The Hill’s Morning Report — Biden vows help after Idalia’s wreckage

By the time Idalia blew through Georgia and South Carolina from Florida on Wednesday, the roar of an overnight hurricane was a tropical storm with ferocious rain. The remnants moved up the coast overnight to North Carolina, saturating the Southeast while moving offshore (The New York Times). 

Idalia prompted dangerous flash flooding in parts of the Tar Heel State and threatened more of the same this morning, according to the National Hurricane Center’s update at 5 a.m. ET (CNN). 

Idalia on Wednesday briefly strengthened to a major Category 4 threat over the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall as a Category 3 menace. Along the way, rivers jumped their banks, highways became lakes and low-lying areas and homes flooded. Schools and airports closed in Florida. Bridges were impassable. But the repairs and cleanup began within hours as damage assessments continue today. 

Pasco County officials confirmed two car crash fatalities were related to Idalia’s impact. More than 300,000 customers across four states are without power this morning, according to PowerOutage.us. In Tallahassee, Idalia split a 100-year-old oak tree, which crashed to the ground near the official governor’s mansion (WFLA). Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said his family was uninjured. During a televised briefing, he added a warning for would-be looters: “You loot, we shoot” (Fox News). 

At the White House Wednesday, President Biden stood with members of his Cabinet and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pledge federal backing for victims of Idalia’s wrath as well as this month’s Maui wildfires. 

He made clear that he’s prepared to blame congressional Republicans if federal funding for natural disaster responses runs out or is interrupted by budget battles or a shutdown. Republicans have criticized how the president and the federal government responded to the Hawaii fires, although officials in the state praised the support they received from the White House (CNN). 

The president said the administration supports assistance to states impacted by Idalia as well as the victims of Hawaii’s fires, indicating that if Republicans hold up disaster assistance funding he has requested, he will blame Congress and make his case to the public. 

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency currently has $3.4 billion in its disaster relief fund and is tapping available resources for the hurricane and wildfire emergencies to sustain response efforts beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The White House sent a request for an additional $12 billion for disaster relief funding earlier this month, pairing it with requests for more security aid for Ukraine. Criswell called on Congress to pass that request to ensure emergency relief operations are not affected. 

“How can we not respond? My God. How can we not respond to these needs?” Biden said. “So I’m confident, even though there’s a lot of talk from some of our friends up on the Hill about the cost, we have to do it. This is the United States of America.” 

© The Associated Press / Evan Vucci | President Biden speaks about recovery efforts for the Maui wildfires and the response to Hurricane Idalia at the White House on Wednesday. 

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LEADING THE DAY 

➤ POLITICS 

© The Associated Press / Charlie Neibergall | Miami Republican Mayor Francis Suarez spoke to a sparse crowd at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 11 in Des Moines, Iowa, during his brief presidential campaign. 

After the first Republican presidential debate, one question is looming large: How rapidly will the GOP presidential field shrink? As The Hill’s Jared Gans reports, longshot Republican candidates who are struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls may soon follow the path of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a presidential candidate who became the first to halt his bid for the nomination this week.  

Meanwhile, contender and conservative radio host Larry Elder failed to qualify for last week’s debate while former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson made it to the stage in Milwaukee but trails frontrunner former President Trump in voter surveys and fundraising. Also lagging in GOP presidential primary polls: Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd.  

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and his daughter Heather Manchin are pitching major political donors on a nascent effort to promote centrist policies and candidates that is projected to cost more than $100 million — marking the latest twist in the mystery over the West Virginia Democrat’s political future (The Wall Street Journal). 

Meanwhile, a potential strike at the Big Three automakers in mid-September is about to show whether the “summer of strikes” pushes into the autumn. As The Hill’s Tobias Burns reports, United Auto Workers are set to strike by Sept. 14 if they don’t reach a deal with Ford, GM and Stellantis, and their endorsement for Biden could prove to be a seal of authenticity on the administration’s pro-labor stance.  

“We’re focused on winning the best possible contract for our members in 2023, and then we can talk 2024,” the union said in a statement provided to The Hill. 

The White House has been in touch with the negotiating parties, just as it had been with railroad workers who almost struck last year, as well as with Teamsters who just wrapped a contract negotiation with UPS. Biden has long been a proponent of organized labor, describing himself as the most “pro-union” president ever, and it’s a theme that features heavily in his reelection efforts (CNN). 

CNN: American Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize a strike. 

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➤ TRUMP WORLD 

Trump told conservative media personality Glenn Beck he would prosecute his political enemies if elected president again in 2024. The former president, also the current front-runner for the GOP nomination for president in 2024, has been indicted four times this year in connection with his personal business dealings, handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results (The Hill).  

“If you’re president again, will you lock people up?” Beck asked. 

“Well, I’ll give you an example… The answer is you have no choice, because they’re doing it to us,” Trump said, adding that he “never hit Biden as hard as I could have. I always had such great respect for the office of the president and the presidency … And then I heard he was trying to indict me, and it was him that was doing it.” 

Bottom line: Trump is casting Biden as a hidden hand behind his legal woes. There is no evidence of personal intervention with the special counsel investigations or any presidential direction to prosecutors “to indict” the former president. 

A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of two Georgia election workers who sued former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani for defamation (The Hill). 

A trial to consider former Trump aide Peter Navarro’s refusal to testify before a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack will proceed as planned next week after a judge on Wednesday rejected his claim of protection under presidential executive privilege (The Hill).  

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) asked a judge to find, without a trial, that the former president had fraudulently overvalued his property assets by up to $2.2 billion (The New York Times). 

The New York Times: In New Hampshire, Republicans are feuding over whether the 14th Amendment bars Trump from running for president. Other states are watching closely. 

