On Thursday morning, Jeff Sessions was sworn in by President Donald Trump as the country's next Attorney General. Throughout the day, as a judicial panel discusses his travel ban, the president will have one-on-one phone conversations with leaders from Afghanistan, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.
What's happening today:
Appeals court rules to uphold suspension on immigration order
-- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday to uphold a suspension placed on President Trump's immigration order.
The three-judge panel voted unanimously to deny the Trump's emergency request to reinstate the ban, after a federal judge in Washington placed a nationwide freeze on the order last Friday. The freeze cleared the way for travel between seven countries placed on the order, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The appellate court's ruling paves the way for a possible U.S. Supreme Court showdown to decide on the executive action. The order, signed by President Trump on Jan. 27, has faced backlash as some traveling from the listed countries were detained or rejected entry into the U.S. despite visas or green card status.
Pres. Trump responded shortly after the ruling came down on Twitter, "See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake!"
SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Trump adviser Conway "counseled" for Ivanka Trump product endorsement
-- Presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway "has been counseled" after she publicly asked people to buy Ivanka Trump's products, according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
In an interview on Fox News this morning, Conway said: "Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would tell you. It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully -- I'm going to just, I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online."
Nordstrom recently removed Ivanka Trump's products from store shelves.
ABCNews.com reported: "Former White House ethics officials and other legal experts said her endorsement appears to be a clear-cut violation of an ethics regulation barring executive branch employees from endorsing products and using their public office for the private gain of friends."
Trump takes two senators to task on Twitter
-- The president went on Twitter early Thursday morning and targeted Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Republican Sen. John McCain.
Trump accused Blumenthal of misrepresenting Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's criticism of the president, even though Gorsuch's own White House-appointed spokesman confirmed the criticism on Wednesday.
Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
About 90 minutes later, Trump went after McCain for suggesting that last week's U.S. raid in Yemen was not a success.
McCain said Wednesday that any operation where a $75 million airplane is lost, a Navy SEAL is killed, and there are multiple casualties, including women and children, "cannot be labeled a success."
Sen. McCain should not be talking about the success or failure of a mission to the media. Only emboldens the enemy! He's been losing so....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
...long he doesn't know how to win anymore, just look at the mess our country is in - bogged down in conflict all over the place. Our hero..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
..Ryan died on a winning mission ( according to General Mattis), not a "failure." Time for the U.S. to get smart and start winning again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017
Trump meets with U.S. airline execs, promises to fix "obsolete" system, airports
-- The president met with high-ranking executives from several U.S. airlines, including Delta, Southwest and United, at the White House this morning. According to Bloomberg, Trump promised infrastructure upgrades, lower regulation and tax relief.
"We have an obsolete plane system, we have obsolete trains, we have obsolete airports, we have bad roads," he said. "And we're going to change all that."
European Union ambassador nominee: U.S. suspicious of "anti-American" EU
-- Ted Malloch, President Trump's nominee for EU ambassador, said the European Union's "blatant anti-Americanism" is "problematic."
"It has taken positions contrary to American foreign policy in the last eight years in any number of issues, whether it's on Israel, on the Middle East, on Iran, on some human rights issues," Malloch said. "There is a long and growing list of issues where U.S. foreign policy differs from that of the EU."
Spicer references Atlanta terror attack that never happened
-- CNN is looking into why White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer alluded to a terror attack in Atlanta by someone from overseas three times in one week.
The last high-profile terror attack in Atlanta was the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, 21 years ago. The bombing was carried out by Eric Robert Rudolph, a radical right-wing terrorist from Florida -- not a foreign-inspired terrorist.
Trump set to welcome Japan's prime minister to White House this week
-- Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the White House and President Trump's Florida golf course later this week. However, Trump has a history of criticizing Japan -- and the criticism has not stopped since he took office.
