National security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation under fire was just the latest in a series of controversies that have embroiled the Trump administration since it took office on Jan. 20.
Here are several of the tempests that have swirled around the new White House:
FLYNN FLAP
Flynn quit on Monday after misleading the White House about his contacts with Russia before taking office and President Donald Trump lost trust in him, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called for an investigation.
NATIONAL SECURITY AT MAR-A-LAGO
Private guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida snapped photos of the president and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe conferring and looking at documents while surrounded by aides following a weekend missile launch by North Korea. One guest posted to his Facebook page a picture with a man described to be the holder of the “nuclear football,” or weapons codes. The incidents prompted concerns about national security, and a Republican representative asked the White House for details.
TRAVEL BAN CHAOS
Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27 temporarily banning U.S. entry by travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees, citing the need to protect Americans. The ban triggered protests across the United States, confusion at U.S. and overseas airports and multiple legal challenges. A federal judge in Seattle on Feb. 3 suspended the ban in an order upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco.
COURT NOMINEE’S DISMAY
The Seattle judge’s order drew fire from Trump on Twitter, who criticized the jurist and the court system. The Republican president’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, said last week that the Twitter attacks were “demoralizing” and “disheartening,” according to a spokesman. Trump said Gorsuch’s comments had been misrepresented.
KELLYANNE CONWAY PLUG
Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway urged Americans last week to buy his daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing and jewelry products during an appearance on a national television program after department store chain Nordstrom Inc said it was dropping them due to a decline in sales. Conway’s endorsement, which followed a Twitter attack by Trump on Nordstrom, prompted criticism from Democrats and Republicans. On Tuesday, the Office of Government Ethics said the White House should investigate whether Conway violated ethics rules.
PUZDER’S UNDOCUMENTED CLEANER
Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, admitted on Feb. 7 he employed an illegal immigrant as a house cleaner. Puzder, who already faced strong opposition from Senate Democrats and progressive groups because of his views on labor issues, said he and his wife had employed the housekeeper for a few years without knowing she was not legally permitted to work in the country. He said that when he learned of her status, he and his wife ended her employment and offered her help in getting legal status.
MEXICAN VISIT CANCELED
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto scrapped plans to meet his counterpart in Washington during the second week of Trump’s presidency after Trump tweeted that Mexico should cancel the meeting if it was not prepared to pay for his proposed border wall.
of jobs and companies lost. If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
SPAT WITH AUSTRALIAN PM
Trump abruptly ended a phone call in late January with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, telling the leader of one of the United States’ closest allies that it was the “worst call by far” he had had with a foreign leader, according to the Washington Post. Trump said a deal between the United States and Australia on refugee resettlement was “dumb” and accused Turnbull’s country of trying to export the “next Boston bombers” under the agreement, the Post said.
