CUED UP: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) is set to be confirmed as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as soon as today after the Senate advanced his nomination Sunday.
The president's nomination of Mullin to succeed outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem passed mostly along party lines in a 54-37 vote. Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.) were the only Democrats to vote in favor.
Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), the only Republican who has come out against Mullin's nomination, wasn't present for the procedural vote, while eight Democrats also missed it.
A final vote on Mullin's nomination is expected Monday or Tuesday, putting him in place to take over for Noem.
DHS MANEUVERING: Mullin will likely inherit leadership of DHS in the midst of a shutdown as a wider debate over the administration's immigration enforcement policies continues to play out.
Mullin did agree during his confirmation hearing last week to change some controversial policies from Noem's tenure.
But The Hill's Mike Lillis reports Democrats are holding out for more substantial reforms under pressure from their base, chiefly that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) follow the same rules as other federal law enforcement agencies.
But Lillis notes the strategy has risks as DHS workers have now gone without pay for more than a month.
The impacts are particularly being felt at airports with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) dealing with increasing absences among staff. CNN reported half of the country's busiest airports had more than a third of their TSA agents call out Saturday.
Trump said Sunday that ICE officers will start assisting TSA at airports Monday to make up for the staffing shortfalls. White House border czar Tom Homan, who is in charge of the operation, said ICE officers wouldn't be directly involved in security scanning measures as they don't have the training for it.
Homan said ICE should prioritize the airports with the longest wait times.
Trump told NewsNation in an interview that ICE officers would remain at airports "for as long as it takes." He said Democrats are more interested in reaching a deal since he announced the move but suggested he wouldn't approve an agreement that doesn't include passing the SAVE America Act, a key voting requirements bill he has been pushing.
"Now that I did this, the Democrats want to make a deal," Trump said. "And I don't think any deal should be made on this until they approve Save America."
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he expects long security wait times to get "much worse" with more TSA agents quitting or not coming to work.
The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports several Senate Republicans are getting behind an idea to reopen TSA and other agencies and then address funding for ICE and CBP through the budget reconciliation process.
The partial shutdown will set a new record for length in U.S. history if it persists through this coming weekend.
▪ The Hill: What else we're watching this week on Capitol Hill.
▪ The Hill: Senate Republican says 'no end in sight' for shutdown.
MAIL-IN BALLOT CASE: The Supreme Court will hear a case Monday with potentially critical implications for the midterm elections this year.
The court will hear arguments about whether states should be allowed to count ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after polls close. The case is over a Mississippi law that allows for a five-day grace period for certain mail-in ballots.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Mississippi Libertarian Party sued the state and convinced a lower court that federal law sets just one Election Day on the first Tuesday in November, trumping state law. Mississippi is pushing the high court to overturn that ruling, pitting state GOP officials against the RNC.
Trump has targeted mail-in voting for years, including as part of his unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election that he lost, and he has repeatedly called for the practice to be banned.
The administration will also make an argument to the justices Monday, with Solicitor General D. John Sauer making the case. Read more about it from The Hill's Ella Lee here.
▪ The Hill: Officials ask to dismiss case against ex-officers in Breonna Taylor's death.
FISA REAUTHORIZATION: The president's push for Congress to reauthorize the federal government's warrantless spy powers is facing a significant hurdle from both sides of the political aisle.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the U.S. government to spy on foreigners located abroad without a warrant, is set to expire on April 20. House Republican leaders had hoped to bring up a vote to reauthorize it this week, but that vote has been delayed until next month amid pushback from critics in both parties.
The tool is facing opposition from the right wing of the GOP and liberals who argue the intelligence community should get a warrant before reviewing information on Americans collected in surveillance efforts, The Hill's Rebecca Beitsch reports.
Some hard-line opponents calling for a warrant requirement have softened in recent days. That includes House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who said he would support the president's request for reauthorization.
Trump himself has also reversed course on FISA after calling on Republicans to eliminate it in 2024.
Still, a reauthorization won't be easy, and the vote has been punted a few weeks.
▪ The Hill: Jordan subpoenas prosecutor over case involving protest.
MORE MUELLER ATTACKS: The president continued to rail throughout the weekend against former special counsel Robert Mueller following his death Friday.
Trump on Sunday shared a link on Truth Social to an article posted by his ally Roger Stone titled, "The lies of Robert Mueller and his criminal gang." That post came a day after Trump's initial reaction to Mueller's death.
"Robert Mueller just died," he wrote on Truth Social. "Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!"
Mueller, who died at the age of 81, served as FBI director for more than a decade under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He came back to prominence in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election when he was appointed as special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the race.
Trump repeatedly denounced Mueller's investigation as a hoax, but the probe led to a series of arrests and charges filed against key figures in Trump's orbit, including Stone, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his former campaign chair Paul Manafort.
Mueller's team ultimately didn't find evidence that Trump's campaign coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the election but said it couldn't reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice.
Trump's comments aren't the first time he has railed against a high-profile figure following their death. He faced widespread backlash in December after he suggested director Rob Reiner and his wife, who were stabbed to death, died from "Trump derangement syndrome."
▪ The Hill: Treasury secretary defends Trump after Mueller post.
CREDENTIALS RETURNED: The New York Times will receive press credentials Monday from the Pentagon after a federal judge ordered seven journalists at the outlet to receive them, Status reported.
The judge ruled the Pentagon's press policy restricting access violates the First Amendment. The Defense Department has signaled it plans to appeal the ruling.
ARSON ATTACK: Police in London are investigating after four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community ambulatory service were set on fire early Monday.
No one was injured, and the fires have been extinguished. Officials said they are investigating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime, ABC News reported.
No comments:
Post a Comment