The Hill’s Morning Report — Trump applauds two-year budget deal with $320 billion spending hike

Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Happy Tuesday! Our newsletter gets you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Co-creators are Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver (CLICK HERE to subscribe!). On Twitter, find us at @asimendinger and @alweaver22.

After weeks of negotiations, the White House and congressional leaders announced a deal that will raise budget caps and the debt ceiling for two years, giving both parties victories and allowing lawmakers to pass a bill before leaving Washington for the August recess.

{mosads}President Trump was the first to announce the accord between the sides, which he touted as “another big victory to our Great Military and Vets,” calling the agreement “a real compromise.” The deal also puts off another government shutdown after the 35-day partial closure earlier this year and the pending risk of default on U.S. debt. 

According to Jordain Carney, funding for the Pentagon — long a priority for GOP defense hawks — is boosted to $738 billion, which doesn’t match the president’s requested total, but is north of what Democrats pushed for. Meanwhile, Democrats won an increase in funding for nondefense spending to $632 billion —- a $27 billion increase over the previous package, something Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) were elated with. 

“Democrats are also pleased to have secured robust funding for critical domestic priorities in this agreement,” the Democratic leaders said in a statement. “Democrats have always insisted on parity in increases between defense and non-defense [spending], and we are pleased that our increase in non-defense budget authority exceeds the defense number by $10 billion over the next two years.”  

Pelosi and Schumer added that they have secured more than $100 billion in funding for domestic projects since Trump took office.

Pelosi said in the statement that the House will “move swiftly” on the legislation so it will come up for a vote on the floor “as soon as possible.” Due to the need to have a bill posted for 72 hours, the vote is expected to take place on Friday before the House breaks for a six-week recess. The Senate, which breaks for recess on August 2, will be able to pass the bill next week.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement that the agreement “secures the resources we need to keep rebuilding our armed forces.” In a statement, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “While this deal is not perfect, compromise is necessary in divided government.”  

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who led negotiations for the White House, had been in constant contact with Pelosi in recent weeks as they worked toward an agreement. Mnuchin had urged congressional leaders to pass a separate debt ceiling bill if they were unable to strike a budget agreement prior to the recess, saying that raising the debt limit would need to be done by early September. 

Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press: Deal sealed on federal budget, ensuring no shutdown, default.

The Washington Post: Trump backs two-year budget deal that boosts spending, suspends debt limit.

Politico’s John Bresnahan, Burgess Everett: Deficit Don? Red ink gushes in Trump era. 

Elsewhere in Congress, the Senate has two high-profile votes set today. Senators are expected to vote to confirm Army Secretary Mark Esper to lead the Pentagon. Esper was nominated after former acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan’s nomination to serve in the full-time role was withdrawn. The permanent position has been vacant since James Mattis resigned in January. 

The upper chamber also is expected to approve the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund, which passed the House by a vote of 402-12 nearly two weeks ago. The package would reauthorize funding through fiscal 2092, with the Senate expected to vote on amendments by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who objected to the bill’s passage by unanimous consent last week.  

Looking ahead to after the August recess, House Democrats are expected to release their bill to lower drug prices. According to Peter Sullivan, Wendell Primus, Pelosi’s top health care adviser, said House leadership is almost ready to release the proposal but is opting to wait and not give drug companies the opportunity to attack the bill during the congressional recess next month.

{mossecondads}“Pharma will argue very hard against drug negotiation of the kind we’re talking about,” Primus said at a Brookings Institution event on Monday.

 

LEADING THE DAY

2020 POLITICS: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will take center stage together for the first time at next Tuesday’s Democratic debate in Detroit, putting two of the party’s brightest liberal stars in the spotlight as they look to stake their claim as the preeminent progressive in the 2020 race. 

As Jonathan Easley and Miranda Green write, while Warren has seen her star shine in the past two months, Sanders’s has dimmed amid questions about whether his time has passed him by after his 2016 bid electrified progressives and as voters survey the 25-candidate field.  

Despite Warren’s rise in the Democratic field and in polls, Sanders has polled better in head-to-head matchups against the president, raising questions in some circles about Warren’s electability in a general election matchup. The next debate could help clarify which candidate will seize the progressive mantle and emerge as the top challenger to former Vice President Joe Biden. 

