| | | | Trump advisers: Take Iraq out of travel ban | | Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster advocated for Iraq to be removed from the Trump administration's list of banned countries in the new executive order (replacing the one courts struck down) he is expected to soon sign, citing diplomatic reasons. One of the main reasons is Iraq's role in fighting ISIS.
What everyone's buzzing about: Trump was initially expected to sign the new executive order today. But in the wake of positive reaction to his speech last night, the White House delayed its release -- and went silent generally, with press secretary Sean Spicer holding no briefing today. So here's the question: If it can wait a day or two, was there ever really an urgent national security need for the travel ban (as Trump has claimed) to begin with?
Meanwhile ... Trump's pick for interior secretary, Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, was confirmed. His choice for CMS administrator, Seema Verma, hit a minor snag. And on Capitol Hill, the hot topics today were health care and immigration. Read on...
📺 TUNE IN: Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are set to appear together at a CNN town hall moderated by Dana Bash at 9 p.m. ET. | | "I thought, 'Oh, gee, I don't have the experience. I don't know enough.' And now I'm thinking, 'Oh.' " -- Oprah Winfrey to David Rubenstein, on how Donald Trump's victory changed her views of the possibility of running for president. | | | Millennials beware: Your college foibles (like dressing up as Han Solo for Halloween) will be used against you if you run for office. And political reporters, get ready: These sorts of spots are going to be prevalent for, oh, the next few decades.
The conservative super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund is spending $1.1 million to air this 60-second spot attacking 30-year-old Democrat Jon Ossoff in the Georgia 6th District special election. More from McClatchy's Alex Roarty. | | About last night: Good speech. Now what? | | CNN's Stephen Collinson writes: President Donald Trump nailed the performance art during his first address to Congress on Tuesday night. But turning his solid reviews into tangible policy victories will be a lot more complicated and test more than his showmanship.
The President woke up to a rare experience today: Glowing reviews by the same media that he has nominated as an enemy of the American people. It is now clear that the success or failure of Trump's domestic presidency at least will rest on a set of hugely ambitious yet treacherous political goals that he spelled out on Tuesday.
The big question is health care. House GOP leaders said they felt the wind at their backs after Trump endorsed the major components of their Obamacare repeal-and-replace plan, CNN's Lauren Fox and Deirdre Walsh report. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady told CNN that there was a "new dynamic" after Trump spoke. "He endorsed the key architecture that we needed to keep moving this to the next step in policy making. It was the right boost we need to move the 'repeal and replace' plan that he and his team have privately supported and helped shape," Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina, told CNN.
Trouble in the Senate? Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, doesn't like a major component of the House GOP plan. "I think refundable tax credits is just another word for subsidies. That's what they're talking about. I think it would just be another entitlement program," Paul said.
The bill is being previewed behind closed doors. CNN's Phil Mattingly notes: House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee will have an opportunity to review the current state of their Obamacare repeal legislation behind closed doors, according to two GOP aides. The committee, which is handling one aspect of the ultimate repeal bill, is allowing members to meet with staff and review the draft bill language -- but they will not be allowed to leave with any copies and no electronic versions will be circulated. "This is a way for our members to see what we're working on and ask staff questions," one aide told CNN. The caution and secrecy is directly related to draft language that was leaked to news outlets -- including CNN -- last week, the aides said. That draft, which aides say was outdated -- drew condemnations from conservatives who pledged to oppose any final bill that resembled the leaked version. | | | Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy visited President Donald Trump in the Oval Office today -- and Trump's friend then took to Twitter to offer some insight into how Trump was processing the reaction to last night's joint address to Congress, saying the President said he's hearing it was the "best speech I ever gave." | | 3 things you may have missed today | | "Dreamer" detained after speaking out: President Donald Trump has said his deportations are focused on violent criminals. But Daniela Vargas, 22, was detained by ICE agents Wednesday, shortly after speaking at a news conference where she expressed her fear of deportation in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. More from The Clarion-Ledger's Sarah Fowler.
SCOTUS calls for further review of Virginia legislative map: The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to continue examining Virginia state districts for racial gerrymandering, ruling that a district court had failed to properly evaluate whether the Virginia House of Delegates' legislative map is unconstitutional. More from Politico's Kevin Robillard.
The ambassador parlor game: Trump's administration is moving gingerly in filling the hundreds of open US ambassador positions, a pace that is surprising to some of the very people who are seeking appointments. San Diego developer Doug Manchester has already told associates that he landed one of the gigs -- as the envoy to the Bahamas -- CNN has learned. More from CNN's Teddy Schleifer. | | | The White House concluded that Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, was acting "without nefarious motive" when she plugged Ivanka Trump's products in a TV interview. ... Sen. Marco Rubio was asked to leave his Tampa office over disruptions from weekly protests. ... An Iowa lawmaker's alleged alma mater is actually a company that operated a Sizzler steak house franchise. | | | 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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