What to watch during Donald Trump’s State of the Union address
President Donald Trump, a uniter? That’s the approach advisers say Trump will take in his first State of the Union address delivered under divided government. A president who’s mocked everyone from women to the U.S. intelligence community, foreign leaders and members of Congress is expected to speak Tuesday night of setting aside hard feelings and moving forward. For an idea of how that goes over, keep an eye on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seated behind him and over his shoulder, and the record number of women and minorities who dot the audience after the November 2018 elections. And listen for how enthusiastically Republicans applaud Trump’s outreach. AMPED ATMOSPHERE Everything about the event, including the date, is framed by the longest government shutdown in history. Pelosi suggested Trump postpone the scheduled Jan. 29 speech until the government reopened. Trump, who commands the armed forces, then put off Pelosi’s trip overseas on a military plane. She then formally yanked the welcome mat by refusing to hold a vote to allow Trump to address a joint session of Congress. The tug of war ended Jan. 25, when Trump lifted the shutdown without getting new money for the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. Pelosi then re-invited Trump to deliver the address on Tuesday and he agreed. Trump has vowed to get his border wall and has threatened to declare a national emergency to pay for it without Congress’ approval. ___ TRUMP’S ENTRANCE The pomp begins the moment House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving yells from the back of the chamber, “Madam Speaker, the president of the United States!” Trump will then walk down the center aisle flanked by Republican leaders, shaking hands with many of the lawmakers who grabbed seats earlier in the day in hopes of making it into photos and video with the president. Republicans will burst into raucous hoots and applause. Not likely to extend a hand to Trump: The star of the Democratic freshmen, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. “But I’ll be there and I’ll be present to see and listen to what’s going on,” she told TMZ. ___ WHO’S IN THE ROOM It’s a rare moment when members of the three separate and co-equal branches of government meet under the same roof. The night’s key visual will be Pelosi sitting behind Trump along with Vice President Mike Pence. All 535 members of Congress are invited, along with members of Trump’s Cabinet and the justices of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts. The balcony tells its own story. To the left, Trump will nod to first lady Melania Trump and the administration’s guests. Seated elsewhere in the gallery will be lawmakers’ invited guests, many chosen to send messages reinforcing each party’s agenda. This year the guests include people who have suffered because of the shutdown and those pushing for tougher immigration laws. ___ DESIGNATED SURVIVOR It’s not just a television show. By tradition, one Cabinet secretary is closeted away at a secure, undisclosed location to ensure continuity of government in case disaster strikes while government leaders attend the speech. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was last year’s “designated survivor.” But Trump’s choice this year could be limited by the number of “acting” secretaries in the Cabinet. Only Senate-confirmed secretaries (and natural-born citizens) in the line of succession to the presidency can assume control of government in a crisis. That means Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao can’t fill the role of designated survivor. Chao is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Taiwan. ___ WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE AUDIENCE Look for women on the Democratic side of the aisle wearing white, the color favored by early 20th century suffragettes and now worn by those who want Trump to easily spot his new opponents. Listen for boos, hisses or silence from the newly empowered Democratic side when Trump speaks. Note whether Trump can raise everyone’s gaze and hit feel-good themes that inspire both sides to applaud. For instance, who’s against “unity?” Both Trump and Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, who will deliver the rebuttal, have used that idea to preview their remarks. ___ DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT Nearly a dozen Democrats who dream of succeeding Trump serve in Congress. They will be sizing up the president and each other as well. Watch the body language among the would-be Democratic presidents: Who’s talking to whom, who gets or gives a hug or a kiss, whose heads are bowed in hushed conversation. Also watch their body language toward Trump. Cameras will be trolling the audience — and the presidential dreamers know it — to see if they can be caught responding with an eye roll or head shake. ___ ABRAMS AFTER WORDS Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer chose Abrams to deliver the rebuttal in a nod toward the black women who anchor the Democratic Party. Doing so elevates her among Democrats as the leaders woo Abrams to run for the Senate. Abrams also will provide a contrast with Trump, who has a history of making racially inflammatory remarks. Abrams is filling a role that for others has proven thankless and generated brutal reviews. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s lunge for a water bottle became a meme after he delivered his party’s response in 2013. Then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, was panned for being dull in 2009. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” said he twice turned down offers to deliver the rebuttal. Why? “Because it sucks,” he said. … Follow Kellman and Superville on Twitter at twitter.com/APLaurieKellman and twitter.com/DSupervilleAP Republished with permission from the Associated Press
Democratic senators sue over former AG Jeff Sessions’ acting replacement
Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker‘s appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitaker’s appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Donald Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitution’s Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitaker’s appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a “sufficiently senior pay level.” “President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nation’s top law enforcement official,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called ‘constitutional nobody’ and thwarting every senator’s constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts.” The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitaker’s appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitaker’s appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The state of Maryland also made a similar court filing last week in a legal dispute with the Trump administration over the Affordable Care Act. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. In a court filing Monday, the special counsel’s office said Whitaker’s appointment has “no effect” on a legal challenge to Mueller’s authority brought by an aide to former Trump confidant Roger Stone, Andrew Miller, who defied a grand jury subpoena last summer and was held in contempt by a judge. The filing came after the court asked the special counsel’s office and Miller’s lawyers to submit papers that address what, if any, effect Whitaker’s appointment would have on the case. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitaker’s appointment as “lawful” and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. “There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position,” Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. “To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent.” The Federal Vacancies Reform Act allows an acting official to serve in a vacant position for up to 210 days, though the official may continue serving while a president’s nomination to that position is pending before the Senate. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Future seems uncertain for Donald Trump’s acting attorney general
Matthew Whitaker‘s future at the helm of the Justice Department appears uncertain as President Donald Trump denies even knowing the man he’s just named acting attorney general. The Senate’s top Republican is predicting a permanent replacement could be named soon for Whitaker, who’s now overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation into possible ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The comments Friday from Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., came as Whitaker’s past business ties and remarks on Mueller’s probe and other topics drew scrutiny from Democrats and ethics groups. “I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving on a trip to France. That contradicted Trump’s remarks on Fox News last month, when he called Whitaker “a great guy” and said, “I mean, I know Matt Whitaker.” McConnell, separately, said, “I think this will be a very interim AG.” And Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was concerned by some of Whitaker’s past comments and called for legislation that would place limits on his ability to fire Mueller. That would include specifying that only a Senate-confirmed Justice Department official, which Whitaker is not, could dismiss the special counsel. Whitaker, a Republican Party loyalist and chief of staff to just-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was elevated Wednesday after Sessions was forced from his job by Trump. Since Wednesday, Whitaker has faced pressure from Democrats to step aside from overseeing Mueller, based on critical comments Whitaker made about the investigation before joining the Justice Department last year. Whitaker wrote an op-ed article saying Mueller would be straying outside his mandate if he investigated Trump family finances. Whitaker also gave a talk radio interview in which he maintained there was no evidence of collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. He also tweeted an ex-prosecutor’s opinion piece that described a “Mueller lynch mob” and said it was “worth a read.” There have been reports about Whitaker’s past comments questioning the power and reach of the federal judiciary, and about his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading consumers. The Wall Street Journal on Friday published an email revealing an FBI investigation into the company, World Patent Marketing Inc. The July 10, 2017, email was from an FBI victims’ specialist to someone who, the newspaper said, was an alleged victim of the company. A Justice Department spokeswoman told the Journal that Whitaker was “not aware of any fraudulent activity.” Also Friday, The Associated Press reported that Whitaker repeatedly chided Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in public statements during 2016 while he was speaking for a group that is barred by its tax-exempt status from supporting or opposing political candidates during a campaign. Whitaker has tried to stay out of the public debate. He sent a department-wide note after his appointment in which he said, “As we move forward, I am committed to leading a fair Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans.” Legal scholars are debating the constitutionality of his appointment. Some lawyers say it is illegal because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Even as Trump seems to be distancing himself from Whitaker, two Republicans close to the president said Trump had enjoyed Whitaker’s TV appearances and the two had struck a bond. Those TV appearances included one on CNN in which Whitaker suggested that the Mueller probe could be starved of resources. Trump told associates that he felt Whitaker would be “loyal” and would not have withdrawn from the Russia probe, as Sessions had done, according to the Republicans. They were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump said Friday he had not spoken with Whitaker about Mueller’s investigation, which until now has been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Later in the day, Trump tweeted that he did not personally know Whitaker, a former federal prosecutor in Iowa, but several Republican leaders in that state respected him. “I feel certain he will make an outstanding Acting Attorney General!” Rosenstein told reporters Friday that based on his experiences with Whitaker, “I think he’s a superb choice for attorney general.” Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said, “It’s a shame that no matter who I put in they go after.” “He was very, very highly thought of, and still is highly thought of, but this only comes up because anybody that works for me, they do a number on them,” Trump said. McConnell said he expects Trump to nominate a new permanent attorney general “pretty quickly.” McConnell said he expects Whitaker to be “a very interim” appointee. “The president has said repeatedly he’s not going to dismiss the Mueller investigation,” McConnell told reporters at Kentucky’s Capitol. “He’s said repeatedly it’s going to be allowed to finish. That also happens to be my view.” Trump has not said whom he will nominate to permanently replace Sessions. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is said to be a candidate, along with Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, among others. Trump told reporters he has not discussed the post with Christie, who he said was “a friend of mine” and “a good man.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
