The Hill’s Morning Report — Biden tries to stick with script

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 07/06/23 6:20 AM ET

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

President Biden is eager to pitch “Bidenomics” in South Carolina today as well as the idea of expanded NATO membership ahead of a European summit next week, but reporters and some of Biden’s political rivals are glued to a Secret Service investigation into how cocaine turned up in the West Wing over the weekend while the president was miles away at Camp David.

Recall that in November, Biden’s representatives found classified documents in his former Washington office space just before the midterm elections, then later found more sensitive materials in his Delaware garage, which led to a Justice Department special counsel investigation, which has not ended.

Expect the unexpected.

In every reelection playbook and white paper for governing, something goes off course — an insurrection at the Capitol, a Chinese weather balloon over Montana, Hunter Biden’s forgotten laptop tumbling into GOP hands, overnight bank failures.

CNBC and NPR: Tasked to try to ease U.S.-China tensions, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing this morning.

In their wake, hearings, investigations, internal probes, court actions and crisis meetings fill headlines and inflame social media.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued Wednesday on Fox News that in the case of Hunter Biden’s past business dealings and what his father knew of his international consulting clients, Republicans in Congress want the facts.

“I don’t know if Mr. Hunter Biden committed a crime. I sure don’t know if President Biden committed a crime,” he added.

▪ The Washington Post: Cocaine found Sunday in the White House near where guests enter the West Wing.

▪ Politico: “It’s a bit of a thoroughfare. People walk by there all the time,” said one law enforcement official, describing the West Wing basement entryway where many people have authorized access.

The president, who will speak at a South Carolina tech plant today, wants the public to focus on a surge in U.S. manufacturing jobs on his watch. (Biden is counting on the Palmetto State to give him a decisive Democratic first-in-the-nation primary victory in February.)

But this week’s cocaine-in-the-West-Wing headlines, which spawned more questions than whodunit answers, left imaginations to fill in the blanks, which former President Trump and GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis each rushed to do Wednesday (The Hill). Trump suggested on Truth Social, his megaphone, that Biden, Biden’s son, or even Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting him for alleged crimes related to the mishandling of classified documents, might have something to do with the cocaine found in a West Wing location accessible to visitors. Smith, Trump said, “looks like a crackhead to me.”

The special counsel and his team continue to investigate Trump for his alleged actions and those of his associates during a push to overturn the 2020 election results.

Related Articles

▪ USA Today: Will UPS workers strike? The Teamsters union and the company ended talks without a new contract.

▪ The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal: Here’s what to know about Meta’s new Threads, its so-called “Twitter killer” app for conversations, built by Instagram. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that Threads had 10 million sign-ups within seven hours of its launch.

▪ The Hill: The White House is facing backlash about its decision to reactivate interest for student loans as part of its “on-ramp” repayment program, which progressives and advocates argue isn’t enough to help struggling borrowers after the Supreme Court shot down Biden’s loan forgiveness plan.

▪ Politico: Voters don’t love Bidenomics, but markets are coming around. Leading economists at big banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have lowered their odds of an imminent recession.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ ADMINISTRATION

The administration will appeal a judge’s order that experts fear would make it harder to combat a potential “Wild West” of disinformation online as next year’s elections loom (The Hill). A federal judge this week temporarily limited communication among government officials and social media companies following a GOP-led legal challenge.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served in the Obama administration, slammed the judge’s order as “pretty stupid and potentially dangerous” (The Hill).

As courts increasingly reckon with free speech issues on social media, the laws around online speech could drastically change (The Hill).

🇺🇲 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services propose that updated naturalization testing next year should add a speaking section to assess English skills. An officer would show photos of ordinary scenarios, such as daily activities, weather or food, and ask applicants to verbally describe the photos. Immigrants believe such changes would make it more difficult to attain citizenship among those with limited English proficiency (The Associated Press).

💊 A new class of Alzheimer’s medication, if covered by Medicare, could be a breakthrough for patients and extremely costly for taxpayers. A bitter battle about the Food and Drug Administration’s expected decision this week to approve the drug Leqembi, which could slow the progression of the disease, is playing out among Medicare officials, advocacy groups and lawmakers (STAT News). Some physicians say the effectiveness of the expensive drug is limited. Medicare has been cautious about the projected costs. Lawmakers and advocates side with patients. The fight is likely to continue, and the new drug will not be the last to target Alzheimer’s.

➤ INTERNATIONAL

A mystery deepens. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday the Wagner Group’s fighters and their mercenary leader, Yevgeny Prighozin, are not in Belarus, despite Prighozin’s announced exile there after a short-lived mutiny attempt. Prigozhin threw Russia into turmoil days ago after launching his attack against the Kremlin’s military leaders, setting up a direct confrontation with President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said during a rare news conference that Prigozhin was in his hometown of St. Petersburg, despite the Kremlin’s assertions that he had been banished (NBC News).

Meanwhile, a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s western city of Lviv killed at least four people and wounded at least eight in one of the largest attacks on Lviv’s civilian infrastructure since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. It destroyed entire floors of a residential building and left streets below covered in rubble (The Associated Press).

Experts from the U.N. nuclear watchdog based at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine have yet to observe any indications of mines or explosives at the plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Wednesday. Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, where the IAEA has repeatedly warned of potential catastrophe from nearby military clashes (Reuters).

The Kremlin has suggested it could be open to a possible prisoner exchange involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held away from the public eye. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and Washington had touched on the issue when asked whether Monday’s consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially result in a prisoner swap (The Guardian).

“We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don’t want them to be discussed in public,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “They must be carried out and continue in complete silence.”

▪ The Guardian: The Kremlin denies Chinese President Xi Jinping urged Putin not to use nuclear arms in Ukraine.

▪ The New York Times: A Russian inmate hoped to start over with a clean slate by fighting in Ukraine. Instead, he was confronted by the drudgery of trench work and the terror of battle. “You’re going in as meat,” he said he was told.

▪ Bloomberg News: Ukraine has caught up with Russia’s tank numbers, data show.

The Biden administration is in a mad dash to get Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO when leaders meet next week in Lithuania. As The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports, Turkey has held back on ratifying Sweden’s accession over criticisms that Stockholm harbors Kurdish groups that Ankara views as a threat. The public burning of a Quran by an Iraqi refugee outside a mosque in Stockholm last week has drawn further condemnation from Turkey.

In another complication, Hungary’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Budapest will not ratify Sweden’s accession until it gets the green light from Turkey. Adding Sweden to the alliance at the NATO summit is viewed as a key signal of member-states stability and solidarity in supporting Ukraine against Putin’s war while the Kremlin grapples with the fallout of the Wagner Group mutiny attempt. Biden met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the White House on Wednesday in a show of support for Stockholm.

Biden told Kristersson that he was “anxiously looking forward” to the country’s acceptance into NATO. Both leaders emphasized the potential benefits that could come from adding Sweden to the group during their White House meeting, and Biden told reporters it was “very important” for both Sweden and the U.S. to have the Nordic country join NATO (The New York Times).

“We also do think that we have things to contribute,” Kristersson told Biden as they met in the Oval Office.

Bloomberg News: Turkey snubs U.S. pressure on F-16s as Biden meets the Swedish premier.

The Israeli military said all forces left the West Bank Wednesday and “its goals have been achieved” after previously saying it was targeting Palestinian terrorists. This comes after a car ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday left eight people injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement and said it was a response to Israel’s ongoing military operation in Jenin (CNN).

▪ CBS News: Israel ends deadly raid in West Bank Palestinian refugee camp, but warns it won’t be “a one-off.”

▪ The Washington Post: What is happening in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and why now?

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Taiwan’s impossible choice: Be Ukraine or Hong Kong.

▪ The Hill: Downed North Korean satellite had “no military utility,” South Korean officials say.

▪ Vox: France’s protests over a police killing, briefly explained.

The story of how as many as 750 migrants came to board a rickety blue fishing trawler and end up in one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks is bigger than any one of the victims. The trawler left from the Libyan port city of Tobruk on June 9. Just 104 survivors have reached the Greek mainland. Authorities have recovered 82 bodies, and hundreds more have been swallowed by the sea (The Washington Post).

The Washington Post: Tracing a tragedy: How hundreds of migrants drowned on Greece’s watch.

The French-American Foundation, established in 1976, on Wednesday named Edward Wallace, co-chair of New York law firm Greenberg Traurig, which represents clients in Paris, as chairman.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ POLITICS

💰The money chase: Candidates are beginning to tout their campaign hauls during the quarter that ended in June. Totals raised and spent will be reported by the Federal Election Commission later this month.

Trump’s campaign says it raised $35 million in the three months through June, which was double the contributions the former president raised during the first quarter (Politico). … Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) says his campaign raised $4 million for his reelection bid, reports The Hill’s Al Weaver.

2024 roundup: In Illinois, Rep. Mike Bost (R) will be challenged in the GOP primary by former Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (The Hill). …In Nebraska, state Sen. Tony Vargas (D) announced Wednesday he will again challenge Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) after a close midterm defeat. Democrats see the 2024 contest as a chance to flip a Republican-held seat outside of a blue state (Nebraska Examiner). … In New York, former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D) announced he will compete in a 2024 Democratic primary with aspirations to flip the House seat held by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (Politico and The Hill). … Hunter Biden’s lawyers blast House GOP investigation (The Hill and The Hill). … Former GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman (Va.) is working with the legal team representing the president’s son amid congressional inquiries (CBS News). … Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds called the legislature back to the Capitol for a special session next week to consider legislation to restrict abortions after she lost in the state supreme court last month (Des Moines Register). … California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) campaigned for Biden in Idaho Saturday as part of political outreach efforts in red states that build his own base (Los Angeles Times). …GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley will hold a town hall at 6:30 p.m. in North Conway, N.H. (The Conway Daily Sun).

