Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Happy Monday! Our newsletter gets you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Co-creators are Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver (CLICK HERE to subscribe!). On Twitter, find us at @asimendinger and @alweaver22.
President Trump sees his handling of an immigration crisis, deportation roundups and fiery tweets about the border as key to mobilizing his supporters in 2020.
It’s one of the reasons he publicly championed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation arrests of undocumented migrant families before they began this weekend, ignoring the element of surprise in favor of the politics of publicly being in charge.
“They’re going to take people out, and they’re going to bring them back to their countries,” the president said last week. “Or they’re going to take criminals out — put them in prison or put them in prison in the countries they came from.”
Weekend ICE arrests of undocumented migrants were coordinated but small in number, and the operation is expected to continue this week.
“Trump can declare victory — he already scared the hell out of people,” Bill O. Hing, a University of San Francisco law professor and the director of the university’s Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic, told The Washington Post. “There has been so much drama all over the country.”
Trump’s tough-on-immigration rhetoric, playing out over many months, has succeeded in drawing sharp contrasts with Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress, all of whom the president describes as more aligned with “alien” lawbreakers than U.S. citizens whose taxes pay the freight.
“Where are the Democrats on this?” asked former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a Fox News contributor, applauding the administration’s deportation raids. “When you’ve gone through the final adjudication and a judge has ordered you to depart the country, how can we not all be united in say, then you have to leave? We’re not a nation where you just ignore a judge’s order. But that’s the position Democrats are taking, and it is fundamentally wrong.”
The president’s crackdown on asylum-seekers and migrants in the United States may play to his image among 51 percent of Americans as a strong and decisive leader, but when it comes to actually delivering necessary change, managing the government effectively, keeping his promises, and being honest and trustworthy, Trump gets decidedly lower marks, according to a Gallup Poll released last week.
It’s the kind of survey that would give any incumbent president heartburn because voters — who took a chance in 2016 on a newcomer with no previous government experience and a penchant for blaming others when goals remain elusive — can gauge what a second term might have in store.
Like clockwork, Trump tweeted about his strong support among Republicans; the newest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll found 89 percent job approval within his party. The poll also found majority support from older, white males and rural voters. But political analysts believe Trump cannot win reelection simply by appealing to that older, working-class, male slice of the electorate. The president is on wobbly footing among independent voters, women, African Americans, Latinos and younger voters. And a mere 7 percent of Democrats approve of the job he’s doing, according to the NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll..
Immigration remains a polarizing issue that cuts for and against Trump. The practice of separating migrant families and keeping migrant children fenced in disturbing government facilities for long periods is deeply unpopular with a majority of Americans, and House Democrats plan hearings today and Tuesday to drive that message home.
Friday’s news coverage from McAllen, Texas, of Vice President Pence’s visit to a hot, stinking, overcrowded detention hangar with no beds, clean clothes or regular showers for 400 men penned up for three or four weeks was described as “tough stuff” by Pence. He brought the cameras and journalists with him to see what he called “a crisis.”
Trump, however, lashed out at the news media and critics of his migrant policies. He says conditions are adequate but meant to be harsh enough to send a message of deterrence to undocumented migrants. “Tell them not to come to USA, and tell the Dems to fix the Loopholes – Problem Solved!” he tweeted on Sunday.
Pence’s tour, the president argued, showcased a “clean” but crowded detention facility for men that was “loaded up with a big percentage of criminals.” It was an assertion never uttered on Friday by the vice president or Department of Homeland Security officials who accompanied Pence and Republican senators who are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The New York Times: ICE begins low-key arrests over the weekend targeting undocumented migrant families, part of a deportation operation focused on an estimated 2,000 people and expected to continue this week.
The Washington Post: Trump stirred alarm among immigrants after trumpeting mass roundups across cities. Routine enforcement operations have ensued.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot: Why Chicago will not assist ICE in its raids.
