President Trump Signs Order to Protect Religious Freedom, Establishes New White House Faith Initiative

“During the annual National Day of Prayer commemoration at the White House on Thursday, President Trump signed the latest executive order of his presidency, to establish a faith-based office, the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative,” Emily Tillett reports for CBS News.

“Prayer has always been at the center of the American life. America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer,” President Trump said at the Rose Garden ceremony.

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In the Washington Examiner, Paul Bedard writes that “top White House advisor Jared Kushner this week helped to tighten evangelical community ties to President Trump, this time over sentencing and prison reform.” Bedard reports that evangelicals have said that the “White House has kept the door open to them.”

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“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on a mission to help the State Department ‘get its swagger back,’” Jackie Gingrich Cushman writes in Townhall. She explains that Secretary Pompeo’s leadership style “is direct and engaging and appears committed to bringing real change to the State Department.”

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“As head of the SBA, I am honored to work with President Trump as an ally and advocate – ensuring small businesses can compete and thrive in a local, national and global marketplace,” writes Linda McMahon of the Small Business Administrationin Fox News. Administrator McMahon adds that “through cutting taxes, rolling back overly burdensome regulations, supporting workforce development and enhancing opportunities in rural America, this administration is showing that a thriving economy creates an even stronger America.”

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“It’s time for a new era of consumerism in health care, with patients at the center of the delivery system,” writes Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma in RealClearHealth. “Patients should be empowered to make the best decisions about their care, and providers should have to compete for patients by offering them higher quality at lower costs.”

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The Washington Examiner reports that jobless claims are running at their lowest level in 45 years, according to the Department of Labor. Joseph Lawler writes that “low new claims mean that few people are getting laid off, and consequently that net job creation is high.”

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In The Daily Signal, Fred Lucas writes that Democrats continue to delay a large number of President Trump’s nominees for Federal office. To show the extent of Democrats’ obstruction, Lucas explains that “15 months into his presidency, a speedy confirmation vote has been rare, and 40 percent of Trump’s nominees still await Senate action.”