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ByJuliePace TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Charting a new American course abroad, President Donald TrumpwithdrewtheUnited States from the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, using one of his first actions in office to re- ject a centerpiece of Barack Obama's attempts to coun- ter China and deepen U.S. ties in Asia. For Trump, the move was a fulfillment of a central campaign promise. He has repeatedly cast the 12-na- tion trade pact — which was eagerly sought by U.S. allies in Asia — as detrimental to American businesses "Great thing for the American worker that we just did," Trump said in brief remarks as he signed a notice in the Oval Office. The Obama administra- tion spent years negotiat- ing the Pacific Rim pact, though the mood in Wash- ington on trade soured over time. Obama never sent the accord to Congress for rat- ification, making Trump's actions Monday largely symbolic. For Trump, the start of his first full week in of- fice amounted to a reset after a tumultuous week- end dominated by his and his spokesman's false state- ments about inauguration crowds and their vigor- ous complaints about me- dia coverage of the celebra- tions. While Trump's ad- visers have long accepted his tendency to become fix- ated on seemingly insignif- icant issues, some privately conceded that his focus on inauguration crowds was unhelpful on the opening weekend of his presidency. On Monday, the new president tried to regroup. He spent the day bounding from one ornate room of the White House to another for meetings, often ordering aides to summon journalists from their West Wing work- space at a moment's notice for unscheduled statements and photo opportunities. In addition to his execu- tive action on TPP, Trump signed memorandums freezing most federal gov- ernment hiring — though he noted an exception for the military — and reinstat- ing a ban on providing fed- eral money to international groups that perform abor- tions or provide informa- tion on the option. The reg- ulation, known as the "Mex- ico City Policy," has been a political volleyball, insti- tuted by Republican admin- istrations and rescinded by Democratic ones since 1984. The actions were among the long list of steps candi- date Trump pledged to take on his opening day as pres- ident. But other "Day One" promises were going un- fulfilled Monday, including plans to propose a consti- tutional amendment impos- ing term limits on members of Congress and terminat- ing Obama's executive ac- tions deferring deporta- tions for some people liv- ing in the U.S. illegally. Spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that Trump intended to follow through on his proposals, though on a more extended timeframe to ensure maximum atten- tion for each move. Yet he appeared to sug- gest that Trump would not move quickly — or perhaps at all — to reinstate depor- tations for young immi- grants protected from de- portation under the Obama administration. FOREIGN POLICY Trump moves to pull US out of big Asia trade deal EVANVUCCI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Donald Trump signs an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact agreed to under the Obama administration on Monday in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. By Matthew Lee and Richard Lardner The Associated Press WASHINGTON Officials say the Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 mil- lion to the Palestinian Au- thority that GOP members of Congress had been block- ing. A State Department of- ficial and several congres- sional aides said the out- going administration for- mally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning. The offi- cial said former Secretary of State John Kerry had in- formed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday. The aides said written no- tification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office. In addition to the $221 million for the Palestinians, the Obama administration also told Congress on Fri- day it was going ahead with the release of another $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 mil- lion for climate change pro- grams and $1.25 million for U.N. organizations, the con- gressional aides said. The aides and the State Depart- ment official weren't autho- rized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. Congress had initially approved the Palestinian funding in budget years 2015 and 2016, but at least two GOP lawmakers — Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House For- eign Affairs Committee, and Kay Granger of Texas, who sits on the House Ap- propriations Committee — had placed holds on it over moves the Palestinian Au- thority had taken to seek membership in interna- tional organizations. Con- gressional holds are gen- erally respected by the ex- ecutive branch but are not legally binding after funds have been allocated. The Obama administra- tion had for some time been pressing for the release of the money for the Palestin- ian Authority, which comes from the U.S. Agency for In- ternational Development and is to be used for hu- manitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, to support political and security re- forms as well as help pre- pare for good governance and the rule of law in a fu- ture Palestinian state, ac- cording to the notification sent to Congress. The $1.25 million for U.N. agencies is to be used as vol- untary contributions to the U.N. Peacebuilding Fund; the U.N. Special Coordina- tor on improving the U.N. response to sexual exploi- tation and abuse; the Mon- treal Protocol Secretariat, which oversees the pro- tection of the ozone layer; the Inter-American Com- mission on Human Rights; and the U.N. System Staff College. The $4 million for cli- mate programs includes assistance for clean energy, sustainable landscapes, cut- ting greenhouse gas emis- sions and creating a climate technology center. MIDDLE EAST Outgoing Obama administration sent $221 million in aid to Palestinians By Richard Lardner and Erica Werner The Associated Press WASHINGTON Rex Tiller- son's bid to be secretary of state narrowly won ap- proval Monday from the Republican-led Foreign Relations Committee, a move that all but assures the full Senate will con- firm President Donald Trump's pick for the key Cabinet post. Members of the panel voted along party lines, 11-10, to back Tillerson fol- lowing a contentious con- firmation hearing nearly two weeks ago that stoked concerns he might not win the panel's recommenda- tion. But just hours be- fore members cast their votes, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., declared his sup- port for Tillerson, back- ing off from a challenge to the new president. Rubio said that despite serious reservations about Tillerson, particularly over his views on Russia, he be- lieved a president was en- titled to significant def- erence in assembling his Cabinet. None of the commit- tee's 10 Democrats voted for Tillerson. They cited concerns Tillerson would continue to view the world through the lens of a cor- porate executive and not the nation's chief diplomat. Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, said Tillerson "equivocated" during his confirmation hearing on questions about human rights, civil society and press and religious free- doms, and repeatedly pri- oritized "narrow business interests ahead of these core national security in- terests." Every nominee for the job going back at least four decades has been approved by overwhelm- ing votes from both sides in the Foreign Relations Committee, as senators have traditionally wanted to deliver a bipartisan dis- play of confidence to the nation's top diplomat. No other nominee since 1977 has received more than two "no" votes from the committee. Sen. Bob Corker of Ten- nessee, the committee's Republican chairman, said he has "no doubt" Tillerson is well-qualified, citing his leadership of the energy giant. Corker chided his colleagues who had demanded informa- tion about Tillerson's per- sonal taxes, saying the material had been used to ask "silly, silly questions." Corker also criticized unnamed lawmakers who held Tillerson re- sponsible for comments Trump made during the presidential campaign or during his inauguration speech. Rubio announced he would vote for Tillerson in a statement posted on Facebook. "Despite my res- ervations, I will support Mr. Tillerson's nomination in committee and in the full Senate," said Rubio, who'd come under strong pressure from fellow Re- publicans to back the nom- ination and avoid dealing Trump an embarrassing setback in the early days of his presidency. SECRETARY OF STATE Se na te p an el na rr ow ly backs top diplomat pick InPrintEveryTuesday-Thursday-Saturday Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! 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