WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
2:14 p.m.
The White House is defending proposed cuts to popular federal programs like Meals on Wheels amid President Donald Trump’s taxpayer-funded trips to his Florida beach resort.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said that “where ever the president goes, (he) carries the apparatus of the White House.”
Meals on Wheels, the popular service that provides food to the elderly, faces a sharp funding cut under Trump’s budget proposal, drawing bipartisan criticism.
The exact amount of the cut is unknown, but budget director Mick Mulvaney says the government “can’t spend money on programs just because they sound good.”
Spicer says that there are “false narratives” being reported about the nature of budget cuts to the Meals on Wheels program.
He adds, “only in Washington” do people judge success “by how much money you throw at the problem.”
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2:04 p.m.
President Donald Trump plans to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to make an in-person pitch for House Republican lawmakers to support a GOP plan to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office says Trump plans to speak to the House Republican conference meeting to urge passage of the health care bill, which is expected to reach the House floor on Thursday.
The bill has generated criticism from both conservative and moderates within the Republican-led House.
The president was speaking at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday night to build support for the bill.
The post The Latest: Spicer defends proposed cuts, Trump’s trips appeared first on WTOP.
