POLITICO NIGHTLY: United they stand, divided they fall on the debt ceiling

 

BY ELANA SCHOR Presented by Shut Down SHEIN Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) with fellow Republican lawmakers at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images HOLD THE LINE — To all but the sharpest students of congressional politics, talks over the nation’s debt ceiling might look like a game of chicken. On one side are Republicans intent on pursuing a doomed package of steep spending cuts, and on the other are Democrats insisting on a clean hike to the Treasury’s borrowing limits. Anyone seeing this week’s Capitol Hill moves that way wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But all that partisan chest-thumping masks a more important competition — to project as much unity as possible without cracks. Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s House GOP took its turn first this week, aiming to force fresh negotiations on the debt by releasing a package of spending cuts, federal benefit limits, and other rollbacks of President Joe Biden’s policy. The president quickly nixed it. The next day, however, House Democrats started nudging Biden to at least sit down with McCarthy, indicating some cracks in the clean-hike-or-bust mentality on their side. It’s a sign that next week, when House Republicans plan to push their debt bill to a vote, could prove pivotal in Washington’s ongoing drama over how to save the nation from a debt default that risks rattling the nation’s economy. McCarthy’s job next week will be making passage of his legislation look as smooth as possible, despite evident misgivings within his conference — from conservatives who’ve vowed to never support a debt hike to centrists who take issue with its food aid limits. Assuming full attendance in the House, he’ll only be able to lose four people on the floor. Democrats’ job will be sticking together in lambasting the GOP plan as a painful decimation of essential government programs, including the president’s student loan relief plan. If more members of Biden’s party greet next week’s vote with a suggestion to restart talks, look for Republicans to leap on it as a sign of cracks in their firmament. Sure, this entire back-and-forth amounts to a lot of inside-the-Beltway tribalism — the kind of thing campaign ads cite to paint one party or the other as wasting taxpayers’ time. Style can matter as much as substance in politics, however — so don’t be surprised to see both parties work the proverbial refs in the media, either. When the Portland Trail Blazers pulled themselves back from the brink in the 2003 NBA playoffs, Rasheed Wallace — whose terse eloquence has made it into Nightly before — memorably spent an entire press conference responding to questions with “both teams played hard.” It was Wallace’s way of trolling the press for painting his team as flailing. And right now, the media has focused far more on the risks McCarthy faces in the debt fight than on those Biden and Chuck Schumer must contend with. If House Republicans can hang together next week, though, Democrats will have to carefully weigh their next move knowing that the GOP has learned to unify after a rocky start. Both parties are, as Wallace might say, playing hard to show unity on the debt. Yet the overwhelming likelihood is that the debt debate ends with one perceived winner: Either McCarthy extracts a clearly painful concession (or two, or three) from Democrats, or Biden forces Republicans to overplay their hand with a slim majority and successfully marginalizes them as obstructionist. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at eschor@politico.com or on Twitter at @eschor . A message from Shut Down SHEIN: SHEIN has become a nefarious, fast-fashion juggernaut that’s a major threat to U.S. national security. SHEIN is likely violating U.S. law, committing “crimes against humanity” through slave labor in China, and engaging in anti-competitive and insidious business practices – all while harvesting information on as many Americans as possible for the Chinese Communist Party. Learn why Washington must Shut Down SHEIN!   WHAT'D I MISS? — Biden orders tougher reviews for projects in pollution-scarred areas: President Joe Biden is tightening up environmental approvals for new projects that would add pollution to communities that are already suffering from health threats from their air and water, according to an executive order being issued today. Biden’s new order will direct federal agencies on how to work with communities early in project development timelines and improve data to consider the “cumulative impacts” of environmental and health stressors of an area when weighing new proposals that could affect where to site infrastructure like pipelines, waste incinerators, chemical processing facilities and highways. — CIA in Congress’ crosshairs over alleged mishandling of sex assault cases: The House intelligence committee is investigating whether the Central Intelligence Agency is mishandling how it responds to sexual assault and