Biden meets privately with auto workers’ union president

President Joe Biden and United Auto Workers leader Shawn Fain met Wednesday at the White House, a union official and a White House aide told POLITICO, as labor contract discussions are beginning between the powerful union and the Big Three automakers.

The meeting comes as Democratic officials and labor observers brace for a likely strike by UAW, which could have major economic and political ramifications. It also took place in the shadow of the UAW withholding its support from the president’s reelection campaign for the time being due to its concerns over his handling of the electric vehicle transition.

UAW spokesperson Jonah Furman told POLITICO that Fain asked for Biden’s support in contract talks with GM, Ford and Stellantis. Furman said Fain asked Biden to use his “bully pulpit” and pushed him to attach stronger labor provisions to federal grants and loans funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

UAW's contract with the car companies ends Sept. 14.

A White House official said that UAW asked to set up a meeting with Biden’s senior staff so that they could present their position on the labor negotiations with the automakers. When Biden heard about the meeting, the official said, he asked if he could speak with Fain privately. The two had a short discussion.

The meeting with top aides and UAW included Gene Sperling, who Biden has tapped as a point person on talks between UAW and the Big Three.

The UAW has prodded Biden publicly over provisions and funding from the IRA, which is key to his political, economic and climate agenda. The union took aim at $9.2 billion in loans awarded to Ford last month, criticizing taxpayer support flowing to states with less favorable organizing rights like Kentucky and Tennessee.

“[Fain] knows that President Biden is one of the most pro-union presidents that we’ve had in this country,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who met with Fain on Wednesday, said in an interview. “But clearly President Fain is focused on an aggressive negotiation for his members.”

Biden has made shifting to electric vehicles a central part of his climate and economic strategy. He has sought to make all new vehicle sales electric by 2030, and his EPA has proposed vehicle standards that would require 67 percent of new vehicle sales to be zero-emissions by 2032.

The auto union has said it supports a transition to electric vehicles but is concerned about the quality of jobs in the emerging sector. The UAW has acknowledged the market is trending toward electric vehicles. But it has said the new federal funding contains too few provisions to encourage better standards for workers in the emerging batteries industry that will be central to electric vehicle employment.

Much of the UAW’s anxiety stems from transitioning out of factories where union members work on internal combustion engines to the emerging battery sector. But the U.S. battery industry is nascent and therefore has little connection to organized labor.

GM and Stellantis said in response to questions from POLITICO that they support workers’ rights to organize, including at facilities where joint ventures exist with other companies. Ford did not immediately return a request for comment.

“We believe the UAW, given their historic and constructive relationship in the automotive industry, would be well positioned to represent the workforce,” GM spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement.

Fain is also meeting with House members and senators over the next couple days, according to multiple congressional aides and members. The Congressional Labor Caucus was scheduled to begin a conversation with Fain at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Some lawmakers have shared the UAW’s worries that the Biden administration has not done enough to convince auto companies to improve standards for workers.

“I was disappointed in some of the deployment of that initial investment,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who has GM facilities in his district, said in an interview. “I want to see more in Michigan, and I want to see more on existing factory sites or existing facilities where we have a history of UAW contracts.”

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Israeli president responds to U.S. lawmaker criticism

In an address delivered to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasized his country's close relationship with the U.S., while also responding to recent criticism from some lawmakers.

At least five progressive members boycotted Herzog's speech, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.), principally over Israel’s treatment of Palestinian people and its democratic norms. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), who days prior had called Israel a “racist state” and apologized after her remarks drew bipartisan condemnation, missed the speech due to scheduling conflicts, a spokesperson said.

In response, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy fast-tracked a resolution declaring that Israel was not racist or an apartheid state, which passed 412-9 on Wednesday night with Jayapal voting in favor.

Herzog addressed the boycotts from some lawmakers during his address.

“I am not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this House,” Herzog said. “I respect criticism, especially from friends, although one does not always have to accept it. But criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the state of Israel’s right to exist.”

He warned of the line between criticism and antisemitism.

“Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitisim. Vilifying and attacking Jews, whether in Israel, in the United States, or anywhere in the world is antisemitism,” he said. “Antisemitism is a disgrace in every form, and I commend President Joe Biden for laying out the United States’ first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism.”

No signs of disunity appeared during the address, with lawmakers frequently erupting in applause and delivering standing ovations. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) held an Israeli flag. Nearly every seat was occupied during what was only the second address Israel’s head of state has ever given to Congress — the first being Herzog's own father, former Israeli President Chaim Herzog, in 1987.

Herzog’s visit to Washington has been shadowed by Biden’s dynamic with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who the president has invited to the U.S. sometime this year. That invitation came in a Monday call between the two men on the eve of Biden hosting Herzog at the White House, a visit interpreted by many as a rebuke to Netanyahu.

His speech comes during a heightened period of scrutiny over democratic norms in Israel. Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in the country’s history, has indicated he will move forward with a contentious plan to limit the influence of Israel's judiciary — despite massive protests that have covered the country since January.

“I am well aware of the imperfections of Israeli democracy, and I am conscious of the questions posed by our greatest friends,” Herzog said during the address. “The momentous debate in Israel is painful, and deeply unnerving, because it highlights the cracks within the whole.”

Herzog also railed against the possible nuclear capabilities of Iran, as the Biden administration continues navigating how to constrain the country's approach to nuclear weapons.

“Let there be no doubt: Iran does not strive to attain nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” Herzog said to a standing ovation. “Allowing Iran to become a nuclear threshold state — whether by omission or by diplomatic commission — is unacceptable.”

Herzog expressed a hope to unite a younger generation of Israelis and Palestinians, but warned Israel could not accept what he called “Palestinian terror” against the country, which undermined “a future of peace.”

Herzog also praised Tel Aviv’s LGBTQ Pride Parade — one of the largest in the world — to cheering from Democrats that was not mirrored on the other side of the aisle.

The lines that received consistent bipartisan applause were those praising the longtime allyship between the U.S. and Israel.

“It is clear that America is irreplaceable to Israel, and Israel is irreplaceable to America,” Herzog said.

Jonathan Lemire and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

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Wagner troops won’t go back to fight in Ukraine, Prigozhin says

‘What is happening at the front now is a disgrace. We want no part of it,’ mutinous warlord says.

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Tim Scott-boosting super PAC drops $40 million in fall ad reservations

A super PAC aligned with Sen. Tim Scott is dropping $40 million in fall ad reservations, the largest buy of the presidential race so far.

Trust In the Mission PAC, the spending group boosting the South Carolina senator’s presidential campaign, will begin placing the ad buys immediately, a spokesperson for the organization told POLITICO on Tuesday.

The new television and digital advertisements are set to start running Sept. 7 — just after the super PAC’s $7 million summer ad campaign winds down — and will go through January. The television ads will run in the early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — as well as on national cable networks — just as the primary debate season is underway.

Scott remains locked in a slow-moving fight with a handful of other candidates for the No. 3 spot in the GOP primary. He is under pressure to boost his name recognition with voters to advance in the polls. Since announcing an exploratory committee in April and an official campaign in May, Scott has remained in the single digits as additional candidates have entered the race. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in second place, has shown signs of slipping.

“This initial ad reservation allows us to lock-in the best inventory, times and locations at the lowest cost for any outside group in the 2024 race,” said Rob Collins, a Republican strategist serving as co-chair of TIM PAC, in a statement to POLITICO. “As prices sky-rocket in the coming weeks, we will have a stable plan that will allow us to efficiently communicate our message, conduct a well-rounded campaign and better manage our cash."

While candidates enjoy lower ad rates than other groups wading into elections, television time for super PACs becomes increasingly expensive as more spots are purchased. Scott’s aligned super PAC is so far the only group or campaign to have made any ad reservations post-Labor Day, according to the ad-tracking service AdImpact.

To date, Scott and his allied super PAC have run a combined $7 million worth of television and digital advertisements, trailing only the super PACs of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, which have already dropped $20 million and $15.5 million, respectively, per AdImpact.

The super PAC also confirmed that it launched a door-knocking effort in June, and has a “multi-touch field program” underway in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that includes door canvassing, direct mail, digital advertisements and text messages.

Those initiatives are being carried out by “nearly 100” door-knockers, the super PAC said in a statement, while roughly a dozen paid staffers are employed in the early states by TIM PAC.

The first GOP debate is set for Aug. 23. For candidates who reach the Republican National Committee’s aggressive polling and donor criteria to make the stage, the occasion could allow some in the field, like Scott, to finally break out of the single digits and achieve momentum. Trump has dominated throughout the primary, continuing to hold the support of roughly 50 percent of the Republican primary electorate, polling averages show.

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Judge mulls timing of Trump classified documents trial

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A federal judge heard lengthy arguments Tuesday over when to start a criminal trial for former President Donald Trump on charges that he hoarded classified information at his Florida home and then obstructed a grand jury investigation, but the hearing concluded without a trial date being set.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors for special counsel Jack Smith squared off for nearly two hours in front of U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon at the first hearing she has held in the case. Smith’s team obtained an indictment of the former president last month on 31 counts of willfully retaining national defense information and six counts of obstruction of justice.

Lawyers for Trump pleaded with Cannon, a Trump appointee, to put the trial off until after next year’s presidential election — in which their client is hoping to be returned to the White House. Prosecutors, for their part, urged the judge to schedule the trial for this December.

Trump attorney Tood Blanche ridiculed claims by prosecutors that the case, involving hundreds of sensitive national-security documents and thousands of hours of videos, does not qualify as “complex” under federal court rules.

“This is not a normal case,” Blanche said, calling prosecutors’ proposed schedule “pretty disingenuous.” He said pushing the trial off until next year was necessary to give the defense lawyers time to review huge volumes of evidence that the government has turned over.

“We’re not asking for special treatment — that’s the reality,” Blanche insisted.

Assistant Special Counsel David Harbach defended his office’s proposal for a trial starting December 11, saying that Trump should be treated like any other important person with a busy schedule facing serious criminal charges. He also declared that politics has had no impact on the handling of the case against Trump.

“There has been none,” Harbach said.

Cannon said she’d issue a written order later on the schedule for the case, and she did not clearly signal whether she plans to embrace prosecutors’ recommendations to get the case to trial this year or side with the defense’s claims that the former president cannot get a fair trial until the presidential election season winds down next fall.

However, the judge asked numerous probing questions of prosecutors and appeared to harbor doubts about whether their proposal to get the case ready for trial this year was realistic.

The court session took place just hours after Trump told supporters on his social media site that Smith’s team recently informed Trump’s lawyers that he is a target of a second federal criminal investigation: the probe by a Washington, D.C.-based grand jury into efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election.

The so-called target letter is a signal that Trump’s already serious legal woes are likely to worsen in the coming weeks as he faces the prospect of as many as four criminal indictments as he pursues his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and for re-election to the White House.

In addition to the classified documents prosecution and a potential federal indictment related to interference with the tallying of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump has already been charged in a New York state court with falsifying business records involving payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. That trial is set for March 2024.

Meanwhile, a district attorney in Georgia has indicated she plans to present evidence to a grand jury this month and next about efforts to tamper with the 2020 presidential election results in that state. Trump’s lawyers have been aggressively, but successfully, trying to shut down that investigation — a sign that an indictment of Trump in state court there is also in the offing.

Trump was not present for the session Thursday, but his co-defendant and close aide, Walt Nauta, was in the courtroom. Nauta is accused of helping Trump conceal boxes of classified documents and then lying to investigators.

The relatively calm atmosphere that prevailed outside the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, about 60 miles north of Trump’s home and social club in West Palm Beach, was in sharp contrast with the raucous scene last month in Miami as Trump was arraigned on the classified-information and obstruction charges.

Hundreds of Trump supporters and journalists from across the globe gathered for that hearing, where the former president and current frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination went before a federal magistrate judge to plead not guilty to all 37 felony charges.

Nauta’s arraignment was delayed twice after he encountered difficulty finding a local attorney, but the Trump aide entered a not guilty plea earlier this month.

While the hearing Tuesday was Cannon’s first court session in the criminal case, she also oversaw a civil suit Trump filed last year after the FBI carried out a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago looking for classified documents and evidence of obstruction of the federal probe.

Although targets of such searches rarely get any relief before criminal charges are filed, Cannon cut off criminal investigators’ access to the records and appointed a so-called special master to consider claims Trump asserted that some of the records were protected by executive and attorney-client privilege.

The Justice Department won quick relief from aspects of Cannon’s decision, which drew unusually widespread criticism from legal experts. The conservative 11th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay rejecting the restrictions on the government’s handling of documents marked classified. The appeals court later overturned Cannon’s decision and shut down the special counsel process entirely.

Most of the legal maneuvering around the search took place before Attorney General Merrick Garland named Smith last November to take over the probe into Trump’s possession of classified documents as well as federal probes related to the 2020 presidential election and the tallying of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.

So far, the only criminal charges to emerge from the investigations Smith is overseeing are those brought against Trump and Nauta in Florida last month over the retention of national security secrets and alleged efforts to stymie that probe.

Atterbury reported from Fort Pierce. Gerstein reported from Washington.

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Support builds in Congress for more flights at Reagan National

Key lawmakers and companies are lining up behind a plan that would add 14 flights a day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a possible resolution to a cross-partisan battle involving Congress' favorite flight station.

But the fight could still slow final passage of a larger bill needed to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, at a moment when the aviation system is straining to manage a post-pandemic travel surge.

Delta Air Lines, which now has only a minor presence at DCA, is the main proponent of adding more Reagan National flights. United Airlines, which controls the most gates at nearby Dulles International Airport, fiercely opposes the effort. Both airlines have spent the summer lobbying lawmakers and waging a campaign marked by dueling op-eds by former administration officials, ad campaigns atop newsletters and a constant barrage of press releases.

Now, other combatants are stepping in on the pro-expansion side.

Southwest Airlines, which hadn't previously taken a position, came out Tuesday in favor of adding flights. And American Airlines, which was previously aligned with United, said it considers the newest proposal for added flights more palatable than past versions because proponents reduced their ask from 56 flights per day to 14.

American spokesperson Amy Lawrence said the airline would still prefer that no flights be added. But she said, "We are pleased to see the proposed number of new flights lowering."

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), who sponsored an amendment adding flights to the FAA bill, said the increased number of flights should pass the House because his side was willing to lower its demands. The seven round-trip flights per day would be split among the seven airlines now operating at Reagan National, and would not be subject to a current 1,250-mile restriction that bars long-haul flights out of the airport without action from Congress.

"We started off with 28 [pairs of flights], then we had 13 or 14 and we ended up at seven," Owens said. "Seven is a number that ought to sail through the House."

United spokesperson Sam Coleman said the airline remains opposed to flight changes "as it would only serve to increase delays and cancellations for everyone flying in and out of DCA."

The fight over additional flights is likely to result in a House floor vote later this week as lawmakers consider a larger bill, H.R. 3935 (118), that would authorize approximately $103 billion for the FAA for the next five fiscal years.

The FAA, which oversees commercial aviation, faces major challenges with shortages of air traffic controllers as post-pandemic travel booms, a crunch that has contributed to waves of flight cancellations and delays that have angered consumers and lawmakers. The agency has also spent the past year without a Senate-confirmed leader, although former Deputy Administrator Mike Whitaker is the front-runner to receive the nomination for the FAA's top job and could get the nod in the coming days, according to news reports and a lobbyist who was granted anonymity to discuss their knowledge of internal White House conversations.

The fight over Reagan National has divided lawmakers by region and fealty to certain airlines instead of party affiliation — for instance, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) both favor expanding flights.

Owens predicted that the flights issue will come down to a "true vote" in which party leaders on both sides allow members to vote the way they please.

"We’ll be pushing as hard as we can to whip the votes," Owens said. "I feel confident we're going to pull this up."

The House FAA bill will also include additional amendment votes on a number of hot issues. Most notably, one bipartisan amendment would roll back a compromise endorsed by leaders of the House Transportation Committee, which would have allowed additional flight simulator time to count toward the 1,500 hours of flight experience that a prospective pilot must accrue during training.

The families of people who died aboard Colgan Air Flight 3407, which crashed in 2009 in western New York state, urged the House to adopt the amendment from Buffalo-area Reps. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.).

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also adamant about not changing the pilot training requirements. The families said Transportation Committee leaders from both parties, Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), are urging lawmakers to vote against the amendment.

"By eliminating the provision that allows flight simulator hours to replace cockpit experience, we can better ensure the expertise and skills of our pilots, ultimately safeguarding the lives of everyone on board," family member Scott Maurer said in a statement.

Other amendments would require the FAA to develop new safety training materials for airport ground crew workers in response to two incidents in Texas and Alabama within the last seven months in which airport workers died after being sucked into engines. Another amendment would require the Department of Transportation to provide passengers with more detailed information about the cause of a flight delay or cancellation. An amendment with dozens of cosponsors would prohibit DOT from buying Chinese- or Russian-made drones.

All those amendments, including the additional Reagan National flights, have bipartisan support. But the bill could also include GOP-only provisions that would shift the bill rightward and erode Democratic support for the final product.

Some of the Republican-only amendments would initiate a study into raising the retirement age of air traffic controllers, require airlines to hire back pilots who were fired because they had refused to take Covid vaccines, and repeal the Essential Air Service program that guarantees commercial service to rural airports.

A total of 104 amendments to the FAA bill could conceivably receive floor votes this week after the House Rules Committee cleared them Monday.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) said House Republicans risk losing votes for the bill if they include more of the GOP-only amendments, much as Republicans did last week on the National Defense Authorization Act.

"If that is what they choose to do with this FAA reauthorization, I think they're just doubling down on something that is very unpalatable to the American people," Sherrill said.

But one other big-ticket issue won't be changed in the bill. A bipartisan amendment to keep the commercial pilot retirement age at 65, led by former pilot Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), failed to survive vetting in the Rules Committee. Instead, the bill would keep in place a new retirement age of 67 after the provision passed in committee on a razor-thin 32-31 vote.

"It’s embarrassing and a shame that over 40 Members of Congress’ voices are being stifled in this process," Bergman said in a statement on Tuesday. "But the powers that be knew they didn’t have a leg to stand on and would have lost the vote in a landslide.”

Kierra Frazier contributed to this report.

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Russian command structure ‘confusing at best’ after Wagner mutiny, says top U.S. general

The Russian military’s command structure is “confusing at best” after last month’s failed rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.

Thousands of Prigozhin’s soldiers have been deeply involved in the Ukraine conflict. But those troops are now handing over their weapons to the Russian military, in an apparent end to their operations in Ukraine.

The failed mutiny that ended with Prigozhin’s exile has thrown Russia’s military command structure into disarray, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Pentagon.

“The command-and-control apparatus at the strategic level is certainly confusing at best and probably challenging,” Milley said.

The fallout from the rebellion, in addition to logistics problems, “significant” officer casualties and poor training, have contributed to eroding morale among Russian forces, Milley said.

Russian troops have had several months to boost their defenses in Ukraine, including laying complex minefields, installing barbed wire and digging trenches, Milley said. But Ukraine is working through the front lines “slowly and deliberately.”

Kyiv has so far struggled to retake significant territory during the much-anticipated counteroffensive, but Milley explained that Ukrainian forces are “preserving their combat power” and have not sent in their best soldiers.

“This is going to be long, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be bloody,” Milley predicted. But “it is far from a failure, in my view.”

The main challenge for Ukrainian troops is minefields, which are forcing soldiers to move slowly, Milley said. The coalition is focused on providing Ukraine equipment to help clear and defend against those mines, as well as air defenses to protect against Russian air attacks.

Milley’s comments echo those by another senior Pentagon official last week. Colin Kahl, who recently left his position as undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters that Ukraine has not yet brought the “majority of their combat power” to bear.

Ukraine’s strategy is to deliberately probe the Russian lines for weak spots across the east and south, Kahl said.

“I think the real test will be when they identify weak spots or create weak spots and generate a breach,” Kahl said. “How rapidly they're able to exploit that with the combat power that they have in reserve and how rapidly the Russians will be able to respond.”

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