MORNING REPORT

Friday, August 7 | By Sarah Fortinsky and Jared Gans

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In today's issue:

▪ Calls mount for Miller’s exit

▪ Senate looks toward recess

▪ Paul to refer Fauci to DOJ for contempt

▪ FCC lifts station ownership cap

Max Miller faces mounting calls to quit from Senate GOP

Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) faces growing calls from Republican senators to resign amid abuse allegations levied by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).

Ohio Republicans are facing a rapidly approaching deadline of Monday as the last day that Miller can drop out and allow local Republican leaders to replace him on the ballot. But he’s maintained he will keep his House seat and stay in the race, even in the face of mounting backlash.

Moreno’s fellow Ohio senator, Republican Jon Husted, on Thursday became the latest high-profile official to urge Miller to leave Congress after previously sidestepping questions about whether he’d call for his resignation.

“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” Husted wrote on social media.

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) also said Thursday that Miller “should step aside and seek help” following reporting that the congressman withheld his young daughter’s little blue bunny amid a custody battle. Miller has disputed characterizations of the controversy.

“Staying in this race makes it far more likely we lose this seat and hand Democrats a majority to impeach President Trump,” Sheehy said.

President Trump warned Miller of the difficult electoral path he faces during a phone call earlier this week. The president stopped short of publicly calling on Miller to resign Thursday, saying he wasn’t going to get involved.

No House Republicans have called for their colleague’s exit, though House Speaker Mike Johnson conceded this week that things “don’t look good” for the member from Ohio.

The political path ahead is looking increasingly perilous for Miller, even in a district that Trump won by 11 points in 2024.

One poll released Thursday from a right-leaning pollster found Miller trailing his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, by 14 points. That’s an even larger gap than the 5-point deficit that a poll taken last week found.

Nearly half of all respondents said they are less likely to support Miller because of what they have seen, heard or read about him.

But Miller is in a difficult spot, Axios reported, as dropping out of the race would essentially come off as admitting to the allegations.

Details of the bitter custody battle and accusations of domestic violence — which Miller has denied — spilled out into public view this week after Miller’s former father-in law, the Ohio senator, broke his silence in calling for Miller’s resignation Sunday.

“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives,” Bernie Moreno wrote on social media, saying his former son-in-law needs

Moreno’s statement seems to have opened the door for some of his fellow Senate Republicans to follow his lead. Many touted Moreno’s character and credibility in doing so.

In addition to both Ohio senators, Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said “yes” when asked whether Miller should resign, saying she doesn't know all the details, “But I stand with Bernie in supporting his daughter and his granddaughter, and hope that others will as well.”

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) similarly said this week that Miller should resign, saying he hasn’t heard Miller’s side of the story, “But I certainly trust Bernie and his family. [They’re] such a good family, I’ve met quite a few of them. They have such high values.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told Politico that she does not know Miller, “but if [Moreno] thinks he ought to resign, I’m supportive of that.” And Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), earlier this week, said Miller “shouldn’t be in office” but stopped short of calling for his resignation.

Two sources told Axios that Republicans privately expect Miller to drop out of the race by the end of the week. If he does, a race would be on to quickly choose a replacement with less than three months to Election Day.

▪ The Hill: Abuse, harassment allegations threaten to derail GOP midterm message.

▪ The Hill: How a stuffed blue bunny got caught in the feud.

3 Things to Know Today

An amended lawsuit is challenging a May memo from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche giving President Trump, his adult children and their businesses sweeping immunity from government review into past conduct. The memo would specifically halt any review of Trump’s past tax returns by the IRS.
Trump signed two executive orders Thursday aimed at restricting birthright citizenship in an apparent attempt to get around a Supreme Court ruling in June that upheld the constitutional protection.
Iranian state media on Thursday reported that Tehran could attempt to block U.S. and Israeli shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz under its joint venture with Oman to reopen the critical waterway to commercial traffic. Members of Iran’s parliament are reviewing a proposed bill.

LEADING THE DAY

FALLING SHORT: Trump-backed Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) lost his primary to a former state official Thursday in a major blow to the firebrand lawmaker, ending his chance at another term in the House.

Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher is on track to defeat Ogles by more than 6 points in the state’s 5th Congressional District, located on the western end. Hatcher will be the favorite to win the November election in a solidly red district.

Ogles, a two-term legislator and member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, had the support of the president and other notable GOP figures, including the state’s two Republican senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.

