The Hill's Morning Report — Presented by Facebook — Congress returns amid suspense over guns, Jan. 6 hearings

View Online  MORNING REPORT PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK Monday, June 6  by Alexis Simendinger & Al Weaver Monday, June 6  by Alexis Simendinger & Al Weaver ©  Associated Press / Carolyn Kaster | U.S. Capitol, 2019. Congress returns amid suspense over guns, Jan. 6 hearings Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill to a one-two punch of high-stakes happenings this week as a bipartisan group of senators continues talks on a potential gun violence package and the Jan. 6 select committee prepares to unveil its findings when primetime hearings get under way on Thursday.    A group of nine senators will resume gun reform talks this week as a string of violence continues across the country, headlined by the tragic shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Texas and Tulsa, Okla. The latest high profile mass shooting took place over the weekend in Philadelphia, where at least three people were killed and 12 were wounded when a gunman fired into a crowd on tourist-laden South Street (CBS Philly).    But questions continue to surround what could warrant inclusion in an ultimate package. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Sunday that any bill will not include provisions related to "comprehensive" background checks or an assault weapons ban, which some Democrats clamor for (The Hill).  We're not going to do everything I want," Murphy said. "Right now, people in this country want us to make progress. They just don't want the status quo to continue for another 30 years." Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, a lead GOP member of the group, said on Sunday that he hopes half of the 50-member Senate Republican conference can get behind the deal that ultimately emerges (The Hill). Talks at present center around incentivizing states to institute so-called red flag laws, boosting funding for mental health services and school security, and expanding background checks.    Toomey added that any legislation will be born out of the Senate rather than input from the White House, adding that President Biden is not being "very helpful" in talks (The Hill).    "I think the president might have been a president who would reach across the aisle, try to bring people together," Toomey told CBS's "Face the Nation." "But he's chosen not to take that approach. … Since day one, he has sided with the far left of his party and really not reached out to Republicans." The Washington Post: Senators say gun deal is within reach, but without Biden's wish list. The Wall Street Journal: Gun reform legislation makes progress in Senate. Mike Lillis, The Hill: Partisan divide on guns just grows larger with each tragedy. The New York Times: Mass shootings where stricter gun laws might have made a difference.  Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association and other outside groups that have funneled millions of dollars to GOP lawmakers over the years could play a role in ongoing talks.    The leading pro-Second Amendment group's influence was clear almost a decade ago when Senate Republicans sank a bill to beef up background checks following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School (The Hill). However, the situation has changed to a degree as the NRA's financial prowess isn't what it was back then (The Washington Post).  The Hill: Two in three parents say they are concerned about mass shootings at schools: poll. The Associated Press: Tulsa shooting puts focus on waiting period for purchases. The Hill: House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) says red flag laws are "unconstitutional."  The New York Times: Mental health clinic in the school? No thanks, says the school board.  There are many Americans who won't believe evidence and conclusions presented beginning this week by the House panel investigating Jan. 6. The skeptics reject the committee's very existence as partisan and overwrought.   No matter how spellbinding the hearing witnesses, committee depositions and video montages, defenders of former President Trump and of the attackers who mobbed the Capitol and used violence against law enforcers stopped listening long ago.   Trump was impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate based on similar evidence in January 2021. Even some Americans who agree with the panel's conclusions may tune out the televised description of a "well-organized … conspiracy."   United States Attorney's Office, District of Columbia: Snapshot of the Justice Department investigation as of May 6.   And therein lies a question: Is the panel interested in public persuasion, an expanded draft of history, recommendations to safeguard democracy, or tarring Trump ahead of a possible (some say likely) 2024 presidential bid?   Members of the panel are in sync about the basic narrative planned for June, but they divide over whether they should make recommendations (Axios Sneak Peak). Our goal is to present the narrative of … how close we came to losing our democracy with this violent attack on the 6th," said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the committee (The Guardian). "There's a great deal they haven't seen" (The Hill). The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch writes that committee members are eager to reach a broad segment of Americans and show how democracy in 2020 and 2021 was under attack. NBC News: Jan. 6 revelations will "blow the roof off the House," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said. Roll Call: The Jan. 6 panel won't get all it seeks for its public hearings this month. Politico: How Biden plans to handle the Jan. 6 hearings. NPR: Jan. 6 panel promises previously unseen material. Related Articles FiveThirtyEight: American are moving on from Jan. 6, even if Congress hasn't.  The Washington Post: How the White House lost Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and its plan to transform America.  The Hill: Trump endorses House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as "strong and fearless" House GOP leader.   Content from our sponsor: Facebook Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe We spent $16 billion to enhance safety and security across our platforms over the past 6 years. That's enough to build 7 pro stadiums.   And it's just one example of the work we're doing to create safer connections.    Learn more about our work ahead.   Leading the Day ➤   POLITICS After a one-week break, primary elections are back in full swing this week as voters head to the polls in seven states, including in a number of districts where House Republicans are battling challengers in search of another term in office.   As The Hill's Emily Brooks details, a number of incumbent House GOP members are attempting to fend off challenges from the right on Tuesday. In South Dakota, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R), the state's at-large member, faces a challenge from state Rep. Taffy Howard (R), who is backed by a PAC that pushes stolen-election theories.   Across the country, Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the top outside group supporting House GOP candidates, have suddenly pumped around $1 million into the primary and attacked Greg Raths, her opponent.    Kim also faces another redistricting-centric issue: introducing herself to new voters. The incumbent member currently represents California's 39th District, but her move to the new 40th District covers much of Rep. Mark Takano's (D-Calif.) current territory, creating trouble for her reelection.    On top of contests in South Dakota and California, races are also taking place in Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and New Mexico. The Hill: Six races to watch in the California primary.   The Associated Press: 2022 midterms: What to watch in primaries in seven states. The New York Times: Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) drops reelection bid after bucking his party on guns. ©  Associated Press / Rich Pedroncelli | Election worker checks mail-in ballots on Friday. Elsewhere on the campaign scene in Alabama, Katie Britt is trying to put a swift end to a Lazarus attempt by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) in the state's open Senate race to replace the retiring Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).    In the past week alone, key GOP figures threw their weight behind Britt's campaign, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. As The Hill's Tal Axelrod notes, that's on top of the support from Shelby, whose seat she's trying to fill, and a group affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).   The runoff is set for June 21.  Politico: Trump weighs a big bet in Alabama Senate contest. The Hill: Democrats weigh chances in Ohio Senate race. NBC News: Republicans brace for next round of Trump primary chaos. In Focus / Sharp Takes ➤   UKRAINE CRISIS   Russia pounded Kyiv for the first time in more than a month with air strikes early Sunday and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a veiled warning that Moscow intends to target sophisticated weapons systems sent to Ukraine by Western allies (The New York Times, The Associated Press and Reuters).   It was a reminder that Russia, waging a ferocious war in eastern Ukraine, has the power to lash out and hit multiple targets inside its neighbor.   Russia said on Sunday that it destroyed tanks donated from abroad to Ukraine, a claim denied by a Ukrainian official. Putin warned that any Western deliveries of long-range rocket systems to Ukraine would prompt Moscow to hit "objects that we haven't yet struck."   Weapons being sent to Ukraine from the U.S. include four precision-guided, medium-range rocket systems; helicopters; Javelin anti-tank weapon systems; radar; and tactical vehicles. Before any U.S. weapons arrive to help Ukraine, Russia wants to overrun Ukraine's embattled eastern industrial Donbas region where Russia-backed separatists have fought Kyiv's authority since 2014, military analysts said. The Pentagon said last week it will take at least three weeks to get the precision U.S. weapons onto the battlefield.   Meanwhile Russian Gen. Roman Kutuzov was killed in eastern Ukraine, adding to the string of high-ranking military casualties sustained by Moscow, according to Russian state television reporter Alexander Sladkov, who published the news on the Telegram messaging app (Reuters). Russia has lost thousands of soldiers and at least eight to 10 generals since its invasion on Feb. 24, according to U.S. estimates (The Associated Press).   The Washington Post: Ukrainian born Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) made her second trip as a congresswoman to Ukraine, visiting heavily damaged Chernihiv, 95 miles north of Kyiv.  © Associated Press / Natacha Pisarenko | Smoke from a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on Sunday.    Content from our sponsor: Facebook We have over 40,000 people working on safety and security  That's more than the size of the FBI. And they're working to create more meaningful connections for our communities.   That's just one example of the work we're doing.   Facebook is taking action to keep its platform safe.   Learn more about our work ahead.   Opinion Dust off that dirty word "detente" and engage with China, by Niall Ferguson, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/3aIDFFi  A summit to nowhere in the Americas, by Mary Anastasia O'Grady, editor, The Wall Street Journal. https://on.wsj.com/3arLEGy Where and When The House meets on Tuesday at 2 p.m.   The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. and resumes consideration of the nomination of Alex Wagner to be an assistant secretary of the Air Force. A cloture vote on the Wagner nomination is scheduled at 5:30 p.m.   The president will receive the President's Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. Biden has no public events on his schedule at press time.   Vice President Harris, who is on the West Coast, will host a roundtable with faith leaders at 2:25 p.m. PDT at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor to discuss abortion and related reproductive health issues. Harris at 4 p.m. at the Los Angeles Sheraton Grand Hotel will tour the Summit of the Americas fair (the summit begins today) and "engage with civic leaders from the Western Hemisphere" about women's empowerment and other issues in governance.   Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at 1:30 p.m in Washington. The secretary at 4 p.m. hosts and speaks at a virtual roundtable event about food security issues tied to the war in Ukraine.   First lady Jill Biden at 11 a.m. at the White House will help unveil a new postal stamp to honor former first lady Nancy Reagan. Biden will be joined by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation board chairman Fred Ryan and Anne Peterson, niece of the former first lady. The first lady will travel to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona to film content this evening for National Geographic to honor our National Parks.     