>> jon: the right white house briefing and a second, see you back here in an hour. >> "outnumbered" starts right now. >> fox news alert, president trump signing to executive actions today. aimed at rolling back financial regulations. one will direct the treasury secretary and regulators to come up with a plan to revise the dodd-frank law, which was put in place back in 2010 after the financial crisis. the administration says this will not undo the law. mr. trump will also force the delay of an obama arrow rule into prevent conflict of interest among retirement advisors. critics say the regulations a president is looking to scrap are supposed to help prevent another economic meltdown. meanwhile, we are keeping an eye on the u.s. stock market for you, look at that, the dow is back above the 20,000 mark, it is up 162 points are now.

and according to the experts over on the fox business network, right now that is on pace for the best day, the best gain for the u.s. stock market in two months. we will keep watching for you, and we will bring you the executive action signing as soon as it happens. >> and a busy day with this fox news alert as well, we are awaiting the white house press briefing, where sean spicer, the press secretary, expected a comment on the administration's new sanctions against iran. you know this is happening after the white house put the rogue nation on notice officially following a ballistic missile test. this is "outnumbered," i'm harris faulkner, here today is sandra smith, meghan mccain, host of kennedy on fox business, kennedy herself, in today's #oneluckyguy, this guy is on fire, fox news political editor, chris stirewalt back on the couch, outnumbered, wearing his red tie. >> i am red compliant, yes. >> the color wheel is not broken, people. we are not bridesmaids at a wedding. it is go red for women day

today, to knockout cardiovascular disease, our number one killer, so we are tried to get the word out. that is why we are all in red. and you are wearing it too. >> you are also in red because you all make it look good. >> chris stirewalt you are welcome back anytime. >> i'm just reporting on the news, i'm offering fail and fair analysis of the news. and i am so thrilled to be here, thank you for having me. >> thanks, let's get to it on this fine friday, shall we? the treasury department a short while ago released more details of the trump administration's first punitive actions since you ran test fired a ballistic missile in defiance of u.n. resolution. more than two dozen iranian individuals and entities have been penalized under these new sanctions. earlier, president trump appearing to warn iran that there is a new sheriff in town. he tweeted this, "iran is playing with fire - they don't appreciate how "kind" president obama was to them. not me!" but iran's foreign minister is firing back right now.

he tweeted, "iran unmoved by threats, as we derive security from our people, we never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense." what does that mean? >> it means that we are going to escalate. and the tit for tat that happens in these kinds of settings when a country like iran, theo kratz who run the country rely on external enemies, they want to tell their people, and what he is saying is all of our people who gathered together to fight you, meaning great satan of america, so they have to ratchet up their rhetoric and can in return. the question that we are going to find out now is is a sincere, or do they want this to go away? do they really want is to go away? >> when you say they, who do you mean? >> the government of iran, did they just want this to go away and will this be empty talk, or as we see the uss cole now seeming for the coast by ron, are we going to escalate,

escalate, escalate, or are we going to talk? >> before we move on, we don't want to freak people out. you don't want people to be fearful of this, but why is it is necessary? >> well, the president exits necessary because he believes, as he says simply stated in his tweet, that iran got the better of the united states in a nuclear deal, and he wants to establish that he takes a dim view of the country and what it is doing. remember, the president obama promised that he would treat these kinds of actions, these ballistic missile test, as violative, and would take action, and did not. and so trump says obama wouldn't, i will, here we go. >> kennedy, how far does this go? >> well, this is a great test, obviously, for the new administration, and this is something that i think pacifists have been fearing for quite a while. there are so many hot spots that could percolate and boil over, and iran appears to be the winner, the front runner, of the place i could get hottest quickest.

so hopefully they will lock it up and realize that they don't want the united states to move beyond sanctions, and, you know, we've seen today that there has been a dozen individuals and entities that have been targeted for new sanctions because of that ballistic missile test. and my question is, how much of this has to do with the ballistic missiles, and how much of it has to do with the houthi rebels in yemen that we tend to think that the iranians are backing? >> and just the overall deal for the $150 billion in general. sandra, i know you kind of drill down on who is on the list, you have the 13 individuals, and so what are these people, what do they want? >> 12 companies, 14 individuals, but i go back to part of the news is this sparring is happening on twitter, and here we are two weeks into the new administration, and chris stirewalt, i would ask you, how was i going? because there was a lot of fear that he was going to be exchanging barbs with world leaders on twitter, and -- >> and we are in fact doing that. i take this slightly different

view of this. fdr had fireside chats. he used the radio in ways that presidents hadn't used the radio before. jfk found out how he could use television, and lbj definitely figured out how to use television. as did barack obama, he was the pioneer of using social media to win and to get his message out. we are now in this era, who cares whether it's on twitter or whether it's on television, or whether he sends the pony express or a fax, or skype? it is time to focus on content and not construct. >> meghan, what about this kind of telegraph to our enemies, a message, what would that be? >> what we are not even two weeks into this administration and already i think iran is realizing that there is a new sheriff in town, and i think what will be fascinating to watch as if iran continues to violate the sanctions, unlike president obama, who when iran said a redline and then crossed

