Morning Consult Washington Presented by the Walton Family Foundation: House Poised for Vote on Electoral Count Act Overhaul
 

Washington

Essential U.S. political news & intel to start your day.
September 20, 2022
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Democrats Maintain Lead; Biden’s Approval Uptick

Congressional Democrats hold a narrow advantage over their Republican counterparts on the generic ballot (48% to 44%) in our latest tracking among likely voters. President Joe Biden’s approval rating is also up to 47% among likely voters, continuing an upward trend in recent months. Check out more data here.

 

Today’s Top News

  • The House could vote as soon as tomorrow on legislation introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) that would overhaul the Electoral Count Act to try to prevent future attempts to overturn presidential elections. The bipartisan pair yesterday detailed their legislation, which includes provisions that would clarify the vice president’s role in the Electoral College vote count and raise the threshold for congressional objections. (NBC News)
  • Lawyers for former President Donald Trump acknowledged that the Justice Department’s probe into documents seized at his Mar-a-Lago home could lead to an indictment as they debated the ground rules for the special master’s review. (The Washington Post) Trump was reportedly warned late last year by former White House lawyer Eric Herschmann about potential legal peril regarding his refusal to turn over the documents. (The New York Times)
  • Biden’s claim that the COVID-19 pandemic is “over” is complicating his administration’s effort to get Congress to approve new funding to fight the virus and to persuade Americans to get a booster shot, catching some senior administration officials off guard. Biden adviser Anthony Fauci suggested the country is not at a level “we would feel comfortable with,” while a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said the nation still remains in a public health emergency. (The Washington Post)
  • Apprehensions of undocumented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border exceeded 2 million in a year for the first time and increased slightly from July to August, according to government data. The surge threatens to highlight an uncomfortable issue for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. (The New York Times)

Happening today (all times local):

 

Chart Review

 
 

What Else You Need To Know

White House & Administration
 

Blinken Says Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Unlikely’ for Now
Jonathan Tirone and Iain Marlow, Bloomberg

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was ‘unlikely’ the US and Iran would reach a new nuclear deal anytime soon, adding to Western officials’ downbeat assessment over the prospects for reviving an accord that President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.

 

Biden to Release 10 Million Oil Barrels Ahead of EU-Russian Ban
Sheela Tobben and Ari Natter, Bloomberg

The Department of Energy will offer additional US reserve crude for sale ahead of plans by the European Union to ban most Russian oil in December. 

 

Britain’s Truss doesn’t expect UK-US trade deal anytime soon
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

Prime Minister Liz Truss has kicked off her first visit to the United States as Britain’s leader with an admission that a U.K-U.S. free trade deal is not going to happen for years.

 

‘Very Harmful’ Lack of Data Blunts U.S. Response to Outbreaks
Sharon LaFraniere, The New York Times

Major data gaps, the result of decades of underinvestment in public health, have undercut the government response to the coronavirus and now to monkeypox.

 

Pentagon Orders Review of Its Overseas Social Media Campaigns
Julian E. Barnes and Sheera Frenkel, The New York Times

White House officials told the military that they were concerned about its efforts to spread pro-American messaging on social media, prompting the Pentagon to order a review of secretive operations to influence populations overseas, U.S. officials said.

 
Congress
 

Revenge? Republicans weigh tanking Manchin’s permitting plan
Caitlin Emma et al., Politico

Senate Republicans say Joe Manchin can’t count on them to save his energy permitting deal with Democratic leaders, potentially upending efforts to attach the centrist’s proposal to a must-pass government funding bill.

 

House, Senate conservatives: GOP shouldn’t give ‘lame duck’ Democrats power in funding bill
Emily Brooks, The Hill

Conservative Republicans in both chambers of Congress are calling on GOP colleagues to reject any government funding deal that could give Democrats the opportunity to pass a new budget before the end of the year, with 42 House Republicans and 14 Senate Republicans signing “Dear Colleague” letters.

 

Congress Blows Its Shot to Stop Trump’s ‘Deep State’ Revenge
Sam Brodey, The Daily Beast

Lawmakers know that Trump, if he is elected again, wants to give himself the power to fire key federal workers. They’re running out of time to stop him.

 

Extra Biden judicial nominee to get Senate panel hearing after Wisconsin pick doomed
Nate Raymond, Reuters

A U.S. Senate panel’s next hearing on President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees will feature six instead of the usual five candidates as a result of a tit-for-tat between Republicans and Democrats over a stalled and likely doomed Wisconsin court pick.

 

Law Enforcement Funding Package Splits Democrats Ahead of Midterm Elections
Annie Karni and Stephanie Lai, The New York Times

A measure to provide more money for local police departments has become mired in a long-running debate among Democrats about the politics of crime, as Republicans step up attacks.

 

House Republicans Plan To Investigate Chamber Of Commerce If They Take The Majority
Ryan Grim, The Intercept

Republicans plan to launch a variety of investigations into the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many of its largest member corporations if they retake the majority in the House of Representatives this November.

 

Cheney says GOP leaders are treating Trump like a ‘king’ by defending him in Mar-a-Lago probe
Scott Wong, NBC News

Rep. Liz Cheney launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump and his allies Monday, accusing Republican leaders of treating the former president like a “king” by defending him at every turn in a federal investigation into classified documents stored at his Florida estate.

