“Big week coming up!” the president tweeted early Monday morning. And he didn’t disappoint.
There was the decision to dismantle a program that protected 800,000 undocumented young immigrants. There was Hurricane Irma‘s deadly path to the U.S, and the president stunned politicians on both sides of the aisle with his surprise deal with Democrats to raise the debt limit.
Here’s what happened this week in the presidency of Donald Trump.
Sept. 7: Bannon speaks out
Donald Trump Jr. told lawmakers Thursday he was open to obtaining information about Hillary Clinton’s “fitness, character or qualifications” in a meeting with a Russian lawyer last year. He insisted that neither he nor anyone else he knows colluded with any foreign government during the presidential campaign.
Multiple congressional committees and a team of special prosecutors are continuing to investigate whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s go-to response on most issues: ‘We’ll see’
Meanwhile, as Irma barrelled closer to the U.S., officials in Florida announced more evacuations across the state ahead of the arrival of a powerful Category 5 storm that plowed through the Caribbean.
“Please do not ignore evacuation orders,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott tweeted. “Remember, we can rebuild your home, not your life.”
READ MORE: Steve Bannon attacks Catholic Church, Gary Cohn in new interview with Charlie Rose
Steve Bannon, Trump’s key former advisor, blasted White House aides who publicly distanced themselves from the president’s response to Charlottesville; he said he will be Trump’s “wing man outside.”
And Trump tweeted that Dreamers have “nothing to worry about” for six months.
Sept. 6: ‘Watching Hurricane closely’
Trump kicked off the day with an early morning tweet claiming the U.S. is the “highest-taxed nation in the world – that will change.”
Trump has said this several times before and it’s not true. According to 2015 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. tax levels are well below those of at least two dozen other OECD countries.
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READ MORE: Hurricane Irma photos reveal the destruction left in monster storm’s wake
Trump said his team was closely monitoring Hurricane Irma as the storm battered the Caribbean.
The island of St. Martin, where Trump owns a roughly $17-million waterfront estate, was hit hard by the storm with buildings being destroyed, cars overturned and roads scattered with debris.
The status of Trump’s 11-bedroom gated compound on Plum Bay was not immediately known.
WATCH: Hurricane Irma leaves a trail of destruction in the Caribbean
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Hurricane Irma ravages St. Maarten by stripping roofs from homes, toppling shipping containers -
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Hurricane Irma: Residents capture ferocious winds hammer Virgin Islands -
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Hurricane Irma leaves a trial of destruction in the Caribbean -
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Kingstonians in Florida are trying to evacuate before Hurricane Irma hits -
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What path Irma is expected to take -
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Hurricane Irma not ‘fake news,’ residents should evacuate: FEMA -
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Florida residents less panicked, more nervous as Irma approaches -
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FEMA: Hurricane Irma a threat that will devastate U.S. -
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Florida gov. tells people to prepare to evacuate as Irma approaches
“We know that the four most solid buildings on the island have been destroyed, which means that more rustic structures have probably been completely or partially destroyed,” French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told AFP.
READ MORE: Donald Trump partners with Democrats on debt limit in rare bipartisan deal
Also Wednesday, Trump stunned congressional Republicans by cutting a deal with Democrats to keep the government operating and raise America’s debt limit.
This ensured money for hurricane relief, but in the process Trump broke with top GOP leaders and his even own treasury secretary who wanted a longer extension to the debt limit.
Sept. 5: DACA fallout
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DACA showed Obama admin’s ‘disrespect’ for legislative process: Sessions -
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Will DACA impact Trump’s Presidency positively or negatively? -
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Jeff Sessions on DACA: We cannot admit everyone who wants to come here -
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The fate of DACA & what it could mean for Canada -
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Trump says he has great love for “Dreamers” despite decision to scrap DACA -
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DACA program being rescinded, is ‘unconstitutional’: Jeff Sessions -
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Trump’s DACA decision prompts protests across U.S.
The Trump administration made it official Tuesday and began dismantling a government program that protects hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.
But rather than make the announcement to the American public himself, Trump sent Attorney General Jeff Sessions to face reporters.
“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here. It’s just that simple,” Sessions said.
He added that Congress will have six months to come up with a legislative fix before the government stops renewing permits for people who are already covered by the program.
- U.S. Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’
- German Christmas market attack: Police got tipoffs about suspect last year
- At least 10 are killed as a small plane crashes into a Brazilian town popular with tourists
- Israeli expert urges justice for both Israeli, Palestinian victims of sexual violence
READ MORE: Donald Trump gives Congress 6 months on DACA or ‘I will revisit this issue’
The White House has also repeated claims that DACA will take away jobs from thousands of Americans, a claim that many economists and business leaders have refuted.
Canadians politicians weighed into the DACA controversy, suggesting that many of the people affected would make good candidates for immigration to the Great White North. One immigration lawyer who spoke with Global News said it could be a reality for some older Dreamers.
FACT CHECK: What the Trump administration said about DACA
And as the fallout from DACA continued, former U.S. president Barack Obama called out Trump’s decision saying it’s both “cruel” and “self-defeating.”
Meanwhile, the second round of NAFTA talks between the U.S., Canada and Mexico ended with reports that the American representatives had remained firm on a number of “America First” demands but have offered few specifics.
Sept. 4: Trump to end Dreamers program
Reports emerged that Donald Trump intended to end a program that protected undocumented young immigrants — also known as “the Dreamers” — from deportation after they entered the country as children.
News of Trump’s decision to end the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) drew immediate condemnation from civil rights groups, politicians and those in the business community.
READ MORE: Who are the thousands of ‘Dreamers’ facing deportation from the U.S.?
About 800,000 people are covered under the policy. Mexico is by far the biggest country of origin, followed by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, according to U.S. documents.
WATCH: The fate of DACA & what it could mean for Canada
Senior Republicans including Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Orrin Hatch have also urged Trump not to scrap the program, while Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted: “If Trump decides to end DACA, it will be one of the ugliest and cruelest decisions ever made by a president in our modern history.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump running short of options to deal with North Korea
And on Sunday, Trump said the U.S. may push for a trade embargo against any country that does business with North Korea.
“The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” the U.S. president wrote.
One nation that Trump appeared to call out was China, America’s biggest trading partner with roughly $600 billion in annual trade between the two countries.
*With files from the Associated Press.
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