here's abc's cecilia vega. learning new details from inside that rare meeting of senators at the white house. >> reporter: today, a field trip to the white house. one by one, nearly every senator on capitol hill loading up on buses. >> okay, i must be in the right place! >> reporter: heading to that classified briefing on north korea and its nuclear threat. inside the bus, connecticut senator chris murphy tweeting, "on board to the 100 days photo-op/north korea briefing." that briefing came at the request of senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. the president offering up his top national security advisers for the task. and the white house for the meeting space. the senators all just arrived here at the white house. we can't see them, they're being kept pretty far away from us, this is what you can see. all the photographers trying to get that shot. those cameras catching the president stopping by. an hour and 20 minutes later, the senators emerged. >> after what you heard in there ted, what's your characteriz

has a credibility, it's whether the president thinks sean spicer has a credibility problem. >> cecilia vega at the white house for us. thank you, cecilia. >>> we turn next tonight to the other firestorm, this one over the passenger being dragged off of a united flight. at first told the flight was overbooked. the images now seen by millions around the world, outraged over how the airline was handled it. now, the ceo out with a new statement. abc's alex perez at o'hare airport for us. >> reporter: tonight, united airlines hit by severe turbulence. the video of that passenger being dragged off his flight to make room for united employees, seen by hundreds of millions around the world. >> oh, my god. look at what you did to him. >> he said, "why am i being chosen, what did i do." >> reporter: even after being pulled from the plane, the passenger bolting back into the cabin. >> out of nowhere, we saw him running back towards the end of plane, he had blood streaming down his face. he appeared to be very, just distraught. very confused, he was not in the right state of mind, at this point. >> i h

david. >> cecilia vega back at the white house. after that moment on capitol hill. thank you, cecilia. >>> now to the showdown over the supreme court tonight and to that historic move in the senate. republicans triggering the the republicans triggering the so-called nuclear option, that sets up a vote tomorrow. now to confirm supreme court nominee neil gorsuch by a simple majority. the republicans won't need any votes from democrats. abc's mary bruce tonight on the fallout. >> reporter: the republican leader today emerged from the partisan battlefield with a thumbs up. the top democrat, his head hung low in defeat. left behind, the casualties, a senate and a supreme court fundamentally altered. >> the yeas are 48 and the nays are 52. >> reporter: with democrats blocking the president's nominee neil gorsuch, republicans making a controversial play, changing the senate rules to confirm supreme court nominees from now on with a simple majority vote, lowering the threshold from 60 votes to just 51. a move so drastic it's known as the "nuclear option." for two days, democ

david. >> all right, cecilia vega with us from the white house tonight. >>> next this evening, we do have new reporting on the deadly attacks just as the christian holy week begins. suicide bombers targeting palm sunday services at two churches. this video right here showing one of the bombers being directed to go through a metal detector to get inside a church in egypt, instead stepping back towards two police and blowing himself up. isis taking responsibility with a new warning that there's more to come. here's abc's brian ross. >> reporter: the choir was singing when a bomb hidden under one of the crowded church pews went off. [ explosions ] [ screaming ] >> reporter: the camera feed went to a test pattern, but the audio of the chaos and the screams could still be heard from inside the church. it was one of two palm sunday attacks on christian coptic churches in egypt. in the second attack, surveillance cameras show a suicide bomber trying to avoid going through a church metal detector. as he is directed by a guard to go back, he detonates his explosive vest. even before today's f

it should be. >> cecilia vega now with us live from the white house. who will be heading up the house investigation. >> that job goes to texas congressman michael conaway. he's now promising to conduct a bipartisan investigation. also helping them though trey goudy, the person who chaired that select committee investigating benghazi. david. >> cecilia vega back at the white house. >>> now the showdown over the supreme court tonight and that historic move in the senate. republicans triggering the so-called nuclear option, that sets up a vote tomorrow. now to confirm supreme court nominee neil gorsuch by a simple majority. the republicans won't need any votes from democrats. abc's mary bruce on the fallout. >> reporter: the republican leader today emerged from the partisan battlefield with a thumps up. the top democrat, his head hung low in defeat. left behind, the casualties, a senate and a supreme court fundamentally altered. >> the yeas are 48 and the nayr are 52. >> reporter: with democrats blocking the president's nominee neil gorsuch, republicans m

>> reporter: a few minutes later cecilia vega tried again -- >> so your response to those critics who say a lot of what you've presented here today could save the president or benefit his own businesses. >> again, let me just comment. what this is about is creating jobs and creating economic growth. >> white house. lot of fanfare surrounding this announcement. realistically it was a one-pager, what kind of time line are we looking at here and does he have republican support given the deficit. >> we're at the very beginning of this process. white house officials say they're determined to get it done by tend of the year. no question that republicans are divided on this issue. >> jon karl at the white house tonight, jon, thank you. >>> now to the intensifying showdown with north korea tonight and a rare meeting late today, all 100 senators invited to the white house. traveling by bus for a briefing on north korea with president trump's national security team. and with tensions rising american and south korean troops taking part in a military exercise today. north korea tonight, warning t

cecilia vega on a monday night. thank you. >>> next here to north korea and president trump's warning that if china doesn't fix the problem, the u.s. will step in and deal with north korea ourselves. abc's bob woodruff tonight and his rare visit inside north korea. and you're about to see where they take him when bob asks to see their missile launch sites. >> reporter: tonight, a rare journey inside north korea, just as tensions with the u.s. are escalating. while we're on the ground, president trump delivers a new message, telling "the financial times" the u.s. is prepared to act alone to curb north korea's nuclear ambitions, saying, "if china is not going to solve north korea, we will." these comments come after the north koreans have made a show of testing several ballistic missiles during the beginning of the trump administration. we put in all sorts of requests to visit out here. the launch locations where the missiles are being launched. but instead, the north koreans take us deep into the country, to see anot

members of congress are ready to hear some details. >> all right, cecilia vega leading us off tonight from the white house. >>> next tonight here, pressure mounting on president trump's fired national security adviser, retired general michael flynn. flynn was let go after just 24 days on the job. and tonight, we've learned that the pentagon is now investigating whether flynn failed to seek approval to collect foreign money from entities in russia and turkey. abc's mary bruce on capitol hill. >> reporter: tonight, the investigations are piling up. the pentagon's top watchdog now examining whether the president's first national security adviser, michael flynn, broke the law. at issue -- >> his ties to russia and his lack of honesty with the american people. >> reporter: the pentagon telling congress it has, "initiated an investigation to determine whether flynn failed to obtain required approval" before accepting thousands of dollars in business from a "foreign government." payments including the $45,000 he received to attend this moscow gala in 2015, even shaking hands with president p

syria is one of the truly egregious crimes and it shouldn't have happened. >> let's go back to cecilia vegaut of syria had a huge impact on him. however, the images out of syria in 2013, when the government there launched a chemical attack on its own people, those were also searing. what do you think has changed in the meantime? >> you know, dan, i was on capitol hill today. that is exactly what one democrat told me, that president trump, had he not seen those images? 2013? they're wondering what caused this soul-searching move and shift in the president's tone. especially we're hearing that from his critics tonight. the president stood right here in the rose garden, it was just yesterday, he said he saw those images along with the rest of the world, those images none of us could look away from, children, elderly, families. the president said, i now have a responsibility. and something in him has changed. and it was a remarkable thing to hear, especially from a president as you know that so many feel like he doesn't have the ability to change on a dime. he doesn't seem like a man who emotes

here is cecilia vega. >> reporter: the white house senior advisor and presidential son-in-law there in the office of iraq's prime minister and in a helicopter with military brass. visiting iraq before even the secretary of state rex tillerson. why is he there and not the secretary of state? what's the message that the president is sending by having jared kushner be the one taking this trip? >> i don't think there's, it's not a binary choice. jared's going to specifically express the commitment of the united states to the government of iraq. meet with u.s. personnel engaged in the campaign. >> reporter: this trip, seeming to cement kushner's role as a shadow secretary of state. he is planning this week's visit of the chinese president to mar-a-lago. he's also the primary white house contact for mexico. and yes, the president has asked him to broker middle east peace. >> i would love to have jared helping us on deals with other nations and see if we can do peace in the middle east and other things. he's very talented. >> reporter: the president also tapping his son-in-law to reform the c

david. >> cecilia vega with us again tonight. thank you, cecilia. >>> we turn now to another firestorm, this one involving fox news host bill o'reilly. tonight, president trump is defending him. here's abc's linsey davis. >> caution, you're about to enter the no-spin zone. >> reporter: as the embattled star of fox news faces a firestorm over alleged sexual harassment, the president is coming to his defense. in an interview with the "the new york times" president trump said -- i think he's a good person. fox news is facing growing calls to fire o'reilly. and nearly 50 companies have pulled their ads from the show. o'reilly paid five women almost $13 million in settlements over claims of sexual harassment. the president now says "perso. the president now says "personally i think he shouldn't have settled. because you should have taken it all the way. i don't think bill did anything wrong." it's not the first time he's defended a fox titan. last summer, when former ceo roger ailes faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment, cand

here's abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: at the white house today, a staff shakeup. president trump, reversing his controversial decision to put his chief strategist, steve bannon, on the national security council. bannon's presence on the council drew harsh criticism, a lightning rod, his right-wing views on nationalism and islam no secret. >> it's pretty dark here in europe right now, but there's something actually much darker and that is islam. >> reporter: when trump added bannon to the committee, he also excluded key military and intelligence officials and was accused of favoring politics over national security experience. today's restructuring largely due to the growing influence of national security adviser general hr mcmaster, who took on the job after michael flynn was fired after just 24 days. the military and intelligence leaders initially excluded, now restored to their permanent seats on the council. vice president mike pence saying today, "this is just a natural evolution to ensure the national security council is organized in a way that best serves the

abc's cecilia vega tonight. >> reporter: today, blunt words from sean spicer. the white house press secretary admitting quote; i screwed up. >> it's disappointing because i think i've let the president down. >> reporter: spicer igniting a firestorm when by implied syria's bashar al assad is worse than adolf hitler. >> you had a -- you know someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons. >> reporter: of course, more than 11 million people killed in the holocaust, many in nazi gas chambers. i want to give you an opportunity to clarify something you just said that's gaining traction, quote, hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons. what did you mean by that? >> i think when you come to sarin gas, there was no -- he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that assad is doing. i mean there clearly, i understand -- >> reporter: i'm just giving you -- >> thank you. i appreciate that. there was not -- in the -- he brought him into the holocaust center, i understand that. but i'm saying the

here's cecilia vega. >> reporter: it was exactly one month ago that president trump accused president obama of wiretapping him in trump tower. and tonight, the president's conservative allies say obama's former national security adviser susan rice revealed the identities of trump associates swept up in foreign surveillance. from rice today, a firm denial. >> this is not anything political has been alleged. the allegation is that somehow obama administration officials utilized intelligence for political purposes. that is absolutely false. >> reporter: sources tell abc news that as the intelligence community investigated russia's election meddling, in some cases, trump campaign and transition officials were picked up in surveillance. rice requesting their identities. today rice said she did indeed ask to know names. a request known as unmasking, done in cases where u.s. security is at risk. american identities that would otherwise be anonymous are revealed to those with security clearance, like rice. >> in order to understand the importance of the report, and assess its significance, it

here's abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporter: president trump picking up the phone to congratulate the commanding officers aboard those navy ships that launched 59 missiles into a syrian airfield. but from the looks of these images on russian state tv, that airbase is back in business, planes taking off, once again. tonight, new accusations that russia was well aware of bashar al assad's chemical weapons stockpile. >> i believe that russia knew about the chemical weapons because they were operating from exactly the same base. >> reporter: this as the white house seems to shift its red line on syria, saying it's not just the use of chemical weapons that would provoke an american response. >> is the red line -- just to clarify, the red line for this white house chemical warfare? is conventional warfare enough to get the president to go further there than -- than this white house has gone before? >> the answer is, is that if you gas a baby, if you put a barrel bomb in to innocent people, i think you can -- you will -- you will see a response from this president.

we begin with senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporter: secretary of state rex tillerson landing in russia today as the u.s. put moscow on notice. accusing the kremlin of engaging in a full-scale coverup of that deadly syrian chemical weapons attack. but just as the white house was talking tough, press secretary sean spicer ignited a firestorm during his daily briefing by suggesting not only that bashar al assad is worse than adolf hitler, but that hitler did not use chemical weapons during world war ii. >> you had a -- you know someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons. so, you have to, if you're russia, ask yourself, is this a country and regime you want to align yourself with? >> more than a million people died in hitler's gas chambers at one point, as many as 6,000 jews a day in auschwitz alone. more than 11 million people altogether killed in the holocaust. spicer tried to explain. i want to give you an opportunity to clarify something you just said that's gaining traction, quote, hitler didn't even sink to the level

