Happy Thursday. Enjoying these last few days before the September chaos? The first presidential debate is next week, and Congress is returning to another government funding fight. Area journalists, brace yourselves. Here’s what’s happening:

• Liz Cheney says she’s voting for Harris.
• Trump is adjusting his battleground map. His path to victory is a little narrower now.
• Harris talks about herself as an underdog. Keep reading for a breakdown on if that’s actually the case.
• Tim Walz trolled JD Vance by ordering doughnuts.
• Speaker Johnson’s funding strategy may cause colleagues headaches.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) told Duke University students Wednesday that she is voting for Vice President Harris.📹 Watch the clip

Cheney’s a vocal Trump critic and sat on the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, so it’s not a surprising move. But it does show a Republican Party that is getting more comfortable going against the grain.

It’s not just Cheney:

• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) plans to cast a write-in ballot for former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
  
  
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), another powerful Senate Republican, has said for months that she won’t vote for Trump. In fact, earlier this year, she didn’t even rule out leaving the GOP entirely.
  
  
• Retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has famously feuded with Trump for years, has said since February he won’t be voting for the former president.
  
  
• Former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but severed ties following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. He recently told CNBC that he won’t vote for Trump or Harris.
  
  
• Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), said she also won’t be backing either Trump or Harris.

💡 Why this matters: The sentiment of unease is being felt throughout the Republican Party. It was once political suicide to refuse to back your party’s nominee. But Republicans are on their third presidential cycle with a particularly polarizing candidate who makes some Republican lawmakers privately uncomfortable. Some GOP voters feel the same way ­— and these Republican leaders have made it more socially acceptable to go against the grain.

Trump has stepped back from campaigning in New Hampshire, Minnesota and Virginia, reports Axios. Instead, he’s putting more resources in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Why this is notable: Earlier this summer, Trump thought he had an easy path to victory. So much so that he held a rally in the bright blue state of New Jersey (!), among other states. Now he must be more intentional about where to prioritize his resources.  Read more on how Trump’s path has narrowed

Vice President Harris has been outpacing former President Trump in national polls, yet she’s been referring to herself as the underdog in the presidential race.

Well, The Hill’s Amie Parnes compared her polling to the 2016 and 2020 races — and found that Harris *is* trailing where President Biden and Hillary Clinton were at this point in their respective campaigns:

• In 2016: Clinton led Trump by 4 points nationally at this point in the race.
  
  
• In 2020: Biden was ahead of Trump by 7 points by this point.
  
  
• And as of today: Harris is leading Trump by 2 points nationally.

What matters even more: Harris is trailing in some key demographics, including with Black voters, compared to Biden and Clinton.

Why this matters: National polls on their own aren’t a great predictor of an election, but it does measure the temperature of a race.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Harris’s running mate, stopped by a shop in Pennsylvania to buy doughnuts and whoopie pies. “Look at me. I have no problem picking out doughnuts,” he quipped. 📹 Watch the clip

That’s an apparent shot at his GOP rival, Sen. JD Vance (Ohio), who was mocked for awkwardly ordering doughnuts a few weeks ago.

🔷 Barron Trump is attending New York University, according to former President Trump.

🔷 Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has joined the global PR firm Edelman as vice chair of its international public affairs team.

🔷 Former first lady Melania Trump is publishing her memoir on Oct. 1. She teased it as “clarifying the facts” after being “misrepresented.”

Hunter Biden plans to change his plea from not guilty to guilty in his federal tax case, according to the Associated Press.

Back story: “President Biden’s son is accused of withholding at least $1.4 million between 2016 and 2019, in the heat of his addiction to crack cocaine. He faces nine charges, three of which are felonies, and has pleaded not guilty.” (The Hill)

Timing: Jury selection in the trial was expected to begin today.

©  AP

Former President Trump’s Jan. 6 case is back in a D.C. courtroom today after the Supreme Court ruled the former president has broad immunity from criminal prosecution.

Is Trump attending?: No, he’s not there in person. 🔎 Here’s the doc of Trump formally waiving his appearance

News from the hearing: Trump pleaded not guilty to superseding indictment.

🗨️ Live blog of updates from the courtroom

Case preview, via The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch

Two students and two teachers were killed at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., when a suspect opened fire on Wednesday. Nine other people were injured.

What we know about the suspect: The suspect, a 14-year-old student at the school, is in custody. The FBI says the suspect was interviewed last year over previous threats. CNN reports that his father was questioned by law enforcement last year about “anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting.”

The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the suspect will be charged as an adult.

Read more: What we know about the incident

The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell report that “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is prepping House Republicans for a spending battle with Senate Democrats, opting for a strategy that pleases former President Trump and hard-line conservatives but complicates the path to averting a government shutdown at the end of the month.”

What’s his plan?: Fund the government for another six months without any spending changes — and pair it with a bill to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. That Trump-backed voting bill is pretty controversial.

This likely won’t go smoothly: “Those dynamics are thrusting Johnson into a familiar — yet thorny — situation: Caught between firebrand hard-liners and apprehensive moderates, staring down a Senate Democratic majority, and scrambling to fund the government with just weeks to go until the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.”

Read the full report: ‘Speaker Johnson’s opening salvo on spending draws GOP doubts’

🍕 Celebrate: Today is National Cheese Pizza Day! Here’s a list of pizza specials today.

👂 DC could DC a little less: Overheard District posted a tidbit that was heard on U Street in Washington, D.C. “I can’t date him, he doesn’t even know anything about the Supreme Court schedule!!” 

🐐 The GOAT: Olympic gymnast Simone Biles appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” 💻 Watch her interview

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Wisconsin, and Vice President Harris is in Pennsylvania. (all times Eastern)

• Noon: Former President Trump speaks at the Economic Club of New York. 💻 Livestream
• 4 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on his “Investing in America” agenda at an event in Westby, Wis. 💻 Livestream
• 6 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) campaigns in Phoenix. 💻 Livestream
• 6 p.m.: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) campaigns in Erie, Pa. 💻 Livestream
• 7:40 p.m.: Biden returns to the White House.

Let’s close this on a happy note. Watch these two grow up together.