Xq institute. Bnsf railway. Lincoln financial committed to helping you take charge of your financial future. And with the ongoing support of these institutions this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff President Trump is preparing to take up the next big item on his agenda tonight revealing his nominee to fill the vacancy on the u. S. Supreme court. He will address the nation at 8 00 p. M. , eastern time. It is widely reported that two federal Appeals Court judges, neil gorsuch and thomas hardiman, top the list of candidates. The announcement comes amid the uproar over mr. TrumpS Immigration moratorium, and a highlevel ouster at the Justice Department. John yang begins our coverage. Reporter a night of plitical drama at the white house gave way to a day of defending President Trumps actions. White House Press Secretary sean spicer for the attorney general to turn around and say im not going to uphold this lawful executive order is clearly a dereliction of duty. And she shouldve been removed, and she was. Reporter acting attorney general sally yates, an obama appointee, was fired after directing Justice Department lawyers not to defend the president S Immigration order. At present, she wrote them, i am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with my responsibilities, nor am i convinced that the executive order is lawful. Spicer insisted justices office of Legal Counsel did find the order lawful. That doesnt sound like an attorney general that is upholding the duty that she has sworn to uphold. At the end of the day, the attorney general either had a problem with her own division approving something but it wasnt the president she had an issue with. The president followed the process. Reporter meanwhile, Homeland Security secretary john kelly dismissed reports he was kept in the dark about the immigration order. I knew this was under development and i think we were in pretty good shape in how it was implemented by the workforce. Reporter the New York Times had reported kelly was not fully briefed until the order was being signed on friday, and that defense secretary james mattis was not consulted until just hours earlier. From day one, in terms of the inauguration, finishing touches, i would have to put it that way, were being put on the executive order. As i say, high level folks in the government, attorneys as well, were part of that. People on my staff were generally involved. Reporter but the acting commissioner of customs and border protection, kevin mcaleenan, conceded today the orders implementation could have been better. Communications, publicly and interagency, havent been the best in the initial rollout of this process. We have communicated with the department of state now and these guidelines will be on our website. Reporter mcaleenan said his agency had to create a waiver process for green card and special visa holders after the order took effect. At the capitol, House Speaker paul ryan said Top Republicans werent briefed until the executive order was being signed. I think its regrettable that there was some confusion on the rollout of this. No one wanted to see people with green cards or special immigrant visas, like translators, get caught up in all of this. Reporter press secretary spicer dismissed reports that the handling of the immigration order created tensions with g. O. P. Leaders. And amid the furor, the president spent most of his day in meetings. This morning, he urged executives from Major Pharmaceutical Companies to cut prices. Today, the white house also said the president will continue president obamas order barring discrimination by federal employers and contractors based on Sexual Orientation and gender identity. For the pbs newshour, im john yang at the white house. Woodruff the president also faces another legal challenge tonight. San francisco has files suit against his order on socalled sanctuary cities. It cuts off federal aid to cities that shelter undocumented immigrants. Obrien in the days other news, Senate Democrats forced delays on three of the president s cabinet nominees. The Judiciary Committee had planned to vote on republican senator Jeff Sessions to be attorney general. Instead, the Committee Meeting grew contentious in the wake of last nights firing of the acting attorney general. We clearly saw what a truly independent attorney general does. I have no confidence that senator sessions will do that. Instead, he has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in congress of the trump agenda. Everyone on this committee, be they republican or democrat, knows senator sessions to be a man of integrity and a man of his word because we know him to be a man of his word. We know that he will uphold and enforce all laws equally. Woodruff meanwhile, democrats on the finance nominees Steve Mnuchin to be treasury secretary and tom price for health and human services. The nominee for secretary of education, betsy devos, squeaked through the Senate Education committee. It was 12 to 11, down party lines. But two republicans, Lisa Murkowski of alaska and Susan Collins of maine, warned, they still have serious concerns. I was surprised and concerned about mrs. Devoss apparent lack of familiarity with the landmark 1975 law idea that guarantees a free and appropriate education for children with special needs. She has not yet earned my full support, and when each of