Here’s the recap from last week. I thought it was a slow week, but… wait, actually this is a slow week in Trumpland.

1. Missed from last week’s recap: The House introduces bill to banish the EPA.
2. Trump drafts a plan to cut off food stamps for immigrants, both legal and illegal, which could cause some US citizens to go hungry (especially as it also affects their children even if born here).
3. Polls show that a majority of Americans (albeit a small majority) views the travel ban as a Muslim ban and a majority is opposed to it. Trump says the negative polls are fake news.
4. Federal appeals case for the travel ban is set for Tuesday.
5. Trump vilifies lawyers and judges who are impeding the travel ban. Gorsuch says Trump’s remarks are demoralizing and disheartening, according to Senator Richard Blumenthal and Gorsuch’s communications lead.
6. We learn that Trump signed the order placing Bannon on the National Security Council without understanding what he was signing.
7. Trump tells a military group at MacDill Air Force Base that the media doesn’t report on all terrorist attacks across the world because “…the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it.” He appears to have gotten this information from Alex Jones. The press office later releases a list of 78 “uncovered” attacks, most of which were covered as various news outlets proved by producing links to their stories. Missing from that list were any attacks in Israel, where such attacks are common, and in sub-Saharan Africa, where most such attacks occur.
8. Trump says that they might not have an ACA replacement until the end of this year of next year.
9. The Senate confirms Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, with the tightest margin in recent history and possibly making her the least qualified cabinet member in history. Democratic senators spoke through the night to try and bring one more Republican over to vote against her, but in the end, only two Republicans came over and Vice-President Mike Pence had to cast the deciding vote.
10. On the same day, Representative Thomas Massie introduces H.R. 899, a one-page bill to banish the Department of Education by the end of 2018.
11. A website explaining the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) was removed from the Department of Education website. This was set up under President George W. Bush so educators, advocates and parents could get a “one-stop” explanation of the act and learn what their rights are under the disability law.
12. Trump threatens to defund California over possible statewide sanctuary cities. “We give tremendous amounts of money to California. California in many ways is out of control, as you know.” Um, except for the fact that per capita, California only gets back 75 cents on their federal tax dollar. Most states receive more than they put in, some getting over $4.00 back for each dollar put in.
13. Trump tells the National Sheriffs’ Association that the country’s murder rate is at the highest it’s been in 47 years. In actuality, it’s near its lowest point in that period according to the FBI, which gathers statistics from police departments nationwide.
14. Senate Republicans vote to ban Senator Warren from speaking further in the Sessions hearing because she was “impugning” him by bringing up Coretta Scott King’s letter from his 1986 hearing (yes, there is an obscure and rarely used rule in the Senate that a senator can’t impugn another Senator – Senate Rule 19). #LetLizSpeak trends.
15. Sessions is subsequently confirmed 52-47.
16. Louisiana is hit by a reported 9 tornadoes. Trump approves disaster declaration for the area.
17. Yemen announces they will end US military operations in Yemen.
18. Nordstrom drops the Ivanka Trump line due to sagging sales, generating a backlash from Trump himself. Kellyanne Conway finds herself “counseled” when she tells people to go out and buy Ivanka’s stuff. Neumann Marcus also drops her line, followed by a few more retailers who say the line isn’t selling.
19. In trying to denigrate the judges and lawyers who question the constitutionality of the travel ban as written, Trump said “I was a very good student. I comprehend very well. Better than, I think, almost anybody.” Too bad he didn’t go to law school.
20. Ninth circuit court of appeals upholds the suspension of the travel ban and the ban is stayed indefinitely. Judges in this case have been receiving threats.
21. Trump announces he will not appeal this decision immediately. They are looking at possibly rewriting the order and reissuing it.
22. As part of a nationwide operation, ICE raids in LA pick up around 100 illegal immigrants, not all of whom had criminal records and some of whom have been here for decades. The push behind the raids seems to be Trump’s expanded definition of criminal alien.
23. Latest reports are that the wall would cost $21.6 billion.
24. Trump signs an executive order to reduce crime and restore public safety by creating a new task force on the issue under Sessions, focusing on illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and violent crime.
25. Trump signs an executive order to increase intelligence sharing among law enforcement agencies to help combat international drug cartels.
26. Trump signs an executive order to prosecute crimes against law enforcement officers using existing federal law. Amnesty International claims that this doesn’t address the underlying problem and will result in people being over-prosecuted for smaller offenses.
27. A Texas court struck down the US Chamber of Commerce’s attempt to overturn a new Labor Department rule requiring retirement fund advisers to put their customers’ interests first.
28. A state judge panel placed on hold a law that would have required North Carolina Governor’s (Roy Cooper) nominees for state cabinet heads to undergo confirmation hearings by the state legislature. If you remember, once the Democratic governor was elected, the GOP legislators moved to curtail the governor’s power.
29. Tom Price is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
30. Officials have corroborated some of the information in the leaked Steele Dossier on Trump, confirming that some of the conversations described in the dossier took place between the same individuals on the same days and from the same locations as detailed in the dossier. This gives US intelligence higher confidence in the credibility of certain parts of the dossier as they continue to investigate. No content has been confirmed.
31. As part of the Steele Dossier corroboration, officials claim National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had discussions with the Russian ambassador to Washington prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration. The discussions were inappropriate and possibly illegal, especially if they were about easing sanctions. The content of the conversations has not been released, though.
32. Senator David Perdue introduces S.J.Res.19. As part of this legislation, there would be no more limits on the overdraft fees that banks can charge, among other things
33. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and Public Citizen sued Trump over the 1-in-2-out executive order, which states that federal agencies needs to remove 2 regulations for each new regulation they create.
34. Sr. Policy Advisor Stephen Miller makes the talk show rounds on Sunday morning, doubling down on claims of voter fraud and also saying that the judges in the travel ban case overstepped their power. He also claimed that the power of the president to protect the country will not be questioned. This is a guy to watch.
35. Korea executes a missile test, causing Trump and Japan Prime Minister Abe to scramble to put out a joint statement during the weekend at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. They basically held a national security meeting at a public table in the dining room.