Principals

1. Hamas leader killed
2. Biden’s push to counter fentanyl
3. Senate passes online safety bill
4. Project 2025 director out
5. Ukraine recovery plan
6. Harris’ Atlanta stop
7. How Harris avoids a repeat flop
8. GOP opposition to tax bill

PDB: Harris to tour battlegrounds with running mate next week

NBC interviews Vance about his ‘rocky debut’ … Japan central bank hikes rates … WSJ: Harris record offers hints of how she would handle China

Hamas leader killed in Iran

Hamas’ political leader was killed in an air strike on Tehran, a stunning attack blamed on Israel that amounted to a second senior militant commander dead in as many days. Israel has not commented on his death but has targeted Hamas officials following the brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The news came hours after Israel said it conducted a strike in Beirut targeting and killing a Hezbollah commander in retaliation for an attack that killed a dozen children in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The target, Fuad Shukr, is one of Hezbollah’s longtime senior military commanders who the US believes played a key role in the 1983 bombing of the American military barracks in Beirut. Vice President Harris said Israel “has a right to defend itself” but called for a “diplomatic solution to end these attacks.”

Biden pushes for more action to curb fentanyl

President Biden will direct federal agencies and push Congress to do more to counter the flow of fentanyl into the US, leaning into a salient issue in the presidential election. Biden will sign a new national security memorandum that calls on federal departments and agencies “to do even more than they have already been doing” to reduce the supply of fentanyl in the US, a senior Biden administration official said, adding that the directive would lead to increased intelligence collection, disruption efforts, and coordination with the private sector. Biden will also endorse legislation to establish a new registry to crack down on machines used to make fentanyl pills, designate fentanyl and related substances as Schedule I drugs, and require importers of small packages to share more information with Customs and Border Protection. Meanwhile, US and Chinese delegations are meeting today to continue discussions on curbing fentanyl in the US.

— Morgan Chalfant

Senate approves major kids online safety package

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a package of bills to increase online privacy and safety requirements for children, sending them to an uncertain fate in the House. The legislation, approved in a 91-3 vote and backed by President Biden, would “compel digital platforms to take ‘reasonable’ steps to prevent harms to children such as bullying, drug addiction and sexual exploitation,” Semafor’s Caroline Anders writes. The Washington Post called them “the most significant restrictions on tech platforms to clear a chamber of Congress in decades.” Despite the resounding vote, one of the measures — the Kids Online Safety Act — faces opposition from groups on the left and right warning about impacts on free speech. People are “realizing the bill is more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing and could have huge implications for speech,” Alice Marwick, a University of North Carolina communications professor, told The New York Times.

Project 2025 director leaves amid Trump pushback

Paul Dans is out as director of “Project 2025,” the Heritage Foundation program that has drawn ire from Donald Trump’s orbit. “To every thing there is a season,” Dans wrote in a letter to staffers obtained by Semafor’s Shelby Talcott that announced his August departure as the project winds down its work post-convention. The multi-million dollar program has spent years building a “LinkedIn for conservatives” and developing a policy book for the next Republican administration, but Trump’s campaign aides were frustrated by media reports tying the project’s ideas to the campaign and by ongoing attacks from Democrats. “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you,” Trump campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said.

Pritzker lays out Ukraine economic recovery plan

Penny Pritzker, the US special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery, will lay out a plan for Ukraine to revitalize its economy as Russia’s war rages on with a major drone attack. “Ukraine’s future — and our collective legacy — will not be determined by how it wins the war but by how it wins the peace — specifically — the aspiration for Ukraine to become a sustainable, digital, clean, competitive, and EU member state integrated into global markets,” Pritzker, fresh off a trip to Kyiv, will say in an address at the Brookings Institution in Washington, according to excerpts shared with Semafor. She’ll also stress that many countries, businesses, and nongovernment organizations are fueling Ukraine’s reconstruction, “unlike the Marshall Plan where one actor, the United States, was contributing to the reconstruction of many countries.” Pritzker is also scheduled to meet with President Biden today.

— Morgan Chalfant

Harris campaigns in Atlanta

Vice President Harris campaigned in Atlanta, headlining a raucous rally with Democrats feeling more optimistic about winning Georgia with her atop the ticket. Harris taunted former President Trump for backing away from the next scheduled presidential debate: “Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage, because as the saying goes, if you got something to say, say it to my face.” Harris’s advantages with Black voters and other key groups is giving Democrats fresh hope about carrying a battleground state that was seen as slipping away. “I have not seen this much excitement amongst the Democratic base and Democratic coalition since Barack Obama,” one Atlanta-based strategist told The Wall Street Journal. President Biden won Georgia in 2020 but had been trailing Trump in the polls, and Republicans believe they can effectively tie Harris to Biden’s economic and immigration policies. “It’s essentially a swap of Democratic candidates because Joe Biden could not win. The failed policies remain the same, prioritizing agendas that seem to put Americans last,” the chair of the DeKalb County Republican Party said.

Harris looks to avoid 2020 repeat

How can Kamala Harris avoid a replay of her 2020 presidential campaign collapse? Politico’s Christopher Cadelago offers some ideas for the new presumptive Democratic nominee that include setting a clear organizational structure within her campaign, not overthinking things if she faces criticism from the left, and sticking with a consistent message. “Her near-perfect introduction as the Democrats’ standard-bearer is a testament to the hard work she’s put in. But Harris has never dealt with an opponent as ferocious as former President Donald Trump. He’ll seize on any perceived weakness and attack every vulnerability,” Cadelago writes. “There is no margin for the kind of errors that plagued her first presidential bid.”

GOP to block tax bill with 2025 in sight

GOP senators are poised to sink the bipartisan tax package later this week, and some are clear about their desire to use the child tax credit as a bargaining chip in the 2025 tax fight. “If we take away leverage on this one, it makes it more difficult to get that one done,” Sen. Mike Rounds told Semafor. “They want to wait until next year,” Sen. Josh Hawley, who supports the bill, said of his GOP colleagues. “I’m just being blunt.” Democrats want to make Republicans pay a political price for blocking the bill. But Democratic senators aren’t united yet. Newly independent Sen. Joe Manchin, who still caucuses with the Democrats, told Semafor he hasn’t decided how to vote. Just off the Senate floor, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden was seen speaking about the bill with Sen. Chris Murphy, whose vote is up for grabs. “I’m worried about the balance in the long run of the allocation between kids and families versus corporations,” Murphy said.

— Joseph Zeballos-Roig

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Sens. Tim Kaine and Katie Britt are proposing a new bipartisan child care plan that would expand tax credits for families who pay for child care and offer incentives for businesses to offer child care for employees.

Playbook: Donald Trump’s rally in Atlanta on Saturday will be scrutinized to see if it attracts the same sized crowd that Vice President Harris drew yesterday at the same arena.

WaPo: House Democrats think that having Harris at the top of the ticket will help them counter GOP attacks on crime given her past career as a prosecutor.

Axios: The Harris campaign is urging Wall Street donors to send money to her campaign as soon as possible, “citing a financial rule that bars contributions to tickets featuring a sitting governor.” The development suggests her list of running mate contenders has been narrowed to three governors.

White House

• President Biden will receive a briefing today on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. He’ll also have lunch with Vice President Harris, who is campaigning in Houston later in the day.
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has told staff he plans to step down at the end of President Biden’s term. – Bloomberg
• The Biden administration will start notifying student loan borrowers with at least one outstanding federally-held loan of potential student debt relief options, giving them until August 30 to opt out of the relief.
• Biden advisor Anita Dunn will leave the White House next week to advise Future Forward, the largest super PAC backing Harris.

Congress

The acting director of the Secret Service told a joint Senate committee Tuesday he was “ashamed” of the gaps in security that led to the attempt on Donald Trump’s life in Butler, Pa. on July 13. Ronald Rowe Jr. told the Senate Judiciary and Senate Homeland & Governmental Affairs committees he couldn’t defend or understand why the roof Thomas Crooks fired from was not adequately secured. He said agents who failed to do their jobs would be disciplined. Meanwhile, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told the committee that investigators may have located a social-media account belonging to Crooks, which featured anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant views, in addition to posts about political violence.

