News Wrap: Trump stands by criticism of courts

JUDY WOODRUFF:

So tonight's appeals court decision came after President Trump's criticism of the court, even as he pushes his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

John Yang has that story from the White House.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

A new era of justice begins, and it begins right now.

JOHN YANG:

The man who ran as the law and order president made clear today he's now the law and order president, as Jeff Sessions was sworn in as President Trump's attorney general.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

We face the menace of rising crime and the threat of deadly terror, and it's not getting better, but it will get better.

JOHN YANG:

For days, Mr. Trump has been attacking the federal judges considering challenges to his temporary ban on travel from seven mainly Muslim countries. His Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, told Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal that a tweet referring to one of the jurists as a so-called judge was disheartening and demoralizing.

Even though a spokesman for Gorsuch confirmed the comment, today, the president insisted otherwise.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

His comments were misrepresented, and what you should do is ask Senator Blumenthal about his Vietnam record that didn't exist after years of saying it did so. He misrepresented that, just like he misrepresented Judge Gorsuch.

JOHN YANG:

Blumenthal, who was in the Marine Corps Reserves during the Vietnam War, but never served overseas, apologized in 2010 for saying during his Senate campaign that he had served in the war.

The president's comments came in a bipartisan meeting that included Democratic senators he hopes will vote for Gorsuch. They included four Democrats up for reelection next year in states that Mr. Trump won, like John Tester of Montana.

SEN. JON TESTER, D-Mont.:

The president can say what he wants about Dick Blumenthal, but Dick Blumenthal is a quality guy and a very, very good senator.

JOHN YANG:

Does that sort of thing impact your decision at all?

SEN. JON TESTER:

No, not on this, not on this at all. I think that we're going to take a look at the nominee for what he is and what his past work and we will move forward from there.

JOHN YANG:

Meanwhile, senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway got into hot water today when she followed up on the president's criticism of Nordstrom for dropping Ivanka Trump's fashion line.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, Trump Senior Adviser:

I own some of it. I fully — I'm going to just give — I'm going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.

JOHN YANG:

That appeared to run afoul of ethics laws against federal employees endorsing products.

The president is exempt under that law, but Conway is not. White House secretary Sean Spicer:

SEAN SPICER, White House Press Secretary:

Kellyanne has been counseled. And that's all we're going to go on. She's been counseled on that subject. And that's it.

JOHN YANG:

House Oversight Committee Jason Chaffetz said Conway's remarks were clearly over the line and unacceptable.

Tonight, Chaffetz and Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Office of Government Ethics saying Conway should be disciplined, anything ranging from a reprimand to dismissal. But the White House says Mr. Trump continues to have confidence in Conway — Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

John, so we know the president has also been busy talking to a number of former leaders.

JOHN YANG:

That's right. Every day this week, he's been on the phone with foreign leaders. Today, he was scheduled to talk to the heads of Afghanistan, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. And starting tomorrow, he's got a flurry of face-to-face meetings.

Tomorrow, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be here and then travel to Mar-a-Lago in Florida with Mr. Trump for a weekend of golf. And then on Monday, Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, and on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

John Yang at the White House, we thank you.

AUDIE CORNISH:

In the day's other news: The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said thousands more troops are needed to help defeat Taliban insurgents. General John Nicholson testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, saying more trainers and support could help the Afghan army break what he called a stalemate.

GEN. JOHN NICHOLSON, Commander U.S. Forces, Afghanistan:

I have adequate resources in my counterterrorism mission. In my train, advise and assist mission, however, we have a shortfall of a few thousand. And this is in the NATO train, advise and assist mission, so this can come from the U.S. and its allies.

AUDIE CORNISH:

The U.S. still has more than 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, in a war that's now lasted 16 years.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

A powerful storm paralyzed cities across the Northeastern U.S. today, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places. Scores of accidents tied up roads across the region. And the heavy snow and high winds forced hundreds of schools to close, from New York to Boston to Maine. Officials everywhere appealed to the public.

BILL DE BLASIO, D-N.Y.:

When we get into the evening and the overnight that if people continue to stay out of the way of sanitation and let them do their job, then they go on offensive and are not fighting a constant barrage of snow coming in, they can get things for pretty good for tomorrow morning.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

The storm has also grounded more than 3,500 airline flights through tomorrow.

AUDIE CORNISH:

Construction on the final stretch of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline is now under way. That's after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave the go-ahead for crews to lay pipe under a North Dakota reservoir.

As the works resumed, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe filed a last-ditch legal challenge to try to stop its completion. The tribe fears a leak could taint their water.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

The newest member of the United States Senate took his seat today. The governor of Alabama appointed state Attorney General Luther Strange to the post. He was sworn in by Vice President Pence. A special election will be held in 2018 to fill the seat permanently. Strange replaces Jeff Sessions, who officially became the U.S. attorney general today.

AUDIE CORNISH:

And on Wall Street, a rally fueled by strong corporate earnings reports. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 118 points to close at 20172. The Nasdaq rose 32 points, and the S&P 500 added 13.