Stephen Miller, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, right, and Larry McKenney of Capitol Radiology listen as Trump speaks during a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White... (Associated Press) 
 
 Stephen Miller, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, right, and Larry McKenney of Capitol Radiology listen as Trump speaks during a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local): 
 
 10:25 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump has signed an executive action aimed at significantly cutting regulations for small businesses. 
 
 The president was surrounded by small business leaders as he signed the order in the Oval Office Monday morning. 
 
 Trump says that the order is aimed at "cutting regulations massively for small business." 
 
 He says it will be the "biggest such act that our country has ever seen." 
 
 Earlier, White House officials called the directive a "one in, two out" plan. It requires government agencies requesting a new regulation to identify two regulations they will cut from their own departments. 
 
 The officials insisted on anonymity in order to detail the directive ahead of Monday's formal announcement. 
 
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 10:05 a.m. 
 
 The Trump administration is defending its immigration order affecting seven majority-Muslim countries by comparing it to a 2011 policy on Iraqi refugees. 
 
 In 2011, President Barack Obama imposed more stringent checks on Iraqi refugees after two Iraqis were charged with terrorism offenses in Kentucky. 
 
 In an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Trump aide Kellyanne Conway wrongly claimed that the 2011 policy "was never covered in the press." She also falsely described it as Obama's own "ban" on refugees. 
 
 The 2011 policy was reported by several media outlets, including the Associated Press. Unlike Trump's order that imposed a 90-day ban on those from seven Muslim-majority countries, the Obama policy applied only to Iraqi refugees and never specifically prohibited entry. 
 
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 10 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump is signing an executive action Monday aimed at significantly cutting regulations. 
 
 White House officials are calling the directive a "one in, two out" plan. It requires government agencies requesting a new regulation to identify two regulations they will cut from their own departments. 
 
 Officials say the president is ordering that there be a zero dollar budget for new regulations through the rest of fiscal year 2017. The White House and agencies will work on a budget for regulations in upcoming years. 
 
 There are some exceptions in the executive action for emergencies and national security. 
 
 The officials insisted on anonymity in order to detail the directive ahead of Monday's formal announcement. 
 
 -By Julie Pace 
 
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 9:50 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump is telling small business owners that the "American dream is back." 
 
 At a White House breakfast Monday, Trump vowed to "create an environment for small business," saying that he will end or limit regulations. 
 
 He said "this is not a knock on President (Barack) Obama" specifically, but on those before him, who Trump said did not do all that can be done for small businesses to prosper. 
 
 Trump said that a big segment of the American workforce is employed by small businesses, adding, "We want to make life easier for these small business owners." 
 
 Attendees of the breakfast included Roger Campos from the Minority Business Roundtable, Dennis Bradford from the Genesis Group and Natalia Luis, head of the Luis Asphalt and Construction Company. 
 
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 9:35 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says his pick for the Supreme Court is someone "unbelievably highly respected." 
 
 Trump made the comment Monday during a breakfast with small business leaders at the White House. He tweeted earlier in the day that he plans to announce his Supreme Court choice Tuesday night at 8 p.m. 
 
 The court has had eight justices since the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia. President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland for the post, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to take up the nomination. 
 
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 9:05 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump is defending his decision to take swift action on his proposed travel ban, saying there are "a lot of bad 'dudes' out there." 
 
 The president tweeted Monday that "If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week." 
 
 The president signed an executive order Friday to bar individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. The president has repeatedly said that the move is aimed at protecting the nation against extremists looking to attack Americans and American interests. 
 
 The move prompted protests at airports across the country. 
 
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 8:50 a.m. 
 
 Virginia's attorney general is requesting information on any detentions in Virginia resulting from President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration. 
 
 Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement Sunday that his request includes anyone with lawful permanent resident status or work or student visas. The Democrat's also requesting information about whether U.S. Customs and Border Protection is complying with an order giving lawful permanent residents detained at Dulles International Airport access to attorneys. 
 
 On Friday, Trump, a Republican, signed an order suspending refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely barring the processing of refugees from Syria. It also temporarily bars citizens of seven majority Muslim nations from entering the U.S., but there's confusion and an apparent walk-back about how it applies to certain groups, like U.S. legal permanent residents. 
 
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 8:45 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says he will announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Tuesday night. Trump tweeted Monday that he has "made my decision" and will announce it Tuesday at 8 p.m. 
 
 The court has been working with eight justices since the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia. 
 
