Trump's Beltway: No 'Turnbull moments' as Trump chats with English

Recent developments (click one of the bullet points below to auto-scroll to the relevant section)

• 97 companies file brief supporting legal action against travel ban
• English raises travel ban during phone call
• Govt fails to win emergency stay and restore travel ban
• Army Secretary nominee withdraws
• Education Secretary nominee faces deadlocked vote in Senate

UPDATE: Monday Feb 6

Tech companies file brief against travel ban
Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix Twitter, Uber and other tech companies have filed an amicus brief voicing opposition to President Trump’s executive order on immigration on the grounds that it is discriminatory and has a negative impact on business.

The brief was filed in support of challenges brought in Washington and Minnesota, which over the weekend saw a judge temporarily lift the travel ban and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reject a Trump Administration bid for an emergency stay.

English has first phonecall with Trump
Prime Minister Bill English raised the issue of US President Donald Trump's ban on travellers from seven nations during a phone call this morning, a spokeswoman for his office says.

"The president and prime minister noted their respective positions on the recent US executive order on immigration," she says.

The PM also thanked the president for the US support during the Kaikoura earthquake during the call, which was sandwiched between fast-breaking legal developments (see below) and Mr Trump's pre-Super Bowl interview with a US TV network.

Unlike Mr Trump's conversation with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, it did not generate any immediate online reaction from Mr Trump, who has concentrated his tweets on the judiciary and American football today.

Mr English posted a broad-strokes tweet:

Spoke with @POTUS @realDonaldTrump about the economy, trade, defence and immigration. I also thanked him for US support for Kaikoura. pic.twitter.com/ZZFpnnsYFF

— Bill English (@pmbillenglish) February 5, 2017

He later described Mr Trump as "warm and thoughtful" during the 15-minute call.

The prime minister said the new president, who withdrew the US from the TPP on his first day in office but says he is open to bilateral trade deals, extended a casual invitation to "drop by" if he was near the White House. He did not expect a formal invitation before the September election.

Bid for emergency stay rebuffed
The Trump administration has lost a bid for an emergency stay that would have restored a travel ban on people from seven countries and restored a ban on refugees from Syria until a full appeal could be heard.

In a special mid-weekend session, a 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges rejected the Justice Department's argument that President Donald Trump did have the constitutional authority to intimate the travel ban by executive order – and that a nationwide restraining order granted by a district court judge to lift the ban “second-guesses the president’s national security judgment.”

Having lost the stay, he department now has until 3pm Monday US Pacific Time to file an appeal. It is expected to do so.

Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2017

Pence: Trump had right to criticise judge
Meanwhile, Vice-President Mike Pence defended President Trump's personal criticism of district court judge James Robart and the George W Bush appointee's decision (see tweet below). The president followed up with similar posts today.

"The president of the United States has every right to criticise the other two branches of government," the VP told NBC's Meet The Press. 

"And we have a long tradition of that in this country. I think people find it very refreshing that they not only understand this president's mind but they understand how he feels about things. He expresses himself in a unique way."

Republican senate majority leader Mitch McConnell struck a more cautious tone, telling CNN: “We all get disappointed from time to time. I think it is best to avoid criticising them [judges] individually.”

The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017

Sunday Feb 5
The Trump White House says it will seek to overturn a judge's decision that lifted the week-old ban on travellers from seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The judge also restored the right for all vetted refugees to enter the US. Both decisions are temporary until government appeals are heard.

The decision came late Friday night (late Saturday afternoon New Zealand time).

In a conference call late Friday, the US government told lawyers from airlines that they should resume boarding passengers from the seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The State Department confirmed it had reversed the executive order’s provisional revoking of visas, saying, “Those individuals with visas that were not physically cancelled may now travel if the visa is otherwise valid.”

The White House said it would challenge the decision. A statement issued by press secretary Sean Spicer said: “At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this outrageous order and defend the executive order of the President, which we believe is lawful and appropriate."

A revised version of the statement, issued soon after, removed the world "outrageous."

However Twitter this morning NZ, President Trump re-intensified the tone, posting: "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!"

The nationwide restraining order against the travel ban, which opponents call unconstitutional and discriminatory, was delivered by James Robart of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington, a George W Bush appointee. 

The ruling is temporary, putting the ban on hold at until the government has a chance to make full arguments or it wins a stay.

It follows an earlier ruling, issued by a judge just hours after the executive order for a travel ban, which said travellers already in the air could enter the US. The Justice Department did not challenge that ruling, leading President Trump to fire Attorney-General Sally Yates.

Nominee for Army Secretary withdraws
President Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Army, Vincent Viola, has withdrawn his name.

The Military Times, which broke the news, cited a statement by Mr Viola that the process of divesting his business interests had proved too complex.

Mr Viola is a former US Army major, who specialised in counter-terror. A post-military business career has seen him build a $US1.8 billion fortune as majority shareholder in high-frequency trading firm Virtu, majority shareholder in Eastern Airlines and owner of the Florida Panthers hockey club, among other commercial interests.

The entrepreneur is in the process of swapping his stake in Eastern Airlines for a stake in Swift Air, which holds government sub-contracts.

Before withdrawing, he had floated the idea of shifting his business interests into a family trust.

Education Secretary nominee faces close fight
Fox News is reporting that President Trump's nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, could face a 50-50 confirmation vote in the 100-member Senate, where the Republicans hold a two-seat majority.

Mrs DeVos — a billionaire by dint of her marriage to Amway heir Dick DeVos — is a high-profile advocate for charter schools.

Two Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted on party lines for a 52-48 decision to end the debate over the nomination but Fox is tipping they will side with the 48 Democrats in the confirmation vote itself.If a Senate vote is deadlocked, the vice-president can step in to cast a deciding vote.

If Vice-President Mike Pence is required to step in, it will be a historic first; a VP has never before been required to cast a tie-breaker for a cabinet confirmation.