Trump’s one-year review

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump began his second year in office this week—ending 365 days in the White House with polarized constituent reviews.

The president’s approval rating continues to hover at record lows for a first-year commander in chief. But his core support base—about 37 percent of U.S. voters—remains unfazed by the ups and downs of White House news. Negative press coverage compounded with Trump’s tendency to spark outrage with off-hand remarks have turned off a large swath of the electorate, but many conservatives consider the Trump presidency a success.

“We’ve had a pretty rough year, and they haven’t given up on him yet,” said Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Bowman studies public opinion polls and said Trump grades well on the economy for most voters: “Americans clearly think the economy is doing a lot better.”

Stocks have risen to record highs in recent months thanks to decreased government regulations on businesses and the passage of a Republican tax overhaul that benefits big banks and large corporations. Trump has savored the recent positive press coverage of his party’s tax plan as corporations continue to announce employee bonuses and increased wages while shareholders stand to net huge profits.

The tax bill amounted to Trump’s only major legislative accomplishment in 2017, but most conservatives point to court appointments as the president’s lasting legacy.

Leonard Leo, Trump’s outside adviser on Supreme Court and other judicial selections, wrote this week that 2017 was a big win for conservative judges. Confirming Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch topped the list, but the Senate also confirmed a record 12 of Trump’s nominations to fill federal appeals court vacancies.

“Tax and healthcare reform can quickly evaporate with future changes in congressional majorities, but federal judges serve for life,” Leo wrote.

Similarly, pro-life advocates remain pleased with the Trump administration’s commitment to upholding protections for unborn babies.

But that’s only part of Trump’s first-year narrative.

The Washington Post surveyed current and past members of the American Political Science Association’s Presidents and Executive Politics section and asked them to grade the president’s performance. The 155 experts surveyed gave Trump an “F” average for overall presidential leadership and foreign policy decision-making.

Earlier this month, Trump earned bipartisan backlash after he reportedly used an obscenity to refer to Haiti and some African nations. And the president’s past continues to weigh down his policy agenda.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Trump’s personal lawyer used a private firm to pay a former adult film actress $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged extramarital affair in 2006.

Many of Trump’s evangelical supporters brushed off the report.

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins told Politico this week the president gets a “mulligan” for foul past behavior as long as he continues to advance a favorable agenda.

“From a policy standpoint, he has delivered more than any other president in my lifetime,” Perkins said.

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, told MSNBC Trump isn’t the nation’s pastor and noted the president continues to support policies aligned with Christian values.

Trump now enters a pivotal point in his presidency: He’s done enough to keep his core supporters happy, but Democrats are building momentum to win back congressional seats in November. If the GOP performs poorly in the mid-term elections, Trump’s presidency could face a death spiral.

“Should Republicans lose control of Congress in November many people believe impeachment proceedings will begin,” Bowman said.

White House softens DACA rhetoric

President Donald Trump, in an impromptu press conference Wednesday night, said he’s willing to give up some immigration concessions to protect recipients under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Before the president departed for Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, he told reporters he’s willing to grant DACA holders a pathway to citizenship.

“Over a period of 10 to 12 years if someone does a great job, they’ve worked hard, it gives incentive to do a great job,” Trump said when asked about granting citizenship. “If they do a great job, I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive of after a period of years being able to be a citizen.”

Trump’s unplanned comments came hours after the White House announced it would release its own immigration plan on Monday to help shape debate on Capitol Hill. Just a few days ago, lawmakers briefly shut down the government after they failed to reach a compromise on immigration.

Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the White House for sending mixed messages on what it wants in a final immigration bill. Two weeks ago, the president signaled he would sign whatever lawmakers from both sides could agree to—even saying he would “take the heat” if some voters soured on the deal. But a few days later, he rejected a draft plan from six bipartisan senators.

One of those lawmakers, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he appreciated Trump’s latest comments. “The president is headed in the right direction here,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday night he had rescinded his offer to the White House for Democrats to support $25 billion in border wall funding. Schumer made the offer to the president on Friday in a last-ditch effort to avoid a government shutdown. Since reopening the government, Schumer and other Democrats have taken heat from liberal groups for caving on immigration.

Trump said Wednesday he does not believe Schumer really took wall funding off the table and remained adamant a final deal must include a plan for a wall at the U.S. southern border.

GOP leaders agree.

“If you want a permanent solution for the DACA recipients, you’re going to need a permanent solution for the border, which means a plan and funding,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, tweeted Thursday.

Lawmakers have through Feb. 8 to find a deal on immigration and other partisan sticking points or risk a second government shutdown. DACA recipients begin losing their status after March 5. —E.W.

Grand harassment problem

A federal watchdog group says the Grand Canyon has a sexual harassment problem.

On Tuesday, the Interior Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a summary report showing a former Grand Canyon National Park manager sexually harassed an intern for several months. The manager resigned from the National Park Service on Oct. 10, 2017—about a month after the inspector general interviewed him for the investigation.

According to the report, the manager pursued a relationship with the intern over the course of several months. She cut off personal communication with the manager—her direct supervisor—but he continued to send unwanted text messages. She accused the manager of touching her inappropriately after she stopped responding to his messages.

Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. Two years ago, the inspector general released a report detailing 35 accounts from women who saw or experienced sexual misconduct in the Grand Canyon National Park’s River District. The investigation began in February 2014 when 13 National Park Service employees reported a sexually hostile work environment. During the course of the investigation, 22 additional women spoke out about misconduct while working at the Grand Canyon. —E.W.

Baby on board

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., announced this week she’s pregnant—putting her in position to be the first member of the upper chamber to give birth while in office. Duckworth, 49, had her first child, Abigail, in 2014 while serving in the House of Representatives. Her due date is in April, just a month after her 50th birthday. Before running for office, Duckworth was an Army helicopter pilot. She lost both her legs in 2004 when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq. After making the pregnancy announcement, the senator downplayed its historic nature. “Women have been getting pregnant and continuing to work to support their families for years, and so for me, it seems very ordinary,” Duckworth said in an interview on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday. “But it’s 2018, and it’s about time we started bringing down some barriers in the Senate.” —E.W.

McConnell tees up pro-life vote

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., moved to end debate Wednesday on a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, teeing up a procedural vote early next week. The House has passed similar legislation three times since 2013—most recently in October. McConnell needs 60 votes in the Senate to end debate and call for a floor vote. Supporters of the bill don’t have those votes at this point, but pro-life groups have pushed to hold the vote anyway. That way, lawmakers are on record either supporting or opposing legislation to end abortion when an unborn baby can feel pain. —E.W.