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MORNING REPORT

Friday, December 29

by Elizabeth Crisp & Lauren Sforza

Maine decision sets up new challenge for Trump

Maine became the second state to ban former President Trump from the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment on Thursday, setting up a new obstacle for the former president as he makes his third bid for the White House.

Maine and Colorado are now the first two states to bar the former president from their 2024 ballots over actions he took on and leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol. With two states already kicking him off the ballot, questions remain over whether more states will follow.

Trump has vowed to appeal both decisions, and the Colorado Republican Party already filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which is expected to take on the case. If the Supreme Court holds up the Colorado ruling, it could open the doors to other states removing Trump from the ballot under the Constitution's insurrection clause.

More than 10 other states are currently looking into whether Trump should be removed from the ballot. It is unclear how the Supreme Court would rule on the case, as the court has never issued a decision on the 14th Amendment's "insurrection clause" since it was ratified in 1868.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows booted Trump from the ballot Thursday evening after concluding that Trump "over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power."

Bellows wrote that she was "mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access" based on the 14th Amendment.

"I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection," she added.

THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN blasted the decision in a statement shortly after the decision Thursday night, echoing familiar claims that the former president is being unfairly targeted.

"We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter. Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump's name from the ballot," said Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.

The decision also comes just a day after Trump demanded that Bellows recuse herself from the decision regarding the former president's eligibility under the 14th Amendment.

Numerous challenges questioning Trump's eligibility under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment have been filed across the country. Just last week, Colorado became the first state to rule that Trump was not eligible for the 2024 ballot. Trump's team has vowed to appeal both the Colorado and the Maine decisions to the Supreme Court.

After the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump should not take part in the GOP primary competition there, citing the 14th Amendment, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) is now urging the U.S. Supreme Court to make a speedy decision on the situation.

The plaintiffs are largely arguing that that the actions the former president took during the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, disqualify him from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This clause prohibits someone from holding "any office … under the United States" if they engaged in insurrection after taking an oath as "an officer of the United States" to "support" the Constitution.

This comes after Michigan ruled in favor of Trump on Wednesday, saying that it was "not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court." Minnesota also decided to keep Trump on the ballot in a decision issued last month. In California, meanwhile, the secretary of state has declined to kick Trump off the primary ballot despite the urging of the state's lieutenant governor.

What other states are debating Trump's eligibility? Cases are still pending in Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Texas, Wisconsin, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia and South Carolina, according to a tracker published by Lawfare.

3 THINGS TO KNOW TODAY

Theater chain AMC has apologized to a North Carolina civil rights leader after he was kicked out of a screening of "The Color Purple" because he wanted to use his own chair in the disabled section.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has issued an emergency executive order aimed at curbing the influx of migrants arriving from Texas by bus.
Some hospitals are reinstating mask mandates amid the rising cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses across the country. This comes as the latest JN.1 variant has become the most common strain of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Round Two: Biden, Trump seek stark contrasts heading into 2024

As the new year starts, it's shaping up to be a redux battle between President Biden and Republican rival former President Trump.

Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP's 2024 nomination, already has set his sights on the general election and on Biden who is also seeking a second White House term.

Biden's team has shown that it's not afraid to hit back at Trump, even as other Republicans vying for the nomination try to gain traction ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses.

Biden responded to Trump's controversial "rot in hell" Christmas message this week on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Trump's campaign, meanwhile, launched a new ad attacking Biden over immigration issues.

The Hill's Brett Samuels examines what Trump's 2024 campaign will look like and how it contrasts with Biden's.

"Conventional wisdom after Trump was indicted was it would help him in the primary but it would hurt him in the general," a Trump-aligned operative told Samuels. "And if you look at the data, it's clear now that was incorrect. It hasn't just helped him in the primary, his numbers have gone up to record highs against Biden since he's been indicted."

Leading the Day

Haley gives Trump, DeSantis a gift with Civil War gaffe

After building momentum for months, Nikki Haley handed former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) a belated Christmas gift with her Civil War gaffe just weeks before the New Hampshire primary.

Haley's failure to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War during her response at a New Hampshire townhall this week delivered a self-sabotaging blow to her campaign in the Granite State. Her comments come just weeks before the New Hampshire primary — a contest she desperately needs to win or barely lose to Trump to remain relevant in the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.

Haley received backlash from both sides of the aisle Thursday for telling the voter that the Civil War was about "how government was going to run." The Trump and DeSantis campaigns moved quickly to capitalize on her misstep in effort to take away some of Haley's support in New Hampshire and other early primary states.

THE MAGA PAC blasted Haley over her response by labeling her as "not ready for primetime" in a Thursday statement. DeSantis echoed that, criticism telling reporters later the same day that Haley's explanation for the Civil War was an "incomprehensible word salad" that makes her "not a candidate that's ready for prime time." The DeSantis campaign also posted the video of Haley online captioned with a single word: "Yikes."

