The Hill’s Morning Report — Sponsored by PhRMA — How long can a Trump-DOJ accord survive?

 

 

 

Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report, and happy Tuesday! This daily email, a successor to The Hill’s Tipsheet, is reported by Jonathan Easley and Alexis Simendinger to get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. (CLICK HERE to subscribe!)

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall for this one…

President Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Monday amid a high-stakes showdown between the White House and Justice Department (DOJ).

The Memo: Trump flirts with constitutional crisis.

The parties appeared to come to a detente, but how long it will last is anyone’s guess.

The Hill: DOJ, Trump reach deal on expanded Russia review.

The Hill: Pressure rising on GOP after Trump-DOJ fight’s latest turn.

What’s new

• The Justice Department’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz will investigate the president’s claims that the FBI spied on his campaign for political purposes. Right now, those claims appear to be an exaggeration, although recent media reports confirm that an FBI informant met with three Trump advisers as part of a counterintelligence investigation during the 2016 campaign.
• White House chief of staff John Kelly will meet with Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill to review classified material, although it’s unclear what materials they’ll be allowed to review or how the viewing will take place. It’s also unclear why the DOJ and FBI are suddenly willing to make these documents available, as Wray has warned that doing so could endanger the informant’s life.

How did we get here?

• House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has been demanding documents about the FBI informant for weeks.
• The DOJ refused to comply with Nunes’s subpoena for the documents on the grounds it would imperil national security.
• Following days of brewing stories about the suspected identity of the informant, Trump blew the lid off the debate, saying that he would “demand” the DOJ investigate the counter-intelligence probe into his campaign. This raised questions about whether the president was improperly using political influence to meddle in an investigation involving his own campaign.
• The president appears to have gotten his desired result and the Trump campaign is fundraising off the controversy.

What now?

• The saga is just getting started. Democrats and the intelligence community are enraged that the identity of an informant is making its way around the internet. Trump appears increasingly emboldened to dictate orders to the FBI and DOJ. The story will play out in leaks to the media, over Twitter and through grave warnings from both sides about a constitutional crisis.

• On Monday night, Fox News reported that a group of Freedom Caucus Republicans plans to introduce a resolution today calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged misconduct at the FBI and DOJ. We’ve been down this road before – Attorney General Jeff Sessions has already tapped U.S. attorney John Huber to independently investigate these matters.

Benjamin Wittes: Trump has created a genuine crisis.

David Harsanyi: Let’s find out if the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign.

Elsewhere on the investigatory front…Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has been going on for a year and we’re still in the dark about the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (The Hill)… New inspector general report to fault FBI for delay in Clinton probe (The Associated Press).

 

LEADING THE DAY

INTERNATIONAL:   

North Korea: Trump today meets at the White House with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, hopeful he can clarify Kim Jong Un’s intentions in advance of a June 12 summit that remains in limbo.

The Hill: The president meets with Moon in what was originally scheduled to be a sit-down to develop a denuclearization strategy in advance of a historic planned Singapore summit. U.S. officials say they are unclear how Kim expects to proceed. Trump and Moon today will confer about whether a summit should take place, and to what end.

Reuters: Vice President Pence, during an interview with Fox News, repeated that Trump is serious about walking away, if necessary, from any planned meeting with Kim.

Reuters: Western and Chinese news organizations arrived in North Korea today to witness the closure of a nuclear test site, an indication that the pledged North Korea shutdown proceeds amid renewed diplomatic uncertainty.

China: The Hill — Reacting to what the Trump administration describes as a pause while trying to rectify trade imbalances between the U.S. and China, Beijing on Monday praised a recent agreement with the U.S. to call off tariff threats.

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. and China agreed on a broad outline to settle the ZTE controversy. The agreement would lift the ban on U.S. sales of parts and software to the Chinese telecom company and require ZTE to institute major management changes.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) panned the administration’s trade posture with China this morning:

 

 

 

 

 

The Hill: Free traders applauded Trump as a threat of tariffs with China ebbs.

The New York Times: The president defended his trade stance with China in a series of tweets on Monday (The Hill). Trump also repeated his contention that the Obama administration “did nothing” to improve trade with China during his predecessor’s two terms (The Hill).

Iran: The Hill — During a major speech on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised the strongest sanctions in history on Iran following the president’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. He described wholesale changes in Iran policies that the Trump administration seeks (The Associated Press).

Venezuela: The Hill — Trump sanctioned the government of Venezuela on Monday using an executive order that bars U.S. financial “or other” dealings with the government of Venezuela. The executive order followed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s election to a second term in what U.S. officials called a rigged contest.

On Twitter, Vice President Pence blasted the government of Venezuela.

 

 

Congo/Ebola: The Hill — Vaccine medication to respond to a deadly outbreak of Ebola in Congo arrived in the African nation as the death toll mounts and international health organizations work to curb the virus’s spread.

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CAMPAIGNS:  Trump will address the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List tonight, where he’ll receive the Pro-life Distinguished Leader Award from the group, which opposes abortion rights.

Trump’s presidency has been a triumph for the religious right and influential groups like the SBA List intend to reward him at the ballot box.

The SBA List is mobilizing in eight states where Senate Democrats face reelection in states Trump won in 2016. They’re working to elect a filibuster-proof GOP Senate majority that can propel the president’s anti-abortion agenda.

