Obama's first day: Pay freeze, lobbying rules
President also speaks with Mideast leaders, attends prayer service

Pete Souza / White House handout via EPA
President Barack Obama meets with chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday in the Oval Office. Emanuel is among the senior staff affected by the pay freeze announced Wednesday.

NBC News and news services
updated 6 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - In his first full day in office, President Barack Obama issued his first orders — among them tighter rules on lobbyists, a pay freeze for senior staff and quick responses to Freedom of Information Act requests.

He also met with economic advisers, spoke with Middle East leaders and, last but not least, attended a prayer service, continuing a tradition that dates to the presidency of George Washington.

The pay freeze impacts about 100 White House employees who make more than $100,000 a year.

"Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," Obama said just before Vice President Joe Biden swore in the new senior staff at the White House.

Obama also announced a change in policy that will require each federal agency and department to give full attention to Freedom of Information requests and revealed what he called a "clean break" from existing rules spelling out when and under what circumstances administration officials could work on issues on which they lobbied governmental agencies before.

He said there would be a two-year, rather than a one-year, waiting period for government officials to be able to work on such issues and said they would "not be able to work on matters you lobbied on or White House agencies you lobbied during the last two years."

"Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this administration," Obama said in a statement to reporters.

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