Today in Trump: February 28, 2017
Today in the Trump Administration
Trump’s address to Congress
Donald Trump delivers his first joint address before Congress tonight at 9:10 p.m.
- WATCH HERE: Trump Address to Congress Live Stream
- How to watch Trump’s joint address
- Why is it a joint address and not a State of the Union address?
CBSN live coverage of the Trump speech and address to Congress begins at 7:00 p.m. ET.
President Trump grades his first month in office
As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night on his goals for the year, the new president thinks he’s done pretty well so far.
In an interview with Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump said he would give himself an “A plus” for effort, an “A” for achievement -- though he conceded that he would grade himself lower on messaging, giving himself a “C or a C plus.”
He also shares that lower grade with his communications staff, “my people,” however.
The history of the “designated survivor”
As President Donald Trump prepares to give his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, all his top aides and Cabinet members will be in attendance -- except one.
The “designated survivor” is one member of the U.S. Cabinet who’s whisked out of D.C. by U.S. Secret Service in case of a catastrophic attack on the Capitol.
Who is Elizabeth Warren’s refugee guest for Trump’s joint address?
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be bringing an Iraqi refugee with her as a guest for President Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress Tuesday night.
According to a release from Warren’s office, Tiba Faraj and her parents and siblings arrived in 2010 in Lynn, Mass., after undergoing extensive refugee screening that spanned several years. Faraj’s father was employed by a U.S.-backed development organization in Iraq, when in 2006, he was shot and left permanently disabled.
Commentary: What to look for at Trump’s joint session address
Tonight, the President will address both Houses of Congress in what will be, essentially, his first State of the Union address. And the first thing to watch for is what happens when the Sergeant-at-Arms announces him and he enters the hall.
Will the representatives and senators greet him warmly? Will they look to take him, whisper a private joke, and laugh for the cameras?
Will they try and look like they’re his friend, in other words, knowing that folks back home are watching – or will it be a tad chillier, indicating that they know he’s toxic in blue- and purple-districts, and that they should keep their distance? When Trump walks in, will the only ones grabbing at him be Republicans safely ensconced in deep-red districts? --Will Rahn
More than 100 generals sign letter warning against budget cuts
More than 120 retired generals are making what may seem like a surprising defense of government spending on diplomacy. Their unified perspective is expressed in letter to congressional leadership and was prompted by an announcement of major cuts to the non-defense budget and a corresponding increase of $54 billion to defense spending.
The generals quoted Defense Secretary James Mattis to illustrate their point that foreign policy is not monolithic, and that diplomacy and defense are equal partners in U.S. policy.
“As Secretary James Mattis said while commander of U.S. Central Command, ‘If you don’t fully fund the State Department, then I need to buy more ammunition.’” --Kylie Atwood
Historically black colleges and universities
President Trump has a listening session with leaders of Historically Black Colleges & Universities at 11:00am
Trump issues executive orders on HBCUs, environmental regulations
President Trump will sign an executive order to bolster historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Tuesday. The order will do this by moving the moving the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which was previously part of the Department of Education, back to the White House.
The administration says this action will encourage strategic partnerships with other agencies and outside groups by giving it greater visibility. The United Negro College Fund had requested that Mr. Trump move the Initiative to the White House and be led by a person “who reports to a senior advisor to the president,” according to The Washington Post. --Jacqueline Alemany
What you missed yesterday
ISIS-Pentagon Plan
A month ago, on Jan. 28, the president ordered the Pentagon to review its strategy to fight ISIS. Defense Secretary James Mattis has the preliminary ISIS plan ready. It won’t include troop numbers and will be more strategic in nature, the Pentagon said Friday, Cami McCormick reported.
Trouble brewing for Deputy Commerce Secretary nominee Todd Ricketts
Even as the Senate confirmed Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary on Monday by a comfortable bipartisan margin of 72-27, trouble was lurking for Deputy Commerce Secretary nominee Todd Ricketts.
Four sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Ricketts, a member of the wealthy Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs and Ameritrade, has run into significant difficulties separating himself from financial ties as part of Office of Government Ethics requirements.
