President Trump congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on his apparent victory Wednesday morning, saying he thinks Netanyahu has a better shot at peace in the region. Netanyahu is expected to be indicted on corruption charges soon.
“He’s been a great ally and he’s a friend, I’d like to congratulate him, that was a well-thought out race I can tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn ahead of a trip to Texas.
Mr. Trump is on his way to Texas as his administration is looking to implement even more aggressive immigration policies after replacing top leaders at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mr. Trump is expected to attend a fundraiser in San Antonio, address the International Union of Operating Engineers Training and Education Center in Crosby, and attend another fundraiser in Houston.
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The administration is considering changing a handful of key immigration-related policies, even as the president continues his threats to shut down the border. The new policies include changing rules to allow the government to detain migrant families for longer than the current 20-day limit imposed by what’s known as the Flores agreement.
Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday that he isn’t looking to reinstate the practice of separating children from their parents at the border. However, the White House, according to a senior administration official, wants to make it more difficult for immigrants to be approved for asylum, citing rising approval rates.
On Wednesday, the president praised Stephen Miller, the top Trump aide who, as CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett has reported, is behind much of the president’s renewed push for stricter immigration policies.
The president told reporters Miller is a wonderful person and brilliant, suggesting people simply don’t know him. But there’s only one person behind immigration policy, the president said, and that’s the president himself.
Mr. Trump also addressed his tax returns, which House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal has requested from the Treasury Department. The president claimed there “is no law whatsoever” requiring the treasury secretary to hand over Mr. Trump’s tax returns, but there is a law allowing the head of the committee to review any individual’s tax returns. The president’s lawyer has made it clear he will fight the push for the president’s tax returns in court. The president’s attorney wants lawyers at the Justice Department to first review the request to hand over Mr. Trump’s tax returns.
