Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020 Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Senate Passage of the USMCA Following a monumental signing of the Phase One Trade Agreement with China, President Donald J. Trump has delivered another trade win for American workers with the Senate’s passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The trade agreement, which has now been approved by both chambers of Congress with unprecedented bipartisan support, 89-10 in the Senate and 385-41 in the House, will replace the job-killing, huge failure NAFTA – fulfilling a core promise the President made to the American people. USMCA, which the President successfully negotiated over a year ago, rebalances trade between the three countries and will lead to significant economic and job growth in the United States.

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

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 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: Judy Shelton of Virginia, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the remainder of a 14-year term expiring January 31, 2024. Dr. Judy Shelton most recently served as United States Executive Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The United States Senate confirmed her by voice vote in 2018. Dr. Shelton previously served as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy in 2017, having served as Vice Chairman from 2010 to 2014 and on the board from 2005 to 2014. She was also a founding member of Empower America and a staff economist for the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform chaired by Jack Kemp from 1995 to 1996. Dr. Shelton began her career at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, serving from 1985 to 1995. She is author of The Coming Soviet Crash: Gorbachev’s Desperate Pursuit of Credit in Western Financial Markets and Money Meltdown: Restoring Order to the Global Currency System. Dr. Shelton earned her B.S. from Portland State University, and her M.B.A. and Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Utah. Christopher Waller of Missouri, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the remainder of a 14-year term expiring January 31, 2030. Dr. Christopher Waller currently serves as Executive Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He has been in his current position since 2009. Dr. Waller previously served as the Gilbert F. Schaefer Chair of Economics at the University of Notre Dame from 2003 to 2011. During his time at Notre Dame, he also served as a research fellow with the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. He was also the C. M. Gatton Chair of Monetary Economics at the University of Kentucky from 2003 to 2008. Dr. Waller started his career as a member of the economics faculty at Indiana University-Bloomington from 1985 to 1998. Dr. Waller earned his B.A. from Bemidji State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University. He is also a professional research fellow at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF GUIDANCE ON CONSTITUTIONAL PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020 REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF GUIDANCE ON CONSTITUTIONAL PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Oval Office   2:42 P.M. EST      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  A couple of things happened today that are very exciting.  The USMCA passed the Senate.  It's one of the biggest trade bills ever made.      And then, yesterday, as you know, China passed, and that’s something that is extraordinary.  And it's going to have tremendous far-reaching effects, including our relationship, long term, with China, our farmers and manufacturers and bankers, and everybody.  It's jobs.  It's jobs like we've never seen before, and that’s going to be something very special.  And USMCA today, which just passed by a very comfortable vote -- a very high vote -- we are very proud to have that.      So we've done two of the biggest trade deals.  They are the two biggest trade deals in the world ever done.  And we're honored to have done them in a short period of time.      We are gathered in the Oval Office for the National Religious Freedom Day -- something very important and very special, and special to me and the people that are gathered around me.      This afternoon, we're proudly announcing historic steps to protect the First Amendment right to pray in public schools.  So you have the right to pray.  And that’s a very important and powerful right.  There's nothing more important than that, I would say.      We're joined by the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos; Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen; and students and advocates from across America.  And advocates they were.  They've been calling and writing by the thousands.  And you're representing that large group of people.      In a sacred principle of our Republic that government must never stand between the people and God.  Yet, in public schools around the country, authorities are stopping students and teachers from praying, sharing their faith, or following their religious beliefs.  It is totally unacceptable.  You see it on the football field.  You see it so many times where they're stopped from praying.  And we are doing something to stop that.      Tragically, there is a growing totalitarian impulse on the far-left that seeks to punish, restrict, and even prohibit religious expression.  Something that, if you go back 10 years or 15 years or 20 years, it was un-thought of that a thing like that could even happen -- that anybody would even think of something like that happening.      That is why, today, my administration is issuing strong new guidance to protect religious liberty in our public schools.  The right of students and teachers to freely exercise their faith will always be protected, including the right to pray.      So we call this the "Right to Pray."  Is that a good idea?  Good?  Right?  You like that, right?  (Laughter.)      Nine federal agencies are also proposing new rules to roll back discriminatory regulations.  So we have rules to roll back discriminatory regulations on religious service organizations. And earlier this afternoon, my White House released a new memo to make sure federal funding is never used to violate the First Amendment -- which is a very big deal.      With us today is Hannah Allen, a high school freshman from Texas.  Hannah, would you tell us what happened at your school with respect to you and prayer?  Hannah?      MS. ALLEN:  Thank you, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, darling.  Right here.      MS. ALLEN:  So, me and a group of students from our school wanted to pray for our former classmate's brother who had got hurt in an accident.      After the prayer, our principal told us, "Don’t do that again."  So the next day, parents had called and complained.  He told us that we could pray, but he said we had to hide in the gym or behind a curtain, or somewhere away from everyone else.      And I know that if this can happen in a small town in Texas, it can happen anywhere across America, and that’s not right.  No one should feel ashamed of their faith, especially in school or anywhere.      THE PRESIDENT:  Well --      MS. ALLEN:  And --      THE PRESIDENT:  So what ultimately happened?  How was that resolved?      MS. ALLEN:  So we got with First Liberty.  They've been amazing.  They supported us the whole way.  And they sent the school a letter, and the school complied with the letter, and they changed the -- yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  And now you're able to do that?      MS. ALLEN:  We are.      THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Well, now it's going to be much easier yet.  Okay?  All right?  Thank you, darling.  That was beautiful.  Thank you very much.      We're also joined by Marilyn Rhames, a former teacher and the founder of Teachers Who Pray.  Marilyn, if you could, let us know -- where is --      MS. RHAMES:  I'm right here.      THE PRESIDENT:  Good.  Thank you very much.  Maybe you give us a little bit about what happened?      MS. RHAMES:  Yes.  So, thank you.  I'm Marilyn Rhames.  I'm the founder and president of Teachers Who Pray.  And I founded Teachers Who Pray because I, as a teacher, believe in the beauty of every child and the unlimited potential that resides within.  