Welcome to the online version of From the political officean evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, national politics reporter Sahil Kapur examines how Thursday’s Senate vote might have signaled a Democratic recalibration on immigration. Plus, national political reporter Jonathan Allen explains how Donald Trump’s annexation agenda can be directly linked to the Monroe Doctrine.
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Democrats recalibrate immigration policy after defeat to Trump
By Sahil Kapur
After the issue served as a political albatross in the last election, Democrats took steps in the first days of the new Congress to recalibrate their immigration policy.
Many Democrats support the first bill to pass both Republican-led chambers this year: the Laken Riley Act, named after a 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student who was murdered on last year by an immigrant to the United States. illegally.
The legislation would require ICE to arrest people in the country illegally and detain them for theft-related offenses. It would target people charged, arrested or convicted of committing an act of “burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting,” according to the text of the bill.
The bill passed the House 264-159 earlier this week, with 48 Democrats voting in favor. And on Thursday, it advanced in the Senate by 84 votes to 9.
The openness of some Democrats to supporting a bill that stalled last year comes as the party seeks to reset immigration heading into the second Trump administration. In the 2024 election, voters trusted Donald Trump over Kamala Harris to handle immigration by a 9-point margin, according to the report. NBC News Exit Poll find. And voters who cited immigration as a major issue supported Trump over Harris 89% to 9%, according to exit polls.
Final approval in the Senate is still uncertain if the legislation is not amended, but Republicans are close to gaining enough votes to pass it as written.
Some Democratic senators who represent key battleground states or border communities have fully endorsed the bill, including Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.; Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; John Fetterman, D-Pa. ; Jon Ossoff, Democrat of Georgia; Elissa Slotkin; D-Mich., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. Others say they are voting only to open debate and are not committed to voting for the bill.
Several pro-immigration groups have sharply criticized the bill. But some Democrats say they have lost touch with voters on the issue and led the party astray.
“I think for a long time, Democrats have let advocacy groups push them to the left on issues of immigration and border security: pushing them to oppose even popular immigration and security reforms. borders because it could lead to any expulsions,” a Senate Democratic aide said. NBC News in a text message. “The last election showed that the majority of Americans are not there and that Democrats must be clear about their opposition to criminals, even if it means deporting an undocumented immigrant who has committed a crime.”
This will likely be just the first of many tests for the party on the issue, as Republicans look for more opportunities to force Democrats to vote tough on immigration.
Learn more about Thursday’s vote →
➡️ Related reading: Acting ICE Director PJ Lechleitner told NBC News that President Joe Biden “absolutely” should have acted sooner to strengthen border security to reduce the flow of migrants into the United States. Read more →
When MAGA meets the Monroe Doctrine
By Jonathan Allen
Donald Trump’s new foreign policy, “America First”, is a return to the Monroe Doctrine.
Trump’s power plays in Greenland and Panama have garnered much attention for reigniting the Manifest Destiny of the James Polk era, and for good reason. America’s expansionist spirit — westward in the 1840s, north and south today — is one way to view Trump’s burgeoning foreign policy philosophy for his second term.
But the president-elect’s “Back to the Future” DeLorean could perhaps travel a little further back into the 19th century, to the 1820s.
In his seventh annual message to Congress In 1823, President James Monroe introduced the United States as the leading power in the Western Hemisphere and warned Europe to leave its neighbors alone.
“In the wars of the European Powers on matters concerning them we have never taken part, nor is it consistent with our policy to do so,” Monroe wrote. “We are necessarily more immediately connected with the movements in this hemisphere, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers.”
The Next Generation’s policy of Manifest Destiny is rooted in the Monroe Doctrine—the words “manifestation” and “destiny” appear in the same sentence in Monroe’s message to Congress—and both were used to justify American expansionism .
It is no longer Europe that represents the greatest threat to the United States and its spheres of influence. China is the United States’ biggest rival, and the battles for power in Greenland and the Panama Canal have major economic and national security implications.
Greenland is rich in untapped “rare earth” minerals which are essential components of a wide variety of products for which the world currently depends on China. It is also a key strategic island for American space and missile defense missions.
Trump’s claim that China controls the Panama Canal is false. But China’s growing use of this valuable global shipping route is a boon for America’s economic rival. And China was strengthen its presence in the canal area.
Trump’s critics have pointed to his rhetoric on Greenland and Panama as at odds with his “America First” mantra. But viewed through the lens of defending U.S. interests in the Americas, it makes more sense as an updated version of 19th-century efforts to strengthen the United States by dominating the Western Hemisphere.
🌎 Annexation Agenda: Learn more about Allan Smith and Carol E. Lee on what’s behind Trump’s recent calls to annex Greenland, reclaim the Panama Canal and absorb Canada.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- ⛪ In memory: Every living former president gathered in the pews to honor President Jimmy Carter at his funeral today at the Washington National Cathedral. Read more →
- ⚫ Response to wildfires: Biden canceled a trip to Rome and a meeting with Pope Francis so he could focus on the federal response to the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area. Read more →
- ⚖️ In the courts: New York’s highest court on Friday rejected Trump’s request to stay sentencing, and prosecutors are urging the Supreme Court to do the same. Read more →
- 📞 Call a friend: Justice Samuel Alito confirmed he received a phone call from Trump a day before the president-elect asked the Supreme Court to stay his upcoming sentencing in his hush money case, but insisted the case had not been discussed. Read more →
- 🤝 Across the aisle: Sen. John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said he had accepted an invitation to meet with Trump. Read more →
- 👋 Continuing: Vice President-elect JD Vance will resign his seat in the Ohio Senate at midnight Thursday. Read more →
- 🐾 Cannot teach new tricks to a new DOGE: Elon Musk said his budget-cutting efforts on behalf of Trump would likely fail to deliver $2 trillion in savings, backtracking from a goal he set earlier as co-director of the Department of Commerce. government efficiency. Read more →
That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Faith Wardwell.
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