The Hill’s Morning Report — Biden to visit Maui; GOP debate week

by Alexis Simendinger - 08/21/23 6:45 AM ET

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President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will fly to Maui today to spend five hours reassuring the state that every possible federal effort is being made to help Hawaii respond to the most lethal wildfire in U.S. history.

The death toll, now at least 114 and climbing, and the number of people still missing since the Aug. 8 fires have left emotions high, accompanied by unanswered questions.

The Bidens will meet with state and local officials and view some of the destruction from the air. They’ll meet with some of Lahaina’s residents amid talk of rebuilding after an estimated $6 billion in property losses. But the grief comes first, and the president and first lady, who have experienced personal tragedy and loss, hope to offer reassurances where they can, the White House says. 

Biden received a briefing Sunday while vacationing in Lake Tahoe, Nev., from Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, who will be with him today in Maui, along with senior White House staff. He spoke by phone with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) and Maui Mayor Rick Bissen. The president also eyed Tropical Storm Hilary as it blew into Mexico and California with heavy rains, receiving an update from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

“Jill and I are eager to meet with the brave first responders in Lahaina tomorrow, to spend time with families and community members, and witness firsthand what will be required for the community to recover. We will be here as long as it takes for Maui,” the president said in a Sunday statement.

As Maui’s death toll escalated this month, Biden’s five days of public silence stood in sharp contrast with his long-standing image of an empathetic leader, The Washington Post reported. In a political world eager to exploit a vacuum, critics found openings to attack the president’s response to a deadly disaster (The Associated Press). 

The Bidens also face criticism for adding the one-day trip to Hawaii amid a Lake Tahoe vacation. The president is staying in a home owned by Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal activist who ran against the president in the 2020 primaries. The White House says the president is renting the getaway this week at “fair market value.” The Bidens are joined there by several family members including Hunter Biden, The New York Times reported.

The White House maintains that the president from the outset has been leading a thorough response, consulting daily with Hawaii officials, ordering federal responders to stage in advance, approving all assistance necessary and participating in detailed briefings as the wildfire crisis unfolded, the Post reported. But he did not deliver a speech or speak to the press about the situation for days.

The federal response to Hawaii’s losses has been substantial, the Post added, although some Maui residents quickly complained of lags in assistance and coordination as the extent of the historic catastrophe became clearer. FEMA joined forces with the Defense Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration to deliver aid to locals. By Saturday, more than 1,000 federal personnel were on the ground, and the rush of federal aid included thousands of blankets and cots, more than 50,000 meals and cash payments of $700. 

“The biggest message that [the president is] going to be able to get across is that we are here for them and we are going to help them with their vision for how they want to rebuild Lahaina,” Criswell told CNN.

Asked about potential disruption to federal disaster assistance — should there be a shutdown at the end of September because of budget disagreements in Congress — the FEMA administrator said she expects “a shortage of funding at our current spending levels” by the middle of next month. 

“We will continue to push, we will push projects, recovery projects into the next fiscal year, so we always have enough money to support any of the immediate lifesaving needs,” she told CNN.

▪ Reuters: The doctors, dentists and anthropologists striving to identify Maui’s victims.

▪ The Associated Press: Maui water is unsafe because of the fires, even with filters.

👉 Morning Report’s Kristina Karish is on leave. 

Related Articles

▪ CBS News and The Associated Press: Tropical storm Hilary made landfall on Sunday in Mexico and flooded parts of California from coast to desert, with warnings of “catastrophic and life-threatening” conditions resulting from the first tropical storm in the state in 84 years. The National Hurricane Center forecast “intense heavy rainfall … across the Southwestern United States through early Monday morning. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 10 inches are expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada.” The storm knocked out power and some emergency communications in Southern California and resulted in canceled classes in some school districts today, and thousands of canceled flights.

▪ Reuters and The New York Times: Tens of thousands of people in Canada’s British Columbia have been under evacuation orders because of wildfires.

▪ Politico: A proposed bipartisan House bill, which would create an independent investigatory Natural Disaster Safety Board, could gain traction as Congress reviews Biden’s request for an additional $12 billion for FEMA’s response to the Maui fire and other disasters. 

▪ The Hill: Banking lobbyists, lawmakers gear up for a fight over new executive pay bill that was spurred by a crisis.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

Today is the cutoff for requirements set by the Republican National Committee for the presidential contenders who want to get on Wednesday’s debate stage.

