Protests, firings and hirings: All the major events of Trump’s second week as president

By Melissa Leu, Colleen Shalby

Feb. 3, 2017 9 AM PT

President Trump showed no signs of slowing down in his second week on the job. He dealt with the fallout from his travel ban, fired an acting attorney general and welcomed new Cabinet members. Let’s get started:

Last weekend

Nationwide protests, again. This time they were against Trump’s order barring refugees, visitors and immigrants from seven majority-Muslim nations. Celebrations broke out after a federal judge temporarily blocked the order.
Stephen K. Bannon consolidated power. Trump’s chief strategist will now sit in on all meetings of the National Security Council.
Another ban was announced. This one is for people who work for Trump. White House staffers won’t be able to lobby his administration for at least five years after they leave it.
What’s the plan? Trump signed an executive order asking for a blueprint to defeat Islamic State.

Chatting president-to-president. Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin talked on the phone for the first time.
The first combat fatality under Trump. A special operations commando was killed in a raid on Al Qaeda fighters in Yemen. He was 36. According to the Pentagon, the same raid probably killed civilians, including children.

Monday, Jan. 30

He said what? Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express condolences over the mass shooting at a Quebec mosque. Then his spokesman said the tragedy showed why a travel ban is needed. The suspect charged in the shooting is a Canadian citizen, not an immigrant.
Travel ban throwdown. It’s not just the protesters; it’s former President Barack Obama and even Republican senators who are getting mad. And Washington state sued over it.
She says no; he says, “You’re fired.” Trump fired acting Atty. Gen. Sally Yates, an Obama administration holdover, after she refused to defend his refugee and travel ban. Read her last message here.
Yates was replaced by Dana Boente. The chief federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, he will serve until Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, is confirmed by the Senate.
Making, and breaking, the rules. Trump signed an executive order that says for every regulation added, agencies have to eliminate two others.

Tuesday, Jan. 31

He did it. Trump nominated a justice to the Supreme Court. Federal Judge Neil M. Gorsuch would replace Antonin Scalia as a conservative on the bench.
A sanctuary city fights back. San Francisco sued Trump, accusing the administration of violating state’s rights. It’s all linked to this executive order.
Is it a travel ban or not? The White House went back and forth. Fact check: It’s a ban, at least a temporary one.
Trump’s Cabinet is filling up. The Senate confirmed Elaine Chao as secretary of Transportation.

Wednesday, Feb. 1

We have a secretary of State. The Senate confirmed Rex Tillerson, former chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp.
But there’s bad news on another nominee. Two Republican senators defected and announced they’re voting against Trump’s choice for secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.
A surprise trip to Dover Air Force Base. Trump was on hand in Delaware to witness the return of the remains of the first confirmed service member killed in action on his watch.
Bad information on bad guys? The Associated Press reported that Trump threatened to send U.S. troops into Mexico to stop “bad hombres.” Mexico’s president denied that.
Clarity on green cards: White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced that card holders from the seven majority-Muslim countries won’t need special waivers from the travel ban anymore.
More on the travel ban: Another judge — this time from L.A. — issued an emergency order forbidding government officials to enforce the new policy.
Iran’s “on notice” for bad behavior, according to the White House.

Thursday, Feb. 2

Read the room. At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump asked for prayers for his “Apprentice” replacement, Arnold Schwarzenegger. “The ratings went down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster, and [producer] Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again,” the president said. “And I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those ratings, OK?”
Here’s a head-scratcher. The Pentagon concluded that the raid in Yemen that left a Navy SEAL dead probably killed civilians, including children. But the White House called it “a successful operation by all standards.”
After Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos’s speech was canceled at UC Berkeley following violent protests, Trump took to Twitter to suggest that the cancellation was an infringement on freedom of speech. He ended the message on a cryptic note: “No federal funds?”
Kellyanne Conway defended Trump’s immigration order by citing a “massacre” in Bowling Green, Ky., supposedly masterminded by two Iraqi refugees. No such massacre ever happened. She later corrected herself in a tweet.

Friday, Feb. 3

Good-bye Dodd-Frank? Trump ordered a review of the Wall Street reform law signed by Obama, which tightened regulations on banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Trump called Dodd-Frank “a very negative force” for the economy and said that “we expect to be cutting a lot out.”
Trump upped the ante with Iran, slapping on sanctions after the Islamic Republic tested a medium-range ballistic missile.
The numbers are in. Nearly 60,000 visas were revoked under Trump’s travel ban, a government lawyer said.

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