After PR disaster, Trump gives GOP reason to cheer

One day after President Trump revealed his Supreme Court nominee, Republican senators were raving about how well the rollout was handled. 

Republicans noted that the prime-time event introducing Neil Gorsuch went off without a hitch, with a star-studded roster of GOP lawmakers on hand in the East Room of the White House. 

Trump delivered on his promise substantively as well as stylistically, handing his party a solidly conservative nominee to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a legend on the right. 

The announcement stood in stark contrast to the botched rollout of Trump’s executive order temporarily banning refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S.

Republicans said they were blindsided by that move and cut out of the drafting process. Tensions were compounded when it was later revealed the Trump team covertly enlisted congressional staff to help write the executive order. 

{mosads}Even though Republicans were largely pleased with the names circulating on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist, some worried the televised spectacle could have headed down the wrong path.

“Tonight’s ‘Apprentice’-style delivery moment might have had an evening-gown competition and a swimsuit edition,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a longtime Trump critic, joked to reporters after the event.

But Sasse’s verdict? “I’m thrilled with the pick.”

The Nebraska senator and his counterparts on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will have first say over the nomination, weren’t just pleased with Gorsuch, a conservative darling. They lauded the White House for keeping them in the loop throughout the selection process. 

“All of us in the Senate, particularly on the committee, have been talking to the White House counsel and having the list made a big difference as well,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) “They rolled it out well. This was done well. They did their homework, they talked to the right people. They have done this all well.”

The Supreme Court rollout and the executive order were so different in part because of contrasting approaches taken by competing wings of the White House staff. 

White House counsel Don McGahn and his team were heavily involved in the Supreme Court selection process, keeping key senators informed while soliciting their advice.

Vice President Pence, Trump’s unofficial Capitol Hill point man, and McGahn met with lawmakers at the White House before the rollout to formally announce the selection.

Lawmakers were also pleased with the “sherpa” team appointed by the White House to guide Gorsuch around the Senate, led by former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). Deputy chief of staff for operations Rick Dearborn, a former chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), and legislative affairs chief Marc Short were also involved. 

“You had a very large team of people from White House [and] Senate working together hand-in-hand to effectively roll out [the] nominee,” said a Trump source familiar with the process.

By comparison, the immigration executive order was overseen by Trump’s powerful senior counselor, Stephen Bannon, and White House policy adviser Stephen Miller. The final order was drafted in relative secrecy and congressional leaders said they were only informed of its release shortly ahead of time.

GOP lawmakers said if the White House had coordinated with Capitol Hill better, they could have avoided some of the chaos and confusion that ensued. Republicans said the executive order over the weekend was proof that aides were weaving outside their lanes. While that’s not unusual for an administration in its early days, it can have disastrous results.

“There was a complete breakdown in the authority,” said GOP strategist John Feehery, who writes a regular column for The Hill.  “It seemed like it was a rogue operation and not well coordinated and it was a disaster.”

The White House has publicly disputed those accounts, saying they consulted with relevant agency officials. And they dismissed the importance of nationwide protests against the order, citing polls showing almost half the country backs the policy.

“There was no confusion,” Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president, said on CNN. “We actually implemented this order with 109 people who were slightly delayed for secondary screening. That’s incredible efficiency out of 325,000 people in one 24-hour period. That’s how smoothly it was executed.”

But there was internal recognition that the executive order rollout was flawed. Leadership aides on Capitol Hill say chief of staff Reince Priebus is taking a firmer grip on operations on the heels of fallout from the weekend. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the Supreme Court pick “has nothing to do” with ongoing concerns on Capitol Hill over the travel and refugee restrictions.

“The executive order was rolled out without even thinking about it,” he said. 

Asked if it was an issue of competence, Graham replied, “Yeah, absolutely it was. But it won’t be the first time a group of people to get off to a bad start.”