in and we did nothing, it will be interesting to see what happens. i'm obviously not a pacifist and i'm not a libertarian, and i'm not an isolationist, but that being said, i do think we should take this as low as possible. >> you are a romantic. >> but i just hope we think this through carefully, and i agree with you, chris, that it doesn't bother me that we are doing this over twitter, i think it's very modern. but i actually really feel for donald trump on this one. it's the mass of the iran deal. >> you think people are blaming him? >> no, but i think he was dealt this absolutely horrific mess from the obama administration, and the iran deal, and he is a tough guy, and he's going to deal with him in a entirely different way than obama did. but again, i didn't have to be this gargantuan mess than it is, and it's entirely president obama's fault. >> kennedy, i had asked, and i'm curious, is there something about this particular list of individuals and entities that we need to know? >> yes, and i'm sure -- [laughter]

let me dial it down, among the individuals, as i pointed out, 12 companies, 14 individuals, four of them listed as iranian citizens, to our lebanese, one is chinese, and one -- those are some of the things we know. the businesses are based both inside and outside of iran. and of course you already went through exactly what these target. >> when you look at this, too, i'm wondering if we're going to find out more of what was in a that we didn't know with iran. because you say okay, they've got their higher up, we will find out what is in their hand, do they start to enumerate, and know you said you would do such and such. that could really hurt the legacy of former president obama if we start to see what is in this ideal because of this. >> i buy you an omelette this morning. >> you did, you bought my breakfast, and it had jalapeno on it. >> it was jalapeno business. but i cannot now have that on my back. >> no, you can't. >> so -- >> not in that form.

>> so iran hd omelette, they got the money. they the relook and say oh, tear up the iran deal. too late, the deal is done. >> unmarked bills in the middle of the night on a plane. >> let's talk a little bit about what wasn't done with just the ballistic testing, because i rumor the day and days that our former u.n. ambassador, samantha power, was in front of the u.n., talking about sanctions, and violations by the ballistic testing that went on previously, but nothing come up powder behind power behind any of that at the white house at the time. at least there didn't seem to be. >> because their belief, and the president also casted in these terms, either we pursue this deal or go to war. and he believes that anything that wasn't pursuit of the deal resulted in a media war, and america of course is terrified of the concept of war with iran, which is a big, not us, but a big strong country. of the biggest and strongest in that region. >> how do you think michael flynn is doing, by the way?

>> strikes and spares. he came out strong with russia, but we know that there is some infighting inside the administration, and there is some conflict there, so that is -- >> do we know that? >> nikki haley came out strong against russia as well. it's very interesting how they are posturing within the administration. >> that is an excellent point grid >> sending a message and sort of quieting some of the talk. >> and negotiating with each other in the media, people going public, different factions inside the administration. >> what does that accomplish, because that feels new? is that the answer to transparency that we didn't get last time? >> every administration does is, every administration has faction, and every time those factions come forward and say that donald rumsfeld wants condoleezza rice did know that he disagrees with her, so he gives an interview to 60 minutes, and she goes to "the new york times" and says that he is a doody head. >> what did you have for breakfast, by the way? >> meet. >> he did.

in fact, the restaurant ran out. >> all the bacon. >> there is no bacon shortage. >> no, i did that. >> if there were a bacon shortage, where would we be? we continue to await that briefing from the white house, where we expect to hear from press secretary sean spicer on those new sanctions against iran that we talk about. the president is signing two executive orders today aimed at rolling back financial regulations as well. and president trump is promising at the national prayer breakfast yesterday to totally destroy something past decades ago which would -- whether that could have unintended consulates is, or if it's all about religious freedom, stay with us. hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer

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>> fox news alert, we are awaiting a briefing from the white house, as president trump is expected to sign to coexecutive actions today, one of them seeking information on a plan to advise the dodd-frank law passed back in 2010. the administration says this is not an attempt to undo the law, but to just start the process of looking at some burdensome regulations that are in there.

mr. trump is also going to delay an obama administration rule regulating retirement advisors that he says limits consumer choice, which is long been a criticism. this is a new report finds president trump has already halted nearly $200 billion worth of regulations since taking office. and clearly you are seeing that show up,nd the stock market, as we reference at the top of the hour, it is back up there near an all-time high as we speak. >> so the two-step that i'm observing, people in the business community and business leaders who i know and talk to, is basically this. they are so enthusiastic about so much of this and the regulatory rollback and all of that, and then every time they are about to pop the cork on the champagne, they go, but there is a lot of uncertainty out there, and there is a ton of uncertainty out there. and we are still a few weeks away from finding out what course things will take, because the big changes, the stuff that really, really matters, that can't be undone with an executive order, but rather you have changes to obamacare and

the health law, you have the discussion of broad-based tax reform, and no matter what you do there will be winners and losers. so i would say cautious optimism is the watchword for now. >> for now, but kennedy, you've been looking at this a lot, and in the administration is adamant about saying that we are not undoing dodd-frank. they are just tried to roll back some of those rules that have made a very tough to do business. >> and there are financial advisors and this administered and who point out that banks are well-capitalized, they have a lot of money, but they are not lending them money. they are not lending them money, people aren't starting businesses, and the entrepreneurial start-ups are at a 20-year low, that means you've got an entire generation where people are just not creating the american dream. and it's because big banks were given a big favor with dodd-frank, because now the government gets to pick and choose which ones are too big to fail, and that means a series of bailouts. smaller banks either get snapped up, or the cost of compliance for them, the amount of money it

costs for small banks to comply with dodd-frank, it is so prohibitive, they can't lend money to small businesses and to people trying to fix up their homes. but to your point, dodd-frank and aca very similar in that they are so, so complex, and that they were written this way, but also one of the difference is, i think you can repeal the aca and actually put something in that is better. but with dodd-frank i think you can take away the worst parts of it and free that shackle. >> but nobody wants a financial meltdown that we witnessed as a country, it was brutal, and we are still reeling from it. in some aspects, as you are detailing. the criticism is based on looking what the administration is looking to do, that possibly opens the door to seeing another meltdown. >> listen, the american public i think is a general hole wanted this, they want a businessman, they want people who understand financial community, wall street. we come on here every day and you show that the numbers are

up, the highest in two months, and like you said, i think there is a lot of enthusiasm and there is a lot of faith that donald trump because he is such a successful businessman that he can continue to help average americans get back on track. i have some criticisms of the political rollout of the executive order and a few other things that have happened since he's become president, but when it comes to everything business-related, i would point to politically that this is why he won, because people just want change and are willing to roll the dice and gamble on a businessman who can actually enact real change. >> i love the fact of what kennedy said tying those two particularly small businesses in the american dream. because we've had a lot of conversations about what that means, is it a white picket fence, a house as it used to be an '60s end '70s, and i challenge and say that because there's been this regulatory stifling of small businesses, that the american dream now has blossomed to include may be driving things with their own innovation and creativity before you get that house, that picket fence. so i love the way that you put

that. i would say this. they are still tasked with making more jobs than anything else. 65 to 70% of jobs in this country are still driven by that small business machine. so anything that you can do to pump set up is worth the effort, even a risk, because of what they mean to the nation. >> and the danger remains for donald trump, and this is why optics matter and why words matter, the small business narrative that you guys are talking about is a political winner, but if it comes to be seen that he is helping wealthy people and helping his friends in new york and doing that, the candidate of blue-collar voters, those blue-collar voters could turn on him. >> but small businesses on hole, though, are still less than 300,000 on average a year. that is a big number, but they are employing people. >> it's also a question of messaging, and who wins that message? are republicans going to do a better job of selling that american dream and really extending why it's rib important? >> these are republicans we are talking about. >> those business leaders he met

with, the chiefs of jpmorgan, blackstone, tesla, general motors, just to name a few. we continue to await a briefing from the white house and comments on the newly announced sanctions on this before. the white house also weighing in on israeli settlements, what it means for premise prime minister benjamin netanyahu's upcoming visit. and very harsh accusation from house democratic leader nancy pelosi for president trump and his chief strategist. we will tell you what she said and discussed whether she crossed a line.

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>> we are awaiting the white house's first comments on its newly announced sanctions on iran, meanwhile, the trumps administration is also weighing in on the expansion of israeli settlements, releasing a statement saying, "we don't believe they exist on existence of settlements as an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements, or the admit

expansion of existing settlements, may not be helpful in achieving that goal." of the trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity, and looks forward to continuing discussions, including with prime minister netanyahu when he visits. that visit is set scheduled for february 15, israel deputy foreign minister respondent, saying in part that the current -- in all parts of our land, and we must respect the will of the people who elected us for this purpose. of the house itself holds that settlement holds that settlements are not an obstacle to peace and they never have been. it must be concluded therefore that expansion of constructionism is not the problem. so i will go to you first, chris, i still think it's very positive that we actually have a president who is going to meet with prime minister netanyahu, unlike our last president. >> they did have a frayed relationship, -- >> he wouldn't let him speak in front of congress! >> but john boehner would, and it was a coup for the republicans. ice think what you are seeing is

that we have a secretary of state now, and rex tillerson is going to execute a foreign policy, his job is to execute a foreign policy, and this is great news for trump, because now when israel complains when france complains, when any of our allies complain, he can say take it up with rex, you guys sorted out, and then he gets to be the guy that comes in. that's why the head of state meeting is so significant, that is why you leave it aside. you guys work it out down here, and then you can come in at the end and say oh, i had no idea there was even a problem. what went wrong, i never knew? that old rex is to mean >> so good cop, bad cop, but it almost seems a little bit more like how a ceo would act, with a big idea and then immediately delegate to a senior management team. my question for you is, we talked a little bit about the disparity in russian policy within the administration. do you think there is more cohesion when it comes to israel? >> i definitely think there is more cohesion because the republicans are united around

