Axios

Trump has a meeting with J. P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Disney CEO Bob Iger, Wal-Mart CEO C. Douglas McMillon and other business execs on Friday morning, according to WSJ.

What's on the agenda? Economic strategy, specifically: regulation, women in the workforce, tax and trade and infrastructure.

Why it matters: Trump's already met with 12 CEOs — including SpaceX's Elon Musk and Lockheed Martin's Marillyn Hewson — 3 major auto manufacturers and multiple small business leaders. He's also set up the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, which has 19 business leaders to help him form economic strategies. Big business has the President's ear.

President Trump left the White House on Marine One at 3 PM with his daughter, Ivanka, on an off-the-record excursion. The White House declined to reveal their destination.

His destination: Dover Air Force Base, for the arrival of a U.S. commando who was killed over the weekend during a raid in Yemen. He was the first member of the military killed during the Trump administration.

It's done. Meet your next Secretary of State.

Gen. Michael Flynn made a surprise visit to the White House press briefing today to say the Trump administration is "officially putting Iran on notice." The reasons:

• A recent Iranian ballistic missile test conducted this past weekend. The Trump administration says it's a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, and the U.N. is meeting today to discuss the test. Iran says it is not a violation. Check out our earlier story to read text from resolution 2231 in question.
• The Monday attack by Iran-supported militants against a Saudi naval ship was actually meant to hit a U.S. ship, according to two Pentagon officials. The attack came in the same area where U.S. naval ships were attacked in October. Fox has the story.
• Other attacks by Iran-supported militants against Saudi and Emirati vessels during the past six months, along with threats directed at U.S. and allied vessels.

Here's Nikki Haley's two cents: "What I told the rest of the Security Council members is we are only as good as if we enforce what happens."

Why this matters: Trump has said in the past he wants to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal, which restricts and monitors Iran's nuclear program.

The U.S. is creating fewer new companies than at any time in the past 40 years, and most of those that are being created are in just 5 big urban areas, leading to economic stagnation in smaller communities around the country. The Economic Innovation Group has a new study looking at the lingering effects of the Great Recession. Some other key findings:

• 60% of metro areas now see more business close than open and from 2010 to 2014 New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas created as many new businesses as the rest of the nation combined
• There has been an unprecedented net decrease of firms and as a result the economy had fewer firms in 2014 than it did in 2007 despite being $1.1 trillion larger.

Our thought bubble: EIG concludes that these trends are the "driving force behind regional inequality." That sense of "missing out" on economic growth helped propel Trump to the White House.

"If we end up with that gridlock I would say, 'If you can, Mitch, go nuclear.' Because that would would be an absolute shame if a man of this quality was put up to that neglect. I would say it's up to Mitch, but I would say, 'Go for it'."

President Trump to Mitch McConnell: “Go nuclear" if SCOTUS pick doesn't clear 60 votes https://t.co/uYLDrtBh3k https://t.co/IOlYQ4XMyW — CNN (@CNN) February 1, 2017

Why this kind of matters: Changing the Senate rules to approve a Supreme Court pick with just a majority (the so-called "nuclear option") is up to Mitch McConnell, who is not a fan of upending Senate traditions. Here is the Axios Facts Matter on the "nuclear option."

President Trump is currently holding a listening session with African-American leaders at the White House. Flanked by Ben Carson and Omarosa, a few quotables from POTUS during the time the press was allowed in the room:

• Chicago: Trump said that if those involved in violence in the city don't stake steps to curb it, then "we'll solve the problem for them."
• The inner cities: He charged Ben Carson with working to improve wages and reduce violence and promised he'd do so "big league."
• Media reports about the MLK bust in the Oval: "I don't watch CNN. I don't watch fake news, but Fox has treated me good." Followed by: "So much of the media is the opposition party … It's a very sad situation."
• On Frederick Douglass: While discussing the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Trump said Douglass is "somebody who has done a terrific job that is being recognized by more and more people."
• Looking ahead: He told the room that he'd like to triple or quadruple his vote share among African-Americans in 2020.

Anthony Scaramucci's sale, at an attractive valuation, of his hedge fund to a Chinese firm with strong ties to the Communist Party has raised concerns at the Office for Government Ethics. Those concerns have been leveraged by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to potentially force Scaramucci out of the Trump Administration, according to Politico.

Our thought bubble: Axios' Mike Allen reports that Scaramucci is an ally of Trump's nationalist adviser, Steve Bannon, but Scaramucci is also one of the most well-connected members of the Wall Street establishment who supported Scott Walker and Jeb Bush before throwing in with Trump. He could be a moderating influence on the Bannon wing on issues like trade reform, if he makes it to the West Wing.