harassment in its workforce , according to four people familiar with the matter. At least three female CIA employees have approached the committee since January to tell them that the agency is discouraging women from making sexual misconduct complaints, according to one of the people, attorney Kevin Carroll, who represents the first employee who talked to the committee. He also said the CIA is making it difficult for alleged victims to speak to law enforcement. — DOJ probing Southwest Airlines holiday flight meltdown: The Justice Department has joined an ongoing Transportation Department probe into Southwest Airlines’ December meltdown where some 16,000 flights were canceled, with regulators examining whether Southwest set schedules it knew it couldn’t properly staff. DOT spokesperson Kerry Arndt said DOT’s focus remains on Southwest’s scheduling practices.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING : What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 FAITH LESS — Unlike in Republican presidential primaries past, just two candidates — Mike Pence, the former Catholic turned evangelical, and Scott, who speaks of finding a “God Solution” to the country’s racial divide — stand alone in making explicit appeals to evangelical voters. Trump and DeSantis, meanwhile, are relying solely on their reputations as brute-force brawlers in the culture wars. Their success — and the difficulties Pence and Scott are having courting voters, according to recent polls — reflects a major change in the evangelical bloc of the GOP electorate in the Trump era , POLITICO’s Adam Wren, Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw report. THREE QUESTIONS WITH… David Urban, a senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign who now serves as the managing director for BGR Group, a Washington-based lobbying and communications firm. What are some of the key policy issues that will shape the Republican primary?  If you look at what current candidates and potential candidates are talking about, everybody seems to have a great deal of overlap in terms of policies: it’s immigration, border security, getting control of spending, the fentanyl crisis on the border … but the thing that jumps out to me immediately is the U.S. position on Ukraine. That’s one of the biggest differences among the candidates. You’ve seen former President Trump make statements, you saw Gov. DeSantis, although not a candidate yet, stake out his position. And then others, like former Secretary of State Pompeo and Vice President Pence, have said ‘hey, look, we’re for continuing to support Ukraine. It’s not a blank check. But we believe we can support them.’ And maybe Social Security will be an issue. Republicans aren’t obviously looking to end Social Security, but I think there’s been a recognition that Social Security as we know it is not going to be solid in the future … You know, President Trump has said, ‘I’m not putting anything off the table’ and others may say, ‘hey, look, we need to actually look at these fiscal issues.’ What effect might the Trump/DeSantis relationship have on the primary? You’ve seen the former president really wading back into the 2016 style with nicknames and a very aggressive attack posture, trying to take down Ron DeSantis with ad hominems, as opposed to policy disputes. The former president has labeled him as Ron DeSanctimonious, or Meatball Ron, or whatever name he chooses to use on that day. Trump largely ignores some of the policy successes that DeSantis has made. Hopefully, those kinds of ad hominem attacks won’t devolve further. I think Americans deserve to have a full throated debate on the issues versus just a lot of shouting and name calling. Which Republican candidate would be most difficult — and easiest — for Biden to run against in the 2024 race? Whomever the nominee is will be incredibly difficult to run against for President Biden. It’s not necessarily his age … I think it’s his record. Biden was able to fool Americans into thinking that he was a moderate, unifying force, when really, he was progressive, left of Bernie Sanders, in Joe Biden’s clothing. So I think any Republican will have an easier time in 2024 than they did in 2020 running against a Biden-Harris ticket. There’ll be real questions about his viability for the entire term [and] there will be questions about whether Kamala Harris is up to be President of the United States, so I think take your pick. Tim Scott is a very interesting character, he’s a really nice guy and a persuasive speaker … He’s young, he eviscerates the Democrats’ narrative on race. Chris Christie, would be another knife fighter, Ron DeSantis would do an incredible job … and even if it’s Trump, people say ‘well if it’s Trump versus Biden, he’s going to lose’ and I don’t buy that. People saw Joe Biden as a different person in 2020 than they do now and there’s a lot of buyer’s remorse around America.   