But Ogles’s tenure in office has proved controversial, often over comments he has made about various minority groups. He said in March that Muslims “don’t belong in American society” and defended the statement after receiving backlash.

More recently, his X account posted at the start of Pride Month that homosexuality “has no place in America.” Ogles blamed the post on a staffer but received criticism from fellow Republicans.

Hatcher received support from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), with whom he served when he led the state’s agriculture department. A PAC that supports renewable energy called the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition also zeroed in on trying to defeat Ogles, spending $2 million to attack the congressman and boost Hatcher.

The results mark a relatively rare defeat for Trump, whose record in GOP primaries has demonstrated his continued influence within the party. His chosen candidate also lost a GOP House primary in Michigan earlier this week.

▪ The Hill: Takeaways from Tennessee’s primaries.

▪ The Hill: Blackburn on track to succeed Lee as governor.

SPRINTING TO THE END: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are pushing toward a deal to fund the federal government and allow lawmakers to go home for August recess, but questions remain as to when and how they will get there.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports Thune’s priorities are to pass a continuing resolution keeping the government funded into December and confirm a package of 74 Trump nominees. But he’s facing opposition from Trump allies who want the GOP to clinch more accomplishments before departing Washington for a month.

Thune is also looking to get the votes to confirm Blanche as attorney general, but he still is short of the votes he needs to clinch confirmation. The nomination received another blow early Friday as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) came out against the nomination, leaving Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) as the swing vote.

Two other pieces of legislation possibly up for consideration before the recess include a Russia sanctions bill and a measure to reform eligibility and compensation for college athletes. But amendments to those bills could delay them past the recess.

▪ The Hill: Surprise GOP hemp fight drags spending bill.

DEFENDER-IN-CHIEF: Trump is defending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following a Washington Post report that the two feuded during a meeting a Camp David last week over the U.S.’s dwindling munitions stockpiles.

“The Fake News, as usual, is spreading false and completely unfounded rumors. I am extremely happy with the job that Pete Hegseth is doing,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday.

The Post reported earlier in the day that Trump expressed frustration about the state of the Iran war at the presidential retreat last Friday, demanding answers from Hegseth about why he had been misled on the munitions shortages caused by U.S. involvement in the conflict.

The shortages have reportedly played a part in Trump holding off on threatened larger attacks against Iran. Trump has repeatedly defended Hegseth publicly and said the “‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements” about the munitions shortfalls are being “hunted down.”

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that Trump has ordered an investigation into the leaks.

▪ The Hill: 50 percent believe war will destabilize the Middle East, survey finds.

▪ The Atlantic: How the U.S. squandered its strategic advantage.

JUMPING FORWARD: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is expected to skip a vote on the Senate floor and refer Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Department of Justice (DOJ) after the panel he chairs voted to hold the former White House medical adviser in contempt Thursday.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for his refusal to answer questions at the committee’s hearing last week. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times during the hearing focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing Paul was trying to get him to say something that would land him in prison.

Criminal referrals from a Senate committee usually go to the full Senate for a vote, but Paul can also directly send it to the DOJ. A full Senate vote would require Democratic support to reach a 60-vote threshold, an unlikely prospect.

Paul had previously signaled he would directly transmit the referral to the DOJ to not “waste time.” The referral isn’t a mandate, and the U.S. attorney for D.C. will have discretion whether to prosecute.

Lawmakers have been split on whether Fauci has Fifth Amendment protections given the preemptive pardon he received from former President Biden last year.

▪ The Hill: 3 state attorneys general subpoena Fauci.

▪ The Hill: FDA approves first mRNA flu vaccine.

GREEN LIGHT: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted Thursday to eliminate a longstanding cap on the number of households that a single broadcaster can reach nationally.

The rule had been in place since the early 2000s, restricting the viewers that one broadcaster could reach at 39 percent of the national television viewing audience. The FCC said the rule will be replaced by a “granular, case-by-case review.”

“Eliminating the national cap will allow broadcasters to better compete with these unregulated digital giants,” the commission said in a statement, referring to the growth of Big Tech companies in media.

Nexstar Media Group, The Hill’s parent company, was among the companies pushing to change the ownership rules. Nexstar is the largest provider of local news in the country and is pursuing a multibillion-dollar acquisition of Tegna, another major news provider.

The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo reports the change will likely have major implications for the future of television news and could lead to greater consolidation by media companies.

