Evening Report — Party leaders battle for high ground ahead doomed border security vote

by Jonathan Easley and Elizabeth Crisp - 05/22/24 4:51 PM ET

Evening Report

Party leaders battle for high ground ahead of doomed border security bill vote

Republicans and Democrats are angling for the upper hand ahead of a Thursday vote on a bipartisan border bill that seems doomed for failure.

With the outcome almost guaranteed, Thursday’s vote becomes about the politics of immigration and border security during an election year. Polls show those are among the top issues on the minds of voters.

Former President Trump urged Republicans to vote against the same bill when it failed back in February, with only four GOP senators breaking from him to support it. It benefits Trump to have the issue open to run on in November.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) revival of the bill is largely viewed as an effort to “prop up vulnerable Democrats,” The Hill’s Rafael Bernal writes.

Almost no one seems happy about Thursday’s vote, with the possible exception of some Senate Democrats who feel they’ve been on defense over border security for too long.

Vulnerable senators, such as Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), will have another opportunity on Thursday to get a vote on the record.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has already told President Biden that Republicans will not support the bill, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.

McConnell instead urged Biden to take executive action, which the White House has said it does not have the authority to do.

Senate Republicans, led by Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), held a press conference on Wednesday to blast the vote.

“It is not a border security bill. It’s an election year political stunt designed to give our Democratic colleagues the appearance of doing something about the problem without doing anything at all. Why would Sen. Schumer choose to bring forth legislation that has already failed once and he knows has no chance in the House?”

Democrats in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) are seething over contents of the bill, which was negotiated between centrist Democrats in the Senate, as well as independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).

The CHC believes the bill is punitive toward immigrants, with CHC Chair Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) saying:

“The Senate border bill once again fails to meet the moment by putting forth enforcement-only policies and failing to include provisions that will keep families together.”

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Welcome to Evening Report! We’re Jonathan Easley and Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

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NEW THIS AFTERNOON

Bipartisan bill would target foreign earnings of presidents, their family members

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) teamed up with Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) to introduce a bill Wednesday that would require presidents to make a series of disclosures about their foreign earnings and those of their family members.

Both Trump and Biden have been the the subjects of myriad investigations surrounding payments their relatives have received from foreign interests.

The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports that the list of new obligations detailed in the bill primarily stem from the GOP’s inquiry into Biden and his family’s earnings.

Among the new requirements:

Presidents and vice presidents would have to share details of all gifts and payments received from foreign countries while in office, and for the two years before and after.
Presidents and vice presidents would be required to share their tax returns for the same period. That’s been the tradition, but Trump famously refused.
Presidents and vice presidents would have to disclose any loans given to family members of $10,000 or more. Documentation would be required when family members travel with the president or vice president, and they’d have to disclose whether the travel is connected to outside business.

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STATE WATCH

Final takeaways from Election Day

With nearly all the votes counted, The Hill’s Julia Mueller has her final takeaways from Tuesday’s elections in Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon.

One big takeaway? Deep voter frustration over having to choose between Trump and Biden is showing up as a protest vote in the primaries.

In the GOP primary in Kentucky, about 6 percent of Republicans voted for Nikki Haley, who has been out of the race since March.

On the Democratic side, 18 percent of voters chose the “uncommitted” option, underscoring the left’s discontentment with Biden.

It wasn’t all signs of strength for the progressive left, as centrist Democrats triumphed in a couple of House primaries in Oregon.

State Rep. Maxine Dexter (D) defeated Susheela Jayapal (D), the older sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), a member of the so-called Squad. And national Democrats boosted state Rep. Janelle Bynum over progressive candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner.

In addition, Portland-area district attorney Mike Schmidt, who was elected at the height of the social justice movement, lost to his own Senior Deputy District Attorney, Nathan Vasquez. Vasquez ran a tough-on-crime campaign that contrasted with Schmidt’s policies.

For more details on Tuesday’s primaries, check out The Hill’s Campaign Report newsletter.

More from the states:

IN OTHER NEWS

Trump falsely claims FBI was authorized to assassinate him

Trump sent out a fundraising email falsely claiming that the Biden administration was “authorized to shoot” him when the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago property to search for classified documents in 2022.

In the email, Trump claims the FBI was “locked and loaded and ready to take me out.”

As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch explains, the email twists boilerplate language from court documents laying out the protocol that allows for deadly force “only when necessary” if someone “poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or another person.”

Trump was not present at the estate when it was searched.

The claim was made in a fundraising email and boosted on social media. It was echoed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who claimed the Justice Department and FBI were “planning to assassinate Trump.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the claims “outlandish and dangerous,” The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.

“What Donald Trump said falsely suggesting his political opponents are out to kill him is beyond the pale and is the stuff that leads to political violence. Donald Trump seems to have no consideration for the sanctity and peacefulness and further functioning of our democracy.”

Israel recalls ambassadors after European countries recognize Palestinian state

Israel is recalling its ambassadors from Ireland, Norway and Spain after the countries announced they’d recognize the Palestinian state amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

“History will remember that Spain, Norway, and Ireland chose to reward Hamas murderers and rapists, who raped girls and burned babies, with a gold medal.”

Filing from Tel Aviv, The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) request for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders has united the increasingly divided country against the ICC.

Biden has called the request for arrest warrants “outrageous” and his administration contends that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the matter.

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OP-EDS IN THE HILL

“What to expect if Trump beats the rap,” written by Trump’s former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

“The Trump economy vs. the Biden economy,” written by Mark Mellman, pollster and president of The Mellman Group.

⏲️ COUNTDOWN

35 days until the first presidential debate.

54 days until the Republican National Convention.

89 days until the Democratic National Convention.

167 days until the 2024 general election.

243 days until Inauguration Day 2025.

🗓 COMING NEXT

Thursday

President Biden hosts Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House for meetings and a state dinner.
Former President Trump will hold a campaign rally in the Bronx.