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Trump's possession of intelligence documents raises fears for national security

The revelation that former President Trump had some of the nation’s most closely guarded forms of intelligence at his Florida home is renewing questions over the potentially grave risks to U.S. national security.

The affidavit used to secure a search warrant for Trump’s home released Friday reveals why the government was so alarmed: Among an initial batch of 184 classified documents retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January were secrets gained from “clandestine human sources,” information prohibited from being shared with foreign governments and information obtained by monitoring “foreign communications signals.”

Finding 25 sets of highly classified materials was enough to spur the Justice Department — after months of failed negotiations and a subpoena to Trump — to seek a search warrant, securing another 11 sets of documents that included more highly sensitive materials.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) alerted lawmakers over the weekend that it would begin work on a damage assessment to evaluate the fallout from what the Justice Department in June told Trump’s legal team were documents not “handled in an appropriate manner or stored in an appropriate location.” 

Former intelligence officials describe a painstaking process that will involve officials evaluating whether the classified documents were compromised and by whom in order to take steps to prevent further damage.

“They will proceed from the worst-case assumption: that any/all of the classified material could have been exposed to a sophisticated adversary intelligence service, and look at the documents from the standpoint of what can be gleaned about what the US knows (or doesn’t know) about a given topic,” James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence under the Obama administration, wrote in an email to The Hill.

Clapper also said the intelligence community will need to examine the “chain of custody” of the documents, which will involve evaluating how they were handled since they were in the White House and by whom as well as who had access to the documents and whether they were photographed or copied.

The federal government has strict rules governing classified information, and the Justice Department has prosecuted individuals for unauthorized disclosures of the nation’s secrets. 

A search warrant unsealed earlier this month suggested that the Mar-a-Lago search is linked to an investigation of possible violations of the Espionage Act, in addition to other laws. 

In an interview, former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who served under Trump, recalled instructions he received when he entered government about not being able to publicly release classified documents without proper certification and the prohibition against moving classified information outside government buildings or taking it with you when you leave service.

“You don’t want to breach that requirement,” he said. “It can be dangerous if some of that is not handled the way it’s supposed to be handled.”

“Everybody knows that coming in. I’m sure the president was reminded of that by his legal team,” Coats said.

There is little known about the documents themselves, but experts say the classification markings disclosed in the unsealed documents suggest the information could present a severe danger were it to fall into the wrong hands. 

“That tells me that, by legal definition of top secret, somebody in a position of authority and knowledge classified that material because they thought its disclosure of such information could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security — that is the definition in the Executive Order of Top Secret material,” said Steven Cash, a lawyer at Day Pitney specializing in national security who served at the CIA.

A letter from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to the chairs of the House’s Oversight and Reform Committee and Intelligence Committee indicates the agency that oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies will begin a “classification review” of the documents, including an “assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents.”

It’s a remarkable effort made all the more extraordinary by the unusual circumstances. 

Such assessments usually follow the known leak of information. But in this case, it’s not clear who may have accessed the documents.

Mar-a-Lago may have an exclusive membership list, but it’s hardly the restricted area the intelligence community seeks for cordoning off classified materials, with members of the public on-site to play golf.

Reporting from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently noted a woman under FBI investigation after posing as a wealthy socialite was spotted on the grounds at Mar-a-Lago, taking a photo with Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the course. 

The Justice Department subpoenaed security footage from Mar-a-Lago in June. But the footage goes back only about 60 days, according to reporting from The New York Times, and it’s not apparent how extensive the footage is and whether it includes video of the room or rooms where the documents were stored.

Experts warn the intelligence community may not be able to perform a full-fledged damage assessment, which usually requires producing a report detailing what information leaked, steps to mitigate the damage, and how to stop something similar from happening again.

“The utility of conducting a damage assessment here is overstated for two reasons. One is they’re not going to have good clarity on who accessed the documents, which is critical to assessing damage. And then, two, most assessments look at ‘lessons learned’: How did this happen? And how can we prevent it from happening again? There’s no good answer to that question here. You can’t just say we won’t share sensitive intelligence with the president in the future if he’s someone like Trump. That’s not viable in our system of government,” said Brian Greer, a former CIA attorney.

But even if ODNI undertakes a less formal review, it still has questions to answer, mainly in an effort to protect numerous sources of information — including informants — that are now likely at risk. 

“Separate from a formal damage assessment, the IC [intelligence community] will also consider near-term risk mitigation measures. Do they need to undertake some sort of immediate damage control effort? For instance, if there was information in the documents that could identify a human source, do we need to pull the source? Do we need to exfiltrate them? Or do we just need to at least give them a warning so they can stand down on meeting with their handlers for a little while? Do we need to go cover our tracks?” Greer said. 

“And then the same thing with a surveillance platform. Do we need to consider taking it down so that an adversary can’t discover it?” he added.

The intelligence community has had access to some of the tranche of documents stored at Trump’s home since May. 

But the recovery earlier this month adds another batch of documents to the 184 already shared by the Justice Department. 

Greer warns, however, that the damage is already done.

“They’re going to err on the side of caution. In the absence of concrete information about who accessed the documents, they’re going to have no choice but to assume a compromise and take proactive measures to protect our sources and collection capabilities,” he said.

“That step alone will harm national security,” he added.  

Source: TEST FEED1

California moves closer to mandating kindergarten

California legislators are pushing to make kindergarten mandatory in the state as it sees a dip in school enrollment and aims to ensure all children get critical instruction at their earliest years of learning. 

Introduced by state Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Senate Bill 70 would require all students in California to complete one year of kindergarten before they can enter the first grade — currently only 19 states require kindergarten.  

California would become the 20^th state, with Rubio saying, “as a public school teacher for 17 years, I have witnessed the deterioration of impact on young students who miss out on fundamental early education.” 

Leaving kindergarten voluntary can leave lots of students unprepared for full-time elementary school. The National Education Association (NEA) says children that attend full-day kindergarten have higher reading and math gains and it also offers social and emotional benefits to kids. 

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However, COVID-19 seriously disrupted school enrollment across the country, with parents declining to send their children to schools to mitigate their risk of illness and avoid the challenging transition to virtual learning.  School enrollment was down nearly 2 percent in California during the 2021-2022 school year, with a decrease of more than 110,000 students. 

Since the 2014-2015 academic year, California has seen a steady decline in public school enrollment.  

Currently, kids need to be 5-years-old in order to be eligible for kindergarten, with some places offering transitional programs for kids as young as four years old.  

However, in California an estimated 5 to 7 percent of students do not enroll in kindergarten in an average year and that number increased significantly during the pandemic.  

Kindergartners who miss 10 percent of school days or more have been shown to have lower academic performance by the time they reach the first grade, according to NEA.  

SB 70 also highlights those children born in states with mandatory kindergarten are more likely to go to college, earn higher wages and are less likely to experience poverty as adults. The benefit is even greater for children who are Hispanic, Black, English language learners and from immigrant households and lower income families. 

California’s House passed SB 70 on Aug. 18 and less than two weeks later on Aug. 29 it also passed in the Senate, now heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk. If signed into law, it would require every child in California to enroll in kindergarten starting with the 2024-2025 school year, with parents able to choose public or private options for their children. 

Newsom previously signed legislation that will provide free pre-kindergarten to all four-year-olds in the state beginning this 2022-2023 school year, but it’s unclear if he’ll sign SB 70.  

The state’s Department of Finance opposes the bill, with one legislative analysis putting the cost in the low hundreds of millions annually.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden makes plea for assault weapons ban: 'What the hell’s the matter with us?'

President Biden on Tuesday made a passionate plea for an assault weapons ban, invoking the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, to push Congress to pass such a ban.

Biden said during remarks in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., that parents had to use DNA to identify their children’s bodies following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in May when an 18-year-old killed 19 students and two teachers.

“Could not identify the body,” Biden said, yelling into the microphone. “A 20-year-old kid can walk in and buy one? DNA to say that’s my baby. What the hell’s the matter with us?”

“What are we doing?” he said.

His remarks in Wilkes-Barre, which is near his hometown of Scranton, were focused on community safety and on the bipartisan gun bill Biden signed into law in July.

“I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country. Determined. I did it once, and I’ll do it again,” Biden said.

Congress passed a 10-year ban on assault weapons in 1994, when Biden served in the Senate.

“It’s time to hold every elected official’s feet to the fire and ask them, are you for banning assault weapons? Yes or no? Ask them,” Biden said. “If the answer’s no, vote against them.”

He used the event on Tuesday to also voice his support for Democrat John Fetterman, who is running against Republican Mehmet Oz for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R).

Biden said that he has two shotguns at home, arguing that he is not opposed to the Second Amendment.

“We’re living in a country awash with weapons of war. Weapons that weren’t designed to hunt, they’re designed to take on an enemy,” Biden said. “For God’s sake, what’s the rationale for these weapons outside of a war zone? They inflict severe damage.”

And he cited the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who said that the rights granted through the Second Amendment are not unlimited.

“We have to act for all those kids gunned down on our streets every single day that never make the news,” Biden said. “You have to act so our kids can learn to read in school instead of learning to duck and cover.”

The president outlined his request for $37 billion in the annual budget to go towards supporting law enforcement and for crime prevention, which includes nearly $13 billion over five years to hire and train 100,000 additional police officers.

He reenforced his stance against defunding the police, which was the popular progressive movement from the 2020 election.

“It’s based on a simple notion: When it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not to defund the police, it’s fund the police. Fund the police,” he said.

Biden argued that more funding for police officers can lead to more accountability.

“As we hire more police officers, there should be more training, more help and more accountability. Without public trust, law enforcement can’t do its job serving and protecting all the communities,” he said.

He touted his executive actions toward federal law enforcement like banning choke holders and no-knock warrants and creating a database for officers to be held accountable. And he noted that parents have to tell their sons to keep their hands on the steering wheel if they get stopped or that people have been gunned down for “simply jogging.”

“I’ve not met a cop who likes a bad cop. There’s bad in everything. There’s lousy senators, there’s lousy presidents, there’s lousy doctors, there’s lousy lawyers,” Biden said. “But I don’t know any police officer that feels good about the fact that there may be a lousy cop, and I’m tired of not giving the kind of help they need.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Major evangelical organization says Christianity demands climate action

The National Association of Evangelicals (NEA) called climate action a Christian responsibility in a 50-page report this week, a call to action for a demographic far less likely than the general population to consider climate change a threat. 

The NAE’s report, “Loving the Least of These,” addresses the scientific evidence for the reality of climate change and the role of greenhouse gas emissions in driving it, as well as examining and debunking common arguments against the objectivity of climatologists. 

The report goes on to address the issue from a theological and personal perspective, outlining biblical arguments for environmental stewardship.  

“The earth brings glory to God, and God continues to care for and sustain the natural processes of the world. The psalmist says: ‘Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul’ (Psalm 103:22),” it states. “Because God’s glory is revealed in creation, we should be intentional about caring for his artistry.” 

The report also cites Matthew 22’s edict to “love your neighbor as yourself” in the context of the human suffering caused by climate change and environmental disasters and outlines personal experiences and examples of the human toll of those ongoing disasters.

It uses the case of Alliuddin, a Bangladeshi farmer whose livelihood depends on the continuing availability of an irrigation stream he uses to farm.  

The NAE, which represents 45,000 evangelical churches, has acknowledged the existence of climate change, notably in a 2011 edition of the same report. However, the faith itself is less likely to consider it a major issue than both the public at large and other denominations like mainline Protestants and Catholics.

A Pew Research poll earlier this year found that just over half of white evangelicals acknowledged the role of human activity in climate change, compared to 86 percent of Hispanic Catholics, 81 percent of Black Protestants, 73 percent of white Catholics and 72 percent of white nonevangelicals.  

White evangelicals are also one of the demographics that most reliably backed former President Trump, who has falsely claimed human-caused climate change is a “hoax” and unwound numerous environmental policies during his presidency. 

Despite the hurdles, however, lead author Dorothy Boorse said events since 2011 have illustrated both the reality of a changing climate and the necessity of action.

“These realities increase the urgency to understand the impacts of a changing environment on those who are increasingly vulnerable,” she wrote. 

Source: TEST FEED1

White House to boost monkeypox vaccination through large LGBTQ events

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced plans of expanding the response to the monkeypox outbreak by providing vaccinations and education at large LGBTQ-centered events around the country following a recent pilot program carried out in Charlotte, N.C.

Demetre Daskalakis, deputy director for the White House’s national monkeypox response, stated during a briefing that the administration was aiming to make its response more “intentional and targeted.”

“Given the progress we’ve made toward making the tools available to end this outbreak, our vaccine strategy is to meet people where they seek services, care or community — especially in communities of color. We know that Prides and other large LGBTQI+ focused events can do just that,” Daskalakis said.

Daskalakis said the pilot program that recently took place at Charlotte Pride was a “great success.” Similar programs will be carried out at upcoming events like at Atlanta Black Pride Weekend and at Southern Decadence, a nearly week-long annual LGBTQ festival in New Orleans.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) praised the administration’s involvement in the monkeypox response in his state, especially in regards to the upcoming Southern Decadence festival. Edwards shared that the federal government had sent an additional 6,000 doses of vaccines for monkeypox to be administered at the celebrations.

The Louisiana governor noted that this year will mark the first time that Southern Decadence has been celebrated since 2019, having been cancelled the past two years due to COVID-19 risks.

“We are expecting tens of thousands of people in New Orleans over this Labor Day weekend. And so being able to prepare for that and to get a head start on the vaccinations, on the testing, on the communications — all extremely important,” Edwards said.

The White House also announced it was launching a new “equity intervention pilot program” that will aim to directly reach queer communities of color in smaller scale communities that may face obstacles to obtaining vaccines. This program will “earmark” an additional 10,000 vials of vaccines to be allocated to smaller equity intervention programs.

“We know jurisdictions have already centered equity in their work, but we want to provide additional support to foster even greater innovation in vaccine outreach and education of the communities most at risk,” said Daskalakis.

During the briefing, the administration responded to the reported death of a person in Texas who had tested positive for monkeypox. The Texas individual was reported to be severely immunocompromised. Although the cause of death is still being determined, this is believed to be the first case of a monkeypox patient dying in the U.S. during the current outbreak.

Jennifer McQuiston, an outbreak and zoonotic disease specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said her agency has been in contact with both Texas and Harris County, where the death was reported from. McQuiston emphasized that deaths due to monkeypox are extremely rare.

“It’s serious and our hearts certainly go out to this family who have lost a loved one. And while we are doing further investigation to find out what role monkeypox may have played, it’s important to focus that we have mitigation measures in place to prevent monkeypox,” said McQuiston.

Source: TEST FEED1

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric whose resignation sparked protests?

Iraqi protesters clashed with police and security forces in Baghdad for two days this week following the resignation of cleric and party leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who called for a revolution and pushed for mass protests after he failed to form a government in parliament.

The conflict grew deadly, with al-Sadr’s supporters storming the Iraqi government’s offices in the Green Zone and refusing to leave until the political leader called them off and instructed them to go home.

“I had decided not to interfere in political affairs, so now I announce my final retirement,” al-Sadr tweeted Monday. “I ask God to forgive those who took up arms, and I ask them to ask for a lot of forgiveness and not to return to such an act in a living future.”

By that time, around 30 people had been killed and 700 injured in the violent clashes.

Al-Sadr’s political movement, called the Sadrist movement, rose out of the collapse of the regime led by notorious Iraqi dicator Saddam Hussein, who was ousted by U.S. forces in 2003 and executed in 2006.

Much of the current conflict in Iraqi politics stretches back to an ancient religious feud between Shia, or Shiite, Muslims and Sunni Muslims.

The fall of Hussein, a member of the Sunni minority, led to a Shia takeover in parliament and the rise of al-Sadr, then a Shiite cleric and a leader of the Mahdi, an armed militia that has waged war against both American and rival Iraqi forces in the wake of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Al-Sadr’s father was a powerful cleric who shaped contemporary Shiite thought.

Amid the political turmoil, al-Sadr has remained a strong force in the country’s politics through the Sadrist movement, including when his supporters stormed Baghdad’s Green Zone in 2016 in an anti-corruption drive.

In 2018, al-Sadr’s political bloc — a mix of communists, secular groups and his followers — formed its first government in parliament.

In the latest elections in October 2021, al-Sadr’s party again won a majority of seats in parliament.

However, al-Sadr failed to form broad enough coalition to form a government under Iraq’s consociational democracy, in which power is shared between different social groups.

Al-Sadr sought to change this rule and allow for a simple majority government that excludes certain opposition parties, but failed. He resigned from government in June along with 73 of his members of parliament.

The political leader then called for a “spontaneous peaceful revolution” at the end of July, repeating rhetoric about a “deep state,” rigged elections and “corruption” in the government.

In early August, his supporters stormed the Green Zone, where they camped out until the clashes turned deadly this week.

Source: TEST FEED1

Fox News tops August cable ratings

Fox News topped the ratings chart among the three major cable news channels in August.

The network notched its 19th consecutive month in first place, with August coming in as its most-watched month of the summer and every program gaining viewers month-to-month.

Fox averaged 1,487,000 total viewers this month, up 4 percent from last August, according to Nielsen Media Research data. MSNBC experienced an increase of 10 percent from last August, averaging 804,000 total viewers and coming in second place among the three major cable channels.

CNN continued to experience a decrease in ratings, averaging 561,000 total viewers this month, down 10 percent from the same period last year.

Fox’s afternoon table talk program “The Five” was the highest rated program on cable during the month of August, averaging 3.8 million daily viewers and outpacing Tucker Carlson’s prime-time program by a few thousand viewers.

Greg Gutfeld’s late night show notched its most watched month since its 2015 launch, averaging 2.2 million viewers during the month of August.

Source: TEST FEED1

Replace Navy ship’s Confederate name with that of an immigrant oceanographer

This week, a commission to rename military assets that commemorate members of the Confederacy released recommendations to rename, relocate or remove a handful of buildings, monuments and roads at the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy. This is the second report of the commission, following the first report that recommended renaming nine Army bases with Confederate namesakes and preceding a third report that will provide recommendations for two Navy ships, the cruiser USS Chancellorsville ― named for a Confederate battle victory ― and the oceanographic survey ship USNS Maury.

USNS Maury is named after oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy to join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War. The USNS Maury is an asset of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, which I led from 2014 to 2017. I attended the ship’s commissioning in 2017, where I praised Maury’s recognition as the father of modern oceanography. I did the same on other occasions when I served as the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory, which Maury founded in 1842. Notwithstanding this association, I agree with others who condemn the naming of any military unit after someone who fought against our government to maintain a system that enslaved other human beings.

The most appropriate individual after which to rename USNS Maury would be an American who made significant contributions to Naval oceanography — and reflected the diversity of our population. There is no better candidate with these qualifications than the American immigrant oceanographer Walter Munk. I first met Munk when I was a young Ensign in the Navy while earning a master’s degree at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where he was a professor and research scientist. This was over 30 years ago, long into his career that spanned nearly eight decades. Since then, I continued my path in ocean science and technology that carried me to many sea-going expeditions, brought me back to Scripps to earn a Ph.D., and led me to serve as the acting head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). At every step, Munk inspired me, along with many others. Here, I offer three points why a U.S. Navy ship should bear his name:

1) Munk’s initial contribution in ocean science supported our national security when he worked with Harald Sverdrup at Scripps during World War II to predict surf conditions for Allied landings in the Pacific theater. This began an enduring and impactful partnership with the Navy that saw him make critical advances in physical oceanography and underwater acoustics. These directly underpinned the U.S. Navy’s competitive advantage in antisubmarine warfare against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. His accomplishments not only inspired me as a junior officer at Scripps, they were foundational for the resurgence of ocean science within the Navy that I led with the establishment of Task Force Ocean. This included advancements in ocean technology and unmanned systems and built upon similar work by the Navy to address climate change impacts on national security.

2) More remarkable were Munk’s accomplishments in science writ large. From unlocking the nature of ocean currents that is the basis of modern numerical models, pioneering research in ocean acoustic tomography and internal waves, developing modern methods of tidal time series analysis, to exploring unexplainable characteristics of sea-level rise, the expanse of his impact on the field of geophysics is without equal.

When I was given the opportunity to steer national policy in ocean science and technology, I followed the example of this iconic ocean champion, initiating and overseeing the development of a National Strategy and Plan to map and explore our oceans, as well as similar efforts to add new and expand existing marine protected areas (MPAs), address marine plastic pollution, combat coral disease, as well as advance ocean science and technology. Munk’s legacy with Scripps also made notable contributions to the 2019 White House Summit on Ocean Science and Technology Partnerships, which spurred the signing of a trove of agreements between NOAA and partner organizations to advance ocean mapping, exploration, science, public understanding, countering illegal fishing, conserving coral reefs, as well as expanding the research and operational application of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.

3) A third aspect of Munk’s mark on America is the strength in diversity that he represented. Munk came to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1937. In response to Nazi Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938, he applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship in 1939.

While discussions on diversity today tend to focus on race, it is equally important to include our immigrant population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, foreign-born citizens are the second largest minority group in America, tied with African Americans.

As a non-native English speaker who rose to the highest levels in U.S. science, Munk embodied the American dream. I never lost sight of this while I served in the Navy and at NOAA, deliberately including our immigrant teammates in my outreach and recognition during diversity events with employees, partners and lawmakers.

Several months after Munk passed away in February of 2019, his family asked me to be the

master of ceremonies at a recognition event for him in October of that year. This widely-attended event was preceded by the Walter Munk Legacy Celebration hosted by Scripps the day before, and it was followed by a ceremony and paddle-out near the Scripps research pier the day after. Across the three days, the total measure of the man was acknowledged by all those who paid tribute to him. As the naming commission prepares to issue its final report, they can do no better than to rename the Navy’s newest oceanographic ship after the loyal veteran, esteemed scientist, and naturalized citizen — Walter Munk.

Rear Admiral (ret) Gallaudet is the CEO of Ocean STL Consulting, LLC and host of “American Blue Economy Podcast.” He is the former acting and deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and acting undersecretary and assistant secretary of Commerce. Prior to NOAA, he served for 32 years as an oceanographer in the U.S. Navy.

Source: TEST FEED1

Pence group announces ad campaign in Iowa congressional district

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s political advocacy group on Tuesday announced a new ad campaign targeting a competitive Iowa congressional race and focusing on energy policy.

Advancing American Freedom is spending six figures on the ads. They will air on cable and digitally in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Rep. Cindy Axne (D). The ad, titled “Clueless,” criticizes the Biden administration’s push to transition to renewable energy and calls for boosting domestic energy production.

“In order to set the United States back on a path of energy independence, we need Congress to support American energy production,” Pence said in a statement. “It’s time for President Biden to demonstrate American strength by restarting the Keystone Pipeline, restoring oil and natural gas leases, and standing up for American energy.”

Axne is running against Republican Zach Nunn in November after Nunn, a state senator, emerged from a June primary. Axne has represented the district since 2019, and she won reelection in 2020 by less than 7,000 votes.

The Cook Political Report rates the district as “lean Republican.”

The ad in the Iowa district is part of a broader $10 million campaign funded by Advancing American Freedom that is broadly focused on energy independence and hitting Democrats over energy policy shifts away from the Trump administration.

Republicans have criticized Democrats and the Biden administration over rising gas prices and inflation in general for months. But the price of gas has steadily declined over the past several weeks. The average price of gas as of Tuesday was $3.84, according to AAA, down from an average of $4.23 one month ago.

The former vice president has been a frequent presence in Iowa this year, including a visit to the state fair earlier this month. Pence is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in a 2024 GOP primary, visiting early voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina multiple times.

A USA Today-Ipsos poll conducted Aug. 18-22 found that 69 percent of Republican voters view Pence favorably, second in the poll among Republicans only to former President Trump, whose favorability among GOP voters is 81 percent. The poll found Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), another potential 2024 candidate, with a 68 percent favorability among Republican voters.

Source: TEST FEED1

The Hill's Campaign Report — Fetterman takes a potshot ahead of Biden visit

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to November’s election.   

Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com), and Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com).  

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Pot proposal makes waves ahead of Biden trip

Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman is making headlines once again ahead of President Biden’s visit to Pennsylvania this week, calling on the president to move toward decriminalizing marijuana.

“It’s long past time that we finally decriminalize marijuana,” Fetterman said in a statement. “The president needs to use his executive authority to begin descheduling marijuana, I would love to see him do this prior to his visit to Pittsburgh. This is just common sense and Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support decriminalizing marijuana.”

Getting in the weeds: Fetterman’s campaign has said that the Democratic Senate candidate will speak with the president about decriminalizing marijuana when he makes a stop in Pittsburgh on Labor day. When asked about Fetterman’s comments during the White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration had nothing to announce regarding executive action on decriminalizing marijuana.

The development comes as Biden prepares to hit the road in Pennsylvania in what is widely being viewed as a campaign trip of sorts ahead of the midterm elections.

High drama in Pennsylvania: On Tuesday, Biden will deliver a speech in Wilkes Barre, Pa., where he will discuss how his administration plans to fight rising crime. Then on Thursday Biden will deliver a prime time address from Philadelphia where is set to warn that Americans’ rights and freedoms are “under attack.” And then on Labor Day, Biden will make two separate stops in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fetterman and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro are slated to join the president in Pittsburgh on Monday.

The visits come as Pennsylvania’s Senate race in particular has garnered national headlines as Fetterman leads various polls and Republican nominee and former celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz appears to stumble. The Hill’s Julia Manchester writes about how Oz’s campaign is trying to go on offense in an effort to turn his campaign around.

Sticking with the Keystone State, a second wave of Republicans in Pennsylvania have endorsed Shapiro for governor. The group includes former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, along with former state Reps. Mario Civera, David Heckler, Raymond Bunt Jr, Rep. Jim Kelly, Beverly Mackereth, and J. Scot Chadwick.

The endorsements come as Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano has been dogged with negative headlines, most recently over a resurfaced 2014 image of him posing in a Confederate Army uniform.

GOP does damage control on abortion

It’s been about two months since the Supreme Court handed down its consequential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. While many Republicans praised the move as what they considered rightly handing back those decisions to the states, the landscape since then has become a bittersweet one for Republicans.

That’s because there’s been signs that the issue of abortion has galvanized voters, including Democrats and abortion rights advocates. In Kansas, voters in the red state defeated a ballot measure that would have given the state legislature more authority to regulate the medical procedure in the state.

New York win thrills Dems: A special election in New York’s 19th Congressional District saw a Democrat, Pat Ryan, prevail after he focused his campaign on abortion while his Republican counterpart, Marc Molinaro, focused on the economy. Three other special elections, which favored Republicans, only saw Democrats lose by single digits, another possible sign of how Democrats are galvanized over the issue.

“I think the concept that for decades, you know, a Supreme Court fight energized the conservative base because they wanted to overturn Roe, right?” Republican strategist Barrett Marson, who previously worked on Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters’ campaign, told Caroline Vakil.

“I think you’re gonna see a flip on that, that the liberal base will get more energized about this issue because they got it taken away from them.”

Clean up on Aisle 3: Now Republicans are scrambling to tweak their messaging amid the shifting political landscape with candidates tweaking, eliminating or clarifying their views on abortion. NBC News reported Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters (R) scrubbed his website on abortion while Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen last month released a video clarifying his views on the medical procedure.

The test will be where voters will take Republicans at their word or opt to vote with Democrats. GOP strategist Doug Heye told Caroline he didn’t believe Republican candidates’ shifts on their abortion stances would hurt their standing among voters but he also said abortion isn’t what Republicans should be talking about either.

POLL WATCH

With just two weeks out from New Hampshire’s GOP Senate primary, retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc is leading by a wider margin among his Republican challengers, according to the University of New Hampshire Survey Center Granite State Poll. The poll shows Bolduc with the highest percentage of support among likely Republican primary voters in the state at 43 percent followed by New Hampshire state Senate President Chuck Morse in second at 22 percent.

While President Biden has recently enjoyed some gains in his approval rating, a majority of Democratic voters still don’t think he should run for reelection in 2024, according to a USA-Ipsos poll. Among Democratic voters polled, 56 percent said they would not be for a Biden reelection bid though 60 percent polled also said they felt that, if Biden did run, that he can win in 2024.

AD WATCH

The House Republicans’ campaign arm is out with two ads today targeting Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection, over her support of the Inflation Reduction Act and for her use of COVID-19 relief funds. Fetterman’s campaign is out with a new ad highlighting his record of fighting crime as mayor of Braddock, Pa. The ad’s release comes hours before Biden’s address on crime in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. on Tuesday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign released its first statewide radio ad on Tuesday. The ad, titled “Cecilia,” features his wife and Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott talking about their family.

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you Thursday. 

Source: TEST FEED1