Morning Consult Washington Presented by NCTA: Manhattan Signals Criminal Charges for Trump, per Report
 

Washington

Essential U.S. political news & intel to start your day.
March 10, 2023
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Today’s Top News

  • The Manhattan district attorney’s office has reportedly offered Donald Trump the chance to testify before a grand jury investigating a 2016 hush money scheme to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, signaling to the former president’s lawyers that the GOP’s 2024 front-runner could face criminal charges. (The New York Times) On the federal front, the special counsel investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago urged a judge to reject Trump’s privilege claims and allow prosecutors to interview a former Trump lawyer. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is said to have privately indicated to supporters that he plans to seek the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, and is set to appear in Iowa today and Nevada tomorrow promoting a memoir. Former Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli has launched a super PAC to support the Floridian’s potential bid — an outfit that could become the vehicle for contributions from DeSantis megadonors as the governor’s campaign team looks for a place to leverage the $70 million-plus left in his state campaign account. (The Washington Post)
  • In a bipartisan 54-42 vote, the Senate confirmed Daniel Werfel, who led the Internal Revenue Service on an acting basis for several months in 2013, to lead the tax collection agency for a second time. (CNN) Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has set up a vote as soon as next week to make former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti the U.S. ambassador to India, potentially ending a nearly two-year delay in his confirmation process. (Los Angeles Times)
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is being treated for a concussion following a fall at an event for the Senate Leadership Fund in Washington, D.C., Wednesday night. The 81-year-old remains hospitalized “for a few days of observation and treatment,” according to his spokesman. (NBC News)

Happening today (all in ET):

 

Chart Review

 
 

What Else You Need To Know

White House & Administration
 

Missing From Biden’s Budget: His Plan for Social Security
Jim Tankersley, The New York Times

Like the president’s previous budgets, his latest proposal made no mention of any tax or spending increases linked to the program, which he had promised to shore up during his 2020 campaign.

 

Biden and EU’s Von Der Leyen Seek Trade Truce: What to Watch
Jorge Valero and Jenny Leonard, Bloomberg

President Joe Biden and European Commission leader Ursula von der Leyen will likely make their meeting at the White House on Friday convivial, despite trade tensions and the pressure of the war in Ukraine.

 

Biden to visit Canada on March 23
Zi-Ann Lum, Politico

President Joe Biden is heading to Ottawa on March 23 and will address Parliament during his two-day stay. The White House confirmed the dates of the president’s much-anticipated visit to the Canadian capital, Biden’s first in-person trip north as president.

 

The Pentagon is funding experiments on animals to recreate ‘Havana Syndrome’
Lara Seligman, Politico

The testing looks to see if directed energy on ferrets can replicate the mysterious ailment suffered by U.S. personnel.

 
Congress
 

Capitol Hill data breach more ‘extensive’ than previously known
Sean Lyngaas, CNN

A sweeping cybersecurity breach of congressional members’ private information was more extensive than previously known and affects not only House lawmakers and their staff but also Senate employees. The Senate sergeant-at-arms alerted Senate staff about the breach Thursday in an email obtained by CNN.

 

Scalise dishes on H.R. 1: The House’s energy package
Jake Sherman, Punchbowl News

H.R. 1 is the title typically given to the House majority’s signature piece of legislation. For House Democrats last Congress, it was a voting-rights bill. For Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, it’s a large-scale energy package.

 

Congress targets D.C. police reforms
Cuneyt Dil, Axios

A new GOP-led effort in Congress would overturn local police reforms in Washington, D.C. that were enacted after the police murder of George Floyd.

 

Republicans Open Inquiry Into Treatment of Jan. 6 Defendants at D.C. Jail
Luke Broadwater, The New York Times

House Republicans demanded answers about whether Jan. 6 prisoners were mistreated, part of a broader effort by the G.O.P. to rewrite the history of the riot.

 

House GOP votes to overturn Biden rule on water protections
Matthew Daly and Michael Phillis, The Associated Press

The House on Thursday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s protections for thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, advancing long-held Republican arguments that the regulations are an environmental overreach and burden to business.

 

House Republicans pass bill to ban federal officials from pressuring tech platforms on content
Mychael Schnell, The Hill

House Republicans passed a bill on Thursday that seeks to ban federal officials from promoting censorship, a measure Republicans brought to the floor in response to what they say are efforts by the Biden administration to persuade social media companies to suppress certain information.

 

Members of Congress Live With Mental Illness. Politics Influences How They Manage It
Mini Racker, Time

When John Fetterman’s office announced in February he had checked himself into the hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression, the news rippled through Congress. But for a group of current and former lawmakers who have dealt with their own mental health issues—some more publicly than others—it stirred up complicated feelings: compassion, anxiety, and a hope that the political calculus around mental health issues was finally shifting.

 

Rep. Lauren Boebert, 36, reveals she will be a grandmother
Ronny Reyes, New York Post

Life comes at you fast. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has announced that her 17-year-old son Tyler and his girlfriend are expecting a child next month.

 

George Santos masterminded 2017 ATM fraud, former roommate tells feds
Jacqueline Sweet, Politico

Rep. George Santos orchestrated a 2017 credit card skimming operation in Seattle, the man who was convicted of the fraud and deported to Brazil said in a sworn declaration submitted to federal authorities Wednesday.

 
General
 

The Polls Nailed The 2022 Election
Nathaniel Rakich, FiveThirtyEight

Let’s give a big round of applause to the pollsters. Measuring public opinion is, in many ways, harder than ever — and yet, the polling industry just had one of its most successful election cycles in U.S. history.

