President Donald Trump signed three more executive orders Saturday, calling for a plan to defeat the Islamic State group, a reorganization of the National Security Council and a three-year expansion of the lobbying ban on administration officials.
The orders were the latest development in a flurry of activity since Trump took office just over a week ago.
Trump signed his latest executive actions in the Oval Office, surrounded by smiling staff members and an attentive group of reporters. Trump spoke briefly but carefully as he signed the documents, showing them to the cameras after applying his large, angular signature to each order.
The White House did not immediately make available the text of the orders.
Of the order calling for a plan to defeat Islamic State, which the White House calls ISIS, Trump said, “I think it’s going to be very successful.” The order gives the Joint Chiefs of Staff 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat the militant group.
In a briefing on the executive orders ahead of Saturday’s signing, an administration official said the order “would represent a profound statement on the part of the United States that we are committed to ending this atrocity. … The intended results are saving an unknowably large amount of people on a humanitarian level.”
Longer lobbying ban
The lobbying order places a five-year ban on lobbying by members of the Trump administration after they leave the White House. It expands the current ban, which lasts for two years after an individual leaves the service of the president.
Trump joked with the staff members standing behind him that if anyone wanted to leave, they should do it immediately, before he signed the order. No one moved. The president chuckled and signed the document.
Of the order to reorganize the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, Trump said, “It represents a lot. … People have been talking about doing this of a long time. Like, many years.”
The rearrangement of the National Security Council is meant to make it more responsive to digital threats.
WATCH: Trump on Refugee Order: ‘It’s Not a Muslim Ban’
One of the executive orders Trump signed Friday called for a suspension of visas from countries “of particular concern.” In response to a question about it Saturday, Trump said the order was “not a Muslim ban, but we are totally prepared. It’s working out very nicely. We’re going to have a very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, and we should have had this in this country for many years.”
The same order restricts any Syrian refugees from entering the United States for an indefinite period of time, until the president deems otherwise.
Ending the signing session with the media, Trump said, “OK. That’s big stuff. Have a good weekend.” His comments were met with applause from press and staff.
Also Friday, Trump signed a presidential memorandum directed at the new secretary of defense and the Office of Budget Management, outlining their responsibilities for evaluating the nation’s security policies.
Trump said the memorandum regarding national security was intended to better support the U.S. military.
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