>> jon: but we begin with the swearing in of the newest supreme court justice, neil gorsuch. welcome to the second hour of "happening now," i am jon scott. >> heather: i am heather childers in for jenna lee come history making moment. >> jon: something else. >> heather: justice gorsuch, that have been earlier this morning and the rose garden, administered by his former boss, justice anthony kennedy. >> all the duties incumbent upon me as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> under the constitution and laws of the united states. >> so help me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. >> jon: the supreme court made whole once again, justice gorsuch fills out the supreme court that has been short a member for over a year now. peter doocy joins us live now. >> on the last four hours the composition of the supreme court officially changed after only having eight justices for 14 months, there is now a ninth. the process for having that ninth confirmed starting this morning in the justices conference room where neil gorsuch put his hand on the family bible that his wife louise was holding to take an oath to support and defend the constitution. he then signed the oath and loaded into a motorcade for the white house with the rest of the supreme court justices along for the ride. justice anthony kennedy who gorsuch wants clerked for, administered the judicial oath to gorsuch steps away from the white house. late antonin scalia was wet out more rain and son eugene were in the rose garden as well, in gorsuch promise he would never forget the late scalia. >> i cannot tell you how honored i am today to have my mentor, justice kennedy, administered the judicial oath, a beautiful oath, as he did for me 11 years ago when i became a circuit just delete my judge. to the scalia family, i won't ever forget that the seat i inherit today is that of a very, very great man. >> we also had this morning from president trump his platform as a candidate including a promise to put a conservative on the high court. now as president, he's talking about what gorsuch as a justice means not only for the judicial branch but also for his first term. >> and i got it done in the first 100 days, that is even nice. you think that's easy. this ceremony has special meaning as justice gorsuch is filling the seat of one of the greatest supreme court judges in american history, and that is antonin scalia. >> now that the ceremonies are over, gorsuch can get right to work, hiring clerks and also hearing arguments during a first term, some of which are expected to be very controversial including a case coming up about religious freedom out of misery. >> jon: peter doocy at the supreme court, thank you. the debate over obamacare is moving in a different direction toward the trump plan. republicans now finding repeal and replace is easier said than done. and complicating things further, public opinion of obamacare is actually on the rise. talk about it with james freeman, "wall street journal" editorial page assistant editor and alex, senior reporter for "the hill." james, does it surprise you that all of a sudden the law that people reviled for so many years is getting more popular? >> it is not that popular. it never has been. it was past when it was not popular, and it had trouble becoming popular because it did not work, costs are high, premiums rose, companies dropped out of the individual markets, all of those problems are still happening, so i think republicans need to look a little bit beyond the day-to-day poles and focus on what is going to make voters in america happy in the future, and that is a less regulated market, lower premiums, lower taxes, less government spending. that is what they are discussing now. >> jon: notice respect they are, but lower premiums, that is again easier to say but hard to put into effect. alex, the ryan care plan as some people call it has died a quick death in the congress, what is coming next? >> republicans are really at a stalemate as to what to do next. the chief criticism of ryan care is that it would not actually reduce premiums. the arguments the conservatives had is that it would not reduce premiums because there was still this prohibition from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. so that is what is driving up the cost, republicans right before the recess, members of the conservative freedom caucus and said let's get rid of that requirement so that insurance companies are not forced to cover sick people that is driving up the cost, but that plan fell flat. chief deputy whip patrick mchenry says we are not going to do it. that plan does not have the votes to pass in the house. so they are back to the drawing board. meanwhile, in the senate, mitch mcconnell sent a clear message on friday, we're not doing anything until the house acts. >> jon: by james, as this thing goes along, the insurance companies have been dropping out of some of the market places, some people only have one choice of insurer right now, president trump has said he might just let obamacare collapse of its own weight. is that a realistic possibility? >> i suppose it is if you do not have some compromise within the republican party. after the last deal fell apart, of course, the freedom caucus was in for a lot of criticism, but as we have seen, it is also a problem of the most liberal members of the republican party who will not except in some cases a move back toward individual choice and insurance markets. something will be done here because eventually, these exchanges collapse, fewer and fewer options, the