US President Donald Trump convened a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Monday amid his attempts to resolve the conflict with Iran and lower fuel prices, the levels of which pose a threat to Republicans in the midterm elections in November, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Unlike some previous presidents, Trump generally avoids visiting the presidential residence on a mountaintop in western Maryland, preferring to spend his time at his golf resorts when he is not at the White House. This will be his third visit to Camp David in his second term.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters last week that the meeting would be the 13th meeting of Trump's cabinet in his second term and that it would be "a lot of fun and something different for the cabinet to experience together."
The agenda for the meeting is likely to focus largely on foreign policy, Reuters reported. Trump is locked in a stalemate in a trade war with Iran, with no end in sight for the conflict, which the president initially predicted would last only "a few weeks," but has now dragged on for five months.
Gasoline prices have soared because of the war, hurting his approval ratings. A Reuters-Ipsos poll this week found that only a third of Americans support the war. This is the lowest level of support since the beginning of the conflict.
The impact of the war on the American economy is causing discontent among Republicans, who are anxiously awaiting the midterm elections in November, when Democrats will try to wrest control of the US Congress from them.
Trump's cabinet meetings usually last more than an hour, as each minister presents an update on the activities of his department, mixed with plenty of praise for the president.
After the meeting, Trump is expected to travel to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will spend the weekend.