On Obama's first day in office, Republicans expressed resistance to the Democratic stimulus plan,

Facing Republican resistance to a massive economic stimulus plan, the Obama administration on Wednesday said $3 of every $4 in the package should be spent within 18 months to have maximum impact on jobs and taxpayers...


Indeed Republicans, who said they were receptive to Obama's call for a "unity of purpose," promptly tested the day-old administration. They criticized the Democratic plan and requested a meeting with the president to air their tax-cutting plans.

The New York Times reports that Obama is expected to sign executive orders closing the CIA's network of secret prisons and the closing of Guantanamo on Thursday:

President Obama is expected to sign executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantanamo detention camp within a year, government officials said...


And the orders would bring to an end a Central Intelligence Agency program that kept terrorism suspects in secret custody for months or years, a practice that has brought fierce criticism from foreign governments and human rights activists. They will also prohibit the C.I.A. from using coercive interrogation methods, requiring the agency to follow the same rules used by the military in interrogating terrorism suspects, government officials said.

In addition, the Obama administration declared their willingness to talk to Iran "without preconditions," as reported by The Guardian.

The Obama foreign policy agenda that appeared on the White House website declared: "Barack Obama supports tough and direct diplomacy with Iran without preconditions." The Bush administration made direct talks between the US and Iran conditional on Iranian suspension of its uranium enrichment programme. The only exception was some discussion in Baghdad on the future of Iraq.


The Obama initiative represents a distinct break from that policy, as part of a fundamental shift in diplomatic approach. The Obama agenda said the new administration would "talk to our foes and friends" and not set preconditions.

From AP: President Barack Obama's first public act in office Wednesday was to institute new limits on lobbyists in his White House and to freeze the salaries of high-paid aides, in a nod to the country's economic turmoil.

Announcing the moves while attending a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to swear in his staff, Obama said the steps "represent a clean break from business as usual."

In addition to staff and ethics orders, President Obama's schedule was filled with meetings about the war in Iraq, the recession, phone calls with world leaders among other initiatives. His administration also kept an eye on various cabinet nominations moving through the Senate, including Hillary Clinton's recently confirmed position as Secretary of State.

More on the White House pay freeze:

The pay freeze, first reported by The Associated Press, would hold salaries at their current levels for the roughly 100 White House employees who make over $100,000 a year. "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," said the new president, taking office amid startlingly bad economic times that many fear will grow worse.

Those affected by the freeze include the high-profile jobs of White House chief of staff, national security adviser and press secretary. Other aides who work in relative anonymity also would fit into that cap if Obama follows a structure similar to the one George W. Bush set up.

Obama's new lobbying rules will not only ban aides from trying to influence the administration when they leave his staff. Those already hired will be banned from working on matters they have previously lobbied on, or to approach agencies that they once targeted.

The rules also ban lobbyists from giving gifts of any size to any member of his administration. It wasn't immediately clear whether the ban would include the traditional "previous relationships" clause, allowing gifts from friends or associates with which an employee comes in with strong ties.

The new rules also require that anyone who leaves his administration is not allowed to try to influence former friends and colleagues for at least two years. Obama is requiring all staff to attend to an ethics briefing like one he said he attended last week. read more

Vice President Joe Biden, left, makes a humorous remark as President Barack Obama signs a series of executive documents, Wednesday, Jan. 21,2009, during a meeting with their senior staff, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House campus in Washington.

In a first-day whirlwind, President Barack Obama showcased efforts to revive the economy on Wednesday, summoned top military officials to the White House to chart a new course in Iraq and eased into the daunting thicket of Middle East diplomacy.

"What an opportunity we have to change this country," said the 47-year-old chief executive, who also issued new ethics rules for his administration, hosted a reception at the presidential mansion for 200 inauguration volunteers and guests selected by an Internet lottery and even took the oath of office again after it was flubbed Tuesday.

After dancing at inaugural balls with first lady Michelle Obama past midnight, Obama entered the Oval Office for the first time as president in early morning. He read a good luck note left behind by President George W. Bush, then began breaking cleanly with his predecessor's policies.

Aides circulated a draft of an executive order that would close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year and halt all war crimes trials in the meantime.

Closing the site "would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice," read the draft prepared for the new president's signature. A copy was obtained by The Associated Press, and an aide said privately that Obama would sign a formal order on Thursday.

Some of the 245 detainees currently held at Guantanamo would be released, while others would be transferred elsewhere and later put on trial under terms to be determined.

Obama's Cabinet was moving closer to completion.

At the Capitol, the Senate confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state after a one-day delay forced by Republicans. The vote was 94-2, and spectators seated in the galleries erupted in applause when it was announced. read more