financing does notork, so you have to start thinking about how do you move back to a system where markets set prices? the reason young people would not sign up for this thing is because it was designed in large part to reallocate money from them to other americans. i think what they ought to be looking at is how do we get to a free market where individuals decide and then separate from that for people who need help, let's look at whether the government options are serving them. >> jon: all of this is creating uncertainty in the insurance markets, right? insurance companies hate uncertainty. they like to go by the numbers. >> yes, but one of the arguments being made during the healthcare debate last month is that the house republican plan would have created more uncertainty rather than less uncertainty. sometimes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, which is why people were content to stick with obamacare. you are right. the problem is in some parts of the country, insurers are pulling out, people are not having competition whatsoever and in some parts, there might not be any participating in obamacare, and that is the problem republicans are wrestling with. rather than a major overhaul, they are leaning more toward working with democrats to look at some rightful fixes. >> jon: alex bolton and james freeman, thank you very much. >> heather: another story we are following commie egyptian president al sisi calling on congress to approve a three-month state of emergency after egyptian site bombings on palm sunday. we are following this from our jerusalem board do not bureau and have more. >> egypt's christian community has been hit by a wave of violence in recent months, but yesterday's attack by four is the deadliest, to separate bombings leaving at least 45 people dead in more than 100 wounded. both blasts were actually caught on camera, and the video is disturbing. surveillance cameras show a man being turned away outside the main gate of st. mark's cathedral, the traditional seat of the coptic community in alexandria, seconds later, massive blast. a few hours earlier in the day, bomb exploding in st. george's church. a racist claiming responsibly for both blasts. isis claiming response buddy, president al sisi issuing another valid today, despite the faster crackdown on extremism, the president has really struggled to tackle the violence that has taken over noy in the sinai but in other places like cairo in egypt. he has vowed to get really tough on extremism. he was in d.c. a few days ago with president trump and vowed to do the same thing, but he has had a really difficult time. he has not really tackled any of the other problems of egypt like the economy and other issues. it is a very precarious time right now and egypt. they chaos they are also spreading right over here into israel over the last few hours or so, israel closed its southern border crossing between israel and egypt because of fears of an attack. so what is happening in egypt also causing concerned right here in israel as well. >> heather: conor powell with the latest, thank you. >> jon: another shooting on the streets of chicago. this one kills a cook county judge and also injured one woman. that woman was apparently shot after encountering someone with a gun. authorities say judge raymond miles heard the commotion, stepped outside his house and was also shot dead. police say that violence is a reminder of the growing problem in that city. >> when incidents like this occur, it's not only a reminder of the ever present challenge we have with illegal guns and the offenders who want to use them, but it is also a direct attack on the criminal justice system that keeps our society safe. we will not let judge miles life be lost in vain, and we will hold the killer accountable. >> jon: the female victim has not been identified, but authorities say she is expected to survive. no suspects named at this point. >> heather: we are awaiting the start of the white house briefing, press secretary sean spicer expected to face questions on syria and russia. we will take you there live when it begins. plus, secretary of state rex tillerson with some tough talk for russia ahead of 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or have flulike symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com this is humira at work. >> heather: welcome back. america's top diplomat making a special visit to world war ii memorial site in italy today, secretary of state rex tillerson honoring hundreds of civilians who were massacred by. and vowing that the u.s. will stand up to aggressors who harm innocent people. second tillerson is in italy for meetings with foreign ministers from the group of seven industrialized nations, also on the g7 agenda, discussion of issues related to russia and syria. >> jon: second tillerson's italy trip comes on the eve of his first a phonetic trip to moscow where he is expected to urge russian president putin to back away from his support of syrian president bashar al-assad. this after tillerson called russia "morally responsible" for the chemical attack that left dozens of civilians dead. rich edson is live in moscow with more on this. >> secretary of state rex tillerson arrive here tomorrow. he's in italy now meeting with the g7, group of seven industrial allied nations. they are discussing strategy and syria, the future of president bashar al-assad, and strategy for secretary of state rex tillerson when he meets later this week with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. >> efforts from rex tillerson to try to move