Take a look at the week in politics from March 4 through March 10.
A South Korean soldier walks past a television screen in Seoul showing pictures of US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On Thursday, the White House announced that Trump agreed to meet with Kim, a historic first. On Friday, the White House appeared to qualify that agreement, saying such a meeting would only take place if North Korea takes “concrete and verifiable actions” toward denuclearization.
“I’m not a Donald Trump fan, as I told you before, OK? He treated me like crap,” former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg said during one of several interviews with CNN on Monday. Nunberg began his week with by declaring he would not comply with a grand jury subpoena in the Russia investigation. He later backed off of that claim and pledged to cooperate with the investigation. Nunberg arrived at District Court in Washington, DC, Friday morning, where he was expected to deliver federal grand jury testimony as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
President Trump and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven meet in the Oval Office on Tuesday. In remarks, Trump denied that his White House was struggling to recruit talented staff, insisting a wealth of potential hires “want a piece of the West Wing.” Later that day, the top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn resigned in the wake of his fierce disagreement with the President’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Kellyanne Conway attends a news conference with President Donald Trump and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven on Tuesday. The US Office of Special Counsel announced Tuesday that Conway violated the Hatch Act on two occasions by “advocating for and against candidates” in last year’s Alabama Senate special election.
Rows of chairs reserved for members of Congress were set up at the The Smithsonian National Museum of American History ahead of a ceremony featuring House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday. Pelosi donated the gavel she used and pantsuit she wore when she was sworn as the first female speaker of the House in 2007. She called for more women to get involved in politics.
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta greets US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday. Tillerson said Trump’s decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “was not a surprise in any way,” despite saying less than a day before that conditions were not yet ripe for negotiations with North Korea.
A cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump leans against the wall after Rick Saccone, Republican Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania’s 18th district, spoke to reporters at the Republican Committee of Allegheny County offices on Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Saccone is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Democratic candidate Conor Lamb. President Trump will travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a campaign rally with Saccone.
Michelle Obama posted a picture of her meeting with Parker Curry, the little girl who was in awe of her portrait. “Parker, I’m so glad I had the chance to meet you today (and for the dance party)! Keep on dreaming big for yourself…and maybe one day I’ll proudly look up at a portrait of you!,” she wrote in the post.
“He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people,” President Trump said in a statement about outgoing chief economic adviser Gary Cohn. The White House announced Cohn was resigning on Tuesday.
France’s far-right party Front National (FN) president Marine Le Pen and former US President Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon give a joint press conference during the FN party annual congress on Saturday at the Grand Palais in Lille, north of France. Le Pen will attempt to revive her battered party this weekend at a conference with a proposal to ditch the tainted National Front brand, seen as a key hurdle to winning power.
A man removes the word “Trump” from a marquee outside the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama City, Panama, on Monday. Escorted by police officers and a Panamanian judicial official, the owner of the Trump Panama City hotel has taken control of the property. A team of Trump security officials left the property.
Protesters in support of the DACA program chain themselves together outside the US Capitol on Monday, the symbolic deadline for the program. Capitol police said 87 people were arrested in the demonstrations. Congress has yet to come up with a legislative solution for the policy, which was ended by President Trump in September.
During the press briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders faces questions about the President’s tariff plan and the lawsuit against him by porn star Stormy Daniels which alleges he hadn’t signed a nondisclosure agreement that would have prevented her from discussing their alleged sexual affair. Sanders told reporters that the arbitration was won “in the President’s favor,” an admission that the nondisclosure agreement exists, and that it directly involves the President. A source tells CNN that Trump was upset with Sanders about her response.
Former Vice President Joe Biden rallies for Democratic Pennsylvania special election candidate Conor Lamb on Tuesday. Lamb faces off against Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone in a special election to represent the state’s 18th congressional district.
David Hogg, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student (shown on computer screen); Fred Guttenberg, the father of a slain Parkland student; Francine Wheeler, the mother of a slain Sandy Hook student; and Lori Haas, the mother of a Virginia Tech shooting survivor, join a panel at an event sponsored by Senate Democrats on protecting children from gun violence on Wednesday. Although Florida’s legislature passed sweeping legislation this week to combat gun violence – which Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Friday – Congress has been moving at a glacial pace on gun-related legislation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, depart the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday. Netanyahu said Trump still intends to abandon the Iran nuclear deal unless it is “fixed.” Trump indicated he may travel to Israel for the opening of the controversial US embassy in Jerusalem, which is slated to take place in May.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort entered a plea of not guilty to charges of bank fraud and tax crimes in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia on Thursday. His trial is scheduled to begin July 10.