TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE ACTING CHAIRWOMAN OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, THE CHAIRMEN OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, AND THE CHAIRMEN OF THE SENATE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES, FOREIGN RELATIONS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, AND SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019 TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE ACTING CHAIRWOMAN OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, THE CHAIRMEN OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AND PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, AND THE CHAIRMEN OF THE SENATE COMMITTEES ON ARMED SERVICES, FOREIGN RELATIONS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, AND SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE October 23, 2019   Dear Mr. Chairman:  (Dear Acting Chairwoman:) Consistent with section 1043(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232), I transmit herewith a strategy to counter malign foreign influence operations and campaigns.                                Sincerely,                      DONALD J. TRUMP

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019 PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS ENDING THE WAR ON AMERICAN ENERGY AND DELIVERING A NEW ERA OF ENERGY DOMINANCE “Instead of relying on foreign oil and foreign energy, we are now relying on American energy and American workers like never before.” – President Donald J. Trump   ESTABLISHING ENERGY DOMINANCE: President Donald J. Trump has implemented policies that increase energy production and advance energy independence. Today, President Trump visited Pennsylvania to speak at the Shale Insight Conference—highlighting the incredible work being done to usher in a new era of energy independence. President Trump’s agenda is promoting a boom in energy production and manufacturing, advancing energy independence, and establishing American energy dominance. By unleashing America’s energy potential, the President is revitalizing local economies and creating jobs for American workers.  President Trump’s policies are ensuring domestic energy prices remain low and improving the quality of life for all Americans. ABOLISHING THE WAR ON ENERGY: President Trump ended the costly war on energy that hurt America’s vital energy producers and cost American workers their jobs. President Trump has ended the war on energy by rolling back excessive regulations. The Administration ended the job killing policies put in place by the previous administration, like the Clean Power Plan and “stream protection rule.” The President announced he is pulling the United States out of the fraudulent, ineffective, and one-sided Paris Climate Accord. Complying with the Paris Accord would have cost Americans billions of dollars and put millions of jobs at risk for no meaningful reduction of emissions. President Trump has opened up federally owned land and offshore areas for energy exploration and production. President Trump completed a 40-year effort to open up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for American energy companies to explore and develop. ADVANCING AMERICAN ENERGY: The Trump Administration is unleashing an unprecedented energy production boom and improving energy infrastructure. The United States is now the world leader in oil and natural gas production. Crude oil production reached a record high last year and is projected to reach another record high this year. Natural gas production is on pace to set a record high in 2019, which would be the third straight year of record production. This energy production boom is leading to increasingly more energy exports. In 2018, coal exports reached their highest level in 5 years. Crude oil exports reached a record average of 2 million barrels per day last year, and have averaged a record 2.8 million barrels per day so far this year. The Trump Administration has taken action to improve America’s energy infrastructure. The Trump Administration has approved permits for nationally important infrastructure such as the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines. President Trump has taken action to improve and expedite the Federal permitting process for energy and other infrastructure projects.

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE South Lawn

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP BEFORE MARINE ONE DEPARTURE South Lawn   1:33 P.M. EDT      THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  We’re going to Pennsylvania, on an energy meeting and speech, and look forward to it.      I hope you saw what I had to say about the safe zone in Syria, and -- are dealing with Turkey.  It’s been very successful.  We’ll see what happens.  It’s a very volatile part of the world, but, so far, it’s been pretty amazing what’s gone on.  We’ve lost no soldiers.  We didn’t have a soldier hurt.  We didn’t have a finger broken.  It’s pretty unusual.      And we have thousands of soldiers that have moved out or are moving out of various areas.  We have it under very good control.  Turkey has done what we’ve asked them to do. We have tremendous economic might -- far more than we had, relatively speaking, when I took office.  When I took office, everybody said that China would be the largest economy in the world within the first two years.  And we picked up trillions and trillions of dollars of worth, and China has lost trillions of dollars of worth. So we are far and away the most powerful economy in the world.  And if you have a smart President, you’ll stay there.      Other than that, our military is looking good.  It’s been rebuilt and we’re respected again.      But I’m going right now -- I’ll be going over to Pennsylvania.  And many of you, I hope, will be following me.      Thank you.  Thank you.                              END                1:36 P.M. EDT

BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING SYRIA Via Telephone

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019 BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING SYRIA Via Telephone   1:39 P.M. EDT      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, everyone, for joining the call this afternoon.  Just as a reminder, the contents will be on background, attributed to a senior administration official, and the contents of the call are embargoed until the call is complete.      With that, I'll turn it over to [senior administration official].      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thank you, everyone.  I believe most folks on the call probably saw the President's remarks earlier today.  I'm not going to repeat those.  They were strong remarks and speak for themselves.      I will give you just a little bit of background and then open up for questions.  As you know, Turkey informed the administration this morning that the five-day pause that had been called for on the October 17, 2019, agreement ended, and it turned into what was referred to in the agreement, in paragraph 11, as a "halt" of Operation Peace Spring.      And so, the agreement had the effect that we had hoped, that the President hoped it would have, as well as, I believe, the parties.      The President, earlier today, spoke with General Mazloum of the SDF.  The SDF, he reported, had many of their fighters spared and many of their people spared from combat and death or injury.  He was very thankful for the efforts and for the pause, which allowed the SDF to withdraw safely, for the most part, from northeast Syria, from the safe-zone area.      I also want to note that, at the time that I went to Ankara with our team, with our delegation, and at the time that the Secretary and the Vice President were there, there were widespread reports of rocket attacks from Syria, into Turkey, that had targeted Turkish civilians and citizens.  The Turks had claimed that there were over 20 citizens -- of their citizens that had been killed as a result of these rocket attacks and more than that number injured.  That rocket fire into Turkey has now also, as a result of the pause and now the halt of the operation, that has ended.      So in light of the foregoing, the President did lift the sanctions that had been imposed on Turkey on the, I believe, the 18th and 19th.  We are looking forward to good relations with Turkey, which is a NATO member.  We also look to continue a good relationship with the Kurds in Syria.  We're obviously hoping for the best in Syria, and we'll continue to work with Turkey, with the Kurds, with our allies who are also engaged in the region, to ensure that civilians are protected, that religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis and others who have been the targets of past attacks by ISIS and others, are protected.  And we're going to continue to work for peace and stability in the region.      So, with those comments, I'll now open up to questions.      Q    Hi, thanks so much for doing the call today.  I was wondering if you could help us understand the President's remarks about trying to protect the oil in the Kurdish area of Syria, what the U.S. interest is there.  And right now, that oil -- most of it -- is going to the Assad government, so whether or not that's the trade that the U.S. is trying to protect.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, thank you for that question.  Look, the reason that the United States has been in Syria is to defeat ISIS.  The physical caliphate was defeated in an extraordinary effort -- as a result of extraordinary efforts by American service men and women, as well as our coalition partners in that fight.      The President has stated that we are going to have a residual force in the region to protect areas that in part contain -- or hold the oil fields, as well as the base down at Al-Tanf, in southern Syria.  Those are important areas to allow us to constrain the resurgence of ISIS.  And there is some artillery benefit, of course, to Kurds and other Democratic Forces being in control of the oil.      As far as how the oil will be sold and that sort of thing, that's something that we'll certainly look into and we'll monitor going forward.  And we'll keep a close eye on that.      So, eventually, the goal of the administration, the goal of the President -- as he made very clear today -- is to have all American troops out of Syria, and that's something that we believe will ultimately happen.  But, in the meantime, we are going to have some residual forces in the appropriate areas in Syria to ensure that the dramatic victory that the President and the United States and our coalition allies won against ISIS remains and -- remains in place.      Q    Hey.  Thanks for doing the call.  How many troops are you talking about as part as this residual force?  And secondly, what is your understanding of the Russian role in this safe zone?  And are you concerned about it?          SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, Steve.  Look, I'm not going to get into the number of soldiers that we're going to have deployed in any specific area.  There are soldiers that are being moved.  Some soldiers are being moved out of what is the area of operations near the border.  Some will go to Iraq, some will go to other places.  How those soldiers will be dispersed, I'm not going to get into for their own safety.  Those are operational issues that, at some point, Steve, Pentagon may want to address.  But that's a question that is better given to the -- or, asked to the Pentagon. But we'll make sure that wherever our soldiers are, that they have proper force protection, both air cover and that they'll have the necessary assets on the ground to protect themselves.      And, I'm sorry, Steve, what was the second part of your question?      Q    What is your understanding of the Russian role in this safe zone now?  And are you concerned about it?  Are you wary -- watching them warily?  Or what, exactly?          SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Look, I think we always watch the Russians warily, wherever they are.  And so, the deal between Turkey and the Russians is something that's between them.  We did not have any role to play in that.  The area that we had worked with the Turks on was roughly the area between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, down to the M4, M10 highway.  