WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump spent his first full day back in the White House meeting with congressional leaders, announcing an investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and demonstrating one of his favored expressions of power: firing people.

The new president posted on his Truth Social network early Tuesday that he would fire more than 1,000 presidential appointees “who are not aligned with our vision,” including some high-profile names.

Trump fired chef and humanitarian José Andrés from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition; retired Gen. Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council; former State Department official Brian Hook from the board of the Wilson Center; and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council.

“YOU’RE FIRED!” Trump said in his post — his catchphrase from his reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”

Andrés and Bottoms disputed Trump’s assertion that they were fired, saying in posts on social media that they had already submitted their resignations.

Former President Joe Biden also removed many Trump appointees in his first days in office, including former press secretary Sean Spicer from the board overseeing the U.S. Naval Academy.

Stargate

Trump spoke to reporters at the White House as he highlighted an investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and declared, “We’re back.”

Three major business leaders — SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison — joined Trump on Tuesday afternoon to announce the creation of a new company called Stargate, which would invest up to $500 billion over the next four years in AI infrastructure, according to the White House.

Initial plans for Stargate, which is beginning construction in Texas, date back to Biden’s time in office. Tech news outlet the Information reported on the project in March 2024.

The president was also asked by reporters about his personal net worth benefitting from his launch of a new cryptocurrency token the day before he was sworn into office and whether he would continue to sell products to benefit himself while in office.

“I don’t know much about it other than I launched it,” he said. “I heard it was very successful. I haven’t checked it. Where is it today?”

Prayer service

Trump also attended a national prayer service Tuesday morning at Washington National Cathedral, a customary visit for new presidents and one that wrapped up four days of inauguration-related events.

One of the speakers at the interfaith service, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, used her sermon to send a message to Trump, urging compassion for LGBTQ+ people and undocumented migrant workers.

“You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” said Budde, who has criticized Trump before and is the former rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.

Asked afterward by a reporter what he thought of the service, Trump said: “Not too exciting, was it? I didn’t think it was a good service. They could do much better.”

GOP leaders’ meeting

Later in the day, the president met with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other GOP legislators. It was the first formal sit-down for the GOP leadership teams, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso and the new president, as they chart priorities for using Republican power in Washington.

It was more of a date than a marriage, said one person familiar with the private meeting and granted anonymity to discuss it.

Trump floated many ideas on the priorities ahead — for tax cuts, disaster aid, regulatory reforms and the upcoming March deadline to fund the government — with no clear preference for their various strategies, only that they get the job done. Policy aides Stephen Miller and James Braid joined the talk.

The GOP leaders were given chocolate chip cookies and commemorative coins.

After the meeting, Senate Republicans raised the threat of recess appointments to install Trump’s Cabinet. Thune pushed for a quick confirmation, but Trump has demanded that Republicans prepare to put the Senate in recess, allowing Trump to appoint his picks to Cabinet posts without Senate confirmation.

Trump mused Tuesday that the Los Angeles wildfires would give Republicans leverage with Democrats over budget negotiations, because Los Angeles is “going to need a lot of money. And generally speaking, I think you’ll find that a lot of Democrats are going to be asking for help.”