Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Happy Wednesday! Our newsletter gets you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Co-creators are Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver (CLICK HERE to subscribe!). On Twitter, find us at @asimendinger and @alweaver22.







The battle for the Democratic nomination has been filled with moving and shaking, but one constant has been looming over the race from the start: the front-runner status of former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Democratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida Harris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle MORE.

Since his late-April announcement, Biden has maintained an advantage over the 2020 field in a number of ways, including polling nationally and in each of the early primary states, as well as in fundraising. But one thing helping to keep him atop the heap is the sheer size of the field.

As Niall Stanage writes, Biden has been the direct beneficiary of a candidate field that has grown to two dozen, including a number of high profile senators and Democratic politicians. Biden has captured roughly 35 percent support, according to polling averages while potential rivals are faced with the problem of divided support. Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersOutrage erupts over Breonna Taylor grand jury ruling Dimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death MORE (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenDimon: Wealth tax 'almost impossible to do' CNN's Don Lemon: 'Blow up the entire system' remark taken out of context Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court MORE (D-Mass.) continue to duke it out for progressive support. Voters who want to elect a female president have both Warren and Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Nearly 40 Democratic senators call for climate change questions in debates Joe Biden has long forgotten North Carolina: Today's visit is too late MORE (D-Calif.) among their choices. Meanwhile, Harris and Sen. Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death DHS opens probe into allegations at Georgia ICE facility Democratic lawmakers call for an investigation into allegations of medical neglect at Georgia ICE facility MORE (D-N.J.) are battling for the backing of African American voters.

Additionally, nearly all the candidates have ebbed and flowed polling-wise throughout the opening five months of the race. All, that is, except Biden.

After campaigning throughout the early states and making stops in key 2020 states for both the Democratic primary and the general election, Biden laid low briefly before ramping up his public schedule again this week, including scheduled stops in Texas and Ohio to talk up his support for teachers and the LGBTQ community, two key Democratic primary voting blocs.

Biden also has remained front and center in the newscycle because of his constant clashes with President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, who has kept the former vice president fresh in his mind, including during his trip to Japan. After Trump agreed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Kim Jong UnSatellite images indicate North Korea preparing for massive military parade South Korea warns of underwater missile test launch by North Korea Trump says he didn't share classified information following Woodward book MORE that the former vice president is a “low IQ individual,” Biden’s camp waited until the president returned to Washington to bash him, adding that his comments were “beneath the dignity of the office.”

“To be on foreign soil, on Memorial Day, and to side repeatedly with a murderous dictator against a fellow American and former Vice President speaks for itself,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager.

Politico: Joe Biden is the front-runner by every measure — except big crowds.

The Associated Press: 2020 preview? Feud between Trump and Biden flares up.

The Washington Post: Biden unveils education plan, his first major policy proposal as 2020 candidate.

Matthew Continetti: Is Biden the new Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE?

As Biden remains entrenched as the leader in the clubhouse, all of the other Democratic campaigns have been forced to recalibrate their operations ahead of the first debate on June 26 and 27 as they try to conjure up or recapture momentum, according to reporting from Max Greenwood.

Harris is trying to get into more direct confrontations with Trump to get her name in the news cycle and move up, while former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who has seen his campaign dip, is doing more media, including with national outlets. South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Hillicon Valley: FBI, DHS warn that foreign hackers will likely spread disinformation around election results | Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day | Trump to meet with Republican state officials on tech liability shield MORE is making a push to win over African-American voters to try to broaden his support, particularly in South Carolina. Biden has separated himself from the pack in national polls and leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, creating problems for Sanders in the process (Bloomberg).

Although he has slipped since Biden’s 2020 entry, Senate Democrats believe Sanders has plenty of staying power to make an impact in the primary contest. As Alexander Bolton reports, this is largely because of a loyal base of supporters from his 2016 bid and what they see as his ability to stick around deep into the race, especially compared to candidates such as Buttigieg, O’Rourke and even Harris given that has already done it once before.

The Associated Press : Democrats up requirements for 2nd round of primary debates.

The Washington Post : Democratic 2020 candidates aim not-so-friendly fire at Trump over military deferments.

Reuters: Harris unveils plan to protect abortion rights.

Time: Inside Andrew Yang Andrew YangDoctor who allegedly assaulted Evelyn Yang arrested on federal charges The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden weighs in on police shootings | Who's moderating the debates | Trump trails in post-convention polls Buttigieg launches his own podcast MORE's outsider campaign.







LEADING THE DAY





WHITE HOUSE & ADMINISTRATION: Washington is keeping its eyes on West Wing power players this week, tracking their travels and projects.

> Middle East peace: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner Jared Corey KushnerAbraham Accords: New hope for peace in Middle East Tenants in Kushner building file lawsuit alleging dangerous living conditions Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing MORE flew to Morocco to drum up support for a peace plan between Israel and Palestine, which the president’s son-in-law at one point said the Trump administration hoped to unveil in June. Next stops on his itinerary this week: Jordan and Israel (The Associated Press).

> Middle East unrest: White House national security adviser John Bolton John BoltonMaximum pressure is keeping US troops in Iraq and Syria Woodward book trails Bolton, Mary Trump in first-week sales Ex-NSC official alleges 'unprecedented' intervention by White House aides in Bolton book review MORE is in the United Arab Emirates for talks today about a range of issues, including regional security and U.S. tensions with Iran (Reuters). Bolton said today that naval mines “almost certainly from Iran” were used to attack oil tankers off the coast of the UAE this month and he warned Tehran against new operations (Reuters). The New York Times reports on Trump’s public undercutting of advice he’s received from Bolton on North Korea and Iran.

> Trump’s legal team: The president’s attorneys in the post-Mueller-report phase of reckoning with Congress and the courts know litigation and are not on television. Trump has reshaped his legal team to battle Democratic-led investigations in Congress, Reuters reported. But two lawsuits Trump’s attorneys filed in April, which were intended to block congressional subpoenas seeking the president’s personal financial records, were rejected last week by federal judges. Trump is appealing those decisions, and House Democrats agreed not to enforce the subpoenas during that process. In the interim, Deutsche Bank and Capital One Financial Corp. will not have to immediately hand over the financial records of Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization, according to a court filing on Saturday (Reuters).

> White House legislative affairs: Trump’s respected White House lobbyist Shahira Knight departed the West Wing for the private sector accompanied by a hearty Twitter salute from the president. Over the next six months and beyond, politics are center stage, and Trump says he’s put legislating on ice while House Democrats continue conducting investigations he opposes. Knight’s exit, which had been expected, marked the end of expectations for big bipartisan solutions (The Hill). The next question is what kind of experience and skills Trump favors in a successor to lead legislative affairs. If an impeachment inquiry becomes a reality, does the president need someone with House expertise? Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney Mick MulvaneyOn The Money: House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles | New York considers hiking taxes on the rich | Treasury: Trump's payroll tax deferral won't hurt Social Security Blockchain trade group names Mick Mulvaney to board Mick Mulvaney to start hedge fund MORE, who also still heads the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), reportedly wants to see a close ally get that job (CNBC).

Politico last week reported some names recommended to Trump: Jonathan Slemrod, a former OMB official who now works at Harbinger Strategies; Eric Ueland, the deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and a former top Senate aide; Monica Popp, the former chief of staff to Sen. John Cornyn John CornynThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Liberal super PAC launches ads targeting vulnerable GOP senators over SCOTUS fight Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court MORE (R-Texas); Ben Howard, the current deputy legislative affairs director and a former House staff member; and Tim Pataki, the current head of the White House Office of Public Liaison.







IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES





STATE WATCH: From tornados to restrictive abortion trends, states made headlines following the long weekend.

> Natural disasters: After tornadoes struck Ohio on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring at least 90, Trump called Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to offer federal help, followed by a supportive tweet (The Hill). The destruction in Ohio and Indiana followed major twisters in recent days in Oklahoma and Missouri, adding to a wrenching stretch of recent weather destruction stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Mid-Atlantic (The New York Times). The National Weather Service predicts conditions behind the recent pattern of tornado activity will continue (The Associated Press).

Congress and the White House took months to iron out differences behind a $19 billion measure to provide disaster assistance to states and communities across the country, but the measure has been stuck in the House through Congress’s Memorial Day recess because two conservative lawmakers have objected to approving the measure’s high price tag in the absence of a roll call vote while their colleagues are out of Washington. House leaders will try again to get unanimous consent on Thursday, but if there’s another objection from the floor, the disaster funding will remain in limbo until June. The Senate passed the bill last week (The Hill).

> Reproductive choice: Missouri’s only abortion clinic could be closed by the end of the week in St. Louis because the state is threatening to not renew its license, Planned Parenthood officials said Tuesday. If the licence is not renewed, the organization said Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision (The Associated Press).

> Opioids: The state of Oklahoma alleged at the start of the first trial to result from lawsuits tied to the opioid drug crisis that Johnson & Johnson’s greed led the company to use deceptive marketing to create an oversupply of painkillers that fueled the nation’s epidemic of addicts and deaths from overdoses (Reuters). Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, who filed the multibillion-dollar case, argued in a state court that Johnson & Johnson should be forced to pay for helping cause the “worst manmade public health crisis in our state’s history.”

> Teaching history: Oregon will require public schools to teach students about the Holocaust under a measure sent to the governor on Tuesday. Lawmakers unanimously voted to add Holocaust instruction to the school curriculum, following in the footsteps of 10 other states that require some level of genocide education in schools. A recent poll found that 22 percent of American millennials said they were unfamiliar with the Holocaust (The Associated Press).







The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!







OPINION





Attorney General Barr’s probe could play right into the Kremlin’s hands, by Janusz Bugajski of the Center for European Policy Analysis, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2KadoQN

To avoid war with Iran, the United States needs to deal starting with a concession, by Geneive Abdo with the Arabia Foundation, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/2VXkcnh







WHERE AND WHEN





Hill.TV’s “Rising” program, starting at 8 a.m., features Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women, to discuss the Supreme Court’s Indiana abortion decision and new state laws, and Igor Volsky, the executive director of Guns Down America, to talk about the 2020 Democratic field’s positions on guns. http://thehill.com/hilltv

The House is out until June 4 but will hold a pro forma session Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and is expected to try, for a third time, to pass a disaster assistance measure by unanimous consent.

The Senate returns to work on June 3.

The president participates in a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Kimberly Reed, the president and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, to be held in the Oval Office at 12:15 p.m. Trump will have lunch with Vice President Pence at 12:30 p.m., and meet separately in the afternoon with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoTreasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities Navalny released from hospital after suspected poisoning Overnight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers MORE.

Attorney General Barr will participate in the Alaska Native Justice Roundtable in Anchorage, Alaska, at 1:45 p.m.







ELSEWHERE





➔ Data privacy: A year after Europe's sweeping data privacy law known as GDPR went into effect, the full scope of the regulation's impact on the industry is still taking shape. Privacy activists believe that the industry has largely ignored the central tenets of the GDPR and that the law is just starting to show signs of life, with broad implications (The Hill).

➔ Supreme Court: A majority of justices on Tuesday ruled that Indiana can require burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains. But the court declined to take up a challenge to a provision blocking abortions on the basis of sex, race or disability, avoiding a major ruling on abortion for the time being (The Hill). Meanwhile, during a speech on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFEC flags McConnell campaign over suspected accounting errors Poll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE (R-Ky.) repeated his vow to work to confirm any Supreme Court nominee nominated by Trump to any vacancy that may occur during the 2020 election year (The Hill). Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Senate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' MORE (D-N.Y.) used Twitter to blast McConnell as a “hypocrite” because of his 2016 Senate blockade against former President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Merrick Garland Merrick Brian GarlandPoll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' Chief justice honors Ginsburg: 'When she spoke, people listened' MORE.

➔ Overexposed at 9? The Scripps National Spelling Bee, which began on Tuesday, has made Akash Vukoti a young celebrity — although social media, YouTube and his parents’ savvy branding assistance have helped (The Associated Press).

➔ Going the distance: Actress and singer Jennifer Hudson turned in an Aretha-loving performance at the Pulitzer Prize awards ceremony on Tuesday after driving 13 hours to New York City to be there. The late Aretha Franklin was a special honoree, and Hudson said bad weather and a canceled flight could not keep her from arriving with five minutes to spare before singing “Amazing Grace.”

“Aretha’s spirit is in me,” she told a wowed audience (The Associated Press).







THE CLOSER





And finally … Unidentified flying objects that have been observed, described and in some cases videotaped by Navy pilots in recent years are under investigation by the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. Conclusion? Ha! No one in the Pentagon will say if the objects in question were determined to be of this world, or from “out there.”

The Defense Department distributed new classified guidance this year about reporting such sightings (Politico disclosed that news in April). Unidentified aircraft have been entering military-designated airspace as often as multiple times per month recently, Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for the office of the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told The Washington Post last month.

One pilot reported nearly colliding with a fast-moving unidentified object over the Atlantic Ocean that looked to him like a sphere encasing a cube.

Some Navy pilots are now recounting what they witnessed in 2014 and 2015 as part of a six-part History Channel series titled, “Unidentified: Inside America’s U.F.O. Investigation,” which broadcasts beginning Friday. The New York Times independently interviewed key participants, including five pilots, for an article this week.

“What was strange, the pilots said, was that the video showed objects accelerating to hypersonic speed, making sudden stops and instantaneous turns — something beyond the physical limits of a human crew.”

(The summer of 2019 is ripe with the inexplicable, although everyone on Twitter seems to have all the answers.)





