林中斌 部落格 / Blog Chong-Pin Lin

Trump claims ‘national security victory’ after Supreme Court allows travel ban

June 27, 2017

https://www.ft.com/content/2f518fa2-5a87-11e7-9bc8-8055f264aa8b

accessed June 27, 2017

● 美國最高法院居然全數通過支持川普對6個回教國家旅客禁止入境的政策,之前美國地方法院數次推動川普之禁令.

● 此外,6月20日美國眾議院 “特別選舉”(Special House election) 喬治亞州及南卡羅來納州的共和黨候選人 Karen Handel及Ralph Norman都贏得選舉

● 美國經濟復甦仍然在持續,川普當選後大家所憂慮的 “川普震盪”(Trump bump)並未發生

● 川普雖然民調支持度低,但很可能做完四年不被彈劾而下台.

● 如果在2020年,美國經濟過得去,(不見得是很好),川普不無可能連任做8年的總統

林中斌 2017.6.27

The US Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a partial but significant victory on Monday, allowing his controversial ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority nations to take effect for people who lack a “bona fide relationship” in the US.

In practice, the unanimous decision will allow into the US only individuals with a “close familial relationship” to a US citizen or a formal tie to an American company or organisation, the court said.

The president welcomed the ruling as “a clear victory for our national security”, saying it would allow him to “use an important tool for protecting our nation’s homeland” from threats from “six terror-prone countries”. 

“As president, I cannot allow people into our country who want to do us harm,” Mr Trump said. “I want people who can love the United States and all of its citizens, and who will be hardworking and productive.”

Mr Trump’s attempts to restrict entry into the US, which began just a week after his inauguration, ignited the first big controversy of his presidency. Protests snarled airports and lawsuits quickly erupted in multiple federal courts.

Monday’s ruling represented his first legal win after a series of sharp defeats, but sets up a potential showdown over presidential power. 

“The most significant aspect of this is that it’s unanimous, that all the justices agreed the lower courts made a big mistake,” said Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law. 

The ruling effectively suspended the lower courts’ decisions while the Supreme Court itself can hear arguments on the merits of the case. Acting on the final day of their annual term, the justices will not provide a full hearing in the case until they reconvene in October, leaving much of Mr Trump’s ban in place for at least three months.

Opponents of the ban warned that the ruling could spur a wave of new legal challenges as travellers attempt to prove they should be allowed into the US.

The court’s decision is likely to spawn “chaos at the border and new lawsuits as foreign nationals and refugees argue that they are entitled to enter the United States,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a Cornell University Law School professor. 

Two federal appeals courts — in cases involving refugee groups, US citizens with foreign relatives and the state of Hawaii — have blocked the administration’s second attempt at a temporary travel ban since it was issued on March 6.

Judges in both cases cited Mr Trump’s campaign trail calls for a ban on Muslims entering the US as proof that his order was motivated by unconstitutional religious animus rather than national security concerns. 
Mr Trump’s travel order would have halted for 90 days all arrivals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to permit a study of foreign governments’ security vetting procedures. The order also would have barred new refugee arrivals for 120 days and capped the annual total of such admissions at 50,000.

Republican Handel Wins Georgia House Election, GOP Keeps Seat

By Arit John

2017年6月21日 上午10:25 [台北] 2017年6月21日 下午6:36 [台北]

• Former Georgia Secretary of State Handel defeats Ossoff
• Democrats hoped to capitalize on Trump’s low approval ratings

GOP's Handel Wins Close Race for Georgia House Seat

Sen. Cardin Says Trump Travel Ban Creates Confusion

Trump Scheduled to Meet With Putin During G-20 Summit

GOP's Handel Wins Close Race for Georgia House Seat

Republican Karen Handel defeated a well-funded opponent in a special election for a U.S. House seat in Georgia, a setback for Democrats who hoped President Donald Trump’s low approval ratings would help them win congressional races.

Handel, 55, won in a suburban Atlanta district held by the GOP since 1979 despite raising far less money than Democrat Jon Ossoff, 30, in the most expensive House race in U.S. history. Handel will fill a seat vacated by Tom Price, who was appointed by Trump as Health and Human Services secretary.

Handel won 51.9 percent of votes to Ossoff’s 48.1 percent with all precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Handel thanked the president while addressing supporters Tuesday night, prompting chants of “Trump, Trump, Trump” from the crowd. “Tonight, I stand before you extraordinarily humbled and honored at the tremendous privilege and high responsibility that you and the people across the sixth district have given to me to represent you in the United States House of Representatives,” she said.

Citing the June 14 shooting at a congressional Republican baseball practice that left House Majority Whip Steve Scalise injured, Handel urged a “more civil way to deal with our disagreements.” 

“In these United States of America, no one, no one should ever feel their life threatened over their political beliefs and positions,” she said.

Trump Cheers

The result of Tuesday’s election likely will embolden Trump and his legislative push to dismantle Obamacare and overhaul taxes. The president raised money for Handel and repeatedly tweeted in support of her candidacy. 

Democrats also lost a special election Tuesday for a House seat in South Carolina vacated by White House budget director Mick Mulvaney. In that race, Republican Ralph Norman had been heavily favored to defeat the Democrat, former Goldman Sachs tax expert Archie Parnell.

Overall, the special House elections held since Trump’s inauguration have been closer than Republicans would’ve expected in the traditionally right-leaning districts.

“Well, the Special Elections are over and those that want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN are 5 and O!” Trump said in a tweet after the results were announced. “All the Fake News, all the money spent = 0.”

Arm’s Length

Handel sought to keep the president at arm’s length, although her platform included priorities similar to Trump’s. Ossoff avoided attacking Trump in an effort to appeal to voters in the Republican district, focusing his campaign on reducing the deficit, cutting government spending and bringing high-tech jobs to the area. Polls in advance of the election had shown the race virtually tied, within the margins of error.

The president’s approval rating was 37 percent in a Gallup poll taken June 17-19 as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and congressional committees investigate possible Trump campaign ties to Russia and whether the president obstructed the FBI’s probe.

Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, raised $4.3 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Ossoff, a former congressional staffer, raised $23.6 million.

Despite Ossoff’s fundraising advantage, Handel was boosted by $18.2 million in outside spending, including $6.5 million from the House leadership-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund super-PAC and $6.7 million from the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group. 

“Democrats from coast to coast threw everything they had at this race, and Karen would not be defeated,” Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said in a statement.

Ossoff benefited from just under $8 million in outside spending, including $5 million from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 

“This is not the outcome any of us hoped for, but this is the beginning of something much bigger than us,” Ossoff told supporters Tuesday night.

In spite of Ossoff’s loss, Democrats say they have a better chance of winning dozens of Republican-held seats in next year’s midterm election. Democrats are seeking to take control of the House, dominated 238-193 by Republicans before Tuesday’s vote.