WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST):
8:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s working “long hours” and frequently only gets about four or five hours of sleep a night.
Trump says in an interview with Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” that he typically works until midnight or 1 a.m. He wakes up at 5 a.m. to eat, read newspapers and check out television.
Trump says that at the start of his presidency he’s been surprised by “the size, the magnitude of everything.” He says being president can be a “surreal experience in a certain way.”
But he adds, “you have to get over it because there’s so much work to be done.”
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7:40 p.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed their “shared commitment to combatting terrorism in all its forms.”
The White House says Trump reiterated U.S. support to Turkey “as a strategic partner and NATO ally” in a phone call Tuesday with Erdogan. Trump also welcomed Turkey’s role in countering the Islamic State group.
Turkey’s relations with the U.S. were strained under the Obama administration, with Ankara expressing frustrations over what it perceives as U.S. reluctance to extradite a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed July 15 military coup.
Turkey has also been angered by U.S. support to Syrian Kurdish militia fighting Islamic State forces.
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7:05 p.m.
The Spanish prime minister has told U.S. President Donald Trump that Spain is in the best position to be the new U.S. administration’s partner in Europe.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy spoke with Trump during a 15-minute phone call Tuesday.
A statement from the Spanish government says Rajoy argued that Spain’s GDP growth of more than 3 percent puts it in a good position to be a link between the U.S., Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East. It says Rajoy also reminded Trump that Spanish investment has created 80,000 jobs in the U.S.
They also discussed security, with special attention on the May meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels and cooperation between their two governments in fighting international terrorism.
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7 p.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office says he has held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Officials at Erdogan’s office did not immediately provide details on their discussions, which took place early Wednesday in Turkey.
The conversation was their first since Trump’s inauguration.
Relations between NATO allies Ankara and Washington were troubled under the Obama administration over Turkish demands for the extradition of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating Turkey’s failed military coup, and by Turkey’s insistence that Washington stop supporting Syrian Kurdish fighters who are affiliated with outlawed Kurdish rebels in Turkey.
Ankara has pinned hopes for improved ties on Trump’s presidency and the call was being closely watched in Turkey.
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5:30 p.m.
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee met with President Donald Trump at the White House but says the two men did not discuss oversight.
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah says he met with Trump for 30 minutes Tuesday in the Oval Office, along with White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.
Chaffetz says that before he even sat down, “The president said: ’No oversight. You can’t talk about anything that has to do with oversight.’ I said ’fair enough.’”
Chaffetz says he is unlikely to grant Democrats’ requests to investigate possible conflicts of interest with Trump’s sprawling business empire, but insists his committee will pursue a “vigorous oversight agenda” under an all-Republican government.
The lawmaker says he’s “not the president’s cheerleader, but I do want to fix things.”
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4:50 p.m.
The White House has tapped aides to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to join its legislative affairs team.
The White House says Joyce Meyer, a longtime aide to Wisconsin congressman Ryan, will serve as deputy assistant to the president and House deputy director of legislative affairs. The team will also include Paul Teller, a former Cruz chief of staff who will serve as special assistant to the president and House special assistant.
The announcements were made by Marc Short, President Donald Trump’s director of legislative affairs.
Other members of the legislative affairs team include Jonathan Hiler, who will be an assistant to Vice President Mike Pence and director of legislative affairs.
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4:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump has told a Texas sheriff they could “destroy” the career of a state lawmaker trying to reform asset forfeiture laws that critics say police abuse as a funding source.
Trump’s comment Tuesday drew laughs during a meeting with sheriffs in the White House. The remark followed Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson’s criticism of an unnamed state senator who believes police shouldn’t receive forfeiture money unless a case ends in conviction.
Trump responded: “Who is the state senator? Do you want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career.”
The sheriff wouldn’t say and it was unclear to whom Eavenson was referring.
Republican state Sen. Konni Burton has proposed the most sweeping forfeiture reforms but wouldn’t stop to answer questions Tuesday outside the Senate in Austin, Texas.
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4:20 p.m.
The 2016 election is never far from President Donald Trump’s mind.
When Trump met Tuesday with a group of sheriffs from around the country, he saw not just lawmen but battleground states.
Trump talked about his victories with officials from Pennsylvania and North Carolina. And when a sheriff from Minnesota introduced himself, Trump said if he had campaigned in the state one more time he would have won it.
More than two weeks into his presidency, the president is still fixated on the 2016 campaign.
Many of his public comments include references to his election performance. At times, the comments appear to be light and boastful while in other moments, he’s awkwardly interjected election talk into forums that are decidedly apolitical.
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3:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump plans to welcome the New England Patriots to the White House to honor their fifth Super Bowl win.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump was looking forward to hosting the team. He called the Patriots’ 34-28 win over the Falcons a “spectacular game.”
The Super Bowl-winning team traditionally visits the White House. But some players have already said they won’t attend this year, the first time Trump will be the host.
Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett has said he won’t attend. And Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty told Time Magazine Monday that he would skip it as well.
Team owner Robert Kraft is a supporter of Trump and attended a dinner in Washington for him before the inauguration.
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3:05 p.m.
Mexico’s presidential spokesman says that the president’s office did not record a call with U.S. President Donald Trump last month and foreign troops would never be allowed to operate in Mexico.
Eduardo Sanchez made the comments Tuesday on a television news show in Mexico.
The Associated Press reported last week on an excerpt from the conversation’s transcript in which Trump told Enrique Pena Nieto he might send U.S. troops to deal with Mexican drug cartels. Mexico’s government denied the comments.
A White House official later confirmed the comments, but said they were meant to be “lighthearted.”
Trump said in a weekend interview with Fox News that he made the offer and Pena Nieto seemed interested in help.
But Sanchez said the Mexican constitution would not allow that.
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2:10 p.m.
The White House is asserting that President Donald Trump “respects the judicial branch” despite his tough talk over the pushback against his immigration ban.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer asserted Tuesday that there is “no question” over the president’s respect of the courts.
Earlier, the president told members of the National Sheriff’s Association that the court fight over his refugee and immigration executive order could end up in the Supreme Court.
Trump said he’s going to take his fight to uphold the directive “through the system.”
Trump lashed out last weekend over a court order to block the ban, saying on Twitter, “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
2 p.m.
A White House spokesman says President Donald Trump will host Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago this weekend.
Trump has been calling his resort the “Winter White House,” and Press Secretary Sean Spicer says that Abe’s trip there is a testament to the close relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Abe will first visit the White House before traveling to Palm Beach, Florida, with Trump, Spicer says.
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago this past weekend, where he visited with his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and attended a fundraiser for the Red Cross, among other events.
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10:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump says the court fight over his refugee and immigration executive order could end up in the Supreme Court.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trump says he’s going to take his fight to uphold the directive “through the system.” Still, he says he hopes the measure doesn’t have to go to the high court because he believes it is “common sense.”
Trump’s order paused the entire U.S. refugee program and banned entries to the U.S. from seven majority Muslim countries. Over the weekend, Seattle U.S. District Judge James Robart temporarily blocked the order, sparking harsh criticism from the president of both the judge and his decision.
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10:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he can’t believe his administration has to fight in the courts to uphold his refugee and immigration ban, a policy he says will protect the country.
Trump says some people with “the wrong intentions” are trying to “take a lot of our powers away.” He says that more Americans support his policies than those protesting against his executive order, which temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and blocked entries from seven Muslim-majority countries.
On Tuesday, state and federal lawyers will argue over the ban before a panel of federal appellate court judges.
Trump says his order will keep bad people out of the U.S. His comments came during a White House meeting with county sheriffs.
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10 a.m.
Turkish officials say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump - their first since the American leader took office.
Officials from Erdogan’s office said the conversation would take place around 2100 GMT, or 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Turkey’s relations with the United States under the Obama administration were strained, with Ankara frequently expressing frustrations over what it perceives as U.S. reluctance to extradite U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed July 15 military coup.
Turkey has also been angered by U.S. support to Syrian Kurdish militia fighting the Islamic State group. Ankara considers the fighters “terrorists” because of their links to Kurdish rebels in Turkey.
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8:40 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary says a housekeeper he previously employed at his home was an undocumented worker.
Andrew Puzder said in a statement that he and his wife employed a housekeeper for a few years and they were unaware that “she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S.”
He says that when they learned of her status, “we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status.”
Puzder, a fast food chain executive, adds that he and his wife have “fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California.”
The revelation could complicate Puzder’s nomination.
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7:35 a.m.
President Donald Trump says it’s no fair “the haters” tie him to Russian President Vladimir Putin when President Barack Obama was the one who struck a deal with Iran.
He tweeted Monday: “I don’t know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!”
Obama helped orchestrate a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers, in which Tehran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Trump has criticized that deal. He also once bragged about how well he knew Putin, but he has since walked back those comments, amid accusations that Russia meddled in the U.S. election.
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