Morning Report — Biden’s last big foreign policy goals

With four months left in his term, President Biden is zeroing in on two key foreign policy issues: ensuring aid to Ukraine and brokering a cease-fire in the Middle East.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his case for more aid — and outlined his “victory plan” — to the United Nations Security Council in New York this week, and on Thursday headed to Washington to lobby lawmakers. Ahead of White House meetings with the president and Vice President Harris, Biden on Thursday announced a total of $7.9 billion in defense aid for Kyiv, aimed to bolster Ukraine before a new president enters the Oval Office. 

“Through these actions, my message is clear: The United States will provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win this war,” Biden said in a statement. 

Zelensky told senators that he could bring Russia to the negotiating table next year if the Biden administration speeds up shipments of weapons and greenlights missile strikes deeper into Russia. But some U.S. and European officials said they want him to stop prioritizing requests for specific weapons and focus instead on strategic ways to end the war.

But Zelensky has also been sucked into the partisan fray weeks before the election, with Republicans ramping up attacks over his trip to a Pennsylvania munitions factory and criticism of the GOP presidential ticket. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for Zelensky to fire his ambassador to the U.S., while House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) opened a formal investigation into the tour. 

The criticism comes at a perilous time. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of his country, Zelensky has relied on Western aid and munitions to fight the incursion. That aid could wane if former President Trump wins the White House in November.

Trump lashed out at Zelensky on Wednesday for not making concessions to Russia, his strongest indication to date that he would stop backing Kyiv if he wins the election. He will meet with Zelensky today at Trump Tower.

“It looks like the Republicans were looking for ways to create a scandal but we should have avoided giving them the opportunity,” a former Ukrainian official told Financial Times. “The Republicans will still be strong in Washington. They can block everything.”

THEN THERE’S ISRAEL. Amid defiance from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chances of Biden brokering a cease-fire in Gaza — or Lebanon — before he leaves office look increasingly slim.

As he prepared for a possible ground incursion into Lebanon, Netanyahu on Thursday rejected a temporary cease-fire proposal with Hezbollah, offered by the U.S. and several allies this week, and vowed to “continue fighting with full force” against the Lebanese militant group. He also announced the receipt of an $8.7 billion U.S. military aid package. The White House said the 21-day truce had been coordinated with the Israeli government.

Washington has pushed for months to reach a diplomatic agreement between both sides to avoid a full-out war, but the outlook is bleak. Netanyahu will address the U.N. today, where world leaders have been urgently calling for cease-fires.

“We continue to hit Hezbollah with all our might,” Netanyahu said in a statement released as he arrived in New York City, adding, “This is the policy.”

His office later appeared to walk back the comments, saying on Thursday night that “Israel shares the aims” of the U.S.-led initiative for a truce in Lebanon —  another episode in a series of flip-flops in the last 24 hours.

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LEADING THE DAY

POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS

TEXAS AND FLORIDA: The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund, which are both closely affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), aren’t spending any money in Texas or Florida, two battleground states where Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott — two outspoken McConnell antagonists — face competition in November. McConnell technically does not control the NRSC or the Senate Leadership Fund, but The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that GOP senators and strategists say he exercises enormous influence. 

Scott also faces a major test when it comes to abortion, writes The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel. Florida’s constitutional amendment on abortion puts the issue front and center in an increasingly close race against former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. As Republicans scramble, stumble and largely avoid publicly saying how they will vote on ballot measures to protect abortion access, Scott confirmed he’ll vote against Florida’s. But strategists said his openness could win him points, especially in a state that has been passing progressive ballot measures while electing conservative Republicans.

Democrats, meanwhile, are going on the offensive in the Lone Star State and the Sunshine State. The Senate Democratic campaign arm is making its first multimillion dollar TV investments in the states, which represent the party’s best opportunities to mitigate any losses in red states and closely contested battlegrounds. Florida and Texas “are real and we hope to get resources into those states,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, told Axios.

In Maryland, Democrat Angela Alsobrooks has pulled clearly ahead in the state’s unusually competitive Senate race with a double-digit lead against former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) among likely voters, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.

FOR ALL OF DEMOCRATS’ BULLISHNESS, as of this writing, DecisionDesk HQ and The Hill’s forecasting model predicts Republicans have a 70 percent chance of winning the upper chamber in November.

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ZOOM IN

COURTS

🏛️ NEW YORK CITY MAYOR Eric Adams is facing federal corruption charges. Prosecutors said Adams sought and accepted “improper valuable benefits,” including luxury international travel from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official who was seeking to influence him. Adams, who refuted the allegations against him, said Thursday he will not step down. His arraignment is scheduled for today.

“This was a multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference.

CIVIL CASE: A New York appeals panel on Thursday appeared wary of the state’s civil fraud case against Trump that ended in a $464 million judgment against him and his business. During arguments, the five-judge panel on the Appellate Division — New York’s mid-level appeals court — questioned whether any constraints apply to the law New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) used against Trump. 

“How do we draw a line, or at least put up some guardrails, to know when the AG is operating well within her broad — admittedly broad — sphere … and when she is going into an area that wasn’t intended for her jurisdiction?” asked Justice John Higgitt.

ELECTION INTERFERENCE: Special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday filed a compilation of evidence to support charges that Trump broke federal law in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan will determine whether the documents will be unsealed and released to the public.

A federal appeals court disbarred Rudy Giuliani on Monday over efforts he took to prevent the transfer of power after Trump lost the 2020 election.

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ELSEWHERE

STATE WATCH

🌀 Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 4 storm Thursday night, after forecasters warned of rain and a storm surge that could create “unsurvivable conditions” in some areas. Maximum sustained winds were estimated at 140 mph.

“Helene continues to produce catastrophic winds that are now pushing into southern Georgia,” the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”

Three casualties have been reported: a Florida driver was killed after a sign fell onto their car in Tampa. In Georgia, two people died when an apparent tornado overturned a mobile home. Now downgraded to a Category 1 storm, Helene weakened as it moved across Georgia overnight. High winds and rain are still a threat.

📱 Recent incidents, particularly this month’s school shooting in Georgia, are raising new concerns about cellphone bans in schools, writes The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran. Advocates say lawmakers and school officials need to think of parents’ fears when considering cellphone restrictions in classrooms, which have been on the rise in states across the country.

CONGRESS

SECRET SERVICE: A congressional task force heard testimony from local law enforcement officers Thursday about how the Secret Service failed to secure the July Pennsylvania rally where the assassination attempt against Trump took place. Patrick Sullivan, a former Secret Service agent, said current practices among federal agencies are insufficient, saying “there is no statutory requirement” for federal, state and local agencies to report threats against the president or other protected persons to the Secret Service.

“The FBI has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate a conspiracy to assault or kill the president before the attack takes place,” Sullivan said. “Since the Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president, they should be part of all such investigations so they can take appropriate steps to prevent an assassination.”

Democrats boycotted the final portion of the hearing, which featured testimony from two rabble-rousing Republicans who are leading their own “independent” investigation into the shooting.

✉️ MAIL VOTING: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Thursday addressed lawmakers’ concerns about mail-in ballots ahead of the election. Testifying before a House subcommittee, DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service would be “even better prepared” for the surge of mail-in ballots in 2024 compared to the unprecedented rise in 2020 amid the pandemic. Last week, DeJoy expressed frustration after facing criticism from Trump and other elected officials, saying it would be “wrong” to say mail-in ballots would be misplaced under his watch. But members who represent rural districts are still concerned about the efficiency of the postal system (The Hill).

“We do everything we possibly can in an imperfect system that expects the perfect,” DeJoy said. “We’re a good target for a lot of blame.” 

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THE CLOSER 

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! Members of the original “The West Wing” cast visited the White House this week, which inspired our puzzle.

📺 Here’s who Googled or guessed some trivia about an award-winning, iconic TV hit: Richard E. Baznik, Peter Sprofera, Lou Tisler, Mary Anne McEnery, Harry Strulovici, Bill Moore, Pam Manges, Randall S. Patrick, Robert Bradley, Steve James and Savannah Petracca.

When members of the “West Wing” cast recently visited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., cheese was used as decor in a nod to the show’s fictional “Big Block of Cheese Day,” which was an invention in which the fictional senior White House staffers met once a year with groups that wouldn’t typically get such meetings.

Former Clinton White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers consulted for the show in its heyday.

Fictional deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman was based on former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel (now U.S. ambassador to Japan).

During a recent news interview, the show’s creator Aaron Sorkin said Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race this summer was a “real-life West Wing moment.”

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