Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - US prepares to evacuate embassy at Taliban retakes Afghan cities | GOP hammers Biden over Afghanistan withdrawal | Moderate Democrats threaten to upend budget vote | Trump’s influence wavers in Senate but holds in House

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NEWS OF THE MORNING

All eyes are on Afghanistan today as the Taliban continues to make progress across the country. On Thursday, the Taliban captured Kandahar and Herat, the second- and third-largest cities in the country, as well as the city of Ghazni. https://bit.ly/3m22ujg

On Friday, CNN reported that the government lost control of the capital of the Uruzgan province, Tarin Kot.

Via CNN: “A local journalist told CNN Friday that the governor’s office, police headquarters and the central jail were now in the Taliban's hands. The journalist said the city had fallen to the Taliban without any fighting as tribal elders had decided not to resist the Taliban advance.” https://cnn.it/2VRu9Zn

SO HOW DOES THE U.S. FACTOR IN?

Via The Hill’s Laura Kelly and Rebecca Kheel: “The State Department on Thursday announced that it is drawing down its embassy staff in Afghanistan to a core diplomatic group as the Taliban’s offensive across the country threatens to topple the government in Kabul.

“The Department of Defense will temporarily deploy additional personnel to Kabul’s international airport to help facilitate the departure of embassy staff, State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Price declined to call it an ‘evacuation.’

‘This is not a full evacuation ... I think it's a very important distinction between planning and contingency planning,’ Price said.” https://bit.ly/2VKg2VP

BUT REPUBLICANS ARE ALREADY VOICING CONCERNS:

Via The Hill’s Caroline Vakil: “The fast-moving and surprising speed of the developments in Afghanistan have given arguments to Republicans who say Biden's strategy has led to the collapse of the country, where U.S. forces have been engaged for nearly 20 years in America's longest war.” https://bit.ly/3sfSio9

Via The Hill’s Caroline Vakil: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called Biden’s Afghanistan policy “reckless” and said that if the administration does not move to send additional troops to back up Afghan forces, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul could fall to insurgent groups. https://bit.ly/3CNqKLG

It’s Friday! We’re Julia Manchester and Max Greenwood, filling in for Cate today with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to jmanchester@thehill.com and mgreenwood@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @juliamanch and @kmaxgreenwood and on Facebook.

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A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK

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A BUMP IN THE ROAD

Moderates vow to block budget to secure infrastructure funding:

Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Jordan Williams, “A group of House moderates is throwing a wrench in the Democrats' two-prong economic agenda, threatening to block a multitrillion-dollar budget bill until party leaders enact the Senate's bipartisan infrastructure package, according to a letter obtained by The Hill.” https://bit.ly/2VRsZMW

What does the letter say: The moderate House Democrats are arguing that their districts simply can’t wait for the infrastructure bill to pass, and that by waiting until the budget resolution is approved, Democratic leaders are effectively throwing away a rare opportunity to pass a once-in-a-century investment in the nation’s aging public works.

“The country is clamoring for infrastructure investment and commonsense, bipartisan solutions," reads the letter. "With the livelihoods of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this one-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package. It’s time to get shovels in the ground and people to work.”

Why it matters: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said that the House will vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure package only after the lower chamber approves the $3.5 trillion fiscal blueprint, which would authorize Congress to begin crafting an actual budget bill.

But the threat from the moderates has the power to upend those plans, given Democrats’ slim majority in the House and the fact that the budget resolution is expected to face unanimous Republican opposition.

A TALE OF TWO CHAMBERS

Trump sees power wane in Senate, remain strong in House:

Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong, “The infrastructure debate dominating Capitol Hill this summer is highlighting the sharp contrast between the chambers when it comes to the influence of former President Trump over the GOP.

“Nearly 20 Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), broke with Trump this week to support a massive infrastructure package, providing President Biden with a big win and reflecting the diminishing hold his predecessor has on the upper chamber.

“But the story is likely to be much different in the House, where Trump retains a muscular grip and GOP leaders have deemed his support vital to both the party’s prospects of winning back the chamber and their individual aspirations for rising in the leadership ranks.” https://bit.ly/3g0NRJ6

A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK

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LATEST WITH CORONAVIRUS

New mask mandate for Virginia schools:

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced a public health emergency order on Thursday that enacts a universal mask mandate for public and private K-12 schools in the commonwealth.

“This Public Health Order makes it very clear that masks are required in all indoor K-12 settings, and Virginia expects all schools to comply,” Northam said in a statement, adding that the order echoes guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Northam said last week that schools not complying with CDC guidance on masking could face legal trouble.

ISSUE INFILTRATES GOV RACE:

Via The Hill’s Julia Manchester: “Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin hit Democratic nominee and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe over Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) newly announced mask mandate on Thursday, saying the mandate is ‘the first step towards returning to a full shutdown of our economy.’ ” https://bit.ly/3m1ME80

“ ‘With today's student mask mandate announcement, Ralph Northam, Terry McAuliffe and Richmond liberals have made clear that they will stop at nothing to impose their will and take away parents' ability to decide what's best for our kids,’ Youngkin said in a statement, adding that ‘if parents, teachers, and children want to wear a mask, they absolutely should do that.’ ”

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 36,307,177

U.S. death toll: 619,094

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 353,859,894 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 681,816 doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

NOTABLE TWEETS

All the rumors are true: