March 16 (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday:
BUDGET
Trump's first budget outline, calling for a security-heavy realignment of federal spending, draws resistance from his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress as many balk at proposed deep cuts to diplomatic and foreign aid programs.
It is not unusual for a new White House to present a "skinny budget" - a spending wish list for Congress and some basic economic projections - but Trump's first one takes it to an anemic level.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says his department's current spending was not sustainable, and he willingly accepts the "challenge" Trump is proposing in cutting more than a quarter of his agency's budget.
The Trump administration wants a 31 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, eliminating its climate change programs and trimming core initiatives aimed at protecting air and water.
Trump's proposal to privatize U.S. air traffic control wins the backing of major U.S. airlines, but drew criticism from other groups concerned smaller airlines and private companies would lose airport access.
Trump's proposal to defund programs to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes, two of the country's largest water systems, bring scorn from a bipartisan array of lawmakers who vow to fight the cuts.
HEALTHCARE
Deeply divided Republicans squeeze their U.S. healthcare overhaul, backed by Trump, through a key House of Representatives panel despite defections by three conservatives who consider it too similar to the Obamacare law it is intended to replace.
WIRETAPPING
The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee issue a bipartisan statement rejecting Trump's assertion that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign.
TRAVEL BAN
Trump has pledged to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to fight for his revised travel ban, parts of which were halted by two federal judges in recent days.
NORTH KOREA
Tillerson says the escalating threat from North Korea's nuclear program shows a clear need for a "new approach," but he does not say what the Trump administration has in mind.
TRADE
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the administration has no desire to get into trade wars, but certain trade relationships need to be re-examined to make them fairer for U.S. workers.
MIDDLE EAST
Trump's Middle East envoy pursues quiet diplomacy and avoids controversy while shuttling between Jerusalem, Ramallah and the Jordanian capital, Amman, on his first official visit to the region.
(Compiled by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)