memeorandum: Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council (Donald J. Trump/The White House)

3:15 PM ET, January 29, 2017

Top Items:

CNN:

Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban — Trump's unilateral moves reflect the President's desire to quickly make good on his campaign promises — But they also encapsulate the pitfalls of an administration largely operated by officials with scant federal experience

Discussion: Fox News, AOL, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, View from the Wing, Raw Story, Damian J. Penny, Axios, RedState, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Vox, Balloon Juice and Outside the Beltway

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

White House Official, in Reversal, Says Green Card Holders Won't Be Barred — WASHINGTON — A top White House official appeared to reverse a key part of President Trump's immigration order on Sunday, saying that people from the affected countries who hold green cards will not be prevented from returning to the United States.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, PRI, Political Wire and The Hill

Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council — As President, my highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people. In order to advise and assist me in executing this solemn responsibility, as well as to protect and advance …

Discussion: Lawfare, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and NPR

Bwittes / Lawfare:

Malevolence Tempered by Incompetence: Trump's Horrifying Executive Order on Refugees and Visas — The malevolence of President Trump's Executive Order on visas and refugees is mitigated chiefly—and perhaps only—by the astonishing incompetence of its drafting and construction.

David French / National Review:

Trump's Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria — The hysterical rhetoric about President Trump's executive order on refugees is out of control. Let's slow down and take a look at the facts. — To read the online commentary, one would think that President …

Discussion: RealClearPolitics, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, New York Times, WiredPen, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, The Nation, Business Insider, NPR, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, New Urban Legends, Refinery29, Mediaite and Washington Post

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Trump doubles down on refugee ban — President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his executive order to severely curb the entry of refugees and legal immigrants — insisting on Twitter that America needs “extreme vetting” to avoid the “horrible mess” elsewhere, and suggesting it was Christians who deserved priority in admissions.

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Trump's Immigration Fiasco Might Be More Premeditated Than We Think — Harold Pollack on President Trump's immigration fiasco: … This sure seems to be the case. For the barely believable story of just how incompetent the whole exercise was, check out this CNN story. It will leave your jaw on the floor.

Discussion: CourierPostOnline.com, alan.com, Raw Story, Business Insider, Unfogged, Mediaite and Vox

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Christian Leaders Denounce Trump's Plan to Favor Christian Immigrants

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, RedState, Mashable, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, The Moderate Voice and USA Today

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
Trump just made an unprecedented, ‘radical’ change to the National Security Council

Discussion: Politico, Obsidian Wings, Joe.My.God. and The Mahablog

The Hill:
Trump signs three more executive actions

Discussion: The Atlantic, IJR, ABC News, The White House and TheBlaze

New York Times:
Donald Trump's Muslim Ban Is Cowardly and Dangerous

Discussion: Gothamist, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Vox, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, Washington Post and AOL

Business Insider:
Federal judges block deportations in emergency rulings on Trump's immigration order

Discussion: Washington Post, Gothamist, Refinery29, CBS San Francisco, ImmigrationProf Blog and The Gateway Pundit

Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
Judge halts deportations as refugee ban causes worldwide furor

Discussion: CNN, Lawfare, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Vox, Political Wire, Daily Kos, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, alan.com and Politico

The White House:
Presidential Memorandum Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Discussion: Lawfare, Infowars and Washington Post

Sfrantzman / Seth J. Frantzman:
Obama's administration made the “Muslim ban” possible and the media won't tell you

Discussion: Infowars, AMERICAN DIGEST, AOL, Instapundit, New York Times, Althouse, The Guardian, CNN, Hullabaloo, Fortune, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox Popoli, The Daily Caller and New York Daily News

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Federal Judges Push Back Against Trump Order, Stopping Deportations Nationwide

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Vox, Hit & Run and ACLU

Alexander Mallin / ABC News:

Trump Gives Controversial Adviser Stephen Bannon Seat at National Security Council Meetings — President Donald Trump has tapped his controversial senior adviser and chief strategist Stephen Bannon for a permanent seat at National Security Council meetings in what some experts are calling an …

Discussion: Associated Press, ThinkProgress, AOL, TheBlaze and Mediaite

David Ferguson / Raw Story:
Trump boots top officials — but includes Steve Bannon — in reshuffled National Security Council

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump orders ISIS plan, talks with Putin and gives Bannon national security role

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

The Trump bulldozer — We can't stress this enough: Watch closely the specific, substantive moves of the Trump White House. Try to block out the white noise of outlandish statements and unforced errors, and the hyperventilating they provoke. — Otherwise, you miss the big — and in some cases, radical — changes coming our way.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Eric Schmitt / New York Times:

American Commando Killed in Yemen in Trump's First Counterterror Operation — WASHINGTON — One American commando was killed and three others injured in a fierce firefight overnight with Qaeda militants in central Yemen, a senior American official said Sunday morning.

Discussion: RedState and Political Wire

Ryan Browne / CNN:
US servicemember killed in raid on al Qaeda in Yemen

Discussion: Axios

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Trump's Border Patrol Defies Judge, U.S. Senator at Dulles Airport as His First Constitutional Crisis Unfolds — Late Saturday night, in the jam-packed baggage terminal for international arrivals at Washington Dulles International Airport, dozens of lawyers and hundreds of protesters watched …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Kathianne Boniello / New York Post:

Customs agents ignore judge, enforce Trump's travel ban: ACLU — SEE ALSO — Federal judge grants stay for those detained under Trump's travel ban — :0 — A Brooklyn federal judge took on President Trump Saturday night,... The ACLU is getting “multiple reports” …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Verge, Gothamist and The Last Tradition

Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic:

A Clarifying Moment in American History — There should be nothing surprising about what the Donald Trump has done in his first week—but he had underestimated the resilience of Americans and their institutions. — {{#existing_user}} — Your newsletter subscription preferences have been updated.

Zachary Warmbrodt / Politico:

Conway: Travel chaos ‘small price to pay’ for security — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that international travel disruptions in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from predominantly Muslim nations was a “small price to pay” for greater security.

Discussion: Political Wire, Joe.My.God. and AOL

Charles Ornstein / ProPublica:

Hours After Landing in U.S., Cleveland Clinic Doctor Forced to Leave by Trump's Order — Dr. Suha Abushamma's flight back to Saudi Arabia took off minutes before a federal judge ordered such forced removals to stop. “She was basically racing against Trump,” a colleague and friend said.

Discussion: STAT

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Federal court halts Trump's immigration ban — Step one in a long fight to come — The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting President Donald Trump's executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight …