Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
Hillary Clinton may have gotten a legal pass from FBI director James Comey, but Republicans on Capitol Hill are hell-bent on keeping her mishandling of classified information at center stage through election day.
The controversy has pit the GOP against the FBI. Republicans are furious.
Comey has been summoned to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has been called before the House Judiciary Committee.
Speaker Paul Ryan is calling for administrative sanctions against Clinton and doesn’t want her to receive high-level briefings. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is demanding the FBI release Clinton’s three-and-a-half hour interview with the FBI.
The Clinton campaign has declared the issue resolved and on Wednesday, slammed Republicans for holding another hearing on her email server. The White House is rejecting calls to block Clinton from receiving classified briefings, and Senate minority leader Harry Reid says it is time to move on from the controversy.
Stay tuned to The Hill for updates on this story, as well as a story from Amie Parnes on what the Clinton camp can be thankful for this week. And Jonathan Easley will report on how Trump and Clinton are stumbling toward their conventions, unable to capitalize on each others’ mistakes.
The Hill’s Scott Wong will have a primer ahead of Donald Trump’s crucial visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday and Alexander Bolton will take a look at Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s surprisingly competitive reelection fight.
RACE TO 1600 PENN
THE CONTENDERS: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump says he’s considering 10 people for vice president.
FIELD SHRINKS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Donald Trump’s vice presidential options are shrinking now that he’s lost Sen. Bob Corker as a potential running mate. The presumptive GOP nominee also appears to be losing freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa) as an option, who according to multiple reports, would rather remain in the Senate.
TOUGH CROWD: The Hill’s Cristina Marcos reports: House Democrats grilled Bernie Sanders about his party loyalty his timeline for endorsing Hillary Clinton in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
SWING STATES: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump’s stumbles with Jewish voters could cost him in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Florida.
ODDS AND ENDS:
POLICY WIN: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Hillary Clinton is proposing a plan to eliminate college tuition for most families, an idea that has been pushed by Bernie Sanders.
ON THE BOARDWALK: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump for his bankruptcies and “shameful treatment of workers” from Atlantic City on Tuesday.
GOING GREEN: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: Green Party candidate Jill Stein is calling for Hillary Clinton to be prosecuted for mishandling classified information.
FAINT PRAISE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says Donald Trump is better than Hillary Clinton.
FROM OUT WEST: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says he has spoke with Hillary Clinton about being her running mate.
POLL POSITION
DOUBLE DIGITS: The Hill’s Cyra Master reports: Clinton holds a 13-point national lead over Trump in a Reuters/Ipsos poll
THE DAILY TRUMP
WHEN THE PLANE IS GOING DOWN: The Hill’s Caitlin Yilek reports: Trump ‘believes in putting your oxygen mask on first before helping others,’ spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said.
TAKE MY WORD FOR IT: The Hill’s Nikita Vladimirov reports: Donald Trump’s son contends that the billionaire has given millions and millions of dollars to charity, but declined to provide documentation to prove it.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite.”
— Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner responding to blowback from a Trump tweet that used imagery that critics have condemned as bigoted.
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
TOUGH SPOT: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Vulnerable Senate Republicans are shifting their stances on Donald Trump as he gets closer to securing the nomination. Some are skipping a meeting with Trump on Capitol Hill scheduled for Thursday.
MONEY WATCH
BABY STEPS: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump’s campaign raised $51 million in June, a significant month-over-month improvement that still falls short of Hillary Clinton’s massive fundraising efforts.
COMPLAINT: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: A campaign finance watchdog has filed a complaint against a pro-Clinton super-PAC after The Hill first reported that the group accepted banned donations.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:
(All times Eastern)
Donald Trump will hold a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening. He will address Republicans in the House and Senate in closed door meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Bernie Sanders will be a guest on “All in with Chris Hayes,” which airs from 8-9 p.m. on MSNBC.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen.
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