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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau.
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Trump's Day: President Trump has lunch with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the White House and delivers remarks at the annual House Republican Conference Member Retreat Dinner in Baltimore.
Congress: The House Judiciary Committee votes on establishing procedures for hearings to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment.
Vaping: Mr. Trump said the U.S. plans to pull most vaping products from the market, citing concerns about health hazards and rising use by teenagers.
Debate: The Democratic presidential debate will start at 8 p.m. ET. Here's what to watch for.
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A U.S. Border Patrol agent in Los Ebanos, Texas, gives instructions to families who had crossed from Mexico on Monday. PHOTO: JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
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The Supreme Court authorized the Trump administration for to deny asylum for many Central Americans. The decision was a boost for White House efforts to tighten the southern border. The court, in a brief written order, stayed the effect of lower court rulings that barred the administration from enforcing the asylum restrictions, Brent Kendall and Jess Bravin report.
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The government opened tent courts under unusual, closed conditions to hear the cases of some immigrants seeking asylum. Tent courts in Laredo, Texas, which opened yesterday, and tents in Brownsville, which are expected to open today, are designed to try cases of immigrants under the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program, Michelle Hackman and Alicia A. Caldwell report.
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Mr. Trump says the U.S. will delay by two weeks a planned increase in tariffs on some Chinese imports, a move that could ease chilled relations between the two nations ahead of planned trade talks in Washington next month, Catherine Lucy and William Mauldin report.
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China is looking to narrow the scope of its negotiations with the U.S. to only trade matters, putting thornier national-security issues on a separate track in a bid to break deadlocked talks with the U.S.
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Mr. Trump told aides he wanted NOAA to “clarify” a tweet contradicting his claim about Hurricane Dorian's path, prompting his acting chief of staff to ask the Commerce secretary to fix the situation. Mick Mulvaney’s call to Wilbur Ross followed days of complaining by the president and resulted in the scientific agency issuing a rare public criticism of its own forecasters, Catherine Lucey and Rebecca Ballhaus report.
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A Chinese woman was convicted of unlawfully entering President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, after her arrest earlier this year raised concerns about security at the president’s clubs, Aruna Viswanatha reports.
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With the ouster of John Bolton as national security adviser, Mike Pompeo’s role has grown larger—and more solitary. Mr. Bolton's resignation immedialy empowered the secretary of state, already one of the longest-tenured and most trusted foreign-policy advisers in the current White House. Whether Mr. Pompeo remains is an open question, Michael C. Bender and Courtney McBride report.
Mr. Trump said he is looking at five potential candidates to replace Mr. Bolton but didn't release any names. The president also wished Mr. Bolton well—but only after slamming his views on a range of foreign-policy issues, Vivian Salama reports.
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The president has privately discussed as possible successors Brian Hook, envoy on Iran; retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, an adviser to the vice presdient; and Rick Waddell, a former deputy national security adviser.
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John Bolton faces the fresh yet well-worn challenge of forging a post-Trump career path. Like other former aides to the unconventional president, he is likely to find a mix of opportunities and roadblocks. Some have landed big-ticket book deals, TV contracts—and at least one guest shot on “Dancing with the Stars.” Others have struggled to find their professional footing, report Vivian Salama and Catherine Lucey.
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Mr. Trump told his advisers that he doesn’t plan to try to lower capital-gains taxes by indexing gains to inflation. The idea has been under discussion in the White House for months and has divided Mr. Trump’s aides, with some warning privately that it could cost him politically ahead of the 2020 election, Andrew Restuccia and Kate Davidson report.
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Mr. Trump pressed for the central bank to cut short-term rates to “ZERO, or less.” For weeks, Mr. Trump has pushed for lower rates to help cushion the economy against fears of a broader global slowdown. But some economists warned that a lower short-term interest rate could present problems of its own, Kate Davidson and Catherine Lucey report.
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House Democrats are debating whether to advance a significant expansion of Social Security, reports Richard Rubin. The measure would extend the program’s solvency and increase benefits by raising taxes on top earners and middle-income workers. The proposal from Rep. John Larson (D., Conn.) is exceedingly unlikely to become law in this Congress.
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Trump Faces Bipartisan Call for Action on Hong Kong
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A bipartisan push on Capitol Hill to respond to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong may force President Trump’s hand on a situation the administration has so far treated tenderly.
During last weekend’s demonstrations in the city, protesters marched to the U.S. consulate and called on lawmakers to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would sanction Hong Kong or Chinese officials who suppress freedoms in the city. The bill has been introduced and received bipartisan support in the House and the Senate.
“There’s a growing sentiment that we need to do something,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.), who introduced legislation on Wednesday that would bar the export of crowd control items to Hong Kong police.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.), the top Republican in the House, wrote an opinion piece in the Financial Times on Tuesday endorsing the legislation and calling for a robust U.S. response to the protests in the former British colony. He cited Ronald Reagan’s unequivocal response to pro-democracy movements in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
“President Ronald Reagan made clear where the US stood,” he wrote.
Mr. Trump has, so far, taken a cautious approach to the protests in Hong Kong, concerned that an aggressive approach could create tensions with Beijing leadership and complicate negotiations for a trade deal. He tweeted in August that he had “ ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it.”
Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of manufacturing the protests as a way to undermine Beijing, arguing that they are an internal political matter that American officials should not involve themselves in. U.S. lawmakers have dismissed those allegations.
“Contrary to Communist propaganda, this citizens’ uprising is no foreign conspiracy. If anything, the world’s leading democratic nations have been slow to respond,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) wrote in an op-ed in the Journal last month.
Write to Andrew Duehren at andrew.duehren@wsj.com
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North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Dan Bishop celebrated his victory in Monroe, N.C., on Tuesday. PHOTO: NELL REDMOND/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Both political parties found something to brag about Wednesday after a hard-fought North Carolina special election. Republican Dan Bishop, an ally of President Trump, beat Democrat Dan McCready. But the tight race is a sign that winning a net 18 seats to take the House majority could be difficult for Republicans next year, reports Natalie Andrews.
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The winnowing phase of the Democratic primary kicks into high gear tonight. Key questions include whether Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden will attack each other and how the Obama administration’s record will fare. Here's what to watch for at the debate.
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Conference Call: Join Jerry Seib, Joshua Jamerson and Eliza Collins on Friday, Sept. 13 at noon as they discuss which candidates stood out in the third Democratic debate. Register Now
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Elizabeth Warren is proposing new taxes on high-income Americans for the Social Security trust fund. (Full story)
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Texas is playing a bigger role in the Democratic primary calendar. (Full story)
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Trump's tax cut creates puzzle for Democrats. (Full story)
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Some U.S. sanctions on Russia have pushed sanctioned individuals closer to the Russian government, though they were meant to split Russia’s economic elite from the Kremlin, report Thomas Grove and Alan Cullison. The Kremlin has become Russia's largest creditor.
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Departed national security adviser John Bolton likely viewed his job less as providing policy options to President Trump than preventing him from damaging America's standing in the world. (New Yorker)
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America's white population has grown only 0.1% since 2010 and is projected to decline over the next decade. (Axios)
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Scientists are piecing together the history of a long-lost continent in the vicinity of the Adriatic Sea. (National Geographic)
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This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Tim Hanrahan, Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Daniel Nasaw. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.
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