NEWS WRAP

Secret Service chief resigns

• Agency 'failed' | Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under pressure from Republicans and Democrats over the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on 13 July. In her resignation letter, Cheatle said her agency “fell short” of its mission to “to protect our nation’s leaders.” READ MORE HERE
   

• Veepstakes heat up | Speculation on who Kamala Harris will pick as her running mate increased, with the frontrunners tipped from key battleground states. They include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. READ MORE HERE
   

• Biden to focus on Gaza | Scheduled to meet with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC this week, President Joe Biden said in a call to his campaign headquarters that he would spend the remainder of his presidency trying to end the war in Gaza and bring Israel’s hostages home. READ MORE HERE
   

• Congress probes global IT outage | A congressional panel has called on Crowdstrike’s CEO to testify about its role in the global IT outage that grounded thousands of planes and disrupted businesses and government services. The event “must serve as a broader warning about the national security risks associated with network dependency” said the committee. READ MORE HERE
   

• NATO, US failures left Ukraine outgunned | US and NATO governments failed to heed a decade of warnings about the dire state of their munitions stockpiles, leading to a chronic shell shortage on the Ukraine front, reports Reuters. Had munitions been more consistently funded, “clearly, the industrial base would be in a better place today,” said Dr Cynthia Cook from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. READ MORE HERE

EVENT

Election Watch 2024: New Cold Wars in a year like no other

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist David Sanger will join USSC CEO Dr Michael Green on a live panel to discuss the implications of the US election on the future of US leadership worldwide at a time of intense strategic competition between the United States and China. 

Sanger is a veteran political reporter who has covered seven presidential administrations from Washington DC for the Times. His latest book New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West, considers America’s global position at this pivotal moment.

WHEN
5 August 2024, 6.00pm–7.30pm AEST

WHERE
Holme Building, Science Rd, University of Sydney NSW 2006

COST 
Free but registration is essential

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Did you USSC?

• COMMENTARY | Joe Biden’s withdrawal gives Democrats a fighting chance
  USSC CEO Dr Michael Green on how Kamala Harris resets the race. READ HERE
   
• COMMENTARY | Kamala Harris is likely to become the Democratic nominee for president. So who is she and how might she fare against Trump?
  USSC Research Director Jared Mondschein on the presumptive nominee's career to date. READ HERE
   
• COMMENTARY | Joe Biden’s legacy may have been stained had he not stepped aside. How will history view him now?
  USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe on the importance of President's Biden's decision. READ HERE 
   
• PODCAST | Politics with Michelle Grattan: Lester Munson on Kamala Harris’s style and a changed Trump
  USSC Non-Resident Fellow Lester Munson talks to Michelle Grattan at The Conversation about the defining aspects of Kamala Harris' candidacy and how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should approach a second Trump presidency. LISTEN HERE
   
• COMMENTARY | Trump 2024, the living martyr, is at his zenith and looks unstoppable
  USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe on Trump's ascent after the attempt on his life. READ HERE 
   
• PODCAST | Bye Bye Biden: It's Joever
  USSC's Dr David Smith talks to The Chaser Report podcast about what pushed President Biden to step down and the rapid endorsement of Kamala Harris. LISTEN HERE
   
• USSC PODCAST | From strongman to living martyr: How Trump’s assassination attempt changes his image
  USSC Non-Resident Fellow Dr Yancey Orr on how the shooting of Donald Trump could shape the mythology around him. LISTEN HERE 

BY THE NUMBERS

Harris' war chest

In the first 24 hours after President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race, the Harris campaign raised a record US$81 million – reportedly the highest haul in any single day period in US history. The Harris campaign also stands to inherit US$91.5 million that was left in the coffers of the Biden campaign. According to campaign finance experts, Harris has a strong claim to the funds because she is registered on Biden’s campaign in its filings with the Federal Election Committee (FEC), whereas a different candidate would not be entitled to it. The Trump campaign has moved quickly to block the transfer of Biden’s war chest to Harris, lodging a complaint with the FEC that it violates campaign finance law. 

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

#Biden