here tonight abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: as the gop gets its first scare at the ballot box, at town meetings across the country, many republicans are getting a fresh taste of voter frustration with the president. in iowa last night, senator joni ernst confronted with this question. >> i would like to know how you can support a man that treats women the way donald trump does? and he treats disabled people poorly as well. >> would you say that's character flaws? i think he has a number -- >> it's more than character flaws. >> well, and i think that we have a president that has a number of flaws. >> the president is spending weekends in florida. >> reporter: ernst also agreeing with the constituent who asked why the president spends so much time at his florida resort, costing taxpayers millions. >> i do wish that he would spend more time in washington, d.c., that is why we have the white house for. that is something that has been bothering not just me, but i think some other members of our caucus. >> reporter: trump has spent at least 24 of his 90 days in office at mar-a-lago. >> he wo

cecilia vega, abc news, the white house. >>> a u.s.e destroyer fired a warning flare at an iranian revolutionary guard ship this week. it happened monday in international waters in the persian gulf. the navy says the "uss mahan," which you see here, tried to put some distance between the two ships. when that didn't work, the "mahan" made several attempts to contact the iranian vessel by radio. the ship's whistle and finally a warning flare. the iranian's leader turned and sailed away. >>> texas senator ted cruz says he has found a way to pay for president trump's border wall. let el chapo pay for it. the conservative texas senator thinks the $14 billion in assets the u.s. government to trying to get from the reputed drug lord would make a nice down payment. el chapo, whose real name is joaquin guzman, is accused of rung one of the world's largest drug trafficking rings. estimates for building the wall range from 12 billion to almost 22 billion dollars. >>> a group of more than 800 tech start-ups is urging the federal communications com

. >> cecilia vega with us live again tonight from the white house.resident trump had strong words about judge curiel during the campaign. what are they saying at the white house tonight? >> david, as you know, this president has been outspoken about judges in general. calling them so-called judges. questioning their integrity. so far, this president has been silent about curiel. we did ask the white house if he still believes that his heritage makes him biased, david, no comment. >> cecilia vega with us again tonight. >>> president trump in a boost to boost american manufacturing signed an order to investigate whether steel imports are harming national security. if the answer is yes, he could restrict imports. the president has often accused china of selling steel below cost making it hard for american businesses to compete. >>> there are questions tonight about a controversial piece of video capturing the treatment of a 10-year-old boy with autism. at a school in florida getting handcuffed. abc's clayton sandell with the video tonight. >> reporter:

and as abc news reporter cecilia vega explains, press secretary sean spicer is apologizing for his commentsd syria's president. >> reporter: today blunt words from sean spicer. the white house press secretary admit, "i screwed up." >> disappointing because i think i've let the president down. >> reporter: spicer igniting a firestorm when he implied syria's bashar al assad is worse than adolph hitler. >> you had a -- you know, someone as despicable as hitler who didn't even sink to the -- to using chemical weapons. people were of course, more killed in the holocaust, many in nazi gas chambers. >> want to give you an opportunity to clarify something that you said that's gaining traction. "hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical weapons." what did you mean by that? >> i think when you come to sarin gas, there was no -- he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that assad was doing. there was clearly -- i -- >> i'm giving you -- >> thank you, i appreciate that. there was not in the -- he brought him into -- to the holocaust center. i understand that. i'm saying in t

reporters bob schieffer and cecilia vega discussed what it is like covering the white house in washington politics. this is just under one hour. story,: that is the next the host of cnn's "reliable sources," brian stelter. brian: thank you very much. there is a lot to talk about, even in reaction to what kellyanne conway with a in just a minute ago. with carrie budoff brown, next to her, david kirkpatrick, author of "the facebook effect," next to me is cecilia vega of abc, senior white house correspondent of abc, covering the trump administration, joined abc six years ago. sicilia, kellyanne conway said the press is presumptively negative about the man u cover every day. are you presumptively negative y? cecilia: i am presumptively -- skeptical. i think we have to both given this administration's relationship with the truth and how tough it is for us to get at that right now. -- io we start our day think i can speak for all of us since i'm in a briefing room every day, in a negative manner, absolutely not, but that is not the tone, from my perspective, isour coverage, but my sense this pe