the process forward and to try to use what i think is a very substantial opportunity for us collectively to say to the russians that they have a choice. and that choice is to speak to the bashar al-assad regime. speak of the rhetoric between the united states and russia has reached a low point in the young trump administration. the secretary of state has been making the case that russia is either incompetent or complicit when it comes to removing or destroying chemical weapons in syria. senior state department official previewing this trip says that russia has low credibility across a range of issues, and this morning, moscow has responded to that rhetoric, carmen's books were so dmitry peskov "the u.s. side has demonstrated a complete reluctance to somehow cooperate on syria and take into account each other's interests and concerns." he also noted a meeting between president vladimir putin and secretary of state rex tillerson is currently not on the schedule. the russian foreign ministry added that the united states and russia could work together on certain issues, however the attitude, the anti-russia attitude in washington is preventing that, still both sides say they are going to use this week's meetings as a way to explore opportunity where they can partner and potentially work together. >> jon: rich edson joining us live in moscow, thank you. >> heather: we continue to wait for the white house briefing to begin. sean spicer said to step to that podium right there just moments from now. we will cover it live when he does. plus, a former major league baseball player, some breaking news on this. he apparently has been found. otis nixon was last seen heading out to play golf this weekend. we will bring you up-to-date on that search, and once again, he has been found. u.s. warships now heading toward the korean peninsula. coming up, why our next guest since this is a move meant to reassure our pacific allies. managing blood sugar is not a marathon it's a series of smart choices. like using glucerna to replace one meal or snack a day. glucerna products have up to 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger and carbsteady, unique blends of slow release carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. every meal every craving. it's the choices you make when managing blood sugar that are the real victories. glucerna. everyday progress. yeah, 'cause i got allstate.? if you total your new bike, they replace it with a brand new one. so, kinda like your second husband. kinda. it's good to be in (good hands). but we've got the get tdigital tools to help. now with xfinity's my 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of the korean peninsula, and so the president has asked us to prepare to give him a full range of options to remove that threat to the american people and to our allies and partners in the region. >> heather: turned to me now is a retired four-star general jack keane, chairman of the institute for the study of war and a fox news military analyst, thank you so much for joining us, always a pleasure to talk with you. so tell us a first this strike group that is headed to the korean peninsula that also includes not only the uss carl vinson but also a guided missile destroyer, two of them i believe and also the guided missile cruiser. what is their capability and why this particular group? >> this thing has enormous punch obviously. most people recognize what aircraft carriers do pay they carry all of our strike aircraft and bombers. the other ships also, they've got defensive missiles that they can carry and they are carrying just as you have seen used in syria, and they also have air defense missiles. in other words, defensive missiles to shoot down airplanes and shootdown of their missiles. it's got an enormous capability to be sure. i think what they are doing here is largely tied, obviously sending a message to the north koreans in china, but it is really about reassuring our allies. south korea in particular and japan. for a number of years now, they have come of the mind that the united states really did not have their back. it is no accident that president trump in the first week of secretary james mattis assuming office sent him to the far east to talk to our allies then follow that up a few weeks later with the secretary of state who has done the very same thing. obviously, president trump had a meeting with the japanese prime minister and also now has had a meeting with the chinese president, so this area of the world is a great concern to us. saturday, what is happening -- >> heather: i wanted to ask that. why now? this goes to that, why now and the message. >> on saturday, the anniversary of the birthday of kim jong-il who is the founder of the so-called modern north korea. every time one of them has a birthday, there is a provocative event that takes place. we are anticipating they will test their sixth nuclear weapon likely around that milestone or it may be possibly fire some ballistic missiles, so this isn't about having that carrier group they are obviously forward deployed strength of america, the most powerful thing we can deploy will be sitting right there to demonstrate to the south koreans and to the japanese that we've got their back. we are particularly worried about south korea p of the president has been impeached. there is a new president coming. we think that president may indeed be weaker when it to dealing with north korea. this is also about strengthening the spine of the south koreans. >> heather: at this moment of political instability there in south korea. as you mentioned, this follows the meeting with the president of china. what does this say to you in terms of how that meeting went? 