And that's the area from which the SDF force were successfully evacuated -- both the wounded and the fighters.  And that's the area where the operations have ceased.      To the extent that the Turks are making other deals with the Russians, I mean, we -- you know, we caution our friends in Turkey and all others to be careful about whatever those deals are.          We will closely monitor how the rights of the affected populations are in those areas.  And we call on all sides -- whether they're Russians, Syrians, Turks, Kurds -- to prevent the forcible removal of civilians from their homes and to avoid the use of military force, especially when it's in the cities and the residential areas.      Q    Hi.  Yes.  Could you please just talk a little bit more on that point, I think, you were just referring to there, the forced relocation of civilians?  How will the United States keep an eye on that?  Do you consider this to be a form of ethnic cleansing?  And if so, what will the United States do about any perceived war crimes or ethnic cleaning that may take place?          SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thanks, Anne.  You know, as of now, I don't think we've seen any evidence of ethnic cleansing.  And so, you know, that's obviously -- that would be a very serious thing if it took place.  We'll monitor the situation in Syria closely.  We have plenty of means and methods to do so.  I know that the press will be watching it closely as well.  And we would, you know, discourage -- strongly discourage any side from forced population removals and ethnic cleansing.  I mean, that's just something that doesn't belong in the 21st century.      And so, I hope that won't happen.  We've been told by our Turkish colleagues that there are no such plans.  And so it's -- I don’t expect it will happen.  And I think that any side that thinks, in this day and age, that they can get away with ethnic cleansing is sorely mistaken.  So, that's something we'll definitely keep an eye on.      As far as war crimes, we would expect, if there are war crimes that are committed or there are allegations of war crimes, you know, with -- and whoever committed war crimes, I mean, those are things that should be documented and investigated.  We would expect the militaries of the countries involved to investigate any allegations of war crimes that take place in areas that they control.  And it's something, again, we'll keep a close eye on.      But there's no place in today's world for ethnic cleansing or war crimes.  Those are incredibly serious and they're things that we'll keep an eye on.      Q    Hi, thank you for this.  My question is about relations with Turkey.  You said that you are looking forward to good relations with Turkey.  But yesterday, Special Envoy James Jeffrey was very critical in testifying before Congress about President Erdoğan's decision to invade Syria.  Do we just pick up and move back?  Are we going to resume trade talks with Turkey?  Are we going to allow them into the F-35?  What happens?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, that’s a great question.  And, look, I don’t think it's just Ambassador Jeffrey that was disappointed in this military operation that Turkey undertook.  I was disappointed.  I think the President was disappointed.  Many of you probably saw the letter that he sent to President Erdoğan.  I think he spelled out very clearly his own disappointment at the military operation.  But the reality is, the operation took place.  There was fighting that broke out as a result of it. And the President stepped in and negotiated both a temporary ceasefire that now appears to be permanent, as the President said.  "Permanent" is somewhat of a loaded term in the Middle East, but it’s a -- the President stepped in when he needed to and helped save a lot of lives -- Turkish lives, Kurdish lives, civilian lives, lives of soldiers on both sides.  So we think that's a victory. We're appreciative of the fact that the Turks have appeared to live up to their end of the bargain.  We're appreciative of the fact that the SDF appears to have lived up their -- to the things that they told us they would do. So, look, Turkey is a very important country.  It's a country of almost 90 million people.  It sits in a strategic location between the Eurasian landmasses.  It's a member of NATO.  We have, you know, hundreds of thousands of Americans in Turkey.  We have thousands of U.S. troops -- soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines -- in Turkey.  Turkey is a treaty ally of the United States.  So, look, we want -- as the President often says, we want good relations with everyone.  And we would certainly like to have good relations with Turkey. You pointed out a couple of issues: the F-35, the S-400.  Look, the United States has made it very clear: As long as -- if Turkey makes the S-400 operational or continues to purchase the S-400, or makes other significant military purchases from Russia, that’s inconsistent with them being part of the F-35 program. My hope is that the Turks would decide not to move forward with their S-400 program, and that they would come back to being what we would consider standard practice for other NATO countries and not having major Russian weapons systems as part of their defense structure. So, look, we think there's room to move forward with a good relationship with Turkey.  We want to have a good relationship with Turkey, and we want to have a good relationship with, you know, all of our member countries in Europe -- or NATO member countries in Europe.  Q    Hi, thanks for doing this.  Two questions.  One, have you heard anything from Turkey about whether they would agree not to move forward with the S-400?  And the second question: Jim Jeffrey told the House Foreign Affairs Committee this morning that the safe zone was 130 kilometers wide, but the Turks say it runs the length of the border.  So, can you clear that up? SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah.  So, on the first question on the S-400: Look, we've certainly had many conversations, both public and private, with respect to the S-400.  We think it's a very bad idea for Turkey.  It's certainly a bad idea for NATO.  And we've conveyed that to the Turks, and we'll continue to have conversations with them -- private conversations with them to express our displeasure. And, as you know, there's legislation in Congress and there's a lot of concern on the Hill regarding this issue.  There's concern within the administration regarding this issue.  So, that’s that.  That's something that we'll continue to take up with the Turks and hopefully get a resolution that’s good for Turkey and good for the United States.  But there's -- again, we can’t -- you know, Turkey will not be able to participate in the F-35 and potentially other programs with NATO or with the United States as long as the S-400 is there. And, I'm sorry, your second question related to the safe zone and the length of the safe zone? Q    Yes.  Jim Jeffrey said it was 130 kilometers, but the Turks say it runs the whole length of the border. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  So all I can refer to is the joint statement that we had on October 17th with the Turks, and that related to the zone that was under Turkish control.  That was roughly between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, and going down the M4, M10 highway.  So that was the area that we were referring to, that our agreement referred to. The Turks are obviously in the process, as we've seen, of trying to work out other arrangements and other safe zone arrangements in other areas with the Syrian regime or with the Russians, or both of them, to determine how those portions of the border will be patrolled or how they'll move forward in other areas outside of the area that was the subject of our joint statement with them.      So I can’t really comment on those areas.  I’m sure the Turks would like to have a much broader, longer safe zone.  But, you know, we’re referring to the area where we had influence over the SDF and had influence with the Turks and were able to come to an agreement to evacuate folks from that safe zone area.  We’ll have to wait and see how things work out between the Turks and the Russians and the Syrians with respect to the rest of that border region.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, John, with that, we’ll take one more question.      Q    Hey, thanks very much for doing this.  I just want to just kind of double down on Deb’s question.  You know, what the Turks are describing seems, to me, an abrogation of the deal that you and Turkey had.  You know, you guys have talked about that 75-mile-wide box.  You just talked about a Turkish-controlled YPG had to leave.  Jim Jeffrey has repeatedly said that, outside of that box, Turkey doesn’t control the area and the YPG does not have to leave.  And a senior administration official, even before Jeffrey talked, said yesterday that, “Look, halt means halt.  They have to stop within that box."      So what I’m trying to understand is: Why does the Turkish-Russian agreement that gives Turkey, you know, basically an indefinite military presence along the entire length of the border, hundreds of miles wide -- why does that not abrogate the U.S.-Turkey agreement and what Turkey promised not to do when you guys were there?  Thanks.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  So, listen, our agreement was with respect to the area that Turkey controlled at the time that we had the -- that we made the agreement.  That was the agreement.  And they’ve lived up to it, and the YPG and SDF forces have lived up to what we asked them to do.  And the operations in that area have stopped.      But the Turks don’t control the other areas.  The other areas that we’re talking about on their left and right flank, on both sides of that -- people are calling a “box” or the “safe zone” -- those are controlled by the Syrians and the Russians.  And, you know, the Turks are going to work out their own agreement with the Syrians and the Russians.  Those are not agreement -- we’re not party to those agreements.  We’re not part of that.  And from what I understand, is that the -- and what from what I’ve seen -- but again, this is what I’ve seen open source in the press, is that similar arrangements are being made for YPG or SDF fighters to leave those areas.      But, again, ultimately, that’s going to be -- you know, those are issues for the Russians and the Syrians who control the ground to deal with the Turks on.  It doesn’t have anything to do with the agreement that we have with Turkey.     And I’ll just raise one final issue.  I know we’re not doing any more questions.  I know I’ve seen some reports about the issue of ISIS fighters -- what the status is of ISIS fighters.      My understanding, and what we’ve been told by various parties in the region, including General Mazloum, is that the SDF continues to hold the vast majority of the ISIS fighters that were under -- that were being detained; that those ISIS fighters remained under SDF lock and key.      We have made it very clear to the SDF and to the Turks that, because of this military operation that was commenced by Turkey, that Turkey now has responsibility to ensure that any ISIS fighters that were released or escaped as a result of those military operations, that’s a responsibility for Turkey to round anyone up.      The SDF has undertaken commitments to us to make sure that the ISIS fighters are -- remain detained.  It’s obviously a fluid situation on the ground.  We’re monitoring it closely.  We have assets in the region and we’ve got good relations with the various parties on the ground. And so we’re keeping a very close eye on the on the situation with the ISIS fighters.  There are a lot of different numbers that are floating around in the press.  I’m not sure where they’re from -- you know, a hundred fighters were released, twenty fighters were released or escaped; ten fighters were out there. Look, we’re doing everything we can to monitor that situation very closely.  But we have very strong commitments from the parties that are on the ground in control of the actual areas, whether it be Kurdish or Turkish, that ISIS fighters will be kept under lock and key.  And then, to the extent that they are released, that they will be hunted down and recaptured. So we’re keeping an eye on that issue.  And if we have any further information on it, we’ll get back to you and let you know. Thank you all very much.  Pleasure to talk to you.  Look forward to doing this again soon.  Take care.                                        END                1:59 P.M. EDT