Expect a wide camera shot by Fox News, the network broadcasting the event. It’s a crowded field and because of that, the GOP frontrunner insists he’s so close to the nomination already, according to polls, why show up? Trump, in a Truth Social post on Sunday, affirmed that he will not participate (The Hill).

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more,” Trump wrote. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!”

Trump for weeks turned a noncommittal ear to entreaties from the RNC and Fox executives, and from some of his political advisers, to share debate stages with rivals, particularly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

The Milwaukee debate is an exercise in winnowing a crowded field, and Trump has long been prized as a draw for a TV audience in the depths of August. The former president is expected instead to post a taped interview conducted by former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson as a form of competitive mischief. 

Fox News: Journalists Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the Wednesday debate beginning at 9 p.m. ET, to air across Fox platforms.

How many Republicans have qualified for the event? The New York Times explains why it’s at least nine or perhaps 10. The RNC will conclude the suspense today (The New York Times tracker). The list: DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Vice President Mike Pence, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Sunday that he met the criteria.

The RNC expects each qualifier, as measured by polling and small-dollar donors, to also pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. 

There are two other candidates — Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami and the businessman Perry Johnson — who say they have met the criteria, but whose claims have not been corroborated by the RNC, the Times reports.

▪ NBC News: Some Democratic surrogates will be in the debate spin room.

▪ The Hill: Some candidates face a tricky balancing act when it comes to Trump.

Fox is poised to feature the former president in the debate hall via video clips. For likely voters who are exhausted by 2020 and news media coverage of the former president’s historic four criminal indictments, or for those eager to dive into national issues, Fox envisions time for the candidates to debate domestic and international policies.

“What people want is folks that are not afraid of Donald Trump and who’s going to articulate a vision for a future and talk about the issues of the day that are impacting them, and not just focusing on Donald Trump’s legal baggage,” GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman, told MSNBC on Sunday.

Abortion is a topic voters say they want to hear discussed, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Some GOP analysts eye the Wednesday event as the start of the next phase of the campaign. If there is going to be a real race, and not just a dejá vu throwdown next year between Trump and Biden, something must change, writes columnist Byron York (The Washington Examiner). The initial debate of the cycle is an opening for a rival to gain a temporary bump in the polls or to leave a favorable impression with undecided voters who are sizing up the field (Vox).

Or in the DeSantis camp, it could be an evening of useful self-defense. “We fully expect the candidates at the debate to primarily come after Ron DeSantis because he is the greatest threat to every other Republican primary contender,” campaign spokesman Bryan Griffin told York in an email exchange.

A second debate, to be broadcast by Fox Business, is scheduled Sept. 27 in California.

▪ The Hill: GOP debate rivals sharpen knives for DeSantis.

▪ The Hill: DeSantis and Ramaswamy tie for second at 10 percent in the latest Emerson College poll of registered voters, a big drop for DeSantis from June and an improvement for Ramaswamy. Trump leads with 56 percent.

▪ The Hill: Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said Sunday that if Trump and Biden are the 2024 nominees, the group No Labels, which he co-chairs, is “very likely” to launch a third-party alternative ticket. Democrats warn that such a move would help Trump win by pulling more votes from Biden.

▪ The Hill: Gun safety groups back Biden in 2024 – with no other alternative.

▪ The Hill: Trouble looms for Senate GOP despite candidate recruiting wins ahead of 2024.   

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ TRUMP WORLD:

Referenced throughout the sweeping 98-page indictment of former President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, are references to poll worker Ruby Freeman.

She was publicly and falsely singled out by Trump and his then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani for what they claimed was mishandling ballots. Those accusations fueled a wave of threats by Trump supporters against Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. In prosecutor Fani Willis’s narrative, Freeman, along with voters, was victimized as part of a scheme to try to overturn 2020 election results in the state.

Caren Myers Morrison, a law professor at Georgia State University and former federal prosecutor, said the indictment takes seriously the harassment of election workers. 

“You can see there that [Willis] is protecting the people of Fulton County, you know — this is one of her constituents,” she told The Hill. 

Trump has until noon on Friday to formally turn himself in to Fulton County authorities. The indictment has aggravated an existing rift between Trump and Georgia, reports The Hill’s Caroline Vakil. It’s a swing state he lost in 2020 and will be a political hurdle for the Republican Party next year.

“I think Donald Trump has single-handedly made Georgia a competitive state and needlessly so,” said former state GOP chair John Watson.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage, The Memo: The Georgia indictment reminds voters of the Republicans in the state who stood up to Trump, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans.