Outside the Beltway

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is the latest Democrat to challenge Mayor Eric Adams in next year’s election.

Economy

The US labor market has reached an unusual balance between hires, fires, and quits, Semafor’s Jordan Weissmann writes.

Courts

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed to a record $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over allegations it illegally collected facial recognition data on millions of users.

Polls

• Donald Trump’s lead over Vice President Harris across seven battleground states has been wiped out, driven by a wave of enthusiasm for her among young, Black, and Hispanic voters, according to the latest poll by Bloomberg News/Morning Consult. Harris led Trump 48% to 47%, a statistical dead heat in the states that are expected to decide the election. President Biden trailed Trump by two points before dropping out.
• Meanwhile, Harris held on to a one-point lead over Trump in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. She led the former president 43% to 42%, within the 3.5 percentage-point margin of error. The poll last week showed Harris ahead 44% to 42%.

On the Trail

• Vice President Harris told reporters she has “not yet” chosen a running mate, but the selection process appears to be winding down. Politico reported that she will name her pick by Tuesday, and they will appear at a rally in Philadelphia that day. She will tour other key battleground states with her running mate, stopping in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, according to the campaign.
• Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson is leaving the Biden administration to work for the Harris campaign. — Axios
• Harris will be the sole candidate on the virtual roll call ballot for the Democratic National Committee’s presidential nomination, all but cementing her as the party’s nominee.
• President Biden will deliver a primetime speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19. — CNN
• Donald Trump increased his attacks on Jewish Democrats during an interview with a New York radio station. “If you love Israel — or if you’re Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel … If you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool,” he told WABC-AM. He also appeared to agree with host Sid Rosenberg that Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is “a crappy Jew.”
• Trump-backed Kari Lake won the Republican nomination on Tuesday to replace departing Arizona independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, defeating Mark Lamb. She will face Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in November.

National Security

The US Army stopped paying Staff Sgt. Gordon Black after he was sentenced in June to almost four years in a Russian penal colony after being convicted on charges of theft and threatening murder. It may also prosecute him if he returns to the US. — Reuters

Foreign Policy

• The Biden administration will arm dozens of F-16 fighters being shipped to Ukraine from European allies with US-made missiles and other advanced weapons. – WSJ
• The Philippines will receive another $500 million in military aid, the Biden administration said, bolstering the countries’ defense ties while the Philippine government deals with aggressive behavior by Chinese ships in the South China Sea.

Technology

Elon Musk’s X suspended “White Dudes for Harris” Monday night, just after the huge fundraising call that helped raise more than $4 million for Vice President Harris. The account, @dudes4harris, was blocked for hours before being reinstated Tuesday morning. Musk has endorsed Donald Trump and has been stumping for him on the platform. Neither Musk nor X responded to a request for comment by the Washington Post.

Media

• Norah O’Donnell is leaving her anchor post at “CBS Evening News” for an interview role after the November election. — Puck
• The National Association of Black Journalists’ decision to invite Donald Trump to speak at its convention today has prompted backlash within the organization. Vice President Harris was invited but was unable to attend due to scheduling reasons.

Big Read

Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin is spending millions to back Republican candidates across the country, but he hasn’t donated to Donald Trump, according to Bloomberg. So far this cycle, Griffin has donated $74 million to conservative causes and super political action committees, including $15 million to establish a war chest in the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has close ties with House Republican leaders. Also, seven super PACs targeting GOP primaries across 14 states have received $37.5 million. “He’s very principled in his giving — he’s not driven by poll numbers or personalities,” said former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has known Griffin for decades and was backed by him.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: A bipartisan congressional panel warned that the US military is not prepared to fight a major war.

What the Right isn’t reading: The Republican mayor of Mesa, Ariz. endorsed Vice President Harris over Donald Trump.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

Ben Cardin is a Democratic senator from Maryland. He caught a foul ball at the Baltimore Orioles’ game over the weekend.

• African governments on edge as youth plan Kenya-style protests.
• US labor market reaches unusual balance between hires, fires, and quits.
• Kamala Harris’ confusing record on immigration is under the microscope.