Thursday's politics & policy stories

Watchdogs target Trump Organization
Watchdog groups are now homing in on the Trump Organization rather than Trump himself.
Democracy 21's Fred Wertheimer, a veteran of the campaign finance world, lays out the complaint:
"Democracy 21, joined by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the Campaign Legal Center ... called on the U.S Attorney for the Southern District in New York to take steps to prevent The Trump Organization from receiving any financial benefits from foreign governments that benefit President Trump and do not comply with the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. President Trump's refusal to give up ownership of The Trump Organization has resulted in any benefits the Trump Organization receives from foreign governments inuring to Trump."
Why this matters: Trump is going to face an endless stream of litigation throughout his presidency, but he's personally immune from conflict-of-interest attacks because of the unique status of the President. His company, however, is fair game.
Wertheimer explains the strategy: "The groups are focused on action being taken against The Trump Organization and not against Trump... We have gone to the U.S Attorney for the Southern District where The Trump Organization has its headquarters. U.S. Attorney Bharara and the Southern District office have reputations for independence and taking action regardless of the politics involved."

Lobbyist for Peter Thiel's Palantir hired by Pentagon
A lobbyist for Palantir — the famously secretive data firm co-founded by Peter Thiel — has been hired by the Defense Department, a spokesman for the Pentagon confirms. Justin Mikolay's new job as a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense was first reported by ProPublica.
The details: BuzzFeed News reported that Mikolay, who has been listed as a lobbyist for Palantir on some of the company's official disclosures, will be a close adviser to new Defense Secretary James Mattis. It's not his first time working at the Pentagon.
Why it matters: Government business is key for Palantir, including from the military. BuzzFeed reported that Mikolay worked on a key contract while at Palantir. It also raises questions for people watching to see what kind of links Thiel, a Trump backer, has to the administration.
Update: Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said in a statement that when Mikolay joined the Pentagon he "took action to ensure he would not participate in any matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on Palantir, consistent with conflict of interest statutes and government ethics regulations." Davis added that Mikolay had adopted "a screening arrangement to ensure all particular matters involving Palantir are forwarded to another senior defense official for appropriate disposition" and noted that similar moves "are not uncommon for civilian appointees who have worked previously in the private sector."

The anti-Trump travel ban lawsuits have arrived
Washington, Minnesota, New York, and Oregon are filing in court to block part of Trump's travel ban 2.0, according to Politico. Washington and Minnesota got an injunction last month against the original travel ban.
The basics: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is asking a federal judge in Seattle to rule that the injunction set against the first travel ban also applies to similar provisions of the new ban. At a presser, Ferguson said "[Trump] cannot unilaterally declare himself free of the court's restraining order and injunction."
Hawaii has also filed suit separately, and the judge in Honolulu allowed it to move forward for a hearing next Wednesday, hours before the new order is set to begin.

Border crossing arrests plummeted in February
The number of people arrested crossing the border illegally dropped 44% in February, Trump's first month in office. That's a drop from 42,500 arrests in January to 23,500 arrests in February, according to the Associated Press.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly called it an "encouraging" trend since fewer families are putting themselves at risk. Kelly credited Trump for the decline and added smugglers are charging much more for border crossers, causing demand to taper off.

Congress wants answers on Trump's deleted tweets
The two top lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee want to know how the Trump administration preserves electronic records. Their requests to White House Counsel Don McGahn — detailed in a letter sent Wednesday — and federal agencies were triggered by two issues:

Highlights from Spicer's Thursday briefing
When asked whether the president knew if Michael Flynn was acting as a foreign agent for the Turkish government when selected as Trump's National Security Adviser, Spicer said, "I don't believe that was known," adding that "you should ask them." He later noted, "This is what [Flynn] did for a living... He was a private citizen at the time..." More takeaways:
- On WikiLeaks allegedly leaking CIA documents: The president believes "the systems at the CIA are outdated and need to be updated."
- Is Trump the target of an intelligence investigation? "I am not aware..." Same question yesterday: "There is no reason to believe..."
- Glass-Steagall bank regulations: Spicer said Trump is committed to restoring those rules.
- Obamacare repeal bill: "Anybody who's been in Washington a few days or longer recognizes any piece of major legislation takes a lot of explanation," said Spicer, sidestepping questions of GOP disunity on the bill. Later added: "This bill will land on the president's desk. He will sign it."
- Will Trump get rid of DACA? Spicer dodged. "The president has been clear on immigration."

Elijah Cummings asked Trump to cool it on "hurtful" rhetoric
Rep. Elijah Cummings, an influential House Democrat, met with President Trump on Wednesday. He told reporters after the meeting that he requested Trump acknowledge "most African-American folk are doing very, very well."
"And when we hear those words about carnage and we're living depressed situations, I told him that it was very hurtful to people."
.@RepCummings says he told Pres. Trump "it would be good for him to acknowledge that most African-American people are doing very, very well" pic.twitter.com/8SOBf8GXo2— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 8, 2017

"Uh, no": McConnell says Mexico won't pay for the wall
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told a Politico panel Thursday that "there is no evidence" that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, but he is leaving the conclusion for Congress to decide. Other takeaways:
- When asked about the Mexican border wall, McConnell admitted that, "There are probably some places along the border where that's not the best [course of action]." And on whether he thinks Mexico will pay for it? "Uh... no," he laughed.
- McConnell's take on Russia: "The Russians are not our friends, the sanctions shouldn't be lifted, and NATO is the most important military organization and should be defended," he stated. "I certainly have no real hope that we will have a better relationship with Russia..."

Jamie Dimon: Trump woke the economy's "animal spirits"
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg TV Thursday that Trump's economic team has "woken the animal spirits" with a "serious growth agenda," and with GOP control of the House and Senate, he has high confidence Trump will be able to help grow the economy:
"Stocks went up maybe rationally because of the growth agenda. Now they'll have to do it. It'll take time… but if he gets it done, even part of it, it'll be good for growth, good for jobs, good for Americans."

Trump, the Washington Monument, and TIME
The new TIME mag cover is out, and it's really quite something:


Trump's personnel problem
The Trump administration has a personnel problem. Multiple government agencies are in a state of staffing gridlock, with cabinet secretaries having their chosen employees routinely returned by the White House's Office of Personnel Management. Steve Mnuchin at Treasury, Rex Tillerson at State, General Mattis at Defense, it's a problem across the Cabinet.
Why this matters: The failure to fill lower-level staff directly impacts the ability of government to function. Career people are working away, but senior political appointees lack their own staff. They're less effective — and operating in a climate of distrust — until they've got their team around them.

Trump's art of the schmooze
With wiretapping, WikiLeaks and a rebellion on the right over Trumpcare specifics, the president has mostly had a terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad week in the media. But even Democrats who have visited the White House tell us that behind the scenes, he's coming into his own with the art of the schmooze:








