#The Hill’s Morning Report —  Dodging default, Senate sends debt bill to Biden’s desk

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Blasting past senators’ misgivings and eager to avert default, the Senate leadership on Thursday night nudged approval of a House-passed bill to suspend the debt limit, leaving it to President Biden and his pen to end a political impasse that bedeviled Washington for much of the year and threatened economic catastrophe.

The Senate voted 63 to 36 to approve a House measure, sending the compromise to the White House ahead of a projected Monday default deadline (The Hill). Five Democrats and 31 Republicans voted against the bill.

The Associated Press: Democrats led the final tallies in both chambers but it was centrists in both parties who pulled the Biden-McCarthy package to final passage.

The result, at least until January 2025, will allow the Treasury Department to immediately resume paying bills with borrowed funds and it will impose spending caps on portions of the budget for two years. Savings over a decade are estimated at $1.5 trillion, although the upcoming budget process and billions of dollars in funds that can be shifted under the measure from one pot to another will determine whether spending shrinks over the next 24 months, let alone 10 years.

The compromise measure, described by House Republicans as “a start” toward fiscal constraint and whittled down by the White House from its original form to preserve some of Democrats’ priorities, was not amended by disgruntled Senate critics, although 11 members were given the opportunity to try. Changing the legislation would have prolonged the process, risking default. The proposed amendments failed.

The Hill: Here are the senators who opposed the House-passed measure.

The political debate will continue about whether Biden, seeking reelection, got the better of House Republicans, or whether Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), buffeted by his right flank, is left politically wounded after passing a more restrictive approach to curbing federal spending and then cutting a deal with Democrats.

▪ The New York Times analysis: Biden lets others spike the ball but notches a win.

▪ The Washington Post analysis: How House Democrats went from angry at the White House to making passage possible for the deal Biden struck with Republicans.  

Some GOP senators objected to a provision that institutes a 1 percent cut to discretionary spending across the board if Congress doesn’t pass annual appropriations bills by the end of the year, which some Republicans worry that Democrats could use as leverage in future negotiations since many social welfare programs are funded by mandatory spending, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes.

Other Republicans sought higher military spending than provided in the compromise and pressed their leaders for a commitment for a vote on a future supplemental funding bill to raise discretionary defense spending (The New York Times).

“We know that this budget is not adequate to the global threats that we face,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the senior Republican on the full Appropriations Committee. “An emergency supplemental [bill] must be coming our way,” she told the Times.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) offered an amendment to remove a controversial pipeline included in the House bill to be completed from West Virginia to the Commonwealth. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) backs it. Kaine said it amounted to a sweetheart deal to benefit a company with powerful friends in Congress as a way to get legislative relief after being tied up in court. “This will be up and running in six months,” Manchin replied, arguing the pipeline will bolster U.S. “energy independence.”

The Hill: Debt limit deal gives Republicans a win on energy. Is there still room for a separate bipartisan energy agreement?

Among progressives, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced their opposition in advance, arguing the House-passed measure shortchanges families and the poor, rewards oil companies and does nothing to increase revenues by closing tax loopholes favored by big companies and the wealthy.

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“America can breathe a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief, because in this process, we are avoiding default,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the floor. “It would be a nightmare for our economy and millions of American families. … For all the ups and downs and twists and turns it took to get here, it is so good for this country that both parties have come together at last to avoid default.”

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Related Articles

▪ CNN: The Senate on Thursday, following the House, passed legislation to block Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program, a measure he will veto. The administration’s student loan forgiveness program is being challenged in court. 

▪ The Hill: Monthly appointment slots for processing asylum-seekers rose, allowing 40,000 migrants per month to be processed at the U.S. southern border, seen as an improvement, according to the Homeland Security Department. 

▪ The Hill: The White House formally submitted to the Senate on Thursday Biden’s nomination of former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) to represent the U.S. as ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

Biden, whose age at 80 is a major campaign issue in the 2024 race, tripped and fell on stage Thursday at the conclusion of a U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony in Colorado. A video clip circulated widely on social media and was covered by the news media traveling with the president (photo here). A pool reporter said Biden turned to walk back to his seat when he fell, appearing to have caught his foot on a black sandbag on stage. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters later that the president was feeling “totally fine” (The Hill).

Fox News and other conservative news outlets, GOP lawmakers and candidates have eagerly called attention to Biden’s occasional loss of balance while sprinting up the stairs of Air Force One and questioned his cognitive clarity and sometimes jumbled syntax. The president’s responses to questions about his age, health and mental acuity have been, “Watch me.”

Former President Trump’s reaction while campaigning in Iowa as he learned about Biden’s spill: “That’s not inspiring,” adding, “Well, I hope he wasn’t hurt.”

Trump said Thursday that he reached out to Fox News host Sean Hannity, with whom he spoke for a town hall, before the event aired to suggest he stop joking about Biden’s cognitive abilities. Trump said Thursday’s incident was a “bad fall,” but would not go further. Hannity noted that Trump has been reluctant to attack Biden over his physical and mental acuity, though the Fox host said he has no issues doing so himself (The Hill).

“I asked Sean not to joke about it,” Trump said during the pre-taped town hall. “I said, ‘Honestly, I don’t think it looks good for you or for anybody to joke about it.’ You can speak about it if you want, but I don’t think you should joke about it.”

Former Biden White House chief of staff Ron Klain tweeted, “Calm down you nervous nellies”, in reaction to the heavy Twitter rotation of the video clip, while White House communications advisers took to Twitter to mock journalists and critics for what they assured the public were overreactions. The president returned to the White House on Thursday evening, stepped off Marine One and quipped to reporters, “I got sandbagged.” 

Meanwhile, federal investigators have obtained an audio recording of Trump in which he acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document after he left the White House. Sources said the recording — from a July 2021 meeting at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J. — is a crucial piece of evidence that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith’s office obtained in recent months and presented in grand-jury proceedings examining the former president’s retention of sensitive records and possible obstruction of the investigation (CNN).

In the recording, Trump suggested he knew the document was secret and had not declassified it, The New York Times reports. Grand jury activity and requests for evidence have slowed in recent weeks, sources said, indicating the investigation may be coming to a close (CBS News).

The former president, however, insisted he did nothing wrong during the Fox News town hall. 

“I don’t know anything about it. All I know is this: Everything I did was right,” Trump said, following a question about a recording that reportedly includes his acknowledgment that he kept a classified document (Politico).

▪ The New York Times analysis: Recording of Trump underscores growing evidence in documents case.

▪ Vox: Former Vice President Mike Pence, a likely 2024 candidate, is a man without a constituency.

▪ Roll Call: Four states where parties look to bounce back better in 2024.

▪ The Washington Post: Breaking down the GOP investigation into the Biden family.

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IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL 

Ukrainian air defenses shot down more than 30 Russian cruise missiles and drones in Moscow’s sixth air attack in six days on Kyiv, local officials said Friday. A recent spate of attacks on the capital has put strain on residents and tested the strength of Ukraine’s air defenses while Kyiv officials plot what they say is an upcoming counteroffensive (Reuters).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday took his quest for more arms and support to a sprawling summit of some 50 European leaders in Moldova, ending up the focal point of an event that seeks to quell regional conflicts and shore up unity in the face of Russia’s war. Zelensky said the best security guarantee for Ukraine was membership in NATO and the European Union, and that any proposed peace plans to bring the war to an end could not take into account Russian concerns (The Associated Press).

Biden, meanwhile, said “NATO is more energized and more united than it’s been in decades,” during commencement remarks at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. “It’s now even stronger with the accession of our newest ally, Finland, and soon Sweden, to the alliance [as] soon as possible. It will happen. I promise you.” Sweden’s request to join has been held up by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who won reelection in a runoff on Sunday (The Washington Post).

▪ The Washington Post: To liberate territory, Ukraine must smash fortified Russian defenses.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: A feud between Russian warlords exposes the cracks in the Kremlin’s  

▪ The New York Times: Protests erupt in Senegal after the opposition leader is sentenced to prison.

▪ The Associated Press: Clashes in Senegal leave at least 9 dead; the government bans use of social media platforms.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: China’s missile threat drives new U.S. approach in Asia.

▪ Reuters: Rich nations say they’re spending billions to fight climate change. Some money is going to strange places.

▪ The Hill:Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday that the U.S. is opening a diplomatic mission in the Norwegian city of Tromsø, population about 65,000, its first post above the Arctic Circle.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that they were suspending cease-fire talks between the warring Sudanese military and Rapid Support Forces militia, saying both sides had repeatedly committed “serious violations” of the truce. Separately, the Biden administration also announced new sanctions on Sudanese companies and visa restrictions on officials it said were affiliated with the Sudanese military or the RSF (Axios and Reuters).

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OPINION

■ Biden won on the debt ceiling. Why doesn’t he want it to look that way? by Matt Bai, contributing columnist, The Washington Post.

■ Lordy, there are Trump tapes, by David A. Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic.

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WHERE AND WHEN

📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.

The House adjourned and will meet at noon Monday. 

The Senate will meet on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. 

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 1:45 p.m. Biden will depart the White House in the evening to attend the Friday Evening Parade at 8:45 p.m. at Marine Barracks Washington. He’ll return to the White House before 11 p.m.  

First Lady Jill Biden heads from Amman, Jordan, to Cairo today and later to Morocco and Portugal before returning to the U.S. on Monday. The first lady will arrive in Egypt in the afternoon and join President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Presidential Palace. Biden will join her Egyptian counterpart, first lady Entissar Amer, for lunch, followed by a visit to El Sewedy Technical Academy,a technical education school in Cairo. In the evening, Biden will visit Al-Azhar Mosque and host a conversation with young Egyptians. 

Vice President Harris will join the president at 1:45 p.m. in the Oval Office for the President’s Daily Brief. She will mark Gun Violence Awareness Day with an event at 3:50 p.m. in Springfield, Va., to highlight gun violence prevention. She will be accompanied by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

The secretary of State flies from Norway to Finland to meet with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki. In the morning, he joined a signing ceremony for 6G Finland, which is a coalition of research and development organizations. He met this morning with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin before delivering a speech about Russia’s war with Ukraine, calling it “a strategic failure.” In the afternoon, the secretary meets with U.S. Embassy personnel in Helsinki and their families.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will speak at 9:10 a.m. about nuclear risk reduction as part of the Arms Control Association’s annual meeting at the National Press Club. 

Economic indicator: The Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. will issue the jobs report for May.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff ​​will mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day and “Wear Orange” weekend by participating in the Washington Mystics’ “Wear Orange” youth basketball clinic (hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety). Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, will attend the event.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2 p.m.

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ELSEWHERE

➤ ADVOCACY: ORANGE SHIRTS, GUN LOCKS + PRIDE 

Today is Gun Violence Awareness Day and June is National Safety Month, which means activists nationwide are accessorizing their messages with orange shirts, bright lights, peaceful marches and gun-lock giveaways. 

The vice president and her husband will participate today in separate events focused on gun safety. The exterior of the White House may glow orange, as it did last year, to spread the gun-safety message.

Sports teams, including the Washington Commanders, Nationals and Mystics, are going orange (Mystics WNBA). And the Houston Texans wore orange shirts during Wednesday’s practice to draw public attention to gun violence. The shirts featured the word “Uvalde” on the back, a message of support for the Texas community shaken by the Robb Elementary School shooting that claimed 19 lives last year (ESPN and TheSpun).

In Portland, Ore., the Morrison Bridge is lighted orange today and will stay that way over #WearOrange weekend.  

King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, will mark Gun Violence Awareness Day with its third gun lockbox giveaway. “Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in the US. Over the past three years, we have seen an uptick in the number of firearm-related injuries and deaths in King County, in places where we all live, play and learn,” the county said.

Not far from the nation’s capital, four locations in the Alexandria, Va., public library system will partner with the Alexandria government this month to distribute free gun cable and trigger locks to mark National Safety Month. 

🏳️‍🌈 June is LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States, which for years has meant celebrations, parades and entertainment. This year, state and local laws that restrict drag performances amid partisan wrangling about transgender adults and gender-affirming care for transgender minors means celebrants are weighing the risks of attending events that could attract public hostility or even violence, The Hill’s Brooke Migdon reports. 

▪ The Hill: Here are some history-making LGBTQ officials in the Biden administration. 

▪ Financial Times: Culture wars test corporate America’s commitment to Pride Month.

▪ The Associated Press: Pride Month kicks off with protests, parades, parties.

▪ The Washington Post: It’s Pride Month. Here’s how LGBTQ+ rights fared around the world this year.

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THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! With the focus on Congress this week, here’s who aced a puzzle about the legislative branch.

Going 4/4 with some history: Adam Prucka*, Patrick Kavanagh, Paul Harris*, Bill Grieshober*, Kathleen Kovalik*, David Crockett*, Robert Bradley*, Peter Spofera*, Ki Harvey* and Terry Pflaumer*.

They knew that senators weren’t elected directly, but appointed to the chamber by their state legislatures, until the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913.

Alexander Hamilton was the founding father who thought senators should serve for life.

The House has the power to name a president in the case of a tie, which it has done twice. *Bonus point options: Years 1800 (Thomas Jefferson) or 1824 (John Quincy Adams).

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the House’s current size at 435 members based on the size of the chamber as previously established by the Apportionment Act of 1911.

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