Welcome back to 10 Things in Politics, your weekday look at the biggest stories in DC and beyond. Sign up here to receive this newsletter. Send tips to [email protected] or tweet me at @BrentGriffiths.
- Programming note: We are taking a short holiday break. We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. We'll be back Wednesday.
Here's what we're talking about:
- Trump is content playing golf and plotting rallies while prosecutors loom over his summer
- The White House is reportedly to unveil a $6 trillion budget
- Top vaccine expert says we may not need COVID-19 booster shots for years
One thing to look out for today: The Senate didn't finish its work Thursday. So, it will resume at 9 a.m. ET with votes on a massive proposal to boost US competitiveness against China and a critical procedural hurdle for the Capitol riot commission.
With Jordan Erb
1. SWING STATE: Former President Donald Trump is ready to do it his way, again. Nothing, it seems, will prevent Trump from doing Trump during his COVID-carefree summer in New Jersey. Legal pressure is mounting on his inner circle and possibly even himself, but, hey, the greens are always greener. Or something like that.
Insider took a peek at how Trump would beat the heat while not far away prosecutors might be preparing to grill his top associates.
Shoring up support in New Jersey: Since decamping from Mar-a-Lago, Trump is filling his days with endless rounds of golf and emailed tirades against enemies. He's hosted a super PAC at his Bedminster resort and is expected to return to his namesake tower in midtown Manhattan.
- Key quote: "Let's just say he's still king of the castle," a Trump advisor said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are preparing to investigate his company's finances as if it's the mob: Legal experts suspect Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s investigators are looking into whether the Trump Organization has run afoul of Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization, or RICO, laws, statutes that prosecutors have used against both mob organizations and businesses with a pattern of criminal behavior.
- And they even have someone they would like to flip: The most valuable prospective cooperator might be Allen Weisselberg, who was initially hired by Fred Trump to manage the family's finances in the 1970s and has risen through the ranks of the company since. Prosecutors are also tightening the screws on his family. They are looking at his eldest son, Barry Weisselberg, who for years paid virtually nothing in rent for his apartment - which his ex-wife, Jennifer Weisselberg, said was a wedding gift from the Trumps - while apparently miscategorizing it on tax filings.
More on Trump's summer plans here.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
2. Capitol riot commission expected to fail during today's vote: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's private lobbying effort is expected to kill a bipartisan proposal to investigate the deadly January 6 attack, Politico reports. McConnell said he did not think such a panel would uncover new facts or promote unity. Privately, he's also said a commission could doom Republicans heading into the midterms by uncovering unflattering details about Trump.
- What's the holdup?: Senators were expected to vote on the commission Thursday, but Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and other conservative senators delayed votes for hours over a massive bill seeking to make the US more competitive with China, The Hill reports. The Senate will now resume at 9 a.m. (More on the efforts to boost the US's R&D here.)
3. White House reportedly to unveil $6 trillion budget that would run a $1.3 trillion deficit over a decade: This would take the US to its highest federal spending levels since World War II, and it comes as President Joe Biden is lobbying for his $4 trillion infrastructure plan, which includes not only rebuilding physical infrastructure but climate-crisis initiatives and efforts to boost the middle class, as well, The New York Times reports. Republicans argue the plan calls for dangerous levels of debt. The budget is expected to be unveiled today.
4. Republicans introduce a $928 billion infrastructure counteroffer: Senate Republicans' proposal to the White House would only modestly increase new federal spending compared with what the Biden administration is seeking. The new plan is largely focused on physical infrastructure, including $506 billion for roads and bridges. The White House says diverting stimulus funds would come at the expense of rural hospitals, restaurants, and small businesses.
- Democrats mostly panned the offer: "I don't really think this is a serious counteroffer," Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in an MSNBC interview.
5. Federal investigators are looking at whether Ukrainians interfered in the 2020 election: Prosecutors in Brooklyn are examining whether some Ukrainian officials passed false corruption claims involving Biden to Rudy Giuliani, who is the subject of a separate federal criminal inquiry from prosecutors in Manhattan, The Times reports. Giuliani has denied ever working for any Ukrainians. The investigation is said to have begun during the final months of the Trump administration.
Toby Howell
6. There's bipartisan pushback to Amazon's megamerger with MGM: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota says the US Department of Justice should investigate Amazon's $8.45 billion purchase over antitrust concerns. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said Amazon was already a monopoly and "shouldn't be permitted to buy anything else." Amazon and other big-tech companies have been closely scrutinized in recent years.
7. Top vaccine expert says we may not need COVID-19 booster shots for years: "I would predict that protection will last for a few years - protection as I define it, which is protection against severe to critical disease," Dr. Paul Offit told Insider. His best guess is that booster shots would be needed in three to five years.
8. Paul Ryan enters the GOP's civil war: Ryan, a former House speaker and 2012 vice-presidential nominee, said during a speech at the Reagan presidential library that the GOP was drifting away from its roots, CNN reports. "If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality, or of second-rate imitations, then we're not going anywhere," he said.
9. More than 60% of Americans are burned out, an Insider survey found: Nearly 80% of respondents said COVID-19 had affected their lives in some way, be it additional childcare responsibilities, extra work hours, or caring for a sick relative. There's a stark gender gap in self-reported burnout. Men were twice as likely as women to say they felt no burnout.
10. Ever wonder what the world will be like in 20 years?: Every four years, the intelligence community convenes to describe realistic scenarios - some devastating, some similar to the present - that policymakers will face 20 years from now.
Here's what the US's top spies think 2040 could be like:
- The US and China lead the world through a robust trading relationship.
- Democracies across the world see a resurgence led by the US and its allies.
- The world is rebuilding after a devastating global food shortage caused by the climate crisis.
Read their other predictions here.
Today's trivia question: Long before it was used for hit movies, what did the term "blockbuster" mean? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].
- Yesterday's answer: Lawmakers were forced to meet in the Patent Office, which today is the National Portrait Gallery, after British troops burned much of Washington, including the Capitol, in 1814.