Politics

Highlights: The Trump presidency on April 5 at 9:20 p.m. EDT

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FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump faces a news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday:

BANNON REMOVED

Trump removes his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, from the National Security Council, reversing his controversial decision early this year to give a political adviser an unprecedented role in security discussions.

SYRIA CHEMICAL ATTACK

Trump accuses Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government of going “beyond a red line” with a poison gas attack on civilians and says his attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed, but gave no indication of how he will respond.

NO HEALTHCARE DEAL

Deep divisions cut short Republican hopes for a quick revival of Obamacare replacement legislation, as Congress prepares to leave town for a two-week recess without a deal to end party infighting.

SUPREME COURT NOMINATION

A Democratic senator delivers a 15-1/2-hour, all-night speech denouncing Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, joining an effort to block Senate confirmation of Neil Gorsuch in a heated political showdown with Republicans.

SUSAN RICE

Trump says he thinks Susan Rice, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama, committed a crime by seeking the identities of Trump associates mentioned in intercepted communications, but he declines requests for evidence, the New York Times reports.

IMMIGRATION

The Trump administration is no longer considering separating women and children at the southern U.S. border as a means of deterring their migration, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman says.

NORTH KOREA

Trump’s top security adviser agrees in a telephone call to proceed with the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defence system, known as THAAD, as planned, South Korea’s presidential office says.

Trump speaks by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the two leaders discuss North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile, among other regional issues, the White House says.

FDA NOMINEE

Democratic senators question Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, over his ties to the pharmaceutical industry, with one citing “a level of discomfort” over his nomination.

ENVIRONMENT

A coalition of 17 U.S. states file a legal challenge against efforts by President Trump’s administration to roll back climate change regulations, deepening a political rift over his emerging energy policies.

DEFENDING O’REILLY

Trump defends TV anchor Bill O’Reilly after a report that the conservative commentator and his employer, 21st Century Fox, paid $13 million to five women to settle claims he sexually harassed them.

(Compiled by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney- Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker)

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