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Senate Democrats on Sunday attacked President Trumps recently imposed ban on immigration from several mostly-Muslim countries -- calling the order unconstitutional and seizing on some refugees and green card holders being detained this weekend at U.S. airports to fuel their political outrage.

He has established a target of refugees, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senates second-ranking Democrat, told Fox News Sunday.

Trump on Friday issued an executive order that includes a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program and a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

Durbin spoke after a hectic Saturday at New Yorks John. F. Kennedy International Airport and other airports across the country -- where dozens of refugees or people with green cards were detained or stopped for additional vetting.

They just sprung this on us, Durbin said about the executive order. Refugees are the most carefully vetted visitors who come into this country.

Durbin also thanked a Brooklyn judge (the first of several federal judges across the country) who late Saturday issued emergency orders to temporarily bar the administration from deporting people from the seven countries.

Top White House officials late Saturday and early Sunday rushed to defend the program and pointed out that President Obama identified the seven countries from which immigration has been banned.

These are countries that have a history of training, harboring, exporting terrorists, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said twice on Fox News Sunday.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBCs Meet the Press that 75 to 80 percent of Americans agree with the policy change, amid terror attacks in the United States and elsewhere around the world in which the perpetrators have been linked to such countries.

We don't want people that are traveling back and forth to one of these seven countries that harbor terrorists to be traveling freely back and forth between the United States and those countries, Priebus said.

Hours after Durbin spoke, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, at a press conference, vowed to fight the executive order with every fiber of my being.

The New York lawmaker also argued that Trumps order was unconstitutional and vowed Senate Democrats would try, in the GOP-controlled Congress, to reverse the order.

Mr. President, Im here to tell you that I will fight this, said Schumer, who sniffled back tears as he stood alongside several children and adult immigrants impacted by the ban.

Trump also faces public opposition from at least a handful of congressional Republicans including Sens. Jeff Flake, of Arizona; Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, and Rob Portman, of Ohio.

"This was an extreme vetting program that wasn't properly vetted," Portman said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

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Senate Democrats bash Trump's immigration ban; emotional ...

New York Times

Trump Says 'Bad People' Will Be Kept Out, Whether It's Called a Ban or Not New York Times Democrats had tried to delay the finance committee votes, demanding answers from both nominees about recent news reports of insider-trading allegations involving Mr. Price and roughshod treatment of homeowners by Mr. Mnuchin's Southern California ... Senate Republicans Defy Democrats' Boycott To Advance Trump NomineesNPR How Progressives Are Forcing Senate Democrats Into ActionThe Atlantic Democrats boycott controversial EPA nominee Scott Pruitt's committee confirmation voteWashington Post CNN -Bloomberg -CNBC -Wall Street Journal all 548 news articles »

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Trump Says 'Bad People' Will Be Kept Out, Whether It's Called a Ban or Not - New York Times

In the military everything is viewed as an operation, even a change of command ceremony or a parade. It is not about trying to cover every detail but having a plan of execution that gets everyone on a common direction in understanding intent, tasks, purpose, and end state.

Operations are rehearsed for the sake of synchronization and coordination, but the most important part of any operation is the AARthe After Action Review.

After the 2012 presidential election loss, the GOP, under then-Chairman Reince Preibus's leadership embarked upon an AAR which ended up producing the Growth and Opportunity Project. It was a hard assessment of the GOP after losing two presidential elections and where the party needed to go for the future. It was referred to by some as an autopsy report as many deemed the GOP a dying political party whose demise was forthcoming. We can debate as to whether that report led to the November 2016 victory, but Priebus nonetheless recognized an AAR had to be done.

Yet in the aftermath of the November 2016 election, the Democratic party has not conducted a publicly announced self-assessment. Instead, it would appear that many Democrats' response is that we need more protests, denigrating language, and demeaning attitudes toward those who did not "vote our way."

It would behoove Democrats to determine what happened to the venerable blue wall, that in which they so ardently placed their confidence. A simple look at the post-election "red" versus "blue" count at the county level should be cause for concern. This was what Democrat Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) was trying to articulate in his quest to be the House Democrat Leader. Any honest AAR process would have realized that Congressman Ryan was correct, and that the far left progressive message of the todays Democratic party is not reaching the American worker.

The reelection of Nancy Pelosi in the House as Minority Leader is reflective of a party that does not want to conduct a formal AAR that assesses strengths and weaknesses, sustains and improves. They continue to talk among themselvesalong with a complicit liberal progressive media armand tell themselves nothing is wrong.

Look no further than the cast auditioning to be the next Chairman of the Democrat National Committee to find a harder turn toward the left.

Once upon a time the Democrats castigated the GOP as the party of no, when in reality Republicans offer alternative policy solutions. Where are the new Democratic policies? Democrats ought to be aware of what could happen if economic growth, better education opportunity, and restoration of law and order return to the American inner cities.

Democrats will eventually have to conduct an honest AAR. If they fail to do so, then the electoral results of 2010, 2014, and the losses of gubernatorial seats and State legislatures will be their albatross.

To Democrats who believe they have a winning formula: beware the 2018 midterm elections.

Allen West, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and former Member of the 112th U.S. Congress, is the Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis. Follow him on Twitter @AllenWest.

The views of contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Here are 3 letters Democrats need to learn if they want to win again - The Hill (blog)

Seizing on President Trumps early missteps and the wave of protests his executive actions have triggered, Democrats are feeling more emboldened to confrontthe new administration head-on.

Democrats are the still minority in Congress, lacking the votes to stop Trumps agenda. But they have the ability to jam it up. And Tuesday they did just that.

Firstthey temporarily stopped the clock on Rex Tillersons nomination for secretary of State, arguing that his views on Trumps refugee and travel ban must be made public before lawmakers can make a decision.

Next they staged a walkout at the Senate Finance Committee, preventing votes on Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) as Health and Human Services secretary and Steve Mnuchin as secretary of Treasury.

And they forced a delay of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general after Trump abruptly fired acting Atty. Gen.Sally Yatesfor refusing to enforce his travel ban.

Earlier,they kept the Senate in session until midnight Monday and protested on the steps of the Supreme Court, ahead of what is now likely to be a rigorous confirmation battle over Trumps pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalias seat.

People across our country are looking at what President Trump is doing, they are appalled, and they are looking to us in Congress to fight back, said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the No. 3 Democrat, whose office received so many voicemails of concern 10,000 it shut down the system.Democrats are fighting back with every tool we have.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said he would oppose every one of Trumps nominees until they fully answered new questions raised by Trumps executive actions.

Democrats were initially divided in the aftermath of Trumps stunning electoral victory over whether to work with the new president or battle him. Many remain crushed over Democratic lossesand confused by the nationalist and populist enthusiasm for Trump that siphoned off some of their traditional voters.

But Democrats quickly found an answer in the protests erupting across the country as Americans poured into the streets after Trumps inauguration, and again last weekend atairports in response to the travel order.

President Obama kind of set the tone when he left saying to everybody, If you want to make an impact, stay engaged, said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). The publics very engaged.

Even some Democratic organizers were pleasantly surprised by the scale of the impromptu rallies of liberals, carrying homemade signs and showing up to protestthe presidents actions. To some, the uprisings have been reminiscent of the tea party protests that sprung up early in Obamas presidency.

Senate leaders say that their reasons for stalling Trumps Cabinet choices are based on policy, notpolitics. They note that the Senate easily confirmed Elaine Chao as the new Transportation secretary Tuesday while committees advanced Rick Perry as Energy secretary and Ryan Zinke as head ofInterior.

But some of Trumps nominees remain controversial because they have not completed the necessary paperwork, including ethics disclosures, or they face fresh questions as new information emerges.

Democrats have said Mnuchin, awealthy Wall Street executive,misled the committeein his response to a written question about foreclosures at Pasadenas OneWest Bank while he ran it from 2009 to 2015.

