Every president has made promises that he couldn't deliver, but few have made them with the same casual spontaneity as Donald Trump.
What Trump is quickly learning is that running the White House is not the same as running a business, and that some of the "truthful hyperbole" he doled out on the campaign trail and in the first few months of office aren't holding up to the reality of Washington.
The federal government paid $1,092 for a room at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for two nights during a presidential visit in March, per The Washington Post. The invoice containing the charges was obtained via a FOIA request to the Coast Guard by the advocacy group Property of the People.
The only detail about who stayed in the room is the note "National Security Council" on the document. Because other government agencies haven't disclosed their expenses at Mar-a-Lago during Trump's visits, it's impossible to know if this was the only room booked using federal funds or part of a larger block of rooms.
Why it matters: This is "one of the first concrete signs" that the president's use of Mar-a-Lago "resulted in taxpayer funds flowing directly into...his private business," the Post says.
Transgender troops currently serving in the military won't face any changes to their status until at least February when the Pentagon must decide the parameters of President Trump's ban, according to The Daily Beast.
Enlisted transgender troops can continue to receive medical care as prescribed and will be able to re-enlist as normal should their service terms expire before February.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will decide how to implement recommendations regarding the transgender troop ban from a military panel by February 21, 2018 — all while a legal challenge to the ban by the ACLU winds its way through federal court.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster revealed Friday that the administration has an aggressive military plan to deal with North Korea, if necessary, following their recent missile strike. Haley urged that it's important to push through "as many of the diplomatic options that we have," but also stated she has "no problem kicking it to General Mattis" because he has "plenty of options."
McMaster added that "there is a military option" but that's "not what we would prefer." He also reminded the room that "this is not an issue between the United States and North Korea. This is an issue between the world and North Korea." More from Sarah Sanders' Friday briefing:
At least 21 U.S. diplomats in Cuba have become victims of mystery "health attacks" that have caused hearing loss and mild brain injury, per the Associated Press, leaving the U.S. government confounded. It initially suspected that the diplomats were targeted by a covert sonic weapon, but later said that brain injury is unlikely the result from sound.
Cuban President Raul Castro met with Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the American Embassy chief, in February and said he was "equally befuddled, and concerned" with the incidents, and denied any culpability.
Why this is surprising: When the U.S. has accused Cuba of misconduct in the past, Havana has often responded criticizing Washington for creating a fabrication. But Castro didn't dispute that something wrong may have taken place on Cuban soil.
"Another attack in London by a loser terrorist.These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!... Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner.The internet is their main recruitment tool which we must cut off & use better!... The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!... We have made more progress in the last nine months against ISIS than the Obama Administration has made in 8 years.Must be proactive & nasty!"
Why it matters: Trump believes the attack in London this morning could have been avoided if government was much tougher in its crackdown on terrorism, such as through his proposed travel ban, even if it means not being "politically correct."
Trump has signed the congressional resolution condemning the "violence and domestic terrorist attack" in Charlottesville, Virginia. That means he's "rejecting White nationalists, White supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups."
Why it matters: This comes hours after he repeated his statement Thursday that there was violence on "both sides" in Charlottesville, noting there are "some very bad people on the other side." This has raised suspicions that Trump is equating white supremacists and neo-Nazis with those who were part of the counter-protest.
Roger Stone, one of Trump's longtime allies who advised him informally during the 2016 campaign, is set to testify before the House intelligence committee later this month in a closed hearing.
Why it matters: Stone has said he has communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the hacker believed to be a front for Russian intelligence that's taken credit for hacking into the Democratic National Committee.
Stone has said he wants the transcripts of his appearance to be immediately released and is calling for an open hearing even though the panel's business is usually closed.
