First Draft on Politics: Support for the Travel Ban

A 15-month legal battle over President Trump’s efforts to impose a ban on travel to the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries reached a final stage. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, April 26, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [The Supreme Court will decide whether President Trump’s campaign promises to impose a “Muslim ban” were reflected in his executive orders.] The Supreme Court will decide whether President Trump’s campaign promises to impose a “Muslim ban” were reflected in his executive orders. Lawrence Jackson for The New York Times Good Thursday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - A 15-month legal battle over President Trump’s [efforts to impose a travel ban]( reached a final stage at the Supreme Court, with its five-member conservative majority signaling it was ready to approve a revised version of the president’s plan. - The White House pressed for a confirmation hearing for Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, the nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, even as new accusations emerged that he had [mishandled an opioid and wrecked a car]( while intoxicated. - One day after President Emmanuel Macron of France and Mr. Trump showered each other with praise, [the French president spoke more critically]( of his host’s foreign policy, trade and environmental decisions in a speech to Congress. - As Scott Pruitt, the embattled head of the Environmental Protection Agency, [prepares to testify before Congress]( on Thursday, an internal E.P.A. document indicates that he may blame his staff for many of the decisions that have put a cloud over his tenure. - N.F.L. owners, players and league executives convened urgently at the league’s Park Avenue headquarters in October, weeks after Mr. Trump began deriding the league and its players over protests during the national anthem. [The Times obtained a recording.]( — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT [Climate Fwd:]( What on Earth is going on? Sign up to get our latest stories and insights about climate change — along with answers to your questions and tips on how to help. [• Sign up for the Climate Fwd: newsletter »]( [The Behavior That Put Scott Pruitt at the Center of Federal Inquiries]( By TROY GRIGGS AND KAREN YOURISH Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, faces nearly a dozen federal inquiries into his travel expenses, security practices and other issues. [Read more »](  [Pasquale Perrotta, second from left, who leads the security detail for Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. chief, worked on assignments for the tabloid company American Media Inc.]( [Pruitt’s Security Chief Moonlighted for Tabloid Publisher That Backed Trump]( By KENNETH P. VOGEL, ERIC LIPTON AND JIM RUTENBERG Pasquale Perrotta is being scrutinized by the E.P.A. and Congress for his outside work, which included assignments for American Media Inc., the publisher of The National Enquirer. [The comedian Michelle Wolf is having a moment: She’ll be the featured entertainer this Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and the star of a new Netflix series in May.]( [Michelle Wolf’s Next Gig Is Hard Work: Making Washington Laugh]( By DAVE ITZKOFF Ms. Wolf, a comedian from the world of late-night TV, is honing her set for the White House Correspondents’ dinner and preparing a new Netflix series. [Don Blankenship, a former West Virginia coal mining executive and current Republican Senate candidate, has refused to disclose his personal finances as required by law.]( [Don Blankenship, West Virginia Candidate, Lives Near Las Vegas and Mulled Chinese Citizenship]( By TRIP GABRIEL AND STEPHANIE SAUL The former coal mining executive, a strong supporter of President Trump who is running as an “American competitionist,” has refused to disclose his personal finances as required by law. [Debbie Lesko, right, won a special congressional election in Arizona on Tuesday night to keep the seat in Republican control. She was joined by Jan Brewer, a former governor of the state.]( [Debbie Lesko Wins Arizona Special Election for Congress, Rallying G.O.P.]( By JONATHAN MARTIN The former state senator benefited from more than $1 million in outside spending by Republican groups, which were determined to avoid repeats of losses in Alabama and Pennsylvania. [Michael Anton, a classically trained chef who favors French cuisine, in the White House kitchen on Tuesday before the State Dinner.]( [A National Security Aide’s Departing Wish: Cooking for the State Dinner]( By MARK LANDLER For his exit from the Trump administration, Michael Anton, a self-described “right-wing Francophile,” asked to work as a line cook helping to prepare dinner for the French president. [Air marshals are able to protect only a small fraction of the more than 42,000 flights in the United States each day.]( [Scandals and Investigations, but Few Arrests, for Air Marshals Program]( By RON NIXON The program is supposed to be a last line of defense against a Sept. 11-style attack. But the Transportation Security Administration has had to monitor whether the armed guards show up for their flights sober. [The former F.B.I. Director James Comey.]( The Shindigger [James Comey’s Book Party Was Larded With Journalists]( By SHAWN MCCREESH Excluded from the Trumps’ first state dinner, where else were they to go? [Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, last week in Washington. He told banking executives and lobbyists on Tuesday that trying to sway legislators with campaign contributions was one of the “fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy.”]( [Mick Mulvaney, Watchdog Bureau’s Leader, Advises Bankers on Ways to Curtail It]( By GLENN THRUSH Mr. Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, also revealed that as a congressman, he would meet with lobbyists only if they had contributed to his campaign. [President-elect Donald J. Trump and Kanye West in December 2016 in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan.]( [Trump and Kanye West Share Praise-Filled Tweets. And, Apparently, ‘Dragon Energy.’]( By KATIE ROGERS AND JOE COSCARELLI The president and the rapper share a history of unpredictable behavior — and a delight in dividing the public. [Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer and confidant, said a federal investigation in New York will keep him from testifying in a separate lawsuit brought against the president.]( [Michael Cohen to Take Fifth Amendment in Stormy Daniels Lawsuit]( By ALAN FEUER AND BENJAMIN WEISER The move allows the president’s personal lawyer to avoid being deposed and revealing sensitive information in the criminal investigation that is underway. [Rolls of steel at a plant in Hamilton, Ontario. The United States hopes to reach a deal on a revamped Nafta in two to six weeks.]( [The Biggest Nafta Hurdle Now May Be Congress]( By ANA SWANSON AND ALAN RAPPEPORT Republicans may balk at some of the provisions, while Democrats, who have long criticized the existing deal, may argue that the president’s changes do not go far enough. [Attorney General Jeff Sessions evaded lawmakers’ questions about whether his recusal from campaign-related investigations extended to the inquiry into President Trump’s personal lawyer during testimony before a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.]( [Sessions Won’t Say Whether He Recused Himself in Michael Cohen Inquiry]( By KATIE BENNER The attorney general evaded lawmakers’ questions about whether his recusal in all campaign-related matters extended to the investigation into Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer. [Geoffrey S. Berman has been the interim United States attorney for the Southern District of New York since January.]( [With No Nomination From Trump, Judges Choose U.S. Attorney for Manhattan]( By BENJAMIN WEISER Geoffrey S. Berman was appointed interim United States attorney in January, and that 120-day term was due to expire next week. [Presidents have historically had wide latitude to limit immigration, enforce the country’s borders and manage national security.]( News Analysis [Courts Give Trump a Possible Path Through a Legal Minefield on Immigration]( By MICHAEL D. SHEAR Developments on the president’s travel ban and efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program signal that he could find a new way to counter the legal resistance to his crackdown. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. 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