 

Mexico rebukes GOP push to deploy U.S. military on cartels across border
Niha Masih and Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday pushed back against Republican lawmakers who had called on the Biden administration to take military action against drug cartels across the border following the killings of two Americans in Matamoros, saying such demands were a threat to Mexican sovereignty.

 

Saudi Arabia Seeks U.S. Security Pledges, Nuclear Help for Peace With Israel
Dion Nissenbaum et al., The Wall Street Journal

Saudi Arabia is asking the U.S. to provide security guarantees and help to develop its civilian nuclear program as Washington tries to broker diplomatic relations between the kingdom and Israel, people involved in discussions between the two countries said.

 

Secret Afghanistan testimony revealed
Alexander Ward and Matt Berg, Politico

The Trump administration’s slapdash efforts to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan hurt the prospects of a negotiated settlement between Kabul and the Taliban, according to secret congressional testimony obtained by NatSec Daily.

 

‘Spill’ of classified info derails Proud Boys trial
Kyle Cheney, Politico

It’s the latest hiccup in a seditious conspiracy trial that has been marked by excruciating delays and extended legal disputes.

 

Supreme Court could take first transgender sports case with appeal from West Virginia soccer player
Brianna Herlihy, Fox News

West Virginia soccer player Lainey Armistead could give the Supreme Court its first shot at issuing a ruling on the controversial subject of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

 
Campaigns
 

‘Don’t Be Fooled’: Why Leading GOPers Are Taking Aim At Both Trump and DeSantis
Jonathan Martin, Politico

The ex-president has his rock-solid core and little else. The real GOP fight is over who should emerge as the best alternative.

 

Ron DeSantis’ memoir sold more copies in its first week than books by Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton
Kimberly Leonard, Insider

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ first memoir has outsold books by Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama during its first week of sales.

 

Senate GOP close to landing top recruit in Montana
Josh Kraushaar, Axios

Senate Republicans are close to recruiting Tim Sheehy, a decorated military veteran and successful businessman with the resources to self-finance a campaign, to run against Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in 2024.

 

DCCC picks 29 ‘Frontline’ members for extra help next year
Kate Ackley, Roll Call

House Democrats on Friday identified 29 members who are most at risk in the 2024 elections. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s initial list of Frontline members, shared first with CQ Roll Call, includes new incumbents from districts that President Joe Biden lost in 2020, such as Reps. Mary Peltola of Alaska, Marie Gleusenkamp Perez of Washington and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania.  

 

The One Big Question Bernie Won’t Answer: The progressive hero has more power than ever. Will he keep it?
Gabriel Debenedetti, New York

Bernie Sanders was just getting comfortable on Stephen Colbert’s couch late last month, settling into a mostly freewheeling interview to promote his new book and tick through his now familiar but still furious grievances against corporate greed, political corruption, and Establishment thinking. Yet when the host asked about his future, the 81-year-old senator got uncharacteristically quiet.

 

Manchin keeps ’em guessing, from Senate Dems to the House GOP
Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris, Politico

The West Virginia centrist is tweaking the Biden administration and staying open to a Republican collaboration on permitting. But … is he running? He won’t say.

 
States
 

No Rest Between Censuses for Congressional Mapmakers
Reid J. Epstein, The New York Times

What used to be a once-a-decade redistricting fight between political parties is now in perpetual motion, and up to 29 seats in 14 states are already at risk of being redrawn.

 

Tennessee’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Has Been Commenting Heart And Fire Emojis On This Young Man’s Thirst Traps
Paige Skinner, BuzzFeed News

The Republican lieutenant governor of Tennessee has been commenting fire emojis on one young man’s thirst traps for months now.

 

New York governor and attorney general ask major pharmacies to commit to dispensing abortion pill in state
Nicki Brown and Jack Forrest, CNN

New York’s governor and attorney general on Thursday called on major pharmacy chains Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS to commit to dispensing prescribed medication abortion in the state, both in pharmacy locations and through mail orders.

 

Kansas Republicans send transgender athlete ban to Kelly’s desk, setting up veto fight
Katie Bernard, The Wichita Eagle

For the third time in three years, Kansas lawmakers have sent a bill banning transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk.

 

Ex-GOP Ohio speaker, lobbyist guilty in $60M bribery scheme
Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former state Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were convicted Thursday in a $60 million bribery scheme that federal prosecutors have called the largest corruption case in state history.

 
Advocacy
 

TikTok hires Biden-connected firm as it finds itself under D.C.’s microscope
Daniel Lippman, Politico

TikTok, the wildly popular Chinese-owned social media app, has hired top Biden-connected consulting firm SKDK as it faces increasing scrutiny in Washington, according to two people, including one with direct knowledge of the hire.

 

Norfolk Southern C.E.O. Says He Is ‘Deeply Sorry’ for Ohio Train Derailment
Stephanie Lai et al., The New York Times

The railroad chief executive testified that he was “determined to make this right” but did not endorse bipartisan rail safety legislation or commit to paying for long-term damage.

 
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
 

The Topic Biden Keeps Dodging
Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic

With the exception of abortion rights, the president is working to downplay or defuse almost all cultural issues.

 

Homesteaders, Libertarians, Back-to-the-Landers — They Adore Him. Can He Change the G.O.P.?
James Pogue, The New York Times

The self-styled “greenest member” of Congress is a Republican from rural Kentucky. He lives in an off-the-grid home he built himself, using timbers cut and rock quarried from his family cattle farm.

 

2024 Trump Is Even Scarier Than 2020 Trump
Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker

When the front-running ex-President campaigns on a platform of “retribution” and “termination,” it’s best to take him seriously.

 
Morning Consult