Melania Trump looked ready for business in a sleek pantsuit as she made her first solo appearance on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of a federal law that increases access to treatment for people addicted to opioids
The 49-year-old first lady participated in a roundtable discussion and thanked Congress for passing the bipartisan Support for Patients and Communities Act that President Donald Trump signed into law a year ago.
Melania cut a stylish figure in a rosy taupe blazer and matching pleated pants, leaving her jacket unbuttoned to reveal her chocolate brown crewneck top.
First lady duties: Melania Trump made her first solo trip to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday wearing a rosy taupe pantsuit
Saying hello: Melania was greeted by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar when she arrived at for the roundtable discussion about the opioid crisis
The former model wore her highlighted brown hair down around her shoulders in her signature style. She sported smokey eye makeup and a dusty rose lipstick that complemented her suit.
When she arrived at the roundtable discussion, she was greeted by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, who sat to her right during the meeting.
The president’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway was on her left, and at one point the staffer helped her adjust her microphone before she addressed the crowd.
Melania said that because of the law, ‘we are able to look at ways to reduce opioid use during pregnancy.’
The first lady’s event drew a small crowd, including Republican members of the House and Senate and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, whose home state of West Virginia has the nation’s highest overdose rate.
Grateful: Melania thanked Congress for passing the bipartisan Support for Patients and Communities Act that President Donald Trump signed into law a year ago
Worthy cause: The first lady marked the one-year anniversary of the federal law that increases access to treatment for people addicted to opioids
Trademark look: Melania wore her highlighted brown hair down around her shoulders in her signature style
There was no mention at the event of the Democrats’ impeachment drive against the president.
Around the time Melania participated in the anniversary event, Republicans disrupted a closed-door deposition with a Defense Department official who was scheduled to answer questions as part of the House impeachment inquiry into the president.
Laura Cooper, a senior official who oversees Ukraine policy, arrived Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill to appear before the House panels conducting the investigation.
Shortly afterward, more than two dozen Republican House members held a news conference outside the secure room in the Capitol where the deposition was taking place.
The Republicans decried that the deposition was happening behind closed doors and said Americans should be able to read the transcripts of any interviews being conducted as part of impeachment.
Republicans then walked into the meeting unannounced, and the deposition was put on hold. The two sides were trying to resolve the standoff, Republicans who left the meeting said.
Familiar faces: The president’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway sat on Melania’s left during the meeting
Helping hand: At one point, the staffer helped Melania adjust her microphone before she addressed the crowd
Speech: Melania said that because of the law, ‘we are able to look at ways to reduce opioid use during pregnancy’
Audience: The first lady’s event drew a small crowd, including Republican members of the House and Senate and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin
Cooper’s testimony comes a day after a top U.S. diplomat testified that he was told Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine until the country’s president went public with a promise to investigate Democrats.
President Trump came under fire on Tuesday when he stirred up painful memories of America’s racist past by comparing the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry to a lynching, a practice once widespread across the South in which angry mobs killed thousands of black people.
The use of such inflammatory imagery to lash out at the House investigation into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine triggered an outcry from Democratic legislators, some mild rebukes but also some agreement from the president’s Republican allies and condemnation from outside the Washington Beltway.
It also led to the unearthing of decades-old comments from some Democratic lawmakers, including now-presidential candidate Joe Biden, comparing the process of impeaching President Bill Clinton to a lynching.
Trump has spent recent days pressuring Republicans to give him stronger support in countering the impeachment investigation.
His tweeted suggestion that they ‘remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching’ came a day after Trump said the GOP needs to ‘get tougher and fight’ against the fast-moving inquiry into whether he tried to withhold U.S. military aid until Ukraine’s government agreed to investigate Biden and his son.
Not the time: There was no mention at the event of the Democrats’ impeachment drive against Melania’s husband at the roundtable discussion
On the go: Melania was seen leaving the roundtable discussion carrying a laptop bag that matched her suit
Under fire: President Donald Trump stepped into a racial minefield on Tuesday, calling Democrats’ move to impeach him a ‘lynching’
The White House said on Tuesday that Trump was not comparing impeachment to ‘one of the darkest moments in American history.’ Spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump sent the tweet to point out what he feels is his continued mistreatment by the news media.
During his presidency, Trump has repeatedly sought to advance his political interests by unleashing racially inflammatory language.
The president often tries to portray himself as the victim of any controversy he is embroiled in. His tweet came one day after he lashed out at critics of his now-rescinded plan to schedule a major international summit for 2020 at one of his own properties in Florida.
He complained about people who invoke the ‘phony emoluments clause’ — a section in the Constitution that forbids presidents from receiving gifts or payments from foreign governments without the consent of Congress. The impeachment process is also in the Constitution.
An anonymous whistleblower’s complaint that Trump was attempting to use his office for personal political gain during a July 25 phone conversation with Ukraine’s president led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to open the impeachment inquiry.
Trump insists he did nothing wrong, characterizing the conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as ‘perfect’ and arguing that sore-loser Democrats are still trying to overturn his 2016 election and deny him reelection next year.