the context of a strong, free, very independent israel. that is a settled issue in the republican party. and there is no foreign foreigy dissented there. however, when we get down to the nitty-gritty on specific things like settlements, we know that there is division on that. and that's where it tends to get very messy. the question for secretary tillerson and the president for president trump, is every president has that decision burning in the back of his minds that as he division, that as he accepts the nobel peace prize for finally bringing peace, answering the age-old question that has raged, and they think, but you know what, it is a sucker's bet. i would say history tells us that the better course of action is to proceed not with the goal of solving the problem permanently, but for coming up with workable solutions. >> but chris, you keep saying he is going to send in jared kushner to bring peace. >> it's a true thing that was said. and, you know what, given his given his son-in-law's success in executing a campaign victory,

you wouldn't count him out at all, would you question mikey would say anything could happen. >> legitimately could he be a special egg ambassador to israel question mike >> he is definitely jewish. i don't know whether he could be a special ambassador, right now you would let rex tillerson have a try. >> wasn't angelina jolie a special envoy? >> you are a very special envoy. to all the people. >> to edgewater, new jersey. >> to the point gerace kirzner jared kushner has a business expense, he does have a resume. >> he's also right in donald trump's year, debatably his closest advisor other than steve bannon. so as interesting as it may sound, i do think there is potential there because our relationship with israel, specifically netanyahu, has been so fractured for the past eight years, that there is opportunity. >> would you rule out that he will be present for the meeting

coming up with netanyahu? >> i rule nothing out. in the matter of washington, d.c., 2017, i rule no matter out. >> this president said that his son-in-law, of jared kushner, if he can't bring peace to the middle east, no one can, so he is -- >> that is a lot of pressure to put on your son-in-law. that is a tough pole. >> i'm sure i will get some emails from jersey saying please don't be the special ambassador. democrats are stepping up their attacks against the trump administration, have you seen it? house minority leader nancy pelosi is going after the president himself and his chief strategist, steve bannon, watch. >> it's a stunning thing that a white supremacist, bannon, would be a permanent member of the national security council, the public outcry toward the president's dangerous ban over the weekend was massive, and the president is clearly eagle to shift attention away. you know this that every time something gets hot he changes

the subject, changes the subject, he is an illusionist. now you see it, now you don't. >> i'm sure she knows nothing about that. >> what is she talking about? >> meanwhile -- >> did she call the dermatologist? >> that's going to be on the internet, honey. >> the hill is reporting house democrats are planning to make the president's first speech, his first speech to congress will be as difficult as possible by inviting guests they believe will suffer under his policies, like minorities. people in the gay community, and the disabled. at the addresses planned for february 28th. when i read that, the word pond comes to mind, the democrats, are they going to nick themselves good by doing that? >> well, both sides do that. >> that's fair. >> there are all kinds of ponds. i hate the state of the union, i should say, this is not the state of the union, it's an address to a joint session of

congress because he won't have to give a state of the union until next year, but i hate that as an institution brit i think it's horrible political theater, and i think the people who are invited, remember, in the first lady's box are human embodiments of each of the policies. >> but it's usually for something, not against something. >> and the republicans brought people who suffered under obamacare. both sides play this game. >> they brought kim davis. >> all of that, and you know what, as an institution, thomas jefferson knew you could deliver it in writing and it wasn't until woodrow wilson that they brought people. >> i'm just so curious, who is on that high road that hillary clinton kept talking about and mrs. obama wanted us to take? i'm driving down the middle! where are they? >> at least, and it's all funny, because a lot of these congressional democrats are talking about how when the president comes out and walks down the aisle, we are not going to be there to shake his hand. because normally there are members of both parties who reach out to the president for a little bit of a photo op, but at

least they are in the car, i guess, unlike at the inauguration, where so many house democrats didn't even show up. so i'm surprised that they're not making some sort of uc berkeley stand and throwing a stink and holding a sit in and of protest and lighting a gas fire on the steps of the capital, and they are actually going to be inside. >> to be clear, we just ran a clip of her calling steve bannon a whites premises that a news conference, but she did that twice, i don't know if we got to both times there. but she also took the opportunity to go after donald trump's supreme court pick, neil gorsuch, calling him far outside the mainstream of american judiciary. it's tough to decipher when they are actually upset about something. >> it's a red herring, they are trying to distract from all the problems that they have and the upcoming midterm elections, which it looks likely that they may lose. >> are you talking illusion? >> as long as they are focusing on the narrative that there is a white supremacist, obviously i don't agree, then you don't have to focus on your own problems, which is the fact that, who is

your leader? other than nancy pelosi or cory booker or chuck schumer, you can't name anybody else. i will say one defense of the state of the union, it is always fun hsc who falls asleep, i'm always entertained by that, it's a very good drinking game. >> last time ruth bader ginsburg played her own drinking game. >> just to piggyback off of what sandra was talking about with nancy pelosi accusing white house advisor steve bannon of being a white supremacist, she went on to say making america less safe. there is no, and that she went into the whole illusion, now you see it, now don't think. where are we? >> so, she's right about trump being good at illusion. and she's right about him effectively using distraction, that is what politicians do. when you don't like what's going on and there is a narrative that is bad for you, what do you do? you try to change the narrative. we call it the bright, shiny object. you pulled the luer through the object the water, and we sail

what was that? so yeah, he does that part. the democrats have, as you very rightly point out, the democrats have a serious problem here, is that the only thing that they know is that they hate donald trump in which she wasn't president. that is the only thing that they know for sure. they've got to start being specific in their opposition. not doing this scattershot, as you say, light something on fire, scream, protest. and you are seeing it for the first time with the refugee band, the democrats found out this is an issue that can work for them, they are going to drill in on it, push it, push it, that works in opposition. the republicans found that out dealing with obama. it doesn't work to just pout and cry. >> it will be interesting to see if it works better than what they tried before the presidential election, as you rightly pointed out, the midterms are next. >> i agree with you, chris, what is their messaging? again, one thing we always talk about here as there is also a fraction within the democratic party as well between bernie supporters who still feel very

wronged and hillary supporters, and how you somehow unite those. >> and hatred of trump is their unifying principle, but when nancy pelosi calls steve bannon a white supremacist, my question is where is the accountability? what you mean exactly by that? people sitting in states like wisconsin and michigan, how does calling steve bannon help them get jobs? >> excellent question. i wonder if the press secretary at the white house is about to be asked any sorts of questions that have to do with all of the breaking news today, particularly with the ballistic missile testing of the violations of sanctions against before. let's watch it together, the white house press briefing. >> speaking of good numbers, let's turn to the jobs report, the economy added more than 227,000 new jobs, significantly more than the 175,000 that had been expected. today's report reflects the consumer confidence that the trump presidency has inspired. according to a recent gallup poll, economic confidence is at

a new high, and adp showed a strong private sector hiring. president trump campaigned on how to make america work again, even before he took office the markets knew he would deliver on that promise. the president has artie taken significant steps to turn our economy around, and he is looking forward to ensuring that every american who wants a job has the opportunity to find one. while the presidents definitely pleased that the job growth has far surpassed expectations and that the labor force participation is rising, he also recognizes that there is a lot more work to be done. the president has a big and bold agenda to grow the u.s. economy and create jobs. in just his first two weeks in office, he has met with more than 50 business leaders across a vast range of industries. this morning, the president participated in a strategic and policy forum with business leaders from some of our country's most successful companies. the president understands the importance of an open dialogue with fellow business leaders on how to make the economy, the nation's economy stronger.

his firsthand experience as a successful businessman helps to guide his decisions as president, and he will continue to seek opinions of other job creators while crafting an economic agenda. all of these meetings are focused on one primary goal. providing new and improved employment opportunities for all americans. we are looking at a full range of policy measures to achieve that goal, regulatory relief, tax and trade reform, empowering women in the workplace, rebuilding america's crumbling infrastructure, and improving our education system. also today in pursuit of that goal, the present will be signing to executive actions as part of his plan to overhaul our financial regulatory system. i expect that to happen closer to the 1:00 hour. the first is an executive order proposing guidelines and principles that set the table for regulatory system that mitigates risk, encourages growth, but more portly, protects consumers. the dodd-frank act is a disastrous policy that is hindering our markets, reducing the availability of credit, and crippling our economy's ability to grow and create jobs.

in imposed hundreds of new regulations and financial, on financial institutions, while establishing while establishing unaccountable and unconstitutional new agency that does not adequately protect consumers. perhaps worst of all, despite all of this overreach, dodd-frank did not address the causes of the financial crisis. something we all know must be done. it did not solve the too big to fail, and we must determine conclusively that the failure of a large bank will never again leave taxpayers on the hook. the presidential memorandum addresses the burdensome government regulations in the department of labor's fiduciary rule. the rule is a solution in search of a problem. there are bettors ways to protect investors and the trump administration is taking action to do so. we are directing the department of labor to reduce to review the rule. the rule's intent may be to have provided retirees and others with better financial advice, but in reality the effect has been able to limit financial services available to them.

