A new Reuters poll shows that 49% of Americans "strongly" or "somewhat" agree with Trump's executive order on immigration while 41% "strongly" or "somewhat" disagree.
The responses broke largely along partisan lines. 51% of Republicans "strongly agree" and 53% of Democrats "strongly disagree."
But when framed as a Muslim ban, support tumbles. 56% disagreed that the country should "welcome Christian refugees, but not Muslim ones."
Democrats have prepared for this: Sources have told Axios' Mike Allen that Dems with national aspirations are more likely to speak out against the order than ones facing fierce local reelection battles.
Last week, a woman faked being a Congressman's wife to sneak into the GOP retreat in Philadelphia. She recorded convos and sent them to news outlets, who then outed the Republican's indecision over how to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Found: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced at a closed-door meeting that the Congressional Institute had figured out who the party-crasher was, according to The Hill. Officials won't release her name, as there is still an active investigation.
Someone trespassed at an event where the president and the vice president were present. That's certainly concerning. — Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who was at the retreat, to The Hill
Donald Trump has picked Neil Gorsuch as his Supreme Court nominee. Democrats have vowed to block the nomination after Republicans didn't even hold hearings on Obama's pick for the vacancy.
The facts:
It used to take 60 votes in the Senate to confirm any presidential nomination. But after Republicans stymied many Obama picks, Democrats in 2013 changed the rules to let presidential appointees move forward with simple majorities (51 votes). Changing the rules like this was known as the "nuclear option."
Why it matters:
Supreme Court justices were excluded from the rule change. Mitch McConnell has said he doesn't want to expand the nuclear option to the court, but intense opposition to Trump's pick may force the hand of Republicans.
In advance of Trump's Supreme Court pick tonight, Mitch McConnell fell in party line to support whoever it is:
Donald Trump ought to be treated exactly the same as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were by the Senate minority.
One fun thing: shortly after the Republican presser ended, Chuck Schumer had a hot take on tourists while discussing the GOP. "They've trafficked in alternative facts...they've been haphazard and downright dysfunctional," Schumer paused to shush tourists in the building. "That was tourist obstruction."
Open scene: Finalists Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman are being brought to the capital for Trump's announcement tonight of his pick to replace the late Justice Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court.
Why this matters: Sources close to the process told CNN that Trump may change his mind before the expected 8pm ET announcement. It also builds telltale theatrical suspense for the live television announcement as the U.S. waits to hear who's in or out.
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google's parent company Alphabet, warned employees of the dark times to come under Trump's White House, per Buzzfeed.
[The Trump's administration is] going to do these evil things as they've done in the immigration area and perhaps some others —Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet
The statement came the day before Trump signed an executive order banning refugees from traveling to the U.S. Schmidt also emphasized that "the tone of this government" is very much focused on economic growth.
Why this matters: Buzzfeed points out how Schmidt's strong stance against Trump's immigration policy is "noteworthy" since the Google exec met with Trump and his advisers at least twice before the president's inauguration. Schmidt had clout with Obama's administration — and was expected to have similar influence if Hillary Clinton was elected — but he never made it into Trump's inner circlce.
Note: Google's top execs have also shown intense opposition to the ban. Co-founder Sergey Brin joined a protest in San Francisco, saying "I'm here because I'm a refugee," and the company created a $4 million fund that will donate money to organizations like the ACLU. And remember Google's motto: "Don't be evil."
Senate Finance Committee Democrats blocked a scheduled confirmation vote on Health and Human Services nominee Tom Price this morning, refusing to enter the hearing room until they get answers to their questions about Price's stock purchase in an Australian biotechnology company. Committee rules require at least one member of the minority to be present to hold a vote.
"At a minimum, I believe the committee should postpone this vote" and have an opportunity to talk to officials at the biotech company, Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters. He said they'll be willing to move forward on Price and Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin only after their questions are answered — especially on Price, whom Wyden suggested hasn't been "straight" with the committee.
Democrats became furious after the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Price got a privileged offer to buy stocks in Innate Immunotherapeutics at a discount, which is not what he testified at his confirmation hearings.
Republicans angrily condemned the move. Chairman Orrin Hatch called it "beneath the dignity of this body," saying that while Democrats might not like the nominees, the appropriate response is to vote no.
