The Hill’s Morning Report – Abortion battles intensify across the country

by Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver - 07/15/22 6:33 AM ET

The fight over reproductive rights continued to play out in Washington and across the country on Thursday as lawmakers battle over the right to seek abortions across state lines while state governments push for greater autonomy from President Biden’s administration and the courts

The House today is set to vote on a pair of bills as part of the Democratic response to the Supreme Court’s striking down of Roe v. Wade. One would restore the right to an abortion as previously protected by Roe, a similar piece of legislation that House Democrats passed in September to codify the 1973 ruling into law. The second bill would block states from interfering with the right to travel to obtain an abortion (CBS News).

Both proposals are expected to pass the House. However, they will fall short in the Senate, which was the site of Thursday’s war of words on the topic as Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) blocked an effort by Senate Democrats to pass legislation that would protect interstate travel for abortion.

“Does that child in the womb have the right to travel in their future?” Lankford said on the Senate floor after blocking a unanimous consent request by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) “Do they get to live? … There’s a child in this conversation as well” (The Hill).

Cortez Masto, who is up for reelection in November, argued the bill is needed to shield abortion providers even in states where abortion remains legal, noting that some are concerned over the possibility of being sued if they provide care to out-of-state patients. Some Democrats, however, believe the right to travel for abortion is constitutionally protected.

“Anyone telling you this is not a threat is not paying attention,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a member of Democratic leadership who is running for reelection, said on the Senate floor.

The Associated Press: House making 1st attempt to protect abortion in post-Roe era.

At the state level, Texas filed suit against the Biden administration, challenging its recent guidance reminding hospitals and physicians that federal law requires them to provide abortions if there is a medical emergency and the health or life of the patient is at risk.

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, claimed that the administration “seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic,” and is “flouting the Supreme Court’s ruling before the ink is dry.” The Lone Star State also argued that the guidance stretches further than what the administration maintains is a reminder to hospitals of current law (The Hill).

The Texas Tribune: Texas sues after Biden administration issues guidance saying doctors can perform abortions in emergencies.

Indiana on Thursday pushed the Supreme Court to fast-track its order to an appellate court to effectively allow a state law to go into effect that would stiffen parental notice requirements in cases where a minor seeks an abortion (CNN).

“Delay would only serve to prevent enforcement of a duly enacted state law designed to protect minors, families, and the unborn,” Thomas Fisher, the state’s solicitor general, told the justices in court papers (The Hill).

▪ The Associated Press: Abortion access coordinated across Illinois-Wisconsin line.

▪ Politico: Confirmation of Ohio rape victim’s abortion story forces retreat from some conservative doubters.

▪ The Hill: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) pours water on Supreme Court expansion but favors filibuster reform.

▪ The Associated Press: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) asks court to unblock abortion ban.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) struck again on Thursday night when he told Democratic leaders that he will not support the climate or new tax increases proposed in the party’s reconciliation bill, dealing a major blow to the Biden agenda.

Instead, the West Virginia centrist and his staff reportedly told leadership that he is only willing to back a package that can be passed with only Democratic votes that lowers prescription drug costs and extends tax subsidies to help lower the cost of healthcare for those who are covered through the Affordable Care Act (NBC News).

Effectively, this is the second time Manchin has driven a stake in the wishes of top Democrats and progressives who pine for action on climate change and fear this could be the last chance for action in years. In December, Manchin effectively killed off the Build Back Better package, a $2 billion social spending proposal.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat my disappointment here, especially since nearly all issues in the climate and energy space had been resolved,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Washington Post. “This is our last chance to prevent the most catastrophic — and costly — effects of climate change. We can’t come back in another decade and forestall hundreds of billions—if not trillions — in economic damage and undo the inevitable human toll.”

The news comes shortly after Manchin tossed fresh doubt on a future bill following Wednesday’s report that inflation surged 9.1 percent over the last year, the highest annual rate since 1981. Manchin subsequently suggested he was only sold on a proposal to reduce prescription drug prices (The Hill).

Related Articles

▪ The Hill: Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday grilled IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig behind closed doors about audits of former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, both fired by Trump. Republicans questioned Rettig about a 2021 leak to the news media about billionaires’ tax filings.

▪ Politico: Democrats’ tax-increase dreams meet election-year reality.

▪ The Hill: Schumer to move on long-awaited, slimmed-down bill that would boost the U.S. semiconductor industry by $52 billion to $54 billion.

▪ The Hill: The annual defense spending bill became a battleground for partisan combat over political issues including abortion. … The House passed its version on Thursday (The Hill).