president trump does not intend to put unnecessarily limits on economic opportunity. the department of labor exceeded its authority with israel, and this is exactly the kind of government regulatory overreach the president has put in office to stop. we desperately need to overhaul how we approach regulation. the president is taking action to protect american taxpayers and get people back to work. moving on, we announced earlier this week that we would be taking steps to address iran's recent actions, today the u.s. sanctioned 25 individuals and entities that provide support to iran's ballistic muscle missile program and the islamic revolutionary force. these designations are in response to iran's ongoing ballistic missile program, including ballistic missile test on january 29th, 2017, as well as iran's continued support for terrorism. we have taken exactions today after careful consideration and will continue to respond with appropriate action. these designations market another stop in our continued effort to aggressively target

iran's ballistic missile program and terrorism-related activities. over at the department of defense, secretary mattis is on the final day of a two day trip through asia, he visited korea yesterday and japan today, returning to washington tomorrow. second mattis' visit emphasizes a priority president trump places on the asian pacific, and on strengthening the u.s. republic of korea alliance in the face of a growing north korea ballistic missile threat. over in the senate, the president now has 11 cabinet nominees awaiting a full senate vote on the confirmation, we look forward to welcoming these individuals into the administration. regarding the weekend plans, the president will debut his second weekly facebook life event this evening at 5:00. you can expect him to recap another week of action on behalf of the american people. he will also comment on his selection of judge neil gorsuch to be the next associate judge of the supreme court. and while recognizing black history month, he will discuss his vision to deliver more opportunity and safety for the african-american community. one more note at this week's address, the lead into the

president's remark on facebook live will feature some of the incredible artwork throughout the white house that was created by african-american artists, so don't miss this. as i mentioned previously, this weekend of president will be shifting the operation of the white house down to the winter white house at mar-a-lago. down in florida they will hold meetings and calls with advisors and staff to plan for another big week of action on behalf of the american people. we will provide readouts of these as they occur, by our account as of this morning the administration has already wrapped up more than 60 significant actions, 21 executive actions, 16 meetings with foreign leaders, and ten stakeholder meetings. to name a few. we are looking at another productive week next week. on monday, the president will visit central command and special operations command headquarters at mcgill air force base. while there, the president will receive briefings from centcom and so come, have lunch with enlisted troops, and have an all hands address to personnel. general dunford and general flynn will also be present for the meetings, and the president

will return to washington that evening. with that, i will go to my first skype question seat, jackie from nbc six in south florida. >> good afternoon. on behalf of the viewers of south florida, thank you for this opportunity. a lot of focus on foreign affairs this week and new sanctions announced today against us before, and of course miami as you know is home to the largest cuban-american community in the country. during the campaign president trump talked about his discontent with the warming of u.s.-cuba relations implement a by president obama, and in the last days of his administration he ended the wet foot, dry foot policy, so my question is twofold, has there been any contact between europe administration administration in the cuban government, and are there any plans to change the current policy right now? >> thanks. we are in the midst of a full review of all u.s. policies toward cuba cuba. the president is committed to an agenda of ensuring human rights for all citizens throughout the world, and as we review those

policies and cuba, that will be forefront. in our policy discussions, but there's nothing we have on that front at this point. francesca chambers. >> previously the president had said -- you said that appropriate actions would continue to be taken, is this the full extent of the punishing actions that we are seeing right now, and our military option still on the table in response to the administration saying all options are on the table question my >> thanks, i think one of the things that the president has had throughout the campaign during the transition, and since becoming president, is that he doesn't like to telegraph his options, that is how he believed he can have a much greater successful option. so i'm not going to go into the full extent. i think today's sanctions really represent a very, very strong stand against the actions in iran, and make it very clear that the deal that they struck

previously was not in the best interest of this country, and that president trump is going to do everything he can to make sure that iran it has stayed in check. >> will it be possible that there are more actions coming? >> i would never rule anything off the table, i think the president made it clear that throughout his time that that is what is going to happen. >> thanks. i wanted to ask about one of the members that has been announced as being part of president trump's team, gina -- senator ron wyden has written to the president saying that her background makes her unsuitable to be the cia deputy director, and what he was specifically referencing was her role in the enhanced interrogation program that the cia had during the course of the bush administration. do you believe that this background is a disqualifier for that position? >> i think she has had an unbelievably distinguished career as a covert operative. she basically gave up that to

come out and serve in this role at the request of director mike pompeo. and i think she has been a very, very distinguished servant to the american people, and is highly qualified for that position. >> thanks, i know you are looking forward, a lot of people opening that comes as well pretty for more than two years, the number one public health and safety threat facing this state is the heroin and opioid crisis. during the campaign the president promised to be swift and aggressive when it came to this problem, stopping the flow of drugs coming across the border, increasingly, though, the problem lies in synthetic fentanyl being cooked up in labs in the northeast. what is the administration doing on that front, as well as the treatment aspect of addiction? secondly, with the understanding it is a state issue, new hampshire is poised to become a right-to-work state, but the vote is expected to be close. given the administration's favorable view of right to work,

