Melania Trump

With fresh details spilling into the headlines daily about how Donald Trump allegedly cheated on her early in their marriage, the former model escaped the intense glare by spending the past week at the family's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, with their 12-year-old son, Barron. But even then, there was no perfect refuge from the attention to recent legal activity related to the president's past conduct with women.

GOPa s omnibus bill should have gone off a cliff

On Dec. 22, President Donald Trump signed the $1.5 trillion Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most significant levy reduction since 1986. Even Trump's critics conceded that Republicans ended 2017 on an unexpectedly high note, with their free-market banners flapping smartly in the tail winds.

Trumpa s talk of a Syria pullout nothing new

President Donald Trump's unscripted remark this week about pulling out of Syria "very soon," while at odds with his own policy, was not a one-off: For weeks, top advisers have been fretting about an overly hasty withdrawal as the president has increasingly told them privately he wants out, U.S. officials said. Only two months ago, Trump's aides thought they'd persuaded him that the U.S. needed to keep its presence in Syria open-ended _ not only because the Islamic State group has yet to be entirely defeated, but also because the resulting power vacuum could be filled by other extremist groups or by Iran.

The collusion scorecard: What we know so far about Trump-Russia contacts

U.S. President Donald Trump has tweeted no fewer than 17 times that his campaign did not collude with Russians, usually making that point with an exclamation mark for emphasis, and often in all caps: "NO COLLUSION!" There are at least a half-dozen examples to date of people involved in the Trump campaign who either sought dirt gathered by Russian intelligence on Hillary Clinton, or who had other ties to Russians. The latest came last week in a court filing that stated Trump's deputy campaign manager knew he was communicating during the campaign with a former officer of Russia's military intelligence service.

EPA chief stayed in condo tied to lobbyist

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency paid just $50 a night to stay in a Capitol Hill condominium linked to a prominent Washington lobbyist whose firm represents fossil fuel companies, officials acknowledged Friday. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt paid for a single bedroom in the building about a block from the U.S. Capitol, staying for about six months in 2017.

Rich Lowry: The Never Trump delusion

Donald Trump is a dominant presence in our public life, although one that his adversaries have trouble accepting and processing. The left is still looking for scapegoats for his 2016 victory, and the coterie of critics on the right - loosely referred to as Never Trump - often sound like they are in denial.

Behind the chaos: Office that vets Trump appointees plagued by inexperience

White House Director of Social Media Dan Scavino, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, White House personnel director Johnny DeStefano, and National Security Council Chief of Staff Keith Kellogg follow President Donald Trump as they walk to board Marine One from the Oval Office in February. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Jabin Botsford WASHINGTON - An obscure White House office responsible for recruiting and vetting thousands of political appointees has suffered from inexperience and a shortage of staff, hobbling the Trump administration's efforts to place qualified people in key posts across government, documents and interviews show.

The Trump Administration Is Going To The Mat With California Over Obama-Era Emissions Standards

Environmental Protections Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is set to announce a sharp reduction in auto-emissions standards set by the Obama administration, The New York Times reports. While cheered by most auto manufactures, the move could land the administration in a court battle with California, one of the largest state-car markets in the U.S. Pruitt is expected to make the official announcement next week, opening a public comment period for the proposed rule change.

Trump’s topics many in Ohio talk

President Donald Trump pitched a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday, using the occasion to also give a campaign-style rally in which he, among other things, touted economic gains and warned his political supporters against complacency in the fall midterm elections. "There's never been an economy like this," he said.

Got in the way of privatization, fired VA chief says

Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is blaming his sudden ouster from President Donald Trump's administration on "political forces" that he says are bent on privatizing the agency and putting "companies with profits" above the care of veterans. Shulkin, the lone holdover from President Barack Obama's administration serving in Trump's Cabinet, blasted a "toxic" and "subversive" environment in Washington that made it impossible for him to lead.

Trump sells infrastructure plan in wide-ranging speech in Ohio

In a nearly hourlong speech, President Donald Trump talked about everything from his planned border wall with Mexico to the TV ratings success of the "Roseanne" reboot. In between, and along the way Thursday afternoon, he touted the virtues of his $1.5 trillion plan to build new infrastructure and fix what's in need of repair.

The Latest: Trump says he may ‘hold up’ South Korea deal Source: AP

President Donald Trump is threatening to "hold up" the trade agreement his administration finalized this week with South Korea to gain more leverage for talks with North Korea. Trump highlighted the newly completed renegotiation of the trade agreement during a speech in Ohio Thursday about roads, bridges and other infrastructure in Ohio.