First Draft on Politics: Foreign Policy, Obama-Style

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. Friday, February 3, 2017 [The New York Times] [NYTimes.com/Politics »] [The New York Times] Friday, February 3, 2017 [President Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday.] President Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Good Friday morning. • President Trump embraces pillars of his predecessor’s foreign policy. Mr. Trump, despite promising a radical break with the foreign policy of Barack Obama, [is embracing key pillars] of the former administration’s strategy. They include warning Israel to curb construction of settlements, demanding that Russia withdraw from Crimea, and threatening Iran with sanctions for ballistic missile tests. • A presidential promise: Political talk from the pulpit. Mr. Trump[vowed to overturn] a [law restricting political speech] by tax-exempt churches. The news is a potentially huge victory for the religious right and a gesture to evangelicals, a voting bloc he attracted to his campaign by promising to free up their pulpits. • The sprint to repeal Obamacare slows to a crawl. Congress’s rush to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, once seemingly unstoppable, [is flagging badly] as Republicans struggle to come up with a replacement. One senator has declared that the effort is more a repair job than a demolition. • Melania Trump’s absence raises questions. Mrs. Trump [vanished from public view] the morning after her husband’s swearing-in two weeks ago. Her absence has raised new questions about what role, if any, she plans to play as first lady. — NICHOLAS FANDOS  [President Trump told corporate leaders on Monday that they could face punishing tariffs and other penalties if they don’t bring back manufacturing jobs.] [The Morning Briefing. In Your Inbox.] Sign up for the Morning Briefing. Get what you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday.  Got 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  What We’re Watching • The first jobs report of the new presidency is due early Friday. It will give a sense of the state of the economy as Mr. Trump begins his term. • Mr. Trump is scheduled to sign additional executive orders. Despite a slew of rumors, the content of the orders remains unclear. • Mr. Trump will leave on Friday for Mar-a Lago, his Florida estate, where he will spend his first weekend away from Washington as president. Will he take a day off?  [Explaining the Johnson Amendment] By JEREMY W. PETERS [President Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday.] President Trump spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times When President Trump told an audience of religious leaders on Thursday that he would “destroy” the Johnson Amendment, he declared his intention to sign a bill that would fundamentally alter a major aspect of the church-state divide that has been a constant in American politics for generations. The amendment is one of the brightest lines in the legal separation between religion and politics. Under the provision, which was made in 1954, tax-exempt entities like churches and charitable organizations are unable to directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate. Specifically, ministers are restricted from endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit. If they do, they risk losing their tax-exempt status. [Considered uncontroversial at the time], it was passed by a Republican Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican. Today, however, many Republicans want to repeal it. [Learn more »]  [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a memorial ceremony for Ron Nahman, the founder of Ariel, one of the largest Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.] Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images [Trump Embraces Some of the Pillars of Obama’s Foreign Policy] By MARK LANDLER, PETER BAKER AND DAVID E. SANGER In a turnabout, the new president appeared to uphold existing United States policy on issues like Israel’s settlement construction and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. [President Trump is said to have scolded Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia, above, in a phone call over the weekend. They were discussing a deal under which the United States was supposed to take in 1,250 refugees held by Australia.] Mick Tsikas/European Pressphoto Agency [Trump’s Harsh Talk With Australian Leader Strains Another Alliance] By JANE PERLEZ A contentious phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull set off a political storm in Australia at a time many residents say they want closer ties to China. [President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the Oval Office on Wednesday for the swearing in of Rex W. Tillerson as secretary of state.] Al Drago/The New York Times [McCain Steps In to Ease Tension With Australia Over Trump Insult] By PETER BAKER, EMMARIE HUETTEMAN AND GLENN THRUSH The senator said he had called the Australian ambassador to the United States to assure him of an “unwavering support” for the countries’ alliance. [President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has called President Trump a political novice.] Iranian Presidential Office, via Reuters [Iranian Leaders, Puzzled by Trump, Tread Carefully for Now] By THOMAS ERDBRINK Tehran is moving cautiously, keen to avoid provoking a conflict. But one analyst says, “For this Trump, we need to talk and act tough.” [The combative tone from the White House has given European leaders a mounting sense of anxiety and puzzlement over how to proceed.] [For Europe, There’s a New Threat in Town: The U.S.] By STEVEN ERLANGER The European Union, which has faced a litany of crises lately, is now waking up to the fact that Mr. Trump may be the most dangerous yet. [Travis Kalanick, the chief executive of Uber, in December 2014. He quit President Trump’s economic advisory council on Thursday.] [Uber C.E.O. to Leave Trump Advisory Council After Criticism] By MIKE ISAAC Travis Kalanick plans to step down from the president’s council, after internal pressure from employees and a social media backlash. [Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Senate health committee, talking with witnesses before a hearing to consider changes to the Affordable Care Act in Washington on Wednesday.] [G.O.P. Campaign to Repeal Obamacare Stalls on the Details] By ROBERT PEAR AND REED ABELSON Republicans are unable to advance health legislation of their own, and the uncertainty is rattling consumers and insurers. [President