White House 1600 Daily: President Trump supports prison reform

The Day Ahead

• President Donald J. Trump is participating in the swearing-in ceremony for America’s new Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gina Haspel. • The President will host dinner for a group of governors to discuss the importance of secure borders, smart immigration policies, and safe communities.

President Trump supports prison reform

Crime imposes a significant burden on Americans’ well-being and taxpayer-financed resources. These costs are amplified by re-arrest rates for released American prisoners that exceed 50 percent. Many programs have been tried to reverse this trend over the past few decades. Some of them work; some don’t. President Donald J. Trump supports prison reform legislation that builds on evidence-based programs to reduce prisoner recidivism rates. The President has called on Congress to help former inmates who have completed their sentences to have a second chance to become contributing members of society. The White House hosted a summit on prisons last week. “Prison reform is an issue that unites people from across the political spectrum,” President Trump said. “It’s an amazing thing. Our whole nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens.” Learn how President Trump wants to fix America’s prison system. Watch: Highlights from the President’s remarks at the White House summit

Making NATO work for America-and the world

President Trump hosted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House last week. The President is continuing the legacy of transatlantic unity and is working with Secretary General Stoltenberg to ensure a successful NATO Summit this summer. President Trump also met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday. Sharing the defense burden continues to be a major priority. The Trump Administration is working with NATO Allies to ensure they make progress in meeting their agreed-upon defense spending commitments, which is in the interest of each NATO member individually and the alliance collectively. Every NATO member has increased defense spending since President Trump took office. In 2017 alone, there was a boost of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending among NATO Allies, amounting to nearly $14 billion. This was the largest single-year increase in more than a quarter century. More from President Trump’s meeting with NATO’s Secretary General Watch: The President participates in an expanded bilateral with the Secretary General