by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch |
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by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch |
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© The Associated Press / Alex Brandon | President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke to reporters in the Rose Garden Wednesday during a state visit. |
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Biden boosts Japan ties, with China in mind |
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Delicate glass butterflies and spring flowers adorned the White House during a State Dinner honoring U.S. ally Japan on Wednesday. But President Biden today will confer with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about the grittier details of defense pacts among allies. Both leaders have Beijing's assertive South China Sea moves in mind. A White House meeting today among Biden, Kishida and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines will be a first and is intended to send a message to partners in the Indo-Pacific. The president's advisers describe a closer military link as one of the significant upgrades to the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. Biden, aware of uncertainties in Tokyo and other capitals about how U.S. policy would change if former President Trump is elected, seeks to cement as much permanence in the Japanese relationship as possible before the November election, according to The New York Times. Biden described the relationship between the United States and Japan as a "cornerstone of peace, security, prosperity." |
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The Hill: U.S. showcases anti-China alliance. South China Morning Post: President Xi Jinping last month urged Chinese officials during a meeting to "boldly innovate and explore new types of combat force construction and applications and liberate and develop new quality combat power."
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Meanwhile, Biden continues to wrestle with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about U.S. pressure for a cease-fire and hostage swap with Hamas, as well as moving more humanitarian assistance into Gaza (The Hill). The Hill: The Memo, by Niall Stanage: Democratic dissent over Israel grows, deepening Biden's dilemma. The president's domestic challenges will be on vivid display in the Capitol today. House conservative activists, a politically vulnerable Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Trump's social media lobbying of lawmakers have upended legislative plans just days after Congress returned to work in Washington. The Speaker has not allayed criticism from some GOP colleagues and has little leverage over the Democratically controlled Senate. In limbo are additional U.S. assistance to Ukraine and help for Israel. Amid Washington gridlock and election-year jitters, Biden told Univision during an interview taped last week and broadcast Tuesday that he's still weighing whether to flex his executive powers at the U.S. southern border. Security there is a threshold demand among House Republicans, and voters give Biden low marks on his handling of immigration. Biden predicted that if he acts on his own without Congress, detractors will swiftly head to court. |
There's no, there's no guarantee that I have that power all by myself without legislation," the president said. "And some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court. But we're trying to work that, work through that right now." |
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- 🌎 Humanity has two years left to "save the world," said the U.N. climate chief Wednesday as he presses for faster action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- 🌳 How much access to nature do you have in your neighborhood? Check this map to find out.
- 📈 Strong economic performance sent the consumer price index in March to 3.5 percent year over year, an increase — not the trend-line the Federal Reserve or Biden were eager to see because it means inflation persists. The Dow dropped 422 points.
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👉 State Dinner: The Hill's Judy Kurtz eyed last night's White House guests, studied the lovely food and scribbled comments from VIPs at the gala honoring Japan. Some attendees knew their way around 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Former President Clinton, dressed in a smart tux, smiled broadly as he pointed out his wife's portrait. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, holding his hand and wearing flowing floor-length silk, looked amused. "Oh, we're having a good time tonight," she told reporters when asked her thoughts about the 2024 presidential race. |
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© The Associated Press / Mariam Zuhaib | The Capitol in March 2023. |
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THE HOUSE GOP IS LOOKING FOR A RESET on government funding, putting pressure on Johnson even as he faces an uphill climb to achieving many of their goals. Deep divisions in the conference, an ever-narrowing majority and the pressure of an election year are hurdles to the GOP's goal of cutting spending and avoiding an end-of-year omnibus. And then there's Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is threatening to oust Johnson from the Speakership. Greene said Wednesday the two failed to come to an agreement about a series of policy issues at the center of her grievances; the meeting marked the first time the two Republicans have spoken since Greene filed her motion last month after Johnson helped pass a spending package to avert a partial government shutdown. Greene has recently ramped up pressure against Johnson over his handling of government funding, his pledge to bring Ukraine aid to the floor and the reauthorization of the U.S.'s warrantless surveillance powers, as contained in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) (The Hill). "We are not responsible for a war in Ukraine. We're responsible for the war on the United States border. The United States border is the only border that matters," Greene said Wednesday. "And that if he moves forward in funding Ukraine that he's going to be personally responsible for funding the continued murder of people in a foreign country that is not a NATO allies of ours." Shortly after the