However, the students that I was getting weren't set up for success because they were so significantly behind grade level.  And I taught in Chicago public schools for 14 years.  And during that time, we were losing students every year to gun violence.  And one year, it was like 30, 32 students getting killed.      And I was overwhelmed with the heaviness of the work, so I thought about quitting, and I decided not to.  I was going to fight.  And I was going to pray and uplift my spirit so that I can do the job that I knew God had called me to do.      So I began praying with other teachers in the building who were like-minded, and we really supported each other, built community, built more hope, built more joy in the work despite it being so difficult.  And we grew.  Like, right now, there's over 150 chapters of Teachers Who Pray because teachers need that spiritual support and guidance.      And today, I believe it's super important because there is a myth out there that what Teachers Who Pray does and other organizations do for teachers, spiritual wealth is not legal.  And it absolutely is.      And I'm here to tell teachers that we need to pray for your faith.  We need to pray.  We need to buckle and just do what we have to do for our kids because they need us and they're depending on us.  And if we're not strong, we can't make them strong.  So that’s why I'm here.      THE PRESIDENT:  That was really beautifully said.  Thank you very much.  That was beautiful.  Thanks, Marilyn.      So, while I'm President, which will be hopefully for five years -- and, I don't know, maybe we'll work on, with the media, we'll work on a major extension of that.  Right?  (Laughter.)  But we will not let anyone push God from the public square.  We will uphold religious liberty for all.      And I want to thank you all, and God bless you all for being here.  It’s a great time in our country.  We're doing things that nobody thought was possible.      I'd like to ask, if I might, Secretary DeVos and Deputy Attorney General Rosen to say a few words about our actions, if you don’t mind.  Please.      SECRETARY DEVOS:  Thank you, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  Go ahead, Betsy.  Please.      SECRETARY DEVOS:  Thank you for your leadership, your courage, and your friendship to people of faith, especially our nation's children.  Too many misinterpret a separation of church and state as an invitation for government to separate people from their faith.      In reality, our Constitution doesn't exist to protect us from religion; it exists to protect religion from government.  The First Amendment affirms our free exercise of religion, and we don’t forfeit that first freedom to anyone or in any place, especially in public schools.      After all, it's been noted that as long as there are final exams in schools, there will be always be prayer in schools.  (Laughter.)      Thanks to your leadership, Mr. President, today we remind schools of the law with respect to religious expression -- something that hasn’t been done in more than 15 years.  And where there are violations, we now make clear that the law requires states to establish a clear process for students like Hannah and Michael --      MR. MCLEOD:  William.      SECRETARY DEVOS:  William -- parents and teachers like Marilyn to report them.      It also notes that the law directs states to tell us about any and all complaints as well.      This administration and you is, and always will be, committed to ensuring all believers have the freedom to learn, to pursue our passions, to use our talents, and to live in accordance with the unique purpose that God has called us each to do.      If we embrace that freedom, our faith will be a light no darkness can overcome.  Thank you again, Mr. President --      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.      SECRETARY DEVOS:  -- for your leadership.      THE PRESIDENT:  Beautiful.  Thank you, Betsy, very much.      Jeff?      DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ROSEN:  Well, thank you.  Thank you, Mr. President.  And thank you for your leadership on this really critical issue.  There are -- the fundamental freedom that you’ve been supporting for Americans to practice their faith is so important and is so appreciated by millions and millions of Americans.      And at the Department of Justice, we remain firmly committed to enforcing Americans' constitutional rights, including this one.  So that’s part of why I’m very honored and privileged to be a part of today’s announcement on the new guidance document about prayer in school.      I think sometimes people don’t appreciate that there are many, many Americans who feel called to pray during the day, and our First Amendment to our Constitution protects that.  And sometimes I think there’s a confusion about this issue as to whether it’s trying to force people to pray who don’t want to, but that’s not what this is about.  This is about protecting the rights of those who do to have the liberty to do that on school grounds.  And that is protected --      THE PRESIDENT:  Right.      DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ROSEN:  -- by the First Amendment.      So today’s guidance reaffirms and clarifies and spells out for Americans what that freedom is with regards to prayer and religious expression.  And I really think that the courage of people of faith, such as the folks we have here today, is really a reminder of how important our constitutional liberties are and of the great action that your administration is taking to ensure that they remain legally protected.      So again, Mr. President, I thank you --      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Jeff.  Good job.       DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ROSEN: -- and the Secretary DeVos and the whole administration for the efforts to make this happen.      THE PRESIDENT:  Very good job.  Thank you very much, Jeff.      Paula, would you like to say something?  Go ahead.      PASTOR WHITE:  Yes, sir.  It’s such an honor to stand here with you, President Trump, and with this amazing team.  And the policy and everyone who had made this -- this is a huge thing.  So we said it is a constitutional right, a First Amendment right.  And, President, you continue to be such a fighter for people’s freedoms, for their liberties.  As you often say, “We worship God, not government.”      Perceived and perception has often been -- people have been bullied, harassed, stopped from practicing their faith.  You have so many people that have walked out here, very brave, with horrific stories of being persecuted because they simply wanted to pray.  And prayers, we know, makes a huge difference.  So thank you for standing for all --      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Paula.      PASTOR WHITE:  -- religious liberties.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s great.  Thank you very much.      Would anybody like to say anything?  Go ahead.      MR. MCLEOD:  Can I tell my story?      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, go ahead.  (Laughter.)  Go ahead.      MR. MCLEOD:  So it all started when I walked in the classroom.  I was -- it was Ash Wednesday and I had my ashes on my forehead, and all the kids in the classroom was like, “Is that dirt on your forehead?”  Because they don’t know, because they aren’t Catholic and they were all Mormon.      THE PRESIDENT:  Oh.      MR. MCLEOD:  So -- because I was like -- they’re -- that was like -- I was like the only Catholic in that school.  So then the teacher came up and was like, “It’s unacceptable.  Wipe it off.”  And I told her four times, and she didn’t listen and she made me wipe it off in front of all the kids.      THE PRESIDENT:  Wow.      MR. MCLEOD:  That’s my story.  So, thank you, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it's not going to be happening anymore.  Okay?       MR. MCLEOD:  Thank you, Mr. President.      THE PRESIDENT:  All right?      MR. MCLEOD:  I just don’t want anyone to feel like that.      THE PRESIDENT:  That’s a beautiful -- it’s a beautiful story.  Well told, because it sets such a good plate out there for people.  I mean, you hear a story like that, it’s such a shocking -- Jeff, that’s a shocking story, right?  You were the only Catholic in the school?      MR. MCLEOD:  (Nods head.)  Well, I think there’s one more.      THE PRESIDENT:  But they didn’t have any idea.  It was just -- and the teacher did not treat you properly, right?      MR. MCLEOD:  (Nods head.)      THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  We’re changing that.  Okay?  Great job.  That was beautiful.      Come here.  Give me that hand.      Anybody over here?  Anybody?  Sure.      MR. WINDEBANK:  Mr. President, thank you so much for the opportunity to be in the Oval Office.  So much history has taken place here.  It’s surreal.  Thank you, sir.      THE PRESIDENT:  Good.      MR. WINDEBANK:  My name is Chase Windebank.  I started a small group of students praying in high school during a free period.  And by my senior year, it had grown to a community of 90 students.  It was so encouraging.  But later in senior year, the administration wound up banning us from praying during school hours -- not even during lunch.      And so I remember thinking I didn’t want to file a lawsuit at all, but after many meetings unsuccessful with the administration, I wound up realizing it was the only way to secure future students’ rights to pray.  And so thank you, sir, that now I get to have the opportunity to tell students to live out their faith in big and small ways --      THE PRESIDENT:  That's right.  That’s right.       MR. WINDEBANK:  -- in the future.  And you guys are making sure that the Founding Fathers are living on in our nation.  So thank you, sir, very much.      THE PRESIDENT:  Beautiful.  Thank you very much.  That’s very nice.      MR. WINDEBANK:  Thank you, sir.      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes?      MS. HIJAZ:  I pray five times day.  Oh, my name is Malak Hijaz.  I pray five times a day and I have to pray at lunch.  And I would bring the hijab to cover my hair and kids would make fun of me, harass me, and attack me.  And I would tell the principal, and the principal actually blamed everything on me.  At the end, me and my mom complained so many times, and I didn’t have a good education at the end.  So, yeah, everything was blamed on me.      THE PRESIDENT:  And we’re going to take care of that, right?      MS. HIJAZ:  Yeah.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, darling.      MS. HIJAZ:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Beautiful.  Thank you very much.      MS. HOBLIN:  Mr. President?      THE PRESIDENT:  Okay, we’ll I want to thank everybody for being here.      Did I hear somebody else?  Yes, please.  Go ahead.      MS. HOBLIN:  Hi, my name is Ariana Hoblin.  I’m a high school student in South Florida.  And in my middle school, I was the only Jewish person and I was very open with my religion.  I would announce when I would have Shabbat plans, which is a day of prayer and rest.      And when we started our Holocaust unit, it ended with everybody being nice to me because I spoke out about it.  And I wanted to inform people and I wanted to help people learn.  And the students started to write swastikas on my belongings, on my arms.  I was pushed and shoved in the hallway.      They even went so far as to take my face and put it on Anne Frank’s body.  And it was sent around to three different schools.  And I was terrified to say I was Jewish.  And that should never be in anyone’s mind.  Anyone in school should be able to say, "I am what whatever religion I am.  And I practice this and I believe this."      And it’s been three or four years since middle school.  I’m a junior in high school and I have continuously fought for anyone to have the right to exercise their constitutional rights in school.      And I just want to thank you so much for everything you’ve done, and for Israel and for everything that you’ve truly done for all of us.      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  So beautiful.  Thank you.  It’s working out better now?  Or is it sort of similar?      MS. HOBLIN:  Yes, my high school is extremely supportive of me.  I go to Wellington High School.      THE PRESIDENT:  Good.      MS. HOBLIN:  And they’ve helped me be a leader in the Jewish community now. THE PRESIDENT:  Well, this is going to help too.      MS. HOBLIN:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.      MR. KENNEDY:  Mr. President?      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please.      MR. KENNEDY:  Coach Kennedy.      THE PRESIDENT:  Coach.      MR. KENNEDY:  We talked a few times.  I coach up in Bremerton High School --      THE PRESIDENT:  Right.      MR. KENNEDY:  -- in Bremerton, Washington.  And I was fired for praying after football games.      THE PRESIDENT:  Right.      MR. KENNEDY:  And it’s just so nice to have First Liberty representing me and having a President that has the guts to stand up for us.  So, I appreciate you, sir.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Coach.      MR. KENNEDY:  Oorah.  (Laughter.)      THE PRESIDENT:  Good coach, too.  He’s a good coach.      MR. KENNEDY:  Thank you.       MS. CHANEY:  Mr. President?      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all very much.      Yes?      MS. CHANEY:  My name is Emily Chaney.  I’m a sophomore at East Ridge High School.  And I started a prayer locker at my school, and it really helped a lot of people who had different prayer requests.  Just --      THE PRESIDENT:  Where do you come from with that beautiful accent?  (Laughter.)  I love the accent.  Where do you come from?      MS. CHANEY:  Pikeville, Kentucky.      THE PRESIDENT:  Kentucky.  Oh, we love Kentucky.  (Laughter.)  We love Kentucky.      MS. CHANEY:  I started a prayer locker at my school and it helped a lot of kids who have many different prayer requests just to let them know that someone was there for them and cared for them.  And Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent a letter to our board of education that the prayer lockers needed to be taken down.      And whenever my teacher told me my school was notified that I had to take my prayer locker down, I was heartbroke, because I had like 10 prayer requests a day.  And that was -- I just feel like it really helped move in our community, in our schools.  And I just -- I’m just so thankful for you and all you’ve done for our country.      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.      MS. CHANEY:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Say hello to everybody in Kentucky for me, okay?  (Laughter.)  And beyond.  And beyond Kentucky.      MS. CHANEY:  Thank you.      THE PRESIDENT:  Okay?  We’re all set?      DR. RICHBURG:  Mr. President?      THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please.      DR. RICHBURG:  I come from a heritage and from a faith persuasion that every day of my life, from childhood to now, was grounded in faith.  And it is my belief that, had we not had that freedom to exercise that faith, we would not be where we are today.      And so, for that reason, we look at this moment as epic, and an opportunity to return to where we have one time been -- the opportunity to freely express ourselves and to share with others, who might feel the same way, how far we’ve been brought and how far we must come through faith.      THE PRESIDENT:  Beautiful.  So nicely stated.  Thank you very much.      You were going to say something?      MR. BUEHRER:  Yes, Mr. President, I wanted to thank you.  Eric Buehrer, with Gateways to Better Education.  And these guidelines haven’t been updated and reissued since 2003.      THE PRESIDENT:  Right.      MR. BUEHRER:  And when we saw that and contacted the Department of Education, we were so gratified of the response from Secretary DeVos and others on your staff that said, “Yes, we need to address this and update these.”  Other administrations should have done it every two years, and it hadn’t been done.      So thank you so much for stepping up and really supporting religious freedom in schools.      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we covered a lot of territory in here, as you know, because, you’re right, it’s been many years since they were updated.      MR. BUEHRER:  It has.      THE PRESIDENT:  So I think it’s very important.      Well, thank you all very much.  Go ahead.      Q    Yeah, Mr. President, tell me a little bit about what many folks, especially folks of faith, view as a cultural war out there.  Prayer, a lot of things going on in society -- what are your views on this cultural war that we hear so much about?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it is a cultural war, and you have two sides.  And you have a side that believes so strongly in prayer, and they’re being restricted, and it’s getting worse and worse.  And I think we’ve made a big impact.  And we’re loosening up a lot, and I want to loosen it up totally.      But you do have -- you have things happening today that 10 or 15 years ago would have been unthinkable, what’s happening.  Taking the word “God” down, taking the word “Christmas” out.  You know, I think we’ve turned that one around very good.  I think we’ve turned both of them around very good.  But we’re not going to let it happen.  We’re never going to let that happen.  And we’re fighting it hard.  You know better than anybody, we’re fighting it very hard.  And we’re opening it up, and we’re opening up again.      So stories like you hear -- but so many other stories -- hopefully, in the future, you’re not going to be hearing too much about that.  Okay?  Thank you.  Good question.      Q    Mr. President, what is your response to Lev Parnas, who says that your efforts in Ukraine were all about 2020 -- that you just wanted Joe Biden out?  What’s your response to that?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don’t know him.  I don’t know Parnas, other than I guess I had pictures taken, which I do with thousands of people, including people today that I didn’t meet.  But -- just met them.  I don’t know him at all.  Don’t know what he’s about.  Don’t know where he comes from.  Know nothing about him.      I can only tell you: This thing is a big hoax.  It’s a big hoax.  We call it -- this is the current hoax.  We’ve gone through the Russian witch hunt.  We’ve gone through a lot of them -- from probably before I came down the escalator, but certainly since I came down the escalator.  You take a look at what’s happened.      Q    But he says that --      THE PRESIDENT:  And, in the meantime, our country --      Q    He says that you know what you were --      THE PRESIDENT:  It doesn’t matter what he says.  He’s trying to probably make a deal for himself.      Q    But he says that you knew what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine, that you knew what he was doing --      THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t even know who this man is, other than I guess he attended fundraisers, so I take a picture with him.  I’m in a room; I take pictures with people.  I take thousands and thousands of pictures with people all the time -- thousands -- during the course of the year.  And, oftentimes, I’ll be taking a picture with somebody.  I’ll say, “I wonder what newspaper that one is going to appear in.”      No, I don’t know him.  Perhaps he’s a fine man; perhaps he’s not.  I know nothing about him.  But I can tell you this --      Q    He described a situation that was more than just taking pictures, Mr. President.  He says that --      THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t know him.  I don’t believe I’ve ever spoken with him.      Q    -- he was with Giuliani when you were on the phone with Giuliani.  And he said that there was a --      THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t believe I’ve ever spoken to him.  I meet thousands of people --      Q    -- that there was a pressure campaign on the President of Ukraine.      THE PRESIDENT:  I meet thousands and thousands of people, as President.  I take thousands of pictures.  And I do -- and I do it openly and I do it gladly.  And then, if I have a picture where I’m standing with somebody at a fundraiser -- like, I believe I saw a picture with this -- this man.  But I don’t know him.  I had never had a conversation that I remember with him.      Certainly --      Q    So when he said Mulvaney knew about this --      THE PRESIDENT:  Let me just tell you: You just have to take a look at the polls.      Q    -- that Bolton knew about this --      THE PRESIDENT:  Quiet.  You just have to take a look at the pictures.  You just have to take a look at the polls.  You see I don’t need anybody’s help.  We’re doing phenomenally well.  The economy is the best it’s ever been in -- we have never had an economy like this in history.  We just made the two best trade deals in the history of our country.  We are doing well.      I don’t need the help of a man I never met before, other than perhaps taking a picture at a fundraiser or something, if that’s where it was taken.      Q    He makes it sound like this was just about taking out Joe Biden.      THE PRESIDENT:  So -- go ahead.      Q    Are you still going to Davos?  And if you are, what’s the message you want to send being --      THE PRESIDENT:  I will probably be going to Davos.  I’ve been invited.  We have tremendous world leaders, and we also have the great business leaders.  And we want those business leaders all to come to the United States.  Some of the businesses left the United States because they were disgusted with what happened.  And now they’re all coming back.      We are booming.  Our country is the hottest country anywhere in the world.  There’s nothing even close.  Every world leader sees me and they say, “What have you done?  This is the most incredible thing that we’ve ever seen.”      I understand the stock market, today, broke 29,000.  When I came in, it was a fraction of that.  It was a number that, frankly, would have gone and it would have been cut in half had the other person or the other party won.  The number would have been cut in half.      We are doing so well.  And I want to get more.  We have tremendous room for growth in our country, in terms of the economy.  We have tremendous, powerful room for growth.      So I’m going to be going to Davos.  I’ll be meeting the biggest business leaders in the world; getting them to come here.  I'll also be meeting with foreign leaders.  Okay?      Q    Mr. President, you've been talking about prayer and faith today.  What's your message to the millions of Catholics in the United States?  Why should they vote for you in the upcoming election -- Catholics?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I have a great relationship with Catholics.  I've done so much for Catholics.  You take look at the abortion issue.  You take a look at many of these -- you have Mexico City; you take a look at so many of the different issues.  My relationship with Catholics and the Catholic Church has been very, very good, as you know very well.      Jeff, go ahead.      Q    Mr. President, Rudy Giuliani wrote a letter to Zelensky requesting a private meeting, and he said it was in his capacity as private counsel to President Donald J. Trump -- this was before the inauguration.  Did you authorize him to write that letter?  And what was your understanding of what the meeting was supposed to be about?      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I don't know anything about the letter.  But certainly Rudy is one of the great crime fighters in the history of our country.  He's certainly probably the best over the last 50 years.  He was also the greatest mayor in the history of the city of New York.  I think Rudy was truly an outstanding mayor.      As an example, his endorsement of Bloomberg -- he got Bloomberg elected.  He wouldn't have even been mayor.  But Rudy was the greatest crime fighter.  And Rudy is somebody that, frankly, having him on my side was a great honor for me, and it has been a great honor for me.      Rudy Giuliani -- Rudy Giuliani did a phenomenal job over a long period of time in fighting crime.  And frankly, he's a very legitimate guy, a very straight shooter.  I didn't know about his specific letter, but if he wrote a letter, it wouldn't have been a big deal.  Rudy was always in -- it was very important to Rudy that I be a great President, and that's okay with me.  It was very important to a lot of people, because our country was going to hell and now our country is on a path that we haven't seen in decades and decades.  We've never done better.      Go ahead.      Q    What was --      THE PRESIDENT:  No, no.  Not you.  Go ahead.      Q    The trial is starting next week.  What's your view on how long it should take and what witnesses you --      THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I think it should go very quickly.  It's a hoax.  It's a hoax.  Everybody knows that.  It's a --      Q    And witnesses?  What about those?      THE PRESIDENT:  It's a complete hoax -- the whole thing with Ukraine.  So you have a perfect phone call.  