The Morning Briefing: Hurricane DACA, the Iran Deal and Much, Much More

Good Wednesday Morning.

Here is what’s on the President’s agenda today:

In the morning, President Donald J. Trump will speak with President Xi Jinping of China.
The President will then receive his daily intelligence briefing.
Later in the morning, the President will meet with House and Senate leaders from both parties.
In the afternoon, the President will depart the White House for Joint Base Andrews, en route to Bismarck, N.D., where he will participate in a tax reform event with workers from the energy sector.
The President will then depart Bismarck, N.D., for Washington, D.C., en route to the White House.

Trump to bring Democrat Heitkamp along on North Dakota Trip

President Trump will bring Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota along with him as he delivers a speech on tax reform in the state. Trump carried North Dakota with 63 percent of the vote in the state while Democrat Heitkamp’s 2018 reelection is rated as a toss-up.

Heitkamp visited Trump during his transition before the inauguration and was rumored to be under consideration for a Cabinet post. She has said she would support tax reform that helps working Americans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said, however, he plans to use a process for tax reform that would bypass the Senate filibuster, and Democrats have complained the GOP is developing the tax plan without them.

At a strategy meeting Tuesday with Republican congressional leaders Tuesday, Trump said his plan would lower taxes for middle-class families and boost the economy by reforming the corporate tax code.

Hurricane DACA

Yesterday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the administration would reverse the Obama administration’s DACA fiat and would give a 6-month window for Congress to do its job and pass legislation (or not) for children who were brought to the U.S. illegally.

Some celebrities have stepped up to ease the burden of the DACA kids, like Cher who claims she will open her home to them. (What’s your address, Cher? MS-13 wants to know…)

Those Who Can Must Take a DREAMER In2 Their Home & Protect Them‼️I’m Ready 2 Do This & 🙏🏻Others in MY BUSINESS WILL DO THE SAME‼️SANCTUARY

— Cher (@cher) September 5, 2017

The administration has distributed talking points urging recipients to “prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States.” ABC News received the document, which was circulated among members of Congress.

“The Department of Homeland Security urges DACA recipients to use the time remaining on their work authorizations to prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States — including proactively seeking travel documentation — or to apply for other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible,” the document reads.

Several states are mulling their legal options.

At least three states are considering legal action against the Trump administration in the wake of the decision announced Tuesday to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has deferred deportations for more than 780,000 people.

The states are, unsurprisingly, Washington, California and New York. Other state governors have spoken out about their opposition to the reversal: Nevada’s Sandoval (R), Vermont’s Scott (R) and Massachusetts’ Baker (R).

The freak-outs and political posturings from politicians, Hollywooders and the media are ridiculous. All of these people freak out when Trump exercises his executive authority, appropriate or not. Curiously they embraced executive overreach for Obama’s unconstitutional (temporary) DACA program, which is a legislative matter under the purview of Congress. Now it can be. If the president really wanted to screw over these kids/people he could have ended it immediately instead of giving Congress six months to get their act together.

In fact, Trump has said he is willing to “revisit” the program if Congress fails to act.

Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2017

Nikki Haley lays out case to trash Iran deal

UN Envoy and future Secretary of State Nikki Haley laid out an argument to scrap the disastrous Iran deal and indicated the administration might let Congress decide.

In a speech to a conservative think tank, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said she didn’t know what decision Mr. Trump would ultimately make, as a series of deadlines approach. Yet she said Trump would be on solid ground if he did decide against certifying Iran’s compliance, and added, “What happens next is significantly in Congress’ hands.”

“I get that Congress doesn’t want this. This is not an easy situation for Congress,” Haley said. “But our lives are not about being easy. Our lives are about being right.

“You can call it non-nuclear all you want: Missile technology cannot be separate from pursuit of a nuclear weapon,” Haley said.

Historical picture of the day:

American movie star Bette Davis smokes a cigarette before facing newsmen at a press conference during the American Film Festival of Deauville in this western France coastal city, Sept. 6, 1987. Bette Davis attends the festival where some of her films will be screened and she will be awarded the Legion dHonneur order. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours)

Other morsels:

Spotify launches pro-DACA playlist featuring Lovato, Juanes among others

House Intelligence Committee subpoenas FBI, DOJ over Trump-Russia dossier

Harris laughs off questions about presidential ambitions: ‘I don’t even know what I’m having for dinner’

F-16 fighter jet crashes in Arizona, pilot’s fate unknown

Wal-Mart starts holiday layaway program amid slow toy sales

Hillary Clinton fired up the Democrat civil war by what she wrote in her new book

Republicans surrender to the left’s terms on DACA

Do immigrants really commit less crime?

Charlottesville Council votes to remove ‘Stonewall’ Jackson statue

Bipartisan swath of lawmakers files Supreme Court briefs against gerrymandering

Man’s body found in refrigerator on street