 
General
 

Videos Show Trump Allies Handling Georgia Voting Equipment
Danny Hakim et al., The New York Times

Newly released videos show allies of former President Donald J. Trump and contractors who were working on his behalf handling sensitive voting equipment in a rural Georgia county weeks after the 2020 election.

 

Trump may be called to testify at ally’s foreign agent trial, judge says
Luc Cohen, Reuters

Former President Donald Trump may be called as a witness at the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack, a private equity investor and former Trump fundraiser charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. judge said on Monday.

 

Judge refuses Lindell motion to dismiss suit brought by voting machine company
Kelly Hooper, Politico

The complaint is one of a flurry of cases filed after the 2020 election by Smartmatic and Dominion against Trump allies and media outlets who have spread false allegations about the companies’ voting systems.

 

A landmark Supreme Court fight over social media now looks likely
Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post

The stakes are high because of the increasingly dominant role platforms such as Twitter and Facebook play in American democracy and elections.

 

Judge holds gun ban for felony defendants unconstitutional
The Associated Press

A U.S. law banning those under felony indictments from buying guns is unconstitutional, a federal judge in West Texas ruled Monday.

 
Campaigns
 

Why Dems’ voter registration surge isn’t a midterm cure-all
Jessica Piper, Politico

Democrats have been on a voter registration tear since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. There’s just one problem for them — they are digging out from under major Republican gains in the previous 18 months.

 

America’s fastest-growing, frequently misunderstood voting bloc
Christian Paz, Vox

Every election year, plenty of Americans, especially political pundits, rediscover the “sleeping giant” that is the Latino electorate. 

 

McConnell’s closed-door confidence
Hans Nichols, Axios

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed cautious optimism in closed-door remarks Monday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the GOP can win back control of the Senate, Axios has learned.

 

Prominent pro-Trump couple to fundraise for Senate candidates
Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post

Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, and his wife, Mercedes, a former director of strategic communications in the Trump White House, are hosting Blake Masters, the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, at a high-dollar fundraiser on Wednesday, according to an invitation obtained by The Washington Post.

 

Former staffer accused Democrat Mike Franken of assault; police closed case as ‘unfounded’
Brianne Pfannenstiel and George Shillcock, Des Moines Register

A former staffer accused Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Franken of kissing her on the mouth without her permission in an incident report filed with the Des Moines Police Department.

 

The Cheney 2024 conundrum
Andrew Desiderio, Politico

Liberals who lavish praise on Liz Cheney for her defiance of Donald Trump are making one thing crystal clear: Don’t expect us to support her for president, or any other political office, for that matter.

 

Youngkin tests political versatility with 2022 travel
David M. Drucker, The Washington Examiner

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) hopes to showcase a political versatility that advisers believe makes him a potent 2024 contender when he travels to Austin, Texas, to sit for an in-depth Texas Tribune Festival interview.

 

Cruz plans major 2022 campaign swing — including key states in the 2024 presidential race
Alex Isenstadt, Politico

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is embarking on a cross-country midterm campaign swing as he weighs a possible 2024 presidential bid.

 
States
 

On Anniversary of Hurricane Maria, Storm Leaves Puerto Rico in the Dark
Laura N. Pérez Sánchez and Patricia Mazzei, The New York Times

Hurricane Fiona deluged Puerto Rico with unrelenting rain and terrifying flash floods on Monday, forcing harrowing home rescues and making it difficult for power crews to reach many parts of the island.

 

Bexar County Sheriff announces investigation into how migrants went from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard
Amy Simonson, CNN

A Texas sheriff said Monday evening his agency will open an investigation into the transportation of 48 Venezuelan migrants from the state to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

 

Doubts rise over whether DeSantis had budget authority to fly migrants
Gary Fineout, Politico

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended flying nearly 50 mostly Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in part by saying that Florida lawmakers gave him $12 million for such transports.

 

How state regulators supplanted the feds in policing crypto markets
Tory Newmyer, The Washington Post

Joe Borg, Alabama’s chief financial watchdog, has emerged as a captain of a state-led push to protect investors from crypto fraud.

 
Advocacy
 

Inside preparations to challenge Biden’s student loan forgiveness
Sophia Cai, Axios

Conservative groups have launched a national search for prospective plaintiffs to challenge the Biden administration’s federal student loan forgiveness order in court.

 

Former senior Obama advisor guides lobbying and policy strategy of London cryptocurrency firm
Brian Schwartz, CNBC

Jim Messina, former President Barack Obama’s deputy chief of staff, is bringing some hefty lobbying guidance to a London-based cryptocurrency trading platform as the industry braces for new regulations in the U.S. and abroad.

 

Apple Flexes Muscle as Quiet Power Behind App Group
Emily Birnbaum, Bloomberg

The App Association brands itself as the leading voice for thousands of app developers around the world. In reality, the vast majority of its funding comes from Apple Inc.

 
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
 

Dems can’t count on more good news
Charlie Cook, National Journal

Abortion and Trump may continue to aid them. But legislative wins are likely in the rearview, and upcoming economic reports could trip them up.

 

The smoking gun in Martha’s Vineyard
Judd Legum, Popular Information

Popular Information has obtained documentary evidence that migrants from Venezuela were provided with false information to convince them to board flights chartered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The documents suggest that the flights were not just a callous political stunt but potentially a crime.

 

Why Bill Barr Turned on Trump
Donald Ayer, The Atlantic

No one should think he’s having second thoughts about the awful things he did in office.

 
Morning Consult