Russia
We have known for a while that the FBI applied for a FISA warrant to surveil Trump associates during the election. This week we learned that the Carter Page was the one the FBI was investigating.
The Guardian reported that British Intelligence and half a dozen other European intelligence agencies were informing their U.S. counterparts of Trump’s ties to Russian spies as early as 2015.
Syria
Within 63 hours of Assad’s chemical attack on April 4, Trump sent 59 tomahawk missiles into Syria Thursday evening, April 6. There were a few skeptical media voices commenting about Trump’s decision to Bomb Assad’s airbase. David Frum was one.
Also, five days later, Tuesday, we dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in ISIS in Afghanistan.
Pivot?
This was the week Trump backed off many of his most unrealistic campaign promises:
He has pivoted on foreign policy. Also on economic policy. NATO is no longer obsolete.
Bannon is on the outs. The White House staff Bannon calls “the Democrats” are ascending, and their corporate experience is now shaping Trump’s views on a raft of policies. Here is conservative writer Rich Lowery lamenting what will happen if Jared Kushner supplants Bannon.
One thing Trump has not pivoted on is illegal immigration: Trump administration moving quickly to build up nationwide deportation force
Congressional Actions
As the White House moves on the tax reform, the Democrats have take the strategy that they cannot support any tax policy without knowing how it would effect Trump’s tax bottom line, meaning he will have to release his tax returns before they agree to any tax legislation.
Let’s not forget to keep an eye on Jeff Sessions: He is shutting down a panel of scientists that the Obama Justice Department set up to do quality control on the use of forensic evidence. Also, he has hired Steven Cook, who has been a proponent of mandatory minimums and other tough-on-drugs policies.