This week concludes the sixth week of Trump's presidency. The week began with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department reversing their consideration of the Obama administration's opposition to a Texas voter identification law (the law has been criticized for suppressing the voting rights of minorities). The Justice Department's request to hold proceedings on Trump's travel ban was denied by the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump stated that he would increase military spending by $54 billion by cutting domestic programs such as education and environmental protection. These actions show a continuation of the Trump administration's current trend of reversing the objectives of the Obama era.

Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday was widely hailed as having a more professional tone than his prior addresses. His mentioning of a $1 trillion "program of national rebuilding" caused infrastructure stocks, such as Vulcan Materials (VMC  ) and U.S. Steel (X  ) to jump. However, the speech did not provide any further information about how Trump plans to execute his policy proposals, which include replacing the Affordable Care Act and cutting corporate tax rates. He attempted to compensate by condemning the wave of anti-Semitic attacks that has risen in the country, as well as the shooting of two Indian men by a white supremacist in Kansas. He then drew on the United States' long history of strong military sentiment by praising the conduct and sacrifice of the Navy SEAL who died in Trump's raid in Yemen (which yielded no valuable intelligence).

© U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Flickr.com

The comparatively good press that Trump received after his address was quickly dashed by two pieces published by the Washington Post and the New York Times. The Times article revealed that European allies of the United States had presented the Obama administration with information that suggested that members of Trump's campaign had met with Vladimir Putin's inner circle. The article published by the Post revealed that Jeff Sessions had indeed spoken to the Russian ambassador to the United States twice during the course of the US election, and then lied to Congress about that communication during his confirmation hearing. After being pressured from both sides of the aisle, Sessions recused himself from the ongoing investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Trump stated that he "wasn't aware" that Sessions had been in contact with the Russian ambassador. However, he then called for an investigation into Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi's and Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's connections to Russia (the President tweeted images of the two politicians dining with Putin and other Russian diplomats).

© Michael Vadon / Flickr.com

The week came to an end with the revelation that Vice President Mike Pence's private AOL email account was hacked over the course of the last summer, when he was still serving as governor of Indiana. This is particularly shocking because Mike Pence was a fierce critic of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her run for President in the 2016 campaign. Like Clinton, Pence used the email account to handle sensitive government information. Whether Pence will see any repercussions for using a private email is yet to be seen.