This is a call fortunate- -- it was actually two phone calls.  You people don't report that.  There were two calls.  They were both perfect calls.  In fact, probably among the nicest calls I've ever met -- made to foreign leaders.      Now, so you have these perfect calls, and everybody says it now.  Before they knew they were so good -- because, fortunately, they were transcribed -- you had other people saying terrible things about the calls.  You had a fake whistleblower that wrote a report that bore no relationship to what was said.  Everything was false.      You have now the Ukrainian President and the Foreign Minister of Ukraine saying there was nothing done wrong.  In fact, they said there was absolutely no pressure whatsoever.  Everything was perfect.  And they impeach.  It's totally partisan.  We had 195 to nothing, Republican votes.  I guess we got a Democrat actually came over to the Republican side.  We had 195 to nothing. This is a hoax.  It's a sham.  I did the biggest deal ever done in the history of our country yesterday in terms of trade -- and probably other things too, if you think about it: the deal with China.  And that was the second story to a total hoax.      Today we just had passed the USMCA.  It's going to take the place of NAFTA, which was a terrible deal.  And the USMCA will probably be second to this witch-hunt hoax, which hopefully everyone knows is not going anywhere.  There was nothing done wrong.  This was a perfect phone call.  Think of it: The President of the United States, who's led the greatest growth -- the greatest -- the greatest economic revival of any country anywhere in the world is the United States, as big as it is.  We're doing better than any other country, by far.      Our unemployment numbers are the best they've been in over 50 years.  African American, Asian American, Hispanic American unemployment, the best in the history of our country.  And I've got to go through a hoax, a phony hoax, put out by the Democrats so they can try and win an election that hopefully they're not going to win.      It was put out for purposes of winning an election.  Our country is doing great.  Our country has never done better.  So they figure the only thing they can do -- they failed on the Mueller report; that was a bomb.  After two and a half years, they failed.  Now they said, "What can we do?"  And they pick up a phone call that was perfect.  But they didn't know it was perfect.  They only found out later.  They made up a phone call.      What they did -- look, what they did -- you have a corrupt person -- he's a corrupt politician named Adam Schiff, and he made up a phone call.  He went out -- you'll hear about this as you grow older.  (Laughter.)  He went out and he said things that -- "He said quid pro quo eight times."  It was no times.  He said, "Don't call me; I'll call you."  That's a mob statement.  I never said that.      Fortunately, I released the transcript of the call.  The transcript was perfectly accurate.  And now everybody agrees because it went through a lot and they said, "Well, could you add one word here?"  Our lieutenant colonel said, "Well, I think they should add…" -- they added the word.  Everything -- everyone agrees the transcript is perfecto, done by total professionals, right?      But I released that after they had done these fraudulent acts.  And you get impeached on this.      We have the greatest economy in the history of our country.  We have the highest job numbers.  Today, it was just announced, we have more people working in the United States than ever before in the history of our country -- almost 160 million people.  We're doing an incredible job.      And for absolutely no reason --      Q    Mr. President, during that call, you said Marie Yovanovitch was "going to go through some things."      THE PRESIDENT:  -- and for absolutely no reason, I got impeached.      Q    Can you address that?      THE PRESIDENT:  It's a disgrace and it's a hoax.  Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.                               END                3:13 P.M. EST

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020 President Donald J. Trump Approves Puerto Rico Disaster Declaration Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered Federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by earthquakes beginning on December 28, 2019, and continuing. The President's action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the municipalities of Guánica, Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Ponce, Utuado, and Yauco. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Federal funding also is available to the Commonwealth and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in the municipalities of Guánica, Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Ponce, San Germán, and Yauco. Pete Gaynor, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Alexis Amparo as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more municipalities and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed. Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR STUDENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS “Our Founders understood that no right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous, and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions.” – President Donald J. Trump   PROTECTING PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: President Donald J. Trump remains committed to protecting every student’s constitutional right to pray in school. The Trump Administration is taking action to further safeguard students’ constitutionally protected right to pray in school. President Trump is updating Federal guidance regarding protected prayer and religious expression in public schools, which has not been issued since 2003. The update will help safeguard students’ rights by giving education providers and students the most current information concerning prayer in public schools. To receive Federal funds, local educational agencies must confirm that their policies do not prevent or interfere with the constitutionally-protected rights outlined in the guidance. The updated guidance will help improve individuals’ ability to file a complaint if they are denied the ability to participate in protected religious expression. The new guidance makes clear that students can read religious texts or pray during recess and other non-instructional periods, organize prayer groups, and express their religious beliefs in their assignments. PROMOTING EQUAL TREATMENT: The Administration is working to ensure that our Nation’s religious organizations are treated equally by the Federal government. The Administration is issuing nine proposed rules to protect religious organizations from unfair and unequal treatment by the Federal government.   The proposed rules would eliminate burdensome Obama-era requirements that unfairly imposed unique regulatory burdens only on religious organizations. The Office of Management and Budget is also releasing a memo requiring Federal agencies to ensure that the grant-making practices of state recipients of Federal funding comply with the First Amendment. The Trump Administration is committed to ensuring religious organizations can compete on a level playing field for funding, without discrimination. CHAMPIONING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: These actions build on President Trump’s longstanding commitment to safeguarding the fundamental right to religious freedom. During his first year in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order upholding religious liberty and the right to engage in religious speech. President Trump signed an Executive Order recognizing the essential contributions of faith-based organizations and establishing the Faith and Opportunity Initiative. The Administration continues to unequivocally stand up for religious liberty in the courts. President Trump reversed the Obama-era policy that prevented the government from providing disaster relief to religious organizations. Last year, President Trump hosted a Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom event at the United Nations and called on the international community and business leaders to work to protect religious freedom around the world. The Administration has stood up for religious liberty around the world, partnering with local and faith-based organizations to provide assistance to vulnerable religious minorities.

BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL DIRECTOR JOE GROGAN AND SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON NEW RULES TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2020 BACKGROUND PRESS CALL BY DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL DIRECTOR JOE GROGAN AND SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ON NEW RULES TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS Via Teleconference 8:03 A.M. EST      MR. CANTRELL:  Thank you, Operator.  Good morning, everyone, and happy National Religious Freedom Day.  Thank you for joining this morning's briefing to preview new rules to protect religious freedom.  This briefing will be conducted by Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Joe Grogan, along with subject-matter experts, [senior administration officials].      Director Grogan's opening remarks will be the only remarks on the record.  Opening statements by subject-matter experts that I just listed will be entirely on background attributable to "senior administration official."      Furthermore, the question-and-answer session to follow will be entirely on background regardless of who answers the question.  All information is embargoed until the conclusion of the call.      And with that, I am happy to begin with DPC Director Joe Grogan.      DIRECTOR GROGAN:  Thank you.  Today, on National Religious Freedom Day, President Trump continues our efforts to make sure that people of faith and religious organizations continue to be invited to participate fully in civic and public life.      The administration is taking three big actions to ensure that people of faith are always able to exercise their rights to religious expression.  These actions are just the latest President Trump has taken to defend the constitutionally protected right to the free exercise of religion.      First, this morning, nine agencies will be releasing proposed rules that will ensure that religious and non-religious organizations are treated equally by the federal government, and that organizations are not discriminated against simply because they are religious in nature.      These agencies -- the Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and Housing and Urban Development -- all worked together over many months to get this done.  These agencies have done an incredible job in collaborating and also working together, and also working with the White House.  Coordinating like this, just scheduling, is frequently difficult.  And to make sure that everybody's governing statutes and regulations are all simpatico is not an easy task.      They will remove discriminatory regulatory burdens that the Obama administration placed on religious organizations that received federal funding, thereby ensuring that the federal government social service programs are implemented in a manner consistent with religious liberty protections in federal law, including the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  Specifically, the regulations take down requirements of alternative provider notice and referral.      Second, this afternoon, the President will host an event in the Oval Office celebrating the release of updated guidance on prayer in schools.  This guidance lays out constitutional protections for religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools.  It is required by law to be updated every two years, but it has not been updated since 2003.      President Trump is committed to making sure that people of faith, particularly children, are not subjected to illegal punishment or pressure for exercising their constitutionally protected rights.      The guidance will remind school districts of the right to students, parents, and teachers, and will empower students and others to confidently know and exercise their rights.  For example, a group of middle school students in Texas, who had gathered in lunch room to pray for a former classmate that recently was in a car accident, they were confronted by a principal who told them they needed to stop the prayer.  The next day, the students attempted to pray again.  The principal required the students to move behind the cafeteria curtain to an empty gym or outside, if they were going to pray.  School district officials eventually reversed the principal's decision.      Finally, the Office of Management and Budget is releasing a memo that requires federal agencies to ensure that not just their own grant-making practices, but also the grant-making practices of state recipients of federal funding, comply with the First Amendment as interpreted by the Supreme Court.      In a case decided in 2017 called Trinity Lutheran, the Supreme Court said that rules or grant terms that penalized or disqualify a religious person or organization from a right to compete for a public benefit, including a grant or contract because of the person's religious character, violate the Constitution's Free Exercise Clause.      The Trinity Lutheran case revolved around grants for playground resurfacing, and Trinity Lutheran was specifically excluded in that instance from participating in the -- from accessing the funds to resurface their playground to improve safety for children.  It went all the way up to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Free Exercise Clause prohibited that type of discrimination.      Even when no federal regulation or grant term penalizes or disqualifies grant applicants from participation based on their religious character, some state laws governing award for sub-grantees, including state constitutions, may limit sub-grantee participation in violation of the federal Constitution.      The most obvious example are Blaine Amendments, which are in existence in 37 states.  These were originally passed out of anti-Catholic bias.  The historical and legal record is very clear on that.  And after Trinity Lutheran, it's obvious that these laws are unconstitutional, but many states have not fully implemented Trinity Lutheran in grant disbursements.      In attempting to comply with state constitutions and laws, in certain instances, grantees may be discriminated against applicants for sub-grants on the basis on their religion, in violation of the Free Exercise Clause and the grantees' commitment to adhere to federal laws prohibiting discrimination.      So this memo from the Office of Management and Budget will tell grant-awarding agencies that they must ensure that the terms of the federal grants they award make clear that states or other public grantees may not condition sub-awards of federal grant money in a manner that would disadvantage grant applicants based on their religious character.      The administration is committed to using every tool at its disposal to protect the rights of faith-based organizations to operate without unlawful government impediment. Taken together, these actions exemplify the President's commitment to protecting free exercise for individual believers and for religious organizations.      Thank you.      MR. CANTRELL:  Next we have [senior administration official].      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Thank you, Joe, for that introduction.  And it's a pleasure to be here with you all.      I'd like to provide a little bit more background on the nine-agency proposed rules.  And as Joe mentioned, these rules are yet another step in the administration's commitment to giving religious organizations a full and equal seat at the table in federally funded programs and in allowing them to serve their communities.      So these rules will ensure equal treatment for religious organizations in several ways, the first of which, as Joe mentioned, is that they will remove the prior administration's alternative provider of notice and referral requirements.  These requirements were imposed by an executive order by President Obama and then implemented in agency regulation.      And, essentially, what they do is they require religious organizations, but not secular organizations, to post notices saying that they will refer beneficiaries, who object to their religious character, to alternative providers including secular providers if requested to do so.  And they're required to then make those referrals upon request and to keep records of any referrals that they make.      In addition, agency-implementing regulations also require that notices contain certain rules that were applicable to faith-based providers participating in federal programs and that they provide a point of contact for the reporting of violations of rules.      And, again, I want to stress that these notices -- these notice requirements applied only to faith-based or religious organizations.  They were not applicable to secular organizations.  There was no similar notice that required secular organizations to refer beneficiaries to alternative providers or to give them a point of contact for reporting violations.      And as Joe mentioned, President Trump's Executive Order 13831 removed the alternative provider requirements from the executive orders of the prior administration.  In addition, I should note that these requirements were not required by any applicable law, only by executive order of the prior administration.  In addition, they are intentioned with recent Supreme Court precedent, as Joe mentioned, and in particular the Trinity Lutheran decision.      And, you know, removing these burdens that had been imposed only on religious organizations is consistent with the administration's broader deregulatory agenda.  