While 19 or so GOP members of Congress, including John McCain, have condemned Trump's travel order for being too broad, most Republican lawmakers support it. The Washington Post has counted up 37 GOP members who partially support the ban, but have reservations and 84 who support it, including...
The Trump administration is looking to overhaul the worker-visa program used by tech companies to hire high-skilled foreign workers for technical jobs they can't fill with Americans (aka H-1B) . The fixes are aimed at ensuring the program isn't used to bring in cheaper overseas labor to displace U.S. workers.
Vanity Fair has a look at how the first 11 days of the Trump presidency have affected Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Some of the most interesting bits:
Keep an eye on Saturdays: Trump's most controversial moments — the CIA speech, Sean Spicer's crowd size briefing, the immigration executive order — came when Kushner, seen as Trump's moderating influence, was observing Shabbat and away from work and technology. VF's source: "To me, that's not a coincidence."
Trump puts up a wall: Kushner personally brokered the meeting between Trump and Mexico's president, Enrique Peña Nieto. Upon hearing of Trump's combative tweet that ultimately canceled the meeting, Kushner was "furious."
Ghost in the machine: VF's source says that Kushner has noticeably lost weight and become pale.
Dealing with the pressure: As the nation seethed over Trump's ban on citizens from certain Muslim-majority countries, Ivanka and Jared stepped out to the swanky Alfalfa Dinner and posted the above photo on Instagram. She feels terrible about her timing, but it shows her "naiveté in not understanding her surroundings or circumstances."
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will be joining Microsoft and Expedia to support a lawsuit against President Trump and his travel ban, brought by Washington state's AG, according to the AP.
The lawsuit was filed Monday, and Bezos told the Washington Post (which he also owns) that Amazon's lawyers have a "declaration of support" ready to go.
Last night, the Democratic Party hosted a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court to protest Trump's travel ban, and it experienced a few hiccups. Two protesters took over the podium to give short speeches, and the microphones meant for the senators didn't work, leaving much of the crowd unable to hear.
Trump highlighted these glitches in a 6:22am tweet:
Nancy Pelosi and Fake Tears Chuck Schumer held a rally at the steps of The Supreme Court and mic did not work (a mess)-just like Dem party!
He then added: "When will the Democrats give us our Attorney General and rest of Cabinet! They should be ashamed of themselves! No wonder D.C. doesn't work!"
Yesterday the Washington Post reported that Trump's team was drafting an executive order on LGBTQ issues. Now the Trump White House is out with a statement saying they'll defend Obama's 2014 order, which prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of gender orientation or sexual identity.
The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.
The worst-kept secret inside Democratic circles is how bitter Hillary Clinton's team is at President Obama over her election loss. We have heard from numerous, anguished people in Clinton-land blaming Obama -- more than Putin, FBI Director James Comey or, um, Hillary herself -- for the defeat.
In a stunning turn in a four-day drama that has defined his young presidency, President Trump, at 9:16 p.m. Monday, announced the firing of the acting attorney general who had defied him on his migrant-travel ban, saying she "has betrayed the Department of Justice."
Until the confirmation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general, Trump named Dana J. Boente, a 31-year Justice Department veteran, as acting A.G.
Trump is cleaning house at the Department of Justice. The White House statement:
Tonight, President Trump relieved Ms. Yates of her duties and subsequently named Dana Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as Acting Attorney General until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate, where he is being wrongly held up by Democrat senators for strictly political reasons. The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States. This order was approved as to form and legality by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.
Yates, a holdover from the Obama administration, is out after saying she wouldn't direct DOJ lawyers to defend Trump's order on refugees. Statement calls her "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration."
Sean Spicer told reporters today that if State Department officials don't like the executive order mandating a refugee ban they can quit.
They should either get with the program or they can go…If somebody has a problem with that agenda, that does call into question whether or not they should continue in that post.
Why this matters: More than 100 State Department officials signed the dissent cable, which was drafted last week. State Department whistle-blower laws prohibit retaliation against employees following dissent procedures.
History: The State Department dissent cable began during the Vietnam War for diplomats to express opposition to administration policies. It came up last summer when 51 State Department officials signed one to protest Obama's policy in Syria.