Violence: Mass shootings and gun violence continue to lead national headlines following Fourth of July weekend mayhem and a grisly summer of fatalities. The trend remains politically divisive, with scarce national consensus behind proposed gun safety legislation or federal, state or local prevention initiatives. “This country needs to re-examine its conscience and find out how to get guns out of dangerous people’s hands,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) said after five people were killed and four injured in his city on Monday night by a gunman dressed in a ski mask and bulletproof vest (ABC News). … Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to revive efforts that have thus far been largely unsuccessful to pass new legislation on guns as Biden renewed his call on Wednesday to ban assault weapons. The target? Suburban women (The Hill).

Trump world: The former president posted what he claimed was former President Obama’s address on June 29, the same day that authorities arrested an armed man living in his van nearby who had retweeted Trump’s post and created his own threats using Obama’s name on Telegram, prosecutors said Wednesday (The Associated Press). … Trump’s personal aide Walt Nauta is expected to enter a plea in a Florida federal court today in the classified documents prosecution in which he’s named as a co-defendant. His plea was postponed when he failed to hire a Florida lawyer to represent him and failed to appear in court on time because of travel snarls. Separately, Trump has been ordered by the court to respond by Monday to the Justice Department’s proposal for a December trial date (MSNBC).

OPINION

■ The Supreme Court didn’t put racism on a leash. It granted it license, by Charles M. Blow, columnist, The New York Times.

■ Putin’s nightmare: the risk of “disorder,” by Ronald H. Linden, opinion contributor, The Hill.

WHERE AND WHEN

📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House will meet at noon for a pro forma session; lawmakers return July 11 to the Capitol.

The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. Members return to Washington July 10.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. Biden will fly to South Carolina to speak in West Columbia at 1:15 p.m. at Flex LTD, a Singapore-based electronics components manufacturer and global supply chain company with employees in 30 countries (WYFF). The president will return to the White House this afternoon.

Vice President Harris will fly from Los Angeles to Phoenix with second gentleman Doug Emhoff to visit the Gila River Indian Community and speak midday about administration policies supporting tribal and Native American communities. The vice president will visit the Pima Maricopa Irrigation Project at 2:45 p.m. AT. Harris and Emhoff will depart Arizona to return to Washington by 11 p.m. ET.

Treasury’s Yellen arrived in Beijing at 4:30 a.m. ET Thursday ahead of meetings with senior Chinese government officials this week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Georgetown, Guyana, to meet with President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Foreign Minister Hugh Todd and other top officials.

Economic indicator: The Bureau of Economic Analysis will report at 8:30 a.m. on international trade in May.

ELSEWHERE

➤ HEALTH & WELLBEING

🥤 Aspartame, a common artificial sweetener used in a wide range of foods and beverages, is about to be declared a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO). In mid-July, the agency is set to declare that aspartame is “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” A separate WHO committee that develops recommendations on how much of a product is safe plans to simultaneously release guidelines aimed at answering consumers’ questions about how much aspartame they can safely consume.

As consumers try to figure out what to add to and ban from their shopping carts, Vox explains aspartame’s path from the lab to refrigerators — and what might set an IARC statement about a product’s safety apart from the assessments made by other agencies consumers trust with these decisions.

💉 Influenza, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines: Americans will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves not just for flu shots but for two other vaccines this year — one of them entirely new — in an effort to prevent a repeat of last winter’s “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses. Federal health officials have already asked manufacturers to produce reformulated COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed later this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently took an additional step in endorsing two new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus for older Americans.

The three shots for respiratory and other viruses — flu, COVID-19 and RSV — may help to reduce hospitalizations and deaths later this year. But uncertainties remain about how the vaccines are best administered, who is most likely to benefit, and what the risks may be (The New York Times).

▪ NBC News: Barriers to transgender health care lead some to embrace a do-it-yourself approach.

▪ Axios: A Medicaid payment proposal for health aides rankles home health companies.

THE CLOSER

Take Our Morning Report Quiz

And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Alert to headlines about hazards during the Fourth of July weekend, we’re eager for some smart guesses about 🦈 sharks.

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

Long Island over the weekend reported its first shark bites of the season and employees with the parks department briefly closed one beach when a school of about 50 sand sharks appeared. What did the parks team use on Tuesday to look for sharks before reopening a beach to swimmers, according to reports?

A submersible
Boats
Sonar
Aerial drones

The odds of dying in a shark attack are estimated to be ______.

One in 3.7 million
One in 500 million
One in 100,000
One in 500

The late author Peter Benchley wrote the novel “Jaws” when he was 27 and soon became a millionaire. Before that career bonanza, what did he do?

Newspaper stringer
Speechwriter for former President Lyndon Johnson
Marine Corps Reserves
All of the above

Sharks have no known predator among marine animals.

True
False

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