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President Donald Trump stood just to his vice presidents right as Mike Pence delivered a ceremonial oath of office to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The same scene played out eight days later as Pence officially swore in Attorney General Jeff Sessionson Thursday.

One of Pences most regular duties, three weeks into the Trump administrations tenure, is introducing his boss before public remarks. Almost as often, though, Pence is the oath-administrant in chief.

The White House, on both occasions, announced beforehand that the president would merely participate in the Oval Office swearing-in ceremonies. Both times, Trump delivered remarks, with his main task appearing to be assuring the world that Tillerson and Sessions would respectively remake global diplomacy and domestic law enforcement.

As his second in commandadministered the oath to Tillerson, Trump, who had just spent hours at Dover Air Force Base with the family of the first U.S. service memberkilled under his watch, stared downward, his mind seemingly elsewhere. While Pence delivered the oath to Sessions, Trumps head swiveled back and forth as both men spoke.

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In fact, the vice president has carried out the ceremonial or official oath duties for all eight of Trumps Cabinet members shortly after they have been confirmed by the Senate.

Like with Tillerson and Sessions, Trump stood nearby at the Pentagon when his No. 2 swore in James Mattis as Defense secretary. Each Cabinet member then spoke from a podium affixed with the mostly blue presidential seal.

Pence did the honors solo for Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

Those five had to settle for the white vice presidential seal on the podium.

Several presidential scholars acknowledged that it seems Pence is swearing in high-level officials at a fast clip, but they said it is standard vice presidentialbusiness.

The vice president serving as oath-giver is not new to the Trump administration.

For instance, when it was time to swear in Hillary Clinton as secretary of State in early 2009, the still-new Obama administration had Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. do the honors. The same was true that year when it was time for Eric H. Holder Jr. to state his intention to uphold and defend the Constitution as the attorney general.

The practice was also common during Obamas second term, with Biden swearing in Holders successor, Loretta Lynch. The 47th vice president did the honors again in the Oval Office with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, though Obama, like Trump recently, stood nearby.

But, unlike Trump during his first three weeks, Obama sometimes administered oaths of office. In April 2009, for instance, the 44th president did so after his final Cabinet member, Kathleen Sebelius at Health and Human Services, was confirmed.

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Several Republicansenators said there wasno reason to think any of the secretaries would like a distance from their bombastic boss.

Weve all expected that the vice president would have an active role, said Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. I think its part of that.

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Pence taking the lead on the oaths is probably just the role the vice president plays, other reasons have to do with logistics we all want them to be sworn in as quickly as possible.

Nah, I dont buy it, Tillis said when asked if he believes any Cabinet member might prefer a picture with Pence rather than Trump. They were his nominees. Hes the one who put them forward.

Top Democrats also say vice presidentshave performed the task for years.

Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he can recall some being sworn in by the general counsel of their department.

Ive seen vice presidents do it before, said Appropriations ranking member Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who has been in the Senate since the Ford administration (1975). I can remember Vice President [George H.W.] Bush, Vice President [Walter] Mondale, all the vice presidents, doing this. If they wanted distance, they wouldnt have accepted the nomination.

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Link:
Mike Pence Is the Oath-Administrant in Chief - Roll Call

National security advisor Michael Flynn may have lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with a Russian diplomat before the inauguration.

In a Jan. 15 appearance on the CBS News program Face the Nation, Pence denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak but Politico reported that the retired general may have misled him about those phone conversations with the diplomat.

A Trump administration official told the website that Pence based his public remarks on private conversations with Flynn, whose ties to the Kremlin have been the subject of numerous news reports.

If Flynn is allowed to mislead the vice president on a matter of importance, one Pence advisor told Politico, that would send a clear signal about his standing in a fractious White House.

Flynn may have violated federal law by discussing government business as a private citizen, which he was at the time, with a foreign nation.

The national security advisor at first denied the reports but then admitted that he could not be certain that the topic of sanctions never came up.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, also flatly denied on Jan. 13 reports that Flynn had discussed sanctions with the Russian diplomat.

Link:
Trump's security advisor Mike Flynn may have lied to VP Mike Pence about Russian talks: report - Raw Story

Vice President Mike Pence's move received waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per a pool report. | Getty

By Henry C. Jackson

02/09/17 08:59 PM EST

Vice President Mike Pence traveled to West Point today to give a speech at an awards dinner -- and he led off by granting amnesty to the assembled cadets.

Pence delivered a 20-minute speech on Thursday night, per a White House pool report, touching on the administrations efforts to stop ISIS. Pence spoke at a mess hall honoring Henry O. Flipper, a former slave who was the first African-American to graduate from the academy.

Before he got going, though, Pence used his executive authority to grant amnesty for minor offenses to the cadets. It was a crowd pleasing gesture, met with waves of applause through the cavernous dining hall, per the pool report.

