The past three weeks have been a microcosm of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Two weeks ago, Trump traveled to Singapore to meet with Kim Jong Un – making history as the first American president to sit down with a North Korean leader. Last week was an utter disaster for Trump, as he and his administration bungled the handling of a self-generated family separation crisis along the southern border.
Then came this week.
First on Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel ban – a signature pledgel from the 2016 campaign trail that will curtail who can enter the United States from seven countries. Roughly 24 hours later came an even bigger bombshell: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he was retiring, providing Trump a chance to appoint his second Supreme Court justice in only his first 18 months in office.
Senate Democrats quickly leapt into action, demanding that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postpone any confirmation hearings until after the election. But rhetoric aside, Democrats can’t do anything to stop the confirmation of Trump’s pick prior to the 2018 midterms. (The only people who can stop it are moderate Republicans like Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski.)
On this Friday night, Trump can now claim: a massive tax cut, a historic summit with North Korea and the chance to pick at least two Supreme Court justices. That’s a remarkable legacy for a president this early in his term. While the prospect of what Trump will do with the opportunities he has been handed strike fear in the hearts of Democrats, even they can’t take away the remarkable chance this week hands Trump to bend the course of the country and the culture in a more conservative direction.
Below, the 26 major Trump-related headlines of the week that was.
Monday:
Tuesday:
- Supreme Court rules on travel ban
- Federal judge orders reunification of parents and children, end to most family separations at border
- Trump-backed candidates emerge as winners in South Carolina and New York
- Judge denies Manafort’s request to dismiss case in Virginia
- 18 attorneys general sue over Trump administration family separations
Wednesday:
- Details of Trump, Putin meeting are set
- Embattled FBI agent meets with Congress behind closed doors
- Trump’s nominee to lead the VA faces Congress in hearing
- Shine accepts top White House job
- Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court
- Pompeo: North Korea remains a nuclear threat
- Trump visits Fargo to boost Kevin Cramer’s Senate campaign
Thursday:
- Trump casts doubt on Russian election meddling ahead of Putin summit
- Investigators detail Manafort money from Ukrainian corruption, Russian oligarch
- Trump IRS nominee owns property at Trump-branded hotel
- Trump meets with key senators as he starts full-court press to nominate new justice
- Trump finally has an ambassador to South Korea
Friday:
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