BUDGET/CRIME/LEGISLATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Monday [4-1-19] hosted about 300 guests, including convicted felons, at the White House for the ‘First Step Act Celebration,’ a party intended to bring attention to a rare piece of bipartisan legislation he passed last year, and which he plans to highlight on the campaign trail. The East Room celebration capped a day of events dedicated to overhauling the criminal justice system, an issue that agencies across the government have been asked to elevate. The labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, participated in a panel on work force development. Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, led a session about prisoner re-entry. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, weighed in at a session dealing with incarcerated women. Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star, was even invited to participate in the panels and the party, but could not attend. Months after the legislation passed, and amid foreign policy blunders and a defeat on funding a wall along the southern border, Mr. Trump’s administration is putting the issue front and center.”
–Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni, “Trump Celebrates Criminal Justice Overhaul Amid Doubts It Will Be Fully Funded,” The New York Times online, April 1, 2019