Refugee ban creates rift between Trump, Cabinet

WASHINGTON — In a sign of early discord, Donald Trump’s key Cabinet advisers — as well as Republican congressional leaders — distanced themselves Monday from the president’s controversial refugee and immigration ban. They declared they were not consulted during its writing and were blindsided by the timing.

At least three top national security officials — Defense Secretary James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, who is awaiting confirmation to lead the State Department — have told associates they were not aware of details of directive until around the time Trump signed it. Top intelligence officials were also left largely in the dark, according to U.S. officials.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said that despite White House assurances that congressional leaders were consulted, he learned about the order in the media.

The fallout was immediate: friction between Trump and his top advisers and a rush by the Pentagon to seek exemptions to the policy. The White House approach also sparked an unusually public clash between a president and the civil servants tasked with carrying out his policy.

A large group of American diplomats circulated a memo voicing their opposition to the order, which temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days. In a startling combative response, White House spokesman Sean Spicer challenged those opposed to the measure to resign.

The blowback underscored Defense Secretary James Mattis is said to be enraged over the handling of the refugee and immigration ban. Trump’s tenuous relationship with his own national security advisers, many of whom he met for the first time during the transition, as well as with the government bureaucracy he now leads. While Trump outlined his plan for temporarily halting entry to the U.S. from countries with terror ties during the campaign, the confusing way in which it finally was crafted stunned some who have joined his team.

Mattis, who stood next to Trump during Friday’s signing ceremony, is said to be particularly incensed. A senior U.S. official said Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, was aware of the general concept of Trump’s order but not the details. Tillerson has told the president’s political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order.

Trump’s order pauses America’s entire refugee program for four months and indefinitely bans all those from war-ravaged Syria. Critics dispute the president’s assertion that the policy is needed to keep Americans safe, noting that recent acts of extremist violence have been carried out by U.S. citizens or by individuals whose families weren’t from the nations singled out in the order.

After a chaotic weekend during which some U.S. legal permanent residents were detained at airports, some agencies were moving swiftly to clear up confusion.

Homeland Security, the agency tasked with implementing much of the refugee ban, clarified that customs and border agents should allow legal residents to enter the country. The Pentagon was trying to exempt Iraqis who worked alongside the U.S. and coalition forces.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers in Trump’s party sought to distance themselves from Trump’s action.

While Spicer said “appropriate committees and leadership offices” on Capitol Hill were consulted, GOP lawmakers said their offices had no hand in drafting the order.

The executive order was largely crafted by Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, and Stephen Miller, a young policy adviser. Spicer insisted the advisers had kept departments “in the loop at the level necessary,” but he sidestepped questions about whether Cabinet secretaries were directly involved in the process.

Some Trump supporters defended the president, saying his actions should not have come as a surprise given his positions during the campaign.