27 Q1 Chronology “Tempus fugit” (time flies) – Virgil JANUARY 2017 January 20 – • President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence take the Oath of Office. • President Trump signs a waiver to allow retired general James Mattis to become Secretary of Defense. • The Senate confirms Mattis and retired Marine general John F. Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security. • President Trump issues an executive order to scale back on parts of the Affordable Care Act. • President Trump nominates Woody Johnson to be the next Ambassador to the United Kingdom. • The Trump administration halts a cut to Obama’s FHA mortgage insurance premium. • Chief of Staff Reince Priebus calls for a freeze on new regulations. January 21 – • President Trump visits the headquarters of the CIA to thank the intelligence community. • Two US drone strikes in Yemen’s Al Bayda Governorate are the first reported drone actions under President Trump. January 22 – • From the Situation Room, President Trump discusses Iran, ISIS, and the Israeli–Palestinian peace process with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. • Vice President Pence administers the oath of office for the White House senior staff. January 23 – • President Trump meets with twelve CEOs of major US companies. • President Trump signs two executive orders and Presidential Memorandum on his first full workday in the office. The first EO withdraws the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, another EO reinstated the Mexico City Policy dealing with NGOs and abortion access, and the Presidential Memorandum initiated a 90-day hiring freeze on the federal workforce hiring. • President Trump speaks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, saying that the United States remains committed to their relationship and to continuing military assistance to Egypt, discussing ways the United States could support Egypt’s economic reform program. • The Senate confirms Mike Pompeo as the Director of the Central Intelli- gence Agency. January 24 – • President Trump signs five executive orders. Two of them reverse the Obama administration’s halt on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, the latter of which has been the subject of tense protests by the Standing Rock tribe. President Trump says these projects will recover 28,000 jobs. He also signs a bill requiring that the pipelines use domestic steel, as well as two orders affecting similar future infrastructure projects. • President Trump speaks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. • The Senate comfirms Nikki Haley as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. January 25 – • President Trump issues an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin construction of a wall on the Mexico–United States border. President Trump also increases border patrol and immi- gration officers, as well as reducing grant funding to sanctuary cities and changing deportation standards. January 26 – • Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto cancels a proposed meeting with Trump due to the controversy where Trump suggested Mexico to pay fully for the wall. January 27 – • President Trump speaks with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on the phone to discuss Mexico–United States relations, following the cancellation of their planned meeting. • President Trump holds a bilateral meeting and joint press confer- ence with British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House. May is the first foreign leader to visit him since his inauguration. • President Trump signs two executive orders during a visit to The Pentagon. The first one suspends the Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days 27