MORNING REPORT

Monday, August 11 | By Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch

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In today's issue:

▪ Trump puts FBI crime fighters on D.C. streets

▪ Ukraine fights for spot at Trump-Putin summit

▪ Netanyahu on defensive with Gaza takeover

▪ Experts go to school on elementary students

Trump puts DC on high alert

President Trump today will explain what he sees as a role for FBI law enforcers on Washington, D.C., streets as part of his crackdown against violent crime.

The FBI began over the weekend to dispatch about 120 agents to work overnight shifts to help local law enforcement prevent carjackings and violence as Trump scheduled a news conference for this morning.

He said he wants to "stop violent crime" and tackle homeless encampments in the nation's capital after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.

"The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," the president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. "We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong."

Last week the president began wielding crime statistics to make his case, including data that Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) disputed on Sunday.

"If the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here," Bowser, who initially offered no public comments as the president vowed to federalize the city, told MSNBC on Sunday. "But it won't be because there's a spike in crime."

Describing himself as "no 'MR. NICE GUY,'" Trump said on social media over the weekend that federal action will "immediately clear out the city's homeless population and take swift action against crime."

The president's aggressive approach echoes his focus on border security and migrant criminals, themes during his campaign and in the first six months of his second term.

In Los Angeles in June, Trump deployed active-duty troops to bolster federal arrests of migrants while rejecting the opposition of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). FBI agents also were used during that operation before Trump withdrew the troops in mid-July. His presidential action in California will be scrutinized during a federal trial that begins today as part of a challenge brought by the governor.

Violent crime rates in Washington dropped 35 percent from 2023 to 2024, marking the lowest rates recorded in more than 30 years, according to a January report by the Justice Department.

▪ The Washington Post: Here's what D.C.'s crime statistics show.

But Trump reacted last week to social media and news accounts of car jackings and melees involving teenage attackers while continuing to describe the nation's capital as unsafe, unsightly and poorly managed by Democratic politicians. He and advisers say D.C. police and prosecutors are too lenient. He called for juvenile suspects to be charged in the adult justice system.

Trump has long been critical of conditions in Washington and in other major U.S. cities governed by Democrats, including New York, his hometown.

"We want our Capital BACK," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The deployment of FBI agents to deal with local crime puts federal agents from the bureau's counterintelligence, public corruption and other divisions with minimal training in traffic stops out on the streets, The Washington Post reported.

In the nation's capital, suspects as young as 15 can be charged as adults.

"Young people are coddled, and they don't need to be coddled anymore," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the city's new prosecutor appointed by Trump, said last week. "They need to be held accountable."

Smart Take with Blake Burman will return on Wednesday.

3 Things to Know Today

The share of moms with young children in the workforce fell this year, as return-to-office measures and government layoffs take an outsize toll on women.
Trump hasn't applied to the National Capital Planning Commission for approval of his planned 90,000 square foot White House ballroom. It's a statutory requirement and a review can take years.
U.S. companies are repurchasing their stock shares at a record pace. It's boosting their balance sheets and fueling a rally in financial markets.

LEADING THE DAY

ALASKA SUMMIT: As the war in Ukraine rages on, Trump will meet Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It will mark the first meeting between a U.S. president and the Russian leader since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

As of Monday, major logistical components, including a venue, remained up in the air, as White House officials raced to lock down details.

In his first few months back in office, Trump and his administration have pushed for an end to the war in Ukraine, with no luck. Trump said last week he is going to meet with Putin in Alaska to speak about an end to the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been invited to the summit, raising concern among Kyiv's allies across the globe. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday that he hopes Zelensky will be involved in the summit.

Vice President Vance, interviewed Sunday on "Fox News," said the U.S. is working to set up a separate meeting that also includes Zelensky. Vance said he did not think it would be a good idea for Putin and Zelensky to meet before Trump's meeting on Friday with the Russian president.

Vance said he wants peace and to stop funding the Ukraine war.

"We're done with the funding of the Ukraine war business," he said on Fox News. "We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing."

LAND DISPUTE: Putin's reported proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which would require Kyiv to cede regions in the east, sparked a firm response from European leaders on Saturday. They welcomed Trump's efforts to negotiate a ceasefire as part of an effort to permanently end the nearly three-and-a-half-year war but argued that "only" an approach that mixes support for Ukraine, "active" diplomacy and additional pressure on Moscow can lead to peace on the front lines.

