Today in Trump: February 4, 2017
Today in the Trump Administration
Trump whereabouts
The president is in Mar-a-Lago for the weekend. The annual white-tie Red Cross Ball will be held at Mr. Trump’s Palm Beach estate on Saturday. The Palm Beach Post reports that President Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, are expected to attend.
Protests outside the resort were planned, although one group planning a March to Mar-a-Lago canceled its protest, saying on Facebook that the West Palm Beach Police Department would not give the group a permit, since the street it planned to march on could not be closed for the march.
Tweets on temporary travel ban injunction
The president weighed in on a U.S. judge who imposed a nationwide hold on Mr. Trump’s ban on travelers and immigrants from seven countries.
In a series of tweets early Saturday, Mr. Trump said the ruling of the “so-called judge” in the case is “ridiculous and will be overturned.” He added that some Middle Eastern countries “agree with the ban,” though there is no evidence that any nations support the immigration order.
State, Homeland Security halt implementation of travel ban
Agencies charged with implementing President Trump’s controversial travel ban are now complying with a court order blocking the ban, even as Mr. Trump continues to defend his executive order and attack the federal judge that handed down the decision.
What you missed yesterday
Administration imposes new sanctions against Iran
The Trump administration on Friday imposed sanctions against multiple entities and people involved in procuring materials and technology to support Iran’s ballistic missile program and the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The move comes after Iran conducted a ballistic missile test Sunday.
CBS News poll on immigration ban and Supreme Court nominee
Americans are sharply divided along partisan lines overthe executive order temporarily banning entry into the U.S. by travelers from seven countries and refugees from all countries, according to a new CBS News poll released this morning.
Slightly more Americans disapprove (51 percent) than approve (45 percent) of President Trump’s executive order temporarily banning people from entering the U.S. from seven designated countries. Views on temporarily suspending entry for refugees are the same. Opinions on these issues are highly partisan.
Executive action
Trump took his first steps aimed at scaling back financial services regulations.
The president signed an executive order Friday that will direct the Treasury secretary to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, which reshaped financial regulation after the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Kellyanne Conway alludes to massacre that never happened
Trump top adviser Kellyanne Conway on Thursday alluded to the “Bowling Green massacre” in defending the administration’s travel ban, an event that never happened. She said on Friday morning that she misspoke.
Tweets on Iran, Australia, and Paris Louvre attack
In a blitz of Twitter activity early Friday morning, President Trump addressed Iran’s ballistic missile test, praised Australia’s prime minister, and discussed the machete attack that occurred in Paris’ Louvre museum.
America’s business leaders at White House
Trump meets with his Strategic and Policy forum -- big business names, including Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Mary Barra of GM, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Bob Iger of Disney, among others. Travis Kalanick resigned from the group Thursday.
The Cabinet
Very early Friday morning, senators took a procedural vote on Betsy DeVos to be education secretary. The Senate advanced DeVos’ nomination on a procedural vote, 52 yeas to 48 nays -- a straight party line vote. The Senate will continue debating the nomination with a final confirmation vote on DeVos expected by the full Senate early next week, possibly as early as Tuesday February 7.
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch continues to visit with the senators who will decide on whether to confirm him.
What will Senate Democrats do about Neil Gorsuch? Which Democratic senators will vote for him? Against him? When President Trump announced his Supreme Court pick as Judge Neil Gorsuch, Senate Democrats pounced.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer immediately fired off a statement that Gorsuch, a consevative Denver-based judge who currently sits on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, would face an “exhaustive, robust, and comprehensive debate” on his fitness to be a Supreme Court justice.
Others, like Oregon’s Jeff Merkley, charged that the seat on the Supreme Court bench was “stolen” from former President Obama after Republicans refused to confirm Judge Merrick Garland. Merkley vowed to do everything in his power to “stand up against this assault on the court,” seeming to threaten a filibuster of Mr. Trump’s nominee.
The Takeout podcast:
Will Neil Gorsuch be the next David Souter? On this week’s show, Carrie Severino, conservative activist and former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and conservative activist, and CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford joined CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News senior political editor Steve Chaggaris to talk about why Republicans are confident President Trump has found a bona fide conservative justice in Neil Gorsuch… and why Gorsuch is no David Souter - a justice appointed by a Republican president who ended up voting with liberals on the court.
