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Take a look at the week in politics from February 25 through March 3.

Leah Millis/Reuters/Newscom

White House communications director Hope Hicks is resigning, the White House confirmed Wednesday.

The announcement came one day after Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s longest-serving aides, testified before the House Intelligence Committee and said she had told white lies in the course of her duties, though there was no indication the two events were connected.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

White House chief of staff John Kelly expressed some regret about leaving the Department of Homeland Security for his current job.

“Truly six months – the last thing I wanted to do was walk away from one of the greatest honors of my life, being secretary of homeland security, but I did something wrong and God punished me, I guess,” he quipped onstage at a DHS anniversary event on Thursday.

Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images

A day after Donald Trump called Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of him “terrible,” Baldwin returned as the President on “Saturday Night Live.”

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Visitors pay their respects as the casket of Reverend Billy Graham lies in honor at the rotunda of the US Capitol building in Washington on Wednesday.

Graham, who has been honored by 13 presidents, is only the fourth private citizen to lie in honor, following civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005 and two slain Capitol Police officers in 1998, the Architect of the Capitol’s records say.

Tom Brenner/The New York Times/Redux

Trump speaks during a bipartisan roundtable discussion on gun control at the White House on Wednesday, where he repeatedly upended GOP lawmakers.

After the meeting, Democrats walked away with some cautious optimism that something substantial could happen on guns, while Republicans appeared stunned.

Yuri Gripas/Reuters/Newscom

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Wednesday in federal court to a rewritten set of charges that were levied against him late last week.

The charges include allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and making false statements about his foreign lobbying.

Eric Gaillard/Pool/AP

US counterintelligence officials are scrutinizing one of Ivanka Trump’s international business deals, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The FBI has been looking into the negotiations and financing surrounding Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver, according to a US official and a former US official. This could be a hurdle for the first daughter as she tries to obtain a full security clearance in her role as adviser to the President.

Here, she watches the bobsled competition final at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Sunday, where she represented the United States.

Mark Humphrey/AP

Amid backlash, a $31,000 dining room set order for Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson’s office was canceled, the owner of the company that made the sale confirmed to CNN.

A statement provided to CNN by a Carson adviser said the secretary requested that the order for the dining set be canceled.

“I was as surprised as anyone to find out that a $31,000 dining set had been ordered,” Carson said in the statement. “I have requested that the order be canceled. We will find another solution for the furniture replacement.”

Here, Carson and Vice President Mike Pence speak at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Newscom

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told Trump to his face on Monday that “we need a little less tweeting here and a little more listening” as they debated the subject of arming teachers to stop school shootings.

The exchange took place at a listening session hosted by Trump at the White House that was attended by about 40 governors.

J. David Ake/AP

Daybreak casts a glow behind the Washington Monument on Tuesday in the nation’s capital.

Chuck Burton/AP

Former President Bill Clinton greets the late Reverend Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham on Tuesday as he arrives to pay respects during a public viewing at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Senior adviser to the president Stephen Miller nods off as Trump speaks about ways to combat mass shootings at high schools during a meeting with the nation’s governors on Monday.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Redux

Trump fumed on Twitter Wednesday after Attorney General Jeff Sessions publicly pushed back against him in a rare statement defending the Justice Department.

“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” he tweeted.

Sessions ignored shouted questions by reporters about Trump’s tweet as he arrived at the Capitol rotunda to pay tribute to Rev. Graham.

Tom Brenner/The New York Times/Redux

Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, who represents the district that includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, holds a #ParklandStrong bracelet during a bipartisan discussion on gun control at the White House on Wednesday. Deutch gave the bracelet to Trump at the end of a meeting.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump speaks during a meeting with leaders of the steel industry at the White House on Thursday, where he announced that his administration will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports as early as next week.

Some Republican lawmakers criticized this move and expressed fear of retaliation from other countries.

Trump defended the policy on Friday, tweeting that sometimes “trade wars are good.”

Logan Cyrus/AFP/Getty Images

Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush talk with reporters at the Billy Graham Library on Tuesday. The Bushes met with Franklin Graham and his wife Jane and paid their respects to the man who was known as “America’s pastor.”
Graham died on February 21, 2018 at the age of 99

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