Biden will visit Maui next week as wildfire death toll rises
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President Biden will travel to Hawaii next week to meet with first responders and tour damage from the catastrophic wildfires on the island as the death toll continues to rise.
“In Maui, the President and First Lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing the trip. (The Hill)
At least 106 deaths have been confirmed as of Wednesday morning, but officials still anticipate the number to climb as recovery efforts continue. Video footage captured by Maui residents suggests downed utility lines may have caused the massive fires.
The fires, fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora as it churned south of the island, ripped across Maui, decimating the historical town of Lahaina — a popular tourist destination. Thousands of structures were destroyed as the fast-moving fire swept the area. Officials have estimated that the fire spread at about a mile a minute.
Experts from the Department of Health and Human Services have been deployed to the island to help identify the victims, as crews race to beat another threat: rain. According to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D), children are among those who perished, and crews could find up to “10 to 20 people a day” until searches end. As of Tuesday, about a quarter of the scorched area has been searched.
Green also stressed the ticking time clock to recover remains.
“Winds or heavy rain in that disaster setting … will make it even harder to get the final determination of who we lost,” he said. (The Hill)
Biden’s upcoming visit follows backlash from earlier this week after the president said he had “no comment” when reporters asked about the rising death toll. While he spent the weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Del., the White House defended the administration’s response. “When you talk about a dozen agencies on the ground, helping and assisting … hundreds of FEMA personnel. That’s what — that’s what matters,” Jean-Pierre told CNN. |
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Pence rebukes Trump after Georgia indictment:
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Former Vice President Mike Pence publicly rebuked former President Trump’s continued claims of 2020 election fraud, saying the electoral contest was “not stolen” in his first public comments following Trump’s latest indictment on allegations of election interference. Both Pence and Trump are seeking the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination.
“Despite what the former president and his allies have said for now more than two and a half years and continue to insist … the Georgia election was not stolen, and I had no right to overturn the election on Jan. 6,” Pence said during a keynote address at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Indiana. (The Hill)
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House could struggle to stop government shutdown: |
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has signaled lawmakers will likely lean on a short-term spending plan when Congress returns in September to prevent a government shutdown — but it may not be a simple task, as some conservatives have already pushed back on the idea.
As The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell put it, “the move to buy more time comes with its own complications.”
The tightrope: House conservatives, who have been flexing their muscles since McCarthy narrowly won the speaker’s gavel earlier this year, have a growing wish list as Congress prepares to return from August recess. Meanwhile, the White House has its own requests. Lawmakers will need to hash out an agreement that can pass both the GOP-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Multiple sources on a call with McCarthy earlier this week told The Hill that the California Republican said he plans to pursue a continuing resolution but doesn’t want a timeframe that would press into the winter holidays when Congress normally takes a break from Washington. He also told members of his caucus that he does not want a yearlong proposal.
In the slim House majority, Republicans will need support from Democrats if more than a handful of GOP members vote against the continuing resolution. More here from The Hill. |
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Fair trial? Speedy trial? Those close to Trump weigh in:
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A former Trump White House lawyer says there is “no chance” the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump will go to trial anytime in the next two years.
“And if it takes [Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s (D)], you know two years, I mean, heaven forbid that Trump wins the presidency, then then there will be a fight to the Supreme Court over whether she can proceed against the sitting president during his term,” Ty Cobb, who served in the White House for about 10 months beginning in July 2017, said during an interview with CNN.
Willis released a 98-page indictment this week charging Trump and 18 of his allies for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, in which President Biden narrowly won. Willis said she wants to bring a trial forward within the next six months with all defendants. “Everybody will have motions galore,” Cobb said. (The Hill) Clock ticking: Trump and the other defendants have until Aug. 25 to voluntarily turn themselves in to a Georgia jail. Officials have noted that the jail is open 24/7, so the surrenders could happen at any time.
Meanwhile… Former top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway called Trump a “victim” of an unfair justice system and said she doubts he can get a fair trial in Georgia. She echoed the claim for his trials in New York City and Washington, D.C., where Trump faces separate charges.
“There’s a two-tiered system of justice; it seems like there’s one for Donald Trump and one for everyone else,” Conway said in a Fox News interview. “How in the world do we have the most liberal county in Georgia, D.C., New York City, all these places that voted against him, I don’t think he could get a fair trial, to be frank with you.” (The Hill)
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Trump’s refusal to sign RNC loyalty pledge puts party in bind: |
Former President Trump doesn’t plan to sign the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) loyalty pledge — but will that keep him off the GOP presidential debate stage if he wants to be there? The Hill’s Julia Manchester reports that Trump’s putting “the organization in a bind as next week’s GOP primary debate approaches.”
The former president is expected to announce sometime this week whether he will attend the debate.
“It’s a distinct possibility that the Republican nominee for president could simply decide to shun the RNC itself,” Brian Seitchik, a Republican strategist and Trump campaign alum, told The Hill. “When a candidate refuses to play by the rules, it obviously weakens the RNC’s position.” Allowing Trump to join — pledge or not — would be a ratings draw and keep the national party in his good graces, but RNC chair Ronna McDaniel has signaled that party leaders don’t want to bend the rules for any candidate.
GOP candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have signed the pledge to back the eventual nominee. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he will sign it before the event. Does it matter?: “The pledge, whether signed or not, whether followed or not, has never meant anything more than a piece of paper,” Alex Stroman, a Republican strategist and RNC alum, told The Hill. More from The Hill here. |
Poll: 53 percent say they won’t support Trump if he is GOP nominee: |
A new poll has found that more than half of Americans say they will not support former President Trump in 2024 if he is the Republican nominee for president amid a wave of legal challenges.
While Trump remains popular among the Republican base and has maintained a strong position as frontrunner in the party, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll released today found that on top of the 53 percent of voters who said they won’t vote for Trump, an additional 11 percent said that they probably would not support him.
The latest poll found that 63 percent of Republicans said they back Trump’s candidacy — up slightly from April’s 55 percent. (The Hill) |
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Vicious’ ex-White House aide Omarosa competing for ‘supervillain’ title: |
Then-President Trump publicly called her “wacky” and “vicious,” but former senior White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, 49, (known simply as “Omarosa”) would rather be called “supervillain” these days.
Omarosa, who came to know Trump through “The Apprentice” reality show before working on Trump’s 2016 campaign and in the White House, is heading back to the TV screen this fall. She is joining E!’s new “House of Villains” competition show where she and other contestants will have a chance to win $200,000 and the title of “America’s Ultimate Supervillain.” She left the Trump administration at the start of 2018 after serving as the director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison — and following the release of tapes she had secretly recorded, earning Trump’s ire.
PopCrave posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Omarosa will be joining the likes of Jax Taylor, formerly of “Vanderpump Rules”; Tiffany Pollard from “I Love New York” and “Love & Hip Hop: Miami’s” Bobby Lytes, among others. The show starts Oct. 12.
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Blinken hasn’t had time to watch ‘Oppenheimer’: |
Secretary of State Antony Blinken hasn’t had a chance to see the blockbuster “Oppenheimer” film, but he plans to watch it at some point.
“I’m trying to find the, what, three-and-a-half hours necessary to watch it,” he quipped during a press briefing this week.
See the video of his answer here posted to X. (The movie is actually three hours, on-the-dot.) |
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in D.C., and Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles.
11 a.m.: President Biden received the Presidential Daily Briefing. 12:15 p.m.: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden, clean energy czar John Podesta and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell will brief reporters.
2:30 p.m.: Biden is scheduled to speak on the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act during an event at the White House.
All times Eastern. |
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12:15 p.m.: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden, clean energy czar John Podesta and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell will brief reporters. (Watch here)
2:30 p.m.: Biden is scheduled to speak on the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act during an event at the White House. (Watch here)
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Today is National Rollercoaster Day! Summer’s not over yet, so to all you thrill seekers looking for an excuse to visit a park — here’s your chance to take the plunge. |
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And because you made it this far, check out this bird who appears to be trying out a peacock costume… 🦜 |
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