's china now possibly willing to do more to intercede with north korea? >> we have dumped 20 plus years of trying to get china to coerce north korea to step down from is nuclear program and failed miserably. this is our fourth president who has made that attempt. the rhetoric coming out of the meeting is positive. in other words, they have said this is a serious, dangerous problem. it is unacceptable that north korea is marching toward this kind of weaponization. if they take that rhetoric back and turned it into action, which they have failed to do in the past, then we have something here. but only time will tell. >> heather: what action what they need to take to make a difference? >> they have tremendous leverage over north korea. they virtually control the whole economic situation. almost 85-100% dependency depending on what commodity you are dealing with. north korea cannot exist without china's influence. of china just tells them, step down from this program, we are going to send monitors and to make certain it is happening, then we have truly accomplished something that no other president has been able to accomplish. it remains to be seen paid most of us are skeptical when it comes to china. >> heather: i have to wrap you up, but the timing in relation to the missile strikes in syria. >> it is helpful. any time you conduct an operation that is successful like that, it gives the diplomats increased leverage and influence. you will see that and tillerson dealing with russia possibly and certainly the president this past weekend giving that he was dealing with the president of china. >> heather: general jack keane, thank you so much for your insight. >> jon: just into the fox news ram, police in georgia have located former major league baseball player otis nixon. nixon was reported missing yesterday after he left home for a golf game and never showed up. police sent out a tweet letting everyone know the ballplayer is found, and he is safe. no foul play obviously suspected. otis nixon was a center fielder for nine teams including the atlanta braves over the course of 17 seasons. >> heather: glad he has been found. and as i have been telling you, we are still waiting for the daily white house briefing to begin. there is a shot of it right there. sean spicer could get some questions, we assume come on russia and syria, all the stories and becoming white house shakeup as well. also's immediate reaction to the swearing in of the supreme court justice neil gorsuch and some new warnings from syria and russia of dire consequences if the u.s. launches more air strikes on syria. while some syrians are pleading for the u.s. to in fact do more. a lot to report from tricky hea head. >> i want to tell president trump the first strike was good, it has saved us. ♪ sfx: road noise sfx: tires screeching sfx: horn honking daughter: daddy! we don't say words like that! ♪just let your love flow ♪like a mountain stream ♪and let your love grow >> jon: fox news alert, we are awaiting the white house daily press briefing where we are expecting some new reaction to the swearing in of supreme court justice neil gorsuch. president trump praising justice gorsuch as a great conservative mind. kevin corke joins us live from the beacon room at the white house. >> you're right, promise kept, right? the president talked about this during the campaign trail and said he was going to fill the seat left by the late justice antonin scalia. he would do that with a person who would respect the constitution and not try to legislate from the bench. certainly he has done that as you saw today earlier at the white house and the rose garden, a beautiful ceremony, if i do say so myself, as the 113th supreme court justice neil gorsuch was obviously sworn in. very interesting, i think i should also point out that man from the tenth circuit was sworn in by the guy he actually clerked for which i thought was a very interesting bit of irony here at the white house paid by the way, he is only 49 paid what that means, frankly, as he could be on the high court for quite some time, perhaps as many as three decades. >> they see a man who is deeply faithful to the constitution of the united states. he will decide cases based not on his personal preferences but based on a fair and objective reading of the law. >> i am humbled by the trust placed in me today. i will never forget that to whom much is given, much will be expected. and i promise you that i would do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant. >> obviously, the briefing will cover that corset swearing in, also the fallout from syria, the one major stakeholder that could affect things in syria if the kremlin would end its support of the renegade bashar al-assad regina. also expect this to be talked about as well and maybe will not be a comfortable circumstance, but we've been hearing a great deal about team trump and a possible shakeup. you've heard about k.t. mcfarland, but what is going on between steve bannon and jared kushner? i don't know. we just may find out, my friend, as the briefing gets underway shortly. i should also point out one other thing that you and i can appreciate, justice gorsuch, colorado? >> jon: that is right, just like byron white who was a colorado native who ascended to the supreme court ahead of him. kevin corke, thank you very muc much. >> heather: he heard kevin mentioned this, iran and russia p they are issuing a stern warning to the