American national security officials have met in this idyllic mountain retreat in Colorado each July for the last 15 years to talk openly about the biggest threats facing the world. But this year's Aspen Security Forum at times seemed to take place in a parallel universe where Donald Trump isn't president.
In the past, interviews and off-the-record chats here made headlines around the world for their insight into what the people running the U.S. government were thinking about threats to national security.
But Trump's team boycotted the conference this year. And some of the former officials and experts who did attend seemed to downplay the dramatic changes that the Trump administration has already made to foreign policy, a sign that either some of the nation's top experts haven't grappled with the new world order he is attempting to build — or they are afraid to speak openly about it.
Those who might have been able to explain what the president is thinking were nowhere to be seen.
Here are some highlights of the president's actions over the last seven days:
Got the first judicial confirmation of his second term: Whitney Hermandorfer, one of the youngest people nominated to serve on a federal appeals court in the 21st century.
Said he was surprised that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had been appointed, even though he was the one who appointed him.
Announced he would sue The Wall Street Journal over an article about his links to Jeffrey Epstein that he didn't like.
Claimed that his uncle taught Ted Kaczynski at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which the "Unabomber" did not attend.
THE CHALLENGERS
The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we're highlighting a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week's challenger is the Pro Bono Litigation Corps.
When the president announces a big new policy, groups and individuals who want to challenge it turn to major white-shoe law firms. But in Trump's second term, he targeted those firms' security clearances in what appeared to be retribution for work done for his opponents. That's left many small firms and individual lawyers to step up to fight these policies in court, The New York Times reported Monday. Recently a legal nonprofit launched the Pro Bono Litigation Corps to help organize the lawyers volunteering to mount legal challenges to Trump actions on everything from the environment to immigration. Because these lawyers often don't have government contracts or security clearances anyway, they are immune to the kinds of challenges the major firms faced.
NUMBER OF THE WEEK
$2.5 billion
Trump wants the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates significantly. But the Fed has resisted and left rates unchanged since January. Trump's response has been to publicly flirt with firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. What's held Trump back (other than the fact it might not be legal) are financial markets, which briefly dropped last week after reports he'd drafted a letter to fire Powell. Still, Powell could possibly be removed for "cause," and the administration has started making noise about the $2.5 billion cost of renovations at the Fed's headquarters in Washington. The Fed has responded to the criticism, even calling for a review by its own inspector general, and released a video tour of the ongoing work. The Fed meets next week and is expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Also unlikely to change: the pressure campaign against Powell. Learn more.
Nicolle Wallace is sitting down with some of the smartest, funniest, and wisest people she knows in her chart-topping podcast, "The Best People with Nicolle Wallace." This week, she speaks with Jeff Daniels about the trajectory of his acting career, choosing a life in Michigan over Hollywood and the lack of a national moral compass in the Trump era. Subscribe to MSNBC Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content. Listen to the podcast.