They have also been increasingly critical of Prices extensive trading in healthcare stocks while he has been in Congress, in some cases while he has pushed legislation that would benefit his portfolio.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) denouncedthe Democratic walkout Tuesday as he sat with only Republicans on the dais.

"They ought to be embarrassed. It'sthe most pathetic treatment Ive seen in my 40 years in the United States Senate," Hatch said. "I think they should stop posturing and acting like idiots."

But even Democrats who did not participate in the boycott Tuesday said their colleagues had the right to protest for more information.

People are concerned, said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who communicated with protesters via Skype at his Charleston office.

For Democrats the unresolved tension between the partys liberal base and its more moderate wing remains a potentially troublesome political divide. The rise of the tea party, for example, may have reenergized the GOP, but it also fueled deep divisions that continue today.

Liberal favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) encountered pushback from liberal activists after she voted to advance Ben Carsons nomination for Housing and Urban Development secretary.

There are various gradations within the opposition, and some [advocate] scorched-earth, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant leader. Some of my folks in the base dont want me to vote yes for anyone. But Im not going to take that position.

After Democrats gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court on Monday night in an emotional protest over the refugee and travel ban, Trump tweeted dismissively about them. He made fun of the trouble they had getting the microphones to work.

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Democrats see opening in Trump's stumble on travel ban, move to block Cabinet votes - Los Angeles Times

As part of an effort to understand the state of the Democratic Party both inside and outside Washington in the wake of Donald Trump's victory, I am embarking on an occasional series of conversations with people who will be part of what comes next for the party. I began this project by talking to Guy Cecil, a leading Democratic strategist. The second installment is a chat withJason Kander, a former Missouri secretary of state, who nearly unseated Sen. Roy Blunt (R) in November. Our conversation was conducted via email and is reproduced below. Have a suggestion for a Democrat I should talk to for this series? Email me at chris.cillizza@washpost.com.

FIX: First of all, thanks for doing this.

You were one of the few feel good stories for Democrats in the 2016 election. You ran WAY ahead of Hillary Clinton and almost knocked off Roy Blunt. So, lets start basic: How did you do it? What was the one big lesson you learned about how to appeal to voters as a Democrat running in a GOP-leaning state? And how much did the Democratic brand nationally hurt your chances?

Ive got a bunch more questions but lets start there.

Kander: I've run statewide in Missouri twice and always substantially outperformed the top of the ticket once in a win and once in a very close loss. For me, the lesson has always been to make sure voters know what you really believe and make sure you communicate with every voter. They'll forgive you for holding an opinion they don't agree with as long as they know you're genuine and you include them in your vision. Doing things right in politics is no different than doing things right in life: Tell the truth, be yourself.

FIX:Okay! But be yourself isnt a national party platform, right? Are there policies that you think the Democratic Party can and should affirmatively unite behind? Or is that a thing of the past, and each candidate needs to run his/her own campaign?

Also, the tell the truth, be yourself thing at least the be yourself part sounds a lot like how Donald Trump ran for the presidency, right?

Kander: I'm a Democrat because I want every American to have a fair shot at the American Dream. That's what ties it all together for me, and in my experience, that means recognizing that no one is dealing with life one issue at a time. I've stood in rooms in urban, rural and suburban parts of my state and asked a room of middle class voters to raise their hands if the college debt of someone in their family is affecting their financial situation. Without exception, at least three quarters of the room will raise their hand. Parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts, all affected by it. And then when you talk to the kids, you learn fast that minimum wage isn't enough to get by and go to school. And if you're in a small town, it affects the whole town, because those kids rarely come home after finishing school if the only chance they have to pay down their debt is going to come from the salary they can earn in a major urban area. So, since you asked about platform, I just believe it's about recognizing that progressive solutions are solutions for every American regardless of how much they make, what color they are, or where they live. So while some people think taking our argument to everyone means moderating or acting like Republicans, I don't agree. I think it's about unapologetically making the argument that lifting up people you don't know lifts you up, too. That's what I mean by being yourself.

FIX: I hear all of that. But, that is in a sort of ideal political world that doesnt currently exist.