u.s. following our air strike on a syrian base, the two nations say they will respond to any further militaryt considering the consequences. benjamin hall is live for us from turkey with those details. >> we have been reporting the air strikes over at khan sheikhoun where the chemical strikes have been have continued over the weekend despite the u.s. tomahawk missiles strikes and in fact, we've seen the people in the town who say the pace of those attacks has in fact picked up. not to mention the fact that the airbase which was struck is now operating again and the russians are openly releasing video showing jets using that base, it's a clear sign the redeemed is not intended to stop bombing its own people. survivors of the brutal gas attack have been talking to fox news about their loss, not only what they experienced but also about what they hope will happen. >> we hope that american strikes will continue on other airbases that are being used by assad to kill civilians and to put pressure on russia and iran to stop supporting him. >> but the tomahawk strikes are still angering some. president saying that anymore it strikes in would constitute a redline to him, iranians, russians, and that iran and russia will continue to support the assad regina. meanwhile, images have been emerging of the 75th arrangement in northern syria, a spokesperson said they are now they are to deter aggression and ensure all parties remain focused on delivering a lasting defeat to isis. one other thing going on in syria from the north to the south, isis attacking a coalition base for u.s. forces were present over the weekend. that attack was repelled but involved 25-30 fighters, vehicle borne ied's, suicide attacks. a reminder that in all of this, isis are still on the offensive and parts of this neighboring country. >> heather: lived for us from antakya, turkey, thank you. >> jon: america first was one of the slogans that propelled president trump to presidency. then in his third month, he ordered a missile strike on syria. how does that fit with the president's broader foreign policy? i am joined by patrick, former speechwriter for secretary of defense ash carter and for secretary of state john kerry. is there a conflict inherently between launching a missile strike on syria after you have campaigned on in america first campaign plank? >> you know what they say. everyone has a strategy until they get hit in the mouth, and i think this attack on children in syria, this chemical attack some of those images of the victims and their family maimed by this attack, that hit all of our hearts in the president's heart. it has changed his mind about intervention. this is a stark departure from what he said on the campaign trail about how we should not intervene, how america should focus on its interests almost exclusively at home. while i think many in the region and many in the foreign policy establishment are encouraged by trump's change of heart, there is still not a strategy. and air strike is not a strategy. one hit of one location airfield that was allowed to start their mission later the next day does not constitute the strategy that we need with our partners in the middle east against assad and his allies. >> jon: as you know from your time at the pentagon and state department, syria is an incredibly thorny issue, pretty difficult to come up with an answer there that would satisfy everybody. >> i think that is true. that is what it calls for american leadership. when america does not lead, is not there, bringing allies together, getting them the confidence to stand up, courage to act together, someone else could fill the vacuum. this demonstrates there is a real need for president trump and his deputies whether it is secretary of state, u.n. ambassador, to get up there and ascribe what our policy is, describing our foreign policy, what we are trying to achieve and how we hope to achieve it. so far, we have not seen that from president trump in over the next few days or months, if we intend to get serious about syria, assad, and the atrocities they are, we need a coherent vision that our allies can get behind. >> jon: assad may have been gone already had it not been for the support of the russians and iranians who both say that mr. trump, you want a missile strike like this, you're crossing the line. are they bluffing, or may they actually attempt something? >> i think they could step up their support for assad. i don't think they would intervene directly against american forces or risk that, but they can bolster their support for assad make it more difficult for us to carry out attacks in the future. i think the question is a great one because it really speaks to the importance they have in syria and the need we have for a diverse coalition of many nations which we brought to the fight in iraq and need to beat to the fight in syria. i was with general allen when he formed the first coalition against, 60 nations and all, we cannot change policy without getting them onboard for that should be a priority of the administration as well as articulating a strong, coherent policy for what we're doing and why in the middle east. >> jon: working for former secretary of defense ash carter and secretary of state john kerry, broad range of expertise you bring to this discussion. patrick, thank you. >> thank you so much for having me on. >> heather: we are still watching for the daily white house briefing. we will bring it to you live when it begins right there. and a dramatic ending to this years masters tournament. did you see this one? how one player came up a