TRUMP AGENDA: All eyes on the 9th Circuit
The New York Times: “The Justice Department on Monday evening urged a federal appeals court to reinstate President Trump’s targeted travel ban, saying immediate action was needed to ensure the nation’s safety… The administration’s brief largely tracked its earlier arguments that dismissing the ban outright would threaten national security and disregard presidential authority. But it also asked the appeals court, at a minimum, to reinstate at least part of Mr. Trump’s order — appearing to acknowledge the possibility that the government’s case might not be successful.”
The Washington Post: “President Trump appears to be laying the groundwork to preemptively shift blame for any future terrorist attack on U.S. soil from his administration to the federal judiciary, as well as to the media.”
Betsy DeVos’s confirmation vote is today, and Vice President Mike Pence will probably make history by casting the tiebreaking vote.
NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell: “Andy Puzder, the fast-food restaurant chief executive nominated to be labor secretary, hired an undocumented household employee, further challenging his nomination to run the Labor Department, NBC News confirmed Monday night. His use of undocumented household help could be another strike against Puzder, who has been fiercely opposed by Democrats because of his role leading a fast food chain, CKE restaurants, which runs Hardees, Carl's Jr. and other chains.”
Who might be hit the hardest by ACA repeal and a trade war with Mexico and China? Probably Trump voters.
From NBC’s investigative unit: “The Navy SEAL raid in Yemen last week had a secret objective — the head of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, who survived and is now taunting President Donald Trump in an audio message.”
The New York Times writes about how the political and policy realities of Obamacare repeal are starting to set in for Republicans.
And the Wall Street Journal: “President Donald Trump on Sunday became the latest top Republican to sound cautious notes about the party’s ability to rapidly repeal large swaths of the 2010 health law and enact its own vision. He told Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly that “maybe it’ll take until sometime into next year,” saying repeal and replacement was “statutorily” difficult to accomplish quickly. The remarks reflected the unforgiving congressional math hamstringing the Republican efforts. The party has a narrow 52-48 vote majority in the Senate, and a handful of centrist Senate Republicans have already demanded that the party have a replacement in hand for the health law, sometimes called Obamacare, before they vote to void it.”
Experts say Trump’s attacks on Judge Robart are undermining the judiciary.
Perry Bacon Jr. reports on why Trump’s support among those in uniform matters.
It’s war between Trump and the state of California, writes the Washington Post.
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Neil Gorsuch’s personality could reshape the Supreme Court.
POLITICO writes that the White House is “rattled” by the SNL parody of Sean Spicer.
The Fairness Project is tracking the impact of ballot initiatives on wage increases in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine and Washington state.