The Hill's Evening Report — Trump returns to campaigning after assassination attempt

Presented by the National Council on Aging — 📝 Speaker Johnson pushes ahead in funding bill fight

View Online Evening Report PRESENTED BY Tuesday, Sept. 17 ©  UPI photo Trump returns to campaign trail amid outrage over second assassination attempt Former President Trump will return to the campaign trail Tuesday night for the first time since the Secret Service foiled an apparent second attempt to assassinate him. Trump will participate in a town hall event this evening in Flint, Mich., that will be hosted by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), his former press secretary. The majority Black city is in Genesee County, which traditionally votes Democrat, but the margins will matter in 2024. In 2016, Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by about 19,000 votes in Genesee County. However, she received about 7,000 fewer votes there than former President Obama did in 2012. She lost the state by just over 10,000 votes. President Biden outperformed both Obama and Clinton in the county in 2020, defeating Trump there by about 21,000 votes on his way to putting Michigan back in the blue column.   There are questions about how the attempts to kill Trump might impact the election. Trump's approval rating went up after the first attempt on his life, although Vice President Harris has been rising in the polls since last week's debate.   But the politics this week have been secondary to the latest attempt on Trump's life, which has elicited bipartisan anger and sparked a scramble to ensure it doesn't happen a third time with only 49 days to go before the election.   The Hill's Brett Samuels reports that anti-Trump rhetoric on the left has come under scrutiny, even as Democrats vent frustration with Trump for turning up the temperature with his own rhetoric. Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), unloaded on Democrats and the news media at a campaign event in Michigan. "I think that it's time to say to Democrats, to the media, to everybody that has been attacking this man and trying to censor this man for going on 10 years, cut it out or you're going to get somebody killed." There is bipartisan anger and a sense of exasperated frustration that a second gunman was able to get so close to Trump.    "They're obviously not doing the job they ought to be doing," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told Semafor. "The problem is, they failed twice."   "They're going to eventually get the guy killed," Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told The Hill's Al Weaver. "You hate to say it, but what this looks like is an intentional [act] of not funding what they should fund to help him. I hope nothing happens."   Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Secret Service could get additional funds in a stopgap spending bill that must be passed before Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.   Meanwhile, new details are emerging about the Secret Service's encounter with suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, who was able to hide in waiting on Trump's golf course with an automatic rifle. The Secret Service did not sweep the grounds of the golf course before Trump arrived, The New York Times reports. Routh did not fire any shots, and he never had a line of sight on Trump, the Secret Service says. The Secret Service is telling Trump that new arrangements are needed before he golfs again. The Secret Service is undergoing a "paradigm shift" with the goal of being more proactive, NBC News reports. Multiple probes into the first assassination attempt are still ongoing to determine the security failures that allowed a 20-year old gunman to fire on Trump from fewer than 150 yards away at a rally in Butler, Pa., only two months ago.   Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the Department of Homeland Security has been "almost derelict in its duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information that are necessary to investigate."   Blumenthal added that a report on the incident will be coming soon and that the public will be "shocked" and "appalled" by the findings.   Perspectives: The Free Press: Why did journalists like me take Routh seriously? Read more: What we know about the suspect. Attempt on Trump's life reverberates in race for the White House. Election officials sent suspicious packages in 5 states. Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. CATCH UP QUICK Hezbollah leaders were killed when their pagers exploded in Lebanon and Syria. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making his 10th trip to the Middle East as the Biden administration seeks an elusive peace agreement between Israel and Hamas. Facebook's owner Meta will ban Russian state media outlets over "foreign interference." Sean "Diddy" Combs was arrested and indicted in New York on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Prosecutors are trying to keep him in prison ahead of his trial. NEW THIS AFTERNOON ©  Greg Nash Johnson revives polarizing government funding bill Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will force a Wednesday vote on a six-month government funding bill attached to an election security measure that is seen as a nonstarter by the Democratic-controlled Senate.   There are no guarantees Johnson's funding gambit can pass the GOP-controlled House. Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a government shutdown.   Johnson posted on X:   "Congress has an immediate obligation to do two things: responsibly fund the federal government, and ensure the security of our elections. Because we owe this to our constituents, we will move forward on Wednesday with a vote on the 6-month CR with the SAVE Act attached. I urge all of my colleagues to do what the overwhelming majority of the people of this county rightfully demand and deserve - prevent non-American citizens from voting in American elections."   Johnson pulled the same bill from a vote last week, as GOP-opposition mounted and it became clear it would likely fail on the House floor.   The dynamics have not changed much in the week since.   Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) posted on X:   "Like an undead but doomed zombie, the CR+Save Act is back. Speaker Johnson is fake fighting by attaching a bright shiny object (that he will later abandon) to a bill that continues our path of destructive spending. I won't be any part of this insulting charade. I'm a hell no."   The state of play: The House will vote on a six-month continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government. The CR will include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which requires voters show proof of citizenship when casting a ballot.  Former President Trump has demanded the SAVE Act be attached to the House funding bill, even if it's a nonstarter in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Trump has said Republicans should be willing to shutdown the government over the SAVE Act. This is the same funding bill Johnson yanked from the floor last week after 10 Republicans said they'd vote against it. House Republicans support the SAVE Act, but some have opposed the six-month CR for a variety of reasons. A standalone version of the SAVE Act passed the House over the summer with all Republicans and five Democrats voting in favor. Senate Republicans are largely supportive of the SAVE Act, but they don't believe it should be included in the current government funding fight, and they badly want to avoid an election year shutdown. Sen. James Lankford told The Hill's Alexander Bolton: "I don't like a shutdown, period. Whether close to an election or not, it wastes money. It costs taxpayers more money. They don't save, they lose. If we're protecting taxpayer resources, which is supposedly part of our job, we have to find a way to not have a shutdown." House and Senate Democrats are largely united. They believe Congress should pass a three-month CR that is not attached to the SAVE Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said Johnson's CR with the SAVE Act attached is dead on arrival. The government will shutdown Sept. 30 if no deal is reached. Read more: Johnson faces crossroads with no good options in spending fight. Senate GOP losing patience with Johnson as shutdown nears. Content from our sponsor: National Council on Aging IN OTHER NEWS ©  Associated Press/Jacquelyn Martin Harris sits with NABJ; Teamsters prepare to endorse a candidate Vice President Harris sat for her third televised interview as a presidential candidate —  and the first to be broadcast live —  in Philadelphia on Tuesday with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).   Former President Trump sat with the NABJ over the summer, where he stirred up controversy when he questioned whether Harris is Black.   Harris did not say much that was newsworthy, but there were a few interesting exchanges.   Harris was asked about polling showing young Black men are considering voting for Trump: "I think it's very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody's pocket. They're like any other voting group, you got to earn their vote. So I'm working to earn their vote, not assuming I'm going to have it because I'm Black."   Harris repeatedly declined to break with President Biden on policy pertaining to the war between Israel and Hamas: "We need to get this deal done and we need to get it done immediately, and that's my position and that's my policy."   Harris blasted Trump for spreading lies about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating people's pets: "It's a crying shame. My heart breaks for this community. ... A whole community put in fear … when you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand at a deep level how your words have meaning."   The interview from the battleground state of Pennsylvania comes as a new poll finds Harris opening up a lead in what could be the tipping point state for both campaigns. The latest USA Today/Suffolk University survey finds Harris leading 49 to 46 in Pennsylvania. Harris leads in the bellwether counties of Erie and Northampton, which have traditionally voted along with the statewide winner. The Trump and Harris campaigns are eagerly awaiting endorsement news from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, one of the largest unions in the country with 1.3 million members.   Over the summer, Teamsters leader Sean O'Brien became the first Teamsters leader to ever address the Republican National Convention.   Both candidates are seeking the Teamsters endorsement, which could come as early as Wednesday.   Read more: Trump-Taylor Swift feud may pose risks in tight election. Trump reverses on SALT deduction cap. PUNDIT CORNER "How to respond to a blackmailing CEO," by Harold Meyerson for The American Prospect.    "Setting limits on children with smartphones is a good idea," by the Editorial Board for The Guardian. ⏲️  COUNTDOWN 13 days until government funding runs out.   14 days until the vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz.   49 days until the 2024 general election. 125 days until Inauguration Day 2025. 🗓  ON TAP Tuesday Trump participates in a town hall event in Flint, Mich. Wednesday Trump holds a campaign rally in Uniondale, N.Y. Harris addresses the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's leadership conference. She'll then participate in a virtual campaign event to be broadcast on social media with Oprah Winfrey and other guests.  UNDER THE RADAR There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ALaTour@thehill.com Stay Engaged You're all caught up! 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