Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Trump says he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.
IMMIGRATION
Mexico expresses “worry and irritation” about U.S. policies to two of Trump’s top officials, giving a chilly reply to the new administration’s hard line on immigration, trade and security.
One of California’s most populous counties asks a judge to suspend Trump’s executive order that seeks to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities for immigrants, saying the directive has thrown its budget process into “disarray.”
TAXES
Trump speaks favorably about an export-boosting border adjustment tax proposal being pushed by Republicans in the U.S. Congress, but does not specifically endorse it.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin lays out an ambitious schedule to enact tax relief for the middle class and businesses by August, but says the Trump administration is still studying a proposed new border tax on imports.
CHINA
Trump declares China the “grand champions” of currency manipulation, just hours after his new Treasury secretary pledged a more methodical approach to analyzing Beijing’s foreign exchange practices.
JOBS
Trump tells chief executives of major U.S. companies he plans to bring millions of jobs back to the United States, but offers no specific plan on how to reverse a decades-long decline in factory jobs.
CONSERVATIVES MEET
Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, known as a forceful influence in the White House, makes a rare public appearance to appeal to conservatives to unite behind the Republican president as he presses his agenda.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos criticizes as “overreach” former President Barack Obama’s guidelines to public schools to let transgender students use the bathrooms of their choice, one day after Trump revoked the guidance.
U.S. companies led by tech firms Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) criticize the Trump administration’s decision to revoke Obama administration guidance that allowed transgender public school students to use the bathroom of their choice.
MARIJUANA
Trump’s administration expects to see greater federal enforcement of laws against the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.
