Overnight Campaign: Establishment blues

by Jonathan Swan - 12/09/15 6:31 PM ET

Welcome to OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

There is no more unfortunate condition this Republican primary season than being a presidential candidate afflicted with governing experience and a business-friendly outlook.

As The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports, three candidates for the Republican nomination have broken away from the rest of the pack and two of them — businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — give the GOP establishment nightmares.

Some Washington Republicans believe that a shift toward Florida Sen. Marco Rubio may accelerate, in a bid by pro-establishment Republicans to thwart either of the two rebels.

But don’t expect that shift to go smoothly. These same Republicans tell Stanage that Rubio’s chief competitors for establishment votes — including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich — seem highly unlikely to drop out anytime before the New Hampshire primary.

Meantime, come back to The Hill this evening for the latest on the political wreckage wrought by GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s proposal to block all Muslim entries into the United States. Campaign reporters Jonathan Easley and Ben Kamisar interview Trump’s Republican rivals who are fuming about how the front-runner is stealing their media coverage.

And Hillary Clinton expert Amie Parnes writes on how the Democratic favorite is launching more aggressive attacks against Trump.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

NOT EVEN A BLIND COPY? The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: President Obama does not receive briefings about the FBI’s investigation into the personal email setup Hillary Clinton used as secretary of State, bureau director James Comey said on Wednesday. As a result, Obama should have no way of knowing how the inquiry is proceeding, despite the president’s apparent dismissal of concerns about impropriety.

FOLLOW ME: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has renewed his call to Republican presidential candidates to drop out of the race in the hopes that a smaller field will weaken GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s plurality of votes.

NO REGRETS FOR JOE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Vice President Joe Biden says he made “the right decision” not to run for president in 2016. “My decision, I know, was the right decision,” he told Bloomberg in an interview published Wednesday.

A CALL FOR CRUZ: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said Wednesday that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) should denounce fellow GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump for suggesting a ban on Muslim entry into the U.S. “This is the moment when real integrity is on the line,” said Ellison, the nation’s first Muslim lawmaker in Congress, on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

OBAMA VS. TRUMP: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: President Obama on Wednesday jabbed at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

MIXED FEELINGS: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he rejects Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. But Netanyahu’s office also revealed Wednesday that he is not cancelling his huddle with the GOP presidential front-runner later this month.

FRIEND FOR JUSTICE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Bernie Sanders is soliciting donations with the support of Martese Johnson, a black college student who filed a federal lawsuit after police threw him to the ground during an arrest off-campus earlier this year. The Vermont senator’s campaign sent out a fundraising email under the University of Virginia student’s name. Johnson praised Sanders’ plan on police brutality and racial justice.

ON SECOND THOUGHT: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: John Kasich floated the possibility of going back on his pledge to support Donald Trump if he’s the Republican presidential nominee.

POLL POSITION

THE REPUBLICANS LOVE ME: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Nearly two-thirds of likely GOP primary voters back Donald Trump’s proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.

BERNIE’S STATE: The Hill’s Bradford Richardson reports: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is holding onto a double-digit lead in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, according to a new CNN/WMUR poll released on Wednesday. Sanders receives 50 percent support in the Granite State, followed by Hillary Clinton with 40 percent support, and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley with 1 percent support.

THE DAILY TRUMP

SAY WHAT? The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump argued Wednesday that his controversial proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States amid heightened fears of terrorism isn’t about religion.

BACHELOR OF NOTHING: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: A university in Scotland has stripped Donald Trump of an honorary degree in the wake of the Republican presidential candidate’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. A spokesman for Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen said Trump has made statements throughout his campaign “that are wholly incompatible with the ethos and values of the university.”

LEGAL GAMES: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: In a wry, taunting letter, the top lawyer for the pro-Bush super-PAC Right to Rise has accused GOP front-runner Donald Trump of illegally mixing his campaign interests with corporate business.   Trump’s team had opened hostilities by sending a legal letter to Bush’s biggest donor. But Bush’s team is arguing that that very act — filed on Trump corporate letterhead — violated campaign finance laws.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Clearly, this cycle we’re learning that money doesn’t buy you love”

— Veteran GOP strategist Scott Reed, in an interview with The Washington Post about Jeb Bush’s big spending super-PAC

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

STAND BY TRUMP: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H) said she’ll support Donald Trump if he wins the GOP presidential nomination despite disagreeing with his call to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.

PILING ON AYOTTE: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: National Democrats will begin running ads on Wednesday against Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) over her vote earlier this month against a measure that would have banned gun sales to those on the federal terrorism watch list.

MONEY WATCH

NO HEDGE HERE: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin is backing Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) presidential campaign, according to CNBC. “I’m really excited to be supporting Marco Rubio,” Griffin, who founded Chicago’s firm Citadel., said in a Thursday interview with CNBC. “He will be the next president of the United States.”

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

(All times Eastern)

Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush are scheduled guests on Fox News’s “The Kelly File” at 9 p.m. today.

Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina are “Hannity” guests tonight at 10 on Fox News.

Ted Cruz will be a guest on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday. The show airs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Lindsey Graham will appear on “MSNBC Live with José Díaz-Balart,” which airs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday. He’all also travel to New Hampshire for several campaign stops.

Donald Trump will attend the New England Police Benevolent Association Executive Meeting on Thursday in Portsmouth, N.H.

John Kasich heads to New Hampshire for several campaign events.

Jeb Bush is in New Hampshire for a town hall.

Marco Rubio speaks to the Concerned Veterans for America, a Koch brothers network funded organization, at its Defend & Reform Veterans & Military Town Hall in West Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday and has two other Iowa events that day.

TWEET OF THE DAY