Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 3, 2020

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON THE KILLING OF QASEM SOLEIMANI Mar-a-Lago Palm Beach, Florida   3:13 P.M. EST      THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  Well, thank you very much.  And good afternoon.      As President, my highest and most solemn duty is the defense of our nation and its citizens.      Last night, at my direction, the United States military successfully executed a flawless precision strike that killed the number-one terrorist anywhere in the world, Qasem Soleimani.      Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him.      Under my leadership, America’s policy is unambiguous: To terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American, we will find you; we will eliminate you.  We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans, and our allies.      For years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its ruthless Quds Force -- under Soleimani’s leadership -- has targeted, injured, and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen.      The recent attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq, including rocket strikes that killed an American and injured four American servicemen very badly, as well as a violent assault on our embassy in Baghdad, were carried out at the direction of Soleimani.      Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terrorist plots as far away as New Delhi and London.      Today we remember and honor the victims of Soleimani’s many atrocities, and we take comfort in knowing that his reign of terror is over.      Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years.  What the United States did yesterday should have been done long ago.  A lot of lives would have been saved.      Just recently, Soleimani led the brutal repression of protestors in Iran, where more than a thousand innocent civilians were tortured and killed by their own government.      We took action last night to stop a war.  We did not take action to start a war.       I have deep respect for the Iranian people.  They are a remarkable people, with an incredible heritage and unlimited potential.  We do not seek regime change.  However, the Iranian regime’s aggression in the region, including the use of proxy fighters to destabilize its neighbors, must end, and it must end now.      The future belongs to the people of Iran -- those who seek peaceful coexistence and cooperation -- not the terrorist warlords who plunder their nation to finance bloodshed abroad.      The United States has the best military by far, anywhere in the world.  We have best intelligence in the world.  If Americans anywhere are threatened, we have all of those targets already fully identified, and I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary.  And that, in particular, refers to Iran.      Under my leadership, we have destroyed the ISIS territorial caliphate, and recently, American Special Operations Forces killed the terrorist leader known as al-Baghdadi.  The world is a safer place without these monsters.      America will always pursue the interests of good people, great people, great souls, while seeking peace, harmony, and friendship with all of the nations of the world.      Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless our great military.  And God bless the United States of America.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.                           END            3:18 P.M. EST

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 3, 2020 President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts   Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration: Richard M. Mills, Jr. of Texas, to be Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the Rank and Status of Ambassador, and Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations, and Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during his tenure of service as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations. Richard M. Mills, Jr., a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as the Charge d’Affaires ad interim of the U.S. Embassy to Canada.  Prior to that, Mr. Mills was the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.  He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon and the U.S. Embassy in Valetta, Malta.  Other assignments include service as the Senior Democracy Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, a Political Officer at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and in various diplomatic roles at U.S. Embassies in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.  Mr. Mills earned his B.S. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, and an M.A. from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. C. J. Mahoney of Kansas, to be Legal Adviser at the Department of State. Ambassador Mahoney has served as Deputy United States Trade Representative, Investment, Services, Labor, Environment, Africa, China, and the Western Hemisphere since March 2018.  Before joining the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Mahoney was a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, where his practice focused on international disputes and arbitration.  Before joining Williams & Connolly, he served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the Supreme Court of the United States.  A native of Russell, Kansas, Ambassador Mahoney holds an A.B. in Government from Harvard College and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal.

Four Nominations Sent to the Senate

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 3, 2020 NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:      Andrew Lynn Brasher, of Alabama, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, vice Edward E. Carnes, retiring.      Joshua M. Kindred, of Alaska, to be United States District Judge for the District of Alaska, vice Ralph R. Beistline, retired.      Matthew Thomas Schelp, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, vice Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., retiring.      Stephen A. Vaden, of Tennessee, to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, vice Delissa A. Ridgway, retired.