Earlier today President Donald Trump hosted a bipartisan group of eight Governors and Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta as part of the ongoing workforce freedom and mobility initiative.
In combination with the vocational job development program, the president has committed to eliminating workforce barriers and expanding flexibility and mobility for American workers.  The initiative includes partnerships with states on occupational licensing reform, child care, paid family leave, and vocational skills training.

[Transcript] – Cabinet Room – THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. And today, I’m delighted to welcome the governors from both parties to discuss the best ways to reform occupational licensing laws, advance childcare policies, and provide quality job training to all Americans so we can easily have some really phenomenal jobs, access to the jobs market and really fulfilling careers, and fulfilling careers of a lot of people.
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In the early hours of this morning, two vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz towards the Indian Ocean were attacked by unknown entities causing hull breach explosions that rendered the vessels inoperable.  The sailors were evacuated.

The Norwegian owned “Front Altair” (cargo: 75,000 tonnes of naphtha), and the Japanese owned “Kokuka Courageous” (cargo: 25,000 tonnes of methanol) were struck in the Gulf of Oman; the same strategic sea lane where four oil vessels were sabotaged last month.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has identified Iran as the government responsible for the attacks.  [Press Conference Video]

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No doubt Iran feels empowered to attack Western interests partly due to the support expressed by former Secretary of State Kerry and former President Obama.  Both have created an open window for Iran by undermining President Trump.
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Earlier today President Trump hit back against a ridiculous media and political narrative that in a series of tweets:
The example of Mark Warner is particularly poignant. In 2017 Senator Mark Warner was texting with lawyer/lobbyist Adam Waldman about setting up a covert meeting with British intelligence operative and dossier author Chris Steele.  Waldman is a lobbyist/lawyer with a $40,000 monthly retainer to represent the U.S. interests of Russian billionaire Oleg V. Deripaska.
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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

HPSCI ranking member Devin Nunes appears with judiciary committee member Mark Meadows to discuss today’s HPSCI hearing, corruption within the DOJ/FBI, and the current NYT story about AG Bill Barr questioning the CIA construct of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment.
Notice in Mr. Nunes statements: “corrupt rank and file“? {CURIOUS}; also Fusion GPS and the FBI operating on “parallel tracks“? {CURIOUS x 2}  Additionally, from Rep. Mark Meadows we hear this:

“We are now getting a lot of whistle-blowers” … “people who knew this was wrong are coming forward now” …

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Also from Nunes, confirmation that Rosenstein’s original scope memo was based on empowering/authorizing Weissmann and Mueller to investigate (ie. ‘utilize’) the dossier manufactured by Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Nellie Ohr and Christopher Steele.
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This evening President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host a reception for Poland’s first couple, President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda.  The reception included dignitaries, politicians, business leaders and friends from the Polish-American community.   [Video and Transcript]

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[Transcript] PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. Melania and I would like to just welcome you all to the White House, a very special place. One of the great homes and houses anywhere in the world. Call it a home or a house; it’s one of the greats. Very important to all of us.
And we’re here, today, to honor the incredible friendship between the United States and Poland, and to celebrate our vibrant, thriving, and proud Polish-American community, of which many of you are (inaudible). (Applause.)
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The New York Times has a report this evening surrounding U.S. Attorney John Durham questioning CIA officials about the origination of the Trump-Russia investigation.
However, a closer look at the substance underneath the NYT reporting and it doesn’t actually look like Durham is questioning the CIA about the investigation itself; rather it appears he is questioning the CIA about how they came to the conclusions within the January 7th, 2017, Intelligence Community Assessment, or ICA.

(New York Times) […] Mr. Barr wants to know more about the C.I.A. sources who helped inform its understanding of the details of the Russian interference campaign, an official has said. He also wants to better understand the intelligence that flowed from the C.I.A. to the F.B.I. in the summer of 2016.

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After a series of bilateral meetings President Donald Trump and Polish President Andrzej Duda hold a joint press conference in the Rose Garden.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – 2:23 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. Please. Today, Melania and I are honored to welcome President Duda and Mrs. Kornhauser-Duda of Poland back to the White House. They’ve become friends. We last hosted them in Washington, in September, and it’s wonderful to see you both again. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Great honor.
Since our last meeting, the unbreakable bonds between the United States and Poland have grown even closer. This year, as our nations mark 100 years of diplomatic relations, the U.S.-Polish alliance is stronger, by far, than ever before.
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Against the intense leverage being applied by President Trump, last week Beijing doubled-down and threatened punishment against any company that would leave China and begin manufacturing elsewhere.
The totalitarian response was predictable and expected.  However, also predictable was the corporate response to the threats.
As we shared:  “China is counting on prior western investment being so significant that a corporation will be reluctant to withdraw. However, in this outlook Beijing seriously underestimates the free market because communist controlled China doesn’t understand the action of a inherently free market.
The first loss is the best loss. If walking away from an investment provides more financial security and stability than attempting to retain a grip on a tenuous position – corporations will walk away.” (more)
Now today – “Nintendo Moves Some Switch Production Out of China”:

TOKYO— Nintendo Co. is shifting some production of its Switch videogame console to Southeast Asia from China to limit the impact of possible U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made electronics, said people who work on Nintendo’s supply chain.
It is another example of manufacturers adapting to the tariff threat. Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group said Tuesday that it was ready to move assembly of Apple Inc.’s iPhones out of China if necessary, and Japan’s Sharp Corp. , which is controlled by Foxconn, said last week that it planned to move production of personal computers to Taiwan or Vietnam.

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