As criticism of her remarks mounted, Haley quickly attempted to clean up her mistake as she hopes to maintain her footing in New Hampshire.

"Of course the Civil War was about slavery," Haley later said in a New Hampshire radio interview. "We know that. That's the easy part of it. What I was saying was what does it mean to us today? What it means to us today is about freedom. That's what that was all about."

She also faced backlash for accusing the voter who asked the question of being a "Democrat plant."

Haley's strong showing in the debates has led her to surge in the polls in recent weeks and months — giving her an opportunity to secure a surprise win in the state of New Hampshire on Jan. 23. It's not clear yet whether her clarification on her misstep is enough to keep her momentum building in the New Hampshire primary.

Trump remains the clear frontrunner in the presidential primary race, but Haley has shown strides as she has come up on the heels of DeSantis, once thought to be the most likely candidate to create a challenge for the former president.

STATUS OF THE RACE: The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of the GOP New Hampshire primary shows Haley trailing Trump by just 17 percentage points as of Thursday afternoon. This gap has grown smaller since the first week of December, when Trump had a strong 27-point lead over Haley.

Republican strategists warned Thursday that Haley's comments likely won't significantly impact her standing among GOP voters, but the remarks were a "serious mistake" for the former South Carolina governor at a crucial moment for her campaign, The Hill's Jared Gans and Cheyanne Daniels report.

"What it does is it's an unnecessary fumble for her at a time when she doesn't need something like this," Republican strategist Ron Bonjean told The Hill.

From Gans and Daniels's reporting: "The moment comes as Republicans have sought to broaden their coalition to include more voters of color, especially Black voters. Though Haley, who is Indian American, has sought to avoid focusing on identity politics, she is seen as part of a new generation of younger, more diverse GOP candidates who the party hopes can reach a wider swath of the electorate."

President Biden and Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison also weighed in on the remarks.

"It was about slavery," Biden wrote on X in response to Haley's comments.

"This isn't hard: condemning slavery is the baseline for anyone who wants to be President of the United States, but Nikki Haley and the rest of the MAGA GOP are choking on their words trying to rewrite history," Harrison said in a statement.

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One Year Out: Election 2024 Preview

Streaming online Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT

Join The Hill & the 92nd Street Y for their inaugural partnership for an evening of politics, pundits and predictions about what to expect on the campaign trail to November 5, 2024, and the many pit-stops and landmarks along the way, as we count down to an election year unlike any other. Speakers include Kevin Madden, Senior Partner at Penta and Former Senior Advisor & Spokesman for Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) 2012 Presidential Campaign; and Symone Sanders Townsend, Host of "Symone" on MSNBC and former press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign.

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2024 ROUNDUP

Trump says he never insisted on an appearance in the iconic Christmas film "Home Alone 2," and he thinks that he was actually a selling point for the movie. Trump claims that director Chris Columbus and others "were begging me to make a cameo appearance," after Columbus said it was the only way they could film in New York's famed Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time.
Chris Christie has launched a New Hampshire ad attacking Trump: "He caused a riot on Capitol Hill — he'll burn America to the ground to help himself."
A federal judge Thursday approved new electoral maps in Georgia that could shake up the 2024 election in the battleground state with the addition of a majority-Black congressional district. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) already announced that she will pursue election in Georgia's 6th District in 2024 instead of her own 7th District.

Media

Carlson, Iger, Musk, Thompson, Scott: Get used to those names in the coming year as media watchers will be keeping close tabs on them in 2024.

Breaking it down...

Tucker Carlson, after being fired from Fox News despite his status as the top-rated host on cable news, took to broadcasting his own show
Disney's chief executive Bob Iger already has raised attention with his suggestion that company-owned cable networks, such as ABC and ESPN, may no longer be part of the company's "core business."
The often-erratic head of X, Elon Musk, has been in the headlines throughout the year and not just for the controversial name change of the brand that had become so iconic that the verb "tweet" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary a decade ago.
Mark Thompson took over CNN this year after Chris Licht's ouster.
Fox CEO Suzanne Scott continues in her leadership role, despite the network's massive lawsuit payout over false claims about the 2020 election.

The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo reports: "With a presidential election on the horizon and major questions facing the future of the news business, 2024 is likely to be a pivotal year for some of the country's most prominent media personalities and executives."

FLIP SIDE:  The Daily Beast reports Newsmax's ratings soared after Fox News viewers fled the conservative cable mainstay following Carlson's surprise ouster this year, but the decidedly pro-Trump network hasn't sustained that high.

Where and When

The House will meet for a pro forma session at 10:30 a.m.

The Senate will convene for a pro forma session at 10:30 a.m.

The president has no events on his public schedule today. He and first lady Jill Biden are in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands through New Years.

