In the early days of the Trump presidency, the president and his administration seem to be traveling down two separate, parallel paths. On the one hand, President Trump has been pursuing concrete policy ends, primarily through executive orders: withdrawing from TPP, reinstating the Mexico City policy, and directing the expeditious permit approval for constructing two major pipeline projects.
It continues this week. Trump is expected to issue executive orders on Thursday to “restrict immigration” and access to the United States for certain people from terrorism hotspots. And the New York Times reports Trump on Wednesday will sign an executive order to “direct federal funds to be shifted toward the building of a wall on the southern border.” All this suggests the Trump White House is focused on following through on many, if not all, of the “day one” promises sometime in the first week.
On the other hand there’s…Trump himself, and the way his own concerns and obsessions—over crowd sizes and the unfounded claim that there were millions of illegally cast votes—have a way of drowning out the substantive stuff. The latest example, Trump’s Tuesday night tweet that he will “send in the Feds” unless the city of Chicago deals with its recent wave of violence, is a classic of the genre. On a day when the Trump administration could be hailing the beginning of the border wall, the White House will instead be explaining what, exactly, Trump meant by “sending in the feds.”
The question for the staff, the administration, Congress, and the country: Is this two-pronged approach to governance sustainable? I discussed this with Michael Graham on the latest WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, which you can listen to here.
Who Has the Upper Hand?
At Business Insider, Oliver Darcy reports that Seb Gorka, a writer at Breitbart and Fox News contributor, will be joining the Trump White House, perhaps the National Security Council. But a source close to the administration tells me it’s likelier Gorka will have a spot working under senior counselor Steve Bannon (the former chairman of Breitbart) and assistant to the president Chris Liddell. Gorka did not reply to an email, and the White House declined to comment. Fox, Darcy writes, has already terminated Gorka’s contract after he informed the network of his new job.
But no matter where Gorka lands, his hiring is a sign that Bannon is securing his foothold within the Trump White House. A second Breitbart writer, Julia Hahn, is also set to join the White House as a Bannon aide. Stephen Miller, a Trump senior advisor, is another ally of Bannon’s; the two Steves wrote Trump’s inaugural address and are ideologically aligned. Their brand of populist nationalism, laid bare in that address, could continue to drive policy in the Trump administration.
But Bannon’s influence will be counterbalanced by chief of staff Reince Priebus, whose own sphere of influence remains primarily on the communications side of the West Wing. Priebus is the former Republican National Committee chairman, and the communications team is full of RNC alumni. In addition to press secretary Sean Spicer, other comms staff (including Lindsay Walters, Stephanie Grisham, Michael Short, and Raj Shah) came over to the White House with Priebus. Communications staff has a hand in crafting policy, too, but the instincts of a more cautious and politic RNC-groomed crowd clashes with the ethos of Bannon, Miller, and company.
Once the initial executive orders are signed and all the cabinet nominees are approved, the Trump White House will have the tasks of governing through the executive branch, passing a legislative agenda through Congress, and setting foreign and domestic policy for the country. So far, it’s not clear who in the West Wing has the president’s ear and favor.
Song of the Day
“On the Border,” by the Eagles.
McMahon’s Fans
Our reporter Alice Lloyd reports from the mostly ignored hearing for Linda McMahon, nominee to run the Small Business Administration. Here’s an excerpt:
Read the whole thing.
Mike Lee for SCOTUS?
Boyd Matheson, writing in the Deseret News, makes several cases for why his former boss, Utah senator Mike Lee, should be Donald Trump’s next appointment to the Supreme Court. Here’s Matheson’s political case:
The whole argument is interesting, but the most intriguing aspect is that Matheson even wrote the article at all. As the senator’s former chief of staff, he remains close to Lee. It’s the sort of thing Matheson wouldn’t have published if he thought Lee didn’t want his name being considered.
