The United States remains deeply polarized as Donald Trump's third week in office as President has come to an end. According to recent Gallup and Quinnipiac polls, Trump's national job-approval rating is hovering at the low 40% mark. 84% of Republicans remain firmly in support of halting immigration from Trump's list of "terror-prone" nations, whereas 84% of Democrats remain firmly opposed to it (independents are more evenly split on the issue, with 40% in support of the ban and 53% opposed). On February 7th, Trump stated that he would continue to fight for the ban's implementation, and would willingly take the decision to the Supreme Court. On the 9th, a three-judge panel of the Unites States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied the reinstating of the travel. The next day, Trump announced that he is in the process of considering a new version of the original executive order, which would be narrower in scope (stopping the admission of refugees and the admission of new visas).
Partisanship made national headlines this week, with particular attention given to Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel's silencing of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren. Senator Warren, of Massachusetts, attempted to read aloud a 1986 letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow. The letter criticized Senator Jeff Sessions-then a federal court judge nominee-on his history of suppressing black voters. Senate Republicans accused Warren of violating Senate rule No. 19, which states that senators may not, "directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator." The rule has not been followed closely in the past, and the silencing of Warren received widespread attention (arguably exposing the issue to more eyes than it would have been had she been allowed to speak). Senate Republicans pushed through staunch Democratic opposition and confirmed Sessions' confirmation as Attorney General on February 8th. The partisan conflict over Trump's pick for Secretary of Education likewise was the subject of intense national scrutiny. Senators, both Republican and Democrat, had their offices flooded with incoming messages, letters, and phone calls from their constituents protesting DeVos' confirmation. Two Republican senators defected from their party and voted nay. As a result, for the first time in United States history, the Vice President was forced to serve as a tiebreaker in a Senate confirmation vote for a Cabinet position. Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican, broke the tie in favor of DeVos' confirmation.
Turning to international affairs: Trump affirmed that he would continue to abide by the One China Policy, which acknowledges China's sovereignty over Taiwan. Social media around the globe seized upon the awkwardness of Trump's meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Yemen withdrew its permission for the United States to perform special operations within its borders after the Trump administration's first raid led to multiple civilian casualties and the death of Chief Petty Officer William Owens, one of the members of the famous Seal Team 6. On all of the above issues, the White House has insisted on good press. Deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka stated that the White House will refer to media that "attack[s]" the President as "fake news", stating: "That's how unhealthy the situation is and until the media understands how wrong that attitude is, and how it hurts their credibility, we are going to continue to say, 'fake news'."
