President Trump packed his schedule with Cabinet-level meetings on Monday amid the roll-out of a new executive order related to immigration from Middle Eastern countries.
Trump’s series of meetings — which included a lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and dinner with his budget director – comes just days before congressional Republicans are set to unveil the full text of their highly-anticipated Obamacare replacement bill. And the closed-door conversations could also turn to the explosive allegations Trump aimed over the weekend at former President Barack Obama for directing investigators to place wiretaps on Trump’s communications. Obama has denied doing so.
After his lunch with Pence, Trump will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to the president’s official schedule. Tillerson appeared earlier Monday alongside Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to announce the signing of the new executive order, which removed Iraq from the list of countries facing temporary travel bans and narrowed the scope of restrictions on immigration.
Trump will then meet with Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
In the afternoon, Trump is slated to conduct a meeting of his National Economic Council, which is headed by Gary Cohn.
Cohn announced the hiring of several new staff members on the NEC last week.
Trump’s meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin will be among the first times the president has met privately with Shulkin since his confirmation to lead the embattled VA. Pence is also scheduled to attend the meeting, according to the vice president’s office.
Later in the evening, Trump is scheduled to host dinner in the White House residence with Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. Mulvaney and Price are two of the highest-ranking officials overseeing the administration’s work on a healthcare reform package.
