Principals

1. Biden’s border move
2. The left seethes at Mondaire Jones
3. Will Bob Menendez drag down Rob Menendez?
4. Hunter Biden trial
5. Harris attending Ukraine peace conference
6. Epoch fraud allegation

PDB: Biden goes after Trump for being a “convicted felon” at fundraiser

Biden leaving tonight for Paris … Modi on track to win third term in India… WSJ: Merrick Garland’s lonely job

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Capitol Hill progressives despair over Biden’s border order

Progressive and Hispanic Democrats vented their frustration Monday as they prepared for President Biden’s executive order aimed at blocking off the Southern border, Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Kadia Goba report. “I think it’s really disappointing,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal told Semafor. “[It] just plays into the idea that somehow harsh enforcement is going to work. That was Trump’s approach.” The order, which Biden is set to sign today, is expected to let officials deny new asylum claims so long as daily border crossings remain above a certain threshold. California Sen. Alex Padilla said the move was unlikely to succeed as a deterrent, and noted that crossings have fallen sharply in recent months — a change he credited to diplomatic efforts with Mexico. “We need to build on that,” he said. Progressive groups, meanwhile, are already hinting they may sue to halt the order.

‘The squad’ rages after Mondaire Jones backs Jamaal Bowman’s challenger

House progressives raged against former colleague Mondaire Jones after he endorsed Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s primary opponent George Latimer. “I am appalled,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., told Semafor’s Kadia Goba. “It’s disgusting,” Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., added. “Incredibly disappointing,” Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., said. Jones told The New York Times he was backing Latimer over Bowman’s criticism of Israel and ties to anti-Israel activists, saying it had caused “pain and anxiety” for Jews. Jones is in a tough position: His opponent, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, is trying to link him and Bowman together in the race. But disowning Bowman also threatens to alienate progressives, New York delegation members, and the Congressional Black Caucus should Jones win.

Rob Menendez tries to outrun his scandal-plagued father

Sen. Bob Menendez’s brand helped his son Rob Menendez win a House seat last cycle. This time, the family name might cost him it. New Jersey primary voters will decide today whether to retain the younger Menendez, who faces a stiff challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. Bhalla has linked the two together at every opportunity, despite no evidence tying the congressman to his father’s current trial over allegations of bribery by foreign actors. “It’s an open secret in Washington that the Menendez name is just a drag on the Democratic Party,” Bhalla told Semafor’s David Weigel in an interview. Rep. Menendez still commands backing from top Democrats in the state even as his father has been forced into an independent run. “He stands on his own two feet,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.

Jury selected in Hunter Biden’s trial

Prosecutors will begin calling witnesses in Hunter Biden’s gun trial today after the jury was selected. The first witness will be an FBI special agent who is expected to introduce evidence like text messages and excerpts from Biden’s book, according to The Washington Post. The defendant was surrounded by family and friends in court on Monday, including first lady Jill Biden. President Biden, who didn’t attend, released a statement expressing “boundless love” for his son. “Hunter’s resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us,” he said. But don’t expect Democrats to rally around the younger Biden. “We support rule of law taking place without political hectoring,” Rep. Jamie Raskin told The Wall Street Journal, which reported that efforts to assemble a legal-defense fund for Hunter went nowhere.

Harris, not Biden, to attend Ukraine peace conference

The White House is sending Vice President Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan to a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland next month, despite calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that President Biden himself attend after the G7 summit in Italy. White House national security spokesman John Kirby rejected the notion it sent the wrong message and described the delegation of Harris and Sullivan as “high level, very serious representation by the United States.” No leader has supported Ukraine “more stridently than Joe Biden,” Kirby told reporters. As of last week, Ukrainian officials were still holding out hope Biden would attend the conference, even after a Bloomberg report he was likely to skip it for a Hollywood campaign fundraiser. Asked if Ukrainian officials were disappointed, Maria Mezentseva, a Ukrainian member of parliament, told Semafor: “We always hope for more :)”

— Morgan Chalfant

Epoch Times exec indicted in money laundering scheme

The Epoch Times has transformed over the last few years from a dissident Chinese newspaper linked to Falun Gong into a flashy and well-produced hub of the MAGA media universe. Friends and foes alike always found the journey a little hard to follow, and Monday it got even more convoluted when federal prosecutors indicted the company’s chief financial officer for a money-laundering scheme that allegedly brought in $67 million since 2020. The money came in through a group called “Make Money Online,” which used cryptocurrency to launder the proceeds of schemes including prepaid debit cards and, naturally, crypto. We’d typically give the benefit of the doubt to a fellow media entrepreneur, but that’s a bit much.

— Ben Smith

New cybersecurity threats are emerging regularly. With artificial intelligence and other advanced technology on the rise, bad actors have dangerously sophisticated tools at their disposal to carry out malicious attacks online. Yet, even in a technologically advanced environment, humans remain at the core of cybersecurity as both defenders and perpetrators of cyber threats. That has profound implications for cybersecurity policy in tackling the weakest links and what can be done to proactively address issues instead of reacting to problems that have already done some damage.

