Axios

Following Trump's executive order on Wednesday to pull federal funding from sanctuary cities, several large sanctuary cities said they won't change.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's press conference:

"Our city is still a sanctuary city, and we are going to remain a sanctuary city precisely because the purpose is to keep everybody safe ... a safer city is a city that doesn't allow its residents to live in fear."

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh:

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray:

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti:

When asked by Greta van Susteren on her MSNBC show tonight if DREAMers can count on him:

They don't have to worry. We're focused on physical security of the border, we're focused on those who are coming to do us harm, from terrorist states and things like that. That is our focus, and it's on criminal aliens. People who are violent criminals who have not been deported. Those are the things the President said he's going to focus on. That's the legislation he's asked us to focus on for the moment, and that's what we're dealing with.

After Senate Leader Mitch McConnell spoke to House Republicans in Philadelphia today, a prominent conservative House member texted Axios saying a number of his colleagues were frustrated by what they heard:

"There seems to be a real frustration with the timetable that the Senate leader outlined on what the Senate will do. Some appreciate the honesty but are concerned that it will translate into very little getting accomplished."

McConnell was laying out the reality of the Senate, which is that to pass most legislation, the 52 Republican members need at least eight Democrats to join them. McConnell's message, our source paraphrases, was that "we are focused on confirmations and set low expectations for anything else." Others said McConnell was just pointing out that bills need 60 votes in the Senate.

"He was trying to convey that although the House can turn things around like that, the Senate just institutionally, by workload, cannot do as quickly," Sen. Bill Cassidy told us.

Why this matters: A big chunk of the Republican House has never had to govern. They've had the luxury of being in opposition for the Obama years. Today's tensions show that the clash between hardliners and leadership isn't over. "It's a perennial problem but I think it's more intense now because people feel that w/ unified government, we have to deliver and the Senate shouldn't be an excuse," one senior GOP aide emailed.

Nothing has taken Donald Trump's election harder than the Mexican peso, which has fallen almost 8% since November 8th.

But if you thought his tough-on-immigration speech would rub salt in the wound, think again. The peso has been surging since the president began talking.

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Data: Money.net; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon / Axios

UBS analyst Bhanu Baweja warned earlier today that this would happen, arguing that markets have overshot the effects that even high tariffs would have on Mexico's economy.

Why this matters: Higher volatility in currency markets is a win for Wall Street, who have the smarts and the resources to profit from greater uncertainty. The president's penchant for geopolitical confrontation and off-the-cuff remarks will redound to the benefit of big finance.

There's a lot packed into this 46-second clip of Rep. Mick Mulvaney, the conservative Republican nominated to run Trump's OMB, being confronted over Trump's promise to balance the budget while cutting taxes and refusing to cut entitlements. It neatly summarizes the fiscal clash that seems inevitable between the White House and the Hill.

The key exchange:

Corker: "Mr. Trump did say some things during the campaign that I wish he had not said. They're totally unrealistic, make no sense whatsoever. And I just wonder if your sense that when you talk with him about the five levers and when you talk with him about the fact that it's impossible for us to balance the budget with 31% of our spending being discretionary without dealing with these other programs, do you think he understands that?"

Mulvaney: "I have to imagine the President knew what he was getting when he asked me to fill this role."

Corker: "So you think he understands that we have to deal with all of these issues?"

Mulvaney: "I'd like to think it's why he hired me."

Why this matters: Trump's pledges don't add up — a fact colorfully acknowledged by the staunch Trump ally, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker. Mulvaney, one of the chief fiscal hawks in the House, knows this all too well, and his relationship with Trump could prove contentious if the President favors deficit spending.

Trump's Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago, doubled its joining fee to $200k on Jan. 1 thanks to the president's November win, according to CNBC. It is unclear whether the fee increase is a result in demand for membership.

On top of initiation fees, members also cough up $4k a year in annual dues.

Why this matters: The membership hike comes at a time when the Trump Organization is fending off criticism about conflicts of interest. However, the CEO of Trump Hotels said yesterday that the Organization is looking to expand from having properties in 5 major U.S. metropolitan areas to the existing 26.

The issue

President Trump unveiled today an executive action to get to work on his wall on our border with Mexico.

The facts

Trump wants a 1,000 mile wall, constructed of concrete and steel, between 35-60 feet high. The other 1,000 miles of the border won't need a wall because of natural obstacles, including mountains and deserts. Trump says the wall will cost $8-12 billion, but the MIT Technology Review took a more critical look and predicts between $27-40 billion.

There's already about 650 miles of fencing on the border, courtesy of a 2006 law signed by George W. Bush. The effort focused on high traffic areas for border crossings of illegal immigrants and drugs, and cost a little less than $3 billion. Previous attempts to build a bigger wall or install more high fencing stalled in Congress.

What's next: Trump plans to have Congress pay for the first part of the wall using that 2006 law. He claims he'll get Mexico to pay us back using NAFTA re-negotiations and by potentially freezing remittances from Mexican nationals in the United States. Mexico says that won't happen.

At the Department of Homeland Security today he signed an executive order to build the wall.

"We've been talking about this right from the beginning."

