WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump is spending his first full day back in the White House meeting with congressional leaders, making an infrastructure announcement and demonstrating one of his favored expressions of power: firing people.
The new president posted on his Truth social media network early Tuesday that he would fire more than 1,000 presidential appointees 鈥渨ho are not aligned with our vision," including some high-profile names.
Trump fired chef and humanitarian Jose Andres from the President鈥檚 Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, retired Gen. Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, former State Department official Brian Hook from the board of the Wilson Center and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President鈥檚 Export Council.
鈥淵OU鈥橰E FIRED!鈥� Trump said in his post 鈥� his catchphrase from his reality TV show, 鈥淭he Apprentice.鈥�
Former President Joe Biden also removed many Trump appointees in his first days in office, including former press secretary Sean Spicer from the board overseeing the U.S. Naval Academy.
Trump planned to continue to build on his barrage of Inauguration Day announcements, with the White House promising a 鈥渕assive announcement鈥� on infrastructure. Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to detail the announcement in advance, but she said in an interview on Fox News that it would send a message to the world.
鈥淵ou won鈥檛 want to miss it,鈥� she said.
鈥淚nfrastructure week鈥� became a as White House officials promised repeatedly 鈥� over years 鈥� to train a focus on major public works projects, only to have Trump himself quickly shift emphasis elsewhere while .
It was enough of a pattern that Biden joked about how his predecessor couldn鈥檛 pull off even a week of focus on infrastructure while his for bridges, tunnels, roads and other projects for the coming 10 years.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 build a damn thing,鈥� Biden said frequently of Trump, adding that his own administration delivered 鈥渋nfrastructure decade.鈥�
Trump wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and he says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings 鈥渢hat jeopardize America鈥檚 national security.鈥�
Trump also attended a national prayer service Tuesday morning at Washington National Cathedral, a customary visit for new presidents and one that will wrap up his four days of inauguration-related events.
Later in the day, the president was expected to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other GOP legislators. It鈥檚 the first formal sit-down for the GOP leadership teams including Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso and the new president as they chart priorities for using Republican power in Washington.
Despite an ambitious 100-day agenda, the Republican-led Congress is not on the same page on some ideas and strategies as they rush to deliver tax cuts for the wealthy, mass deportations and other goals for Trump.
Trump used the first hours of his presidency on Monday to sign a series of executive orders and memorandums, moving quickly to show that his new hold on the U.S. government would be a stark change from his predecessor.
He pardoned hundreds of people for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords and the World Health Organization, began his immigration crackdown by declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and sought to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in America, which is expected to run into constitutional challenges.
He also signed an order that intends to pause a ban on TikTok for 75 days to give its China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer.
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Associated Press writers Will Weissert, Darlene Superville and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
