Morning Consult Washington Presented by the Walton Family Foundation: Biden Says He Hasn’t Decided on Re-Election Bid
 

Washington

Essential U.S. political news & intel to start your day.
September 19, 2022
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Today’s Top News

  • President Joe Biden said he hasn’t decided whether to run for re-election in 2024 and declared the COVID-19 pandemic “over” in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.” (CBS News) During the interview, the president also said U.S. forces would defend Taiwan in response to an “unprecedented attack” from China, veering again from Washington’s long-standing “strategic ambiguity” on the issue and drawing an angry response from Beijing. (Reuters)
  • Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) are set to introduce legislation this week that would overhaul the 1887 Electoral Count Act as part of Congress’ response to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. (The Hill) Lawmakers are also continuing talks about funding the government past Sept. 30, with House and Senate Democratic leaders now pushing for $12 billion in Ukraine aid. (Punchbowl News)
  • Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said he needs commitments from the United States that it won’t back out in order to sign on to any new international nuclear agreement, citing distrust after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the accords. Raisi also criticized Biden for keeping in place Trump sanctions. (Bloomberg)

Happening today (all times local):

 

Chart Review

 
 

What Else You Need To Know

White House & Administration
 

Bidens among thousands paying respects to Queen Elizabeth II
Mike Corder et al., The Associated Press

U.S. President Joe Biden paid his respects at Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin on Sunday as thousands of police, hundreds of British troops and an army of officials made final preparations for the queen’s state funeral — a spectacular display of national mourning that will also be the biggest gathering of world leaders for years.

 

Border Wall Construction Resumes Under President Joe Biden
Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept

The Biden administration laid out its plans to rev up work on completing Donald Trump’s signature project.

 

Biden says U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in event of attack by China
Amy B Wang, The Washington Post

President Biden has again confirmed that U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China, the clearest recent statement Biden has made about how far the United States would go to support Taiwan militarily.

 

American held captive in Afghanistan for more than 2 years is released, source says
Kylie Atwood, CNN

President Joe Biden has informed the family of an American held in captive in Afghanistan that he was released and is on an aircraft out of the country, according to a source familiar with the matter.

 
Congress
 

Tensions rise amid frustration over mystery Manchin deal
Aris Folley and Rachel Frazin, The Hill

Lawmakers are frustrated about being kept in the dark as Democratic leaders strategize how to jimmy an energy deal struck with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) behind closed doors through Congress — while also averting a government shutdown.

 

He’s a Dem investigative champ. That doesn’t guarantee a promotion.
Jordain Carney, Politico

Jamie Raskin’s got the investigative chops and national profile to get the job he wants next year. Except he’s facing a uniquely congressional challenge: At nearly 60 years old, he might be too junior.

 

Pelosi, in Armenia, condemns Azerbaijan’s ‘illegal’ attacks as cease-fire holds
Annie Gowen and Amy B Wang, The Washington Post

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in a visit to Armenia this weekend, accused Azerbaijan of “illegal and deadly” attacks that led to clashes along the border, saying “we strongly condemn those attacks.”

 

Democrats brace for life with a House GOP majority
Alexander Bolton, The Hill

Senate Democrats are bracing for the possibility for life under a divided government, with President Biden in office and a strong possibility of a Republican-controlled House.

 
General
 

Team Trump sees special master as deep FBI skeptic
Jonathan Swan and Sophia Cai, Axios

Raymond Dearie’s appointment as special master to review records the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago was a positive development for former President Trump, whose lawyers recommended him. But their call for the low-profile New York judge was befuddling given Dearie has no apparent connection or loyalty to Trump.

 

‘They enriched us.’ Migrants’ 44-hour visit leaves indelible mark on Martha’s Vineyard
Ray Sanchez, CNN

After sharing hugs and teary goodbyes with roughly 50 migrants who had arrived unexpectedly by plane on this affluent vacation island, the volunteers who sheltered them at an Episcopal church carried out tables and chairs, packed food onto trucks and folded portable cots.

 

Ukraine Forces Take Control of Key River Bank, Extending Advance in East
Ian Lovett, The Wall Street Journal

Ukrainian forces said they now control the eastern bank of the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region, while Moscow continues to launch attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine following its military setbacks in the country’s east.

 

In world beset by turbulence, nations’ leaders gather at UN
Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press

Facing a complex set of challenges that try humanity as never before, world leaders convene at the United Nations this week under the shadow of Europe’s first major war since World War II — a conflict that has unleashed a global food crisis and divided major powers in a way not seen since the Cold War.

 
Campaigns
 

Could A Republican Win Colorado’s Senate Seat?
Alex Samuels, FiveThirtyEight

The conventional political narrative around Colorado is that this onetime purple state now leans blue. And there’s plenty of evidence for that: Democratic presidential candidates have won the state in every election since 2008, Democrats have occupied the governor’s mansion since the 2006 election and the state is currently represented by two Democratic senators.