LEADING THE DAY

➤ ADMINISTRATION

Controversy and curiosity leading up to Biden’s meeting today with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah has lingered for weeks. Once a “pariah,” in Biden’s words as a presidential candidate, Saudi Arabia is now viewed in the White House as a constructive monarchy in the Middle East, one with critical petroleum supplies at a time of global inflationary price pressures and worries about ominous goals in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.

“There are so many issues at stake, I want to make sure that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum, a vacuum that is filled by both Russia and China,” the president said on Thursday at a press conference with Prime Minister Yair Lapid in Israel.

Biden flies today to Saudi Arabia to attend a regional Arab summit in Jeddah where he’ll meet the Saudi leader along with leaders from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.

“The reason I’m going to Saudi Arabia is to promote U.S. interests in a way that I think we have an opportunity to reassert our influence in the Middle East,” Biden told reporters while in Israel (The Washington Post).

Lapid minimized diplomacy with Tehran as an option, while Biden insisted it was still the best path. Biden, saying his administration would not wait “forever,” appeared to accept that an international push to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran had stalled.

▪ The New York Times: Biden, Lapid reveal a dividing line over Iran.

▪ The New York Times: Biden, Lapid push for Israeli ties with Saudi Arabia.

▪ The New York Times: Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has known Biden for four decades, met with the president and offered praise despite their political differences. He also repeated his frequent warning about Iran. “We need one thing,” Netanyahu said. “A credible offensive military option is needed.”

▪ Haaretz and The Associated Press: This morning ET, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Biden delivered separate statements in Bethlehem (their representatives couldn’t agree on a shared summary statement).

In Jeddah, the president will announce an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Egypt that will see Riyadh take steps toward normalization with Israel (The Times of Israel and Axios). The White House confirmed the agreement in a Thursday statement. Saudi Arabia will agree to open its airspace to Israeli flights to the Far East in addition to rolling out direct flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims.

U.S. inflation: The Hill’s Sylvan Lane and Alex Gangitano analyze Biden’s mixed messages about U.S. consumer prices, which rose a staggering 9.1 percent in the 12 months that ended in June, according to a report released on Wednesday. … Democratic candidates face deepening peril as Republicans seize on inflation fears in ads and commentary (The New York Times).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ POLITICS

Former President Trump is eyeing a September announcement of a 2024 presidential bid, according to some allies who have urged him to heed his instincts as a way to shore up his standing in the party and drive midterm turnout to help the GOP take over the House and Senate next year, The Washington Post reports.

“If Trump is going to run, the sooner he gets in and talks about winning the next election, the better,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who recently golfed with Trump in New Jersey. “It will refocus his attention — less grievance, more about the future.”

“I’ve already made that decision,” Trump said during an interview with New York magazine (The Hill), adding that his quandary was an announcement before or after the midterm contests.

Other Republicans interviewed by the Post were not enthused about a 2022 Trump bid for the GOP nomination in 2024.

“Of all the selfish things he does every minute of every day, it would probably be the most,” said one prominent Republican strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Everything we are doing that is not talking about the economy is going to be a disaster.”

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Jan. 6 committee considers seeking testimony from Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence.

▪ Axios: Trump to return to Washington on July 26 for an America First Policy Institute event.

🗳️ A new report authored by prominent conservatives and released on Thursday concluded there was no election fraud in 2020 that would have changed the results. Among those who signed off on the 72-page report are retired federal appeals court judges Thomas Griffith, J. Michael Luttig and Michael McConnell; former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who served under former President George W. Bush; former senators John Danforth and Gordon Smith; longtime Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg; and veteran Republican congressional chief of staff David Hoppe. The group includes men elected or appointed by Republicans or otherwise associated with the Republican Party (CNN and MarketWatch).

From the former White House occupant to the current one, Biden, faced with poor approval ratings, is facing increasing questions about his 2024 viability from a key Democratic bloc of support: young voters.

A survey by The New York Times and Siena College this week showed that 94 percent of Democratic primary voters aged 18-29 believe the party in power should nominate someone else come the 2024 cycle, tossing a fresh dose of skepticism on another Biden presidential bid in two years.

As The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant note, the lack of support not only is harmful to the president, but also to a party that is struggling to maintain grip on its control of Congress, which could lead to midterm doom later this year.

▪ Niall Stanage: The Memo: Democrats cast around for 2024 alternatives to Biden.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) lead in respective Georgia races: poll.

RIP: Ivana Trump, the ex-president’s first wife and mother of three of his five children — Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric Trump — died suddenly at her home in New York City on Thursday at age 73. “Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” the Trump family said in a statement.

