WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Friday ordered stricter screening of refugees to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States and alternated tough talk with kind words in his diplomatic standoff with Mexico.
Trump traveled to the Pentagon where he joined Defense Secretary James Mattis for the signing of an executive action to change the nation's refugee policies and put in motion his plans to build up the nation's military.
"We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas," he said. "We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people."
During his election campaign against Hillary Clinton, Trump pledged to put in place "extreme vetting" procedures to screen people seeking to enter the U.S. from countries that have terrorism ties.
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The order imposes a 120-day suspension of the entire U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and a 90-day ban on all entry to the United States from countries with terrorism concerns.
The State Department said the three-month ban in the directive applied to Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen -- all Muslim-majority nations.
The order also halts entry to the U.S. by Syrian refugees until the president determines that changes to the refugee assistance program ensure that admitting them won't compromise national security.
Trump also signed a presidential memorandum on "rebuilding" the U.S. armed forces, giving Mattis 30 days to conduct a "readiness" review and report back on steps that can be taken this year to improve conditions.
Joined earlier in the day at the White House by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump reaffirmed the United States' "special relationship" with the United Kingdom.
May tried to push Trump toward positions she supports, noting that he had assured her he was "100 percent" behind NATO, a world body he has dismissed as "obsolete." Trump let May's statement stand without comment during a joint news conference in the White House East Room.
Trump also addressed other matters, including his recent statements that torture "does work" in prying information out of terror suspects.
Trump was pressed about whether he would revert to a George W. Bush-era use of torture. Multiple news organizations had earlier obtained copies of a draft executive order signaling widespread changes to U.S. interrogation and detention policy.
Trump said he would defer to Mattis, who has questioned the effectiveness of such practices as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
"He has stated publicly that he does not necessarily believe in torture or waterboarding, or however you want to define it. ... I don't necessarily agree. But I would tell you that he will override because I'm giving him that power. He's an expert," Trump said.
A few hours after the news conference, Trump stood at the Pentagon as Mattis, the retired general, was formally sworn in as the military's chief.
The draft order, which the White House said was not official, also would reverse former President Barack Obama's effort to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- a place Trump has said he wants to fill up "with bad dudes."
The draft also requests recommendations on whether the U.S. should reopen CIA detention facilities outside the United States. Critics said the clandestine sites have marred the United States' image on the world stage.
Illegal immigration
Trump held firm Friday on Mexican trade and illegal immigration. He told reporters during his news conference with May that he had a "very good call" with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto earlier in the day, but he reaffirmed his belief that Mexico has "outnegotiated and beat us to a pulp" on trade -- and that would change.
"We're no longer going to be the country that doesn't know what it's doing," he declared a day after the Mexican leader canceled his visit to Washington in response to Trump's plans to build a border wall and have Mexico pay for it.
While the refugee actions are aimed at thwarting terrorists, the border wall is more for keeping out people trying to enter the U.S. for economic reasons, and Trump has continually raised concerns about criminals flowing north from Mexico.
The flurry of national security moves and foreign-policy outreach capped a busy first week for Trump at the White House, giving Americans an initial look at how he intends to position the United States around the globe.
Trump, who met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, has the authority to determine how many refugees the U.S. accepts annually, and he can suspend the program at any time. Refugee processing was suspended in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the U.S. and was restarted months later.
During the past budget year, the U.S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 from Syria. Obama had set the refugee limit for this budget year at 110,000.
Trump, according to the executive order, plans to cut that to 50,000. The order says that while the program is suspended, the U.S. may admit people on a case-by-case basis "when in the national interest," and the government will continue to process refugee requests from people claiming religious persecution, "provided that the religion ... is a minority religion in the individual's country." That suggests that it would allow the admission of Christians from Muslim-majority countries.
In an interview with CBN News, Trump said persecuted Christians would be given priority in applying for refugee status. "We are going to help them," Trump said. "They've been horribly treated."
The president was applauded by House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said it was "time to re-evaluate and strengthen the visa-vetting process." Many Democrats cast the measures as un-American.
"Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded has been stomped upon," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York. "Taking in immigrants and refugees is not only humanitarian but has also boosted our economy and created jobs decade after decade. This is one of the most backward and nasty executive orders that the president has issued."
"History will judge where America's leaders stood today," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration. "Faced with the humanitarian crisis of our time, the United States cannot turn its back on children fleeing persecution, genocide and terror."
Trump's order was signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which brought to mind the global effort to help refugees during World War II and its aftermath.
Separately, Schumer added his voice to those who said they will not support Trump's selection for secretary of state, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson.
"Just one week into his administration, President Trump is turning our foreign policy into shambles," Schumer said. "His nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, a man who will not lift a finger to fight climate change and will not rule out a Muslim registry, would make it even worse."
Tillerson also has wavered on whether to maintain sanctions against Russia. He narrowly won confirmation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, by an 11-10 vote along strictly party lines. He awaits confirmation by the full Senate.
Regarding Putin
Today Trump is expected to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During Friday's news conference with May, he was asked if he was considering lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia. But Trump was noncommittal, saying, "We'll see what happens. As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking about that."
"We look to have a great relationship with all countries," Trump said. "If we can have a great relationship with Russia and China, and with all countries, I'm all for that. That would be a tremendous asset."
Kellyanne Conway, the president's counselor, said Trump was considering lifting sanctions against Russia.
"All of that is under consideration," she said on Fox and Friends on Friday. "And if another nation that has considerable resources wishes to join together with the United States of America to try to defeat and eradicate radical Islamic terrorism, we're listening."
Republicans in Congress, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona, oppose easing sanctions unless Russia makes concessions regarding the Ukraine.
McCain warned Trump on Friday against lifting sanctions and vowed to push legislation reinstating them if they are removed. In a statement criticizing Putin, McCain cataloged all of Russia's controversial actions in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere, and said Russia cannot be trusted as a partner.
"President Trump should remember this when he speaks to Vladimir Putin," McCain said. "He should remember that the man on the other end of the line is a murderer and a thug who seeks to undermine American national security interests at every turn. For our commander in chief to think otherwise would be naive and dangerous."
Aides would not discuss the terms in detail but said Trump and Putin will seek ways to collaborate.
"I assume that they will discuss the interests of their respective countries, how to come together, work together, on issues where you can find common ground and where these two nations could maybe defeat radical Islamic terrorism," Conway said on CBS This Morning.
May, for her part, said the United Kingdom supports continuing the sanctions for now.
She said the U.S. and the U.K. should "give assurance to Russia's neighboring states that their security is not in question. We should not jeopardize the freedoms that President [Ronald] Reagan and Mrs. [Margaret] Thatcher [former British prime minister] brought to Eastern Europe by accepting President Putin's claim that it is now in his sphere of influence."
Obama's administration and the European Union slapped Moscow with sanctions for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for a pro-Russia insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Relations have plunged to post-Cold War lows over Ukraine, Putin's backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad and allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. elections.
Trump has been less critical of Russia and Putin. He has cast doubt on findings by U.S. intelligence officials that Russia interfered in the presidential election to help him win the White House, and has praised Putin's leadership.
Trump's meeting with May was his first White House gathering with a foreign head of state.
May congratulated Trump on his "stunning election victory" and announced that he had accepted the queen's invitation for a state visit with him and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, later this year.
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas, Jill Lawless, Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin of The Associated Press; by Michael A. Memoli of Tribune News Service; and by Peter Baker, Matt Apuzzo, Michael R. Gordon and Adam Goldman of The New York Times.
A Section on 01/28/2017