News Wrap: Trump urges judges considering immigration ban to ‘do what’s right’

JUDY WOODRUFF:

So, the legal fight over President Trump's seven-country travel ban remains unresolved tonight. A trio of federal appeals court judges spent this day considering whether to uphold a district court judge in Seattle who blocked the order last Friday.

Meanwhile, the president wasn't holding back.

John Yang reports from the White House.

JOHN YANG:

Today, President Trump escalated his war of words with the federal judges considering challenges to his immigration order.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

I don't ever want to call a court biased, so I won't call it biased. But courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for our justice system if they would be able to read a statement and do what's right.

JOHN YANG:

What's right, both Mr. Trump and Justice Department lawyers say, is that immigration law gives the president the authority to bar any foreign citizen from entering the United States if it's in the national interest.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

You don't have to be a lawyer. If you were a good student in high school or bad student in high school, you can understand this. And it's really incredible to me that we have a court case that is going on so long.

JOHN YANG:

Two state attorneys general say the order is unconstitutional because it discriminates against Muslims. The president said they don't realize the risk to the nation's safety.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

I think our security is at risk today, and it will be at risk until such time as we are entitled and get what we are entitled to as citizens of this country. I have learned a lot in the last two weeks. And terrorism is a far greater threat than people of our country understand. But we're going to take care of it. We're going to win. We're going to take care of it, folks.

JOHN YANG:

Hours later, he followed up with a tweet: "Big increase in traffic into our country from certain areas, while our people are far more vulnerable."

At a House Democratic retreat in Baltimore, Leader Nancy Pelosi called the president's order dangerous and immoral.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-Calif., House Minority Leader:

As long as the president continues down this path, there's nothing Democrats can work with him on. To protect the security of our nation, to future of our working families, and the sanctity of our Constitution, Democrats will fight this administration every day, with every fiber of our being.

JOHN YANG:

Also today, an Oval Office announcement the White House says advances another signature campaign promise: creating U.S. jobs. Standing next to the president, Intel chairman Brian Krzanich announced plans to build a $7 billion factory in Phoenix, which he said would create up to 10,000 new jobs. White House officials said the plant had been in the works for four years.

BRIAN KRZANICH, CEO, Intel:

It's really in support of the tax and regulatory policies that we see the administration pushing forward, that really make it advantageous to do manufacturing in the U.S.

JOHN YANG:

Krzanich opposes the immigration order, but White House officials said it didn't come up in his meeting with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump's attacks on federal judges has now drawn a response from his own Supreme Court nominee. An administration official who's working on the confirmation process confirms that in a meeting on Capitol Hill with the senator, Neil Gorsuch said that the attacks are demoralizing and disheartening.

And Mr. Trump also took to Twitter to attack Nordstrom, the retailer, for dropping his daughter Ivanka's fashion line. They cited poor sales for that decision. He said on Twitter that they treated her unfairly.

Asked about the propriety of a president supporting or getting involved in a child's private business affairs, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was said that Mr. Trump as a father was within his rights to stand up for his family — Judy.

AUDIE CORNISH:

In the day's other news, the Senate wrapped up an all-night and all-day debate to confirm Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Democrats argued that the Republican senator from Alabama is too close to President Trump and is hostile to minorities. Republicans defended him as a man of integrity. We will look at the confirmation fight later in the program.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

This was the first day on the job for Betsy DeVos as the U.S. secretary of education, and she used it to try to rally the troops. It took a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Pence yesterday to get DeVos confirmed. The Michigan billionaire faced criticism over her lack of experience with public schools. Today, she appealed to department staffers for unity.

BETSY DEVOS, U.S. Education Secretary:

Let us set aside any preconceived notions and let's recognize that while we may have disagreements, we can and must come together, find common ground, and put the needs of students first. And when we do disagree, let's set an example by being sincere and honest, passionate, but civil.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

DeVos has championed charter schools and other alternatives to public education.

AUDIE CORNISH:

In Afghanistan, an ambush by suspected Islamic State militants ended in the deaths of six Afghan workers for the International Red Cross. The Red Cross team was trying to deliver supplies to a northern town paralyzed by snowstorms. After the attack, the agency suspended operations in Afghanistan.

MAN:

It was a region we knew very well, and it's really very experienced colleagues. And then knowing that they have been killed, attacked directly, is the worst possible news. And, of course, the shock is first to realize what it means for our actions in Afghanistan, what it means for Afghans, for the family, for the colleagues.

AUDIE CORNISH:

The Taliban denied it had anything to do with the attack, and promised to help find those responsible.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

A United Nations report warns that more than 120,000 people in Nigeria will likely face "catastrophic famine" this summer. More than half live in Borno state, where the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has disrupted food supplies. Overall, the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization says 11 million Nigerians face severe food shortages in a nation of more than 170 million.

AUDIE CORNISH:

Once again, a Russian court has found opposition leader Alexei Navalny guilty of fraud. An earlier conviction had been overturned by the European Court of Human Rights. This new decision formally disqualifies Navalny as a candidate for president next year. He says the Kremlin engineered the verdict to sabotage his bid.

ALEXEI NAVALNY, Russian Opposition Leader (through interpreter):

What we saw now is a sort of telegram which was sent from the Kremlin, saying that they believe that the people whose views I voice are too dangerous to allow us to take part in the election campaign. Nevertheless, we don't recognize this ruling. I have every right to take part in the election, according to the constitution, and I will do so.

AUDIE CORNISH:

Navalny was convicted for the embezzlement of $270,000 worth of timber. He was given a five-year suspended sentence.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Back in this country, a North Carolina court temporarily blocked a state law that stripped the new Democratic governor of some of his powers. The Republican-controlled legislature passed the measure after the November election. It requires state Senate confirmation for Cabinet members. The court still has to rule on the merits of the law itself.

AUDIE CORNISH:

Former Republican Secretary of State James Baker went to the White House today. He wants the administration to embrace a carbon tax to combat climate change. Baker and another former secretary of state, George Shultz, wrote in The Wall Street Journal — quote — "There is mounting evidence of problems with the atmosphere that are growing too compelling to ignore."

Other former Reagan and Bush administration officials back the idea, but it's not clear Republicans in Congress will join them.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average lost about 36 points to close at 20054. The Nasdaq rose eight points, and the S&P 500 added one point.