The requirements and difficulty of divesting from family business ties could force Ricketts to withdraw his nomination, two sources told CBS News. That move, the sources said, could come as early as Wednesday.
Turning to Trump to reverse generations of manufacturing decline
The city of Erie has been hit hard by decades of decline in American manufacturing. Since its peak in the 1950s, Erie has shed nearly 30,000 manufacturing jobs, with the labor force decreasing by 12,000 over just the past decade. Its population now stands at under 100,000 people.
With a strong labor presence, Erie had been a reliable Democratic stronghold since the Reagan era. But the city voted for President Trump in 2016, becoming emblematic of Rust Belt communities that turned to Trump to reverse a downward spiral of job loss and outsourcing.
In the new documentary “America: Manufacturing Hope,” CBSN travels to Erie to meet the working class voters who have been hit hardest by the loss of manufacturing jobs in their hometown. Many families have lived in Erie for generations, carving out middle-class lives with well-paying jobs in local factories before the plants closed and work dried up.
Billionaire Wilbur Ross confirmed as commerce secretary
The Senate confirmed billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary Monday evening, with a vote of 72 yeas to 27 nays.
Ross easily cleared the Senate Commerce Committee and a procedural vote by the full Senate.
So far, the Senate has confirmed 15 out of 22 Trump Cabinet or Cabinet-level picks requiring confirmation. Senators also moved forward Monday on President Trump’s nomination of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department, voting 67-31 to limit debate. A final vote on confirmation could occur on Tuesday or Wednesday.
National security adviser rejects the term “radical Islamic terrorism”
President Trump’s new national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, does not think that “radical Islamic terrorism” is a useful term, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan confirms, putting him at odds with the president he serves. The New York Times first reported that he repudiated the phrase.
Like many conservatives, Mr. Trump has routinely suggested that the phrase is critical to addressing the terrorist threat against the U.S. During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized the president and opponent Hillary Clinton for not using the term.
“Is President Obama going to finally mention the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism?’” Mr. Trump wondered last year in a Tweet. “If he doesn’t, he should immediately resign in disgrace.”
Inside the U.S. vetting system Trump wants to replace
As the Trump administration readies a new “extreme vetting” executive order that is expected to ban people from certain countries in order to give agencies time to review U.S. vetting procedures, many experts and former officials argue that the screening process is already rigorous.
The revised travel ban, to be released this week, is again expected to bar entry for people from the seven countries in the president’s original order: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that the 90-day ban on people from those nations would not be reinstated after it was suspended by a lower court. It’s unclear whether the new ban will again attempt to block all refugees from the U.S. for 120 days and block Syrian refugees indefinitely.
The cost to taxpayers of protecting Trump’s kids on overseas business trips
By Wednesday, Eric Trump will have gone to four countries on Trump company business since January 1, each with Secret Service agents in tow.
In early January, it was a trip to Uruguay for a glitzy party to promote a new property, with a reported $100,000 in hotel bills for Secret Service and other U.S. government personnel.
Then just a few weeks after the inauguration, he flew to the Dominican Republic -- but not before Secret Service agents first went for a routine advance planning trip.
Within weeks, Eric and his brother Donald Jr. flew to Dubai for the gala opening of another Trump property.
And Tuesday night night, it’s Vancouver’s turn: a new Trump hotel that will be the city’s second-largest skyscraper. Both brothers are expected to attend, and their Secret Service protection goes with them.
The Governors
President Trump meets with governors who are wrapping up their annual winter meeting in Washington, 8:50 a.m.
Insurance executives
Mr. Trump meets with health insurance executives.
The Cabinet
Congress returns from its break. The Senate has several Trump Cabinet nominees to confirm. The new Labor secretary nominee, Alexander Acosta, also has yet to testify in his confirmation hearing.
- Commerce: Wilbur Ross (Senate vote 7 p.m.)
- HUD: Ben Carson
- Interior: Ryan Zinke (Senate procedural vote follows Ross confirmation vote)
- Energy: Rick Perry
- U.S Trade Representative: Robert Lighthizer
- Director of National Intelligence: Dan Coats; Agriculture: Sonny Perdue
- Labor Secretary: Alexander Acosta