▪ WBAY: States urge FCC to toughen rules for phone companies.

WHEN & WHERE

The president wll host a roundtable on American mining at the U.S. State Department at 3 p.m. He will then travel to Bedminster, N.J., for the weekend.
The Senate will meet at 10 a.m.
The House is out.

ZOOM IN

PRESSING PAUSE: A federal judge has temporarily halted a deadline that was set to require Trump to hand over documents detailing the finances of his business empire to the BBC as part of his ongoing libel lawsuit against the outlet.

The BBC was set to receive the documents Thursday, but Trump lawyers have objected to the move. They’re hoping to revise the lawsuit, which concerns the BBC’s editing of Trump’s speech before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, to make the need for the documents moot.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman, an appointee from Trump’s first term, agreed to halt the production of documents until the revisions are addressed.

“If the Plaintiff’s amendment obviates the need to compel a non-party to disclose confidential financial information, we think it’s prudent to enter a brief stay of the Order until the amendment request is resolved,” Altman wrote in his ruling.

Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC is one of several he has filed against media outlets over alleged defamation.

The case arose from a documentary that the outlet released ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Trump alleged in December that a clip of his speech to supporters at the Ellipse before the Capitol attack was edited in a defamatory and deceptive way.

The BBC has apologized to Trump but is challenging the defamation suit, arguing it doesn’t meet that high standard.

Media outlets sued by the president over the past year and a half have responded in varying ways, with some agreeing to settlements for millions of dollars and others pushing back.

▪ The Hill: Michael Cohen predicts Trump will drop BBC lawsuit.

▪ The Guardian: Judge signals Trump’s Wall Street Journal suit may be dismissed again.

ELSEWHERE

LEPROSY UPTICK: Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is on the rise again in Florida after setting a record last year for the most cases recorded in modern history of the rare chronic infectious disease.

The latest data from Florida’s Department of Health shows 19 cases of leprosy confirmed as of Aug. 1. That puts the state on pace with last year’s record number of 36 confirmed cases.

The number of cases has been on an upward trend since the state began tracking leprosy cases in 1992. Before, 2015 set the record with 29 confirmed cases. In 2024, the state recorded 20 cases.

Leprosy was once considered highly contagious, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says it’s actually not easy to transmit the disease between people and would require direct contact with an infected person’s saliva or mucus. Plus, the CDC says roughly 95 percent of people are naturally immune to the disease.

Local health officials suspect the uptick in cases can be attributed, at least in part, to contact with nine-banded armadillos, which are naturally infected with mycobacterium leprae, the slow-growing bacterium that causes the disease.

While still considered rare, leprosy can cause symptoms including lesions, lumps, ulcers and loss of eyebrows and lashes. The chronic disease can also affect the peripheral nerve, causing people to lose their sense of touch and increasing the likelihood of injuries.

To reduce the chances of exposure, the CDC advises the public not to touch or eat armadillos and to take precautions when working in soil where the animal might have been digging, including by wearing gloves and long sleeves and washing hands afterward. Placing repellents or traps outside can also limit exposure risk.

▪ The Hill: How to reduce leprosy risk in Florida.

▪ NBC News: Michigan lifts lettuce warning as cyclospora cases fall.

OPINION

No joke: Britain might be about to elect ‘novelty’ candidate Count Binface, Keith Naughton writes in The Hill.
Is America now a Barbary pirate? Michael Szalma writes in The Hill.

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congrats to this week’s Morning Report quiz winners! They were perfect with this peek into Jeanine Pirro’s backstory.

Here’s who went 4/4: Richard Baznik, Stan Wasser, Chuck Schoenenberger, Rick Schmidtke, Jess Elger, Carmine Petracca, Garrett Webb, Harry Strulocivi, Phil Kirstein, Linda L. Field, Michael Salanik, Mark R. Williamson, Lou Tisler and Ned Sauthoff.

Pirro’s weekly show on Fox News was called “Justice with Judge Jeanine.” The show “Judge Jeanine Pirro” aired on The CW for a few years before this.

Pirro was first elected judge of Westchester County, N.Y., in 1990, becoming the first female judge in the county’s history.

Pirro briefly ran for U.S. Senate in 2006 against Hillary Clinton but dropped out amid polling and fundraising struggles. She then ran for state attorney general, losing to Andrew Cuomo.

Cecily Strong was known for playing Pirro on “Saturday Night Live” during her decadelong tenure on the show.