us have the opportunity to vote aye or nay on the floor, i would not advise that she yet count on my vote. Obrien three more cabinet nominees advanced to the full senate today for confirmation votes. The Energy Committee approved montana congressman ryan zinke as interior secretary, and former Texas Governor rick perry as energy secretary. And, the Small Business committee endorsed Linda Mcmahon to run the Small Business administration. Meanwhile, elaine chao was sworn in as transportation secretary, shortly after being confirmed by the senate. Woodruff our Lisa Desjardins has spent much of the day at the capitol, watching the toandfro over President Trumps cabinet choices. And she joins me now. Lisa, welcome. So what is the strategy behind the democrats tactics in slowing down, delaying these nominations . The truth is, it depends on each committee. As you reported earlier, it seems the ones most indefinitely dlaitd are Steve Mnuchin and tom price. We dont know when thrael come up for a vote. Democrats say they want to talk to them again. They want more answers to questions. At the same time, Jeff Sessions looks like hell get a vote tomorrow. But all this delay in the end might not matter. Its really things like you report on, on betsy devos. Do they have enough republican votes to be confirmed. Woodruff so how are the republicans responding to this . They say this is bad acting on the part of democrats. They say this is democrats being sore losers, in the word of one republican. But on the other hand, democrats say they are playing hardball, and that they are reacting to President Trumps refugee order. They say that he is now unleashing a new kind of aggressive executive power that they are reacting to in the senate. Woodruff and, lisa, how are the republicans dealing with that . And does it have implications for the Supreme Court nominee coming . I didnt get a lot of answers from republicans tonight as to how can they get these nominees to the senate floor without going through some of these committees. They say theyre work it, but the truth si dont know of a way they can do it without democratic votes. So thats to be determined. But i think in the end, its a political calculus on both sides, and the Supreme Court nominee will be a huge factor in this. Republicans are, in a way, daring democrats to try and block the Supreme Court nominee. Democrats seem to be ready to do it. Well see if republicans, as john mccain told me tonight are, willing to change the vote count to only 50 votes for a Supreme Court nominee. They say theyre open to that at this point. Woodruff well, that would be a story for all of us to cover. Lisa desjardins, thank you. Obrien in eastern ukraine, heavy new fighting has erupted, with at least eight People Killed overnight. Ukrainian troops and russian backed rebels dueled with artillery and rockets on the outskirts of donetsk. It appeared to be the worst shelling in many months, and it briefly trapped hundreds of coal miners underground. Ukraines president blamed moscow translated our servicemen are successfully defending positions. The only restriction is when criminals, russian rebels, deploy artillery systems, tanks and multiple missile rocket launchers in residential areas. We have clear evidence of that. Obrien the Ukrainian Military and russianbacked rebels each blame the other for launching the offensive. Woodruff back in this country, the boy scouts of america now says it will accept transgender children who identify as boys. In a Statement Last night, the organization said its existing approach is no longer sufficient, as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently. The Girl Scouts Organization has accepted transgender members for years. Obrien tonight marks the deadline for americans to sign up for Health Insurance under the Affordable Care act. It affects 39 states served by healthcare. Gov. States with their own insurance websites set their own deadlines. President trump and Congressional Republicans have promised to repeal and replace obamacare. Woodruff and on wall street today, subpar earnings from goldman sachs, boeing and others weighed on stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 107 points to close at 19,864. The nasdaq rose a point, but the s p 500 slipped two. Obrien still to come on the newshour the contenders for President Trumps Supreme Court nominee; universities Warn International students not to leave the country; and, a music job that women rarely hold. Woodruff many questions remain about President Trumps executive order temporarily prohibiting citizens of seven majority muslim countries from entering the u. S. Perhaps chief among these questions does it make us any safer . Both today and yesterday, white House Press Secretary sean spicer fielded queries from reporters. Reporter some of the countries that have problems with terrorism are not on the list. Right, and were reviewing the entire process over this period of time to make sure that we do this right. But i dont think you have to look any further than the families of the boston marathon, in atlanta, in san bernardino, to ask if we can go further. Theres obviously steps that we can and should be taking, and i think the president is going to continue do to what he can to make sure that this country is as safe as possible. Look, i think the president s number one goal is the protection and safety