White House Gaggle

By Lovisa Frost
May 31, 2006

President’s Schedule

This morning President Bush will meet with the President of Rwanda. At 1:50 pm, he will participate in the swearing-in ceremony for the Director of Central Intelligence Agency at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Later this evening, the President attends a Maryland Victory 2006 reception in Baltimore, Maryland.

President Bush has been making a series of phone calls, starting yesterday, with calls to President Putin of Russia, Chancellor Merkel of Germany and President Chirac of France on the topic of Iran. Today he is making calls to follow-up with the Prime Minister of Israel as well as pre-planning calls with Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will deliver a speech at the Department of State at 11:00 am today, which lays out an initiative put forward by the United States and the international community, in the on-going efforts to see that Iran suspends their enrichment and reprocessing activities. The President has spoken to allies in the international community and they have all "signed off" on this initiative. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow would not give away more details about her speech until it is delivered, but said that, "It is not going to mark a change in the United States’ position, but there are going to be some changes for the overall position." The foundation is still there but Iran needs to take the first step to stop their uranium activities and return to negotiation", Snow said. Tony Snow will brief the press at 1pm today.

Iraq

When asked if the United States is planning to have permanent military bases in Iraq, Snow replied that it has been clear that the goal has been Iraqis taking full responsibility for their internal security.

Secretary of Treasury Nominee Henry Paulson

Snow was asked about Mr. Paulson turning down the offer to be Secretary of Treasury twice before accepting. Snow responded that he was not familiar with what happened before he started his position in the White House but "I do know that the final answer is yes," Snow concluded. Josh Bolton continued to talk to him and Mr. Paulson had a series of conditions and his concerns were addressed.

Screening of "United 93"

There was private screening of the movie in the White House last night with a lot of family members participating. Snow relayed the ambiance as being very emotional, as some of the families saw the film for the first time. The president made remarks prior to the movie. When asked if the president was going to see the movie "The Da Vinci Code", Snow replied that he was not going to ask the President because it was a stupid question. Snow did finally promise to make the inquiry with the President to settle this issue.