Evening Report — Congress braces for border deal text

by Amee LaTour - 02/02/24 5:20 PM ET

Evening Report

Lawmakers prepare for release of border deal text

The long-awaited text of a bill including aid to Ukraine and Israel and a border policy deal will be released by Sunday, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), with votes happening next week.

Senate and White House negotiators have been chipping away at a border deal since before the holiday break. Purported details of the deal surfaced recently, but lead negotiator Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) chalked them up to “internet rumors.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said the deal, if containing the reported provisions, would be “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber, and has urged President Biden to take executive action on border security instead of waiting on Congress.

Still, Johnson told Fox Business on Friday that he’s “not prejudging anything” and will check the bill out.

But he added, “I’ve told them the necessary elements of H.R. 2 are what are required to get control of the border,” referring to a bill the House passed last year with only GOP support. “I’ve been consistent, and that’s our standard.”

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

The March 4 trial date for former President Trump’s election interference case in D.C. has been suspended pending an appeals ruling on his immunity arguments … Other court news: Georgia DA Fani Willis acknowledges ‘personal relationship’ with top Trump prosecutor
The Hill’s Tobias Burns walks us through 5 takeaways from the January jobs report, which showed growth far exceeding expectations.
Former President Trump will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), held from Feb. 21-24. Check out who else is on the list here.

NEW THIS AFTERNOON

Dignified transfer for troops killed in Jordan

The remains of three U.S. service members killed in Jordan on Sunday were returned to the U.S. in a dignified transfer, a ceremony attended by top U.S. officials including President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The soldiers’ names are Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga.

STATE WATCH

Ohio AG says East Palestine settlement not imminent

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of a major train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, state Attorney General Dave Yost (R) said he doesn’t anticipate an “imminent resolution” to the federal lawsuit he filed against Norfolk Southern Railway.

Yost said he’s waiting on findings from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is reviewing the derailment of the train that was carrying hazardous chemicals. “I cannot, in good conscience, agree to a settlement without a detailed understanding of what happened, who is responsible, and how we avoid other communities like East Palestine from being victims to this type of incident,” Yost said. Read more here.

? FRIDAY FIGURES

The most vulnerable senators’ year-end finances

Two of the three most vulnerable senators in 2024, Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), are among the top five Senate candidate fundraisers, according to new year-end reports.

OHIO: Brown’s $27.8 million in receipts, dating back to the beginning of the Senate election cycle in 2019, placed him in third for all candidates. The majority of that — $21 million — came in throughout 2023.

Brown finished the year with $14.6 million on hand.
The challenger nearest to Brown in fundraising, Republican Matt Dolan, had raised $9.1 million and had $4.9 million on hand.

MONTANA: Tester’s $25.2 million haul was the fifth-highest amount of all 2024 Senate candidates, and $20.7 million of that came in last year.

Tester entered the new year with $11.2 million on hand.
Republican challenger Tim Sheehy brought in $5.3 million by the end of 2023, starting the new year with $1.3 million on hand.

ARIZONA: Unlike Brown and Tester, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) hasn’t announced yet whether she’s running for reelection.

She had $16.9 million in receipts through the end of last year. Of that, $5.2 million came in during 2023 (including around $600,000 in the final quarter).

Sinema garnered major challengers from both parties after changing her affiliation from Democrat to Independent at the end of 2022.

Sinema started 2024 with $10.6 million on hand.
Democratic challenger Rep. Ruben Gallego brought in $13.3 million by the end of 2023 and had $6.5 million on hand.
Kari Lake (R), who joined the race in October, took in $2.1 million in the final quarter and spent about half of it.

Keep in mind: Besides Arizona, the six other most competitive Senate elections are for seats Democrats currently hold. While the incumbents running for reelection have cash advantages, it’s a favorable map overall for Republicans.

IN OTHER NEWS

House panel Dems ask for review of Tuberville’s military holds

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) are asking the Government Accountability Office to review how Sen. Tommy Tuberville‘s (R-Ala.) 10-month hold on military promotions last year affected “military readiness.”

Top UN court has jurisdiction in Ukraine genocide case: ruling

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations, ruled it has jurisdiction in a case in which Ukraine is disputing Russia’s claim that Ukraine committed genocide in Donetsk and Luhansk.

The court won’t decide whether Russia has committed genocide. ICJ President Joan Donoghue said, “It is not the convention that the Russian Federation would have violated but the relevant rules of international law applicable to the recognition of states and the use of force.” Read more here.