I've got big shoes to fill. This is my chance to do something. I have to seize the moment.
- Andrew Jackson
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: President Trump plans to sign an executive order today that will get the process started in fulfilling his first campaign promise - building the wall along our southern border. Although his original promise was for Mexico to pay for the wall, the initial funding will come from the federal government. The president also plans to sign an executive order temporarily banning most refugees and suspending visas for people from Syria and six other Middle East countries.
BANKING ON A BIPARTISAN BLOC?: An infrastructure plan, as one of the main focuses of President Trump’s platform, made an early debut in the Senate as Democrats unveiled a trillion-dollar plan to rebuild that nation’s roads, railways, airports waterways and sewer systems over 10 years. While the legislation will likely never see the light of day, it shows Democrats are trying to grasp onto one of the few policy areas that overlaps with the president’s plans. Given budget constraints and the potential loss of Republican deficit hawks, Trump may indeed be leaning on this bloc to get a bill over the finishing line in the months ahead.
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: On weekday number two of the Trump Administration, the president continued his role as Negotiator-in-Chief. Trump sat down with the top automobile executives to discuss keeping jobs in the U.S. coming on the heels of Trump’s criticism of certain automakers throughout his transition. Automakers in turn have been taking the criticism to heart by announcing investments in the U.S. instead of Mexico now that he has made the auto industry one of his top frenemies.
SCOTUS SHORTLIST: After Trump mentioned during an executive order signing that he expects to nominate a SCOTUS justice sometime next week, he convened the bipartisan Senate leadership to discuss the vacancy. It looks like Trump has whittled his list down to the Honorables Neil Gorsuch, Thomas Harriman and Bill Pryor. Even though Trump is including Senators Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein in the mix, don’t expect the NY Democrat to back down from his promise to fight “tooth and nail” if the pick isn’t mainstream.
XL ACCELERATING: Trump signed two executive orders to try and build on and improve domestic energy infrastructure. By approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines, Trump immediately shakes up some of Obama’s major environmental executive orders: Keystone should easily move forward as it on requires a presidential permit for the pipeline to cross the border. And, now that Secretary of Defense James Mattis has been confirmed the Dakota Access pipeline won’t see many barriers from within the government and should advance quickly. You can read a full analysis from our Senior Energy Analyst Joe McMonigle here.
ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS: While it is common for the White House to appoint staffers to shadow Cabinet Secretaries, the Trump Administration is taking this to a new level. Trump will use senior aides in these positions to create a direct line with the White House who can monitor and shape the president’s goals across the executive branch. The appointments couldn’t come at a better time given that a few of Trump’s nominees voiced their disagreement with him on policy positions ranging from the role of NATO and Russia to torture and climate change.
PRESIDENT TRUMP INSTALLS NEW FCC LEADERSHIP: Our Senior Telecom & Media Policy Analyst Paul Glenchur write that the president elevates Comm. Ajit Pai to the Chairmanship, enabling a rapid swift away from net neutrality and media ownership burdens. You can read the full piece here.
