Morning Report — Crunch time for the border deal

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 02/05/24 6:36 AM ET

Another week, another congressional attempt at passing a border package.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faces one of the biggest tests of his leadership career this week as the upper chamber prepares to take up legislation to fund the war in Ukraine and secure the border, which former President Trump says Republicans will oppose.

The $118 billion agreement would tighten the standard for migrants to receive asylum, automatically shut down the southern border to illegal crossings if migrant encounters hit certain benchmarks and send billions of dollars to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — as well as the border. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said he will bring the legislation up for a procedural vote on Wednesday (The Hill).

McConnell’s initial goal, according to Senate GOP colleagues, was to get a border security deal that would have the support of at least half of his conference. The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports it now appears the defense supplemental spending bill will pick up 15 to 20 Republican votes in the Senate, setting up a showdown with Trump-allied Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in the House.

PULL QUOTE HERE IN BOLD “It’s certainly been a challenge,” McConnell admitted when asked if it was a mistake to link Ukraine aid to border security reform. “But it’s time for us to move something, hopefully including a border agreement. But we need to get help to Israel and to Ukraine quickly.”

The border deal met swift opposition from hardline conservatives and Trump allies within hours of negotiators unveiling the 370-page package on Sunday. They decried it as an “amnesty bill” that “erases our borders,” attacked the Ukraine funding that’s included, and called it “a complete sell-out, “awful” and “totally unacceptable” (The Hill and The Wall Street Journal).

Across the aisle, progressives also took issue with the package. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), ranking member of the House Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, said in a statement that “this enforcement-only approach in the proposed legislation will not be able to meaningfully relieve pressure on the Southern border.”

BIDEN URGED CONGRESS TO PASS THE DEAL on Sunday, ramping up the pressure on House Republicans who have repeatedly cast doubt on the bipartisan effort.

“Working with my administration, the United States Senate has done the hard work it takes to reach a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said in a statement. “Now, House Republicans have to decide. Do they want to solve the problem? Or do they want to keep playing politics with the border?”

▪ USA Today: Senators released the long-awaited border deal. Here’s what it means.

▪ The Hill: Leading GOP conservative faces political storm over border bill.

IN THE HOUSE, lawmakers will vote on a stand-alone Israel aid bill this week, further deepening divisions with the Senate. It is unclear if Schumer would bring the House’s Israel-only bill to the floor if it clears the lower chamber — especially as the Senate barrels towards a vote on its own national security package. The Senate leader has sought to keep the contents of the supplemental together (The Hill).

The White House on Saturday criticized House Republicans for the $17.6 billion bill, calling it a “cynical political maneuver” for singling out support for one U.S. ally (The Hill). But as the vote approaches, The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports a growing chorus of Democrats is warning that Israel’s fierce response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks is getting tougher to justify — and eroding support for Tel Aviv on Capitol Hill.

The lawmakers are quick to endorse Israel’s right to defend itself, particularly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. But Israel’s ensuing hunt for militants has led to more than 26,000 deaths in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gazan and U.N. officials. The spiraling casualty count — combined with growing allegations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done too little to minimize the civilian harm — is sparking new reproval in Washington of Israel’s military tactics while escalating calls for an immediate cease-fire to allow the delivery of more aid.

“For the sake of the Palestinian people and our own standing in the world we must not

provide another dollar for the Netanyahu war machine,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a Sunday statement. “If we continue to fund Netanyahu’s indiscriminate war, how can we, with a straight face, criticize Putin’s targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine as a war crime? How can we criticize China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries for their many violations of human rights? Who in the world will not see through the hypocrisy?”

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

▪ Boeing has discovered misdrilled holes on Spirit AeroSystems 737 Max fuselages, creating new delays in deliveries affecting 50 jets.

▪ “We do not consider politics in our decisions. We never do. And we never will,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told CBS’s “60 Minutes” during an interview broadcast Sunday. “Integrity is priceless. And at the end, that’s all you have.”

▪ With the 2024 election cycle in full swing, a bipartisan House task force announced Saturday will tackle artificial intelligence (AI) challenges.

The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Emily Brooks have a step-by-step account of how MAGA-wing Republicans moved the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the floor this week. Meanwhile, Politico Playbook describes how Senate Democrats and their legal advisers believe they have procedural and other options to sidestep any drawn-out House impeachment trial of Mayorkas in 2024.

LEADING THE DAY

POLITICS

Ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Nevada where 48 delegates are up for grabs, Biden told supporters that voters must block former President Trump from returning to the White House. “We have to win,” he said Sunday. “I give you my word, we have to. There’s not much of a choice here.”

The president flew Sunday from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for a fundraiser and a rally at Pearson Community Center. In 2020, Biden defeated Trump by less than 3 percent of the vote.

Reuters: Biden could decide to join Las Vegas hotel employees on a picket line if they go on strike Monday. Workers with the politically influential Nevada Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino have until early today to reach an agreement.

Biden’s margin over Trump in Nevada in 2020 was less than 55,000 votes, raising angst among Democrats ahead of what they expect will be a pitched-battle rematch this fall between the incumbent and Trump. The president’s message to voters in the Silver State reprises a blend of his “promises made, promises kept” explanation of accomplishments and dark predictions about the U.S. future if Trump is elected.

“The stakes in this election could not be higher,” Biden said over the weekend. “There are extreme and dangerous voices at work in the country led by Donald Trump who are determined to divide our nation and take us backward. We cannot let that happen.”

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS campaigned in Las Vegas two weeks ago to encourage early voting in the state.

On Saturday, Biden pocketed an overwhelming majority of support among South Carolina Democrats in a first-in-the-nation primary, which he hoped could add fuel to his reelection bid when he reshuffled the party’s primary calendar. He dominated in every county, including in heavily Black areas, and captured the state’s 55 delegates with more than 96.2 percent of the vote against challengers Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson.

Phillips will not be on the primary ballot in Nevada Tuesday because he failed to meet the filing deadline.

BLACK VOTERS, closely watched by political analysts and the news media because of Democratic worries that voters of color see Biden as too old at 81, not doing enough about inflation and governing in the wrong direction in Gaza, turned out to vote for the president.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), whose 2020 endorsement in his home state helped the president win his party’s nomination and the White House, said Biden’s victory Saturday demonstrated his strong support among Black Americans.

Clyburn told CNN “the best illustration of that [is] he got 96 percent of the vote in this primary.” He noted Biden’s backing in the town of Orangeburg, home to two historically black universities and a community college. “Joe Biden has not lost any support among African Americans,” Clyburn added.

♀️ Biden and his advisers hope that female voters, who say they’re less enthused about Trump than are male voters, may turn out in November for the Biden-Harris ticket rather than decline to participate (The Hill). Polls last week found backing for Biden among women on the rise, offering his campaign a bright spot among other downbeat surveys.

Trump Republican challenger Nikki Haley, who has benefited from backing from women during the primary, has been knocked by Trump as a “RINO” and “birdbrain.” She told CNN she never experienced pushback from him because she was a woman during the time she served as Trump’s former U.N. ambassador. She described him as “respectful” while they worked together, but she called him “flawed.”

2024 ROUNDUP

▪ Trump, the de facto leader of his party, on Sunday sent a blunt warning to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel that she may be on thin ice. “I think she did great when she ran Michigan for me. I think she did OK initially in the RNC. I would say right now there will probably be some changes made,” he told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”

▪ Embattled “squad” members Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.)and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) appear to be struggling in their respective primaries based on positions on the Israel-Hamas war and other issues. The most vocal left-wing bloc on Capitol Hill could be impacted as a result.

▪ In Virginia, conservative Rep. Bob Good, who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president before backing Trump, is being challenged from the right in a tough June 18 GOP primary. Good is one of several conservative politicians who may need to find their way back into the good graces of the former president.

▪ Here’s why it matters that the 2024 presidential contest could be among history’s longest.

▪ Forget No Labels and centrists. Biden’s third-party peril is on the left. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. polls in double-digit in swing states. Democrats worry that the war in Gaza could cost the party 30,000 fewer votes apiece in Michigan’s Madison, Dearborn and Ann Arbor. … Michigan is the swing state that matters the most for Biden.

▪ Rep. JD Vance (R-Ohio) suggested Sunday that in his view, Trump could defy the Supreme Court if elected if justices ruled he could not fire a general, which the lawmaker asserted would be an “illegitimate ruling.” The ABC News “This Week” interview, conducted by George Stephanopoulos, ended abruptly after Vance’s answer.

▪ Veepstakes: Trump, during a Fox interview on Sunday, mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem among potential running mates if he’s the nominee, but said “there’s no reason” to decide at the moment.

▪ Trump’s feud with United Auto Workers ramps up.

▪ A new $10 million nonpartisan campaign called “Grita. Canta. Vota.” (shout, sing, vote) turns to music online and in broadcast to reach Latinos while promoting voter registration.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House convenes at noon.

The Senate will meet at 10 a.m.

The president started his day in Las Vegas and received the President’s Daily Brief at 9 a.m. PT. Biden departs Nevada at 1:10 p.m. PT for Washington and expects to arrive at the White House tonight.

The vice president has no public events.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling this week to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.

ZOOM IN

INTERNATIONAL

IRAN-BACKED IRAQI MILITIA STRIKES IN SYRIA: A drone attack on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six allied Kurdish fighters late Sunday. No Americans were killed. An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, released a video claiming responsibility for the attack at a training ground at al-Omar base (The Hill).

YEMEN’S HOUTHI REBELS on Sunday pledged to push forward with their military operations and respond to the latest set of strikes by the United States and Britain over the weekend. The strikes, conducted by the U.S. and U.K. on Friday and Saturday with fighter jets and ships, were aimed at 13 locations associated with the Iran-backed militant group’s weapons storage facilities, missile systems, air defense systems and radars, the Pentagon said Saturday (The Hill).

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday confirmed the intent to launch additional strikes and carry out actions against Iranian-backed groups following its two rounds of strikes over the weekend in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Sullivan, in an interview with NBC News’s “Meet The Press,” said Biden’s order for a “serious response” is “now underway.”

“It began with strikes on Friday night, but that is not the end of it. We intend to take additional strikes and additional action to continue to send a clear message that the United States will respond when our forces are attacked, or people are killed,” Sullivan told NBC News’s Kristen Welker.

▪ The Hill: What to know about the wave of deadly U.S. strikes in the Middle East.

▪ The New York Times: As Iran and the U.S. assessed the damage done by American airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, the initiative shifted to Tehran and its pending decision whether to respond or de-escalate.

ISRAEL’S DEFENSE MINISTER Yoav Gallant signaled that Israeli forces could advance on Rafah — one of the last cities in southern Gaza that Israeli ground forces have not yet reached — raising concerns in a corner of the enclave where hundreds of thousands of people have crowded for shelter from the war. It was not clear whether his comments reflected an immediate military objective or were intended more as a signal of resolve both to the Israeli public and to Hamas as Israel awaits the group’s response to a proposed initial framework for a cease-fire and release of more Israeli hostages (The New York Times).

Reuters: Hamas hounds Israeli forces in main Gaza cities.

CHINESE STUDENTS seeking to studyin America are caught in the middle of U.S. concerns over intelligence and Beijing’s influence over higher education, in some cases leading to deportations. Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng recently accused the United States of unfairly questioning dozens of Chinese students at airports who had valid visas and ultimately not letting them in. While few details are known about such cases, experts said Chinese students have faced difficulties getting into the country even after valid visas were issued (The Hill).

NPR: Namibian President Hage Geingob,82, died Sunday in a hospital where he was receiving treatment.

ELSEWHERE

TRUMP WORLD

Calendar updates: On Friday,Trump’s May 4 federal trial in Washington on criminal charges of election interference was postponed indefinitely pending a three-judge appeals panel ruling on the former president’s assertion of unlimited immunity for actions while he was in the Oval Office. Trump’s legal team seeks to postpone a trial until after the presidential race is decided. … In New York, a judge’s penalty ruling tied to Trump’s conviction on fraud charges is expected by mid-February. Prosecutors are seeking $370 million.

Trump’s personal aide, Walt Nauta, a defendant in the government’s case against the president for possession of White House documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstruction of a federal investigation, was accused of sexual misconduct when Trump hired him (The Daily Beast).

Trump’s former Trump Organization financial lieutenant Allen Weisselberg is in talks with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to plead guilty to perjury (The New York Times).

OPINION

■ 11,500 children have been killed in Gaza. Horror of this scale has no explanation, by Gideon Levy, columnist, Haaretz.

■ Can Trump delay his legal reckoning past Election Day? by James D. Ziron, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

And finally … ? It was music’s biggest night on Sunday in Los Angeles, where the 66th Grammy Awards honored artists and paid tribute to music industry greats. Taylor Swift made Grammy history for capturing album of the year four times. Her album “Midnights” won the honor.

“I would love to tell you that this is the best moment in my life. But I feel this happy when I’ve finished a song or when I’ve cracked the code to a bridge that I love or when I’m shot listing a music video, or when I’m rehearsing with my dancers or my band or getting ready to go to Tokyo to play a show,” she said, teasing the 2024 start of her The Eras Tour next week. “For me, the award is the work. All I want to do is keep being able to do this.”

The other major wins were spread out: Miley Cyrus took home record of the year for “Flowers,” while Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, won song of the year for “What Was I Made For?,” the track from the “Barbie” movie. Victoria Monét was crowned best new artist.

Highlights of the night included a duet performance of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman — marking a rare public appearance — and Luke Combs, a new single by Billy Joel and Joni Mitchell singing “Both Sides Now” with Brandi Carlile (The Washington Post).

Variety has a list of all the winners by category, and The New York Times has a roundup of the best Grammys fashion.

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