| | | | On the campaign trail, Donald Trump insisted these were no-brainers: A border wall would be going up, Mexico would pay for it, and NAFTA would be renegotiated. Now that he's in the White House, it's getting more complicated, at least in the early going.
Two hiccups today: First, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled the visit where Trump had said they'd start to rework NAFTA. Then, White House press secretary Sean Spicer pointed to a 20% tax on imports from Mexico as a possible way to pay for the wall -- one Trump identified months ago -- and the GOP pushback was fierce.
Their beef, in short: That tariff would really be paid by American consumers, who'd see costs go up by ... around 20% And the 6 million US jobs dependent on trade with Mexico would be jeopardized. CNN's Patrick Gillespie explains.
Republicans can afford to lose just three votes in the Senate. So let's stack up these tweets -- all from Republican senators this afternoon, and only part of the blowback -- to see why Trump's tariff idea would be in major trouble: | | Spicer's suggestion -- and then walk-back -- of the import tax idea left congressional Republicans confused. Politico's Matthew Nussbaum and Brian Faler walk through the ordeal.
So what comes next? House Speaker Paul Ryan says the GOP is including money for Trump's border wall in its budget. But the question of how to get Mexico to pay for it remains a political problem the White House will have to solve, and it's not clear how, when or whether it will.
Today in 'Trump's ego is getting in his way' news ... another story you have to read to believe, from The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty and Juliet Eilperin: "On the morning after Donald Trump's inauguration, acting National Park Service director Michael T. Reynolds received an extraordinary summons: The new president wanted to talk to him. In a Saturday phone call, Trump personally ordered Reynolds to produce additional photographs of the previous day's crowds on the National Mall, according to three individuals who have knowledge of the conversation. The president believed that they might prove that the media had lied in reporting that attendance had been no better than average." | | "The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile. … I want you to quote this. The media here is the opposition party." | | | | President Donald Trump claimed today that Philadelphia's murder rate is "just terribly increasing." Billy Penn's Mark Dent points out that it is, in fact, not: | | Democrats' future and the Joe Manchin problem | | CNN's Phil Mattingly emails about a scene from the Senate Democrats' private retreat in Shepherdstown, West Virginia:
In seven minutes, as a bullhorn passed between five Democratic senators, the divide Democrats are grappling with in the wake of their stunning 2016 electoral disaster was laid bare. Outside a private Senate Democratic retreat in West Virginia, liberal icons Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were rallying the base and pushing for the nearly 200 supporters who gathered there to drive the grassroots support needed to unseat Republicans in 2018. They delivered off-the-cuff speeches that drew jeers from some in the crowd directed at home-state Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat with a penchant for being a thorn in the side of the left.
Yet by the time the bullhorn was passed to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the focus had shifted. "One of the things we're here to talk about is West Virginia and other rural states, which people have not been paying enough attention," the Minnesota Democrat said. "And we would not be in West Virginia if it wasn't for your great senator, Joe Manchin." She continued: "One of the reasons that we're here is we think there's just not been attention on states like West Virginia and states like Michigan and states like Ohio."
It revealed in real time the dynamic Democrats are trying to get their heads around as they attempt to rebuild in the age of Trump, one that mirrored the deliberations behind closed doors at the Shepherdstown retreat, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the private event.
The question of whether the Democratic Party needs to moderate to reach out to Midwestern states that went unexpectedly toward Trump, or go further to the left to fire up a grassroots that failed to turn out in 2016, is one nobody seems to have an answer to yet. The diplomatic answer most lawmakers and strategists give is they should do both. "We're here in West Virginia rededicating ourselves to you and to our country. We are fighting for the ideals of our country," Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat, told the crowd. "Let's not forget that."
But the reality, shown through the ongoing battles that range between who should be the next party chairman to how much lawmakers should be willing to work with Trump, shows there isn't an easy answer and the party remains far from coalescing around a unified strategy. | | | So this happened: White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tweeted about having to hustle to President Donald Trump's motorcade. | | 6 things you might have missed today | | 1. No executive actions today after all: President Donald Trump pushed today's expected actions on voter fraud, immigration and national security back a day or two, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
2. "Cleaning house" in Foggy Bottom: The Trump administration told four top State Department management officials that their services were no longer needed, CNN's Elise Labott reports.
3. Chief of US Border Patrol departs: Customs and Border Protection made the announcement of Mark Morgan's departure in a statement the day after Trump signed executive orders aimed at beefing up border security. It was not clear whether he had resigned or was asked to leave.
4. More on Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's trip to Syria: She went to Syria and met with the man the United States has actively been trying to oust, President Bashar al-Assad. She framed this as a "fact-finding" mission, but any trip to a war-torn country by a sitting member of Congress carries political implications. More from The Washington Post's Amber Phillips.
5. "The busiest Congress we've had in decades." That's what Trump told Republicans today that he expects. But Congress is still woefully short on details, The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis reports.
6. Pence to address March for Life in person: Tomorrow, Mike Pence will become the first sitting vice president to address the march in its 43-year history. | | | Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told CNN that his wife, Callista, is being considered by President Donald Trump to be the ambassador to the Holy See. ... Here's everything you need to know about the March for Life set for tomorrow. ... Trump's CIA director, Mike Pompeo, was "surprised" by a report of a draft executive order directing the agency to re-examine the use of torture interrogation techniques. | | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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