“President Donald Trump is governing as the most pro-life president in our nation’s history… and we look forward to the many victories we can achieve together.” — SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Evangelicals and anti-abortion voters believe Trump has delivered for them where other Republicans have only talked. They’ll stick by him regardless of the moral questions that might arise about his past behavior.

It’s primary day…

Voters head to the polls today for primary elections in Texas, Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky.

The Hill: Five races to watch in Texas.

The Hill: Dems expand 2018 message to include “drain the swamp.”

The Hill: Freedom Caucus bruised but unbowed in GOP primary fights.

Ed Rendell: Primaries foretell “Year of the Woman.”

Meanwhile, a ghost from the West Virginia primary is haunting Republicans. Don Blankenship, the ex-convict who lost his bid to be the GOP Senate candidate, is planning to run as a third-party candidate. That’s bad news for Republican Patrick Morrisey in his effort to unseat Sen. Joe Manchin, who is among the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection.

The Hill: Progressives on the rise.

Doug Schoen: Democrats must choose electable candidates to win big in November.

The Hill: Democrats may suffer from California’s top-two system.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sponsored by PhRMA

 

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IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➔ CONGRESS: House Leadership: The Hill — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) denies he discussed a plan to force Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) out of the top leadership role in advance of Ryan’s plans to leave Congress in January. Ryan has endorsed McCarthy to succeed him as Speaker in a House race that could be upended by November if Republicans believe they are struggling to retain majority control. Reporting Monday by The Weekly Standard described a potential “coup,” and prompted McCarthy’s public denial.

House – Immigration: The Hill — A sponsor of a conservative immigration measure is pitching changes to his bill and reaching out to House moderates. It remains unclear if Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) is coordinating his outreach with leadership to try to slow momentum behind a rare discharge petition, which with a few more GOP signatures could result in floor votes to weigh a reprieve for young “Dreamers.”

Senate – Drug Prices: The Hill — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, is negotiating with major drug manufacturers in search of a deal that might curb drug prices in exchange for other industry concessions. Breaking this morning…the conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), backed by billionaire donors Charles and David Koch, will key vote Right to Try legislation in the House…AFP has been running ads pressuring lawmakers to pass the experimental drug bill.

House Turnstile: The Hill — Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who recently retired from Congress rather than seek reelection, joined CNN this week as a paid analyst.

➔  WHITE HOUSE & ADMINISTRATION: Medicaid: The Hill — The Trump administration is surprising some red states that seek to get approval for Medicaid changes. State officials are finding that their requests for some of the strictest proposals to alter the federal-state Medicaid program, such as lifetime limits and partial expansion, are being denied.

CFPB Auto- Lending Guidance: The Hill — Trump signed a joint congressional resolution to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guidance issued during the Obama administration supporting nondiscrimination in auto lending. The change was part of the GOP’s deregulatory agenda.

Trump’s Twitter Ghostwriters: Behind the scenes, West Wing aides intentionally recreate suspect grammar, misspellings and exaggerated punctuation while serving as Trump ghostwriters for Twitter to mimic the president’s style and ape for his base what the White House hails as Trump’s “common touch,” according to reporting by The Boston Globe.

Lobbying & Influence: A new cache of emails obtained by The Associated Press reveals an ambitious, secretive lobbying effort to isolate Qatar and undermine the Pentagon’s long relationship with the Gulf country.

Economy & Public Opinion: Sixty-seven percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S., the highest percentage in 17 years of Gallup polling. Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percentage points since Trump was elected, the polling firm reported Monday.

The Morning Report is created by journalists Jonathan Easley jeasley@digital-staging.thehill.com & Alexis Simendinger asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com. Suggestions? Tips? We want to hear from you! Share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!

OPINION

Pompeo raises the bar on a deal with Iran, by Benjamin Ben Taleblu, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2ICh26m

Americans have not forgiven Wall Street for the financial crisis, by Brad Miller, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2IFunXQ

WHERE AND WHEN

The House meets for legislative business at 11 a.m.

The Senate will vote on Dana Baiocco to be commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission at noon, before breaking for weekly conference meetings.

President Trump will host meetings and a working lunch with Moon of South Korea. Later he’ll meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In the evening, the president will speak at the Susan B. Anthony List’s 11th annual “Campaign for Life” gala at the National Building Museum in Washington.

The Hill hosts a newsmaker event this morning, “America’s Opioid Epidemic: Youth Awareness and Prevention,” featuring Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), to be moderated by Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack at 8 a.m. at Washington’s Newseum. Sponsors: EVERFI and the Prescription Drug Safety Network.

ELSEWHERE

> Supreme Court upholds agreements that prevent employee class-action suits, by Lydia Wheeler, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2kfALdK

> They saw the Earth from space. Here’s how it changed them, by Nadia Drake, National Geographic magazine. https://on.natgeo.com/2FALxVw

> The State Department dropped a plan to declare Russia a state sponsor of terror following a lethal nerve agent attack in London, by Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica. https://bit.ly/2rXeyV8

THE CLOSER

In the old days, former presidents figured to cash in on the speaking circuit, on their door-stop memoirs, and by joining corporate boards. Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are doing most of that, and also just landed a multi-year deal for original content with online streaming behemoth Netflix. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the Obamas’ new production company is called Higher Ground Productions.

 

 

And finally … it’s tradition for plebes at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., to band together to shimmy up a lard-covered stone obelisk annually. Once at the top of the 21-foot Herndon Monument, a grease-coated winner marks the official end of the year with a swapping of hats. This industrious ritual took more than two hours to complete on Monday…