So that's the first way that this will ensure equal treatment for religious organizations.      Another way that it will ensure equal treatment is that it will prevent similar regulatory burdens from being imposed in the future on religious organizations.  Religious organizations under the proposed rules would not be required to post notices or to give assurances that are not required of other secular organizations.  And restrictions on use of grant funds would apply equally to both religious and non-religious organizations.      A third way that it will ensure equal treatment is that it will -- you know, it will ensure a level playing field for federal funding opportunities.  In particular, it will clarify that religious organizations can apply for awards on the same basis as any other organization; that the federal governments will not discriminate against religious organizations when it selects recipients for federal funding opportunities; that it won't discriminate on the basis of their religious exercise or their religious affiliation.  It will also clarify that religious recipients of federal funding may continue to carry out their mission consistent with religious freedom protections in federal law.      Throughout the proposed rules, we'll ensure that federally supported programs are implemented in a manner that's consistent with religious liberty protections in federal law.      And -- oh, the one other last thing that I should mention is it will further ensure equal treatment of religious organizations by adjusting the definition of indirect aid to better comport with Supreme Court precedent.  And that adjustment in the definition will have the effect of ensuring that religious organizations are not subject to different rules simply because they choose to serve underserved communities.  It won't make the definition of indirect aid hinge on the availability of secular providers, which, of course, varies of by geography.      So, again, that would have the effect of just ensuring that religious organizations are subject to the same rules, including when they choose to serve communities that are underserved.      So, in all of these ways, the proposed rules will ensure that religious organizations are treated equally by the federal government; it will eliminate burdens that the prior administration had imposed on religious organizations; and they will ensure a level playing field for federal funding opportunities.      And I'll just leave -- yield the floor to the next speaker.      MR. CANTRELL:  Thank you.  [Senior administration official], you have anything to add?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Not that much.  Thanks very much.  I'm happy to be here to -- I thought my colleague described it well.  I mean, I just -- you know, before I turn it over to my colleague, who's going to take the lead on describing the prayer guidance, I just think it's worth noting that, as both my colleagues stressed, that the overriding principle that runs throughout both the regulations -- the changes we're making to the regulations and prayer guidance is, you know, quality of treatment.  The Supreme Court made clear in Trinity Lutheran that you can’t impose special -- as general matter, you can't impose special disabilities on religious organizations based on religious character.  And that's running throughout regulations.      With respect to the prayer guidance, similarly, the main idea, or at least one of the ideas, is that religious speech that goes on in schools needs to be treated equally to all other forms of speech and assembly.  And I think my colleague will be able to describe exactly how that plays out and what we've done in the guidance.      MS. CANTRELL:  Great.  Thank you.  Next is [senior administration official].      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Good morning.  I'd like to add that the Department of Education is among the agencies that is engaging in a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the religious liberty protections that my colleague described.      In addition to the proposals that other agencies are making, the Department of Education is also proposing a regulation specifically related to religious student groups.      The Department would like to strengthen religious liberty protections for religious student groups at public institutions of higher education.      One of the proposed regulations is that, as a condition of funding, a public institution of higher education cannot deny a religious student group the same benefits, privileges, and rights that other secular student groups have.  This places religious student groups on equal footing with secular student groups at public institutions of higher education.      Separate and apart from the notice of proposed rulemaking, the department is doing something that is very unique to the Department of Education and it is fulfilling a statutory requirement to issue guidance on constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools.      This guidance, as Joe mentioned, is statutorily required and it has not been updated since 2003 when it was first issued, even though the law requires that it be updated every two years.      The updated guidance provides information on the current state of the law regarding prayer and religious expression in public schools.      The law requires that as a condition of funding, a local educational agency, which is essentially a local school board, certify once a year to the State Department of Education that it has no policy that prevents participation in constitutionally protected prayer.      The State Department of Education has to report to the Secretary once a year two things: First, the State Department of Education has to report a list of the local school boards that have failed to make the required certification.  The second thing that the State Department of Education has to report to the Secretary of Education once a year is any complaint made to that State Department of Education about a local school board or a local school that has allegedly denied a person the right to engage in constitutionally protected prayer.      The law requires that the Department of Education ask the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel to review the guidance to verify that it indeed reflects the current state of the law, the Department has done that, and the Department of Justice has made the required verification.      I'd like to briefly go through three changes from the updated guidance to the 2003 guidance.  The first change is that the updated guidance clarifies that State Departments of Education must provide a clear process for people to report complaints about a local school board or a local school denying a person the right to engage in constitutionally protected prayer.  Most people who have a complaint against the local school board or a local school go directly to that school and they never realize that they can actually file a complaint with the Department of Education, and that if they do so, the State Department of Education must report that complaint to the Secretary of Education.      The second way this guidance differs is that it clarifies that if a State Department of Education is aware of a public legal charge -- for example, a lawsuit against a particular local public school or a local schoolboard alleging that that school has denied someone the right to engage in prayer, then that State Department of Education must report the lawsuit to the Department of Education.      Some Departments of Education have not reported lawsuits even when those lawsuits have received national attention.  And this guidance clarifies that they are obligated to do so.      Finally, the updated guidance adds two sections that were not in the prior guidance.  One section describes the religious expression generally and the other section describes the Equal Access Act.      Local education agencies are not required to certify compliance with this part of the -- the added parts of the guidance.  But the reason the Department of Education decided to include these parts is because, first, the legal principles regarding religious expression also relate to prayer because prayer is a form of religious expression, and also, religious expression intersects very naturally with prayer.  For example, some faiths require that a person wear certain religious garb as they pray.  For example, if a Muslim student would like to wear a certain religious garb as they pray, the wearing of that religious garb is considered religious expression, not necessarily prayer.  But there is an intersection there.          Additionally, the guidance describes the Equal Access Act requirements.  The Equal Access Act applies only to public secondary schools or public high schools, and it requires that religious student groups receive the same access to facilities such as classrooms as secular student groups.  So if a religious student group would like to hold a prayer meeting in the classroom, that religious student group may do so as long as a secular student group can reserve that same room for a secular activity.      I'd like to note that the portions about religious expression in the Equal Access Act come primarily from a presidential memorandum from 1995 on Religious Expression in Public Schools and also a 1998 Department of Education Memorandum on Religious Expression in Public Schools.      MR. CANTRELL:  Thank you all.  Operator, we will now take some questions.      Q    Hi.  This is Andrew Feinberg with Breakfast Media and the Independent.  Thanks for doing this call.  I had a question about the removal of the alternative provider requirements and how is that going to fit in with, for instance, the substance abuse treatment programs that are often court ordered.      If a person under -- what you're suggesting, it seems if a person is court-ordered to a particular rehab program that is faith-based, they're not going to be allowed to ask to be referred to, say, one that is not faith-based, but is medication-based treatment or not religious in nature, and they'll have no right to know that (inaudible) is even available.  Is that what you're proposing?          SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  You know, to answer your question, I want to (inaudible) that these nine-agency rules -- proposed rules -- deal with situations where applicable law does not require any notice or referral.  So with respect to the instance in which the proposed rules would remove the alternative provider requirements, it's doing so with regard to programs where no statute (inaudible) with the Constitution and no other applicable law requires them.      Q    Could you give an example of that?          SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I mean, I could give you -- just, as an example, from my department, the Department of Justice, there are a great many programs (inaudible) dive into those, but there are three main grant-making offices within the Department of Justice: The Office of Justice Programs (inaudible).      MR. CANTRELL:  [Senior administration official], I think you might be cutting out a little bit.  Would you say that again?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, there are -- and I apologize.  There are three grant-making components at the Department of Justice.  And just speaking for my own department, there is no requirement, statutory or otherwise, that imposes these notice and referral alternative provider requirements.  They were implemented simply because they had been required under President Obama’s executive order, which President Trump’s Executive Order 13831 has removed.      So, again, these rules are removing these requirements only with respect to programs where applicable law does not require it.  They only require it under executive order.      Q    How is it a burden on an organization to say you can get this somewhere else?  I mean, how is that a burden?      MR. CANTRELL:  Operator -- we’d be happy to answer that question -- if I could just ask you to mute participant lines after one question is asked so that we can get the most questioners in here.  But we’re going to answer that question right here by a senior administration official.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi, the administration decided to take out that notice and referral provision for a couple of reasons.  One, it’s not required by religious liberty law, as a couple of other briefers had mentioned, and we believe it’s intentioned with several aspects of religious liberty laws.      Two, it’s profoundly unfair, right?  Anytime that one set of group who’s carrying a burden that others aren’t, we believe that’s unequal treatment.      Three, we also think that it's cast religious organizations as sort of "rights violators in waiting," right?  It suggests to everyone who walks through the door of a religious social service entity that maybe they should be offended or uncomfortable or be seeking to find a service elsewhere.      And, you know, it is an additional administrative burden to figure how to provide this notice and to keep your running list of potential secular alternatives to which the organization refers people.      So for all those reasons, in our judgment, this was a requirement that really needed to be taken down.      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, I just want to add one more thing to that.  I mean, I think the Supreme Court has recognized that, in certain circumstances, the obligation to refer someone to an organization that may -- where they may provide services in a manner that would violate that organization’s religious penance and can in certain circumstances impose a burden, doesn’t pose a burden.  That’s the Hobby Lobby case, which we -- which the regulations cite as in support of that idea.      Q    Hi, this is Noah Bierman with the Los Angeles Times.  You mentioned that grantees and sub-grantees could not be treated any differently by granting -- you know, federal grant makers.  What if those grantees have religious beliefs or expressions that discriminate against those of other races or religions or sexual orientations?  How will that be handled?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  [Senior administration official], you want to take a crack at that?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  I’m happy to take a crack at that.  So, existing regulations already provide that those who participate in federally supported programs may not discriminate on the basis of religion -- you know, holding a religious belief, failure to hold a religious belief.  And these proposed rules would not remove any of those anti-discrimination protections whatsoever.      And I would also observe that, under existing regulations, you know, those who are looking to use the services of a social services provider that’s (inaudible) federal programs, they can choose whether or not to use the services of a particular provider.  And these rules would not require any beneficiary to use the services of any particular provider.  So they will retain that freedom.  They retain their anti-discrimination protections, and they retain the freedom of choice in terms of which providers they wish to use.      MR. CANTRELL:  Great.  Next question.      Q    Hi, this Ron Kampeas from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.  So I want to -- I want to understand: A vulnerable Jewish person goes to a rehab center because they’re addicted -- they have an addiction problem.  That rehab center doesn’t have to -- they might -- that rehab center might include within its program aspects of proselytization.  They don’t have -- they no longer have to tell them, “Hey, there’s a Chabad house down the street that might be more appropriate to you,” or “there’s just a secular organization that might be more appropriate to you”?      What are the -- you’re removing the protections for that Jewish person to protect them from being -- from being exposed to government-funded proselytization.  How do you address that?      Secondly, you know, you’re -- these new orders seem to be burdening states with notification responsibilities while removing them from government-funded religious organizations.  How do you reconcile that?           SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi.  So just to clarify, under the proposed rules, all organizations -- religious and secular -- will continue to be prohibited from discriminating against recipients on the basis of religion or on the basis of refusal to (inaudible) to attend or participate in a religious practice.  Any organization that discriminates on these bases remain ineligible to participate in social service programs in accordance with federal financial assistance.      That’s a pretty key piece of the law that governs how federal aid can be spent.  That direct aid to an entity can’t be used for proselytization, can’t be used to discriminate on the basis of religion.  And the regs make clear that that requirement remains in place.  That has not changed.      MR. CANTRELL:  Operator, we’re happy to take one last question, please.      Q    Hi, this is Sandhya Raman with Congressional Quarterly.  Thanks for dong this call.  My question was related to the nine rules that you mentioned, specifically to HHS.  I know HHS has done a number of rules related to expanding religious freedom, and I guess a lot of those have already been pretty (inaudible).  What does this do that the number of those rules don’t already do?  What does it -- what is the added benefit of this rule?      SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hey, good question.  Thank you.  So, you’re right, HHS has a really robust sort of religious freedom portfolio.  A lot of what they’ve done has to do with the religious freedom rights of individuals, specifically the conscience rights of individuals, how to handle moral and religious objections to participating in certain kinds of activities.      HHS has done a little bit of regulating to protect religious entities, specifically typically as to their own -- again, their own conscience rights and how they exercise -- how religious entities and entities that have conscience rights exercise them.      This is different.  This is not about HHS and these agencies specifically protecting the free exercise rights of individuals; that’s what the prayer guidance does.  It’s not what the regs do.  The regs are about implementing the free exercise rights of religious organizations as recipients of federal funding.      Mr. CANTRELL:  Thank you, everyone.  This will conclude our call.  Again, Director Grogan’s opening remarks are the only remarks on the record.  Opening remarks by both subject-matter experts -- by all three subject-matter experts, excuse me, and all the question-and-answer portion was on background, attributable to a senior administration officials.      As always, direct all further questions to the White House Press Office.  Thank you, everyone, for joining this morning.                                     END            8:34 A.M. EST