WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump gets down to work Monday, signing a slew of executive orders to start rolling out his policy agenda after a tumultuous first few days put his administration on the back foot.
As he embarks on his first full week in office, the 45th US president will try to steady the ship, seeking support from lawmakers, business leaders and unions at the White House.
Since he was sworn in on Friday Trump's White House has been pilloried for lying to the public about crowds at the inauguration, and the president himself for making a campaign-style speech before a memorial to fallen CIA officers.
Some two million Americans have poured into the streets for women-led demonstrations the scale of which were unseen in a generation.
"Why didn't these people vote? Celebs hurt cause badly," Trump tweeted angrily on Sunday morning.
An hour later, adopting a more conciliatory tone, he noted "peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy."
"Even if I don't always agree," he said, "I recognize the rights of people to express their views."
Trump aides say the next week will see a steady if not daily drip of executive actions designed to get back to Trump's agenda.
Already there have been moves to roll-back President Barack Obama's health care reforms and freeze some regulations in the pipeline.
On Sunday Trump vowed to swiftly start renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
But reality has also bitten. A pledge to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has been put on the back burner for now.
A Washington group of lawyers and researchers plans to file a federal lawsuit against Donald Trump Monday, alleging that the US president is violating a constitutional ban on accepting payments from foreign governments.
In a statement released Sunday the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said the newly sworn-in Trump was in violation of the Constitution because his business properties abroad operate partly based on goodwill from foreign governments and regulators.
And a petition on Whitehouse.gov demanding that the billionaire president immediately release his tax returns passed 100,000 signatures, the threshold at which the White House is supposed to respond within 30 days.
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