 

Republicans in key battleground races refuse to say they will accept results
Amy Gardner et al., The Washington Post

A dozen Republican candidates in competitive races for governor and Senate have declined to say whether they would accept the results of their contests, raising the prospect of fresh post-election chaos two years after Donald Trump refused to concede the presidency.

 

Youngkin to hold Arizona events supporting Lake
Alex Isenstadt, Politico

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to stump for Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake next month, escalating his midterm campaign efforts ahead of a prospective 2024 presidential bid.

 

Ron DeSantis predicts Wisconsin will adopt Florida-style government if Tim Michels ousts Tony Evers as governor
Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drew hundreds to a hotel ballroom in Green Bay just an hour before the Packers’ home opener against the Chicago Bears, predicting Wisconsin would turn into Sunshine State of the north if Tim Michels is elected governor in November. 

 

Kansas should be ‘more like what Ron DeSantis has in Florida,’ Schmidt tells rally
Katie Bernard, The Kansas City Star

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt sought to build his conservative credentials Sunday, appearing alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and pledging to mimic his policies if he is elected governor.

 

Republicans try a pocketbook play to vilify Warnock
Natalie Allison and Burgess Everett, Politico

After failing to negatively define the pastor-senator in 2020, the GOP is leaning into a new financial attack line — despite its own nominee’s liabilities.

 

‘The threat is real’: Dems press big donors to target state races
Heiei Przybyla, Politico

Increasingly worried that big donors are failing to recognize the scale of the threat to democratic norms, Democratic strategists and party officials are rallying behind an effort to persuade them to redirect their cash to key state and local elections.

 

Maine rematch could be a bellwether for control of Congress
Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District this year, but his brand of politics is. In a race that will help decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Jared Golden will defend his seat against Republican former Rep. Bruce Poliquin and independent candidate Tiffany Bond.

 

Democratic meddling pays off
Josh Kraushaar, Axios

The final tally is in: Democrats succeeded in boosting right-wing candidates in six of the 13 Republican primaries they meddled in.

 

VP Harris ramps up midterms travel to focus on young voters
Alexi McCammond, Axios

Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up campaign road trips to turn out young voters and voters of color for the midterms — stopping this week in Wisconsin and South Carolina but so far without scheduled appearances with key Democratic nominees on the ballot.

 

Democrats’ midterm reality check
Josh Kraushaar, Axios

After Democrats’ surge in political momentum over the summer, signs indicate the midterm environment is tilting back in the GOP’s direction.

 

Trump Rally Plays Music Resembling QAnon Song, and Crowds React
Alan Feuer and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times

In Ohio, a dark address by the former president featured music that was all but identical to a theme song for the conspiracy theory movement.

 
States
 

Massachusetts seeks human trafficking probe targeting Florida Gov. DeSantis over migrants
John Bacon and Rachael Devaney, USA Today

Authorities in Massachusetts said Sunday that they have requested a federal human trafficking probe after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis boasted of sending about 50 Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard to shine a national spotlight on immigration issues.

 

Flying migrants to Massachusetts was political, critics say. But was it legal?
Valerie Crowder, NPR News

Despite a call for an investigation, and ongoing questions about whether Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis broke the law transporting migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., the Florida governor is doubling down on his decision.

 

All of Puerto Rico without power after Hurricane Fiona makes landfall
Julianne McShane and Dennis Romero, NBC News

Puerto Rico was without power as nightfall approached Sunday amid catastrophic flooding, hurricane-force winds and the destruction of at least one bridge, five years nearly to the day after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

 
Advocacy
 

Trump Associate Heads to Trial Over Alleged Illegal Foreign Lobbying
James Fanell and Rory Jones, The Wall Street Journal

A confidant of former President Donald Trump goes on trial beginning this week on charges he illegally pushed U.S. officials to support policies favoring the United Arab Emirates, a case that could detail the small Gulf state’s back-channel connections and outsize sway in Washington.

 

Advocacy Groups Are Helping Drive a Rise in Book Bans
Elizabeth A. Harris, The New York Times

A report from the free speech organization PEN America looked at the role of politics and advocacy groups in the growing number of book bans in schools across the country.

 
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
 

We Have a Bill to Help Prevent Another Jan. 6 Attack
Liz Cheney and Zoe Lofgren, The Wall Street Journal

It’s past time to reform the Electoral Count Act to make clear Congress can’t overturn an election result.

 

Are the Polls Giving Dems False Hope Again?
Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box

I am addicted to polls. I can’t get enough of them. I lived by them when I worked on campaigns.

 

Can the Sunday morning talk show be saved?
Paul Farhi, The Washington Post

After declining ratings and an exodus of VIP guests, these Washington institutions are looking for ways to tweak an old format.

 
Morning Consult