Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon did not answer questions from the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday regarding his time in Trump's White House and throughout the presidential transition, Politico reports. Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes subpoenaed him right away.
The backdrop: Bannon appeared before the House committee Tuesday as part of their investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Bannon also received a subpoena from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team last week, "mark[ing] the first time Mueller is known to have used a grand jury subpoena to seek information from a member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle," per the New York Times.
Trump wants immigrants to come to the U.S. "from everywhere," but through a merit-based system, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, responding to reports that Trump called Haiti and African nations "s---hole countries" in an Oval Office meeting about immigration.
"No one here is going to pretend that the President is always politically correct. He isn't," she said.
The White House briefing began with a readout of President Trump's vitals from Dr. Ronny Jackson, who conducted the routine physical examination. "The president's overall health is excellent," Jackson said.
The bottom line: After the examination, Trump's doctor is confident that the president will complete his term in the Oval Office "with no serious medical issues." How is Trump healthy despite his diet and lack of exercise? "He has incredibly good genes. It's just the way God made him."
President Trump told reporters today he wants immigrants to "come in from everywhere." He was speaking in the Oval Office today along with Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev.
Why it matters: Trump was responding to a question about his comments last week that he wanted more immigrants from countries like Norway, and not from places like Haiti and African nations.
Five Democratic lawmakers have announced their plans to skip President Trump's State of the Union address on Jan. 30.
The list: Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters Tuesday that he doesn't think the president is being well-served by the White House staff, adding that they "missed the mark" ahead of the immigration meeting in the Oval Office last week:
"Somebody on staff gave him really bad advice ... The President I saw on Tuesday is the guy I play golf with. Something happened ... This has turned into an s-show."
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday that the Trump administration wants to find a "permanent solution" to address the Dreamers who are at risk of losing their DACA protection.
Yes, but: Nielsen said that any DACA-fix must include include additional tools and resources for DHS and close the loopholes allowing immigrants to enter into the U.S. illegally. "Without closing the loopholes, we will encourage those who attempt this dangerous journey to come here illegally to do just that."
The departments of Homeland Security and Justice released a report today showing that three out of four people convicted of international terrorism-related offenses between September 11, 2001, and the end of 2016 were foreign-born.
What was missing: While the report's press release tied it to President Trump’s national security concerns on immigration reform, a senior administration official speaking in a background briefing failed to connect the foreign-born terrorism convictions with programs like the diversity visa lottery program and "chain migration." The official stated that DOJ and DHS did not yet have the details surrounding those individuals’ manner of entry into the U.S.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that she "did not hear" President Trump use the worse "shitholes or a substantially similar word" to describe certain countries during an Oval Office meeting last week.
I did not hear that word used ... The president used tough language in general, as did others in the room.
Why this matters: Trump's language in the immigration meeting roiled discussions on immigration legislation and Democrats continue to stand by their public statements that Trump used a derogatory term.
Senate Democrats said Tuesday that all 49 of their party's members in the chamber now support a resolution to reverse the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules. With Republican Sen. Susan Collins on board, the effort is only one vote away from passing in the Senate when supporters force a vote on the measure as soon as this spring.
The bigger picture: The plan to undo the FCC's repeal faces long odds in the House. Even if the measure did make it through Congress, the White House would likely veto it. Still, Democrats hope that keeping the fight alive will resonate with voters.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Tuesday that she thinks it's "a sad day for our country" when Democrats are willing to "throw away" the progress and negotiations reached during their bipartisan meetings at the White House for a chance to keep Trump from getting something accomplished.
The White House physician is scheduled to deliver a report today on Trump’s health. So, how much will we learn? Potentially a lot, but this won’t be the smoking gun Trump’s fiercest critics might have been hoping for.
What to watch for: The official report from the White House usually gives the public more actual information than the vague assurances we’ve gotten so far that Trump is in “excellent health.”
"When President Trump spoke by phone with Sen. Richard J. Durbin [D-Ill.] around 10:15 a.m. last Thursday, he expressed pleasure with Durbin’s outline of a bipartisan immigration pact," the WashPost reports, filling in the backstory of the Oval Office "shithole" meeting.
Durbin said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) was on board, and Trump invited the lawmakers to visit with him at noon. "But when they arrived at the Oval Office, the two senators were surprised to find that Trump was far from ready to finalize the agreement. He was 'fired up' and surrounded by hard-line conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)."
After a triumphant end to 2017, White House sources tell Axios that they see a dangerous pattern forming for this year: a backslide into bad habits of the chaotic early days of the Trump presidency.
Be smart: The White House should be making the best use of their ultimate salesman and tool — Donald Trump and the power of the presidency — to sell its tax cuts, low unemployment and surging market. Instead, Trump has Fox on the tube, and Twitter by his trigger finger.
