Signs the administration is intentionally testing the limits of checks and balances: - intentional inclusion of green card holders - intentional inclusion of green card holders - shakeup of the National Security Council

- Craft loud, attention grabbing ban that's more extreme than expect to finally get through * get less extreme version through * test loyalty of those under you * slip some more nuanced things through

"[T]here might be a much larger picture here, and the immigration ban is a distraction."

"Third, popular attention must focus less on whether we agree with what the government is doing, and more on whether the system of checks and balances we have in place is working. It is a much bigger deal that the DHS felt they could ignore a federal court than than Trump signed an EO blocking green card holders in the first place. It is a much bigger deal that Trump removed a permanent military presence from the NSC than that he issued a temporary stay on immigration. The immigration ban may be more viscerally upsetting, but the other moves are potentially far more dangerous."