President Donald Trump is set to meet with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss his agenda as he enters his first official week in the White House.
Trump has said that he considers Monday to be his first real day in office. And he's packing it with meetings that suggest he's keeping an open ear.
There's a breakfast and what the White House calls a listening session with business leaders in the morning, another listening session with union leaders and workers in the afternoon and a reception later on with the members of Congress he'll need on board to overhaul the nation's health care system. He'll also hold his first meeting as president with the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
The outreach effort comes after a tumultuous first weekend in the White House that included lambasting news organisations for correctly reporting on the size of the crowds at his inauguration and mass protests against his presidency on the following day.
Trump delivered a more unifying message on Sunday and sought to reassure Americans he was up to the daunting task ahead.
Speaking in the White House East Room during a swearing-in ceremony for top aides, the president warned his staff of the challenges ahead but declared he believed they were ready.
"But with the faith in each other and the faith in God, we will get the job done," he said. "We will prove worthy of this moment in history. And I think it may very well be a great moment in history."
Earlier on Sunday, Trump offered a scattershot response to the sweeping post-inauguration protests, first sarcastically denigrating the public opposition and then defending the right to demonstrate a short time later.
"Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly," Trump tweeted early Sunday morning. Ninety-five minutes later, he struck a more conciliatory tone.
"Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognise the rights of people to express their views," the president tweeted, still using his personal account.
Trump also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accepted an invitation to visit the White House in early February, and announced he's set up meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
