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MORNING REPORT

PRESENTED BY

Monday, October 2

by Kristina Karisch

Shutdown averted: What now?

To Washington's surprise, Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown this weekend when the House and Senate cleared a "clean" stopgap spending bill with just hours to spare.

A shutdown seemed inevitable until Saturday morning, when, in a dramatic reversal of strategy, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opted to keep the government open the only way he could — by partnering with Democrats — a decision that now leaves him as politically vulnerable as ever. The resulting bipartisan spending bill, which cleared the House and, a few hours later, the Senate, funds the government at current levels until Nov. 17, giving lawmakers a month and a half to pass appropriations bills — and deal with the aftermath of a chaotic weekend.

NBC News: How Congress avoided a government shutdown at the 11th hour.

Saturday featured a game of chicken between the chambers over their competing stopgap bills, a brief evacuation after Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol complex, a 50-minute filibuster by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to buy Democrats more time to consider McCarthy's proposal — and threats by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to oust McCarthy from his post if it passed (The Hill and The New York Times).

If someone wants to make a motion against me, bring it," a defiant McCarthy said after the spending bill passed 335 to 91, with far more Democratic support than Republican. "There has to be an adult in the room."

Gaetz, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and a critic of McCarthy since the Speaker's election in January, made good on his threat Sunday, announcing, "Kevin McCarthy's gonna get his wish," on ABC's "This Week."

McCarthy brushed off Gaetz's threat Sunday, calling the situation "personal" with the Florida lawmaker. "That's nothing new, he's tried to do that from the moment I ran for office," McCarthy said on CBS News's "Face The Nation."

WHAT DEMOCRATS WILL DO once someone brings a motion to vacate — a procedural move that allows any House member to trigger a vote to remove the Speaker — remains unclear. A senior Democratic lawmaker told Politico on Sunday that the instructions from leadership to "all Dems" right now is "keeping powder dry."

ONE THING MISSING from the temporary spending patch is funding for Ukraine. Ukrainian officials are insisting that aid to their country is not in jeopardy, despite concerns that the stopgap measure excluded some $20 billion in assistance for Kyiv. President Biden on Sunday pressed congressional Republicans to back a separate bill to provide more aid to Ukraine, saying he was "sick and tired" of the political brinkmanship that nearly led to a shutdown (The Washington Post and Reuters).

"We cannot under any circumstances allow America's support for Ukraine to be interrupted," Biden told reporters at the White House. "I fully expect the Speaker to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality."

▪ The Hill: Here are five takeaways from a near shutdown and Washington's dysfunction.

▪ The Washington Post analysis: The Speaker and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faced rejection on different fronts this weekend: McCarthy was forced into leaning on Democrats to keep the government open and McConnell was defied by GOP senators on Ukraine.

SO, WHAT'S NEXT? Lawmakers may have briefly set aside sharp differences to avoid a shutdown. But now they have just weeks to resolve fights over aid to Ukraine, border policy and the overall size of the federal government. And if the last three weeks of congressional budgeting were any indication, Washington is in for a tense appropriations season to come.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

Bowman is facing an investigation and a Republican-led expulsion effort after he pulled a fire alarm in a House office building Saturday. Bowman told reporters he "thought the alarm would open the door" because "the door that's usually open wasn't open."
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's (D) indictment is making waves among Hispanic Democrats, who worry the scandal will obscure the embattled senator's legacy, dealing a blow to Latino political representation.
In a sit-down conversation with ProPublica, Biden discussed McCarthy's "terrible bargain," the fear of change that drives threats to democracy and the Supreme Court's need for an ethics policy.

Morning Report's Alexis Simendinger is on leave.

Leading the Day

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sunday announced Laphonza Butler, the president of Emily's List and a former labor leader, as his choice to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) seat. Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the Senate, died Friday at 90 after three decades in the upper chamber.

Butler, 44, is the former leader of the state's largest labor union and an adviser to Vice President Harris. She became the first Black woman to take the helm at Emily's List, an organization dedicated to electing women candidates and supporting reproductive rights, in 2021 (Los Angeles Times and The New York Times).

In choosing Butler, Newsom followed through on a pledge he made more than two years ago to name a Black woman to the Senate if a vacancy were to emerge. He had also vowed not to appoint any of the candidates running in the primary, instead choosing someone to serve as what is essentially a caretaker of the seat until the next election. His decision drew rebukes from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), one of the declared candidates, who is Black. California Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have also launched bids for Feinstein's seat.

Timing makes it all but certain that special elections to install a senator through the end of 2024 will occur at the same time, on the same March primary and November general election ballots, as votes for a full six-year Senate term. That means California will hold four elections — a primary and general for the special and a primary and general for the regular — for the same seat in the space of eight months (Politico).

"NOW'S THE TIME": Former President Trump's GOP rivals are signaling more willingness to attack him as the Iowa caucuses approach and the front-runner's lead shows few signs of shaking. As The Hill's Jared Gans reports, such attacks open a new phase of the primary as Trump's rivals grow increasingly desperate with only a few months before early voting begins.

"It's getting late, and so if your campaign is going to make a move, now's the time," Republican strategist Nicole Schlinger told The Hill. Trump, who has maintained a double-digit lead over his rivals in most national and state polls, continues to exert a strong influence over the GOP, leaving many presidential candidates reluctant to bash him, worried about alienating the all-important base.

The Hill: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) suggested Trump is "adopting Joe Biden's basement strategy."

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who earned a strong performance at last week's Republican debate in part by attacking Trump, has drawn the former president's ire. He lashed out at her Friday on social media, in what some say is an indication she's being viewed as a more formidable opponent than before.

While the debate was largely criticized as irrelevant and pointless, and many analysts said it did little to move the needle on a primary that has been dominated by Trump, others saw the night as another bright spot for Haley, who didn't shy away from calling out some of her opponents on policy issues or political records (The Hill).

2024 ROUNDUP

Attorneys for New College of Florida, which was taken over by DeSantis allies as part of his "war on woke," last week threatened to sue a group of former faculty members and students who have formed an alternative online institute.
Haley on Sunday railed against the lack of Ukraine aid in Congress's spending bill, pushing for spending cuts in other areas.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D) voter registration change is drawing Trump's ire in an echo of the 2020 election clashes.TK (The Hill)
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's jab at First Lady Jill Biden during the GOP debate sparked bipartisan condemnation and spotlighted the party's messaging problem with women.
A New Yorker contributor's analysis: Biden, Trump and what's at stake in the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.
The UAW strike is entering its third week, but the history of their fight goes back to the 1930s.

Where and When

The House convenes at 12 a.m.

The Senate meets on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The president will receive the President's Daily Brief alongside Vice President Harris. At 2 p.m., he will speak on the South Lawn to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ceremony will be attended by Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Biden will hold a Cabinet meeting at 4:30; Harris will attend.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet virtually with Guatemalan President-Elect Bernardo Arévalo at 11:30 a.m.

The White House press briefing is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

Zoom In

COURTS

The Supreme Court justices will take the bench Monday for the first argument of the new term, a year filled with battles over guns, social media and the administrative state.

The court so far has agreed to hear roughly 35 cases this term, though the justices are all but certain to add more throughout the fall. Decisions are expected by next summer. From the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Second Amendment rights, The Hill's Zach Schonfeld breaks down the cases to watch in the coming months.

▪ The Washington Post: For the Supreme Court, ethics have become the elephant in the courtroom.

▪ NBC News: Trump's war on federal agencies — fueled by his judges — reaches the Supreme Court.

▪ The Guardian: Biden worries an "extreme" Supreme Court can't be relied on to uphold rule of law.

IN A NYC COURTROOM: A civil trial against Trump kicks off today that may result in the former president being forced to sell off his iconic properties. After a judge ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his New York real estate empire, Trump's lawyers will return to court to determine how much he and his companies will be penalized for the fraud; New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is seeking $250 million in damages. The potential witnesses list includes Trump, his children and former business associates — and Trump said Sunday he will make a rare, voluntary trip to court today for the start of a civil trial (The Associated Press).

AT STAKE? Whether the former president will have to shutter or break up the Trump Organization and sell off his famous properties — and whether he will be fined millions in the process (USA Today and Politico).

▪ CBS News's "60 Minutes": Attorney General Merrick Garland discussed the process behind the Trump and Hunter Biden prosecutions.

▪ The Associated Press: Who is Arthur Engoron? The judge weighing the future of Trump's empire is an Ivy League-educated ex-cabbie.

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Elsewhere

INTERNATIONAL

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the heart of Turkey's capital, Ankara, while a second assailant was killed in a shootout with police Sunday. The attack occurred just hours before the country's parliament was set to reopen after its three-month summer recess with an address by recently reelected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Kurdish militant group known as PKK that's designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and Europe, claimed responsibility for the attack, which authorities called the first terrorist attack in the capital in years (The Associated Press and CNN).

Al Jazeera: How will a pro-Russia party winning Slovakia's vote affect the Ukraine war?

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Californians are bracing for Newsom's impending signoff on a seminal slate of climate legislation. The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, or SB-253, would require all public and private firms that operate in California — and whose annual revenues exceed $1 billion — to disclose both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. SB-261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk bill, would require companies that generate more than $500 million in annual revenue to release climate-related financial risk reports biennially, beginning in 2026.

For some businesses, the bills will present a particular burden simply because they will have to figure out just how extensive their emissions are, Manuel Pastor, director of the University of Southern California's Equity Research Institute, told The Hill. But on the other hand, he said, the legislation is "going to be a boon for others because they will be able to advertise themselves as green."

▪ The Wall Street Journal: California utility PG&E's $6 billion plan to prevent wildfires is in peril.

▪ The Washington Post: What a chicken-size bird can tell us about a shrinking prairie. Scientists say the long-billed curlew's movements inform research on grassland health.

▪ The Associated Press: When Kula, Hawaii, needed water to stop wildfire, it got a trickle. Many other U.S. cities are also vulnerable.

© The Associated Press / Rich Pedroncelli | California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), pictured in 2019, plans to sign into law a pair of climate-focused bills intended to force major corporations to be more transparent.

Opinion

The GOP's arsonists lost on the shutdown, but they're not going away, by E.J. Dionne Jr., columnist, The Washington Post.
It's good to be a judge. For some, a little too good, by James D. Zirin, contributor, Washington Monthly.

The Closer

And finally … 🎂 Former President Jimmy Carter broke records (again) this weekend as he celebrated his 99th birthday with his wife, Rosalynn, and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Plains, Ga.

Celebrating the longest-lived U.S. president's 99th birthday was inconceivable just a few months ago. In February, it was announced that Carter would be forgoing further medical treatments and entering home hospice care after a series of hospitalizations. Yet the former president, who overcame cancer diagnosed at age 90 and learned to walk after having his hip replaced at age 94, defied all odds again.

Meanwhile, at The Carter Center in Atlanta, 99 new American citizens, who came from 45 countries, took the oath of allegiance as part of a naturalization ceremony timed for Carter's birthday (The Associated Press).

And in Washington, D.C., an oversized wooden cake on the White House grounds — complete with candles in red, white and blue — stood stalwart for onlookers to view.

The Washington Post: As Carter turns 99, he's still full of surprises.