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Quote of the Day
“If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!”
— President Trump, commenting on Twitter about the court case blocking his immigration ban.
GOP Operatives Using Encrypted Messaging App
Trump Still Has His Old Phone
Mike Allen: “The calls to White House alumni show that the president is continuing his pattern of consulting widely by telephone, despite being suddenly encased in the ultimate closed system. According to associates, Trump sill has his old number that he used to work with the avidity of a telemarketer.”
“The secret system: Friends and Trump are co-conspirators in a cheeky new practice that keeps him tied to his longtime outside network. Here’s how participants say it works: You call and leave a voicemail on the old phone — or at night, perhaps Trump sees the number pop up on caller ID. If POTUS wants to talk, he calls back from his new, Secret-Service-approved secure phone — savoring his small triumph over a bureaucratic and security apparatus designed to rein in this lifelong kibitzer.”
It’s Going to be Four Long Years
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Yemen Pulls Permission for U.S. Antiterror Missions
“Angry at the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first commando raid authorized by President Trump, Yemen has withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terrorist groups in the country,” the New York Times reports.
“While the White House continues to insist that the attack was a ‘success’ — a characterization it repeated on Tuesday — the suspension of commando operations is a setback for Mr. Trump, who has made it clear he plans to take a far more aggressive approach against Islamic militants.”
Bentley Expected to Pick Strange for Senate Seat
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) is strongly leaning toward picking Attorney General Luther Strange to replace Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) after his expected confirmation to become United States Attorney General, Politico reports.
“One possible advantage of appointing Strange, this operative said, is that Bentley — who has been implicated in a tawdry sex scandal and was under an impeachment investigation by the state legislature — gets to appoint a new attorney general who might be less inclined to prosecute him.”
Jake Tapper Takes on Kellyanne Conway
I’m not sure Kellyanne Conway has ever faced a tougher interview.
Axios: “A source with direct knowledge tells Axios that Republican operatives were urging at least one conservative-friendly website to write Jake Tapper hit pieces yesterday after his hard-hitting interview with Kellyanne Conway.”
Trump Sees No Reason to Curb Asset Seizures
President Trump said there was “no reason” to curb law enforcement agencies that seize cash, vehicles and other assets of people suspected of crimes, a practice that some lawmakers and activists have criticized for denying legal rights, Reuters reports.
Trump also suggested he might want to “destroy” the career of one Texas legislator who wanted to change asset forfeiture laws.
McCain Calls Yemen Raid a Failure
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called the recent U.S. raid in Yemen a “failure” following a classified briefing on the operation, which ended in the death of a Navy SEAL and an unconfirmed number of civilians, BuzzFeed reports.
McCain said that the military’s decision to continue the mission despite “significant opposition” and the enemy being tipped off “was one of the aspects of this that made it — turned it into a failure.”
McCain’s characterization stands in stark contrast to that of the White House, which is calling the operation a success.
Said White House press secretary Sean Spicer: “The raid that was conducted in Yemen was an intelligence gathering raid. It was highly successful. It achieved the purpose it was going to get, save the loss of life that we suffered and the injuries that occurred.”
GOP Lawmakers Wary of Coming Trump Budget
Politico: “GOP lawmakers are fretting that Trump’s spending requests, due out in a month or so, will blow a gaping hole in the federal budget — ballooning the debt and undermining the party’s doctrine of fiscal discipline.”
“Trump has signaled he’s serious about a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, as he promised on the campaign trail. He also wants Republicans to approve extra spending this spring to build a wall along the U.S. southern border and beef up the military — the combined price tag of which could reach $50 billion, insiders say. And that’s to say nothing of tax cuts, which the president’s team has suggested need not necessarily be paid for.”
Playbook: “Note to the White House: There is already serious concern in the Capitol that Congress will not be able to pass a spending bill to start construction on the border wall with Mexico. So if Trump wants a wall started, he needs to send legislation to Congress sooner rather than later.”
Democrats Want Their Leaders to Block Trump
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll shows that just 34% of Democratic voters want their party’s elected officials to find ways to work with the new president. A 56% majority say Democrats in Congress should stick to their principles, even “if that means blocking all legislation or nominees for government posts.”
McConnell Says GOP Pleased with Trump So Far
New York Times: “Mr. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican and the majority leader, says he and his Senate Republican colleagues are quite satisfied with the Trump team so far. In fact, he said, they are reassured by signs that President Trump is going to hew to a conservative agenda after early fears that the president — a relatively unknown quantity to most elected Republicans — might not really be one of them.”
Said McConnell: “I think there is a high level of satisfaction with the new administration. Our members are not obsessed with the daily tweets, but are looking at the results.”
Warren Silenced on Senate Floor
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “has earned a rare rebuke by the Senate for — believe it or not — quoting Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor,” the Boston Globe reports.
“The Massachusetts Democrat ran afoul of the chamber’s arcane rules by reading a 30-year-old letter from Dr. Martin Luther King’s widow that dated to Sen. Jeff Sessions’ failed judicial nomination three decades ago… Quoting King technically put Warren in violation of Senate rules for ‘’impugning the motives’’ of Sessions, though senators have said far worse stuff. And Warren was reading from a letter that was written 10 years before Sessions was even elected to the Senate.”
“Warren is forbidden from speaking again on Sessions’ nomination.”
Fiorina Mulls Senate Bid
Carly Fiorina told a local Virginia radio show that she’s considering running for the U.S. Senate seat in Virginia in 2018, CNN reports.
Gabbard In Trouble Over Syria Trip
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-HI) “visit with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has already raised controversy. Now she’s in hot water yet again for failing to comply with House ethics rules,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Gabbard hasn’t yet submitted the required disclosure forms which detail who paid for her trip, and who else she met while she was in Syria.”
Schumer Says He Has ‘Serious Concerns’ with Gorsuch
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he has “serious, serious concerns” about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee after their meeting, complaining that the federal judge “avoided answers like the plague,” the AP reports.
Schumer, who met with Judge Neil Gorsuch, stopped short of saying he would oppose the nomination.
How Congress Could Get Trump’s Tax Returns
CNN: “Thanks to a little-known and rarely used provision in the law, either the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation may request anyone’s tax returns to examine — including the president’s — from the secretary of the Treasury.”
“They wouldn’t need to tell anyone that they did so. They could share the returns with their committee members in closed session. And if one of the committees thinks releasing the returns to the House or Senate would further a legitimate committee purpose and be in the public interest, they can do that, too — without Trump’s consent.”
