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Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau. We write this newsletter each
weekday to deliver exclusive insights and analysis from our reporting team in
Washington. Sign up.


BY MIGUEL GONZALEZ

 


WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

Harvard University: Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard, after being
dogged for weeks by allegations of plagiarism and charges that she didn’t
respond with enough urgency to concerns about antisemitism on campus. (▶️Video)

Israel-Hamas War: The killing on Tuesday night of a senior Hamas leader marked
the biggest hit to the group’s top leadership in years, taking out a key player
who was responsible for aligning the Palestinian militant group with Iran and
Iran’s proxy Hezbollah. See more below.

 



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POLITICS

Texas officers have installed razor wire in an effort to deter migrants. PHOTO:
JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES


THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ASKED THE SUPREME COURT TO ALLOW THE U.S. BORDER PATROL
TO CUT RAZOR WIRE INSTALLED BY TEXAS OFFICERS.




The administration sought to reinstate federal authority over the international
boundary between Mexico and Texas, after state officials won a lower court order
blocking the Border Patrol from removing the concertina wire over a 29-mile
stretch of the Rio Grande, report Jess Bravin and Elizabeth Findell. U.S.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that Congress had given the Border
Patrol extensive power to enforce immigration law within 25 miles of the border.
State governments, she wrote, have no power to displace federal authority the
Constitution commits to Washington.


DONALD TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN ASKED A MAINE COURT TO REVERSE A DECISION BY THE STATE’S
TOP ELECTION OFFICIAL TO REMOVE HIM FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL BALLOT.




Trump’s legal team filed a suit in Kennebec County Superior Court defending his
eligibility for office and challenging the authority of Maine’s secretary of
state, Shenna Bellows, to disqualify him from its primary contest, reports Jacob
Gershman. Bellows on Thursday found that Trump incited an insurrection at the
Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 after his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Her
decision came days after Colorado’s highest court ruled that Trump is ineligible
for that state’s ballot because of his actions on Jan. 6. The ruling is likely
to come under review by the Supreme Court ahead of this year’s vote.

 * Can Trump Be Barred From the 2024 Ballot? What to Know About the Law (Read)

In other politics news...

 * The Latest Secret Government Mission in Washington, D.C.: Taking Out Deer
   (Read)

 

The WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia after he was
arrested while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage—a charge the Journal
and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Follow the latest coverage, sign up for
an email alert, and learn how you can use social media to support Evan.

 


NATIONAL SECURITY

Spanish army servicemen prepared a Nasams defense system at an air base in
Latvia in March. INTS KALNINS/REUTERS


THE WEST BADLY NEEDS MORE MISSILES—BUT THE WAIT TO BUY THEM IS YEARS LONG.




Global conflicts and rising threats are driving orders for missiles, planes,
submarines and other complex weapons systems, but producers are struggling with
supply chains and staffing, report Alistair MacDonald, Doug Cameron and Dasl
Yoon. The constraint is particularly acute for missiles and the systems that
defend against them, and also guard against the swarms of drones that have
become a central element of modern warfare.

 


ECONOMY

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


IT'S GETTING HARDER TO FIND A NEW JOB.




Employers finished 2023 with far fewer open positions than at the start of the
year, as businesses filled more jobs and decided not to hire for others, report
Gabirel T. Rubin and Harriet Torry. Total job postings as of the end of 2023
declined more than 15% from a year earlier, according to data from job-listing
site Indeed through Dec. 29. Postings are still up by more than a quarter from
their prepandemic levels, Indeed’s data show, but the frenzied hiring and worker
shortages that marked an earlier phase of the pandemic recovery are fading.

In other economic news...

 * U.S. Auto Sales Bounced Back in 2023 (Read)

 * Apartment Rent Relief Is Expected to Continue in 2024 (Read)

 


WORLD

▶️Video: The Beirut attack could complicate American efforts to broker a
diplomatic end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the influential,
Iran-backed militant group and dominant political force in Lebanon. PHOTO: ABBAS
SALMAN/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK


A TOP HAMAS LEADER WAS KILLED BY A SUSPECTED ISRAELI STRIKE IN BEIRUT, LEBANESE
AND PALESTINIAN SECURITY OFFICIALS SAID.




The blasts killed Saleh al-Arouri, a founder of the Hamas military wing, deputy
head of its political bureau and, according to the group, an architect of the
group’s Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, most of them
civilians. The killing sent shock waves through the Middle East and brought
weekslong hostage negotiations to a halt, report Dion Nissenbaum, Adam
Chamseddine, Benoit Faucon and Summer Said. Israel’s leaders have vowed to
pursue Hamas leaders who were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, and Tuesday’s
blast appeared to be the first deadly expansion of its campaign outside the Gaza
Strip.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: EVE HARTLEY

▶️Video: Iran-backed groups form a land bridge across the Middle East and
connect in an alliance that Tehran calls the "Axis of Resistance." Here’s what
to know about the alliance that includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and
the Houthis in Yemen.

 


LEGAL NEWS

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan,
which prosecutes many white-collar cases. PHOTO: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS


U.S. PROSECUTORS CAN CHARGE FOREIGN OFFICIALS WITH BRIBERY UNDER A NEW PROVISION
OF THE ANNUAL DEFENSE LEGISLATION.




The provision, known as the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, broadens the scope
and reach of U.S. antibribery laws in a way policy supporters say will fight
corruption, which the Biden administration has said is one of its top national
security priorities, reports Mengqi Sun. Advocates for the law say it
complements the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a longstanding law prohibiting
the paying of bribes to foreign officials to win or keep business. 

“Without this, the U.S. legal arsenal for combating international corruption was
incomplete.”

— Tom Firestone, a partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs who specializes in
white-collar crime

 


WHAT WE'RE READING

 * Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) faces additional allegations of wrongdoing
   contained in a superseding indictment in New York. (ABC News)
 * The House Homeland Security Committee is formally moving ahead with
   impeachment proceedings against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. (Punchbowl
   News)
 * Nearly 40 lawmakers have either left Congress early or announced their
   departure at the end of the term, which could impact policy on issues
   including farming, fracking, and foreign policy. (National Journal)

 


WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Yesterday, we asked about your greatest hope for the new year.

Easy question: United we stand, divided we fall. How about a unity ticket with
one Republican and one Democrat? Abraham Lincoln's cabinet included people who
had opposed him previously. Why not us? Why not now?
–Bill Bishop, Idaho

My greatest hope for the new year is that Americans will begin to see that we
need better representation of ourselves at the state and federal level than the
two major parties have left us with for decades. It's time for us to identify
leaders who can see the bigger picture and identify all of our country's
strengths. It's time for a third party to rise to the occasion and demonstrate
that we can and do agree on many things.
–Vicki Ballinger, Michigan

Something that unites us in a positive way, rather than the recent uniting
occurrences in my life, which were driven by fear.
–Michael A. Becker, Missouri

Responses have been condensed and edited.

 

What do you think of the Biden administration's argument that Texas exceeded its
legal authority at the border?

Let us know at politics@wsj.com or reply to this newsletter. Include your full
name and location, and we may publish your response in an upcoming issue.

 


ABOUT US

This newsletter is written by the WSJ Washington bureau. Send feedback to
politics@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at
@wsjpolitics on X.

 

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