US President Donald Trump (C) meets with the Congressional Black Caucus Executive Committee at the White House in Washington, DC, March 22, 2017.JIM WATSON/AFP / Getty Images
What happened today:
Democrats complain about Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch's elusiveness
President Donald Trump's nominee for a lifetime job at the U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, faced another round of questions on the third day of his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing after enduring 11 hours of questioning Tuesday. Democrats have been unable to pin Mr. Gorsuch down on key matters during the hearing and has sidestepped answering whether he felt a series of contentious issues have been decided correctly in the past, including cases on abortion, gun rights, political spending, religious rights and the ruling tipping the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush. Top Democrats have voiced frustration with his elusiveness.
Trump's former campaign chair Manafort had plan to benefit Putin
Mr. Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, secretly worked for a Russian billionaire to advance the interests of Russian President Vladamir Putin a decade ago and proposed an ambitious political strategy to undermine anti-Russian opposition across former Soviet republics. The work appears to contradict assertions from Mr. Trump and his administration, and Mr. Manafort himself, that he never worked for Russians interests.
One in three U.S. Muslims fear for safety in Trump presidency: poll
More than one in three U.S. Muslims fear they could be targeted by white supremacists groups after Mr. Trump's election and 42 per cent say their children have been bullied in school because of their faith, a survey found. Cracking down on what Mr. Trump called "radical Islamic terrorists" and restricting travel from certain Middle Eastern countries have been major elements of Mr. Trump's presidency. Thirty-eight per cent of Muslims feared they could be victimized by white-supremacist groups and nearly one in five have made plans to leave the U.S. "if it becomes necessary."
Trump plan eliminates a global sentinel against disease, experts warn
Nearly two million Americans have died from intercontinental virus strikes, such as Ebola, West Nile, AIDS and the flu, a virus that returns from abroad each winter. But Mr. Trump's federal budget plan to protect the U.S. against intercontinental missile strikes – of which no one in the U.S. has ever died from – seems to be more of a concern. The federal budget to stop disease threats is infinitely smaller than the Pentagon's. The Trump administration's proposed cuts to the National Institute of Health, and particularly its plan to eliminate the Fogarty International Center at the NIH, would make America more vulnerable.
Trump struggles to nail down support for health-care bill before House vote
Mr. Trump and Republican congressional leaders are struggling to get enough support in the House of Representatives to win passage of their new bill that will repeal the Affordable Care Act, put in place by predecessor Barack Obama. Repeal and replace was the name of the game for Mr. Trump, and the first major test of his legislative ability and whether he can keep the big promises to business. The current House Republican rollback plan, which is scheduled for a floor vote on Thursday, faces stiff resistance from some conservative Republicans who view it as too similar to Obamacare, and from moderates who fear its impact on voters.
Tillerson vows refugee safe zone, urges more pressure on the Islamic State
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States would set up "interim zones of stability" to help refugees return home in the next phase of the fight against Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Mr. Tillerson did not make it clear where these zones were to be set up while addressing a meeting of 68 countries gathered in Washington to discuss the fight against the Islamic State. Although it was unclear how the zones would work, creating safe havens could ratchet up U.S. military involvement in Syria and mark a major departure from former president Obama's more cautious approach.
Kaepernick donates $50,000 to Meals on Wheels after Trump swipe
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick donated $50,000 to Meals on Wheels, a group that provides food for seniors in need. It came a day after Mr. Trump took a swipe at Mr. Kaepernick, taking credit for lack of interest in the free agent. Mr. Kaepernick garnered attention after he refused to stand for the national anthem before 49ers games last season as a protest against police treatment of minorities. Meals on Wheels faces a sharp funding cut under Mr. Trump's proposed budget.
Other reads:
Who's the man on a crash collision course with Mr. Trump? FBI director James Comey features a strong reputation for standing up to the White House. After confirming that his agency is conducting a counterintelligence investigation of contacts between the Trump administration and Russian officials – and saying there was no evidence to support Mr. Trump's claims that the former president wiretapped Trump Tower – Mr. Comey is emerging as the most consequential FBI director in decades.