California redistricting lands in court

The Hill

2 days ago

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In today's issue:
▪ GOP sues to block California redistricting
▪ Russia peace plan eludes Trump, allies
▪ Tariff price hikes to hit your wallet
▪ MAHA vs. MAGA
Republicans are taking their battle against Gavin Newsom to court.
GOP state lawmakers in California filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to try to block the Democratic governor's plan to redistrict House seats.
Republican legislators are seeking to halt Democrats' push to advance legislation as soon as Thursday setting up a Nov. 4 special election that would allow voters to weigh in on the congressional redistricting proposal.
Democrats' goal: Nab five potential new Democratic seats in the U.S. House to checkmate Texas Republicans' strategy to redistrict a path to five additional GOP seats ahead of next year's midterm contests.
And Democrats in the California Legislature do not need any Republican votes to move ahead.
▪ The Sacramento Bee: Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), whose district would be impacted under a proposed new congressional map, is encouraging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to use pending legislation he introduced to try to thwart what he calls California's redistricting ' sham.'
IMITATION WITHOUT FLATTERY: Newsom, who for weeks has spearheaded efforts to challenge Texas' remapping efforts, has taken a page out of President Trump 's playbook in leveraging social media to throw shade at the president and his allies, The Hill's Amie Parnes reports.
The term-limited governor, who has been making moves lately suggesting steps toward a presidential bid, envisions a political leg up within his beleaguered party — if his plan succeeds.
The governor has mined Trump's MO to get under his skin. In an effort to egg the president on — and rally support among Democrats — Newsom has called his midterm redistricting proposal 'beautiful' and described his own rally that way. His social media posts appear in ALL CAPS accompanied by lowbrow nicknames, perceived as a Trump hallmark. When various GOP targets have responded in a huff, Newsom's team exults that Republicans aren't quick enough to get it.
▪ CNN: Asked last week by a reporter to defend the tone he's adopted online, Newsom referred to Trump, saying, 'If you have issues with what I'm putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he's putting out as president,' decrying what he said was the 'normalization' of that approach even as he noted he was 'pleased with the attention.'
▪ The Hill: Indiana Republicans hesitate to pursue a plan to redraw the state's congressional district lines, despite pressure from the White House.
Meanwhile, the GOP's mid-decade redistricting plans in Texas moved this week to the full chamber for consideration. 'There's nothing that prevents this congressional redistricting and we could do it again,' state Rep. Todd Hunter (R) said.
A Texas Democratic state lawmaker stayed overnight into Tuesday in the state Capitol and alleged to a court that she faced 'illegal restraint' after being told she needed a police escort to leave.
'It's just wrong to require grown people to get a permission slip to roam about freely. So I resisted. I objected, in the only way I knew how, and that's to resist,' state Rep. Nicole Collier told MSNBC in an interview from the state House floor when asked why she didn't sign onto the law enforcement action.
Collier was among the Texas Democrats who fled the state this month to delay the GOP's redistricting efforts amid a special legislative session.
DATA DIVISIONS: The Justice Department is probing whether Washington, D.C., police falsified improved violent crime data (which the department reported and Trump disputes). The numbers are among Trump's complaints about the police department. Meanwhile, White House staff shared with Axios a tally of arrests in high-crime neighborhoods of the nation's capital to show law-and-order progress following the president's Aug. 11 emergency public safety order.
PAYBACKS: Separately, the administration on Tuesday moved to revoke security clearances held by 37 current and former intelligence officials. Many who were singled out have not been in government for years.
Security clearances are required to serve in certain federal roles and to consult on intelligence-related matters for clients on the outside.
Some of those affected have been Trump critics and some worked on matters that have long provoked his ire, including the intelligence community assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to benefit Trump's campaign. The action ordered by Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, reflects the president's distrust of the intelligence community and his instinct for public punishment.
In March, the president signed a memorandum revoking security clearances and rescinding intelligence available to former President Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), among others.
Smart Take with Blake Burman
Just how big could the presence of National Guard troops become in our nation's capital? Perhaps it will double in size in the coming days, as some Republican governors have pledged sending in personnel from their states. But another question has emerged as well: Could the National Guard members patrol D.C. streets armed?
'I think President Trump and Secretary Noem and this Trump administration are going to give our law enforcement all the resources they need to be doing their jobs,' said Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary for public affairs. When I asked her if weapons were definitively coming, she said, 'I can't speak to that definitively, but I do think that we keep all options on the table.'
The administration is pointing to stats showing crime is down in the days since the federal takeover. It's clear this story is still unfolding, and the administration believes the data is on its side.
Burman hosts 'The Hill' weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 Things to Know Today
Hamas accepted a temporary ceasefire proposal instead of an offer that required the Palestinian militant group to release hostages.
Trump's Office of Management and Budget asserts authority to freeze billions of dollars in spending approved by Congress, which under the Constitution has the power of the purse. A clash is nigh.
Hurricane Erin is expected to remain far off the Atlantic coast but its outer bands may deliver high winds, large swells and life-threatening rip currents along the East Coast today through Friday.
Leading the Day
PEACE PROCESS: Russia is refusing to commit to a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Trump has encouraged as a next step toward ending the war between the two countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued Tuesday that any summit between the leaders should be prepared 'step by step, gradually, starting from the expert level and then going through all the necessary stages.'
The Trump administration on Tuesday said Putin would meet with Zelensky, projecting confidence that a summit between the leaders is on track. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Putin agreed during a Monday call with Trump to 'begin the next phase of the peace process — a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky.'
Trump, after White House meetings on Monday with Zelensky and a group of European leaders, announced he is working to arrange a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by a trilateral meeting that would involve him.
But the president's proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine is causing unease in Moscow, which repeated its objections to any role for forces from NATO countries.
▪ NBC News: United States and NATO military officials are set to meet today to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
▪ The Hill: Trump will skip his planned vacation at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., to work on the Russia-Ukraine war.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Trump plans to get Putin and Zelensky talking. That's not the hard part.
Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 93 drones and two ballistic missiles into the country overnight Tuesday. In response to Russia's drone attack, two German fighter jets were scrambled to the Romanian-Ukrainian border region.
World leaders struck a note of caution on negotiations resulting from Monday's meetings, where they pushed for a ceasefire. The president, meanwhile, is championing what he calls a 'peace process' to permanently end the conflict.
'It is a step,' said French President Emmanuel Macron. 'We are very far from declaring victory.'
▪ The Hill: Trump called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday to win his support for Ukraine to join the European Union.
▪ CNN: Possible locations for a Putin-Zelensky summit include Hungary or Switzerland.
▪ The New York Times: The Kremlin's goal is to destabilize Europe, and attacks on infrastructure are a preferred weapon.
AIR SUPPORT? Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a newly formed joint commission that will work on forging a security guarantees proposal for Ukraine, an administration official confirmed to The Hill's sister network NewsNation on Tuesday. The commission will be made up of U.S., Ukrainian, European and NATO officials.
Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, was one of three U.S. officials to participate in a closed-door meeting with the Russian delegation on Friday in Alaska.
In Congress, Trump's Republican allies are putting pressure on him not to entangle the U.S. militarily in Ukraine. The president and the White House on Tuesday insisted the U.S. would not put boots on the ground in Ukraine but floated the idea of providing air support using U.S. pilots and warplanes.
That, combined with special envoy Steve Witkoff 'sdeclaration that the U.S. could participate in 'Article 5-like protections' for Kyiv, has set off alarm bells for some of Trump's 'America First' supporters.
'I'd have to look at what the responsibilities would be. We don't want another war,' Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. 'People in this country, they can't fathom that after 20 years of war over in the Middle East and then getting into another. I know the president's not into that, but we don't want anything to happen in terms of having to fight and lose more lives.'
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Monday that the Senate is prepared to impose sanctions on Russia, even as Trump suggested he was no longer considering those measures after meeting with Putin in Alaska. Thune praised Trump on Monday in a post on the social platform X while reiterating that the Senate 'stands ready to provide … any economic leverage needed to keep Russia at the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.'
Where and When
The president will participate in a swearing-in ceremony at 1 p.m. in the Oval Office for incoming U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder.
The House will hold a pro forma session on Friday at 9 a.m. and will return to work in Washington on Sept. 2.
The Senate will hold a pro forma session at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Zoom In
INTEL: The Trump administration is considering taking a stake in Intel as a means of boosting the struggling U.S. chipmaker, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed Tuesday.
Lutnick indicated the money for the stake would come from previously allocated Biden-era funding. Media reports suggest the government is considering a 10 percent stake using CHIPS and Science Act grants.
'Why are we giving a company worth $100 billion this kind of money? What is in it for the American taxpayer? And the answer Donald Trump has is we should get an equity stake for our money,' the Commerce chief told CNBC's 'Squawk Box.'
▪ The Wall Street Journal: SoftBank's $2 billion investment in Intel offers the challenged chipmaker a lifeline — and makes the Japanese conglomerate a private-sector champion in the Trump administration's effort to revive the company.
TARIFF JITTERS: Nearly a third of U.S. businesses are likely to increase prices by the end of the year as they continue to adjust to rising costs and inflation, according to a new report by LendingTree.
Economists and political strategists have sounded alarms about escalating costs throughout this year after Trump promised to drive down prices if elected.
Modest price hikes will soon hit Home Depot, despite the company's efforts to lessen the impact of tariffs by relying on domestic products and diversifying its supply chain.
RATE CUTS: Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, nominated by Trump to her role in March, dissented with one other Fed board member in July when the central bank voted to keep its benchmark interest rate steady. She told Bloomberg News on Tuesday her view remains the same. The Fed board meets Sept. 16-17.
GOV BATTLE: Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger 's (D-Va.) gubernatorial campaign this morning rolled out an ad focused on lowering costs in Virginia, marking less than one month before early voting begins ahead of November's elections.
Spanberger's lead over Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) narrowed in a poll released Tuesday. The Democrat led 46 percent to 39 percent in the Roanoke College survey.
Elsewhere
MAHA VS. MAGA: The 'Make America Healthy Again' movement could be on a collision course with its Republican allies over issues related to pesticides and toxic chemicals.
The movement has been skeptical of Big Pharma, Big Agriculture and Big Chemical and has been largely aligned with the administration and Republicans on issues related to vaccines.
But The Hill's Rachel Frazin reports cracks are beginning to form on issues related to chemicals. MAHA-aligned groups and influencers are particularly raising alarms about provisions in a House appropriations bill that they say will shield pesticide and chemical manufacturers from accountability — and ultimately make Americans less healthy.
Meanwhile, media outlets reported a draft of the administration's 'MAHA report' omits any calls to act to prevent pesticide exposure.
'It's obvious that there are tensions within this newfound coalition between MAHA and MAGA, and there are some big issues there,' said Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense, a group that was founded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., considered the MAHA flagbearer.
HEALTH GRANTS: The Trump administration has delayed or blocked millions of dollars in federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leaving state and local health departments in the dark, uncertain when or even if they will get money that's already been appropriated by Congress for key public health initiatives.
With little communication from the White House, CDC staff, as reported by The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel, are trying to expedite getting grants out the door, and public health officials are scrambling to spend the money they have before it expires Sept. 30.
'Everything is weeks, if not months behind schedule,' said a CDC employee with knowledge of the funding situation.
▪ The Washington Post: What is 'AI psychosis' and how can artificial intelligence bots like ChatGPT affect your mental health?
'AMERICA FIRST' K-12? Out-of-state teachers coming to Oklahoma from blue states will be administered a new test by conservative educational platform PragerU, in a move the state superintendent said is meant to root out 'radical leftist ideology' from classrooms.
While the full test was not shared, some questions seen by The Hill ask incoming teachers basic civics questions, such as the first three words of the Constitution and why freedom of religion is important in America.
▪ The Hill: The student experience is changing at universities after some diversity, equity and inclusion programs, offices and centers have been shut down.
Opinion
The Closer
And finally … 🤖 If, perchance, you dimly recall the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots action toy first introduced in 1964 — and still sold — picture a much bigger boxing version with humanoid robots.
Yesterday's tiny plastic toys morphed into gigantic 'athletes' competing in the past week in Beijing. More than 500 robots sent by 16 countries, including the United States, vied in boxing, soccer and running (and other sports) during the first 'World Humanoid Robot Games. '