The week ahead: What to watch during President Trump's second week in office
It’s been an eventful 10 days in office for President Donald Trump -- and the pace isn’t expected to slow this week.
In his first week in office, Mr. Trump has begun implementing several of his key campaign promises, largely through executive actions: he’s directed federal agencies to ease the financial burden of Obamacare, authorized the construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and temporarily suspended all travel to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries.
A long-awaited Supreme Court nominee, multi-city protests over the new travel ban and Cabinet votes and hearings are just a few of the things going on in the week ahead. Mr. Trump may also roll out additional executive orders and actions.
Here are some of the highlights for what to expect this week:
Supreme Court pick
Almost a year after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death last February, Mr. Trump is expected to announce his nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy this week.
In a tweet, he announced that his pick would come on Thursday -- though some reports on Sunday suggested he may push up that timeline, even to as early as Monday or Tuesday.
As CBS News’ Jan Crawford reported last week, Mr. Trump’s list of 21 possible justices from during the campaign seems to have been narrowed down to three contenders: federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch, Alabama-based appeals court Judge William Pryor and Pennsylvania-based Judge Thomas Hardiman. Gorsuch, a highly regarded judge and former Washington, D.C., lawyer who sailed through the confirmation process for his current job, is seen as the frontrunner in the race. Major Garrett reported that Gorsuch or Hardiman is the likely pick -- Gorsuch has the edge.
The thing to watch is how Democrats respond, particularly after a year in which Republicans refused to hold a hearing on former President Obama’s Supreme Court pick -- it will be an indicator of just how contentious the confirmation battle will be in the coming weeks.
Fallout from the Trump travel ban
For the second weekend in a row, Mr. Trump found himself with thousands of protesters across the country coming out to oppose his policies -- this time because of his new ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The order, released on Friday, was panned by foreign leaders and is getting a great deal of criticism from elected officials in the U.S. -- including some from Mr. Trump’s own party.
Mr. Trump didn’t seem bothered by the negative responses to his controversial ban, saying Saturday that he thinks it’s “working out very nicely.” Still, White House aides and Trump supporters seemed to try and walk back certain parts of the ban on Sunday: for example, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said green card holders would not be banned from the country, but instead would just face heightened questioning when arriving in the U.S.
What happens with the ban this week as its implementation continues? And to what extent do courts push back on it, especially after a federal judge in New York ruled Saturday in favor of the visa-holders who were being detained at U.S. airports?
Trump’s Cabinet takes shape
Congress confirmed two more of Mr. Trump’s nominees last week -- CIA Director Mike Pompeo and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley -- and took steps forward on several others by approving them in committee votes.
This week is expected to see further votes on Cabinet appointments, and at least a few more of Mr. Trump’s picks are likely to be confirmed and sworn in.
On Monday, the Senate is expected to vote on ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s nomination as secretary of state. On Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote on Rick Perry for energy secretary and Ryan Zinke for interior secretary, both votes that were postponed from last week; the Senate HELP Committee will vote on Betsy DeVos as secretary of education; and the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Jeff Sessions as attorney general, another vote that was delayed from last week. And on Wednesday, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will vote on Mick Mulvaney’s nomination to be director of the Office of Management and Budget.
There will also be several additional hearings this week for Cabinet nominees, including Small Business Administration pick Linda McMahon and Veterans Affairs secretary nominee David Shulkin.
Visit from the King of Jordan
After British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to Washington last week, there’s another foreign leader in town this week: King Abdullah II of Jordan, fresh off a trip to Moscow, is expected to arrive in D.C. on Monday.
The Jordanian Embassy in D.C. said on Twitter that Abdullah’s visit would be to “meet w/new administration & Congress” -- but thus far, there’s no meeting on the books between him and Mr. Trump.
The politics of the situation are tough for Mr. Trump: it’s never great for an incoming president to snub a visiting foreign leader, particularly one that’s a close ally in the Middle East. At the same time, Abdullah is expected to press the White House on its possible proposal to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a move that angered Palestinians and which some have argued will dim the prospects of a peace agreement. But meeting with Abdullah -- before he officially meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early February -- also sends a message.
Late Sunday, the White House said that Vice President Pence would meet with the king.
