| | | | Trump's Justice Department fights to save travel ban | | President Donald Trump's third full week in office opens with a high-stakes legal battle over his executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations -- with dueling legal filings due Monday as the Justice Department battles Democratic state attorneys general.
What's worrying the White House: Trump's Twitter account. At Mar-A-Lago and disconnected from aides this weekend, the President resumed attacks on the judge in the case -- even as those close to his administration acknowledged doing so was a bad idea. "No one was happy the President attacked the judge," one official said.
And yet, this afternoon: | | By the numbers: 53% oppose Trump's travel ban and 47% favor it, per a new CNN/ORC poll. Also notable: 55% see it as a Muslim ban.
Another thing we're watching this week: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Washington on Friday. Japan, of course, does not have a trade deal with the United States -- but would have, had Trump entered the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Now that he's scrapped it, the two countries will need to forge a new way forward.
About tonight...
Trump's Super Bowl pick: Patriots by 8.
A powerful moment at the coin toss: George H.W. and Barbara Bush receiving huge cheers -- including from Bill Belichick -- as they made their way onto the field. | | "This guy is a fraud." -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, criticizing President Donald Trump's appointment of Wall Street and wealthy figures to his Cabinet, on CNN's "State of the Union." | | | | Actress Melissa McCarthy channeled an angry White House press secretary Sean Spicer on "Saturday Night Live" -- including super-soaking one reporter. Watch the skit. | | Republicans angry at Trump's embrace of Putin | | President Donald Trump raised a lot of eyebrows with this exchange about Russian President Vladimir Putin, from his interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly:
O'Reilly: "But he's a killer."
Trump: "There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?"
The Pence-splanation: On ABC's "This Week," Vice President Mike Pence tried to explain Trump's comment, saying: "If we have opportunities to work together, I think the President is looking for an opportunity to begin that relationship anew. But -- make no mistake about it -- those decisions will await action. And they'll be very dependent on how the Russians respond in the days ahead."
A sampling of the Republican reaction: | | Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who says he's running against Sen. Elizabeth Warren next year, and former Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Jason Kander traded shots on Twitter today.
The backstory: Schilling's history of controversial tweets are probably costing him a spot in the Hall of Fame. His attack on Kander came after Kander said on Bill Maher's HBO show that Republicans would have pounced all over Hillary Clinton in a Benghazi-style reaction had she, rather than President Donald Trump, ordered the operation Trump did in Yemen. | | 3 things you might have missed this weekend | | 1. Health care delay? President Donald Trump told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly it might take until 2018 for the White House to roll out its replacement for the Affordable Care Act.
2. No money for Trump's investigation: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he doesn't want the federal government to spend any money investigating Trump's unsubstantiated claims of wide-scale voter fraud.
3. The Senate is coming apart -- mired in dysfunction that is all but certain to deepen in the weeks and months ahead, write Politico's John Bresnahan and Burgess Everett. | | | Bernie Sanders is, strangely, turning into a fashion icon of sorts. ... Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is "pulling the strings." | | | 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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