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON THE SITUATION IN NORTHERN SYRIA Diplomatic Reception Room

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON THE SITUATION IN NORTHERN SYRIA Diplomatic Reception Room   11:41 A.M. EDT      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  My fellow Americans, I greet you this morning from the White House to announce a major breakthrough toward achieving a better future for Syria and for the Middle East.  It's been a long time. Over the last five days, you have seen that a ceasefire that we established along Syria’s border has held, and it's held very well, beyond most expectations.  Early this morning, the government of Turkey informed my administration that they would be stopping combat and their offensive in Syria, and making the ceasefire permanent.  And it will indeed be permanent.  However you would also define the word “permanent” in that part of the world as somewhat questionable, we all understand that.  But I do believe it will be permanent. I have therefore instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to lift all sanctions imposed on October 14th in response to Turkey’s original offensive moves against the Kurds in Syria’s northeast border region.  So the sanctions will be lifted unless something happens that we're not happy with. This was an outcome created by us, the United States, and nobody else, no other nation.  Very simple.  And we're willing to take blame, and we're also willing to take credit.  This is something they've been trying to do for many, many decades.  Since then, others have come out to help, and we welcome them to do so.  Other countries have stepped forward, they want to help, and we think that's great.  The nations in the region must ultimately take on the responsibility of helping Turkey and Syria police their border.  We want other nations to get involved. We've secured the oil, and, therefore, a small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil.  And we're going to be protecting it, and we'll be deciding what we're going to do with it in the future. In any event, by the moves that we've made, we are achieving a much more peaceful and stable area between Turkey and Syria, including a 20-mile-wide safe zone.  An interesting term, "safe zone."  That's the term we're using it.  Hopefully, that zone will become safe.  Thousands and thousands of people have been killed in that zone over the years.  But it's been sought for many, many decades, and I think we have something that's going to be strong and hold up. Turkey, Syria, and all forms of the Kurds, have been fighting for centuries.  We have done them a great service, and we've done a great job for all of them.  And now we're getting out.  A long time.  We were supposed to be there for 30 days; that was almost 10 years ago.  So we're there for 30 days, and now we're leaving.  It was supposed to be a very quick hit and let's get out.  And it was a quick hit, except they stayed for almost 10 years.  Let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained sand. I want to thank Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo for leading the American delegation so successfully to Turkey several days ago, along with National Security Advisor O’Brien.  I want to thank them very much.  The American delegation negotiated the original five-day ceasefire that ended [enabled] Kurdish fighters to safely leave.  It just got them to a point where, frankly, they were able.  It enabled them to get out, to go and move, really, just a few miles in a slightly different direction.  So this enabled them to do so. Countless lives are now being saved as a result of our negotiation with Turkey -- an outcome reached without spilling one drop of American blood.  No injuries.  Nobody shot, nobody killed. I have just spoken to General Mazloum, a wonderful man, the Commander-in-Chief of the SDF Kurds.  And he was extremely thankful for what the United States has done.  Could not have been more thankful.  General Mazloum has assured me that ISIS is under very, very strict lock and key, and the detention facilities are being strongly maintained.  There were a few that got out -- a small number, relatively speaking -- and they’ve been largely recaptured. I’m also sure that he will be issuing his own statement very shortly.  We had a great talk.  But we’ve saved the lives of many, many Kurds.  He understands that.  The war was going to be vicious and probably not very long.  And I’m very happy to have been involved in it, as are our Vice President, our Secretary of State, and all of the other people on our team.  By getting that ceasefire to stick, we’ve done something that’s very, very special.  But by getting the ceasefire after a tremendous amount of really tough war for a very short period of days, that is something very special.      Our troops are safe, and the pain and suffering of the three-day fight that occurred was directly responsible for our ability to make an agreement with Turkey and the Kurds that could never have been made without this short-term outburst. Should Turkey fail to honor its obligations, including the protection of religious and ethnic minorities -- which I truly believe they will do -- we reserve the right to re-impose crippling sanctions, including substantially increased tariffs on steel and all other products coming out of Turkey. We are now an economic powerhouse like never before, and, very importantly, like no other.  Our economic might is stronger than it’s ever been, and our competitors are not doing very well. We also expect Turkey to abide by its commitment regarding ISIS.  