Apple CEO Tim Cook told the WSJ in an interview yesterday that hundreds of Apple employees have been impacted by Trump's executive order creating temporary bans on immigration, and he'll continue to press "very, very senior people in the White House" on why repealing the order is imperative for both Apple as well as the U.S.

"These are people that have friends and family. They're co-workers. They're taxpayers. They're key parts of the community," Mr. Cook said. "More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background..."

Why it matters: Apple sells its products in more than 180 countries and territories, and Cook was one of many leading tech executives to publicly condemn Trump's order over the weekend, and offered to donate to refugee relief funds. Cook said that Apple will match all employee donations on a 2-to-1 basis.

Politico has an excerpt of David Petraeus' planned testimony today before the House Armed Services committee. The key line:

Americans should not take the current international order for granted... We created it... We have sustained it. If we stop doing so, it will fray and, eventually, collapse.

Politicians are often like kids: "Why did you hit your brother?" "He hit me first."

This is the simplest way to understand how the highly consequential debate over Neil Gorsuch will unfold.

A draft of Trump's executive order viewed by Axios directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider ways to "make the process of H-1B allocation more efficient and ensure the beneficiaries of the program are the best and the brightest." That could mean replacing the current lottery system with one that prioritizes visas for jobs promising the highest salaries.

The salary range: According to Labor Department data, the largest users of H-1B visas — India-based IT services companies such as Tata Consultancy, Wipro and Infosys — tend to pay visa-holding staff lower salaries. Tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Intel and Cisco tend to promise higher wages for the foreign engineers they hire with H-1Bs.

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Data: Department of Labor; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios

Data caveat: When companies hire workers with an H-1B visa, they have to provide notice, through a government filing, of the H-1B workers' wages and work locations. While the Labor Department filings don't directly correlate with number of visas ultimately awarded to the companies, the data reflects visa demand from companies requesting to fill slots with H-1B-holders.

Peter Thiel made headlines last summer when he came out in support of Trump and later accepted a position on the president's transition team. However, it recently came out that he had obtained citizenship in New Zealand a few years ago. Here are those details.

According to a 145-page dossier published by the government of New Zealand, Thiel applied for citizenship as a person with "exceptional circumstances" and whose citizenship is in the "public interest." Reasons for this include:

• Co-founding PayPal; being the first investor in Facebook; investing in Xero, Pacific Fiber Limited, and Book Track Holdings Limited.
• Has discussed potential plans to set up a startup incubator in New Zealand and provide U.S. connections to local companies.
• Launched Valar Ventures, a VC fund for investing in New Zealand companies.
• Donated one million New Zealand dollars to the Christchurch Earthquake Fund.

Thiel's pitch to New Zealand was that he could help the country's entrepreneurs and represent it in the global economy. Rod Drury, co-founder and CEO of Xero, and Sam Morgan, co-founder and chairman of Pacific Fiber, wrote letters to the government in support of Thiel's request for citizenship.

The Massachusetts Democrat writes on Facebook that she'll vote against Gorsuch. Her full post is below:

• On the nomination: "You've entrusted me with a most solemn assignment. Standing here in a house of history and acutely aware of my own imperfections, I pledge that if I'm confirmed I will do all my powers permit to be a faithful servant of the Constitution and laws of this great country."
• He gave a nod to his upcoming confirmation battle: "I look forward to speaking with both members of the aisle. I consider the U.S. Senate the greatest deliberative body in the world."
• Briefly highlighted his textualism and originalism background: "It is for Congress and not the courts to write new laws...the role of judges to apply, and not to alter, the work of the peoples' representatives.
• Named his top priorities as a judge: "Impartiality, and independence, collegiality and courage."
• And thanked Judge David Sentelle and Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy: "These judges brought me up in the law. I would not be here without them."

For a run-down on Gorsuch's legal background, check out our earlier story.

His resume: Gorsuch, 49, was a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford, a Harvard Law School grad, and a former clerk for conservative judges — Judge David Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit and Justice Byron White. He also clerked for Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court. He was approved by a voice vote in 2006, marking the vote uncontroversial.

His conservative background: George W. Bush appointed Gorsuch to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in May of 2006. Like the late Antonin Scalia, Gorsuch is a known originalist and proponent of textualism; he believes the Constitution should be interpreted based on its historical drafting and takes what was written literally. This speech from 2016 about sums it up:

...[M]ark me down too as a believer that the traditional account of the judicial role Justice Scalia defended will endure.

For a lawyer's perspective on Gorsuch, read this SCOTUSblog profile on Gorsuch. His legal positions are below: