Monday, August 24 | By Elliott Davis and Steff Danielle Thomas
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It’s Monday. We might technically still have about a month left of summer, but it’s feeling a bit like fall here in the D.C. area — just in time for the triumphant return tomorrow of the🧋Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.
(One of your authors … *cough* Elliott *cough* … may or may not be excited about this.)
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Programming note: Hello! We are Elliott Davis and Steff Danielle Thomas filling in for Cate. Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to edavis@thehill.com or sthomas@thehill.com.
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'Economic D-Day' is here:
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The Associated Press | Mark Schiefelbein
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The day President Trump first teased last week has arrived: The administration is set to unveil details about its economic offensive against Iran, which Trump and his allies have referred to as “economic D-Day.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at 1 p.m. EDT is scheduled to announce sanctions against Iran and any country, business or banking institution supporting it. Bessent in a Sunday night social media post described the to-be-announced moves as marking the “single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary.”
How has Tehran responded?: A top Iranian official over the weekend warned the country’s Middle East neighbors against joining the U.S.’s “economic war.” Iranian Supreme National Security Council leader Mohsen Rezaei also told state media that if Trump “wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” according to The Associated Press.
In advance of the operation, Iran’s rial currency dipped to a record-low 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar early Monday morning, the AP also reported.
Where does China come into this?: Because China is Iran’s largest trading partner and primary purchaser of its oil exports, the Trump administration’s “economic D-Day” offensive will also put Beijing in the crosshairs, The Hill’s Laura Kelly reports.
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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US-Canada trade war escalates: |
After Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced tariffs in response to the U.S.-imposed 50 percent duties that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Trump took aim at Canada in several Truth Social posts.
The president on Monday morning threatened to hit imported Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel with new 50 percent tariffs that would go into effect on Jan. 1. (Happy New Year, Canada?)
The news came after Trump on Sunday claimed that Canada desires the “benefits of being a state, without being one,” in a reference to his previous talk of wanting to make the U.S.’s northern neighbor the 51st state.
Some pushback at home: A few notable Republicans have criticized the Trump administration’s moves. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) over the weekend urged the White House to “consider the negative impact” the tariffs would have on Americans, while former Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday that the “last thing we need” is a trade war with Canada.
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The midterms are kicking into a higher gear this week, with lawmakers fanning out for fundraisers and campaign stops — and two big runoffs on deck Tuesday.
South Carolina gets top billing, where Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman are duking it out for the GOP Senate nod. Trump gave Graham a final-week boost on Friday, hitting the trail for her in Myrtle Beach as she looks to turn her temporary appointment into a six-year job.
Georgia keeps the runoff theme going: Democratic candidate Marcye Scott is hoping to keep the House seat of her late father, former Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), in the family. But first, she’ll have to get past former Gwinnett County Board of Education Chair Everton Blair Jr. in Tuesday’s all-Democratic faceoff.
Beyond the ballot: The campaign trail is only getting busier as August recess wraps up. Lawmakers are spending the week back home shaking hands, raising cash and making their case to voters, while party leaders are increasingly jumping into the races they think could tip control of Congress.
The calendar is quickly shrinking, too: Labor Day is just around the corner, marking the unofficial start of the fall sprint — and leaving candidates with little time to make their pitch before voters have the final say in November.
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➤ IOWA'S OTHER BATTLEGROUND:
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Iowa’s surprisingly tight Senate race is putting another statewide fight front and center: cancer. The Hawkeye State has the second-highest rate in the country.
Democrat state Rep. Josh Turek and Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson are making the issue part of their pitches as they battle to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
With the contest tightening, how each candidate tackles the state’s cancer crisis could prove to be a major X factor. The Hill’s Helen Huiskes explains more here.
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Republicans and Democrats have found some rare common ground heading into the fall: Both think the other side is “radical.”
The label is quickly becoming a favorite midterm weapon, with Republicans tying the left to the Democratic Socialists of America, while Democrats are using it against Trump and his MAGA base.
In Florida, GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Byron Donalds is calling Democrat David Jolly “radically liberal,” while the label is also flying in Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-Ga.) reelection fight.
📖The Hill’s Amie Parnes lays it all out.
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➤ KEEPING UP WITH THE SULLIVANS
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Alaska’s Senate race has a Dan Sullivan problem — there are three of them, and two are now weighing in on the ballot.
Former Anchorage Mayor Dan A. Sullivan is backing incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) over challenger Dan J. Sullivan, whom Republicans accuse of trying to confuse voters.
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Measles crash back-to-school season |
Students are heading back to class with an unwanted classmate: measles. The U.S. is closing in on 3,000 cases this year — a 35-year high — and health officials expect crowded classrooms to only add to the spread.
The timing isn’t great. Nonmedical vaccine exemptions among kindergartners hit a record 4.2 percent last school year, with 24 states reporting rates above 5 percent. 👓 Insiders can read more from The Hill’s Joseph Choi.
Enter the MMR debate: President Trump wants the three-in-one measles, mumps and rubella vaccine split into separate shots. Medical groups and others say there’s no scientific reason for the change — and warn it could turn two doses into as many as six doctor visits.
That could mean more copays, more scheduling headaches and more chances for kids to miss a dose. And it comes as officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, have endorsed the measles vaccine amid the surge.
The tension: The administration is urging Americans to get vaccinated while simultaneously pushing to make the vaccination process more complicated.
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— 🏀 Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s Fever-Sky WNBA game after a courtside shouting match with Chicago’s Natasha Cloud. Security escorted Freedom out before Indiana cruised to a 113-90 win.
— 📰 An arbitrator ordered The Washington Post to rehire columnist Karen Attiah, ruling she was wrongfully fired over social media posts following conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The outlet was also ordered to give her back pay.
— 🗽Trump is blaming New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for pressuring his former fixer Michael Cohen to testify against him in his 2024 hush money trial. A federal judge on Friday will determine whether the president can move his appeal of the conviction in the case out of state courts.
— 🏁 IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, capping a history-making weekend of racing in the nation’s capital. Tens of thousands packed downtown for the America 250 event. 📷 Check out The Hill’s photo gallery.
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Politico: Ukraine widens its targets — and its tolerance for causing civilian casualties
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says Oil Is Pouring Through Hormuz. Trackers Can’t Find It.
The New York Times: Farmers Struggle to Get Basic Services From Depleted Agriculture Dept.
Axios: Anthropic candidates face blunt money question
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EDT)
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12:30 p.m.: Trump participates in a policy meeting.
1 p.m.: Bessent holds press conference on Iran sanctions.
2:30 p.m.: Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon hold a school choice event in the Rose Garden
TONIGHT: The president participates in tele-rallies.
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🧇Celebrate: Today is National Waffle Day. The New York Times recently tested the best frozen waffles. Check out its ruling here.
⛳ Tee time: Trump is heading to Ireland next month for the Irish Open — conveniently being played at his golf course in Doonbeg.
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Wonder what it looks like when a reporter is chasing a scoop? This mob of meerkats is pretty close.
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