Trump flew to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday to be present as the body of an American commando killed in Yemen was returned home.] [White House Defends Commando Raid on Qaeda Branch in Yemen] By ERIC SCHMITT The president’s press secretary said the mission that left an American commando and most likely several civilians dead was “well-thought-out and executed.” [Cleaning up at the University of California, Berkeley, on Thursday, a day after a protest over a canceled event by the right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos ended in violence.] [A Free Speech Battle at the Birthplace of a Movement at Berkeley] By THOMAS FULLER The cancellation of an appearance by the right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos had some questioning the campus’s dedication to its activist reputation. Common Sense [In less than two weeks, Donald J. Trump has created upheaval at the nation’s borders, alienated longtime allies, roiled markets with talk of a trade war and prompted some of the largest protests any president has faced.] [Case Study in Chaos: Management Experts Grade a Trump White House] By JAMES B. STEWART Several experts on leadership principles say the nascent Trump administration is a textbook example of how not to run a complex organization. [Melania Trump walked in the inaugural parade last month and vanished from public view shortly thereafter.] [Melania Trump’s Absence From Washington Raises Questions] By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS Mrs. Trump’s decision to remain in New York for now has made for an unusually slow transition into a hectic, demanding and heavily scrutinized role as first lady. [Donald Trump and Lawmakers Confer on Imports and Tax Code] By ALAN RAPPEPORT Republicans are trying to nudge Mr. Trump away from his plan to impose a 35 percent tariff on any product of an American company made overseas.  What We’re Reading • Time magazine asks whether Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, is [the second most powerful man in the world]. • Scrutiny of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, has begun in earnest. Politico Magazine [asked 13 legal scholars] for their thoughts on the judge’s possible impact.  ADVERTISEMENT   [New C.I.A. Deputy Director Had Leading Role in Torture of Detainees] By MATTHEW ROSENBERG As a clandestine officer in 2002, Gina Haspel oversaw the brutal interrogations of two terrorism suspects and later took part in an order to destroy videotapes.  [Justice Department Reverses Policy That Accelerated Deportations] By CAITLIN DICKERSON AND LIZ ROBBINS The decision to rescind the tactic, which applied to those fleeing Central America, was a rare win for immigration advocates since the start of the Trump administration. [An Iraqi interpreter, right, with American and Iraqi military forces in Baghdad in 2009.] Christoph Bangert for The New York Times [Visa Ban Is Amended to Allow Iraqi Interpreters Into the U.S.] By DAVID ZUCCHINO The change eased some of the anger generated in Iraq by President Trump’s order, which has sown anxiety and confusion in much of the world. [Ivanka Trump at the launch of her Spring 2011 Lifestyle Collection of Footwear at the Topanga Nordstrom in Canoga Park, Calif., in 2011.] Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images [Nordstrom Drops Ivanka Trump Brand From Its Stores] By RACHEL ABRAMS The chain said it would put the brakes on its relationship with Ms. Trump, and it removed her products from a list on its site. [Former President Bill Clinton with his wife, Hillary Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea Clinton, at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in September 2013.] Ramin Talaie/Getty Images [Soul-Searching at the Clinton Foundation as the Trump Era Begins] By STEVE EDER, SHERI FINK AND AMY CHOZICK With fund-raising, leadership and ambitions potentially in flux, the organization is grappling with its place after the election. [Ismail Ali Ibrahim, left, and Salad Rage Saleh are among more than 100 Somali refugees who were ready to resettle in the United States but are now marooned in a transit center in Nairobi.] Sven Torfinn for The New York Times [For Stranded Somali Refugees, ‘Friend of America’ Is Deadly Label] By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN After waiting years to travel to the United States, many fear returning to extreme poverty and reprisals from anti-American militant groups. [Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, the Supreme Court nominee, and Kelly Ayotte, a former Republican senator from New Hampshire, arrived for a meeting at the Capitol on Thursday.] Al Drago/The New York Times [Was That Search Illegal? Sometimes, Neil Gorsuch Ruled It Was] By CHARLIE SAVAGE The record of the Supreme Court nominee suggests a moderate view of protections under the Fourth Amendment. [Suehaila Amen, an executive board member of Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities, in Dearborn, Mich., said the group would reject federal aid to fight extremism.] Rachel Woolf for The New York Times [Pointing to Trump, Groups Reject Federal Aid to Fight Extremism] By RON NIXON, ADAM GOLDMAN AND MATT APUZZO The community groups, in Michigan and Minnesota, are rejecting grants because of what they call the administration’s vilification of Muslims. [Scott Pruitt at his confirmation hearing to head the Environmental Protection Agency.] Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times [Senate Committee Approves Scott Pruitt as E.P.A. Chief] By CORAL DAVENPORT With Democratic senators again boycotting the confirmation process, the divisive nomination was sent to the full Senate. [President Trump takes the drug Propecia, a one-a-day pill that is a popular treatment for so-called male-pattern hair loss.] Damon Winter/The New York Times [Trump Takes the Hair-Growth Drug Propecia. How Does It Work?] By DENISE GRADY The medicine is a popular pill for male-pattern hair loss that blocks formation of a hormone that makes hair fall out. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com].  FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK] [Twitter] [@NYTPolitics] Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »] | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $0.99. [Subscribe »] ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's First Draft newsletter. [Unsubscribe] | [Manage Subscriptions] | [Change Your Email] | [Privacy Policy] | [Contact] | [Advertise] Copyright 2017 The New York Times Company | 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018