meeting, a rule for legislation to renew Section 702 failed after 19 Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it. The chamber is now left without a clear path to address the spy tool before its expiration next week. The move comes after Trump on Wednesday urged Republicans to "KILL FISA" — throwing a wrench in an already contentious debate. The failed vote marks yet another instance of members of the GOP tanking what is typically a routine party-line vote to protest legislation put forward by leadership (The Hill). Former Attorney General Bill Barr told The Hill the former president's call to House Republicans to oppose FISA legislation was "crazy and reckless" and in contrast with Trump's previous support for the law. Barr, who sparred with his former boss and departed the Justice Department weeks after Trump's 2020 election defeat, warned Wednesday that political "posturing" against extending surveillance authority would be dangerous to national security. |
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SENATE DEMOCRATS ARE PUSHING BACK against calls for Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step aside from her seat on the Supreme Court. The Hill's Al Weaver reports left-wing activists and commentators have raised that idea in recent days, citing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing in 2020 that cemented a 6-3 conservative majority and still spooks progressives. Sotomayor, 69, is the oldest of the three liberal justices and is facing calls by some progressives to step down now while Democrats hold both the White House and Senate. They're also citing her health; Sotomayor has Type 1 diabetes. But many Democrats are by no means ready for her to step aside. "I don't think there's anything I know about her medical condition that would disqualify her from continuing," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), adding that she should remain on the bench. "I don't see any reason why she wouldn't. ... I don't think there's any question that she's up to the job." |
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The House will meet at 9 a.m. A joint session of Congress will convene to hear remarks from Japan's visiting prime minister. The Senate will convene at 12:30 p.m. The president will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10 a.m. Biden will meet with Philippines President Marcos at 3:15. He will host meeting an hour later with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan and Marcos in the East Room. The vice president will preside over a joint session of Congress during an 11 a.m. address by Japan's prime minister. She and Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department will host a luncheon at 12:40 p.m. in honor of the prime minister and his wife. Harris will join Biden at the White House during a meeting at 4:15 p.m. with Japan's prime minister and Marcos. The secretary of state meets at 10:30 a.m. with New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters. The secretary joins the vice president to co-host a formal luncheon at the department for the Japanese prime minister at 2:30 p.m. Blinken joins Biden and Marcos for their meeting at the White House at 3:15 p.m., then joins a meeting of Biden, Marcos and Kishida at 4:15 p.m. in the East Room. Economic indicator: The Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. will report on the producer price index for March. The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. |
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© The Associated Press / Jason Allen | Former President Trump spoke to reporters Wednesday in Atlanta. |
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ABORTION: Arizona's high court went too far this week with a near-total ban on abortion, Trump told reporters Wednesday while reiterating his view that issues tied to terminating pregnancies are up to "the will of the people" in states. He predicted Arizona's governor "and others" will "bring it back into reason" (NBC News). If elected, Trump said he would not sign a national abortion ban (The Hill). |
- Politico: Trump's abortion stance could put Florida Republicans in a bind.
- The New York Times: Tracing the history of Arizona's 160-year-old abortion law.
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Arizona's court action to embrace a strict, Civil War-era abortion ban is roiling the race to succeed Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who is not seeking reelection. The Hill's Caroline Vakil reports that while candidates for the Senate, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Kari Lake (R), say they oppose the ruling, Republicans believe the controversy could jeopardize the party's chances of capturing the seat in November. Arizona Democrats on Wednesday quickly tried to push bills through the Republican-controlled state Legislature that would repeal the ban — a move they said would protect reproductive rights and force Republicans to take a formal vote to support the law or strike it down. Republican leaders in the Senate removed one bill from the day's agenda on Wednesday, The New York Times reports. A Republican House member called for striking down the law and made a motion to vote on a Democratic repeal bill that had been long stalled, but Republican leaders quickly put the House into recess before any vote could be held. |
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- Trump allies are discussing ways to elevate third-party candidates, including independent challenger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Green Party aspirant Jill Stein, as one of several strategies to divert votes from Biden in key states. The assumption: The more candidates competing in the presidential race, the better for Trump.
- Kennedy, during an interview with The New York Sun, criticized Biden's tougher tone with the Israeli government, arguing the president is moving the Democratic Party away from its historic support for the Jewish state.
- Kennedy has not appeared to expand his standing in most polls since he introduced lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. "I don't think Kennedy's support in polls has much to do with him as an actual candidate," said Kyle Kondik, elections analyst and managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "It's just based on dissatisfaction with the major party presumptive nominees."