Join us on June 18, in Washington, D.C. when Semafor’s editors will lead crucial conversations on these underlying security issues while exploring innovative cyber resilience solutions, the complex regulatory landscape governing cybersecurity, trends across threat vectors and the education necessary to provide individuals with their own defense tools. RSVP for in-person or livestream here

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday night to discuss their efforts to address ethics at the Supreme Court and agreed that the best course is still pursuing legislation on an enforceable code of conduct that has no chance of becoming law. “I want all of the members and the public to be realistic about what this issue involves. It really is a court issue that should be resolved by the chief justice,” Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said.

Playbook: Attorney General Merrick Garland will use his prepared statement at a House Judiciary Committee hearing today to push back against a range of conservative attacks on the Justice Department. He will decry “false claims that a jury verdict in a state trial, brought by a local District Attorney, was somehow controlled by the Justice Department,” calling those claims a “conspiracy theory.”

Axios: A few factors are driving the timing of President Joe Biden’s border announcement: Crossings may be down, but they tend to rise in the summer, when voters are mulling their choices in the fall. And Biden debates Donald Trump on June 27, where border issues will be a big topic.

WaPo: White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has been calling Democratic lawmakers individually to brief them on Biden’s border plan as part of the administration’s outreach.

White House

• “Folks, the campaign entered uncharted territory last week: For the first time in American history a former president that is a convicted felon is now seeking the office of the presidency,” President Biden said at a fundraiser in Connecticut. Another notable line about Trump: “This guy does not deserve to be president whether or not I’m running.”
• The Bidens are hosting the White House congressional picnic this evening, before Biden departs for France for the D-Day anniversary commemoration and a state visit.
• The G7 leaders endorsed the Gaza ceasefire proposal laid out by Biden last week. The US also circulated a draft of the proposal to the 15-member UN Security Council, and the US ambassador to the UN called upon the council to “speak with one voice” to support it.
• Biden spoke with Claudia Sheinbaum to congratulate her after she was elected president of Mexico.

Congress

• During congressional testimony, Dr. Anthony Fauci denied claims he was behind a coverup of the origins of COVID-19 while distancing himself from a former aide who was placed on leave for using personal email for official communications. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was also reprimanded for refusing to call Fauci a doctor.
• A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson told Semafor’s Kadia Goba the office is “still coordinating with all relevant parties” to find a date for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, following reports he was expected to deliver the speech on June 13, which falls on a Jewish holiday.
• The House is voting today on a GOP-sponsored bill to sanction the International Criminal Court.
• At least 10 House Republicans were displaying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside their Capitol Hill offices, a gesture towards Donald Trump supporters who believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. — NOTUS
• A new appropriations bill released by House Republicans proposes slashing about 11% of the State Department’s budget.
• The House select committee on China is hosting a press conference on the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre this morning. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speakers Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy are all attending, according to a committee aide.
• FBI Christopher Wray and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are each testifying before Senate Appropriations subcommittees today, while Attorney General Merrick Garland will face lawmakers from the House Judiciary Committee.
• Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is on trial on 16 federal counts of corruption, has filed to run for reelection as an independent.
• Meredith Turton will be Johnson’s new data chief. She replaces Anang Mittal, who resigned last month over complaints about his behavior.
• Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn. was upstaged by his six-year-old son on the House floor yesterday (more on that below).

Outside the Beltway

New York state lawmakers are planning to bar social-media companies from using algorithms to serve content to children without parental consent. — WSJ

Courts

• A Georgia appeals court in October will hear arguments over whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Donald Trump for trying to overturn his election defeat in 2020. The date will likely delay Trump’s trial until after the November election.
• Hadi Matar, the man accused of nearly fatally stabbing British-American writer Salman Rushdie, is negotiating a plea agreement with both US state and federal prosecutors that could shed light on whether a foreign government or terrorist organization was involved in the attack, Semafor’s Jay Solomon reported.
• An appeals court blocked an investment firm in Atlanta from moving forward with a program that provides grants to Black women-owned businesses.
• Families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting asked a judge to liquidate Alex Jones’ media company.

On the Trail

• Donald Trump’s campaign said it and the RNC raised a combined $141 million during the month of May, nearly double the figure for April.
• Some Republicans are warning that talk about Trump’s conviction should not overtake their messaging on the economy. — Politico
• Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation ensuring President Biden can get on the state’s ballot for November.

Foreign Policy

• Israel said four more hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza had died.
• He’s back: Nigel Farage plans to run for parliament in the UK’s upcoming general election, despite earlier saying he would not run because he wanted to prioritize supporting Donald Trump’s election bid in the US.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with officials in Cambodia in an attempt to improve ties with China’s closest ally in Southeast Asia.
• The Mexican stock market fell 6% and the peso dropped to its lowest level since November in the wake of Claudia Sheinbaum’s election success, reflecting fears that the ruling party’s congressional supermajority may erode checks and balances.

Technology

Electric vehicles are getting cheaper. — NYT

Media

• Paramount Global and Skydance have agreed on merger terms.
• Sally Buzbee’s exit was met with some resistance at The Washington Post during a tense paper-wide meeting. — NYT

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 Samoan playwright and novelist was charged with murdering Tulsi Gabbard’s aunt.

What the Right isn’t reading: Nine witnesses in Donald Trump’s criminal cases have received financial benefits from his businesses and campaign, ProPublica reported.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

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

John Rose is a Republican congressman from Tennessee whose son joined him on the House floor yesterday and made faces behind him.

• Why politicians want to buy the news.
• Labor strikes shut down essential services in Nigeria.
• China accuses the UK of recruiting spies.