Zelensky said Sunday that his country will not let Russia "deceive" the U.S.

"Of course, our team is working with the United States — not a single day goes by without communication on how to ensure real peace," Zelensky said in an address, according to a translation released by his office. "We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this. I greatly value the determination with which President Trump is committed to bringing an end to the killings in this war."

▪ The Hill: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the alliance is "making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay in the fight" ahead of the summit.

▪ The New York Times: Washington's push to negotiate an end to the war has raised concerns the Trump administration will make concessions to Moscow that Kyiv finds unacceptable.

NO CONCESSIONS: Russian officials and commentators crowed about landing a summit between Putin and Trump, which apparently came without the Kremlin having made any clear concessions over its war in Ukraine. Russia's special economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the decision to hold the summit in Alaska was symbolically important for the U.S.-Russian partnership. The U.S. purchased the territory from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents per acre.

"Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire," Michael McFaul, an Obama-era U.S. ambassador to Russia, wrote on the social platform X. "Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected."

▪ The Hill: Trump critic John Bolton, a former national security adviser during Trump's first term, criticized the upcoming U.S.-Russia meeting in Alaska, arguing Trump's actions have not changed foreign policy. Bolton asserted Trump is motivated by a desire to capture a Nobel Peace Prize.

▪ The Hill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says that peace negotiations in Alaska could be "a positive step forward" if "an agreement can be negotiated which does not compromise what the Ukrainians feel that they need."

GAZA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday defended his plans to take over additional areas of Gaza, despite widespread international criticism. Netanyahu said Israeli forces would "quickly" evacuate and then seize Gaza City, as well as a cluster of refugee camps in the enclave's middle region.

But critics said the proposed new military offensive is likely to worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and further endanger the hostages still being held by Hamas. Thousands protested across Israel over the weekend, renewing calls for an immediate ceasefire.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres criticized Israel's plan, saying in a statement that the plan "marks a dangerous escalation" and "risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians."

Trump is giving a tacit green light for Netanyahu's military push, framing the move as an Israeli-owned decision amid a global outcry. A defiant Netanyahu on Sunday insisted there is no starvation in Gaza. Netanyahu only conceded there was "deprivation" in the enclave, but he said "no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war" if Israel was implementing a "starvation policy."

▪ CNN analysis: Netanyahu's Gaza takeover plan satisfies no one but himself.

▪ The New York Times: How European leaders tried to halt the war in Gaza.

▪ Politico: The "day after" plan for Gaza that Netanyahu doesn't want to talk about.

▪ Reuters: An Israeli strike killed Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza.

WHEN & WHERE

The president will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. in the press briefing room.
The House will hold a pro forma session on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and will return to work in Washington on Sept. 2.
The Senate will hold a pro forma session at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

ZOOM IN

COURTING ENDORSEMENTS: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is leaning heavily into the Texas redistricting battle as he seeks to fend off an uphill, conservative primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R).

Last Tuesday, Cornyn publicly called for FBI Director Kash Patel to assist in tracking down Texas state Legislature Democrats who fled the state in protest of the GOP's proposed congressional maps, which could net them five seats in Congress.

Two days later, the senator and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) separately confirmed that the FBI was assisting in the effort. The move to get out in front of the redistricting battle allows Cornyn to ingratiate himself with the state's deeply conservative base, writes The Hill's Julia Manchester, as they have distanced themselves from the incumbent senator in his uphill primary battle against Paxton.

"I think this is a good opportunity for Cornyn to show that he's a fighter and that's willing to take on an issue that's a red meat issue that resonates with the base," said Brendan Steinhauser, Cornyn's former campaign manager and a Texas-based GOP strategist. "When you see those opportunities, you have to take them."

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said Sunday the FBI does not have jurisdiction to return Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled their state.

"You're asking the FBI to get involved, to find these legislators who are in the process of trying to defend democracy in Texas," Holder said on NBC News's "Meet the Press." "And they're not hard to find, but the question after that is, 'Well, what's the federal jurisdiction? What federal statute has potentially been violated? What's the basis for any federal government interaction?' And I would say that there is none."

▪ NBC News: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) slammed Trump as a "cheater" and Abbott as a "joke" days after welcoming Texas Democrats who fled their state.

LONE STAR EXAMPLE: States across the country are looking to follow Texas's lead in redrawing their congressional district lines ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Multiple Democratic and Republican governors are seeking to add as many seats as they can for their parties and increase the chances that their party can win control of the House next year. The Hill's Jared Gans breaks down which states are most likely to make the next redistricting moves.

▪ The Hill: These are the top House Democrats at risk from GOP redistricting.

▪ The New York Times: The independent body that redraws California's political maps isn't perfect, many Republicans say. But they prefer it to the gerrymander Newsom is proposing to offset the one in Texas.

FLORIDA: When Miami-Dade County turned red in November, after nearly three decades of being solidly blue, Democratic political operatives in Florida had their worst fears realized: The Sunshine State was in fact red. The signs of a flip from purple had been there for several cycles and further cemented by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's 2022 win, when he won the metropolitan county for the GOP for the first time in 20 years. But Florida Democrats say they haven't given up on trying to move their state back into purple-state-territory. In fact, they say, they're doubling down on their efforts.

"We're still rebuilding, but we've had a lot of success," Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, told The Hill's Amie Parnes, although she acknowledged there is "a lot of work to be done and resources we've brought into the state to do that work."

▪ The Hill: Republicans are waging a multipronged campaign against abortion shield laws in blue states, hoping to force the federal government to ultimately ban them. Legal experts say the effort will be difficult — as some states have already learned.

INFLATION: The rising costs of goods and inflation are a growing political problem for Republicans as Trump's latest round of tariffs are scheduled to kick in. Democrats see high costs as their best issue heading into the midterm election. But Republicans have yet to come up with a clearly defined strategy to address the problem of high prices, which they highlighted repeatedly in the 2024 election ahead of their sweeping victories in the presidential, Senate and House races.

"That's why Trump's beating that Fed rate cut like a dead horse," one Republican strategist told The Hill's Alexander Bolton, referring to the immense pressure the president has put on the Federal Reserve to cut rates.

ELSEWHERE

LOCKDOWNS AND LEARNING: Children attending preschool and kindergarten this fall may prove to be tiny teachers among researchers who plan to study whether babies born during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic differ from their predecessors as new classroom learners, possibly because of factors that include school and societal adaptations amid the nation's first brush with lockdowns and a new virus. Educators say they worry about cognitive and social delays, such as difficulties sharing and following directions, among 4- and 5-year-olds who entered the world beginning in 2020.

▪ CBS News: Meanwhile, the COVID-19 virus is on the rise again, especially in the West, according to state and government data.

COMPUTER CHIPS: Companies Nvidia and AMD are expected to kick 15 percent of what they make in China sales of artificial-intelligence chips to the U.S. government in a highly unusual arrangement crafted by Trump. The agreement follows Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's meeting with Trump last week.

FEDERAL DATA: The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics will soon get a new leader after Trump fired the last commissioner following the release this month of a weak jobs report. E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, is among those under consideration and has been a longtime critic of the agency's approach to collecting jobs data, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

▪ The Hill: Some advocates for higher education fear potential repercussions of Trump's order to colleges and universities to turn over more college admissions data.

▪ The Hill: Trump could be the "wild card" in a deal between the NFL and ESPN. Here are five things to know.

OPINION

A risky peace gamble in Alaska, by The Washington Post editorial board.
Dangerous nostalgia: Trump wants to turn back time, by A. Scott Bolden, opinion contributor, The Hill.

THE CLOSER

And finally … What are Labubu dolls and why did they land in national headlines last week when thieves stole a store's inventory of the pricey collectibles?

Answer: The haul near Los Angeles of toothy little monsters created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung was valued at $7,000.

"We are still in shock," One Stop Sales, the store that was robbed, said in a social media post while urging people to help locate the burglars.

The current craze for the colorful adornments, which have been described as "creepy but cute," is being driven by social media, natch.

Labubus, which are manufactured by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company based in Beijing, are hard to come by and are subject to U.S. tariffs. The popularity of the petite gremlins has spawned fakes.