As a backup to the Kurds watching over them, should something happen, Turkey is there to grab them. Further, we implore European countries to come and take those fighters that the U.S. captured and bring them back to their countries for incarceration and for trial.  Until just recently, Europe has been very unresponsive in doing what they should have been doing for a long time.  Now is their chance to finally act. American forces defeated 100 percent of the ISIS caliphate during the last two years.  We thank the Syrian Democratic Forces for their sacrifices in this effort.  They’ve been terrific.  Now Turkey, Syria, and others in the region must work to ensure that ISIS does not regain any territory.  It’s their neighborhood; they have to maintain it.  They have to take care of it. There were some political pundits who responded to Turkey’s offensive in Syria by calling for yet another American military intervention.  I don’t think so.  But halting the incursion by military force would have required deploying tens of thousands of American troops against Turkey -- a NATO Ally and a country the United States has developed a very good relationship with, including President Erdoğan. The same people that I watched and read -- giving me and the United States advice -- were the people that I have been watching and reading for many years.  They are the ones that got us into the Middle East mess but never had the vision or the courage to get us out.  They just talk. How many Americans must die in the Middle East in the midst of these ancient sectarian and tribal conflicts?  After all of the precious blood and treasure America has poured into the deserts of the Middle East, I am committed to pursuing a different course -- one that leads to victory for America. Through much work, we have done things that everybody said couldn’t be done.  Today’s announcement validates our course of action with Turkey that only a couple of weeks ago were scorned, and now people are saying, "Wow.  What a great outcome.  Congratulations."  It's too early to me to be congratulated, but we've done a good job.  We've saved a lot of lives. Most importantly, we have avoided another costly military intervention that could've led to disastrous, far-reaching consequences.  Many thousands of people could've been killed. The last administration said, “Assad must go.”  They could've easily produced that outcome, but they didn’t.  In fact, they drew a very powerful red line in the sand -- you all remember, the red line in the sand -- when children were gassed and killed, but then did not honor their commitment as other children died in the same horrible manner.  But I did honor my commitments with 58 Tomahawks. Eight long years after President Obama’s ill-fated push at regime change, U.S. troops are still on the ground in Syria.  More than half a million people are dead, hundreds of thousands are terribly injured, and millions more Syrians are displaced.  It really is a nightmare of misery. Across the Middle East, we have seen anguish on a colossal scale.  We have spent $8 trillion on wars in the Middle East, never really wanting to win those wars.  But after all that money was spent and all of those lives lost, the young men and women gravely wounded -- so many -- the Middle East is less safe, less stable, and less secure than before these conflicts began. The same people pushing for these wars are often the ones demanding America open its doors to unlimited migration from war-torn regions, importing the terrorism and the threat of terrorism right to our own shores.  But not anymore.  My administration understands that immigration security is national security. As a candidate for President, I made clear that we needed a new approach to American foreign policy, one guided not by ideology, but by experience, history, and a realistic understanding of the world. We are building up America's military might like never before, investing $2.5 trillion since my election.  But we will not be depleted.  We will not happen again.  It will not be allowed to happen again, where our military is depleted, fighting in areas of the world where we shouldn’t be. When we commit American troops to battle, we must do so only when a vital national interest is at stake, and when we have a clear objective, a plan for victory, and a path out of conflict.  That’s what we have to have.  We need a plan of victory.  We will only win.  Our whole basis has to be the right plan, and then we will only win.  Nobody can beat us.  Nobody can beat us. I want to again thank everyone on the American team who helped achieve the ceasefire in Syria, saved so many lives, along with President Erdoğan of Turkey -- a man I've gotten to know very well and a man who loves his country.  And, in his mind, he's doing the right thing for his country, and we may be meeting in the very near future. I also want to thank General Mazloum for his understanding and for his great strength and for his incredible words today to me -- but me just as a representative of the United States -- because he knows that we saved tens of thousands of Kurds.  And we're not talking in the long term, we're talking in the short term.  We're talking something that was going on immediately and something, frankly, that was planned for a long time. The job of our military is not to police the world.  Other nations must step up and do their fair share.  That hasn’t taken place.  Today’s breakthrough is a critical step in that direction. Thank you all very much, and God bless America.  Thank you.  Thank you. END                11:56 A.M. EDT

Readout from First Lady Melania Trump’s Meeting with Members of Congress

Office of the First Lady FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2019

Readout from First Lady Melania Trump’s Meeting with Members of Congress First Lady Melania Trump was at the United States Capitol this morning for a discussion surrounding the anniversary signing of the Support Act.  Administration officials and members of Congress joined the First Lady for a panel discussion in the Mansfield Room.  The First Lady delivered opening remarks thanking the members for the important work they are doing to implement the SUPPORT Act.  Mrs. Trump highlighted several policies of the law that closely align with her BE BEST initiative including how the legislation provides support to drug-dependent mothers and babies who have neonatal abstinence syndrome.  Through this legislation, agencies can look for ways to reduce opioid use during pregnancy and how to recognize early childhood issues related to substance abuse. Following her remarks, members of Congress shared how the Act continues to affect their local communities in the fight to reduce drug abuse.   The discussion addressed the overall addiction and mental health issues involved in this drug crisis.  The conversation also touched on the successful ways that law enforcement has stopped the influx of drugs.  Several members praised the supportive bipartisan nature in passing legislation to help end the crisis.   “Today on the Hill was a great opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work the Administration is doing in our communities and throughout this nation to end the drug crisis through the SUPPORT Act,” said First Lady Melania Trump. “It also served as a continued call to action for members of Congress to continue building on what is working and identifying ways that all levels of government can support the effort.   I look forward to working together with Congress to continue providing support to families suffering from this terrible crisis.” ###

The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500-0003 · USA · 202-456-1111

West Wing Reads Retired officer: Trump’s Withdrawal from Syria Saves American Lives from Unwinnable Middle East Conflict

Retired officer: Trump’s Withdrawal from Syria Saves American Lives from Unwinnable Middle East Conflict “President Trump cares about America’s men and women in uniform in a way that his detractors can never fully understand, because he alone bears responsibility when the political class’s visions of glory give way to the grim realities of war,” Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, retired senior intelligence operations officer, writes in the Sun Sentinel. “The president promised that he would not get America mired in endless, unwinnable foreign wars . . . When presented with an opportunity to disentangle our armed forces from yet another protracted Middle East conflict, the president wisely moved American troops out of harm’s way.” Click here to read more. “Americans pay too much for prescription drugs under the current system. It is not fair. That’s why Republicans have pushed for legislation to increase competition, transparency, and accountability so people pay less at the counter for their prescriptions,” write Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and Greg Walden (R-OR) in Fox News. “President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump met with Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian at the White House Tuesday as part of the push by the tech entrepreneur—and husband to tennis star Serena Williams—to promote paid family leave,” Justin Sink reports for Bloomberg. “Through a rarely used stipulation of the Congressional Review Act, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will force a vote for tax cuts on the wealthy. Specifically, he will be trying to repeal the relatively new cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, so that uber-wealthy taxpayers living in high-tax jurisdictions can get a special tax break once again,” Tiana Lowe writes in the Washington Examiner.  “Under President Trump’s leadership, the DEA’s National Take Back Day events have shattered records, collecting 4.6 million pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall and White House Director of National Drug Control Policy Jim Carroll write in Agri-Pulse.  The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500 · USA · 202-456-1111

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

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2019 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: Lanny Erdos of Ohio, to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Lanny Erdos previously worked at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Mineral Resources Management. Mr. Erdos was most recently the Chief at ODNR and had a broad range of responsibilities, including the management and regulation of Ohio’s coal and aggregate resources, as well as management of the ODNR abandoned mine land and mine safety programs. During his 31-years of State service, Mr. Erdos worked with departments and agencies such as the United States and Ohio Environmental Protection Agencies, United States Fish and Wildlife, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Michael D. Weahkee of New Mexico, to be the Director of the Indian Health Service at the Department of Health and Human Services. Rear Admiral Michael D. Weahkee, an enrolled member of the Zuni Indian Tribe, has served as Principal Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) and Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Services at the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, he served as the chief executive officer at the Phoenix Medical Center. Rear Admiral Weahkee received his Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management from Southern Illinois-Carbondale and Masters of Health Services Administration and Business Administration from Arizona State University. ### The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500-0003 · USA · 202-456-1111

1600 Daily The White House • October 22, 2019 Vice President Pence: The American People Deserve Better

The White House • October 22, 2019

Vice President Pence: The American people deserve better  Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Pennsylvania and got a firsthand look at SCHOTT North America’s original optical glass manufacturing plant in the United States. The facility first opened its doors 50 years ago. In photos: Vice President Pence speaks directly to Pennsylvania workers. “Since then, this facility, I’m told, has expanded nearly five times over,” he said. SCHOTT’s success story symbolizes the manufacturing renaissance that’s happened under President Donald J. Trump. In the less than 3 years since Election Day 2016, SCHOTT has invested $32 million in this one facility alone and expanded its workforce by 15 percent. Then, they watched their sales soar by a third. “Each one of you are proving every single day that as long as the playing field is level, American workers can out-compete, out-innovate, and out-work anybody in the world,” the Vice President told employees. But that level playing field is at risk, despite President Trump’s continued push to renegotiate America’s aging, failing trade deals. The reason is that when it comes to our most important trading relationship—that with Canada and Mexico, covered by the outdated NAFTA—House Democrats continue to shelve President Trump’s new deal. USMCA, or the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, updates the quarter-century old NAFTA to the tune of a projected $68 billion in new economic growth. That amounts to another 175,000 jobs, of which 50,000 will be on factory floors across America. “As I stand here today, the USMCA is languishing in the House of Representatives,” Vice President Pence said. “You see the headlines. These days, Democrats are spending all their time on endless investigations and a partisan impeachment. But the American people deserve better.” States like Pennsylvania can’t afford this political waiting game. Today, the Keystone State exports more than $15 billion of its goods and services to Canada and Mexico. That number would dramatically increase if USMCA passes. Democrats wrongly assume that obstructing and declining to update NAFTA will hurt President Trump politically. They’re wrong. But more important, putting partisan politics before the very labor and environmental improvements they once fought for is Washington at its swampiest. House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims your 24/7 hearing circus won’t keep Congress from doing its job. Prove it. Pass USMCA, and put American workers first. Democrats, keep America growing with USMCA. Photos: Vice President Pence tours Pennsylvania plant Video of the Day: Ivanka Trump at the World Bank “Investing in women and engaging more women in the workforce is not only the right thing to do—it’s good business,” Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump told a group assembled at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., on Friday. She is helping lead a $2.6 billion international fund, called the Women’s Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), aimed at helping women in countries where they face discrimination in getting loans and starting businesses. The United States has contributed $50 million to the program to date. Photo of the Day Official White House photo by D. Myles Cullen Vice President Mike Pence delivers remarks at SCHOTT North America | October 21, 2019

The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500 · USA · 202-456-1111