the positive note. We look forward to seeing you. Take care, everybody. Thank you. Are you watching snl this weekend since you talked about moving the podium . [laughter] in case you missed it, here are some clips of cspans programming last week. Rod rosenstein before the Senate Judiciary committee. We need to refrain from disparaging people. If we charge somebody with a crime and it is appropriate to introduce evidence against them in court than we do it. If we do not charge them with a crime we have the responsibility not to disparage them. Dick durbin on President Trumps revised travel plan. Includes some cosmetic changes, but these changes do not alter the fact that President Trumps travel plan is still unconstitutional and still inconsistent with the values of this nation. Paul ryan on the Gop Health Care plan. We said in 2016 to our citizens, to our constituents, if you give us this chance this is what we will do. Now is our chance and our opportunity to do it. Senator chris murphy on the legislation to replace the Affordable Care act. Trump care is here and you are going to hate it. This is a Dumpster Fire of a bill that was written on the back of an afghan behind closed doors back of the napkin behind closed doors because they know it is a disaster. Nikki haley on north korea. Trying is someone who is to get attention, trying to cause a reaction. This is what bothers us. It hit less than 200 nautical miles of japan. They said their goal is to be able to reach u. S. Bases in japan. This is not something we can take lightly. The Global Community needs to understand every country is in danger from the actions of north korea. Congressman eliot engel during the energy and commerce markup of the health care bill. This is one of the most important things were going to vote on this year and it is rushed through. We are buying a page in the public because we do not have all of the details a pig in the polk because we do not have all the details. Cspan programs are available at cspan. Org come on our homepage, and by searching the video library. At a press conference in beijing, chinas foreign minister talked about relations with the u. S. , north koreas ,ecent Ballistic Missile test and chinas role as a permanent member of the. This is 45 minutes permanent member of the un security council. This is 25 45 minutes. Thank you. I am from nbc news. Minister, you have included a saying