OPINION

■ If Republicans narrow the field, we will beat Trump, by Gov. Chris Sununu, guest essayist, The New York Times.

■ How NASA’s Artemis program could help to defeat China, by Mark R. Whittington, opinion contributor, The Hill.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will convene for a pro forma session at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. Lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 11. 

The Senate is out until Sept. 5 and will hold a pro forma session at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 7 a.m. PT. He will travel from Lake Tahoe, Nev., to Maui, Hawaii, with first lady Jill Biden, arriving at 11:10 a.m. HST, to receive updates from officials about wildfire responses. They will take an aerial tour of fire damage at 11:20 a.m. HST. They will meet with federal and state officials for a briefing organized along what’s left of Front Street in Lahaina at 12:15 p.m. HST. They will view fire damage in Lahaina with local officials at 12:30 p.m. HST. Biden will make remarks at 1 p.m. HST from Front Street. The Bidens will speak with survivors and community representatives at the Lahaina Civic Center at 2 p.m. HST. The president and first lady will thank first responders at 3:25 p.m. HST at the Civic Center. The Bidens will depart Hawaii at 4:25 p.m. HST return to Nevada to resume a family vacation through Saturday.

The vice president and second gentleman Doug Emhoff at 11:25 a.m. PT will travel from Los Angeles, arriving at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington at 7 p.m. ET.  

Attorney General Merrick Garland will travel to Fargo, N.D., to visit the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota and meet with federal, state and local law enforcement leaders at 11:15 a.m. CT. He will make remarks.

ELSEWHERE

➤  INTERNATIONAL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday from the Netherlands that he’s grateful to that country and Denmark for their “historic” agreement to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine for use against Russia (CNN). 

Conditions for the transfer of the single-engine, multi-role aircraft, which can be used in air-to-air or ground attacks, will include training Ukrainian personnel and setting up infrastructure and logistics. It is unclear how many aircraft the Netherlands will provide. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a meeting with Zelensky that his government plans to transfer jets “closer to the new year, about six of them, then eight in the next year and then another five.”

▪ The Hill: U.S. approval on Friday of the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine raises hopes as well as controversy during what has been a grinding ground war with Russia. 

▪ Puck: The White House sees the risk of Russian President Vladimir Putin going nuclear as lower today than a few months ago. That assessment has changed tactical considerations.

The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports from Krakow in Poland that “refugee fatigue” helps Putin’s aims. She talked with aid workers who say they believe Ukraine’s war with Russia could continue for years. She also reported from Poland’s border town Rzesków after interviewing medical personnel who are caring for Ukraine’s severely wounded fighters and civilians who are in transit to other European locations. 

As of mid-August, more than 2,500 patients have been transferred for treatment from the Medevac Hub to 21 countries, according to the Emergency Response Coordination Centre of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

“We can say proudly that this is the first, and so far only, medevac in Europe working like this,” Adam Szyska, head of the hub’s operations and a veteran emergency responder with the nongovernmental Polish Center for International Aid, told The Hill during a tour of the warehouse-sized facility.

▪ The New York Times: In Brazil’s Amazon forest, 1,000 square miles are preserved for an isolated tribe of two. A debate in Brazil: Who has the right to the forest?

⚽ESPN: Spain defeated England 1–0 on Sunday in the Women’s World Cup in Sydney.

▪ The New York Times: Russia’s unmanned lunar lander failed on Sunday on its way to the south polar region of the moon. Lunar-25 “ceased its existence as a result of a collision with the lunar surface,” Russia’s space agency said.

THE CLOSER

And finally … Hawaii — headline news during a crisis — dominated coverage on this day in 1959 on a happier occasion when then-President Eisenhower officially made it the 50th state. 

With Ike’s signature, Hawaii’s statehood was official, the U.S. flag received its 50th star and Congress gained new representation. But the path to that point was scarred by disagreements over politics and race. From 1898 to August 1959, the Pacific archipelago had been a U.S. territory. Hawaii’s journey to statehood was long and complicated by calculations and maneuverings in Congress that were marked at times by overt displays of racism (NPR). The somber facts of the United States’ seizure and colonization of the Independent Kingdom of Hawai’i earned new appraisals over the decades.

“There were benefits and protections that came with statehood, but there’s still a painful aspect to the whole history of Hawaii and its overthrow, annexation and statehood,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told NPR three years ago. “There are a lot of people who do not consider [today] as a time of celebration because of the painful history.” 

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