1. Executive order #1 today: "Border Security and Immigration Enforcement improvements": Builds the wall and Mexico pays for it ("his goal was to get the project started...and then move forward to work with Congress on an appropriations schedule"), ends catch and release, and establishes detainment centers along border.
2. Executive order #2 today: "Enhancing Public Safety on the Interior of the United States": ends sanctuary cities ("there's a taxpayer issue here") and directs federal agencies to abide by immigration policy — includes nothing specific regarding DACA policy.
3. That draft executive order on CIA black sites: Trump hasn't seen it. "It is not a White House document. I don't know where it came from or where it originated."
4. Investigation into voter fraud: Spicer implied the investigation is going to focus on bigger states. "This isn't just about the 2016 election. It's about the integrity of our voting system."
5. @BadlandsNPS and the EPA: The White House didn't crack down on the social media activity of government agencies. He said that directive would come from the agencies themselves.
6. Extreme vetting: Details on Trump's plan to restrict visas from various Middle Eastern countries still forthcoming, but his "guiding principle is keeping people safe."

After Trump tweeted out he would be launching an investigation into his voter fraud claims, Nancy Pelosi said "to undermine the integrity of our voting system is really strange" as the president, per an AP report. She also lambasted him for being "insecure" about his election win.

I frankly feel very sad about the president making this claim. I felt sorry for him. I even prayed for him. But then I prayed for the United States of America.

Maggie Haberman of the NYT has a look inside the first few days in a Trumped-up White House:

• A portrait of Andrew Jackson now hangs in the Oval Office.
• Trump's first vacation? Mar-a-Lago, maybe as soon as next weekend.
• Choice POTUS quote #1: "These are the most beautiful phones I've ever used in my life."
• Choice POTUS quote #2: "There's something very special when you know that Abraham Lincoln slept there. The Lincoln Bedroom, you know, was his office, and the suite where I'm staying is actually where he slept."

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are welcoming Trump's tweets on launching an investigation into unfounded allegations of voter fraud.

Elijah Cummings, along with James Clyburn and Robert Brady, wrote on Medium that they welcome an investigation, and will be sending a letter to all state AGs and voter officials "requesting all cases in which their offices have determined that an individual who cast a vote in the November election was prohibited from doing so."

And Cummings added a dig at Trump:

He continues to be obsessed with false numbers and statistics, but these are not 'alternative facts,' and there is no evidence to support these claims.

The New York Times got its hands on a draft of Trump's executive order titled "Detention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatants." Highlights:

• Revokes the Obama policy allowing the Red Cross access to all American wartime detainees.
• Instructs DoD to use Gitmo "for the detention and trial of newly captured" detainees.
• Begins policy reviews regarding the reopening of CIA black sites.
• A version obtained by the Washington Post has a section [it's on page 4] explicitly forbidding treatment defined as torture by U.S. law.

From someone who knows, John McCain: "The President can sign whatever executive orders he likes. But the law is the law. We are not bringing back torture in the United States of America."

A Politico/Morning Consult poll found favorable numbers for the high-profile Trump women:

• 47% have a favorable view of Melania — 32% have an unfavorable view.
• 49% have a favorable view of Ivanka — 30% have an unfavorable view.

More than 20% of voters haven't formed an opinion about them. Melania's rating has improved from 42% after her RNC speech.

According to a Morning Consult poll with Politico:

• 51% of Americans described Trump's inaugural address as "optimistic."
• 46% called it "presidential."
• 44% said it was 'inspiring,'
• And the "America First" message resonated with 65%.

Who wasn't a fan? The 18-29ers. Most young Americans did not think Trump's speech was presidential or inspiriting.

Surprise! Most political pundits did not expect the positive reaction to the inauguration, as noted here.

We've compiled a list of some of the top reads that have been trending thanks to Trump.

• George Orwell, '1984': The soaring demand has slated Orwell's dystopian classic into the #1 spot of Amazon's bestseller list. A Penguin Books spokesperson told Axios that they have printed significantly more copies as a result.
• Sinclair Lewis, 'It Can't Happen Here': The 1935 book hit No. 46.
• Aldous Huxley, 'Brave New World': Huxley's 1932 novel hit No. 71.
• Hannah Arendt, 'The Origins of Totalitarianism': About 50 copies of the book normally sell nationally each week, according to data from Nielsen BookScan, but when sales peaked in December, it was selling at 16 times that rate.

But it's not just dystopian books that have spiked on the charts thanks to Trump. Others include:

• J.D. Vance, 'Hillbilly Elegy': Vance's 2016 memoir about his white working-class family in rural Ohio — a key part of Trump's winning coalition — hovered at at the top of Amazon's bestseller list all summer, seldom dipping below No. 10.
• Rep. John Lewis, 'March': Sales of the civil rights leader's memoir claimed the #1 spot on Amazon's bestseller list after begin criticized by Trump for refusing to attend his inauguration. His other book, 'Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement' was #4.
• Donald Trump & Tony Schwartz, 'The Art of the Deal': Of course sales of Trump's famous book on dealmaking soared after the election. It went from no. 1,107 to No. 24 on Amazon's November "Movers & Shakers" list. And Trump's campaign story, 'Great Again,' went from no. 5,340 to No. 172 on that same list.

Read these five items and remember this is real, not fake, news — not "The West Wing," not "House of Cards," but honest-to-goodness events that unfolded in a 24 hour period less than a week into the Trump presidency.

And remember this: There is a dominant faction inside the White House that believes fervently this is shrewd, long-term, disruptive politics that will forever change the country.

The president tweeted last night that he'll "send in the Feds" if Chicago doesn't lower its homicide rate:

Compare his language and numbers to this graphic that aired during The O'Reilly Factor, roughly an hour before the tweet:

One of the most fervent, but least discussed, elements of President Trump's master plan is the deconstruction of the regulatory state — hobbling EPA, Interior, Energy and more in a bid to — as aides see it— "open up the animal spirits of the economy."

The FCC's rules banning internet providers from favoring some content on their network over other content — beloved by tech companies and despised by telecom carriers — might not last much longer.