winner. and president trump widely praised for ordering military strikes on syria, but one factor is coming to light that has some critics weighing in. >> everybody knows that syria was by and large a failure under the previous presidential administration, but this president did not need to note that. he is looking forward and calling upon civilized nations everywhere to stand against a dictator gassing his own people. with car insurance, and i was not happy with the customer service. we have switched back over and we feel like we're back home now. the process through usaa is so effortless, that you feel like you're a part of the family. i love that i can pass the membership to my children, and that they can be protected. we're the williams family, and we're usaa members for life. call usaa today to talk about your insurance needs. whenand now with victoza®etes, there's a moment of truth. a better moment of proof. victoza lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill, which didn't get me to my goal. victoza® works with your body to lower blood sugar in three ways: in the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas. and while it isn't for weight loss, victoza® may help you lose some weight. non-insulin victoza® comes in a pen and is taken once a day. 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ask your doctor about victoza®. >> heather: many longtime critics of president trump praising his decision to launch a military strike on a syrian air base. in response to a chemical weapons attack that left dozens of civilians dead. but the move is also raising questions about whether president trump has the legal authority to order the air strike. joining me now is howard kurtz, fox news media analyst, thank you for joining us. just a word to all of our viewers in you as well, once again, we are following this, sean spicer when he doesn't step to the podium, we will have to take that live. talk a little bit about the reaction that the media has had because it is two very reactions at this point. >> it is still striking to me how much of the media embraced and praised president trump for these air strikes, even some of his harshest liberal critics and even some obama appointees rallied around him in the wake of immediate military action and especially the way the president ordered these strikes. >> heather: as promised, we are going back, thank you. >> press secretary spicer: those of you who do not get a chance to come down to florida. this morning and the rose garden, the president was honored to host the swearing in of associate justice neil gorsuch. his confirmation was the culmination of a thoughtful and deliberative process that the president started almost a year ago when he released his initial list of potential nominees for the supreme court. in september, he released a final definitive list, promising to select only from those individuals who would continue the legacy of the great justice scalia on the bench. today, the president celebrated our new supreme court justice who will protect our constitution for generations. it was definitely a great day to kick off the week and another productive week that we will see here at the white house. before i get into the upcoming week, just a couple of dates from over the weekend. first, the president spoke with prime minister of sweden to express our condolences for the loved ones skilled in friday's terrorist attack in central stockholm, sweden, into which a speedy recovery to those who were wounded. the president also called president al sisi yesterday to convey his deepest condolences to egypt and the families who lost loved ones in the heinous attacks that occurred there. dozens of innocent people were killed and many more were injured on this holy palm sunday. the united states condemns in the strongest terms these barbaric attacks on christians places of worship in alexandria p or the president also spoke with the king of saudi arabia, prime minister of japan, acting president of south korea all about the united states military strike on the airfield in syria. all of the leaders expressed support for the united states' necessary action in response to the horrible chemical and bomb attack on innocent civilians. yesterday, he spoke with commander andrea, commanding officer of the uss porter and commanding officer of uss ross to thank them and their team for successfully carrying out that strike. during these calls, the president communicated he could not be more proud of the crews of these two ships and their flawless execution of these operations. as you know, these ships -- between the two of them, said 59 tomahawk missiles, and each of them had all of their targets, showing america's power and the military's accuracy which is just a small representation of paramilitaries overall capability and a fraction of what this president will continue to build up the military to be throughout his administration. the sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future actio action. the resulting actions of what happened ensure that there fielding operation is gone from this facility, 20% of their fixed wing aircraft were destroyed and knocked out, and by all measures, the world and domestic reaction was highly laudable for the president's actions. additionally, obviously, we are all aware that president had a very successful visit with the president of china that concluded on friday. one of the most notable development from this discussion was the agreement to create a 100 day initial plan hopefully with some tangible near-term deliverables to lead