Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will huddle with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon, following a bipartisan backlash to President Trump\u2019s executive order halting refugee entries and banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Republican and Democratic committee leaders have been invited to the closed-door meeting with Kelly, according to Democrats familiar with the plan. A spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said he has already communicated directly with Kelly and will not be attending.
Kelly is one of several of Trump\u2019s chosen Cabinet members who were reportedly unaware of the details of the executive order before Trump signed it \u2014 a revelation that many members of Congress found perplexing.
Several Republican lawmakers were irate that Trump did not warn them about the executive order, despite promises to keep them in the loop about major policy moves. Many complained that the order was \u201ctoo broad,\u201d especially in targeting legal permanent residents who happened to be out of the country, and in its apparent focus on Muslims \u2014 despite the administration\u2019s protestations that the order was not a Muslim ban.
[ From order to disorder: How Trump\u2019s immigration directive exposed GOP rifts ]
Kelly released a statement over the weekend announcing that allowing U. S. green card holders to enter the country was \u201cin the national interest\u201d and that absent \u201csignificant\u201d information to the contrary that indicates a threat to public safety, someone\u2019s lawful permanent residency should allow them re-entry into the United States on a case-by-case basis.
Nonetheless, lawmakers still want to Kelly to detail how he intends to implement the order \u2014 a point Democratic committee ranking members stressed in a letter they sent to him Sunday night, as reported by Politico, asking for an \u201cemergency meeting.\u201d Since then, Trump has fired acting attorney general Sally Yates, who ordered the Justice Department not to defend the executive order over concerns it might not be lawful.
The Tuesday meeting may not satisfy others on the Hill who want their own audience with Kelly to demand answers. On Monday, a group of Democratic senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also sent Kelly a letter asking for an emergency meeting with the homeland security chief to discuss \u201cyour plans to implement President Trump\u2019s order\u201d as it pertains to legal permanent residents and the use of a religious criteria to determine who is allowed entry into the United States.<\/p>\n

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