In the real political world, it appears as though two factions have emerged post-election:

1. The Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren/Howard Dean wing: This part of the party views compromise with Trump as capitulation and that the only right answer to his presidency is outright resistance.

2. The Charles E. Schumer wing: More pragmatic in its approach to Trump. Lets work with him where we can. Trust but verify. This wing is also far less populist and less convinced that Wall Street is a huge part of the problem facing the country.

Some of these differences are purely tonal. But, some are not. Trade and things like TPP is one good example of a place where the two sides of the party just dont agree.

It seems to me that whats been papered over by Trumps aggressiveness in the early days of his presidency is that the Democratic Party is in dire electoral straits. Out of the Senate and House majorities. At a historically low ebb in governors' mansions. In deep trouble at the state legislative level.

This is not a healthy party. And its one without a) a clear leader at the moment or b) a set of unifying policy proposals.

Tell me where and why Im wrong.

Kander: From my point of view here in the middle of the country, no one is thinking about a political party right now. I went to the march in Kansas City, and people were coming up to me telling me they'd never done anything resembling politics or activism in their life but they were ready to start. Fifty-four percent of the country voted for someone else for president and yet the president is governing like he has a mandate. Feels like a movement to me and, honestly, how many successful movements have started in Washington or have been nicely ordered and managed by a political party?

I just think this is a lot bigger than one political party or the question of who are the one or two leaders. I think we all have this responsibility to step forward. As for your questions about the party having wings, it seems like a less relevant conversation at the moment. The Democratic Party didn't win the election, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to fight over who gets what piece of the silver medal. The only thing that makes sense is for everybody to jump in the fight.

And, frankly, with someone as divisive as President Trump on the other side, it doesn't really matter who the leader of the opposition is at the moment. The 54 percent of the country, including the Democrats, who voted for someone else are uniting behind the fact that the president is trying to divide the country and undo the progress of the past eight years. Almost all of us agree withthat as the core issue we're dealing with right now, so we actually aren't very divided. Obviously we have work to do to unite the party, but President Trump is going to take care of a lot of that for us. And currently he's bringing together more than the Democratic Party, he's uniting the majority of the country against his policies.

I understand your points, and I have no doubt that there are people asking those questions in Washington, but here on the ground where folks are focused on organizing, that's not what I'm hearing from people.

FIX:Thats a super interesting perspective. And it leads me to a question that people ask me all the time: Is it time for another party in this country?

My answer is always: Probably not. Because the logistics and costs of building a new party are massive. And that more people say they are independent than actually are when the rubber meets the road. But, if ever there was a time in which people were sick of the two parties and all of the polarization, now is the moment.

I assume that since youve run as a Democrat your whole political career, you disagree with the idea of a necessary third party?

Kander: Well, it doesn't feel necessary to me. I'm proud to be a Democrat, and I feel pretty strongly that the country would be better off with Democrats in charge.

FIX: All right. Last question: Most people feel totally disenfranchised from politics and believe neither party represents them. Why are they wrong?'

Kander: Culturally, Americans just aren't turning to existing institutions for leadership like we have in the past, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Take us millennials for example. We are, as a group, pretty progressive across the country, and many of us really came of age politically during President Obama's unifying campaign in 2008. It inspired us, but it inspired us to believe that we are the ones we've been waiting for. So is it any surprise that we're not really looking to an existing institution to drive a movement? I believe it's time for a new generation of leadership, so it doesn't surprise me at all.

In the next few years, millennials are going to be the biggest generation represented in the workplace and, very possibly, in the electorate. Part of the reason folks my age are less likely to identify themselves as a Democrat or as a Republican is because they've been watching this system break down and not work for most of their lives. So, like President Obama, we are definitely progressive, but we think that forward is a direction that makes a lot more sense than left or right. Because that left vs. right conversation just feels like our parents' conversation. Today, it's really more of a question of going forward or going back. And we don't want to go back. We want to go forward. In my mind, and in the mind of a lot of millennials, that's why we're progressive.

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54% of the country didn't vote for Trump. For Democrats, that's a start. - Washington Post