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President Trump on Friday is slated to sign an executive order that will rename the Defense Department the “Department of War.”
The president previously suggested the change was coming. Later on Friday, he will host a dinner in the newly renovated Rose Garden.
Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) delivered a jobs report showing anemic growth in the economy. The U.S. added 22,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in August, according to the report.
These figures underscore clear signs that the economy has lost steam in Trump’s first spring and summer in office of his second term. Trump late Thursday signaled that “real” data would not be available until next year.
It was also the first job report since Trump ousted its former director over dismal results this summer amid claims the numbers had been altered. The new figures look similar to the last report, which substantially revised downward job gains from previous months.
Separately, lawmakers left Washington, D.C. for their home districts Thursday under the pressure of a Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline. They will return next week with a hefty legislative agenda, as divisions within the GOP and Democrats’ frustrations threaten to derail funding negotiations.
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