White House

Despite holding no official title, President Trump's 35-year-old daughter Ivanka is reportedly getting an office (and access to classified information and a government-issued phone) in the White House West Wing, stepping up her highly visible role in helping advise her father.

Reuters reports that a White House official on Monday confirmed reports that Trump's daughter would be getting her own West Wing space, as well as access to classified information and a government-issued phone.

Appearing on Meet the Press earlier this morning with the always condescending, well at least if he's interviewing a Republican guest, Chuck Todd, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, said there's no hope of achieving a balanced budget this year.  Of course, that should hardly come as a surprise to almost anyone other than the suddenly fiscally conservative Chuck Todd. 

The Unites States Secret Service has arrested yet another White House fence jumper this morning, but unlike the previous intruder who managed to wander around the grounds for 15 minutes or so, today's intruder was taken down by guards within a matter of minutes.  Per the Washington Examiner, a law enforcement official told media that the individual jumped a bike rack on Pennsylvania Avenue and was apprehended before making it to the White House fence.

As expected, the White House has released topline spending totals for government agencies in FY2018, endorsing a $30bn nominal cut in congressional appropriations. However, as Goldman Sachs details, the release includes no projections of the overall fiscal path or economic assumptions, and includes no discussion of tax reform or infrastructure proposals. Those details are expected to be released in May.

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Update: echoing comments made by Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the top House Democrat said that the Trump budget proposal is "dead on arrival."

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