Axios

President Trump welcomed the New England Patriots to the White House Wednesday afternoon and congratulated the team on its 5th Super Bowl win:

This Super Bowl effort was a complete team effort, with your backs against the wall... and the pundits saying you couldn't do it, the game was over. You pulled off the greatest Super Bowl win of all time... That game will last forever.

Coach Bill Belichick and owner Bob Kraft both praised Trump in return, but quarterback Tom Brady was a no show.

This morning, President Trump signed into law an extension of the Veterans Choice Program, an Obama-era stopgap program designed to give veterans — whom Trump branded "the most incredible people in our country" — easier access to private health care following the 2014 VA negligence scandal.

The big news: Trump announced that he'll be holding a press conference next Thursday to discuss veterans' issues.

Spicer attempted to clear up the confusion regarding the direction of the USS Carl Vinson, stating that the administration was correct in saying an armada was heading to the Korean peninsula because "it's headed there now." He later added, "I'm not the one who commented on timing."

One fun thing: New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski poked his head into the briefing ahead of the team's meeting with Trump, and asked Spicer (a big fan) if he needed any help. "I got this," Spicer laughed, later adding, "That was cool."

The FEC released new names on Wednesday of Trump's inauguration donors, including Sheldon Adelson, who gave a record $5 million. The Presidential Inaugural Committee has until 90 days after the inauguration to disclose their donors.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee raised a record total of $106.7 million, according to the Center for Public Integrity, to spend on the ceremony, three official balls and other inaugural celebration events.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz will retire after this term, as first reported by BuzzFeed News' Alexis Levinson and confirmed by Chaffetz in a Facebook post:

"After long consultation with my family and prayerful consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for any office in 2018. Since late 2003 I have been fully engaged with politics as a campaign manager, a chief of staff, a candidate and as a Member of Congress. I have long advocated public service should be for a limited time and not a lifetime or full career. Many of you have heard me advocate, "Get in, serve, and get out." After more than 1,500 nights away from my home, it is time. I may run again for public office, but not in 2018."

Why it matters: Chaffetz chairs the powerful House Oversight Committee, and spent much of 2016 investigating Hillary Clinton's emails. He's been less visible during the Trump administration.

Upcoming Utah political races after 2018: Governor in 2020.

Dubai-based Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, will reduce the number of flights to 5 of its 12 United States destinations due to decreased demand following President Trump's immigration executive order and increased security measures for flights departing from the Middle East, per the AP.

The New England Patriots are headed to the White House today, where Trump will congratulate the team for their Super Bowl win. However, the team's star quarterback, Tom Brady — who has refrained from openly endorsing Trump but is said to be one of the president's friends — won't be joining them.

In a statement released via Apple "Notes," Brady said that he is "unable to attend" the White House ceremony due to "personal family matters," per ESPN's NFL reporter Mike Reiss.

Throwback: In 2015, quarterback Tom Brady skipped the team's White House visit with former President Barack Obama. Brady said he had a family commitment and the decision was not political.

Gary Cohn has privately said he's warming to the idea of eliminating the local and state tax deduction to pay for tax cuts and simplify the code, according to sources familiar with the thinking of president's top economic advisor. Cohn's private comments must be considered with a caveat: no final decisions have been made, and the administration's tax reform plans are still a long way from prime time.

What it means: The White House needs a ton of money to pay for corporate, individual and small business tax cuts (not to mention the "Ivanka credit" for childcare.) Getting rid of these state and local deductions is a dream Republicans have long held and would raise an estimated $1 trillion over 10 years.

Top officials in the West Wing — including President Trump and Steve Bannon — will closely monitor Tuesday's special election in Georgia's 6th congressional district. (The vote is to replace Tom Price, the new Health and Human Services Secretary.)

Why Trump cares: Whether he likes it or not, the media will portray this election as an early verdict on his presidency. The year's first special election, in Kansas' usually reliable deep-red 4th district, was way closer than it should've been. A loss in Georgia would further weaken Trump and make his legislative agenda — which relies on him holding his popularity like a knife over recalcitrant Republicans — a fair bit tougher.

Trump just signed his "Buy American, Hire American" Executive Order in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after visiting Snap-On Tools. What it means:

• Buy American: This will call on the government to prioritize buying American-made products and minimize waivers and exceptions to Buy American laws. Starting today the number of waivers awarded will shrink, according to a briefing from two senior administration officials.
• Hire American: H-1B visas are currently doled out in a lottery system, but this order calls for a change to a merit system so that companies don't bypass American workers for cheaper labor from guest workers. The administration can't lower the number of visas awarded — for now.
• On the trip with him to Wisconsin: Steve Bannon, Keith Schiller, Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, Sarah Sanders, and Kenosha native Reince Priebus.

