The Latest: White House clarifies policy targeting Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

8:25 a.m.

The Trump administration is clarifying that its policy for possible targeting of American citizens in terror-related strikes hasn’t changed from the Obama administration.

A White House official referred Wednesday to a statement by former Attorney General Eric Holder, which cited three possible scenarios in which targeting an American citizen is allowed.

Citing Holder, the White House says it can do so if the individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the U.S., if capture is not feasible, or the operation is consistent with the “law of war principles.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that no American citizen “will ever be targeted” in raids against terror suspects, signaling an apparent break from the Obama administration’s strategy for targeting suspects in counterterrorism operations overseas.

-By Vivian Salama

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8:10 a.m.

Call it what you want, says President Donald Trump, but his executive order to restrict travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries to enter the U.S. is about keeping “bad people” out.

“Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN,” Trump tweeted Wednesday, extending the debate over whether last week’s order is a “ban” or not.

He says, “Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!”

Trump referred to it as a “ban” in a tweet Tuesday defending the decision not to provide advance notice to travelers.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has said the order was “not a travel ban” but a “temporary pause that allows us to better review the existing refugee and visa-vetting system.” White House press secretary Sean Spicer has also said it’s not a ban.

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7 a.m.

President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch, a fast-rising conservative judge with a writer’s flair, to the Supreme Court, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America’s legal landscape for decades to come.

At 49, Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court nominee in a quarter-century. He’s known on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for clear, colloquial writing, advocacy for court review of government regulations, defense of religious freedom and skepticism toward law enforcement.

Gorsuch makes the rounds Wednesday on Capitol Hill, meeting first with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

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