is it actively engage in that effort, and if not what is the general message from the white house? >> first on the opioid crisis that is a major problem for not just new hampshire, but so many states across the country, i think one of the things beyond the health issue is to make sure that we are looking at border issues, and the flow of heroin through our southern border is something that the president obviously, that is part of his whole strong immigration stance, strong border security, having that wall built, having additional assets on the southern border will go a long way to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country from our southern border up to the states. it was obviously as you mentioned a big issue that he made in new hampshire throughout the primary, and continued on the campaign, and that is going to be something that as soon as tom price and others are confirmed throughout the department, this is going to help health component, a border issue, so there is a multi-government approach that needs to be taken to the opioid crisis. with respect to right to work, i

think you accurately portrayed it, the president believes in right to work, he wants to give workers and companies the flexibility to do what is in the best interest for job creators. obviously the vice president has been a champion of this as well, something that is a big deal in indiana and some thing that he championed as well. >> i want to ask you about dodd-frank. beyond the executive order that is going to be signed momentarily, is the administration planning on or working with congress to overturn certain portions of the law itself that could be done that could not be done with an executive order, and if so what might that be and what might that timeline be, and can you say a full repeal of dodd-frank is actively being considered or not? >> i think there are two aspects of this, there is he administered a piece which he is starting to address through executive actions, and then there is a legislative piece that we will work with congress on. but i think i would go back to what i said earlier, that

dodd-frank has been both a disaster in terms of the impact that its head, but also it hasn't achieved the goal. and i think there is no question that the president talked about this extensively, the impact that it's had. it's not an either/or, it's friendly just not doing what it set out to do. and so i think we are going to continue not just to act through administrative action, but through working with congress in figuring out a legislative fix. >> meeting with the australian ambassador here with reince priebus and steve bannon, could you describe what that meeting was about, and did the administration make a commitment which we heard from the state department yesterday that in fact all of those subject to the obama administration agreement are still possible refugee resellers just with extreme vetting or some sort of process, what was communicated? and on the sanctions, adam zubin is acting treasury secretary, in

charge of sanctions at the trade department before, oftentimes these are a long time in developing. where these sanction something that were on his desk or had been identified, and that's what made them so not easily available to an act so rapidly question mexico i think you correctly pointed out, he served in the last administration. >> these kind of sanctions don't happen quickly, but i think the timing of them was clearly in reaction to what we've seen over the last couple of days. we knew we had these options available to us because they had been worked through the process. but we acted swiftly and decisively today because the timing was right. so, you know, they were in the pipeline, they had been staffed and approved, and the president made the decision that now it was the time to do it. chief of staff reince priebus and chief strategist bannon did meet with the prime minister yesterday, ambassador, thank you, appreciate the quest correction. they did have a very productive and candid conversation, we have a tremendous amount of respect

for the people of australia, for prime minister turnbull, and it was a follow-up on the call, but we are going to continue to work through this. we are going to honor the commitments that we've made in some way. meaning that we are going to vet these people in accordance with the agreement that happened. and we will continue to have further updates as we do. >> the statement last night on settlements in israel, has there been a shift in u.s. policy? while you said that you didn't think that they were helpful to achieving peace, you also didn't think that they were an impediment to peace, which would represent a departure from both obama and bush. and there was no reaffirmation of a two-state solution in that statement, so where are you on that? >> the president is committed to peace. that is his goal. and i think when the president and prime minister netanyahu meet here on the 15th, that will obviously be the topic on that. at the end of the day, the goal is peace. and i think that is what you have to keep in mind, i think that is going to be a subject

that they discuss when they meet on the 15th, and that is as far as i want to go on that. >> back to the settlements. what is your position on settlements in terms of whether or not, you've said that they were not an impediment to peace, but you also don't want them building new ones. >> right, i think this statement is very clear about that. we don't believe that the existent of current settlements is an impediment to peace, but i think the construction or expansion of existing settlements beyond the current borders is not going to be helpful moving forward. >> 17 members of congress requested the president trump not interfere with the current weight on employment as calculated by the department of labor. it does a president intend to comply? how many of the 227,000 jobs added to the u.s. in january does a p tribute to his administration versus the obama administration? >> look, when you look at the confidence index, i'm not going to get in, unfortunately we don't have that kind of a

breakdown. i think that you've seen the actions that he's taken, whether it's carrier or some of the other companies, sprint, softbank, clearly there is a desire for companies to want to come be part of this trump agenda and build and manufacture, create jobs, bring jobs back. but i'm not at liberty to start parsing the bls and other reports as far as where that comes down. but look, his team led by gary cohen, was really pleased with the numbers this morning. obviously we are pleased that 227,000 jobs is a great kickoff. we hope they get better, we know there have been a lot more work to do, and that is why the president continues to meet with business leaders, union leaders, to help figure out how to grow the economy. >> the government revealed in an alexandria court case that over 100,000 visas have been report revoked as part of the president's travel ban, which includes visa holders already in the united states, and will the government begin finding them and supporting them? >> i will have to get back, i don't have all the details.

>> six hours ago the president tweeted that professional anarchists, thugs, and paid protesters are proving the point of millions of people who voted to make america great again. does the administration have any intention of investigating the groups who have been riding question mexico i think we know who they are, i think we don't need to do an investigation. >> does the president seen the letter sent from senator mccain yesterday, and if so, is he looking into arming the ukrainians? >> i don't know, we'll have to get back. >> ambassador nikki haley came out with a strong statement on russia yesterday. does he have administration have plans to keep the sanctions against russia in place, or do they have any intention of adding more sanctions? >> there are two things, one i think i commented the other day on the sanctions that treasury put out, those are in fact routine. or the clarification, or routine clarification that occurs. with respect to the sanctions i think ambassador haley made a

very clear of our concern with russia's occupation of crimea. i think she spoke very forcefully and clearly on that. if i can, i'd like to go to the third skype question, christopher. >> thank you for doing this. hello from sunny and beautiful phoenix. with the likely confirmation on the horizon, with a new veteran affairs secretary, there has been discussion regarding privatizing the va, there are also still concerns regarding wait times, even overall care and some reports regarding the suicide rate. what is the reform that the administration is seeking here, also, will the administration protect whistleblowers? second part of the question, we have seen protests in phoenix and nationwide as well, when you talk about unity, what is the administration doing to bring more unity to the nation, and even more transparency as here in phoenix we saw the secret meeting on the tarmac and we talk about how is he a administration -- >> thanks, chris, first i think

the president mostly through deed continues to show that he wants to bring people together in this country. figuring out how to move the country forward both economically, jobwise, i think that is something that continues to show a desire for. we talked about it in his inaugural address and prayer breakfast. so i think you will continue to show through both word and deed his desire to move the country forward. can you go back to the first part? >> the confirmation. >> look first and foremost, and va reform, the number one thing is to get him confirmed. and so many of these, as i brought up in the past couple days, it is hard to tug about how we are going to enact an agenda reform, when senate democrats continue to slow walk some of these folks, and i think that is a problem. he is the right individual to reform the va, to understand whether it is lending or medical care, the problems and challenges we face at the va.

these are people who have served our nation and deserve the best care they can get, whether that's the mortgage lending, health care, or the variety of other stuff that the va serves or provides to our veterans. and i think that what the president has done is talk to people like dr. toby cosgrove at cleveland clinic and other business leaders about providing a better approach to serving the needs of our veterans. right now, you're right, there are still wait times that are unexceptional, there is care that's on acceptable print we've got to address that, and is going to continue to do it. >> during the campaign, though, candidate trump repeatedly said he is going to avoid the iranian nuclear deal. the bottom line, is he going to do that question mexico today, i think today's action speaks for itself in terms of the sanctions. he has made it very, very clear, that the deal that was struck was a bad deal. that we gave iran too much and we got too little for it. i think he is going to can the ten you to be tough on iran in a way that wasn't done in the last eight years. i think today's actions on the way that we expedited those sanctions are another example of how is going to say tough.

here is the skype, dale. >> thank you very much for taking questions from outside the elite media bubble there in d.c. my question is about immigratio immigration. donald trump made this the forefront of his campaign, the foundation of it. yet the dhaka program still exist, and i learned from a member of congress yesterday that the trump administration is still issuing work permits, question one is, when are these programs going to be ended, and question two, when will they stop issuing work permits to these individuals question why >> thanks, i think as you know secretary kelly just assumed office, we are reviewing these programs, we have made a very clear that we will have further updates on immigration. with regard to daca and the other. the president has made significant process progress on addressing the pledge he made to the american people regarding immigration problems that we face, and i think we will see more action on that in the next few weeks.

>> yesterday the president described nafta as a catastrophe. we've heard about his concerns with mexico, but i'm wondering if you can outline some of the irritants that he finds along the canadian border, and if there's any talk of a meeting with prime minister trudeau? >> he has spoken to prime minister trudeau, i know they're looking at a time for him to come down, we have been in constant contact with canadian officials, and i think that will be a meeting set up shortly. >> russian foreign minister has press the administration for further details on the plan to establish safe zones in syria, the president was going to discuss this with king abdullah, but when can we expect current details on that plan? >> that's a good question, i think as you noted in the readout from last weekend, that has been a subject that has come up with all of the middle east leaders that he has talked about, it is an area that he feels strongly about, and i think as he continues to have follow-up conversations, we can

expect further details. we can -- it is something that second tillerson just got sworn in, there will be further follow-up. >> the president will meet with prime minister chin zola bay next friday so the president tells us that >> i think there's going to be a lot of trade international security. as we get closer to the meeting i will have further information but as you can imagine there is an economic aspect to this and a national security aspect to thi this. >> reporter: you have referenced this a couple times at the podium and the quote came out today with the cbs has a 40% approval rating, we have seen it drop during the transition period. he talked about polls a good deal and the campaign, what do you think that says about the way the american people are looking at the actions he is taking and what do they