The Hill’s Morning Report — Dems tout war chest, fret over third parties

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 07/17/23 6:28 AM ET

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Democrats insist they’re cheered by President Biden’s recent fundraising numbers, fretful about eventual voter turnout for the octogenarian incumbent and frustrated by potential 2024 spoilers and distractions — from primary challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a third-party drive by mysteriously bankrolled No Labels.

The Hill put Biden at the top of its list of fundraising winners as the Federal Election Commission reported donations at the close of the year’s second quarter.

Together with the Democratic National Committee, the Biden campaign and joint fundraising committees reported on Friday raising $72 million, an impressive total considering that many Democratic voters say they’re lukewarm about the 80-year-old’s bid for a second term, according to polls. Although members of his party have knocked Biden for a Rose Garden-style, slow start to reelection, the president has $77 million in cash on hand. Incumbency in presidential years has some advantages.

Doubts have swirled around Biden’s candidacy because his favorability rating is stuck in the low 40s amid concerns about his age and GOP attacks on his mental acuity. The DNC and the White House want donor activity to tell a different story, especially among small-dollar donations from the grassroots, which averaged $39 among nearly 400,000 contributors in the second quarter.

The small-dollar online money spigot that helped Biden smash fundraising records during his 2020 presidential campaign has not yet turned on, and there are signs that it may be months before it does (The New York Times).

“I’m not sure which is harder: Getting people to focus on the campaign, or getting people excited about it,” a longtime Democratic fundraiser told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity.

CNN: Biden campaign officials, defending the difference compared with former President Obama’s haul as he sought a second term, point to a “very different” political climate that they say has made grassroots fundraising more challenging across the board this year, with political fatigue setting in on both the right and the left.

Kennedy, who is challenging Biden for the nomination and polling in the mid-double-digits in recent surveys, ran into a buzzsaw of controversy over the weekend after The New York Post published a video of the candidate saying the COVID-19 virus was engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. His remarks to a private gathering in New York City stirred renewed accusations that he spreads conspiratorial misinformation, embellished with antisemitism and racism. Kennedy said the Post report was “wrong” and that he’d been speaking off-the-record about “bioweapons” (The New York Post).

“COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,” Kennedy said, according to the Post’s video. “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

Kennedy on Thursday is scheduled to testify to a GOP-led House committee about federal censorship of conservative ideas, an element of Republican political talking points.

▪ NewsNation: Kennedy declined during a recent town hall to commit to supporting Biden if he’s the party’s nominee.

▪ New York magazine Intelligencer: Kennedy’s conspiracy theories finally get around to the Jews.

▪ The Hill: Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison condemned Kennedy’s remarks in a tweet. “These are deeply troubling comments and I want to make clear that they do not represent the views of the Democratic Party,” Harrison wrote. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) tweeted, “Hard to imagine a son who has done more to dishonor his father’s name than RFK Jr.”

▪ New York Post: Likely Green Party candidate Cornel West says Biden committed “crime against humanity” against Black Americans.

Democrats who back Biden want to keep control of the Senate and worry about third-party presidential candidates siphoning votes in make-or-break battleground states next year. Tonight they’ll be listening attentively to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has not said whether he’ll seek Senate reelection in a state former President Trump won with ease. Manchin is appearing at a No Labels town hall, flirting with an independent bid for president, The Hill’s Al Weaver reports.

“Joe is America’s biggest political tease, and I trust that he’ll make a judgment to run for reelection in West Virginia,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told The Hill. “I hope he will.”

No Labels chairman Joe Lieberman, a former Connecticut senator and former vice presidential candidate, said Sunday the nonprofit won’t play a “spoiler” role to tilt next year’s election results if polls suggest that possibility (ABC News and Reuters).

“We’re not in this to be spoilers,” Lieberman said, arguing the centrist group is in search of a unity ticket. No Labels today plans to unveil its agenda in New Hampshire, an early primary state.

Related Articles

▪ Mother Jones: Top Democratic-run firms won’t discuss their work for No Labels, which refuses to disclose the source of its funding. Media reports have identified several major donors with GOP ties.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: The 2024 election is a fight over America’s way of life, according to interviews with likely voters.

▪ The Washington Post: Key takeaways from the latest campaign finance reports.

▪ The New York Times: Thirty years after Congress ordered that papers related to the John F. Kennedy assassination be made public with limited exceptions, Biden on June 30 declared “final certification” of files, even though 4,684 documents remain withheld in whole or in part. Going forward, agencies will decide any future disclosures that may be warranted. Candidate Kennedy Jr. recently accused the government of orchestrating a “60-year cover-up” in his uncle’s killing.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ CONGRESS

© The Associated Press / Manuel Balce Ceneta | Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Senate Appropriations Committee chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) at the Capitol in January.

The House and Senate have just eight legislative days before their six-week August recess and the government funding clock is ticking. Lawmakers must pass a series of key spending bills before the Sept. 30 fiscal year deadline or risk a government shutdown but the chambers are moving in different directions, The Hill’s Aris Folley reports.

For weeks, House Democratic negotiators have bemoaned the partisan bills the GOP-led spending committee has advanced as Republicans seek to cut funding beyond the spending limits set in a budget cap deal negotiated in late spring by Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

A stark contrast is playing out in the Senate where Democrats, who hold the majority, have advanced their own funding bills with overwhelming bipartisan votes in recent weeks. Some Senate Democratic negotiators say they are hoping the upper chamber takes the lead in bicameral negotiations, particularly as members on both sides of the aisle have raised concerns about the likelihood of shutdown later this year. Republicans have credited the show of bipartisanship to Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the panel’s new chair and vice chair.

“It goes to the leadership, quite frankly, of the committee,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), top Republican on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittee. She added that Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have also “pledged to work in relationship to Susan and Patty. And I think they’re fulfilling that, at least for now.”

Meanwhile, the House on Friday passed a controversial version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) largely along party lines with amendments championed by the conservative Freedom Caucus (CNN). The Senate will begin voting on its own version of the bill Tuesday and anticipates a “reasonable number” of amendments, Schumer said Thursday. A challenging conference process is anticipated.

▪ Roll Call podcast: Appropriations collision course.

▪ USA Today: National security adviser Jake Sullivan says the House-passed NDAA won’t reach Biden’s desk.

▪ The Hill: The White House says Republicans have turned the defense bill into a “rightwing wishlist.”

▪ Politico: Calling it a danger to national security, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) blasts Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) hold on military promotions.

➤ MORE POLITICS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fired a dozen campaign staffers on Thursday, a sign he’s retooling his presidential operation after sitting behind former President Trump in polls and after a fundraising quarter in which the campaign spent nearly 40 percent of the $20 million it raised (NBC News and Politico). DeSantis was considered an early frontrunner against Trump before he officially declared his candidacy. The latest Real Clear Politics average of polls shows him 32.4 points behind Trump.

Unlike many of his Republican rivals, the governor has preferred interviews with friendly conservative-leaning outlets but may be looking for a broader national audience as he focuses on Iowa and its first-in-the-nation caucus. During an interview with Fox Business last week, DeSantis blamed the news media for trailing behind Trump (Fox13 and The Wall Street Journal).

“I think it’s pretty clear that the media does not want me to be their candidate,” DeSantis said when asked about his strategy. “They’ve tried to create a narrative that somehow the race is over.”

DeSantis has switched gears and will be interviewed by CNN’s Jake Tapper Tuesday following a campaign event in Columbia, S.C.

▪ Tampa Bay Times: Veterans quit DeSantis’s Florida State Guard over militialike training.

▪ The Hill: DeSantis on six-week abortion ban: “I had a lot of supporters who were averse to me on this.”

▪ NBC News: DeSantis says he would consider Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) as his running mate.

This weekend’s campaign fundraising reports underscore a stark divide between those who raised substantial sums — such as Trump, raised $35 million during the quarter, and DeSantis — and the other well-known political figures competing for the GOP nod. Former Vice President Mike Pence languished at the bottom half of the pack, bringing in less than $1.2 million, the filings show (CNN and Bloomberg News).

▪ Politico: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is the longshot candidate raising the most cash.

▪ The Associated Press: Fundraising takeaways: Trump and DeSantis in their own tier as Pence and other Republicans struggle.

Meanwhile, Republican senators say conservative populism has always been a part of the GOP, but some worry that it’s beginning to take over the party, causing significant political problems heading into the 2024 election, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports. From Trump’s dominance in the polls, to DeSantis’s ham-handed attack on the LGBTQ community, to House Republicans’ relentless demonizing of federal institutions, to the popularity of falsehoods about a stolen 2020 election and Jan. 6 as an inside job, the growing radicalization of the GOP is a worrisome trend for some long-serving Senate Republicans.

“We should be concerned about this as Republicans. I’m having more ‘rational Republicans’ coming up to me and saying, ‘I just don’t know how long I can stay in this party,’” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), told the Hill. “Now our party is becoming known as a group of kind of extremist, populist over-the-top [people] where no one is taking us seriously anymore. You have people who felt some allegiance to the party that are now really questioning, ‘Why am I [in the party?]”

2024 roundup: Abortion ballot measures set the stage ahead of 2024. Ohio’s ballot initiative will take center stage next month (The Hill).… GOP problems add up on issues of race (The Hill). … The Supreme Court’s shift to the right poses a risk to LGBTQ rights (The Hill). … Asian American lawmakers are split over the end to affirmative action in university admissions (The Hill).

Trump world: The former presidentpraised the federal judge overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of him, telling Fox News on Sunday that “she loves our country.” Trump while in office appointed Judge Aileen Cannon, adding, “We need judges that love our country so they do the right thing” (The Hill). … Trump is seeking unprecedented court delays from Cannon beyond the 2024 election as he battles prosecution (The Hill). … Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, leading the probe into election interference in Georgia, is profiled by The Wall Street Journal. … A wave of executives in the finance sector made early donations in the second quarter to primary candidates challenging Trump, as many on Wall Street seek an alternative to lead the Republican Party in 2024 (NBC News).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

Russia said it has halted an unprecedented wartime deal that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia (The Associated Press). It’s the end of a breakthrough accord that the United Nations and Turkey brokered last summer to allow food to leave the Black Sea region after Russia’s invasion. Both nations are major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations rely on.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military was responsible for the attack on a key bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar, a Ukrainian official confirmed Monday (The Washington Post and CNBC). The attack comes after the first phase of Ukraine’s counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory began weeks ago without fanfare, but other than claiming that its troops are edging forward, Kyiv has not offered much detail on how it’s going. As The Associated Press reports, the campaign has taken place mostly out of sight of impartial observers. The fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine has pitted troops equipped with new Western-supplied weapons against Kremlin forces that spent months digging formidable defenses and honing tactics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a Sunday interview that Moscow has a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster munitions, and warned that Russia “reserves the right to take reciprocal action” if Ukraine uses the controversial weapons, which it has received from the U.S. While Putin said Russia hasn’t used cluster bombs in the war with Ukraine so far, the use of the munition by both Russia and Ukraine has been widely documented. Cluster bombs have long been criticized by humanitarian groups, and some U.S. allies, because they often leave behind unexploded bomblets that can harm civilians long after a battle has ended (The Associated Press).

▪ The New York Times: To gain ground, Ukrainian forces have to make their way through a variety and density of Russian land mines they never imagined.

▪ The Atlantic: At last, NATO has a plan. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include admitting Ukraine.

🌎 For decades, the world’s dominant powers have benefited from large working-age populations that help drive economic growth. But as The New York Times explores in a data visualization, the world’s demographic sweet spots are changing, and fast. By 2050, people aged 65 and older will make up nearly 40 percent of the population in some parts of East Asia and Europe. Experts predict things many wealthier countries take for granted — like pensions, retirement ages and strict immigration policies — will need overhauls to be sustainable. And today’s wealthier countries will almost inevitably make up a smaller share of global GDP.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Europeans are becoming poorer. “Yes, we’re all worse off.”

▪ Politico EU: Greece to the European Union: Come help stop migrant boats before they get here.

▪ Al Jazeera: Extreme heat grips three continents as wildfires rage.

▪ The New York Times: A national treasure, tarnished: Can Britain fix its National Health Service?

▪ Bloomberg News: China’s growth disappoints as Beijing hints at a muted stimulus.

OPINION

■ Neither Trump nor DeSantis will get the GOP nomination, by George F. Will, columnist, The Washington Post.

■ The Congressional Black Caucus can help end poverty in America, by David A. Weaver, opinion contributor, The Hill.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at noon.

The Senate will convene Tuesday at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Rachel Bloomekatz to be a United States circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. He has no public events on his schedule.

Vice President Harris is in Washington and has no public events.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Gandhinagar, India, where she joins the first session of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting today on global economy and global health. In the afternoon, she will hold a bilateral meeting with Minister of Finance of India Nirmala Sitharaman and make comments to the news media. Later, Yellen will participate in a second session of the summit focused on sustainable finance and infrastructure. She will participate in a bilateral meeting with European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni. In the evening, the secretary will join a G20 working dinner.

First lady Jill Biden will host the Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal for Museum and Library Service ceremony at the White House at 3 p.m. She will speak at 6:30 p.m. during a youth soccer clinic with Major League Soccer for children and families on the South Lawn.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 3 p.m.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler will speak about artificial intelligence and financial regulation at the National Press Club in Washington at 1 p.m. (C-SPAN is covering).

ELSEWHERE

➤ HEALTH & WELLBEING

Aspartame, an artificial sweetener in soft drinks and other products, is a potential carcinogen that in the U.S. is deemed safe? What? Consumers are confused. The Hill’s Joseph Choi explains why.

The New York Times: Aspartame is a possible cause of cancer in humans, according to a World Health Organization agency.

➤ STATE WATCH

In parched Arizona, a Saudi-owned company pumps water from deep underground to grow alfalfa across thousands of acres of Southwestern desert to feed cattle in Saudi Arabia. The state purposely remained ignorant about how much water the company consumed under a lease west of Phoenix pushed with help from lobbyists, Saudi largesse and a Republican governor at a time of Arizona water scarcity, according to a Washington Post investigation. State officials now acknowledge that decades of farming and explosive growth have dangerously diminished Arizona’s water reserves. The rising scarcity has deepened rifts between urban and rural communities and turned the Saudi-owned company, Fondomonte Arizona, into a political flash point.

Meteorologists struggled to explain the smoky haze that descended upon states alongthe East Coast and in the Midwest twice last month, and with good reason: It was unprecedented. The Hill’s Daniel de Visé talked to six experts who lived through smoke-ageddon to explain how it happened.

Meanwhile, heat waves are now the most deadly climate disaster, killing far more people each year than wildfires, hurricanes and floods combined. The tragedy of heat is that it kills and injures in a way that challenges government at all levels (The Hill).

In California, a bill that would expedite the development of multifamily housing — including in previously exempt coastal zones — overcame a significant hurdle, as the state legislature heads into a month of summer recess, The Hill’s Sharon Udasin reports.

➤ EDUCATION

Prison education programs are shown to lead to lower recidivism and boost employment opportunities, and, for the first time since 1994, incarcerated Americans will soon have access to Pell Grants, writes The Hill’s Lexi Lonas.

“It’s well known that people who serve life sentences are really the anchors of any prison. They’re the ones who end up being stabilizing forces within the prison itself,” said Mary Thomas, the director of the Ohio State University’s Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project, adding the “impacts of quality high-quality higher education in prisons create more stable prison environments.”

THE CLOSER

And finally … 🎾 Wimbledon championships were about generational insurgency and surprises on grass over the weekend. Carlos Alcaraz, 20, of Spain won his first singles title on Sunday at the All England Club and left 36-year-old Novak Djokovic, the overwhelming favorite, with his first loss during a Wimbledon finals in a decade. The men’s duel was an all-time five-set classic, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 (The New York Times). On Saturday, Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, a 24-year-old left-hander ranked 42nd in the world, captured the Wimbledon women’s title in two sets, 6-4, 6-4, over Ons Jabeur, 28, from Tunisia(NPR), who committed 27 unforced errors. Vondrousova was the first unseeded woman to take home the Wimbledon title, her first title in a Grand Slam.

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