Billionaire Trump nemesis Mark Cuban told Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino today that he believes the growing influence of Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Steve Mnuchin in the White House at the expense of chief strategist Steve Bannon's nationalist wing is the work of Trump's chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, saying:

[Cohn is leading] a Democratic invasion of the White House.

Trump is signing his "Buy American, Hire American" Executive Order today in Wisconsin. Last night we wrote an explainer on "Hire American." Here's a primer on the "buy" side:

• Fewer waivers: The order will call on the government to focus on buying American-made goods, and reduce the number of waivers the government uses to legitimize purchases from other countries.
• The legal grounds: That's all in accordance with The Buy American Act of 1933 (BAA). It's a Depression-era law intended to reduce foreign competition and to create jobs for Americans.
• It doesn't ban foreign purchases: It just makes buying American goods the preference, except for when the cost of domestic goods is prohibitive or not available given the amount desired. Plus, if trade agreements with other countries cover foreign procurements, government agencies can get waivers to make those purchases lawful.

As President Trump publicly declared last week that he was "sending an armada" to the Sea of Japan in an attempt to send a message to North Korea, the carrier group was actually sailing thousands of miles in the other direction to war game with the Australian Navy, per the NYT, which reported that the mixup was due to "a glitch-ridden sequence of events."

Reversing course: The carrier group is on its way now and will arrive near the Korean Peninsula next week.

Why it matters: Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster both reinforced POTUS' incorrect line last week, which came amid heightened tensions over an expected nuclear test. Trump is clearly trying to send Pyongyang a message, and this sort of mixup won't help the cause.

President Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to implement the "Buy American, Hire American" mentality of his campaign.

The contradiction: Trump has been receiving a lot of criticism for his impending order, as many argue it's not a policy his own businesses have followed.

How the media called out Trump's hypocrisy:

The New Yorker: "The Foreign Workers of Mar-a-Lago."Newsweek: "America First? Trump Businesses Keep Hiring Foreign Workers."Teen Vogue: Ivanka Trump's Clothing is Made in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam."CNN Money: "Trump's vineyard is hiring — foreign workers."CNN Politics: "Donald Trump sought cheap labor overseas for clothing lines."Daily Beast: "A Visa Ban — But Not For Trump's Foreign Workers."New York Daily News: "Donald Trump's Florida clubs are hiring — but the jobs will go to foreign workers."

The issue:

The Chicago murder and crime rates are predicted to have decreased in 2017, per a new report from NYU's Brennan Center for Justice. Chicago's murder rate is expected to drop by 2.4 percent and its the crime rate by 3.4 percent.

Previously, Donald Trump mentioned spiking violent crime rates throughout his campaign and presidency, stating the murder rate is "the highest it's been in 47 years" and that he'd "send in the Feds" to Chicago.

The facts:

Trump's assertion about the murder rate isn't true — there's been a steady decrease since 1991. On April 18, the Brennan Center for Justice released an analysis of crime trends in the United States over the last 25 years, stating that "crime rates have dropped dramatically and remain near historic lows despite localized increases in some places."

The Brennan Center called Trump's claim of a historic yearly murder rate increase "highly concentrated" due to a murder rate jump in just three cities — Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington — with the caveat that murders are at such a historic low that "modest increases in the murder rate may appear large in percentage terms."

Why it matters:

The murder rate has jumped in certain cities, though certainly not to the exaggerated levels presented by Trump — and the Brennan Center's analysis shows how some stats can be cherrypicked to present an incorrect view of the nation as a whole.

Senator Elizabeth Warren told TODAY's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie that she does not intend to run for president, but she does intend to run for reelection in Massachusetts.

When Lauer pressed about a potential POTUS campaign, stating that "a lot of people are already printing those bumper stickers that say 'she was warned, she was given an explanation, nevertheless she persisted.'" Warren simply gave him a tight-lipped smile in return.

Trump will sign an executive order, "Buy American, Hire American," Tuesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to two senior administration officials who briefed reporters Monday. Here's what's in the order:

• The order will call on the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department to maximize content made in America and "minimize waivers and exceptions to Buy American laws" in trade with other countries.
• An overhaul of the H-1B high-skilled worker visa program, calling to move away from the current lottery system to a merit-based system that prioritizes higher-paying jobs.