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IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES 

➤ ADMINISTRATION 

The White House is warning House Republicans that a potential impeachment inquiry into Biden will only backfire on an already fractured conference, writes The Hill’s Alex Gangitano, as the possibility of an impeachment inquiry appears to be growing, with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) giving signals recently that one could be launched as soon as September. 

Republicans have hammered the White House over allegations of corruption in the form of Hunter Biden’s business and lobbying work, but the White House remains steadfastly confident that if the GOP goes forward with an inquiry, one that would center on the Biden family’s finances, it will hurt Republicans more than it could hurt Biden. 

“This baseless impeachment exercise would be a disaster for congressional Republicans, and don’t take our word for it: just listen to the chorus of their fellow Republicans who admit there is no evidence for their false allegations and that pursuing such a partisan stunt will ‘backfire,’” White House spokesperson Ian Sams said this week. 

The Department of Health and Human Services is formally recommending that the Drug Enforcement Administration ease government restrictions on marijuana, which remains illegal at the federal level even though 40 states allow its use in some form. If the DEA approves the recommendation — classifying cannabis as less harmful than drugs like heroin and LSD — it could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in savings each year for the marijuana industry, since businesses in the sector are currently prohibited from claiming federal tax deductions on their expenses (NBC News). 

CBS News: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) met with members of the Biden administration at the White House on Wednesday to discuss how they can support her state’s influx of asylum seekers.

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➤ CONGRESS 

The Senate gets back to work next week after a long August break and chatter on Wednesday centered on whether Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is physically up to it.  

A second public episode of briefly freezing midsentence while talking to reporters occurred in Kentucky, followed by assurances from aides that McConnell, 81, “feels fine” and was “lightheaded” but would confer with his doctor. His term expires in 2026 (The Associated Press). 

At the White House, a reporter asked the president about the senator’s health. Biden said he had not seen Wednesday’s reports but planned to call his “friend” and longtime former colleague (The Hill). Concerned Republican Senate colleagues also phoned McConnell. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) took a different tack, calling the minority leader “not fit for office,” referring to health and aging issues in the Senate and Oval Office (The Hill). 

Video of the senator’s interactions Wednesday is HERE. Video of a similar episode in the Capitol in July is HERE. 

McConnell suffered a concussion in March following a fall and returned to his duties in April. An aide Wednesday raised her voice to address the minority leader moments after McConnell, apparently struggling to hear a reporter’s question about whether he will run for another term, asked him to repeat it. 

▪ Vox: What we know about McConnell’s health and his future in the Senate. 

▪ Bloomberg News: McConnell, during a press conference in his home state, stopped, and stared ahead for more than 30 seconds. 

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WHERE AND WHEN 

The House will convene for a pro forma session at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 11.  

The Senate is out until Sept. 5 and will hold a pro forma session on Friday at 11:45 a.m.  

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 11 a.m.  

Vice President Harris will join Biden for the President’s Daily Brief at 11 a.m.  

Economic indicators: The Bureau of Economic Analysis at 8:30 a.m. will report personal income and spending in July. Separately, the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. will report on claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ending Aug. 26. 

First lady Jill Biden will travel from Illinois to Madison, Wis., where she will participate in a tour of Exact Sciences’ laboratory and a 2 p.m. listening session at the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness as part of the administration’s “cancer moonshot” initiatives. She will be accompanied by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is seeking a third term. In Madison at 4:15 p.m., Biden, Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers (D) will participate in an event hosted by the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. The trio will later speak during a Democratic finance event in Madison at 5:15 p.m. 

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak at 1 p.m. ET about federal action to respond to the overdose epidemic along with Director of National Drug Control Policy Rahul Gupta and Director of the Centers for Disease Control Mandy Cohen. Over the counter access to the overdose emergency drug Narcan will be widely available next week (NBC News). 

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2:30 p.m.  

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ELSEWHERE 

➤ INTERNATIONAL  

© The Associated Press / Alexander Khitrov | Russian and North Korean flags during a 2019 summit in Vladivostok, Russia. 

The White House said Wednesday that new intelligence shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have swapped letters as Moscow looks to Pyongyang for munitions to aid its war in Ukraine. 

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced the latest finding just weeks after the White House said it had determined that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called on North Korean officials to increase the sale of munitions to Moscow during a recent visit to Pyongyang. The Biden administration has repeatedly argued the Kremlin has become reliant on North Korea, as well as Iran, for the arms it needs to fight Ukraine. North Korea and Iran are largely isolated on the international stage for their nuclear programs and human rights records (The Associated Press). 

A group of senior military officers in the central African nation of Gabon said Wednesday they were seizing power, overturning the results of a disputed presidential election shortly after the electoral committee announced that President Ali Bongo — whose family has held power in Gabon for more than 50 years — had won another term. Bongo and his family have been accused by critics of abusing their position to accumulate massive amounts of wealth in the oil-right country. Bongo said in a video from his residence that he was under arrest and called on the international community to “make noise” (The Washington Post). Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by unanimous vote to appoint Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, former head of the presidential guard. 

The military takeover in Gabon — the eighth in the region since 2020 — comes just weeks after soldiers in West Africa’s Niger deposed the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. Hundreds of people celebrated the military’s intervention in the streets of the Gabonese capital Libreville, while the United Nations, African Union and France, Gabon’s former colonial ruler which has troops stationed there, condemned the coup (Reuters). 

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THE CLOSER 

© The Associated Press / Ed Reinke | Former President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II during a state dinner in San Francisco in 1983. 

Take Our Morning Report Quiz 

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Be sure to email your responses to asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com and kkarisch@digital-staging.thehill.com — please add “Quiz” to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday. 

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