The Hill’s Morning Report – Coronavirus, character and Michelle Obama headline Day 1 for Dems

 

 

 

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Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 170,052. Tuesday, 170,548.

Equal parts infomercial, talk show and COVID-19 pep talk, the opening night of a virtually staged Democratic National Convention painted America as diverse, big-hearted and eager to sweep President Trump out of the White House in favor of “a president who understands the true meaning of community” — former vice president and according to his boosters, future President Joe Biden.

 

Former first lady Michelle Obama, who wowed the Democrats’ convention four years ago in Philadelphia, delivered again what millions of Democrats yearned to hear. She added her voice to the party’s blunt case against Trump as a president who makes a deadly pandemic “worse” and fails, in their telling, to show empathy and shreds the values championed by the United States around the world. “That’s downright infuriating,” she said. “Donald Trump is the wrong president for the country…. He cannot meet the moment.”

 

The former first lady, who remains particularly popular among women, millennials and voters of color, urged Americans, particularly Black Americans, to vote early, in any way they can cast ballots because “it is up to us.” She vouched for Biden as decent, determined and experienced, and human — “not perfect.”  

 

“This is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden,” the former first lady said. “We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.”

 

The Hill: READ Michelle Obama’s convention speech. “You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation.”

 

The Memo by The Hill’s Niall Stanage: Michelle Obama shines, scorching Trump as “clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us.”

 

The focus by multiple speakers on the dire effects of the coronavirus echoed polls this summer showing Americans of all political stripes increasingly worried that COVID-19 is the most important problem facing the country, even ahead of a limping economy. 

 

At one point, the party paid homage to those who lost their lives due to COVID-19 as music by John Prine — the late folk artist who died from the virus in April — played in the background. 

 

Monday’s convention narrative smoothed over simmering rifts between the left flank of the Democratic Party and the centrist-moderate wing in which Biden, 77, has been comfortable for decades. His campaign used the program to lean into the general election, thematically reaching beyond the party’s base to appeal to moderate Republicans and independents while simultaneously celebrating elected officials of color and the firebrands considered by many to be the change agents inside the party.

 

Dan Balz: A crisp opening for the Democrats, but questions remain that only Biden can answer.

 

The Washington Post: On Democratic convention’s first night, speakers blame Trump for America’s woes.

 

The Hill: Biden seeks to win over progressives and Republicans on night one.

 

 

 

 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) did for Biden what he did not do for Hillary Clinton in 2016: With a full-throated endorsement, he urged his supporters to back the former vice president, saying that nothing Trump does while in office should be considered “normal.”

 

“Let us be clear, if Donald Trump is reelected, all of the progress we have made will be in jeopardy,” Sanders said. “During this president’s term, the unthinkable has become normal.”

 

Sanders also made the policy case for a Biden presidency despite their differences on multiple big-ticket items or how to get there. “The price of failure is just too great to imagine,” Sanders said.

 

The Hill: Sanders urges supporters to back Biden: “Price of failure is just too great to imagine.”

 

The Hill: Five things to know about the Democratic platform.

 

The New York Times: Kristin Urquiza, whose father died of COVID-19, denounces Trump at DNC.

 

Midway through the first night, a string of Republicans threw their support behind the former vice president, including former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman and former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, and headlined by former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Most of those who appeared did not push conservative policies, but spoke out in favor of Biden’s character and argued that Biden will not leave them in the dust.

 

“I’m sure there are Republicans and Independents who couldn’t imagine crossing over to support a Democrat. They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don’t believe that,” said Kasich, who stood in a literal fork in the road. 

 

The Hill: Republican Kasich described Biden as the best candidate to unify the country.

 

Axios: Trump campaign ad attacks Biden’s mental faculties.

 

 

 

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LEADING THE DAY

CONGRESS: The furor surrounding the United States Postal Service reached another level on Monday as House Democrats scheduled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to testify on Monday and announced that members will be back this weekend to vote on legislation that would stem operational changes DeJoy has been implementing since his appointment in May. 

 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told his colleagues during a conference call that the House will return to work on Saturday to deal with a Postal Service crisis and to ensure the agency can handle a predicted avalanche of mail-in ballots by Nov. 3 (The Hill). While the House will be back, the GOP-controlled Senate has made no commitment to return to the Capitol before Sept. 8.

 

The administration and lawmakers are arm-wrestling about additional funding for the Postal Service this year. House Democrats support $25 billion; Trump and Republicans say their ceiling is $10 billion as part of pending coronavirus response legislation currently in limbo.

 

DeJoy agreed to appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next week to testify about Post Office cost-cutting and other “streamlining” measures Democrats complain have slowed mail delivery in an election year when 78 percent of eligible voters could vote by mail if they choose. 

 

“The American people want their mail, medicines, and mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way, and they certainly do not want drastic changes and delays in the midst of a global pandemic just months before the election,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chairwoman, said in a statement (The Hill).

 

The Hill: House Republicans allege Democrats are fabricating a Postal Service crisis.

 

 

 

 

Trump told reporters on Monday that he “asked everybody to speed up the mail, not slow down the mail.” He also criticized the timing of the DeJoy hearing, as it will take place only hours before the GOP kicks off the Republican National Convention. 

 

“Why is Congress scheduled to meet (on Post Office) next Monday, during the Republican Convention, rather than now, while the Dems are having their Convention. They are always playing games. GET TOUGH REPUBLICANS!!!” Trump tweeted.

 

Hours later during an appearance in Oshkosh, Wis., the president declared, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if it’s rigged. That’s the only way.”

 

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows also told journalists that reported problems with removal of postal drop-off boxes and processing machinery predated DeJoy’s arrival.

 

Reuters: What are the U.S. Postal Service changes that have stirred controversy?

 

“I know the post office really well. It’s not an issue of money. They’ve got over $10 billion cash on hand, they’ve got another line of credit,” Meadows said. “The postmaster general has said he is willing to pay overtime. A lot of the headlines are not indicative of what’s actually taking place at the post office.”

 

Meadows said the president is willing to sign a coronavirus relief bill that funds direct stimulus payments to Americans and adds funding to the post office. Democrats want $915 billion in relief for states and localities, which Meadows dismissed as a significant sticking point during negotiations. The White House has offered $150 billion (The Washington Examiner).

 

While Trump continues to rain down criticisms of the Postal Service, his critiques have rung hollow in corners of the GOP, including with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The GOP leader said Monday during an event in Kentucky that he does not share the president’s “concern” on the issue, adding that the agency “is going to be just fine.”

 

“We’re going to make sure that the ability to function going into the election is not adversely affected,” McConnell said at an event in his home state. “I don’t share the concern, the president’s concern … and, in fact, [Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin], in discussions with [Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)], had already indicated the administration is prepared to spend up to $10 billion just to make sure the post office is on good terms going into the November election” (CNN).

 

The Hill: Senate GOP to include Postal Service funds in smaller coronavirus relief bill.

 

The Associated Press: Pelosi extends proxy voting through Oct. 2.

 

 

****

 

ADMINISTRATION: The president on Monday talked up the economy in Minnesota and Wisconsin and will be in Arizona today. By Thursday, he’ll be in Pennsylvania. The targets? Battleground states he won four years ago where polls show a heavier lift for reelection. The strategy to keep campaigning to his base during Biden’s nominating convention is classic Trump. He enjoys creating media distractions and rarely cedes a spotlight.

 

In Wisconsin, a state Trump won four years ago by fewer than 23,000 votes, the president told supporters on Monday, “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if it’s rigged. That’s the only way” (The Hill).

 

The Washington Post: GOP plans a fireworks show at the Washington Monument after the end of the Republican National Convention and the conclusion of the president’s acceptance speech on Thursday night. 

 

> U.S. and China: The United States and China on Monday postponed a planned review of the first phase of a trade deal, citing scheduling conflicts and the need for more time for China to purchase U.S. exports. No new review date was set (CNBC). Peter Navarro, a White House trade adviser to Trump, said during a Monday interview with CNBC that the phase one deal with China is on track and that Beijing is keeping up its end of the pact (Reuters).

 

The United States on Monday announced it will further tighten restrictions on access to commercially available chips and technology by Chinese telecom giant Huawei (Reuters).

 

The Justice Department arrested former CIA officer Alexander Yuk Ching Ma and charged him with spying for China in a scheme that involved a relative who had also worked for the CIA, the Justice Department said Monday. Investigators say Ma left the agency in 1989 and lived in Shanghai and later in Hawaii beginning in 2001. Court documents allege that Ma and his relative conspired with Chinese spies to share U.S. classified defense information over a decade (Reuters).

 

> Alaska oil drilling: The administration on Monday finalized its plan to allow oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. Advocates say drilling will produce jobs and revenues in Alaska. Opponents have for decades argued that oil exploration in the pristine, 19-million-acre refuge will irreversibly harm the ecosystem and native population at a time when the value of oil leases has plummeted. Drilling in ANWR, however, is part of Trump’s agenda to wean the United States away from foreign sources of petroleum (Reuters). The Interior Department could hold a sale of oil and gas leases by the end of the year and if found, oil production could begin in about eight years (Reuters). National Geographic magazine (subscription required) reports what’s at stake in ANWR (with photos). 

 

 

 

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

CORONAVIRUS: The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, with 30,000 students, announced Monday that it will move all classes from in-person to virtual instruction on Wednesday after coronavirus case clusters emerged in three residence halls and one fraternity house just one week after students returned to campus (The Daily Tar Heel). The university will allow students to leave campus housing without financial penalty (The Washington Post).

 

> U.S. Naval Academy: Midshipmen preparing to begin the semester later this month in Annapolis, Md., have tested positive for COVID-19. An academy spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that “less than two percent of the current population of midshipmen who are in Bancroft Hall are currently COVID-19 positive.” Bancroft Hall is the main dormitory for midshipmen.

 

> Virginia: Washington, D.C.’s seven-day average as measured by its coronavirus positivity rate among residents is 3.3 percent. In Maryland, the rate is 3.63 percent. Virginia’s is 7.2 percent. Rates under 5 percent are interpreted by public health experts to mean enough testing is being done, but rates that hold steady or increase can indicate continued community transmission.

 

“It tells us pretty clearly that we’re really not out of the woods yet, and we do have to figure out, why are we still seeing high positivity rates, especially in Virginia?” said Amira Roess, professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (WTOP).

 

> Nursing homes: A new industry report released this week shows that cases of the coronavirus in U.S. nursing homes jumped nearly 80 percent earlier this summer, driven by rampant spread in the South and much of the West. Public health experts believe the problem of exposure and transmission in senior living facilities has not been solved. Monday’s study from the American Health Care Association found there were 9,715 coronavirus cases in nursing homes the week starting July 26, a 77 percent increase from a low point the week of June 21. The group is the industry’s main trade association. The administration has provided some resources and requirements for increased testing and federal inspections of senior care and rehabilitation facilities (The Associated Press).

 

The New York Times opinion, COVID-19 is creating a wave of heart disease, by cardiologist and researcher Haider Warraich of the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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

What happens when poll workers don’t show up? by Adam Minter, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/3g6CL28 

 

China’s dangerous Taiwan temptation, by Robert Kagan, opinion contributor, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/349VlnJ 

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WHERE AND WHEN

The House meets at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session.

 

The Senate will convene at noon for a pro forma session. The full Senate is scheduled to meet on Sept. 8.

 

The president and first lady Melania Trump participate in the signing of a proclamation designating August 2020 as National Suffrage Month. Trump will travel to Yuma, Ariz., where he will speak about immigration and security at the U.S. border, before returning to Washington.

 

Democratic National Convention schedule: The lineup of speakers from 9 to 11 p.m. EDT includes former President Jimmy Carter, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), former Secretary of State and former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Georgia voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), former President Clinton and Jill Biden. Convention speakers and program HERE.

 

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ELSEWHERE

➔ International: Facing increased pressure to step down, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday that he is prepared to hold new elections and hand over power after a constitutional referendum as mass protests intensified on Monday. During a speech at a state-run factory on Monday, workers repeatedly jeered him and chanted for him to “step down” (Reuters). … Israeli President Reuven Rivlin invited the United Arab Emirates’s de facto leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, to visit Jerusalem in the wake of the normalization of relations between the two nations, calling him “noble and courageous” for his role in the accord (Reuters).

 

➔ Tech: A TikTok employee is mounting a legal challenge on behalf of the company’s U.S.-based workers in response to Trump’s order banning American transactions with ByteDance, the Chinese firm owning the popular short-form video app. Patrick Ryan, a technical program manager at TikTok, argues it is not the president’s decision “to permit or to not permit entire businesses on a whim.” He said about 1,500 TikTok and ByteDance employees are at risk of not receiving paychecks once the executive order takes effect. A lawsuit could be filed this week (The Hill). 

 

 

 

 

➔ Courts: Federal prosecutors urged a judge Monday to accept deals that call for actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, to spend two and five months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the college admissions scandal. The couple pled guilty to paying $500,000 in order to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as recruits for the crew team despite neither ever taking part in the sport (The Associated Press).

THE CLOSER

And finally … Portugal’s 71-year-old president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, helped rescue two kayakers after their vessel capsized well off course just as he was being interviewed on Saturday at Praia do Alvor beach by journalists. After diving in to lend assistance to the two women along with two other helpers, including one on a jet ski, he returned to his surfside Q&A, toweled off, donned his mask and resumed his efforts to promote tourism in Portugal (BBC). Aplauso!