Pool Reports of February 11, 2020

Pool Report #1 lunch lid

At 12:22, a lunch lid was declared until 1:30.

Pool Report #3 Veterans event background

From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will sign S. 153, the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act, into law. The Act encourages the participation of veterans in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, including by making veterans eligible for certain National Science Foundation (NSF) programs.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will establish an interagency working group to coordinate federal programs and policies for transitioning and training veterans and military spouses for STEM careers.

On December 18, 2019, the Senate passed S. 153 by unanimous consent. On January 27, 2020, the House passed the Senate-passed bill without amendment by voice vote.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Derek Lyons, Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary
Joe Grogan, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Eric Ueland, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs
Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy
Jennifer Korn, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director Office of Public Liaison

Trump Administration
Secretary Robert Wilkie, United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Members of Congress
Senator Kevin Cramer, North Dakota
Senator John Hoeven, North Dakota
Senator Jerry Moran, Kansas
Rep. Brian Babin, Texas 36th
Rep. Jim Banks, Indiana 3^rd
Rep. Andy Barr, Kentucky 6^th
Rep. Neal Dunn, Florida 2^nd
Rep. Roger Marshall, Kansas 1st
Rep. Michael Waltz, Florida 6th

Leadership of Veterans Organizations
B.J. Lawrence, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Assistant Adjutant General and Executive Director
Louis Celli, The American Legion, Executive Director of Government and Veterans Affairs
Nate Anderson, Concerned Veterans for America, Executive Director
Mona Dexter, Hiring Our Heroes, Senior Director for Operations and Communications
Elizabeth O'Brien, Hiring Our Heroes, Senior Director of the Military Spouse Program
Jared Lyon, Student Veterans of America, National President and CEO

Pool Report # 2

Pool has been tasked to assemble just outside the Oval Office.

Pool Report # 4 - News from the Oval

After the veterans' bill signing, POTUS spent about 13 minutes taking questions. Here are the headlines:

- He hasn't gotten involved in the Roger Stone sentencing matter even though he could have, but "I thought it was ridiculous...I thought the (original) recommendation was ridiculous, I thought the whole prosecution was ridiculous."

- He demurred when asked if he might consider commuting Stone's sentence.

- Blamed the severity of the original Stone sentencing proposal on some of the same prosecutors who worked for Robert Mueller; "They ought to be ashamed of themselves...I think it's been disgraceful."

- On two separate occasions he launched on Michael Bloomberg for going to a church and apologizing for his stop-and-frisk policies as NYC mayor. "He was practically crying...pathetic...he's a lightweight and and you're gonna find out. he's also one of the worst debaters I've ever seen."

"Our country doesn't need that kind of leadership."

"Romney is a disgrace."

More hard shots against Lt. Col. Vindman. More TK

Biden may be able to come back but it will be hard. "Obama took him off the garbage heap."

"I don't see how we lose but you never know."

Urge all to check the transcript carefully.

Pool Report #5 - Addendum and Lid

A travel/photo lid was called at 4:52.

Again, please check the transcript and cable news video.

Trump on Stone matter: "I have not been involved."

Asked if he knew the whistleblower's identity, he smiled and replied: "I don't want to say, but you'd be surprised."

He didn't break much new ground on Lt. Col. Vindman, but clearly he's still not happy with the ex-NSC officer. He went on at length about the transcript: "we had a totally accurate transcript." As for Vindman, "we sent him on his way" and the military can do whatever it wants.

As he has before, he described Adam Schiff as a sick person."

Pool Report # 6 Veterans

The news uttered by the President overshadowed the stated purpose of the event - the signing of a bill opening more opportunities to "our amazing vets" and their families. The bill he signed is focused on expanding vet jobs in the fields of science, technology , engineering and mathematics (STEM). "It's a big deal," he said of the legislation.

The President couldn't resist an acronym of his own: the stock market is doing so well that there are four one trillion dollar U.S. companies: Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Apple. Which spells - MAGA. POTUS held up a sheet of paper making that very connection.

POTUS talked again about well the economy is doing and noted that the stock market has reached a new high 144 times on his watch.