The Associated Press: Some churches offer targeted migrant families safe haven.
The Washington Post: Administration opens another 2,500-bed migrant detention facility in Texas.
More from the administration… White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney builds a conservative fiefdom while he lets “Trump be Trump” (The Washington Post) … Trump weighs ousting Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross following census setback ruling by Supreme Court (NBC News) … Trump is more animatedly discussing replacing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, a change he has mulled since February (Axios) … Here’s how Trump selected conservative economist Judy Shelton for the Federal Reserve (The Hill).
LEADING THE DAY
CONGRESS: Nothing unites House Democrats more than actions by Trump, and that was evidenced once again Sunday after the president attacked “the Squad” of progressive lawmakers, telling them to “go back” to the countries they came from. This prompted universal condemnation from Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and moderate House Democrats despite weeks of tumult within the House Democratic Caucus.
The president’s tweets, which wrongly stated that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) are from countries outside the United States (Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, was born in Mogadishu, Somalia) brought a brief respite to the ongoing fight in the conference and allowed House Democrats to train their fire on the president. Pelosi led the way, assailing Trump for reaffirming “his plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again.”
“Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power,” Pelosi tweeted. “I reject @realDonaldTrump’s xenophobic comments meant to divide our nation. Rather than attack Members of Congress, he should work with us for humane immigration policy that reflects American values. Stop the raids – #FamiliesBelongTogether!”
Pelosi went on to retweet multiple House Democratic lawmakers who responded to Trump, including Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), as part of her response to the president. Trump was unfazed and continued to attack the progressive lawmakers Sunday night, saying that it was “so sad to see the Democrats sticking up” for them.
Despite being unified against Trump on Sunday, Pelosi is still facing the ongoing feud with the group of high-profile progressives as House members return to Washington on Monday with a smorgasbord of items on the agenda before lawmakers leave town at the end of next week for the six-week August recess.
With infighting headlining House Democrats in recent weeks amid a bitter dispute between centrist and progressive members, the House will take on a new challenge next week: passing legislation to raise the minimum wage for the first time in more than a decade.
According to Cristina Marcos, the battle splits liberals from moderates in the caucus, and threatens to further stoke simmering tensions in the new majority. While progressives want a clean bill to raise the wage on the House floor, there is expected to be a vote on an amendment backed by Blue Dog Democrats to study the economic impact of the first two wage increases outlined by the legislation.
“We should just do a clean bill, send it to the Senate, and let [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell and those people try to destroy this as opposed to us eating ourselves on it,” said progressive Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
Jonathan Allen: Amid “race card” allegations, Pelosi teaches Ocasio-Cortez a math lesson.
The New York Times analysis: Trump fans the flames of a racial fire.
CNN: Frightened GOP won’t make Trump pay a price for his tweet.
The Hill: House and Senate head for showdown on must-pass defense bill.
> After declaring earlier this year that the Senate would not move legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act before the 2020 elections, Republican lawmakers are doing an about-face and are having internal discussions about how to potentially replace the health care law if it is struck down by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
According to Alexander Bolton, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has taken the lead on talks in the conference. He also is coordinating closely with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, including a meeting between the three on Thursday. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also working with Romney on a plan, something lawmakers say is necessary given how ill-prepared the GOP was to deal with the issue in 2017. Lawmakers say that’s a driving force behind talks.
“If there’s one thing we learned from the ObamaCare fight two years ago: We better be prepared in advance with more specificity as to what our plans our,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), noting that she’s talked to Romney about a possible plan.
The Hill: GOP struggles to find backup plan for avoiding debt default.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
2020 POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: Although Democrats leveled accusations of racism against the president Sunday, some Democrats are starting to point the finger at each other as allegations of racial insensitivity are flying between 2020 Democratic contenders and House Democrats. Among other issues, the accusations are raising concerns that internecine squabbles over identity and race could tarnish party leaders and distract Democrats from their goal of making Trump a one-term president.
The racially-charged controversies, which have swirled around former Vice President Joe Biden and Pelosi among others, have also put a spotlight on the party’s generational divide. Longtime Democratic leaders are facing new scrutiny over their past records and are being called out on their rhetoric, which has in some cases offended the younger generation of liberals, leading frustrated lawmakers to say the backbiting over race has gotten out of control.
Meanwhile, Republicans are relishing watching the fight from the sidelines, describing it as the culmination of the left’s obsession with identity politics.
“It’s damaging to this party and the internal workings of the Democratic Party,” said Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.). “I can tell you it’s not helpful.”
Niall Stanage: South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg makes new pitch to attract black voters.
The Washington Post: Democrats debate how far left is too far left as they prepare to take on Trump.
Julie Pace: In Biden and Buttigieg, Democrats confront generational divide.
Dan Balz: Is Biden ready to fight back against his rivals?
> Warren goes everywhere: As Democrats across the 2020 spectrum spend the lion’s share of their time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has adopted a different strategy as she campaigns across the country and looks ahead to Super Tuesday states.
Warren’s campaign travels have taken her many states that vote on Super Tuesday, when 14 states will hold primary contests, along with other states that are slated to vote after those primaries and caucuses. Warren has been to more than 20 states, including Alabama, Utah and Colorado, all three of which are among the 14 states voting on March 3, 2020. Additionally, she paid a visit to Puerto Rico, which won’t hold its primary until June 7, 2020.
“Every single day we organize across the country as we lay the groundwork to have a large movement of grass-roots supporters that will own a piece of this campaign and be in the fight with us,” said Chris Hayden, a Warren spokesman (The Hill).
> Digital strategy: Some Democratic presidential candidates are upending the conventional playbook for online outreach, cobbling together digital operations that allow their campaigns to be more agile and push into new platforms such as specialized applications in an acknowledgement that the 2020 election will largely be waged online.
Warren’s campaign has kept its content creation and digital ad-buying operations in-house, while Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) team began taking similar steps in May. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has created a digital media juggernaut pivoting on live video and an organizing app designed to allow a massive community of volunteers and supporters to feed information to the campaign’s voter database (The Hill).
The Associated Press: Biden aggressively defends ObamaCare.
The Hill: House Democrats’ campaign arm raises over $29 million in second quarter.
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-staging.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
OPINION
Will Iran ‘break out’ for a nuclear weapon, and what can Trump do? By Dennis Ross, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2Y4PnC3
How Trump can mitigate the damage of folding on the census, by Hugh Hewitt, columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2YSYjaZ
WHERE AND WHEN
Hill.TV today launches a NEW feature called #WYSC or “Why You Should Care,” hosted by Jamal Simmons, featuring analysis of significant news breaking throughout the day, posted at Hill.TV’s YouTube page at 3 p.m. ET. Hill.TV’s regular “Rising” program at 9 a.m. ET today features John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE, and Greg Chen, director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, to talk separately about the ICE raids, and Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, to discuss the union’s invitation to presidential candidates to go underground and meet miners. Find the programming at http://digital-staging.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube.
The House convenes at noon.
The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to consider the nomination of Peter Joseph Phipps to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
The president will host his administration’s annual “Made in America” product expo at 11:45 a.m. on the South Lawn and then have lunch with the vice president.
Pence will attend the White House product showcase at 10:30 a.m., prior to the president’s appearance, and talk with business owners and companies from around the country.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin participates in a moderated discussion at the Justice Department at 3:15 p.m. during Department of Justice’s anti-Semitism summit.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks at the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce “Annual Doorknock,” at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at 3:15 p.m.
SPONSORED CONTENT – JUUL LABS
Underage vaping is a serious problem. JUUL Labs is taking action, deploying 2,000 secret shopper visits per month to crack down on retailers that don’t comply with FDA policy and enhancing our online age verification system. Learn more.
ELSEWHERE
➔ Boeing: American Airlines announced on Sunday that it will keep its 24 737 Max airplanes off its schedule through Nov. 3, resulting in the cancellation of 115 flights per day. American followed a similar announcement on Friday by United Airlines, which has 14 737s in its fleet (The Associated Press).
➔ Leaks across the pond: The Mail on Sunday in Great Britain published more leaked confidential diplomatic cables containing criticism of Trump, written last year by U.K. ambassador to the United States Kim Darroch. In the latest leak, Darroch, who submitted his resignation last week, claimed that Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to spite former President Obama, whose team negotiated the agreement. Scotland Yard is searching for the leaker, assumed to be a supporter of Brexit and of Trump, and police warned the Mail on Sunday that publication of the cables, originally written for a small group in the British government, could constitute a crime (The Associated Press).
➔ Tech: Representatives of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple are to appear this week before the House Judiciary Committee to defend their market power. On the other side of the U.S. Capitol, Google’s vice president of public policy will testify before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) about accusations the company censors conservatives (The Hill).
➔ Men’s Wimbledon final: It took nearly 5 hours for No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic to defeat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon men’s final on Sunday. In their 48th meeting. Djokovic staved off two match points for the Swiss tennis star and won in five sets, including a 13-12 fifth set. The win for Djokovic is his 16th major win, putting him only four behind Federer and two behind Rafael Nadal. The loss also means Federer will have to wait another year for a crack at his ninth Wimbledon title (ESPN).
THE CLOSER
And finally … Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of the first humans to land on the moon, when NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission and its astronauts held the world spellbound in 1969 and beat the Soviets in the space race. Twelve astronauts in total walked on the lunar surface, conducted research and brought moon rocks back to Earth for study as part of the Apollo program. NASA now wants to return to the moon as a workstation for manned space travel to Mars.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade …“ Listen to two minutes and 39 seconds of Apollo 11 history (and President Kennedy’s optimism) in a moving montage of sound, images and music HERE.
In 2019 — when the United States and France are militarizing space, China and India are probing the moon, the International Space Station has become a routine research center, and unmanned exploration is the high-tech space frontier — NASA, the Smithsonian and official Washington want to pause to celebrate America’s derring-do.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m., the Washington Monument will become a full-size Saturn V rocket (through the modern miracles of optical projection), to commemorate the rocket that sent the Apollo 11 into orbit on July 16, 1969. Information HERE.
“That’s one small step for man …”
The “Apollo 50 Festival” will consume the Mall beginning on Thursday at 9 a.m. Before that, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum on Tuesday will put Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit on display for the first time in 13 years, including special moon-themed exhibits for children. Details HERE.
The Smithsonian Channel jumped in with an augmented reality app that lets gamers blast off with a Saturn V rocket or steer to the surface of the moon. By recreating the timeline of the Apollo missions, users experience history. “It was important for us to do justice to the story,” Charles Poe, senior vice president of production for Smithsonian Channel, told Space.com. NASA has a podcast series about the moon missions (old and new).
“This is Houston. Say again, please…”
The National Gallery of Art has assembled a moon photography exhibit, and the Smithsonian, together with the State Department and George Washington University, will host a panel discussion about the past and the future of space exploration on July 18 at Lisner Auditorium, with Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins and others. All tickets were snapped up, but information is HERE.
“The Eagle has landed …”
The New York Times: Why everyone wants to go back to the moon.
The Associated Press: Armstrong, Collins and Buzz Aldrin — Apollo 11’s “amiable strangers.”
CBS News: Walter Cronkite and the awe of space exploration.
Space.com: Where are NASA’s Apollo lunar rocks now?
Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, on CBS News: “What is President Trump’s goal? What is his vision? He wants to put an American flag on Mars. So we go to the Moon, so that we can learn how to live and work on another world and, ultimately, have more access to the solar system than ever before so that we can get, no kidding, to Mars.”