to a more balanced economic relationship between our two countries. as that develops, we will make sure we provide you with additional details. this morning, the present was glad to see toyota announced it will be spending $1.3 billion in its kentucky plant as part of its plan to invest $10 billion in america over the next five years. it continued signal of the confidence that businesses have in the american economy under president trump. now in terms of the week ahead, tomorrow the president will have a discussion on strategy and policy with several members of his cabinet and a group of ceos. this is a follow-up from his meeting with 20 ceos from the strategic and policy forum just this past february with some of those same business leaders and some new ones. first they will meet in small interactive groups each led by a cabinet member to discuss the priorities for those cabinet secretaries and their agencies. the president will then oversee a report that will be presented to the group, by the group rather, the cabinet level will be secretary of commerce ross, secretary of education betsy devos, ep administration scott pruitt, pharm.d. director mick mulvaney and secretary of chance rotation elaine chao will have the full list of adjustments for you later. as part of the effort to do leave act de-escalate conflict in syria and a political process that can end the conflict and transition of a new legitimate syrian leadership, the u.s. special envoy for syria will be coming to america tomorrow for consultations with the state department with national security advisor mcmaster here at the white house among others. he has been overseeing the political talks among syrian parties in geneva. on wednesday, we will welcome the secretary general of nato, to the white house, the president and secretary general will have a joint press conference later in the afternoon, and then the president plans to spend the easter holiday in florida and will return to the white house on sunday. as the president noted today, as we hit day 81 in the president's administration, we have done so many great things, including nominate and confirm a supreme court justice, rollback more regulations than any president in modern times come roll back the obama era war on coal, oil, natural gas, restore confidence in the economy. we are now seeing historic levels of consumer, ceo, homebuilder, manufacturer confidence, 12% gain in the stock market, and we have even seen a real resurgence in the mining industry. we have produced and reduced legal border crossings by several percents, the lowest in two decades and historic ethics reforms and putting a five year lobbying ban and a lifetime foreign band. with that, i would be glad to take your questions. >> reporter: why is it okay to bomb syria and not accept refugees? and number two, what is the reaction to russia saying that we are running in danger of a real war with the middle east? >> press secretary spicer: with respect to number one, the reason that we took action was a multifold. number stop the proliferation and deterrence of chemical weapons. many see mass weapons of destruction used, it should be a concern to every nation, especially our own people. the proliferation of those weapons pose a grave security -- threat to our national security. number one, we have to stop that. number two, we have to stop isis. with respect to the people of syria, by us taking action and de-escalating what is going on in syria, that is the greatest thing you can do to support those people. de-escalating the conflict they are, containing isis is the greatest aspect of humanitarian relief that we can provide first and foremost. secondly, creating areas in which we can work with allies including russia and committing to ensuring there are places that are free from violence and places that are free for people to gather safely is another because i think everyone would agree that the last thing people want to do there is leave. they want to stay there and be in syria, they want to have a safe place to remain with their families cannot be separated. our number one priority is to defeat isis, but we are also from a humanitarian standpoint, refugee standpoint, ensuring that we create an environment that provides a safe place for them to ultimately remain. then on russia, in particular, i think if you look at the countries that are with us, it speaks pretty loudly the number of countries that have stood shoulder to shoulder with this president. russia, on the other hand, stands with syria and north korea and iran. i think when you contrast the two groups of countries sets, it is pretty clear we are on the right side of this issue. >> reporter: are they going to government troops? >> press secretary spicer: what it means is that the action we took last week has been widely praised her mystically and internationally as a great step to ensure the deterrence and proliferation of chemical weapons and action against innocent people appear when you watch babies and children being gassed and suffer under barrel e instantaneously moved to action. in this president has made it clear that if those actions were to continue, further action will definitely be considered by the united states. we continue to urge further -- the broad community to join us in this in both stopping the deterrence and proliferation of the use of those weapons but and also trying to further create a political environment that will result in new leadership. those are very important. they go hand-in-hand. >> reporter: are you creating a coalition? >> press secretary spicer: i think we have -- look at who is not with us, it's a pretty small group. at a group that too many people are looking to bring on board. you've got iran, syria, north korea, russia on one side. that is a pretty small group. >> reporter: president trump has spoken extensively about bashar al-assad, does the president considers to be not a war criminal and as he believes assad should eventually do dude might eventually appear before the icc? >> press secretary spicer: the focus is twofold, one is defeating isis and second is creating a political environment for the syrian people to have a new leadership there. i cannot imagine a stable and peaceful syria where bashar al-assad is in power. i think we all recognize that, in there can be a multipronged approach. we are ensuring that isis is contained, there is a de-escalation of the proliferation of chemical weapons at the same time creating the environment for a change in leadership. >> reporter: is the president believes assad has committed war crimes? >> press secretary spicer: i think there is a cord that decides those things. obviously, there is a reason that the actions when you clearly taken action against the people he has, and i think we feel unbelievably confident in the intent to make intelligence we have, but again, that would be something for a court to decide decide. >> reporter: a lot of people are talking about what the trump doctrine is on foreign policy, what it may or may not include, in the president even stated he was very flexible. do you know what this trump doctrine is on foreign policy, and can you explain it to us? >> press secretary spicer: i think this trump doctrine is something he articulated throughout the campaign which is that america is first. we're going to make sure our national interests are protected. that we do what we can to make sure that our interests both economically and national security are at the forefront. were not just going to become world policeman running around the world, but we have to have a clear and defined natural national interest wherever we act, and it is our national security first and foremost that has to deal with how we act. >> reporter: you think the action in syria fits into that? >> press secretary spicer: absolutely. if you recognize the threat that our country and people face, that there is a growth of use or spread of chemical weapons of mass destruction, those -- the pleasure proliferation of those and spread to other groups is ar danger to our citizens. >> reporter: follow-up about what you were saying about bashar al-assad. are you saying that defeating isis and getting bashar al-assad out of power through the clinical process should happen at the same time? >> press secretary spicer: i am not trying to -- how you sequence them, but i do not think they are mutually exclusive. i don't think you have to do what and then others, but they kind of go hand-in-hand as you reduce isis's strength, de-escalate the conflict in syria, the political environment to remove have become stronger and stronger. >> reporter: just to be clear, secretary tillerson over the weekend said that he cannot see a political outcome by the people and shirt bashar al-assad's legitimacy, and nikki haley seems to say what you are saying, no way they can keep him in that area where assad has the government, who better reflects that? >> press secretary spicer: i do not think those are mutually exclusive statements. i think one of them saying we do not see peace with him in charge, the other is saying we need to have him gone. i think that is the point of both. the goal for both of them, the goals for the united states is twofold as i have stated. want, to make sure we destabilize syria -- destabilize the conflict there, reduce the threat of isis, but secondly is create the political environment, not just within the syrian people, but i think you can have -- work with russia and particular to make sure they understand that syria, backed up by russia's own accounting, should be held accountable with decisions made in respect to its international agreement on chemical weapons alone. >> reporter: can you defeat isis with assad still empower? >> press secretary spicer: yes, sure. i think you can defeat isis with him in power, and to your point, it is not like there is a single track you have to do. if we can get both at the same time one after another, that is fine as well. i think obviously the number one threat that america faces is isis in that region, and we've got to make sure we do everything we can to do that. >> reporter: went second tillerson meets with his russian counterpart, what is his specific message going to be? is he going to threaten more sanctions if russia does not act? >> press secretary spicer: he's on his way there tomorrow, i will let second tillerson talk about his meeting. there is a lot of things obviously to discuss. the overall fight on isis, but with respect to syria and particular, i think we need to remind them of the commitments they have made and the commitments that syria has made. i think first and there's no question who acted in this case and what syria did. and i think that we need to make sure that russia fully understand the actions that assad took, the commitments that syria has made, and russia has equally agreed to those same understandings. so getting them back on the same page first and foremost would seem the logical stage. equally as important is to make sure the areas where we can find a commitment to defeat isis is something we share. major? >> the president wants the secretary of state to put