The White House daily briefing is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. Elsewhere ➤   INTERNATIONAL In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a no-confidence vote this evening in Parliament as conservative lawmakers try to force him from office a little more than two years after his election. Johnson for months has been accused of misleading lawmakers about in-person parties held at Downing Street during the height of the pandemic's U.K. lockdown (The New York Times). Johnson has issued a string of explanations, concessions and apologies, including through his office to Queen Elizabeth II following a Downing Street party in which alcohol was brought in using a suitcase on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral last year (CNBC).    The U.S. and South Korea today joined in live-fire exercises to launch eight ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of force matching a North Korean missile display a day earlier that extended Pyongyang's provocations. The U.S. military fired one missile and South Korea deployed seven (The Associated Press).   The U.S. is the host today through Friday of the hemispheric-focused Summit of the Americas, the first gathering of leaders from North, Central and South America in nine years. The Hill's Rafael Bernal and Brett Samuels report on five things to watch in Los Angeles, where Biden and the vice president each have events scheduled before the summit's conclusion.    At the Vatican, could a second papal resignation be in the cards? Pope Francis fueled speculation on Sunday that he could follow in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI and step down from the papacy by announcing a planned trip to L'Aquila, a central Italian city, for a feast started by Pope Celestine V, one of the few popes to resign. The chatter comes as Francis, 85, has been confined to a wheelchair over the past month (The Associated Press). ©  Associated Press / Gregorio Borgia | Pope Francis in Rome on Thursday.  ➤   SUPREME COURT Justices will soon wrap up a dramatic term on the high court. Justice Stephen Breyer will retire. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will be seated to begin the new term in October. And in the foreground is a pending abortion decision that has already triggered a firestorm with a leaked draft decision that, if backed by the court's conservative majority, would give 50 states the power to determine women's rights to terminate pregnancies. The Hill's John Kruzel reports on five of the biggest issues to watch as the court's momentous term ends.   ➤   BABY FORMULA Abbott Laboratories announced over the weekend that U.S. consumers should begin to see EleCare infant formula on store shelves beginning June 20 following the gradual restart of manufacturing at its Sturgis, Mich., facility, which has been closed since February due to product contamination. Abbott and the Food and Drug Administration agreed on May 16 that the plant could reopen. The production and distribution of Similac and other infant formulas will follow EleCare "as soon as we can," the company said without offering a timetable (Fox Business and The Associated Press). … Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday that, like Biden, she "probably" did not know about the national formula shortage until April (The Hill).  ➤   POX & PANDEMIC From May 13 to June 2, the World Health Organization confirmed 780 cases of monkeypox across four global regions that are not endemic for monkeypox (meaning, not in parts of Africa where monkeypox is common), according to a report released on Sunday. Most but not all known cases so far have involved men who have sex with men. "Even one case of monkeypox in a non-endemic country is considered an outbreak," WHO said. To date, 88 percent of cases were reported in 20 countries in Europe; 10 percent were reported in the Americas; 1 percent of cases appeared in the Eastern Mediterranean region; and 1 percent of infections have been in the Western Pacific region. WHO describes the monkeypox risk at the global level as "moderate." No deaths from the disease in non-endemic countries have been reported, according to WHO.   🦠 Even as COVID-19 infections rise in the U.S., the public yearning for normalcy is winning out. Many people no longer see the virus as the threat it once was because of vaccinations, anti-viral treatments, testing and a sense that there is some herd immunity in play after three years of the pandemic. Yet, millions of people are still vulnerable to infection, serious illness and long COVID. The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel reports why epidemiologists say it is hard to reconcile those two faces of the pandemic.     The Hill's Peter Sullivan follows up with a question that is unsettling among scientists. Does it matter anymore that COVID-19 infections in the U.S. are on the rise?     Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,008,585. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 247, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.    As of today, 77.2 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 66 percent is "fully vaccinated," according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker and the government's definition. The percentage of Americans who have received third or booster doses is 30.8. ➤   SPORTS 🎾 Rafael Nadal on Sunday extended his dominance at the French Open, taking home his 14th singles title in the event and adding his 22nd Grand Slam championship, the most in men's tennis history. Nadal defeated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 on the clay of Roland Garros, where he has an incredible lifetime record of 112-3. The win puts Nadal, 36, two Grand Slam titles clear of rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who both have 20, having won the Australian Open in January to break a three-way logjam. Wimbledon, the next on the calendar, starts in three weeks (ESPN).  Introducing NotedDC The Hill's curated commentary on the beat of the Beltway. Click here to subscribe to our latest newsletter ©  Associated Press / Charles Rex Arbogast | Jupiter and three of its moons, left, and Saturn, right, are seen in the sky in 2020. The Closer And finally … Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye throughout June. It's the first time since December 2004 that the five planets will be viewable while arrayed in the heavens. The planetary show won't recur for another 18 years (Axios). By that time, space tourists might be taking in the view at zero gravity. Stay Engaged We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. Follow us on Twitter (@alweaver22 & @asimendinger) and suggest this newsletter to friends! Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.