A message from Shut Down SHEIN:     AROUND THE WORLD The prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, in Lublin, Poland. | Omar Marques/Getty Images DIFFICULT NEIGHBORS — Hungary’s troubled relationship with neighboring Ukraine spiraled again today as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dismissed the country’s NATO dreams , writes Lili Bayer .  “What?!” the prime minister exclaimed in a Twitter post responding to a POLITICO article on NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s declaration in Kyiv on Thursday that “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.” Relations between Budapest and Kyiv are tense. Hungary spent years blocking high-level NATO sessions with Ukrainian officials, ostensibly over concerns about the rights of Hungarian speakers in western Ukraine. And despite condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hungary has refused to send weapons to aid its neighbor. Senior Hungarian officials, meanwhile, continue to regularly visit Moscow and maintain close ties to the Kremlin. At the same time, Hungary joining Turkey in blocking Sweden’s NATO bid has frustrated Western capitals. NATO allies — including Hungary — decided back in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually join the alliance. But Kyiv’s path to NATO has stalled, and in September Ukraine’s leadership requested an “accelerated accession” to join. But the issue is highly sensitive. Most NATO allies — including the U.S. — want to avoid any big moves on the accession process for Ukraine while the war is ongoing.   GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE:  POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World , will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat .     NIGHTLY NUMBER $1 million The amount of money that former DeSantis donor Thomas Peterffy has wired to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s political action committee Spirit of Virginia . The move comes less than a week after Peterffy told the Financial Times that he had put his support for DeSantis “on hold” because of the governor’s controversial positions on abortion and book bans, which have alienated some of those in the donor community and the mainstream wing of the party. RADAR SWEEP PRAISE THE NEW GODS — Archaeologists have found new gods in old sculptures. Five reliefs belonging to the Tartessos peoples , a lost civilization that existed around 3,000 years ago in southern Spain, were uncovered recently and have just been displayed for the first time. Two of the reliefs in particular depict women who appear to have been goddesses in the Tartessian pantheon. The reliefs were found within an ancient temple that — for unknown reasons — was sealed and burned to the ground in a Tartessian ritual. Becky Ferreira reports on the reliefs — and what they might tell us about this ancient civilization — for VICE. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1983: Then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein smiles wearing a 'Vote Democratic' hat after learning the Democrats would hold their 1984 national convention in San Francisco in the summer of 1984. | Eric Risberg/AP Photo Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here . A message from Shut Down SHEIN: That form you fill out on international flights home stating you’re bringing less than $800 worth of goods into America? SHEIN fills it out for you when you order from them. SHEIN is a multi-billion-dollar Chinese company shipping billions of dollars of goods into America, exploiting a loophole meant to help American tourists traveling home. Making American consumers, mostly young women, an importer of record facilitates SHEIN’s anticompetitive business model that uses forced labor and avoids billions in tariffs, all while crushing American businesses and making Americans unwitting accomplices. Here are the facts: · SHEIN uses slaves to pick cotton in China. · SHEIN’s exploitation of the Section 321 loophole is costing the U.S. Treasury and American taxpayers billions of dollars annually, and shifts any legal responsibility to prove it is operating legally onto American consumers. It’s time for Washington to Shut Down SHEIN and protect U.S. national security! Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Katherine Long @katherinealong   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO NIGHTLY: Why Fox News had to settle the Dominion suit

 

View in browser   BY ANKUSH KHARDORI Presented by Shut Down SHEIN Lawyers representing Dominion Voting Systems talk to reporters following a settlement with Fox News in Wilmington, Del. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images PAYOUT — One of the year’s most hotly anticipated trials reached a stunning conclusion before it even began. Poised to face off in the courtroom this afternoon, with jury selection complete, Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News instead reached a settlement. The last-minute agreement makes clear just how sticky a situation Fox was headed for if the trial did occur. Lawyers for Dominion announced that Fox News (and parent company Fox Corporation) had agreed to settle the case for $787.5 million — less than half of Dominion’s claim for $1.6 billion in damages but nevertheless a historic rebuke for the influential conservative media outlet. The massive payout reflects the fact that Dominion had put together a strong case that Fox had acted with “actual malice,” a high bar under defamation law that has historically been difficult for plaintiffs suing media outlets to satisfy. Dominion’s considerable success in this case indicates that Fox acutely understood that there was a high risk that the jury would side with Dominion on this crucial legal point. The settlement also spares the network from weeks of embarrassing testimony that would have put the widespread internal dysfunction at Fox News on full public display. Dominion had alleged that the network defamed the election technology company in the wake of the 2020 election, focusing on a series of segments in which Fox hosts allowed lawyers affiliated with Donald Trump to falsely claim that the company had rigged the election against the former president. After two years of pretrial litigation, the network found itself struggling to defend itself: A recent decision by presiding judge Eric M. Davis substantially bolstered Dominion’s position heading into trial by concluding that the evidence from pretrial discovery had already established that several key issues — including whether the claims at issue were actually false — were indisputable at trial . The ruling was a major win for Dominion and a major loss for Fox, which no doubt helps to explain today’s settlement. Before the settlement was announced, there were some unexpected antics that appeared to provide even more reason to think that Fox was in for a very rough ride if the case had gone forward. Caley Cronin, a spokesperson for Fox News, was thrown out of the Wilmington, Del. courtroom after she violated a court order that prohibited taking photographs in the courtroom. It was just the latest embarrassing incident in which representatives for the network had antagonized the judge , who had otherwise drawn praise from observers for his steady hand and even temperament presiding over the case. The trial was expected to focus on whether Fox News or Fox Corporation acted with “actual malice” in disseminating the false claims against Dominion. Under Supreme Court precedent, this would have required Dominion to show that individuals responsible for broadcasting the segments either knew that they were false or acted with “reckless disregard” as to the falsity of the claims. This has traditionally been a very difficult standard for defamation plaintiffs to satisfy, since First Amendment law generally provides wide latitude to media organizations engaged in traditional newsgathering, but legal analysts broadly agreed that Dominion had put together an unusually compelling case on this point. In particular, the company’s lawyers amassed internal communications among Fox executives, hosts, and employees with editorial responsibilities in which they appeared to acknowledge in real time and to varying degrees that the claims aired against Dominion were false. Those communications involved some of the most prominent people at the network, including Rupert Murdoch himself and primetime hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. The prospect of these people taking the witness stand and having to explain them away could not have been appealing for Fox. One reason that Dominion succeeded in getting this far while other defamation plaintiffs have not is that the underlying false claims made against the company were unusually ridiculous — like the assertion that former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had played a key role in creating the company, or that Dominion had a secret algorithm that allowed it to switch votes from Trump to Joe Biden. The company’s lawyers also appeared to have succeeded in casting a wide net in the course of discovery, which allowed them to obtain the internal communications that became central to the case. Murdoch, for instance, at one point watched the infamous press conference hosted by Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell in November 2020 in which they peddled similar falsehoods. The network’s owner wrote, “Really crazy stuff. And damaging.” There were plenty more of these colorful and embarrassing exchanges among the network’s boldface names. In recent months, Fox had insisted that a victory for Dominion would pose a broader threat to media protections in this country, but it is not clear whether or to what extent this is correct. The reason is that, despite hundreds of pages of pretrial filings, Fox never managed to identify a single instance of legitimate newsgathering that would have been credibly endangered in the future if Dominion prevailed, as the company has now done. And, of course, the backdrop here is that Fox’s business model has for years drawn intense criticism from media analysts who have argued that the network routinely crosses the boundaries of responsible reporting by pandering to its mostly conservative audience and elevating dubious but politically convenient claims . The settlement appears to have less to do with other media outlets than it does with the particularly outrageous facts and circumstances surrounding the conduct of Fox, its executives, and employees toward Dominion. This was a stunning case of media malpractice, and Fox is now paying for it. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at ankush.khardori@gmail.com .   A message from Shut Down SHEIN: SHEIN has become a nefarious, fast-fashion juggernaut that’s a major threat to U.S. national security. SHEIN is likely violating U.S. law, committing “crimes against humanity” through slave labor in China, and engaging in anti-competitive and insidious business practices – all while harvesting information on as many Americans as possible for the Chinese Communist Party. Learn why Washington must Shut Down SHEIN!   WHAT'D I MISS? — Tax refunds more scarce as filing deadline hits: It’s a bad year for people who love tax refunds . Not only are average payments down — by 9.3 percent, through April 7. The share of returns producing refunds continues to fall as well. Just 69 percent of processed returns have sent money back to people, IRS statistics show — the first time that’s ticked below 70 percent at this point in the filing season in at least a decade. Analysts point to a number of reasons for the shrinking payments: The expiration of pandemic-related relief, of course, but other things too, such as bracket creep, where inflation pushes up people’s tax bills. — Southwest Airlines briefly pauses flights nationwide over computer glitch: Southwest Airlines asked the Federal Aviation Administration to “pause” all of its departures across the country this morning as the airline worked to resolve what the FAA called a “technical glitch” that delayed about 1,700 flights. The 20-minute pause comes less than four months after a holiday meltdown related to Southwest’s internal scheduling technology stranded passengers for days, and just ahead of the opening of what is expected to be a busy summer travel season. While delays are likely to increase throughout the day due to ripple effects from the ground stop, cancellations were minimal. — Jeff Sessions details high-level deportation discussions: Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a federal jury today about high-level meetings in which officials discussed the potential deportation of Guo Wengui , a dissident Chinese businessperson living in the U.S. Sessions took the witness stand in federal court in Washington during the trial of Pras Michel, a prominent hip hop performer who is accused of violating campaign finance laws, laundering money and taking part in an unregistered foreign lobbying scheme.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING : What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition annual leadership meeting. Christie is weighing whether to run for president. | Scott Olson/Getty Images RUNNING IT BACK — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is talking to potential donors, thought leaders, staffers, and others to discuss a possible campaign for president in 2024, sources close to Christie told CNN. Christie is in the process of making a decision and has indicated he will make one in the coming weeks . The New Jersey Republican sees himself as the only serious GOP candidate willing to take on Trump. He also sees himself as a candidate who could appeal to enough independents to beat President Joe Biden in the general election, should Biden announce a reelection bid. Christie defended his previous support for the former president, saying the “line was crossed” during the 2020 election when Trump said it was stolen. LUCKY NUMBER FIVE — Florida Rep. Greg Steube is now the fifth member of the state’s 20-member Republican congressional delegation to endorse former President Donald Trump for 2024 , writes POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. Steube’s decision to endorse Monday happened after reports came out that those in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ orbit reached out to GOP members of Congress last week. That outreach came in the wake of rumblings that several were poised to endorse Trump. Steube’s endorsement also comes on the eve of a DeSantis visit to Washington, D.C., where the likely presidential candidate is doing a meet and greet hosted by several Republicans, including two House members who have endorsed him — Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.   A message from Shut Down SHEIN:     AROUND THE WORLD WAGNER WAR CRIMES — Two former commanders of the Russian paramilitary organization known as the Wagner group claim they killed more than 20 Ukrainian children and teens in Bakhmut and the Donetsk region, in video interviews posted by a Russian human rights organization, writes Veronika Melkozerova . During the hour-long video, ex-Wagner commanders Azmat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev recount details of various killings, including using explosives to blow up pits with more than 50 wounded prisoners and killing their own compatriots who refused to continue with the invasion. These incidents, which apparently took place in Soledar in the Donetsk region and Bakhmut in February this year, have not yet been independently verified. In the video, the former Wagner pair also told Vladimir Osechkin — head of Gulagu.net, the Russian human rights group that published the video, currently operating in exile in France — how the group killed dozens of civilians during the clearing of residential buildings in Bakhmut and Soledar. The two ex-commanders of the “PMC Wagner” division said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief financier of the mercenaries, personally gave orders for shootings and killings, as well as approving the cruel methods that Osechkin likened to terrorism in a Facebook post. Osechkin said the two fighters, both in Russia, had spoken to him over the course of a week in video calls. Osechkin published supporting documents and photos as proof that both apparently indeed spent up to six months fighting in Ukraine, returning home to Russia with medals and money. “I killed children with [my own] hands,” Uldarov said in the video. “As we entered Soledar and Bakhmut, we got the order to destroy everyone: men, women, children, elderly. She was screaming, a little girl, don’t know if she was 5 or 6. And I shot her. A controlled shot [in the head].”   GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE:  POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World , will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat .     NIGHTLY NUMBER €43 billion The amount of investment that the European Union will make in microchip production , in an attempt to catch up with other major chips hubs like the United States, South Korea, Taiwan and China. Negotiating teams from the European Parliament, the Swedish Council presidency, and the Commission agreed on the Chips Act, a range of measures meant to bring the EU’s share of the global semiconductor value chain to 20 percent by 2030 (it currently stands at 9 percent). National subsidies will take up the majority of the investment. RADAR SWEEP GOOP ON THE OCEAN — Gwyneth Paltrow’s company Goop has attracted all kinds of press attention over the years: for growing exponentially, but also for selling products disguised as promoting women’s health but based in pseudoscience. It’s a claim that’s difficult to refute but also difficult to prove, as the “modern lifestyle brand” often deals with intersections of physical and mental health. More than anything, Goop has become an example of the promulgation of “wellness” as an idea that can be monetized . Untangling this concept, as well as broader ideas about the writing that’s been done on it, Lauren Oyler traveled on a Goop-sponsored cruise for Harpers, and came back with part-personal essay, part-sharp look at Goop the company and part-consideration of the cruise industry. PARTING WORDS U.S. Secret Service uniformed division police officers carry a young child who crawled through the White House fence. | Nancy Benac/AP Photo BABY BREACH — The White House gates apparently can’t stop all intruders from breaching the premises, writes Matt Berg . A toddler squeezed through the metal barricade this morning but was caught by Secret Service officers on the North Lawn before he crawled too close to the executive mansion, a spokesperson confirmed in a statement to POLITICO. “The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. “The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.” Though short-lived, the toddler’s escapade may be historic: It’s possibly the first successful breach of the White House barrier since the fence’s height was doubled to 13 feet four years ago due to several intrusions. The new fence did, however, come with gaps an inch wider, totaling 5.5 inches. Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   A message from Shut Down SHEIN: That form you fill out on international flights home stating you’re bringing less than $800 worth of goods into America? SHEIN fills it out for you when you order from them. SHEIN is a multi-billion-dollar Chinese company shipping billions of dollars of goods into America, exploiting a loophole meant to help American tourists traveling home. Making American consumers, mostly young women, an importer of record facilitates SHEIN’s anticompetitive business model that uses forced labor and avoids billions in tariffs, all while crushing American businesses and making Americans unwitting accomplices. Here are the facts: · SHEIN uses slaves to pick cotton in China. · SHEIN’s exploitation of the Section 321 loophole is costing the U.S. Treasury and American taxpayers billions of dollars annually, and shifts any legal responsibility to prove it is operating legally onto American consumers. It’s time for Washington to Shut Down SHEIN and protect U.S. national security! Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Katherine Long @katherinealong   FOLLOW US

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