The former president, who was divorced from Ivana in 1992, described her in a statement on his social media platform as a “wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life” (ABC News).

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OPINION

■ The Republican who wants to end the Trump era — without taking on Trump, by John F. Harris, founding editor, Politico. https://politi.co/3yJ06lW

■ The BA.5 wave is what COVID normal looks like, by Katherine J. Wu, staff writer, The Atlantic. https://bit.ly/3OctJ4S

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 9 a.m.

The Senate convenes on Monday at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Nina Y. Wang to be a district judge with the U.S. District Court in Colorado.

The president is in the Middle East. Biden will speak at Augusta Victoria Hospital, part of the East Jerusalem Hospital Network. He will meet Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem, West Bank, and each will make a statement. The president will visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Biden will fly from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Saudi Arabia where he will meet with bin Salman at 6:15 p.m. local time at Al Salam Royal Palace. Their meeting is closed to the press. Later, Biden and U.S. officials will participate in a working session with bin Salman and Saudi ministers at 6:45 p.m. local time.

Vice President Harris has no public events scheduled.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is with the president in the Middle East.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Bali, Indonesia, for the Group of 20 meeting of finance ministers. Early this morning ET, she spoke at the G20 seminar about tackling food insecurity, calling for global financial assistance to address needs. She also delivered a keynote address early today at a G20 seminar on “macroeconomic policy mix for stability and economic recovery.” Her remarks were livestreamed. Ukraine’s plight is dominating G20 discussions (Reuters).

First lady Jill Biden is in Boston where she will speak at the American Federation of Teachers Convention at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. She will visit Eversource Station 99, an electrical substation servicing the Seaport District of Boston, at 11:45 a.m. for an event about job training opportunities for college students. The first lady will be accompanied by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to meet with students participating in Eversource’s paid summer internships.

Economic indicator: The Census Bureau reports at 8:30 a.m. on retail sales in June.

🖥 Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://digital-staging.thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.

ELSEWHERE

➤ INTERNATIONAL

In Italy on Thursday, President Sergio Mattarella declined to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi after a day of political drama that threatened to bring down a national unity government that has been in office less than 18 months (Reuters). Draghi told his Cabinet he would offer his resignation to Mattarella following the refusal of a coalition ally to support a government bill, but the president refused to accept, saying, “No, Mario,” while urging the prime minister to rethink. Draghi had said in a statement that “the majority of national unity that has sustained this government from its creation doesn’t exist anymore” (The Associated Press). Reuters reported that Draghi is expected to appear in parliament on Wednesday.

In Sri Lanka on Friday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as interim president until parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse forced him from office (The Associated Press). Demonstrators retreated on Thursday as Rajapaksa, who fled the country this week, emailed a resignation that was routed through Singapore. Sri Lanka on Thursday remained a powder keg, and the military warned it had powers to respond in case of chaos — a message some found concerning (The Associated Press).

➤ PANDEMIC & POX

California is in virus-focused headlines this morning.

Rising COVID-19 infections threaten to bring back mask requirements to Los Angeles (The Associated Press), and a state senator worries that San Francisco is heading for a public health crisis because of the spread of monkeypox and the crush of demand for vaccine doses, which are in short supply (The Hill).

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,023,258. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 351, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

➤ HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

The canvas has two faces. An unknown self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh has been unveiled behind another known painting by the famed artist, according to the National Galleries of Scotland. The unearthed portrait of Van Gogh in a brimmed hat, hidden for more than a century, is like a ghost on the reverse side of his “Head of a Peasant Woman.” It has been known that the Dutch artist sometimes painted on both sides of canvases to save money (The Associated Press).

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to our Morning Report Quiz winners!

With Saturday’s anniversary of Joe DiMaggio hitting safely in his record 56th straight game, we wanted to see how much our fabulous quizzers knew about some unbreakable sports records.

Here’s everyone who went 4/4 and deserves a big Friday standing ovation: Stephen Delano, Richard Baznik, Harry Strulovici, Lou Tisler, John Donato, Terry Pflaumer and Jack Barshay.

They knew that Lou Gehrig — who played in 2,130 consecutive games, only to have that record broken by Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632 games) — was nicknamed “The Iron Horse.”

The Boston Celtics were buoyed to eight straight NBA championships from 1959-66 by 10 Basketball Hall of Famers who were inducted as players (not coaches or contributors).

Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points per game in the 1986-87 season, the highest single season per-game average of any player not named Wilt Chamberlain (who averaged 50.4 points per game in 1961-62).

Finally, the seven no-hitters tossed by Nolan Ryan are only approached by the four thrown by the legendary Sandy Koufax.

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