Morning Report — Weakness to strength? Biden on border; Trump on conviction

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 06/03/24 6:25 AM ET

President Biden heads to France this week, but not before many expect him to announce border security action after months of nail-biting about using his own say-so to tackle an issue that has proven to be one of his major election-year liabilities.

As Biden flies to Europe to mark wartime’s past, his name is being invoked in Tel Aviv and Cairo as the architect of a cease-fire accord Israel said it was ready to accept with Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under continued pressure in Israel, welcomed an invitation to address a joint session of Congress at an unannounced date.

Convicted former President Trump discovered Friday that 34 felony counts in New York filled his campaign coffers and inspired cheers from GOP supporters. That includes Republican Senate critics who have now publicly rallied behind him. His pals in Congress want revenge. Some in state capitals and the Senate want to be paired with him on his ticket. His GOP detractors simply want to win in November.

“It’s captivating right now to a lot of people,” Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum told CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, referring to the Trump court process that ended Friday with a sentencing date in July.

“The election is not going to turn on this trial,” Burgum predicted.

The governor competed against Trump in the presidential primary but remains a loyalist and is viewed as a potential VP pick.

Congress returns to work in Washington today, animated by partisan messaging rather than collaboration over major legislation.

Democrats, who have for months focused on Trump, are nervous about the 14 to 16 weeks remaining before pollsters believe most voters lock in their Election Day druthers. Biden, whose job approval is a weak 39 percent, is trailing Trump in most swing-state polls where the election will be won and lost.

▪ The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will tee up a vote on the Right to Contraception Act, timing the vote shortly before the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision striking down the right to an abortion.

▪ The Hill: House conservatives probing the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. response are taking aim at the National Institutes of Health and a scandal about records, as well as Anthony Fauci, retired former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

▪ The Hill: House committee leaders are clashing over the presumptive presidential nominees and proposed legislation that attempts to block foreign money in politics.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

▪ The U.S. Postal Service wants regulatory approval to raise the price of first-class stamps to 73 cents next month, after hiking the price to 66 cents in January. It would be the fourth increase in less than four years, equivalent to a 7 percent rise.

▪ Why are Americans feeling so negative about the economy?

▪ U.S. colleges and universities — criticized on all quarters, including by donors — have backed away from the uproar over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

POTUS: The president, after weighing border security options for more than four months, is expected to issue an executive order this week that would allow him to “shut down” the U.S. southern border when there’s a significant daily surge in migrants. He’s expected to announce his restrictive policy, anticipated by critics to be challenged in court, before heading to France for a ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Fox News Sunday that a Biden border move without Congress would be “too little, too late.” (He’s under pressure this week about what to schedule on the floor.) NewsNation last week reported the White House contacted border mayors about attending a Biden event Tuesday. House Republicans and Trump, eager to keep the border crisis alive as an issue with voters through Election Day, blocked a bipartisan Senate proposal early this year that proposed to amend immigration law and restrict asylum seekers. “Republicans aren’t going to do it, so he’s got to do something,” Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) told “The Hill Sunday,” explaining Biden’s rationale for action. (NewsNation and The Hill are owned by Nexstar.)

🗞️ Meanwhile, in an election year and during a tough time for the news media in a town fueled by politics, Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee stepped down Sunday, giving no reason for her departure, The Associated Press reports. She held the top job for three years.

LEADING THE DAY

© The Associated Press / Julia Nikhinson | Former President Trump in New York on Friday following his Manhattan conviction on 34 felony counts based on a scheme to hide hush money payments while seeking the White House in 2016

POLITICS

👉 Veepstakes: In a new series, The Hill looks at Trump’s possible vice-presidential picks. Trump doesn’t plan to announce his running mate until the summer, but shortlists abound. Typically, candidates want a potential vice president who can “balance” the ticket demographically, ideologically or geographically. But those criteria may not apply this cycle.

First up: Ohio Sen. JD Vance, whose rapid rise in the political arena was best exemplified by his response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Within weeks, Vance, a graduate of Yale Law School and a former venture capitalist, accompanied Trump to the accident site and introduced legislation with fellow Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) to improve safety protocols and prevent future derailments like the one in their home state.

“You want to talk about a moment that just crystalizes why you’re there,” said one Vance ally. “It was very much a trial by fire, and I think he passed it with flying colors.”

His conservative, populist views, his willingness to fiercely defend those views and the relationship he has built with the former president and Donald Trump Jr. have placed him squarely in the running to be Trump’s running mate. Vance has served in the Senate, his first elective office, for 17 months.

Also mentioned: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who told NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend that “any great patriot … would have to consider it seriously.”

BIDEN’S HOLD ON VIRGINIA appears to be slipping, spelling trouble for Democrats who’d felt confident about their standing in the state after winning every presidential contest there since former President Obama in 2008. A Roanoke College survey last week showed Biden and Trump tied head-to-head in Virginia, with 42 percent each. Biden leads Trump in The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s polling average, 44.1 percent to 43.1 percent. Still, it marks a significant turnaround from 2020, when Biden won the state relatively handily, and suggests Democrats could have their hands full in Virginia, a state Biden cannot afford to lose.

“Biden is certainly not doing as well as he did in 2020, when he won Virginia by 10 percent. But he’s probably ahead by a few points at this time,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “If Virginia is even competitive in the fall, it’s a very bad sign for Biden since Virginia is more Democratic than many of the true swing states.”

2024 ROUNDUP

▪ Democrats in the nation’s capital will get their chance to weigh in on the race for the White House tomorrow as the presidential primary calendar enters its final days.

▪ The GOP primaries in Texas have widened divisions within the state Republican Party as a whole — a body that has been widely criticized for “prioritizing going after Republicans more than building out the state party,” according to Joshua Blank of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

▪ Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is using every tool at his disposal to get to the first debate with Biden and Trump, although he faces a rocky path to qualify before the June 27 CNN event.

▪ Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed a bill Sunday to ensure that Biden appears on Ohio’s ballot for the November general election.

▪ Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday said that “every American should accept the results” of the upcoming presidential election, as some Republicans repeatedly refuse to say whether they will do so.

▪ Former Maryland Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan is the new face of the anti-Trump GOP.

▪ Puerto Rico congressional representative Jenniffer González defeated Gov. Pedro Pierluisi in a surprise upset during a primary election held Sunday by their pro-statehood party.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at noon.

The Senate will convene at 3 p.m.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden will depart Wilmington, Del., late this afternoon for White Plains, N.Y., and headline a campaign fundraiser in Greenwich, Conn., at 7 p.m. The president will head to the White House late tonight.

Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles. She will be interviewed to mark Pride Month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a Chiefs of Mission Conference at the State Department.

🎂 First lady Jill Biden celebrates her birthday.

ZOOM IN

COURTS

HUNTER BIDEN WILL GO ON TRIAL on gun charges today in Delaware, less than a week after Trump’s felony conviction in New York. A year ago, the president’s son seemed unlikely to face trial on weapons charges over a falsified firearms application, or failing to pay taxes from overseas business activities at a time when he was heavily using drugs and alcohol. But a plea deal imploded in July. Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines, if convicted, but legal experts said it is more likely a sentence could mirror the original plea deal — mandatory enrollment in a firearms diversion program (The Hill and The New York Times).

▪ Politico: The two judges overseeing Hunter Biden’s trials have a lot in common. For starters, they were both appointed by Trump.

▪ The Washington Post: For Hunter Biden, a dramatic day with his brother’s widow led to charges.

TRUMP IS OK with potentially being sentenced to house arrest or jail time following his conviction last week in New York on 34 felony counts stemming from his hush money trial, he said in a pre-taped interview which aired Sunday on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends”, adding that either would be “tough for the public to take.”

“You know, at a certain point, there’s a breaking point,” Trump said.

The former president’s lawyers have announced they will appeal the conviction but they will comply with a pre-sentencing investigation in the meantime. Judge Juan Merchan gave both parties until June 13 to file motions in the case, which could include requests for him to re-examine some aspect of the case or verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11, days before the start of the Republican National Convention (CNN).

▪ The Hill’s The Memo: Trump and his allies have spent the hours since he was convicted in New York arguing the verdict will play out to his advantage in the end. They could easily be wrong.

▪ NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who declined to prosecute a case against Trump as his successor did, predicted there will be “strong appeals” to the hush money jury’s verdict. He doubts Trump will receive a prison sentence so close to his party’s nominating convention for president. “That said, the court could adjourn sentencing until after the general election and then essentially decide then,” Vance added.

ELSEWHERE

INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL HAS AGREED TO THE FRAMEWORK for Biden’s plan to bring an end to the war in Gaza, according to an aide to Netanyahu, though he said it was “not a good deal.” On Friday, Biden announced that Israel had proposed a three-part plan that would ultimately lead to a complete cease-fire in Gaza, as well as the release of all hostages. It’s “time for this war to end,” he said. The deal is yet to be finalized, and while Biden initially called it an Israeli proposal, Israel’s official position remains unclear (NBC News).

An estimated 120,000 people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to call on Netanyahu and his far-right governing coalition to accept the cease-fire deal outlined by Biden on Friday. Hamas said on Friday it was ready to engage with the deal “positively and in a constructive manner” (Sky News). White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that if Hamas accepts the deal to end the Gaza war, the U.S. expects Israel to accept the plan too.

“This was an Israeli proposal. We have every expectation that if Hamas agrees to the proposal … then Israel would say yes,” Kirby told ABC News’ This Week.

▪ The Washington Post: Here’s what to know about Biden’s cease-fire plan.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Israel overhauled its military operations in Rafah following intensive discussion with American officials to avoid crossing the Biden administration’s red line and provoking a crisis in relations with its closest ally.

▪ The New York Times: Netanyahu may face a choice between a truce and his government’s survival.

Meanwhile, Israeli, Egyptian and U.S. officials met in Cairo on Sunday to discuss reopening the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. The crossing has been an important conduit for getting humanitarian aid into the enclave. Israel seized and closed the crossing in early May at the beginning of its military offensive in Rafah, the southern city where about a million displaced Gazans had sought refuge (The New York Times).

Reuters: Israel’s defense minister said on Sunday that it would not accept Hamas continuing to rule Gaza at any stage during the process to wind down the war.

UKRAINIANS REMAIN SET ON DEFEATING Russian President Vladimir Putin, and optimistic in their military’s ability to stand up to his invading forces, writes The Hill’s Brad Dress, standing in stark contrast to the U.S., which has grown more divided over support for Ukraine as Russia has seized momentum in the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend accused Russia and China of attempting to undermine his upcoming global peace summit in Switzerland, saying the two countries were dissuading other nations from attending the event (Reuters and BBC).

An intensifying military alliance between Russia and North Korea could mean trouble for Biden in November. Pyongyang — already accused of supplying Moscow with vast amounts of munitions for its war in Ukraine — is suspected of planning a major provocative military action close to the U.S. presidential election, The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports.

In Mexico, voters Tuesday elected Claudia Sheinbaum of the leftist ruling party to be the country’s first female, and first Jewish, president. The former mayor of Mexico City won by a landslide in a reflection of support for the policies of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (The Wall Street Journal).

OPINION

■ “Anti-core” inflation has grown just as polarizing as 34 felonies. The price shock won’t dissipate enough by November to soften opinions, by John Authers, Bloomberg Opinion.

■ Why Republicans hate the Trump verdict, by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

THE CLOSER

And finally … ⚾️ It’s baseball season, which means it’s worth remembering that on this day in 1932, baseball great Lou Gehrig hit four consecutive home runs in one game. He was the third player in history to do it, and one of 18 major league players in total to hold that record, according to Baseball Reference. Gehrig accomplished it for the American League in a 20-13 game between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Athletics. “The Iron Horse” played 17 seasons before his death in 1941 at age 39, less than two years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often identified with his name.

“He was a symbol of indestructibility — a Gibraltar in cleats,” the late Los Angeles Times sports columnist Jim Murray wrote when describing Gehrig.

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