By: Kelly McDarby

Washington is slowly settling down after the large sequestration project of the past week.  Nevertheless, White House is still a main player in political news; President Obama is busy combatting criticisms from sequestration as well as moving forward to start new projects.

Ratings: As spending cuts settle in this week, President Obama faces opposition and criticism on many fronts.                                                                                                       Obama’s approval rating has dropped to 43%.

Golf or Tours?:  The White House has cut public tours as a result of budget restraints.  Nevertheless, the public is complaining that Obama can still afford to take golf trips on a regular basis using tax payer dollars.

New Memorial Figure: Late last week, President Obama unveiled a statue of Rosa Parks in Washington.  Despite U.S. spending cuts, the government went through with the construction that was authorized by a special act of Congress, after her death in 2005.

New CIA Director: President Obama’s nominee for CIA Director, John Brennan, should be approved for the position in the near future.  Brennan is a 25-year veteran of the CIA and has also worked with counterterrorist government programs.

Venezuelan Government: Obama responds to Hugo Chavez’s death by expressing his support to the Venezuelan people and interest in “developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government.”

Egyptian Government: The United States government has pledged $250 million to the Egyptian government to strengthen their democracy.  The Obama administration is facing great criticism for this expenditure in light of the recent spending cuts.

Internal Relationships: Obama is working to build relationships with government officials in order to draw support and reach agreement on reducing the deficit.  Tonight, he is planning to have dinner with several Republican leaders.

Environment: Obama is working to reduce carbon emissions in the United States.  He plans to use a workforce from the Environmental Protection Agency to oversee efforts.  Plans include making carbon electricity sources dramatically more expensive by through governmental regulation.

The First Lady: Michelle Obama has been busy this week celebrating and promoting the third anniversary of her “LetsMove! Initiative” to combat childhood obesity.

Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/politics/rosa-parks-statue/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/03/05/critics-to-obama-give-up-golf-not-w-h-tours/?hpt=po_c2

http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-cia-nominee-fast-track-confirmation-080709892--politics.html

http://news.yahoo.com/election-bump-over-obama-approval-drops-43-percent-060900724--business.html

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/chavez-death-obama-sees-hope-chapter-004942773--politics.html

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-attend-senate-gop-lunch-next-week-143007963--politics.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/04/obama-to-tap-top-climate-crusader-for-epa/

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lady-michelle-obama-sees-movement-improving-child-obesity/story?id=18593148