Vice President Harris is in Los Angeles with second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Zoom In

CONGRESS

ANOTHER GOP LAWMAKER SWATTED: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) revealed Thursday that he was the latest public official to be swatted while he was at dinner with his wife earlier this week (The Hill).

"Last night, while at dinner with my wife, cowards 'swatted' my home in Naples," Scott said in a post on X. "These criminals wasted the time & resources of our law enforcement in a sick attempt to terrorize my family."

Scott is just the latest public official to claim to have been the victim of a swatting, essentially a hoax in which authorities are sent to an unsuspecting person's home on false claims of criminal activity. GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Brandon Williams (N.Y.) both said their homes were swatted on Christmas Day. Greene also announced that her daughters' homes were swatted Thursday in a post on X, where she also thanked local law enforcement.

The Boston Police Department said earlier this week that Mayor Michelle Wu (D) was also the subject of a swatting incident Monday.

CATCH UP: The Hill's Miranda Nazzaro broke down what swatting is and who has been targeted so far. Read more here.

COLORADO SHAKE-UP: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is facing some criticism after she announced that she was switching congressional districts to avoid a tough rematch with Democrat Adam Frisch, who lost to her by fewer than 600 votes in 2022.

Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williamson described the shift as "not the best move" while Frisch said Boebert's decision proves she "is only in politics for herself."

Elsewhere

INTERNATIONAL

Israel is continuing to expand its offensive in Gaza as it continues its nearly three-month war with the militant group Hamas, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Hamas is also warning that it will not release the roughly 100 remaining hostages until Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Thursday that the group is not interested in a "partial or temporary cessation of aggression," The AP reported. His comments come as Israel ramps up its operations in Gaza, where its strikes killed dozens of people earlier Thursday, according to the AP.

Related: Israel has admitted it was responsible for a pair of deadly strikes on Christmas Eve that killed dozens of Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it "regrets the harm to uninvolved individuals, and is working to draw lessons from the incident."

Update on IDF soldiers who mistakenly shot hostages: The IDF concluded that the soldiers who accidentally shot and killed three Israeli hostages were not justified in their actions. The Hill's Brad Dress breaks down the findings from the investigation here.

The New York Times: A new investigation delves into how Hamas militants used sexual violence to terrorize civilians during the attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. The Times's report uncovered at least seven locations where women and girls appeared to be sexually assaulted or mutilated.
The Hill: The family of Judy Weinstein Haggai, an American Israeli Canadian woman, announced Thursday that she was killed by Hamas after being captured by the militants on Oct. 7.

IMMIGRATION

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is threatening to sue Texas over a new law that would allow state law enforcement to prosecute migrants entering the United States from Mexico.

The DOJ warned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) that it will sue the state if Texas enforces the new law, which is set to be enacted on March 5. According to a letter obtained by The Hill, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton argued that the new law is unconstitutional and disrupts the federal government's immigration enforcement operations.

ICYMI: The new law signed by Abbott earlier this month grants any Texas law enforcement officer authority to arrest those who are suspected of entering the country illegally. After being arrested, they will either agree to a judge's order making them leave the U.S. or be charged on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. The American Civil Liberties Union, alongside other immigration rights groups, filed a lawsuit earlier this month about the law, saying the legislation is unconstitutional.

USA Today: The immigration court case backlog jumped to more than 3 million cases in 2023 as the surge of migrants continues to increase at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to data analyzed by USA Today's Lauren Villagran.

Opinion

Taylor Swift, Janet Yellen and Barbie: The Year of the (Economic) Woman, by Natasha Sarin, contributing columnist, The Washington Post.
House Republicans may have just given their majority away for Christmas, by Brian Darling, opinion contributor, The Hill.

The Closer

And finally … Former President Obama continues to show off his entertainment favs of the year. We know his top 2023 books and movies, but what about the music? Mr. 44, the people are waiting!

Obama's best-of-the-year picks have been dissected (and downloaded) since he started the tradition while in office.

Books that made the list this year include: "The Maniac" by Benjamin Labatut, "King: A Life" by Jonathan Eig and "This Other Eden" by Paul Harding.

On his top movie list: Three were produced by his Higher Ground Productions: "Rustin," "Leave the World Behind" and "American Symphony." Others included "Oppenheimer," "The Holdovers" and "Past Lives."

On his book list, he notes that some appeared on his summer reading list this year as well. So while the former president hasn't revealed his favorite songs just yet, Obama may have given a sneak peek of what he has been listening to this year when he unveiled his summer playlist, which included the likes of 21 Savage, SZA and Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj.

Expect the music drop in the coming days...

WRITERS NOTE: This is the last edition of Morning Report for 2023. We have enjoyed wrapping up the year's top news with you and filling in for Kristina and Alexis. Stick with The Hill for the top political news as we ring in 2024! Hope you have a very happy New Year! — Keep reading, Lauren and Liz