of the United States and its people. If they want to act in a way thats inconsistent with their concerns, then thats up to them to do it as a sovereign nation, but it is our duty and it is his duty to make sure that this country and its people are protected first and foremost. It cant be a ban if youre letting a Million People in. If 325,000 people from another country can come in, that is by nature, not a ban. It is extreme vetting. Woodruff so, is this policy effective . For one perspective, i am joined now by michael leiter. He was the director of the National Counterterrorism center from 2007 to 2011, during both the george w. Bush and obama administrations. Michael leiter, welcome back to the program. Whats your general reaction to what sean spicer is saying is the white house rationale for this . Well, i think as a general matter, it misses the point that much of this vetting is already going on. So the question is why stop it now . What are we going to add . And if the goal is to have a zerodefect system that no one will ever come to the u. S. Who later poses a danger to u. S. Citizens, then theres really only one way to accomplish that, and that is to permanently shut down all immigration. And the fact is we cant do that. We wouldnt do that. We have to make smart judgments based on facts about how we vet people, where we vet people, and where the threat really comes from. So based on all of those things, i really dont see this right now as being an effective counterterrorism tool. Woodruff youre referring to the number of terrorist ensdents that have taken place in this country, a number of them were on the part of people who had been living here for a number of years. Thats right. Since 2001, 82 of fatal tacks in the United States from sunni extremist terrorism violent islamic extremists have been legal permanent residents or citizens. And the others werent from these seven countries. So by shutting down, at least temporarily, immigration from these countries, its a little bit like closing the barn door, but its not even the barn door where the horse came from. Woodruff so, michael, when the white house is asked, why these seven countries . They say these are countries identified by president obama, and this is at a time when you were in office, theyre saying 2011. They were identified at that time as being countries of concern. Whats the difference between what happened under president obama and what theyre doing now . Well, there is some truth there. These seven countries do represent country wheres theres a serious terrorism threat. But this these countries really grew out of paris attacks. And that issue involved people from European Countries who didnt need a visa, immigration visa at all. They were from visawaiver countries. You could just travel to the u. S. Under the obama administration, if people, say, from the united kingdom, traveled to yemen, then they would have to apply for a visa. What this this order does was saying anyone traveling from those critize theres going to be a pause. So i think theres some corallation, but its really using it for a very, very different purpose. And it misses, again, what the greatest threat was, which is people coming from visawaiver countries where the reviews are much less. Woodruff and, again, visa waiver countries normally being countries we think of as friendly, our allies, europe, other parts of the world, where their government is not viewed as a threat. Thats exactly right. There are three ways to get into the United States, a visawaiver country,. The uk, france, they dont have to apply, they dont get interviewed. Visa country like the seven where people are already being vetted, quite extremely, i would say. And then refugees, which really fall into a special category and to get special attention. Woodruff so when they say these are all designed to make the United States safer, to make american citizens safer, the answer is . I think the answer on these countries is i dont see it. And we have to remember the ways in which this alienates the people with whom we have to partner, domestically and internationally. Its the Muslim Community in the u. S. , which helps us identify terrorists and radicalized individuals and stop them, and critically, its the International Partners that we need help from in the middle east and majority muslim nations who i fear will be alienated by some of these steps. Woodruff you mentioned the vetting process that already takes place, that was taking place through the obama administration. I was reading a piece just today or yesterday citing at least 20 different steps that someone has to take if they want to enter the United States from one of these countries considered suspect. How would you go about tightening just how tight is that process . And how would you go about tightening it, making it more stricter . Well, its hard to figure out, quite honestly, judy. And thats in part because it has been constantly improved. It was good in 2001 after 9 11. It wasnt perfect. And after 2011 and the underwear bomber, the Christmas Day bomber, it was tightepped more. But today, every individual applying for a visa, they go through biographical checks from all of the National Security agencies the f. B. I. , d. H. S. , the c. I. A. They have biometric checks, fingerprints. And theyre finally interviewed before they even get that visa, and then they