 President Barack Obama had nominated Merrick Garland for the post, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to take up the nomination. 
 
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 7:45 a.m. 
 
 Television personality Joe Scarborough says he and co-host Mika Brzezinski met with President Donald Trump on Sunday. 
 
 Scarborough, the host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," tweets that he and Brzezinski "discussed outrage" over Trump's immigration order and his changes to the National Security Council. 
 
 Trump's executive order temporarily suspends immigration for citizens of seven majority Muslim countries for 90 days. He also has decided to allow his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to attend regular meetings on national security and left in question the role top military and intelligence officials would play. 
 
 Brzezinski says she and Scarborough "urged compassion." 
 
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 7:43 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump's chief spokesman is defending the manner in which the White House rolled out the immigration restrictions. 
 
 Sean Spicer says officials were concerned about the possibility that doing it in a more open fashion would "telegraph what you're going to do" to people who might have rushed to airports to beat the ban. 
 
 In an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Monday, Spicer also said officials' highest priority was "to protect our own people" and said everybody in the government who needed to be consulted was consulted. 
 
 Spicer also says that Trump respects "people who are Muslim and peace-loving. But he also recognizes that certain countries and certain areas of the world produce people who seek to do us harm." 
 
 The spokesman, asked about delays at airports experienced by travelers with valid papers, said that 109 of some 325, 000 travelers "were slowed down" in their trips, and called that "a small price to pay" for protecting the American people. 
 
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 7:35 a.m. 
 
 President Donald Trump says that "big problems" were created at airports by a Delta Airlines computer outage, "protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer." 
 
 The president tweeted early Monday that only 109 out of 325,000 people "were detained and held for questioning" following his executive order to bar individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries. 
 
 A Delta systems outage Sunday night led to departure delays and cancellations of at least 150 Delta flights. 
 
 Protesters packed many of the country's major airports over the weekend protesting the executive order. 
 
 Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer tweeted Friday that "Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty" over the ban. 
 
 Trump also tweeted on Monday, "there is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country." ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to place “regulatory reform” task forces and officers within federal agencies in what may be the most far reaching effort to pare back U.S. red tape in recent decades. 
 
 U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded by business leaders as he signs an executive order on regulatory reform at his desk in the Oval Office at the White House, U.S. February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 
 
 Trump signed the directive in the Oval Office with chief executives of major U.S. corporations standing behind him including Dow Chemical Co DOW.N, Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and U.S. Steel Corp (X.N). 
 
 The sweeping order directs every federal agency to establish a task force to ensure each has a team to research all regulations and take aim at those deemed burdensome to the U.S. economy and designate regulatory reform officers within 60 days and must report on the progress within 90 days. 
 
 “Excessive regulation is killing jobs, driving companies out of our country like never before,” Trump said before signing the order. “Every regulation should have to pass a simple test; does it make life better or safer for American workers or consumers?” 
 
 The effort is part of a Republican push to undo many of the actions of former President Barack Obama, who left office last month after two four-year terms. 
 
 In 1981, President Ronald Reagan created a presidential task force on regulatory relief but that effort did not establish task forces at the cabinet level. Other presidents including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, carried out attempts to reduce or streamline government regulations. 
 
 Trump’s order requires agencies to “measure and report progress in achieving the president’s directives.” Each task force will make recommendations on which regulations to repeal or simplify, Trump said. 
 
 The order says agencies should seek to repeal regulations that “inhibit job creation,” are “ineffective,” impose costs that exceed benefits or “create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with regulatory initiatives and policies.” 
 
 Trump on Friday said the United States does not need “75 percent of the repetitive, horrible regulations that hurt companies, hurt jobs.” 
 
 The Republican has vowed a sweeping cut in U.S. regulations and previously ordered agencies to repeal two rules for every new one adopted. 
 
 Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon told a gathering of conservatives on Thursday that deregulation, which he called “the deconstruction of the administrative state,” was a top priority for the administration. 
 
 Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group, said “this order is a directive to kill the safeguards Americans depend on for clean air, drinkable water and safe food.” 
 
 OBAMA REGULATIONS 
 
 The Trump administration says executive orders from the previous government cost hundreds of billions of dollars. The Obama administration said the benefits of those regulations to the public far outweighed the costs. 
 
 The White House said the Obama administration finalized more than 3,000 regulations. Many of those were required by Congress. 
 
 Robert Verchick, president of the Center for Progressive Reform, a think tank, criticized Trump’s new order as “clearly aimed at embedding his overtly political, anti-protections agenda at federal agencies that are supposed to be using science and expertise to safeguard us all.” 
 
 Slideshow (2 Images) 
 
 U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior vice president Neil Bradley praised the Trump administration for “tackling the regulatory state head on.... We look forward to working with the federal agencies to help identify rules that harm the economy and threaten jobs.” 
 
 The order Trump signed in January sets an annual cap on the cost of new regulations but does not apply to most financial reform rules introduced by the Obama administration. 
 
 The Trump administration also ordered a freeze on regulations pending review and has stopped some regulations from taking effect. ||||| NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said as many as 70 percent of federal agency regulations could be eliminated if he is elected in November, just hours after an adviser said the candidate would seek to cut 10 percent. 
 
 Trump, who blamed regulations for stifling business, told a crowd at a town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday night that regulations for the environment and safety would remain. 
 
 “We are cutting the regulation at a tremendous clip. I would say 70 percent of regulations can go,” Trump said. “It’s just stopping businesses from growing.” 
 
 Earlier in the day during an online discussion with Reuters, Trump campaign adviser Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street financier who has raised campaign money for Trump, said Trump would eliminate 10 percent of regulations. 
 
 “We need regulation but immediately every agency will be asked to rate the importance of their regulations and we will push to remove 10 percent of the least important,” he said. 
 
 Another Trump campaign adviser reached by Reuters confirmed the 10 percent regulatory cut was part of their economic plan. 
 
 Jeff Holmstead, a former assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush’s presidency, said the goal was hard to comprehend. 
 
 “You could reduce the number of regulations by 10 percent without accomplishing very much,” he said. 
 
 He added it would make more sense for Trump to try to reduce the cost of regulatory compliance by 10 percent. 
 
 “I think it probably would be possible for a new administration to make changes that would reduce the cost of these programs by at least 10 percent while still maintaining essentially the same level of environmental protection,” he said. 
 
 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall event in Sandown, New Hampshire, U.S., October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar 
 
 Officials at the EPA and the U.S. Department of the Interior declined to comment, citing internal policies. 
 
 Scaramucci also said that Trump, a fierce critic of the Federal Reserve, would probably get along well with Fed Chair Janet Yellen. 
 
 Trump has repeatedly accused the Fed of serving as a political arm of the Obama White House. He says Yellen has put off raising interest rates in order to let President Barack Obama end his term in January without the economic shock that a rise in interest rates might entail. 
 
 Scaramucci, a founder of SkyBridge Capital, joined Reuters Global Markets Forum to discuss his views of the campaign. He said Trump would strive for a better balance in federal regulations. 
 
 Scaramucci was not as dismissive of Yellen as Trump is, saying he believes the New York property developer would warm to her eventually. 
 
 “There are many well-qualified candidates but I think Mr. Trump has to spend some time with chairwoman Yellen. I think knowing what I know about his personality he will like her,” he said. 
 
 Trump would seek to streamline regulations as a way to generate economic growth and help the flow of capital, the adviser said. Trump has specifically singled out the energy industry as an area that he would look at for reducing regulations. 
 
 “Wall Street is not the devil,” said Scaramucci. “In fact we are at our best when (there) is harmony between Main Street and Wall Street and we hope to restore that.” 
 
 Scaramucci singled out several areas that Trump would look to for reforms: 
 
 —Labor Department rules expanding the fiduciary standard for financial brokers who sell retirement products would likely be stopped. 
 
 Slideshow (6 Images) 
 
 —Legislation similar to the former Glass-Steagall Act that limited the banking industry would be on the table for review. 
 
 — The Dodd-Frank banking reforms that emerged from the Great Recession of 2008-09 will be reviewed and “the worst anti-business parts of it will be gutted.” 
 
 — The Volcker rule will be adjusted. Named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, it is part of the sweeping 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. It aims to reduce risk-taking by preventing banks from using their own capital to make speculative bets.
– President Trump signed an executive action Monday aimed at "cutting regulations massively for small business." He says it will be the "biggest such act that our country has ever seen." The AP reports that White House officials had called the directive a "one in, two out" plan that requires government agencies requesting a new regulation to identify two regulations they will cut from their own departments. The White House will now set an annual limit on new regulations' cost—that cap is $0 for the rest of this fiscal year. The action makes good on a First 100 Days promise Trump announced in a Nov. 21 video, noted Forbes. In it, he says, "I will formulate a rule which says that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. So important."