White House Report Card: A week to drain the ‘swamp’ and punish sanctuary states

Democratic pollster John Zogby cited the president’s steady approval ratings and his targeting of anti-Trump prosecutors who had hoped to lock up Trump ally Roger Stone for up to nine years.

Jed Babbin
Grade A

President Trump had another great week, with the reassignment of a bunch of National Security Council staffers out of the White House, lawsuits against sanctuary states, and the New Hampshire primary.

Ousting about 70 NSC staffers, including impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, was long overdue. National security adviser Robert O’Brien took an action that should have been taken three years ago by sending those staffers back to the services and agencies from which they had been detailed. The NSC, which had ballooned to over 200 people under the Obama administration, had long been suspected to be the home of anti-Trump leakers and Obama leftovers. Vindman was the perfect example. The president sets policy, not some low-ranking officer who’d otherwise be fetching a general’s coffee in the Pentagon.

Attorney General William Barr announced that the Justice Department was launching several lawsuits against states and cities that were “sanctuaries” for illegal aliens. The suits — which were against California and New Jersey, among others — contend that those jurisdictions were unconstitutionally interfering with federal immigration laws. Trump also announced that the “Global Traveler” applications of people from the state of New York were being canceled because the state, which now gives illegal immigrants driving licenses, has barred U.S. Customs officials from reviewing Department of Motor Vehicles records to determine who is a criminal.

The administration also took further action to fund the border wall, taking another several billion dollars out of the Pentagon budget to accelerate construction before the end of the year.

The 2020 Democratic primary in New Hampshire, while not as much fun as the Charlie Foxtrot as Iowa, gave Sen. Bernie Sanders the lead and left Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the dumpster. In short, Trump won the primary in the Granite State.

John Zogby
Grade C

There is an old saying that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend ‘— except with Democrats this year. Just enemies and it is hard to see friendships developing in their fights over ideology on the presidential primary stage.

All of that benefits President Trump as his approval ratings averaged 47% this week. This was fortunate for him just as he tweeted intervention in the sentencing of his former adviser Roger Stone. His criticism of the prosecutor ‘s recommendation of seven to nine years’ prison time caused an uproar among Democrats, the resignation of all four federal prosecutors, and even a rebuke and warning from his own generally loyal Attorney General William Barr.

Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on Twitter @jedbabbin

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Poll and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His weekly podcast with son and partner Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on Twitter @TheJohnZogb