- Independent presidential candidate Cornel West announced California State University-Los Angeles, professor Melina Abdullah as his running mate Wednesday.
- Biden loses support among Black men, according to a Wall Street Journal poll of seven battleground states. The gain is Trump's.
- The vice president this week agreed with an interviewer who said the 2024 election could be the last democratic election in the United States.
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© The Associated Press / Abdel Kareem Hana | Palestinians visited graves of relatives killed in the war between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza. |
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HAMAS SAYS it does not have 40 Israeli hostages that mee the criteria for an exchange in a potential cease-fire deal, The Hill's Laura Kelly reports. The admission raises questions about how many of the remaining hostages kidnapped Oct. 7 are alive and who is holding them. Israel says 133 hostages out of more than 240 abducted that day — mostly Israelis and dual nationals — have yet to be released. The Biden administration is pushing a plan to have Israel and Hamas agree to a six-to-eight-week cease-fire that is contingent on Hamas releasing hostages, a group that includes older men, civilians and both male and female Israeli soldiers who have been held for 187 days. The Washington Post: Israel works to free hostages, without knowing if they are alive or dead. ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES KILLED three adult sons of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political leadership, on Wednesday, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr. The attack could complicate a U.S.-led plan for a cease-fire in the six-month-old conflict in Gaza (The Wall Street Journal). Haniyeh said that the killings would not change the positions held by Hamas, which has been negotiating with Israel through international mediators seeking to broker a cease-fire and secure the release of hostages held in Gaza (The New York Times). NPR: How much aid is waiting to enter Gaza? It depends on who you ask. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday repeated he would listen to Trump's ideas to end the war in Ukraine with "pleasure" but trod carefully around the issue during a CNN interview. The embattled Ukrainian leader's remarks came after reports that Trump reportedly said if he were to be reelected, he would pressure Ukraine into a peace deal with Russia that would see Kyiv cede territory in the process. Zelensky previously told German newspaper Bild that he had invited Trump to Ukraine "to see everything with his own eyes and draw his own conclusions." |
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- Reuters: The top U.S. general overseeing military operations in Europe said Wednesday that the war in Ukraine has reached a decisive moment, with Russia expected to hold a 10-1 advantage on artillery shells "within weeks" unless the U.S. approves additional military support for Kyiv.
The Washington Post: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is demanding more Patriot air defenses. And he's not asking nicely anymore. Al Jazeera: Russia creeps forward as Ukraine strikes its air force and navy.
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TRUMP'S LEGAL DELAY OPTIONS are dwindling with less than a week to go before the start of his criminal hush money trial in New York. On Wednesday, a New York appeals court rejected another bid to delay the trial, a third such denial this week (The Hill). The former president has fought to string out his legal troubles until after Election Day. when he could intervene on his own behalf, if elected. The Hill's Zach Schonfeld reports the former president hasn't exhausted his options, but his legal team's arguments have not been persuasive. "Their entire strategy for years and years has been delay, delay, delay," said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. "The later this goes, the better it is for Trump." NBC News: Former Trump lawyer Allen Weisselberg on Wednesday was sentenced to five months in jail for perjury in a civil fraud trial involving the Trump Organization. |
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© The Associated Press / Robert F. Bukaty | Monday's total solar eclipse as viewed from Maine. |
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Take Our Morning Report Quiz And finally … 🌚 We couldn't resist one final nod to Monday's celestial event. Put your protective glasses back on and give the Morning Report Quiz a go! Email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and kkarisch@thehill.com — and please add "Quiz" to your subject line. Winners will see their names shining brightly on Friday. In which state did more than 200 couples wed in unison Monday as part of a "Total Eclipse of the Heart Festival"? - Oklahoma
- Mississippi
- New York
- Arkansas
In eclipse-ology, what is a diamond ring? - Brief blaze effect as the moon appears to blot out the sun
- Pinging sound as air temperature drops as sunlight dims
- Visibility to the naked eye of carbon-based planet "55 Cancri e"
- Jeweled appearance of outer space during daylight's abrupt darkness
To witness a total solar eclipse in August 2026, where should you travel? - South Africa
- Spain
- Seychelles
- Siberia
What do scientists point to during total eclipses when rapid dimming of the sun creates fluctuating light levels (and shifts in eyes' color perception)? - Wave of Death
- Himalayan Frontal Thrust
- Purkinje Shift
- Moon Madness
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