Following the recent protests across Iran and the impending deadlines related to the nuclear deal, President Trump faces a few big choices this week—and on some of them, his staff in the White House still isn’t quite sure what he’s going to do.
Trump is expected to decide once again not to recertify that the Iran deal is in the national security interests of the United States, as he did for the first time in October. That certification decision is required by the federal law governing the U.S. involvement in the deal.
But a set of separate deadlines, starting Wednesday and extending through Saturday, compel the president to determine whether to extend or rescind waivers on sanctions against Iran. The waivers were granted and have been renewed regularly as part of the agreement among the United States, the European Union, and Iran. One administration source says it’s likely—but not guaranteed—that Trump will extend those waivers in a last-straw effort to toughen up enforcement of the deal.
Part of that effort requires buy-in on stricter enforcement from the European allies, whose companies have been doing business in Iran for the last few years thanks to the lifting of sanctions. It’s not immediately obvious if any of the staff-level engagement with the Europeans has produced assurances, though the White House has always expressed optimism on that front. The White House believes that a key to getting buy-in from Europe is a modification to the relevant 2015 law, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. Here’s how the Wall Street Journal describes the proposal:
But passing an amended INARA along these lines requires the support of three key members of the Senate: Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of Foreign Relations committee; Ben Cardin, the Democratic ranking member; and Tom Cotton, the leader of the hawks and close confidant of President Trump’s on Iran. As the three power centers negotiate with the White House, Cotton remains wary, though the Arkansas Republican has apparently not yet walked away from approving some kind of modified law.
Mueller Watch—From my colleague Andrew Egger:
President Trump traveled to Nashville Monday to address the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation, touting his administration’s record on economic deregulation and tax reform and offering dire warnings of the policy reversals that Democrats would push for if they take back Congress in November.
“Under our huge tax cuts Americans will be paying less in taxes and keeping more of their own money to do what they want,” Trump said. “I’m truly proud to report that over the first 11 months, my administration has canceled or delayed over 1,500 planned regulatory actions, more than any president in history.”
Trump said that America’s farmers were the biggest beneficiaries of his administration’s economic changes, telling the crowd that “you’re seeing it like nobody else.” But he also warned that his administration’s gains, like the tax reform bill passed late last year, were not irreversible.
“It wasn’t easy, and we cannot let anything happen to that,” Trump said. “And if the Democrats ever had the chance, the first thing they would do is get rid of it and raise up your taxes, sometimes by 40, 50, 60 percent higher than you have right now, and we can’t have that.”
Trump’s audience of farmers was sympathetic, applauding often and even rising for a standing ovation when he twice asked them to. The president appeared to relish the praise.
“Oh, are you happy you voted for me. You are so lucky that I gave you that privilege,” he said. “The other choice wasn’t going to work out too well for the farmers, or the miners, or anybody else.”
Photo of the Day
Donald Trump arrives at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 8, 2018. (JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
2018 Watch—Another day, another Republican House retirement. On Monday Ed Royce, the longtime California Republican and outgoing chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee, announced he would also not seek reelection in November. Royce is the seventh GOP committee chair in the House to say he plans on retiring in 2018, joining nearly 30 Republican congressman overall. That’s not exactly a show of confidence that the party will hold onto its majority following this fall’s midterm elections.
Fred Barnes, on the other hand, thinks Democrats are in danger of counting their eggs before they hatch. “Not everything will be working on behalf of a Democratic victory next fall,” he writes in the current issue of the magazine. Here’s more Barnes:
Here’s one thing to like about The Last Jedi: the score. At the New Yorker, Alex Ross offers an interesting (at least to me) “field guide” to the Star Wars movie scores and how John Williams changed the film score game by adopting leitmotifs as a storytelling tool in big blockbusters.
Oprah Watch—Should Oprah Winfrey run for president? Politico asks the pundits, including our editor at large, Bill Kristol.
Mark It Down—“We welcome the challenge, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else.” —Hogan Gidley, deputy White House press secretary, January 8, 2018
Song of the Day— “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama
