Trump reportedly accuses Australian PM of seeking to export next ‘Boston bombers’

President Trump reportedly had a fiery conversation over the weekend with Australia’s prime minister over a refugee deal agreed upon under the Obama administration.
Trump reportedly blasted the agreement as “the worst deal ever” and accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of seeking to export “the next Boston bombers.”
The call went so badly, Trump told Turnbull that he had spoken to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Russia’s Vladimir  Putin and their call was his “worst so far.”
The Washington Post, citing unidentified senior U.S. officials, reported that Trump cut their first call short with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull after the conversation turn to a deal that would allow mostly Muslim refugees rejected by Australia to be resettled in the US.
Trump reportedly called the agreement “the worst deal ever” and accused the prime minister of seeking to export “the next Boston bombers.”
Turnbull also would not say whether Trump had abruptly ended the expected hour-long conversation after 25 minutes as the Australian attempted to steer the conversation to other topics. Trump was reportedly joined by chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, national security adviser Michael Flynn and White House press  secretary  Sean Spicer.
"It's better that these things -- these conversations -- are conducted candidly, frankly, privately," Turnbull told reporters.
Turnbull said the strength of the bilateral relation was evident in that Trump agreed to resettle refugees from among around 1,600 asylum seekers, most of whom are on island camps on the Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
Trump tweeted Wednesday night, “Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal.”
The Washington Post story immediately shot to the top of trending topics on Twitter in Australia. It was plastered across the top of Australia's major news sites, and the nation's news networks launched into lengthy, running commentaries on it.

Schumer Cartoons

Sen. McConnell: 'We're going to get the judge confirmed'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., vowed Tuesday night that President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick would be confirmed by the Senate.
When asked on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" whether he would use the so-called "nuclear option" to force Judge Neil Gorsuch's confirmation by a simple majority vote, McConnell said, "I’m not going to answer that. Let me just tell you, we’re going to get this judge confirmed."
"But isn't that answering?" host Bret Baier pressed.
"We’re going to get the judge confirmed," McConnell repeated.
"So you would?" Baier asked again.
"We're going to get the judge confirmed," said McConnell, who later pointed out that six Senate Democrats had already come out against filibustering against Gorsuch's appointment.
"The Democrats seem to want to fight over everything these days, but this is a fight worth having," the Majority Leader said. "We’ve got a great nominee and we intend to win"
McConnell, who successfully kept the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat open following the jurist's death last year, told Baier that he hoped to have the Senate confirm Gorsuch "before April" as part of a larger effort to help enact Trump's agenda.
"I believe we have an excellent chance this year to get through repealing and replacing ObamaCare, confirming the Supreme Court justice, and doing comprehensive tax reform," McConnell said. "All of that would make the first session of this Congress extremely productive."

Ted Cruz reportedly says nuclear option is on table in Supreme Court pick

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an interview Tuesday that “all procedural   options are on the table” when it comes to confirming a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court.
President Trump nominated federal Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, choosing a jurist widely seen by conservatives as a fitting successor to the late Scalia – and touching off what is sure to be a fierce confirmation battle with Senate Democrats already vowing resistance.
“The Democrats are not going to succeed in filibustering the Supreme Court nominee,” Cruz told Politico. “All procedural options are on the table. The bottom line is we will confirm a strong conservative to replace Justice Scalia.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will oppose any nominee outside the mainstream. He will likely decide whether to try to lead an effort to block, or filibuster, based on the nominee's performance in confirmation hearings and feedback from his Democratic caucus, including the 10 senators who are up for re-election in states that Trump won last year.
The advantages of trying a filibuster are clear - make Republicans work to find the 60 votes needed to end it, including at least eight Democrats, and as a result, delay or block the nomination. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority.
But there are also downsides. Democrats running for re-election next year in states Trump won in 2016 could face political consequences for their party's attempted obstruction. And if Republicans change the rules and eliminate the filibuster altogether, Democrats would have lost their most powerful weapon in future Supreme Court fights.
Republicans did not try to filibuster either of former President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominees. The only filibuster attempt in the past few decades was by Democrats against Justice Samuel Alito, nominated by former President George W. Bush. The effort failed and Alito was confirmed.
If Republicans are unable to secure enough Democratic votes for Trump’s pick, they can change the rules and curb the filibuster.
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., did that for lower court nominees and other nominations in 2013.
Trump has called on McConnell to kill the filibuster if Democrats resist his pick, but McConnell said the decision is not up to Trump.
"That’s not a presidential decision. That’s a Senate decision," McConnell told Politico.

Schumer seeks 60-vote bar for Trump’s court pick, as Dems brace for fight

Anyone ever see the wizard of oz :-)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleagues wasted no time Tuesday night voicing “serious doubts” about President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, signaling a tough battle ahead for Judge Neil Gorsuch as the New York senator insisted he garner 60 votes for confirmation.
“The Senate must insist upon 60 votes for any Supreme Court nominee,” Schumer said. “Make no mistake, Senate Democrats will not simply allow but require an exhaustive, robust and comprehensive debate on Judge Gorsuch's fitness to be a Supreme Court justice.”
The statement raises the specter of a filibuster, though it’s not yet clear whether Schumer or any of his fellow Democrats would take the procedural step to force Gorsuch to clear the 60-vote hurdle.
If they do, Gorsuch would need at least eight Democrats to join Republicans in supporting him, unless GOP leaders take the potentially risky step of lowering the threshold for confirmation.
Republicans have 52 senators and Democrats have 48. If confirmed to the court, Gorsuch would restore the 5-4 conservative tilt that existed before Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in early 2016. The court has been split along ideological lines for nearly a year.
But after Republicans refused to consider then-President Barack Obama’s nominee, some Democrats are already vowing to oppose Gorsuch.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement that Trump “failed” to pick a “consensus nominee.”
“Based on the long and well-established record of Judge Gorsuch, I will oppose his nomination," she said.
The call by Schumer -- the top Democrat in the Republican-controlled Senate that will vote on Gorsuch’s nomination --  to insist on a 60-vote bar extends the rising backlash to what Trump critics consider his extreme policies, namely last week’s executive order on refugee and immigration policies.
“A little more than a week into the Trump presidency, the new administration has violated our core values, challenged the separation of powers and tested the very fabric of our Constitution in unprecedented fashion,” Schumer said. “It is clear that the Supreme Court will be tried in ways that few courts have been tested since the earliest days of the Republic.”
Gorsuch, an appeals judge in the Denver-based 10th Circuit, would fill the seat left open by Scalia’s death.
“The qualifications of Judge Gorsuch are beyond dispute,” Trump said in announcing his nominee.
The high-stakes Washington fight over a Trump pick began well before the Republican president announced Gorsuch.
The conservative group Judicial Crisis Network said Tuesday night that it has already started a $10 million, multi-media ad campaign in support of Gorsuch.
Meanwhile, several progressive groups, including People for the American Way, in the days and weeks ahead of Trump’s announcement touted campaigns to oppose any of his nominations.
“The burden is on Judge Neil Gorsuch to prove himself to be within the legal mainstream,” Schumer also said. “Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch's ability to meet this standard.”
Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who has already been critical of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, said the Gorsuch nomination “represents a breathtaking retreat from the notion that Americans have a fundamental right to constitutional liberties and harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a people’s rights on a whim.”
He argued in part that Gorsuch’s opposition to so-called “right to die” or “death with dignity” laws suggests that his Supreme Court decisions will further erode Americans’ individual rights.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, though, joined numerous other GOP senators in hailing the president’s choice -- as he called on Democrats to treat him fairly.
“He has an impressive background and a long record of faithfully applying the law and the Constitution,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “I hope members of the Senate will … show him fair consideration … with an up-or-down vote on his nomination, just like the Senate treated the four first-term nominees of Presidents Clinton and Obama.”

Conservatives hail Trump's Supreme Court pick

Republican lawmakers and conservative groups hailed President Trump's nomination of federal appeals judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court Tuesday night, even as Democrats questioned whether the nominee has sufficient "respect for constitutional values of liberty, equality and justice for all."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who kept the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat open through the presidential election, said Trump had made "an outstanding decision."
"Like Justice Scalia, [Gorsuch] understands the constitutional limits on the authority of a federal judge and that the duty of a judge is to apply the law even-handedly, without fear or favor, and not to rule based on one’s empathy with a party in a case," McConnell said in a statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Trump had "fulfilled his [campaign] pledge to nominate a judge who has a demonstrated loyalty to the Constitution and a strong commitment to life." Ryan added that Gorsuch was a "phemonenal" choice by the president.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump for the Republican nomination last year, echoed the speaker, saying that Trump had satisifed his promise, "and the rule of law will be all the better for it."
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a frequent critic of Trump, tweeted his approval of the nomination, calling Gorsuch "a tremendous pick."
By contrast, and in an apparent preview of the bitter confirmation fight ahead, the Democratic National Committee said Gorsuch's nomination "raises some very serious questions about whether he would be a Supreme Court Justice who believes the Constitution protects all of us, not just the wealthy, and whether he can approach each case with an open mind to make fair decisions based on the merits."
The DNC statement questioned whether the nominee has the "utmost respect" for constitutional values.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was "skeptical that [Gorsuch] can be a strong, independent Justice on the Court." Schumer added that Gorsuch had previously "sided with corporations over working people [and] demonstrated a hostility toward women’s rights."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., went even further, saying Gorsuch's nomination was "a breathtaking retreat from the notion that Americans have a fundamental right to Constitutional liberties, and harkens back to the days when politicians restricted a people’s rights on a whim.
"No Senator who believes that individual rights are reserved to the people, and not the government, can support this nomination," Wyden added.
The nomination of Gorsuch was also praised by several conservative groups. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, described the judge as "distinguished jurist with a strong record of protecting life and religious liberty, as evidenced by his opinions in the Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor cases."
Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin added that Gorsuch "has a distinguished record that demonstrates he will be fair to all Americans, no matter their background or beliefs."

Crying Celeb Cartoons

Conway slams Democrats' vow to filibuster Trump Supreme Court pick

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said Monday that Democratic senators who have vowed to filibuster President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee are in the business of "permanent protest."
"They don’t even know the person’s name yet," Conway told Fox News' Martha MacCallum on "The First 100 Days." "They haven’t even met him or her and they’ve already committed themselves to obstructing, blocking and filibustering that person."
Trump is expected to announce his choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia Tuesday evening. The seat has been vacant since Scalia's death this past February. Former President Barack Obama nominated federal judge Merrick Garland for the Court, but Senate Republicans prevented his nomination from being heard.
Conway declined to say whether she supported Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., using the so-called "nuclear option" to change filibuster rules and force Trump's nominee through the Senate with a simple 51-vote majority.
"We should take a look at all of our options and I think [former Democratic Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid probably regrets the day that he went so nuclear with the nuclear option because now his party is no longer in power," Conway said. "That’s up to Leader McConnell and his colleagues. I’m supportive of a fair and full process."
Conway also fired back at Obama's criticism of Trump's controversial executive order suspending refugee processing and immigration from certain countries.
"He’s welcome to say what he wants. It’s a free country, including for ex-Presidents," Conway said. "[But] this is temporary, it is 90 days and it is very narrowly restricted to seven countries that none other than President Obama’s administration identified as high risk for harboring, training, and exporting terrorists.