The New York Times: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio): The only Democrat in America not running for president. 

The Atlantic: Washington can’t wait for Mueller. Voters have moved on.

 

 

> Endorsement watch: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D) endorsed Biden for the 2020 Democratic nomination on Monday just a week out from the second Democratic debate in Michigan’s biggest city. 

Duggan told The Associated Press in an interview that Biden was a “great friend of Detroit” during his time as vice president, noting that he plans to campaign for Biden.  

“He visited multiple times,” Duggan said of Biden. “He cares deeply about the city and auto industry and auto workers. Joe Biden has a whole career of watching out for the working class in this country.”

“I’m going to do whatever he asks me to do,” said Duggan.

Duggan, a second-term mayor who is the city’s first white mayor since the 1970s, endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

Along with Duggan, Biden also nabbed another endorsement from a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) told Politico she is supporting him after witnessing a “firsthand” view of his “commitment to getting real work done on behalf of all Americans.”

The New York Times: Biden unveils criminal justice plan, with a focus on reducing incarceration.  

The Hill: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) unveils plan to revamp infrastructure, ensure access to clean water. 

The Washington Post: “They’re rich and ready”: House Democrats outpace GOP in fundraising by nearly $20 million.  

> Reid Wilson, tithing to the Morning Report, writes, “Top GOP outside group One Nation is set to begin spending $1.3 million on behalf of three endangered incumbents, the first sign of where the Republican firewall will be built. One Nation bought mid-August advertising in the Phoenix, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Raleigh and Charlotte markets, home to Sens. Martha McSally (Ariz.), Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Thom Tillis (N.C.). A spokesman for the group said the ads, to run Aug. 5-25, have not yet been finalized.” 

The Hill: Democrats look to capitalize on turmoil inside NRA.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

WHITE HOUSE & ADMINISTRATION: Trump will use a new Department of Homeland Security rule today to implement fast-track deportation authority over immigrants who cross the U.S. border illegally and are caught anywhere in the United States. The rule, set to be published in the Federal Register today, applies “expedited removal” to any illegal crossers who cannot prove to immigration agents that they have been living in the country for two years. Legal experts say it is an expansion of a program that eliminates review by an immigration judge. Previously, only those immigrants caught within 100 miles of the border who had been in the country two weeks or less could be quickly ordered deported (Reuters). The rule would prevent asylum seekers from applying for refuge in the United States before they are deported (The New York Times). 

Separately on Monday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Trump administration’s policy allowing for the indefinite detention of certain asylum-seekers, saying a lower court ruling temporarily blocking it can remain in place (The Hill).

> The Hill: Trump answered reporters’ questions for 40 minutes in the Oval Office on Monday, discussing everything from Afghanistan and Iran, to China and Hong Kong. 

> Tech: The president met with chief executives of seven technology companies on Monday and agreed with their request for “timely” licensing decisions from the Commerce Department on blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, the White House said. Meeting with the president: Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron, Stephen Milligan of Western Digital Corporation, Steven Mollenkopf of Qualcomm, Sundar Pichai of Google, Chuck Robbins of Cisco Systems, Robert Swan of Intel and Hock Tan of Broadcom (Reuters). Tech companies, including semiconductor firms, continue to push the administration to follow through with Trump’s pledge to ease restrictions on selling chips and other technology to Huawei (The New York Times).

 

 

> U.S. Army: The Pentagon is mum about an Army mission that has Black Hawk helicopters flying over Washington, D.C., backed by active-duty and reserve soldiers. The mysterious classified operation was disclosed when the Army asked Congress for approval to shift funds to provide an extra $1.55 million for aircraft maintenance, air crews and travel in support of an “emerging classified flight mission” (Bloomberg).

> Food stamps: Trump has argued that many Americans now using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program do not need it given the strong economy and low unemployment, and should be removed as a way to save taxpayers as much as $15 billion. The administration today will propose a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, Department of Agriculture officials said. The change would save the government about $2.5 billion a year by removing recipients from SNAP (Reuters).

> Commerce Department: The rank-and-file Commerce Department, led by 81-year-old Wilbur Ross, is largely disconnected from the secretary, reports Politico, citing Ross’s eagerness to hover near the White House to curry favor with Trump, and department accounts of the secretary’s described habit of dozing off in meetings.

The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-release.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-release.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!

 

OPINION

Mueller’s testimony seems destined to disappoint. But Democrats could make it worthwhile, by Ronald A. Klain, contributing columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2M6fVN6 

The bond market agrees with Elizabeth Warren — up to a point, by Desmond Lachman of the American Enterprise Institute, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2SxEkfr

WHERE AND WHEN

Hill.TV’s “Rising” at 9 a.m. ET features Péter Szijjártó, minister of foreign affairs and trade for Hungary; and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), discussing AFT’s lawsuit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Find Hill.TV programming at http://digital-release.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10 a.m.

The House meets at noon.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. to consider an extension of the authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at 10 a.m.

The president speaks at 11 a.m. to the Turning Point USA’s Teen Student Action Summit at the Marriott Marquis in Washington. Trump will have lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at 12:30 p.m. He will meet with GOP senators at the White House in the afternoon to discuss possible U.S. sanctions on Turkey. 

Vice President Pence attends the Republican Governors Association executive roundtable at 8:15 a.m. in Aspen, Colo. Pence later speaks to employees near Des Moines, Iowa, at the manufacturing company Accumold at 1:30 p.m. about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He returns to Washington this evening.

Attorney General William Barr will speak at the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham School of Law in New York at 9 a.m.

Economic indicators: The National Association of Realtors will release information at 10 a.m. about existing home sales in June.

The Hill invites you to two live events: On Wednesday, join the third annual Latina Leaders Summit at the Conrad Washington, D.C., with leaders from across the country, including Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Del. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico) and Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.). They’ll discuss paths to elective office and the next generation of Latina leaders. Information is HERE. … On Thursday, The Hill presents “Policy Prescriptions: Lowering Drug Prices” at 1777 F Street NW, Washington, D.C., with Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who will discuss how to lower patient drug prices. Sign up HERE.

ELSEWHERE

➔ Iran: On Monday, Great Britain called for a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, days after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in what London described as an act of “state piracy” (Reuters). In the White House on Monday, Trump said he would wait to see what’s next with Tehran. “We are ready for the absolute worst and we are ready for [some] sense, too. … Frankly, it’s getting harder for me to want to make a deal with Iran because they’ve behaved very badly” (The Hill). Pompeo, during an interview with WFTV in Florida on Monday, said, “What we want is Iran to behave like a normal nation, like Norway, like any country that doesn’t conduct a terror campaign around the world.”

➔ Opioid crisis: The Washington Post — which on Sunday published a massive national database mapping the flow between 2006 and 2012 of opioids into pharmacies, towns and states — described national responses to its extensive report and the continuing crisis. The report used federal data obtained by court order to track the shipment of 76 billion pills. In that seven-year period, 100,000 people died from overdoses while seeking relief from pain (The Washington Post). 

➔ Equifax settlement: Credit-reporting company Equifax Inc. will pay up to $700 million to settle claims it broke the law with a massive 2017 data breach and to repay harmed consumers in a landmark settlement that could spur new consumer data rules. It closes multiple probes into Equifax by the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and nearly all state attorneys general, and it resolves class-action lawsuits pending against the company (Reuters). Lawmakers and industry officials are critical of the largest-ever settlement for a data breach (The Hill).

 

THE CLOSER

And finally … Exactly 52 years ago in Puerto Rico, voters cast ballots in their first plebiscite and overwhelmingly affirmed the continuation of commonwealth status for the island. On Monday, the people of Puerto Rico held the largest demonstration seen on the island in nearly two decades, demanding the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in a crisis sparked by offensive, obscenity-laden chat messages between the governor and his advisers (The Associated Press).

Former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D), who was mentioned in the chat messages, told CNN that Rosselló’s words were “an attack on all women” (The Hill).

Trump, asked by reporters about Monday’s massive protests in Puerto Rico, called Rosselló “a terrible governor” and added that San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is “even worse … a horror show. She’s incompetent.”