Pence also received big cheers when he mentioned President Donald Trump, and the administrations push against ISIS.

Make no mistake about it: President Trump and this administration and this country will not rest until these enemies are destroyed and our nation is safe again, Pence said.

Read this article:
Pence grants cadets amnesty - Politico (blog)

President Donald Trump said that he is still deciding whether to move the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, suggesting he is open to abandoning a controversial campaign promise.

Im thinking about it. Im learning the issue and well see what happens, Trump told the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, Haaretz reported. Its not an easy decision. Its been discussed for so many years. No one wants to make this decision, and Im thinking about it seriously.

As a candidate, Trump repeatedly promised to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and move the U.S. embassy, including in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September.

Since his inauguration, however, Trump has been more equivocal on the matter.

Referring to the embassy move in an interview with Fox News Sean Hannity last month, Trump said, I dont want to talk about it yet. Its too early.

There is ample precedent for American presidents reneging on campaign promises to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both vowed to make the move, but decided in office that it would undermine peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The international community largely views the Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem as occupied territory. Few countries recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

Although Israel maintains that Jerusalem is its capital, Palestinians living under Israeli occupation have long sought to make Jerusalem their capital as well, making it a key sticking point in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has warned Trump that moving the embassy would be disastrous. And Jordans King Abdullah told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that even Israeli intelligence officials are concerned about the implications of the decision, BuzzFeed News reported.

In the interview with Israel Hayom, Trump also indicated that he is critical of Israeli expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

I want Israel to act reasonably in the peace process and that it will finally happen after so many years. And maybe there will even be a possibility of a bigger peace than just Israel and the Palestinians. I want both sides to act reasonably, and we have a good chance at that, Trump said.

There is limited remaining territory. Every time you take land for a settlement, less territory remains, he added. Im not someone who believes that advancing settlements is good for peace. But we are examining a number of options.

Handout/Reuters

Trumps comments are the strongest suggestion to date that he will adhere to the decades-long U.S.policy of pushing for a two-state solution that involves land concessions by Israel.Last week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement thatthe construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving peace.

On Monday, however, the Israeli parliament passed a law retroactively legalizing major settlement blocs built on private Palestinian land. The enactment suggests that many right-wing Israeli politicians feel emboldened by Trumps election.

Some of those same lawmakers expressed alarm at Trumps Israel Hayom interview on Friday. Bezalel Smotrich, a member of parliament from the right-wing Jewish Home party, which is in the governing coalition, called the interview very disturbing.

Israel HaYom is a free daily newspaper bankrolled by American billionaire and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson. It is so well known for its pro-Netanyahu slant that it has earned the nicknameBibi-ton, a Hebrew portmanteau meaning Bibi-paper. (Netanyahu is commonly known as Bibi, a diminutive for Benjamin.)

There is evidence that Trumps interview had Adelsons official blessing. Trump dined with Adelson on Thursday evening at the White House.

On the campaign trail, Trump pleased Adelson and other right-wing supporters of Israel with his strong rhetoric praising the Middle Eastern nation and promises to undo Obama administration policies that were tougher on the Israeli government. Trump notably indicated that the U.S. would be more protective of Israel at the United Nations after former President Barack Obama effectively allowed theU.N .Security Council to pass a resolution in December condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Trump has nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank who has compared those who are part of the liberal Israel advocacy group J Street to Jewish concentration camp guards, implying members of the organization are equivalent to Nazi collaborators. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to hold a confirmation hearing for Friedman as early as next week, Haaretz reported.

Go here to read the rest:
Donald Trump Suggests He May Not Move US Embassy To Jerusalem - Huffington Post

President Trump has a habit of engaging in some pretty intense handshakes. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

We know President Trump is concerned with appearances especially when he's on television, or in front of news photographers or large crowds.

We also know that President Trump is concerned with hands how large they are, how strong they are just look at them!

Trump is also a well-known germaphobe. He initially shunned shaking hands with supporters on the campaign trail. As president, protocol compels him to shake a lot of hands, though.

And recently, he's taken part in a few handshakes that we'll just call "intense" for now most recently, a bizarre moment with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.

Whether it's just habit, or a way of asserting his power, Trump has a habit of pulling forcefully on the hand he's shaking. We've spotted it now in handshakes with Vice President Mike Pence (on election night) and with Judge Neil Gorsuch (on the night Trump nominated Gorsuch to the Supreme Court).

This afternoon, he did it again, with Abe.

Trump even took time out to compliment Abe's "strong hands" or maybe he was just referencing his own.

But Trump doesn't always tug on the hands of those he's greeting. When Kanye West visited Trump Tower in December, the two dapped like old friends.

While it's admittedly a small thing, little glimpses into Trump's thinking can give us an idea of how he handles these situations. But let's be honest we already knew Trump likes to be in control.

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Donald Trump and the art of the super-awkward handshake - Washington Post