Morning Report is The Hill’s a.m. newsletter. Susbcribe here.
In today’s issue:
▪ Comey arraignment
▪ Conversion therapy ban scrutinized
▪ Mamdani’s education plan sparks divide
▪ Sherrill, Ciattarelli to face off in NJ debate
Former FBI Director James Comey will appear at a federal court in Alexandria, Va., this morning to face charges of making a false statement to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Comey has maintained his innocence and is expected to plead not guilty.
The charges stem from testimony he gave before Congress in 2020 about the FBI’s investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and alleged ties between President Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia that were ultimately unproven.
Comey was asked during that testimony whether he ever authorized a leak about the Clinton investigation, and he denied doing so. But the indictment alleges that when he gave that testimony, he knew he had authorized another person to leak to the media.
The case has received significant national attention in large part because the former FBI director is a top critic of Trump and the president has often called for his political opponents like Comey to be prosecuted.
A few days ahead of the indictment being handed up, Trump posted on Truth Social urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to go forward with cases against Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
The president celebrated Comey’s indictment shortly after the charges were unveiled, calling him a “Dirty Cop” who lied.
But proving the case against Comey may not be easy.
The prosecutor’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia underwent much turmoil before the case was brought. Erik Siebert, who was serving as the U.S. attorney for that district, stepped down last month amid pressure from Trump to quickly bring charges and was reportedly unsure if there was sufficient evidence to pursue cases against James or Comey.
The president chose Lindsey Halligan, who had served as a White House aide, to replace Siebert. She previously was on Trump’s criminal defense team and has never prosecuted a federal case.
The grand jury that approved the charges against Comey was divided, as 14 of the 23 jurors approved the two counts, just over the necessary 12-vote threshold. Jurors also rejected another count of making a false statement.
Comey’s team may file a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that he is being politically targeted, pointing to those who expressed concern about the weakness of the case and Trump’s numerous comments expressing his desire for Comey to face legal scrutiny.
Developments from today’s hearing could signal whether the case may be over before it begins or if Comey faces a long legal battle.
The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports on how the case has high stakes for both Comey and Trump.
If Comey were ultimately found guilty, it would validate accusations by Trump and his allies that the former FBI chief sought to undermine the president. But if he’s acquitted, Stanage writes, it would be a major blow to Trump and call into question all that led up to the indictment.
It could also raise questions about any other cases pursued against Trump’s political opponents. Trump has said he doesn’t have a “list” of people he wants to see indicted, but he expects others will follow Comey.
Comey’s arraignment also comes after a subpoena for him to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was withdrawn. Lawmakers initially were interested in hearing from Comey as part of a Republican-led investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s dealings, but the former FBI director sent a letter to the committee last week saying that he had no “knowledge” or “information relevant” to the committee’s probe.
As the letter is subject to federal law that prohibits making false statements to government agents, committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) accepted it as Comey’s testimony and withdrew the subpoena. Comey sent a similar message to former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Merrick Garland before Comer withdrew their subpoenas recently.
▪ ABC News: Former special counsel John Durham undercut case against Comey.
▪ The Washington Post: Judge in Comey case known for sparing but powerful remarks in court.
The case against Comey also has implications for Bondi, who faced a grilling on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed her on what they view as evidence that Trump is directing the Justice Department’s actions despite the agency’s independence from the president.
As Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) repeatedly asked Bondi whether she received any instructions from Trump and details about what led up to Comey’s indictment, Bondi punted.
“I’m not going to discuss any conversations,” Bondi said.
The attorney general said the same to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) when he showed a photo of Bondi having dinner with Trump and others the night before the indictment was unveiled.
Democrats also challenged Bondi on other issues, including the allegations of bribery against White House border czar Tom Homan, which he denies. The administration has said the FBI and Justice Department conducted full reviews of the allegations and found no credible evidence of wrongdoing.
Her testimony also became heated on a few occasions, including when she accused Blumenthal of “lying” about his military record.
▪ The Hill: Bondi, Democratic senator get into shouting match.
▪ Politico: “What I learned from watching every Pam Bondi speech.”
Smart Take with Blake Burman
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has made it clear she is not a fan of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, she is also now vocal about supporting the ObamaCare subsidies that have become a key part of the government shutdown battle. In a lengthy social media post, Greene explained that although she isn’t a fan of the ACA, her children’s health care premiums will double if the tax credits go away. It’s one of the points Democrats are also making.
“I’m literally here in Washington saying, ‘You guys, if we don’t fix this right now, Americans are going to be hurting, and they really don’t care about R and D,” Greene told me. “They’re going to be talking about what’s happening to their bank accounts, what’s happening to their family, and that’s how they’re going to vote. And I think Republicans got to get real and actually come up with a solution.”
Trump keeps suggesting he’s open to negotiating with Democrats on the future of healthcare. If more Republicans take a similar position to Greene’s, conversations about big efforts to bring down health costs could very well be on the verge of inevitable.
Burman hosts “The Hill” weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.
3 Things to Know Today
1. Trump says he expects more Canadians will travel to the U.S. again after a trade deal between the countries is worked out. Data shows a 23 percent drop in Canadian visits in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year. Trump made the comment while meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
2. The Treasury Department is defending its plan to honor Trump with his likeness on a $1 coin ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary, saying it’s authorized to use designs “emblematic” of the celebration. An 1866 law prevents living people from appearing on currency.
3. Matt Van Epps, a former Tennessee state official, is poised to be the next member of Congress from the Volunteer State after he won a special GOP primary to fill former Rep. Mark Green’s (R-Tenn.) seat. Van Epps will be the favorite in the state’s strongly conservative 7th Congressional District.
Leading the Day
CONVERSION THERAPY BAN SCRUTINY: A majority of the justices on the Supreme Court seem open to a challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, expressing concern that it could violate free speech.
The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld reports that several justices were skeptical of Colorado’s argument that the ban only regulates professional conduct.
It’s one of the first cases that the court heard this week as it starts its new term, which is scheduled to include cases on subjects ranging from the power of the presidency to LGBTQ issues to the role of race in elections.
This case concerns Colorado’s 2019 law banning licensed medical health counselors from engaging in any “practice or treatment” that attempts to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Violating the law can yield a $5,000 fine and a suspension and stripping of the counselor’s license.
But counselor Kaley Chiles contends that the law controls her free speech with patients to restrict certain views on LGBTQ rights. The state points to major medical associations that suggest conversion therapy doesn’t work and can harm minors and argues the law is a permitted regulation of health care treatment.
But some justices didn’t seem convinced.
“Just because they’re engaged in conduct doesn’t mean that their words aren’t protected,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.
Justice Samuel Alito said the law appeared to be “blatant viewpoint discrimination.”
Schonfeld notes that the court may not strike down the law, as it could send the case back to lower courts for further proceedings on its constitutionality. The liberal justices on the court also questioned whether Chiles has standing to bring the case.
But the Colorado law’s fate could have wide-ranging implications for many others across the country, as 23 states and Washington, D.C., have laws prohibiting conversion therapy for minors, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
▪ USA Today: “Demonstrators rally outside Supreme Court over conversion therapy case.”
SHUTDOWN STALEMATE: The Senate decided against holding votes on competing continuing resolutions (CR) on Tuesday as both parties remain dug in on how to end the government shutdown.
Both the House-passed CR that calls for a “clean” bill keeping government funding at its current levels, backed by the GOP, and a Democratic alternative that includes an extension of expiring health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act have failed five times.
It’s now been a week since the government shut down for the first time in more than six years, and no major breakthroughs have been reached toward ending it. Senators have been consistent in their voting through each round.
The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports how the White House is ramping up pressure on Democrats to cave and agree to the House-passed CR to reopen the government. The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a draft memo this week raising the possibility that furloughed government workers may not be entitled to missed checks after the shutdown ends.
That’s despite federal law requiring furloughed workers to be paid once the government reopens.
While some Republican senators even expressed doubt about the administration’s legal ability to go through with the threat, the memo is another part of the administration’s strategy to increase the pain on Democrats while the government is shut down.
“I can tell you this: The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday.
The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Al Weaver report on five ways the shutdown could end, including through public backlash, frozen paychecks or missed military paychecks. Health care factors, which Democrats are pointing to, and air traffic controller staffing issues, which are already being felt, could also help end it.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued advisories for several airports struggling with shortages of air traffic controllers, including Hollywood Burbank Airport, Denver International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. And the number is likely to grow by the day.
But no deal on a stopgap seems on the horizon for now.
▪ NPR: Air travel problems could get worse as shutdown continues.
▪ The New York Times: Processing the shutdown in a divided country.
GOP CONCERNS WITH GUARD DEPLOYMENT: Republican senators are growing increasingly wary of Trump’s use of the National Guard in major cities around the country to address crime, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports.
Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), who has been among the Republicans more willing to break with Trump, said he’s worried it sets “bad precedent.”
“If you look at this particular issue, I don’t see how you can argue that this comports with any sort of conservative view of states’ rights,” Tillis said.
The senator brought up his concerns during Bondi’s congressional testimony Tuesday, saying the deployments are “masking the abject failure of leaders at the state and local level.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), another Republican who more often breaks with Trump, drew a difference between when a governor requests assistance and when the federal government sends guard members in over the governors’ objections.
Their comments come as Trump’s most recent deployments have faced legal hurdles. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, blocked Trump from federalizing 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to send into Portland.
After Trump turned to the California National Guard to use instead, Immergut issued another order blocking their deployment as well.
State and local leaders have filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s deployment of the guard into Chicago, but they have been allowed to go there at least for now. The Texas National Guard was seen on the ground in the city on Tuesday.
Another Republican senator who requested anonymity told Bolton that Trump’s moves to get around restrictions on his deployments raise “questions” and may not be the “best way to solve the issue.” But the senator added that they believe Trump is just “poking his finger” in Democrats’ eye, referring to the widespread backlash that it has fueled among Democrats.
Other senators expressed similar concerns about Trump’s move but stopped short of denouncing it.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he’s not a “fan” of the deployments but added that federal authorities have “supremacy” when protecting federal property.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) pointed to Chicago’s “crime problem” but said deploying the guard works better when the governor and president are working together.
“I do think the National Guard has an important role to play in natural disasters, in protecting federal personnel and federal sites. In those cases, you can justify nationalizing the guard,” she said. “Generally, this should be a police and law-enforcement action. It’s a complicated issue.”
▪ NBC News: Former GOP governors express concern about guard deployments.
▪ NPR: “Trump’s power to deploy National Guard, explained.”
‘SHARPIEGATE’ FIGURE BACK: The Senate has confirmed Neil Jacobs as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) years after his role in backing Trump’s false claim about the direction of a hurricane.
Senators approved Jacobs’s nomination narrowly in a party-line vote as part of a bloc of nominees.
Jacobs previously led the agency in an acting capacity for two years, but his most memorable moment at its helm came in 2019 as Hurricane Dorian approached the U.S. The storm came up the U.S. East Coast, but Trump claimed that the storm would hit Alabama, even though federal forecasters said it was not expected to hit there.
In a controversy that became known as “Sharpiegate,” Trump showed off an altered map of the hurricane’s path that included Alabama. The agency under Jacobs eventually released a statement supporting Trump’s claim that Alabama could be hit by the storm, but it never was.
An internal investigation at the agency later found Jacobs violated its scientific integrity policy in releasing a statement that contradicted the National Weather Service. The probe found the statement was based on “external influence” and not science.
WALKER CONFIRMED: The Senate also confirmed Trump’s nomination of Herschel Walker to become ambassador to the Bahamas.
The former professional football player-turned political candidate was also confirmed as part of the large group of nominees in the Senate.
Walker first became known for playing at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy and eventually his career in the NFL for more than a decade. But he entered the political arena in 2022 as the Republican nominee for Senate in Georgia, challenging Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
Walker won the GOP primary easily with Trump’s support, but his candidacy was rocked by reports that he had years prior paid for an abortion for the mother of his child despite a strict position against allowing the procedure. He denied the allegations, but the controversy lingered around his candidacy.
The election went to a runoff and Warnock eventually won by about 3 points.
When & Where
The president will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m. and participate in a roundtable on antifa at 3 p.m.
The Senate will meet at 10 a.m.
The House will convene at 3 p.m. for a pro forma session.
Zoom In
MAMDANI’S EDUCATION PROPOSAL: Advocates are split on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s (D) proposal to end the city’s gifted and talented program for kindergarteners if elected.
Mamdani revealed his position in a questionnaire from The New York Times, saying he would back former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) plan to phase out the program.
“Zohran knows that five year-olds should not be subjected to a singular assessment that unfairly separates them right at the beginning of their public school education. His agenda for our schools will ensure that every New York City public school student receives a high-quality early education that enables them to be challenged and fulfilled,” campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement.
The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran notes that advocates of the program argue it’s necessary for those who are ahead of their grade level, but opponents raise concerns about equity.
Experts have expressed concerns about a lack of federal standards, leading to qualifications for the program varying by state. Certain test scores or teacher recommendations can play key roles in which students are picked.
But others argue that the program can help with disparities and ensure students don’t get stuck at a grade level they don’t belong in for years.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s running against Mamdani as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa told the Times they would keep and expand the program if elected.
Cuomo said in a statement that limiting the program to less than 5 percent of students is unfair, and too few Black and Latino students aren’t identified and supported early enough.
▪ The New York Times: Mamdani’s gifted and talented proposal divides New Yorkers.
Elsewhere
CANDIDATES DEBATE: Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are set to face off this evening in the second and final debate of their gubernatorial race that seems increasingly competitive.
The debate comes less than two weeks after the race was shaken up by the revelation that the National Archives accidentally disclosed too much information about Sherrill’s military records to a Ciattarelli ally. The info revealed that Sherrill didn’t walk at her 1994 Naval Academy graduation ceremony amid a cheating scandal at the academy.
Sherrill said she didn’t personally cheat and that not participating in the ceremony was a consequence of not turning in the names of people who did cheat. She has blamed Ciattarelli’s campaign for the disclosure and accused the Trump administration of leaking it to hurt her candidacy.
The disclosure also included personal information about Sherrill, including her Social Security number and address.
How Sherrill addresses the incident and pressure from Ciattarelli to fully release her military records, which she has refused, will be a key part of the event. The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports that other critical topics could be how the candidates address the government shutdown and how Ciattarelli addresses Trump.
Ciattarelli had been more of a critic of Trump in the past but has run as a much closer ally this year, which Sherrill has regularly slammed him for.
Whether the debate will ultimately change the trajectory of the race is unclear, but it will be the last opportunity for the two candidates to directly address voters throughout the entire state at the same time before Election Day next month.
▪ Politico: “Josh Shapiro is dominating the race for governor of… New Jersey.”
▪ CBS News: Taxes, affordability remain at center of New Jersey race.
Opinion
Open the pod bay doors, Congress, writes Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) in The Hill
Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr., former U.S. surgeons general Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher write in The Washington Post
The Closer
And finally … Taylor Swift has had quite a year with the release of her 12th album “The Life of a Showgirl” and her engagement to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But she said people shouldn’t expect her to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show any time soon despite regular speculation that she could be the performer.
Swift told “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon during an interview on Monday that she’s not interested in performing while Kelce is still playing.
“Can you imagine if [Kelce is] out there every single week putting his life on the line doing this very dangerous, high-pressure intensity sport,” she said. “Imagine if I’m like … ‘I wonder what my [chorography] should be.’”
She said Jay-Z, who helps the NFL choose the act, and his team have reached out before to ask how she would feel about performing, but no official talks have taken place about her doing the halftime show.
The NFL selected Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny to perform at the halftime show for Super Bowl LX in February.