. >> let's go to cecilia vega for more on what the president's plan includes. >> reporter: hey, guys. good among to you. white house officials say what will be released today is a draft, a blueprint, so to speak. there hasn't been major tax reform in the country since ronald reagan was in the white house. the president is hoping to add this tax reform row posele to his list of accomplishments before he hits that 100 days. as the government shutdown just days away, the pressure is on for president trump to deliver. hoping to make good on a signature campaign promise. >> there will be major tax reduction. we're simplifying the tax code. it's going to be so beautiful. it's going to be so dynamic. taxes are coming way down for individuals. >> reporter: today, the president is expected to unveil what he says could be the biggest tax cut we have ever had. his treasury secretary and a top economic adviser on capitol hill trying to trump up support. >> we're all committed to getting tax reform done. >> reporter: sources tell abc news the tax reform plan will cut the corporate tax rate from 35

let's get right to cecilia vega with news on the former president's condition. >> reporter: we're hearing this is a case of mild pneumonia. a spokesman tells us he was admitted on friday due to a persistent cough. just a week ago, bill clinton posted this picture showing them together. but president bush is back in the same hospital he was in, in january. david, we're told he's doing fine, and being held for further observation until he regains his strength. >> thank you. >>> president trump signing a new order, the buy american and hire american initiative. focusing on what the government buys and who it hires. but tonight, ryan ross asks, what about the president, when it comes to buying american. take, for example, what brian discovered in the new trump hotel. >> reporter: before a cheering crowd at a wisconsin factory today, the president signed an executive order to tighten requirements that federal agencies buy american. >> the policy of our government is to aggressively promote and use american-made goods. >> reporter: but it's a concept that donald trump as a shrewd businessman re

good morning, cecilia vega. >> reporter: good morning.ou remember this was a major controversy from the campaign that found then-candidate trump under fire from even his own allies. the judge that trump said shouldn't preside over one of his cases because of his heritage is now presiding over another case involving the trump administration and immigration. this morning, the judge at the center of one of president trump's most controversial campaign moments is back in the spotlight. by complete coincidence judge gonzalo curiel will now preside over a controversy case involving the trump administration. a federal lawsuit brought by a d.r.e.a.m.er who was deported to mexico. then-candidate trump famously attacked the indiana born judge who presided over a trump university suit calling him unfit to oversee the case because of his mexican heritage. >> this is a hostility toward me by the judge. tremendous hostility. beyond belief. i believe he happens to be spanish which is fine. he's hispanic which is fine. >> reporter: before curiel now a ca

for more, here's cecilia vega. >> reporter: on the eve of his 100th day, president trump going where no sitting president has gone since ronald reagan. the annual gathering of the nra. >> as your president, i will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. never, ever. >> reporter: but even as he nears that milestone, the president is still looking back on his election victory. >> big sports fans said that was the single most exciting event they've ever seen. that includes super bowls and world series and boxing matches. that was an exciting evening for all of us and it meant a lot. >> reporter: and he is sounding wistful for the life he left behind. >> i loved my previous life. i had so many things going. i actually -- this is more work than in my previous life. i thought it would be easier. i thought it was more of a -- i'm a details-oriented person. i think you would say that, but i do miss my old life. this, i like to work, so that's not a problem, but this is actually more work. >> reporter: president trump insists 100 days isn't a fair marker by whic

. >> cecilia vega with us again tonight. >>> president trump in a boost to boost american manufactureigned an order, it could restrict imports. >>> there are questions tonight about a controversial piece of video capturing the treatment of a 10-year-old boy with autism. at a school in florida getting handcuffed. abc's clayton sandell with the video. >> reporter: this is 10-year-old john benjamin haygood at school. >> does he have the same rights as an adult? >> reporter: his mother, who says her son is autistic, recording as deputies arrest him for being an accused felon. >> i don't wanna be touched. >> does he need to be told -- >> he doesn't have to be told, he has a warrant. >> so not even an adult has the right to be told when they're arrested why? >> this is so -- dumb. >> yes, it is. >> reporter: deputies in okeechobee, florida, say they arrested haygood because he had a warrant for allegedly assaulting his teacher, kicking scratching and punching him, back in october. >> i don't understand. >> i know, honey. he has autism. he doesn't know what's going on. he's scared to death.

abc's senior white house correspondent cecilia vega leading us off. >> reporter: in the rose garden today, president trump, making a surprise appearance for take your child to work day. and as he signed autographs, abc news asking the president how he will turn his tax plan into reality, amid estimates its massive tax cuts could balloon the deficit by trillions of dollars. tax plan? >> growth, wait till you see the growth. the growth is going to pay for it. >> and how soon is at that growth going to happen? >> it will happen quickly. >> reporter: the president says he will provide more details on the plan "very soon." that single-page, double-spaced outline revealed yesterday about 200 words long is short on specifics. on "gma," the treasury secretary, pressed repeatedly for answers. >> can you guarantee that no one in the middle class is going to pay more? >> that's our objective, absolutely. >> is it a guarantee? >> i can't make any guarantees until this thing is done, and is on the president's desk. but i can tell you, that's our number one objective in this. >> reporter: no firm promi