MORNING REPORT

Friday, October 30 | By Jared Gans and Sarah Fortinsky

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In today's issue:

▪ Left wins big in New York City

▪ Trump visits a Senate GOP at odds with him

▪ Senate passes war powers resolution

▪ Pulte follows through on critics’ worries

Mamdani rolls up sweeping victories for hard left in New York primaries

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) led the hard left wing of the Democratic Party to sweeping victories on Tuesday night as democratic socialist and progressive candidates backed by him rolled to huge wins in several hotly contested Democratic primaries.

There were questions ahead of the races on whether Mamdani, who was just inaugurated as mayor in January, would pull off the wins by backing upstart Democratic socialist candidates and a former rival against two Democratic incumbents in the House. In a third race, he took on the candidate endorsed by the progressive lawmaker retiring from the seat.

In the end, the nation’s newest political star became an overnight kingmaker in the country’s biggest city, a showing likely to raise immediate questions about whether Mamdani will seek to extend his reach from New York to the rest of the country.

The results are also likely to lead to some bitterness in corners of the congressional delegation after Mamdani muscled out one respected incumbent who had backed him in his own mayoral race last year.

The most stunning result of the evening was democratic socialist and community activist Darializa Avila Chevalier’s upset victory over Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat has served in the House for a decade and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Espaillat, who is also the first member of Congress to have formerly been an undocumented immigrant, has long enjoyed strong support from key communities in the district, including Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx. But Mamdani’s endorsement of Avila Chevalier and rallies with her as the primary approached appeared to have given her the momentum she needed to win.

Mamdani’s decision to endorse in the primary put him on the opposite side of the fence as several of his left-wing allies. Progressive Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.) all backed Espaillat.

The race came down to the wire, but Avila Chevalier is on track to win by a few points.

Espaillat had given Mamdani a key endorsement last year, but had initially supported former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the Democratic mayoral primary. There has been much talk in the last weeks about whether Espaillat had understood that Mamdani would back him as a result of his endorsement.

As a result, observers in Washington will be watching to see how warmly Avila Chevalier is received by some of her new Democratic House colleagues.

Mamdani also won in his proxy battle against the retiring Velázquez, as the one-time allies split on who should succeed the longtime congresswoman. Velázquez backed progressive Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to be her successor, while Mamdani supported New York Assembly member Claire Valdez, another democratic socialist.

Despite a contentious race in which Velázquez spoke out against Mamdani for bucking her preferred choice, the primary ultimately wasn’t that close. Valdez cruised to victory; she currently leads Reynoso by more than 20 points.

The left attained another victory across Brooklyn and lower Manhattan as former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander easily defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) for the party’s nomination. While Lander isn’t a democratic socialist, he ran clearly to Goldman’s left with progressive enthusiasm, including support from Mamdani, behind him.

The primaries were the first real test of Mamdani’s influence after he pulled off his own major upset to win the Democratic primary and then the general election to lead the country’s largest city.

As he approaches his six-month mark in office, his approval rating in polls suggests voters in New York are pleased with him so far. Tuesday’s results point to his growing political power as a leader with serious coattails who can push others to victories.

It also looks like a sign of the growing power of the left in the Democratic Party.

New York is just the latest big city to see a left-wing wave sweep across it. The primary was held just a week after progressives dominated in all major races in Washington, D.C., setting the stage for the district’s likely first democratic socialist mayor.

The left wing has also seen a surge in other major cities, like Seattle. Democratic socialist Nithya Raman managed to advance to a runoff in Los Angeles’s mayoral race, spurring leftist hopes of ousting Mayor Karen Bass (D) in November.

In New York, the victories by the trio of House candidates backed by Mamdani also sent a signal about growing criticism of Israel’s government within the party. Goldman in particular was targeted by the democratic socialist movement over his support for Israel.

The night wasn’t all bad news for moderates, raising questions about the limits of progressive success outside urban blue strongholds.

Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo won the Democratic primary to succeed retiring longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a race that fueled a sometimes-intense intraparty battle. Moderate former Rep. Ben McAdams easily won a contested Democratic primary for a likely pickup opportunity in Utah, fending off a progressive in the district based around Salt Lake City.

Still, the New York results are the latest evidence of the left’s clear ascendance in the big cities. It gives Democrats and Republicans something to mull over as they consider strategies for the 2026 midterms in the fall, and the 2028 presidential race.

▪ The Hill: Takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries.

▪ The Hill: Prediction market boom roils midterm elections.

3 Things to Know Today

The House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan housing bill in a victory for both parties, sending the legislation to President Trump’s desk for his signature. Its success comes after months of negotiations and divides between the House and Senate.
A lawn care company has reportedly pledged $1 million to repair the damage to the South Lawn of the White House following the UFC Freedom 250 event last week. Officials said no taxpayer dollars will be used for the restoration.
Another top general is set to depart the Pentagon as Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Asia, submitted paperwork to retire after just over a year in the position. He’s the latest top military leader to leave their role during Trump’s second term.

LEADING THE DAY

FACE TO FACE: President Trump is headed to Capitol Hill today, where he will meet with a Senate GOP conference that increasingly includes Republicans at odds with him.

Trump’s invitation comes from a friendly place. He was invited to visit the GOP Steering Committee, a subset of the conference traditionally run by conservatives that is led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a top Trump ally.

All GOP senators can attend the group’s Wednesday lunch. Some typically skip it, though the president’s attendance on Wednesday may bring a full house.

Still, it’s not entirely clear if the GOP senators who have been most at odds with Trump over various issues, such as Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Bill Cassidy (La.), will attend.

Those three senators, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), on Tuesday voted for a War Powers Resolution effectively rebuking Trump on the Iran war.

Collins and Murkowski have frequently diverged from Trump on various issues, taking insults from the president in the process. Tillis has grown increasingly outspoken in his criticism of Trump since deciding against a run for reelection last summer.

Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, saw the president effectively end his Senate career when Trump backed another candidate in Cassidy’s primary. The same fate befell a fifth GOP senator, Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who recently complained of the chaos caused by Trump.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the former GOP leader, has also broken with Trump at times but is unlikely to attend the lunch because of a medical issue.

Scott invited Trump to address two major points of contention: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act and the Iran peace deal.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports the meeting comes at a pivotal moment in the relationship between the president and his party’s legislative leaders, who are bracing themselves for what could be a heated and unpredictable discussion with Trump after weeks of rising tensions and disagreements over strategy.

GOP senators tell Bolton that the repeated clashes have led to a major loss of trust for some in the party, especially as the White House has repeatedly blindsided Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and other GOP leaders.

Members will have a chance to air those grievances when the president attends the Senate GOP Steering Committee lunch. The invitation to Trump by Scott came in a Friday phone call. It was a move some saw as undercutting the majority leader, who learned about the invitation after the fact from Scott.

“It’s probably Thune’s worst nightmare for many reasons. Donald Trump is so unpredictable, and Thune’s loyalty is to his conference and the Senate conference’s loyalty is to each other, it’s not to Donald Trump,” a Republican strategist told Bolton.

“Donald Trump is a complete wild card, and so anything can come out of this,” the strategist added.

Senate Republicans have grown frustrated at Trump’s relentless focus on the SAVE America Act, which would require people to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to show photo ID when casting a ballot. The president has pushed Thune to sidestep the filibuster or fire the Senate parliamentarian to overcome Democratic opposition to the bill, but the GOP leader has resisted those demands, arguing he lacks the votes.

Many Republicans want to move on from the bill after it failed five times on the floor, but the president remains insistent — even threatening to veto an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) if the bill is not attached to it, a nonstarter for the conference.

The preliminary Iran deal is also expected to come up at the meeting after Senate Republicans were frustrated last week when their requests for a briefing on the memorandum of understanding were ignored, leaving them unprepared to respond to criticism about the deal.

“When we’re five months out from a major election... you’ve got to be pitch-perfect, and you got to execute with precision,” Sen. Thom TiIlis (R-N.C.) said. “We can’t surprise the president, and the administration cannot surprise us. Every time we do that between now and November, we’re diminishing our chances of holding our majorities.”

Tillis, who has also frequently split with Trump, separately blasted the administration this week after U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro threatened to prosecute those accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to the fullest extent of the law, drawing a contrast to Trump’s blanket pardons for those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“I don’t know what’s worse to you, vandalizing a pool or assaulting a police officer?” Tillis said, adding, “You’ve let people that admitted to assaulting a police officer go and think I can take that person seriously? Nuh-uh.”

Several other issues have left senators blindsided recently, including the president’s sudden announcement that his nominee to serve as director of national intelligence, Jay Clayton, would not show up to his confirmation hearing.

Cornyn slammed the move, telling Semafor, “The president seems to revel in chaos, which is so different from any other leader that I’ve ever seen.”

Cornyn noted some Senate Republicans are feeling betrayed by the president, pointing to his own defeat in his primary runoff this year after Trump endorsed his opponent and accused the incumbent of being “very disloyal.” The senator said there was “no real reason” for those attacks “given my support for the president’s agenda.”

“When he endorsed my primary opponent, people realized you could never do enough to stop the president from endorsing your primary opponent. I think that destroyed what remained of any kind of trust,” he told Bolton.

▪ The Hill: Rick Scott circulates plan to avoid shutdown ahead of Trump meeting.

▪ Washington Examiner: Two Republicans vow to oppose action until SAVE Act passes.

▪ The Hill: GOP senator ousted by Trump pushes Social Security investment.

BICAMERAL REBUKE: The Senate narrowly approved a House-passed resolution directing Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran, after four Republican senators bucked their party by voting for it.

The upper chamber passed the war powers resolution by a 50-48 vote, with GOP Sens. Paul, Collins, Murkowski and Cassidy joining nearly all Democrats in voting in favor. Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) was the only Senate Democrat to vote against the resolution.

Since the measure is a concurrent resolution, it doesn’t need Trump’s signature. It also doesn’t have the force of law despite receiving approval in both chambers of Congress.

But the vote marks a further rebuke of the president in his oversight of the conflict with Iran. Four House Republicans previously joined all House Democrats to pass the resolution in the lower chamber earlier this month.

The measure’s passage comes two days after Trump threatened to resume bombing of Iran if it didn’t rein in its military proxies in Lebanon.

▪ The Hill: GOP divided over Vance rebuke of Israeli critics.

▪ The Hill: Trump defends Iran sanctions relief.

ADDRESSING THE SHORTFALL: Trump will also meet with defense contractors Wednesday as concerns rise that the U.S. munitions stockpile has dwindled.

The Wall Street Journal reported Trump summoned the heads of the largest defense firms and senior Pentagon officials to the White House to discuss increasing production. The meeting had been scheduled for earlier this month but was delayed because of negotiations to end the Iran war.

Trump previously met with contractors in early March, when he said they agreed to quadruple production of “exquisite class” weaponry. He has maintained weapons stockpiles are satisfactory, but defense analysts have warned the military has a finite number of interceptors, which take time to replenish.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also set to meet with House Republicans on Wednesday to brief them on the administration’s military funding goals.

HOLDING GROUND: Trump is doubling down on his claims that vandals are responsible for the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The president increased his estimate of the size of the cut in the pool’s base from 300 to 350 feet on Tuesday, alleging in a post on Truth Social that it was made with “a very sharp knife or razors.”

“It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump said.

The Interior Department said Monday that five people have been arrested and it has issued citations to five others for allegedly vandalizing the pool. Trump increased the number Tuesday to six arrests and seven citations.

Members of the National Guard and U.S. Park Police started patrolling the Reflecting Pool as part of a crackdown Monday against the suspected vandalism. The pool has received widespread attention in recent days for algae growth that has turned the water green and cracks in the new blue paint that the Trump administration oversaw.

▪ The Hill: Attorney for former Olympian defends client.

▪ The Hill: Two more ducks found dead near pool.

WHEN & WHERE

The president will sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act at noon. He will attend the Senate Steering Committee lunch at 1 p.m. and meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at 3:30 p.m. He will participate in a policy meeting at 5 p.m. and deliver remarks at the Great American State Fair at 8:30 p.m.
The House and Senate will convene at 10 a.m.

ZOOM IN

ALARM BELLS: Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte is already making swift changes at the country’s intelligence agencies, delivering on the controversial tenure that many of his critics feared when the president hand-selected him for the post, The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports.

Since beginning his job on Friday, Pulte has carried out Trump’s expressed desire for layoffs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, setting off alarm bells on Capitol Hill.

“Well, that didn’t take long,” Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a video yesterday, adding, “Word is he’s starting to fire hundreds, probably without regard to whether they’re valued or not.”

Tillis called Pulte an “incompetent sycophant” and compared the firings to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) layoffs, telling reporters, “My guess is, based on his past experience, it’s just going to be another hot, steaming pile of DOGE s‑‑‑”

The exact number of firings is unclear, but the White House on Tuesday pointed to a social media post earlier this month in which Trump called on Pulte “to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office.” Reporting indicates the firings are concentrated in the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), according to Beitsch.

Larry Pfeiffer, a Day 1 Office of the Director of National Intelligence staffer and former CIA chief of staff, told The Hill that any firings should be carried out through a thoughtful process by experienced people.

“To just then have some guy who has zero experience and that come in on Day 1, just start firing people without any kind of review, adjudication, consultation with people who would know what the right answer is, just seems incredibly reckless and incredibly dangerous,” Pfeiffer said.

“Now, is NCTC too big? Maybe, I don’t know. Is it effective? My answer to that would be we haven’t had a 9/11-scale attack since 9/11, so you know it’s at least doing something.”

▪ The Hill: Senate Dem bill would require Senate-confirmed acting DNIs.

ELSEWHERE

OPENING UP: Independents will soon get a vote in Washington primaries after the D.C. Council passed an amendment to fund semi-open primaries.

D.C. voters in 2024 approved a ballot initiative to implement ranked-choice voting and create semi-open primaries, which would allow independent voters to choose to participate in either the Democratic primary or the Republican primary. Historically, registered independents would not participate in either primary in the district.

But the D.C. Council at first only funded the ranked-choice voting change, which took effect for the first time in the 2026 primaries held last week.

On Tuesday, the Council passed an amendment to the 2027 budget that would allocate $1.1 million to implement semi-open primaries over the next four years. The funding, which is needed for outreach efforts and changes to voter registration systems, came too late for the 2026 cycle, so independent voters will have to wait until 2028 to participate in their first primary in the district.

Nearly 86,000 registered voters in the nation's capital, equal to about 18 percent of the district’s electorate, were not affiliated with a party as of the end of May.

▪ The New York Times: Janeese Lewis George addresses Trump threat.

OPINION

The mirage of the trillionaire: Elon Musk and the power of expectation, Lukhanyo Sikwebu writes in The Hill.
College sports wants more TV money. Congress should be wary, Nathaniel Grow writes in The Hill.

THE CLOSER

And finally … A possible ‘World Cup truce” may be in place in Mexico with the soccer tournament underway as cartel deaths have dropped recently in the country.

Security analyst David Saucedo told a Mexican outlet that prosecutors in several cartel-heavy cities are seeing declines in the number of homicides and violent incidents since the first games started. He noted that there isn’t official evidence to confirm a formal agreement by the cartels.

Government data shows the country recorded 30 murders on June 11, the day Mexico began its hosting duties with its first game. That was the lowest single-day total since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024.

Days later, the number dropped to 27, the lowest in a decade. Saucedo said the drop has coincided with a pause in major law enforcement actions against cartel leadership.

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