Republicans Break with Trump as Backlash over Muslim Ban Grows
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Source: VanityFair
Republicans Break with Trump as Backlash over “Muslim Ban” Grows
President Trump has found himself increasingly isolated as the White House, led by Steve Bannon, keeps the federal government and Congress in the dark. Meanwhile, world leaders, protesters, and federal judges have criticized the order.
by Kia Makarechi
January 30, 2017 8:15 am
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Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Republican support for Donald Trump began to waver on Sunday after the new president issued an executive order closing the nation’s borders to refugees and banning immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries. At least 20 G.O.P. lawmakers came out in opposition or declined to endorse what has been referred to as Trump’s “Muslim ban,” amid a deepening crisis at airports around the country, where chaos and confusion over the legal status of hundreds of travelers sparked the administration’s first constitutional conflict.
Democrats, many of whom joined protests over the weekend and tried to pressure U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to allow legal advocates access to detained refugees, were ready to pounce. Choking back tears at a Sunday morning press conference, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said his party was drafting legislation to peel back the ban, and Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said Democrats must “force a debate” this week. On Sunday night, Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, demanding an investigation into the actions of the department and of Customs and Border Patrol. “The United States Constitution means little if law enforcement agents disregard it, or if Americans are unwilling to defend its principles and respect foundational constitutional rights, from due process to equal protection under the law,” Durbin and Duckworth wrote. Other top Democrats wrote a letter to D.H.S. Secretary John Kelly on Sunday night demanding an “emergency” meeting to discuss Trump’s hastily written order, which they blamed for creating “panic and disorder.”
The highest-profile Republican dissenters, Senators John McCain and Linsdey Graham, came under fire from the president’s Twitter account on Saturday. “It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.” Trump returned fire Saturday by derisively referring to the senators as “former presidential candidates” and calling them “sadly weak on immigration.”
Given that Republicans currently hold a slim 52 to 48 majority in the Senate, Trump directing vitriol at McCain and Graham is a risky move—one that could draw sympathetic Republicans to support a counter-measure put forth by Democrats............................
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