Border Brawl to Food Fight: Five Stories You'll Care About in Politics This Week
Also, plans for suit against Obama go forward.
WASHINGTON— -- intro:What a week: A crisis on the southern border, and another in Israel. From calls for impeachment, to threats of lawsuits, to charging cell phones before we get on (some) planes, to Chris McDaniel continuing his fight -- and even getting some encouragement from Ted Cruz -- it was a busy week for the dead of summer.
Republicans and LeBron James both hope Cleveland gives them more luck, and on the 2014 stage, Medicare whoppers in Kentucky took the spotlight, as primary season resumes this week.
Here's a glimpse of some of the stories your ABC News political team will be covering in the week ahead:
quicklist:1title:BORDER BACKLASH text:No answers and no solutions yet on the humanitarian crisis on the border, as Washington's gridlock is being felt in Texas. Republicans, including Gov. Rick Perry, who met with President Obama this week, are likely to keep blaming the president. They say it's his policies that encourage these children to come to America in the first place, while Obama says he's the only one trying to get anything done. The president asked for almost $4 billion, which will continue to be debated. Republicans will likely continue to say they won't sign a blank check, but they have signaled that, at the very least, they're likely to amend and try to improve a 2008 law -- signed by President George W. Bush -- that has made it almost impossible to return children home to Central American countries.
There is some bipartisan legislation coming: Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, both of Texas will introduce a bill next week to try and ease the worsening crisis. Expect some Democrats to say sending back any of these children to their home countries means returning them to extreme violence, the reason they are fleeing in the first place. The political debate is playing out as the Minutemen are recruiting volunteers to guard the border, and they say they expect 3,500 to participate. Expect this story to keep commanding the headlines next week, just as it has this week.
READ:5 Things to Know About Immigration Courts
READ:President Obama Urges Congress to Pass Immigration Bills
quicklist:2title:TRAIL MIXtext:New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is getting far away from any bridge traffic next week, as he heads to the all-important first caucus state of Iowa. The Republican Governors Association chairman will appear at a fundraiser for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad in Davenport, at an event titled, "An Evening at the Fair." While fundraisers are almost always closed to press, this one will be open, meaning Christie's first trip to the Hawkeye state in two years will be sure to attract DC reporters to Iowa as well. He will attend two other fundraisers while in the state.
It's not just Christie who'll be out "on the trail" next week: On Monday, competing big names will wade into the West Virginia Senate race, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigning with Democratic nominee Natalie Tennant in Shepherdstown and Rep. Paul Ryan joining GOP nominee Rep. Shelley Moore Capito at an event in Charleston. Also on Monday, but in Kansas, Rick Santorum will campaign with Gov. Sam Brownback, who is running for re-election. On the other side of the aisle, it will be President Obama who gets out of DC, attending a fundraiser mid-week in New York for the House Majority PAC, a super PAC that supports 2014 Democratic House candidates. And after two weeks off, the primary calendar also ramps back up next week with run-offs Tuesday in North Carolina and Alabama
READ:Chris Christie: 'They Love Me in Iowa'
quicklist:3title:SO, SUE ME!text:On Wednesday, the House Rules Committee will hold a hearing to consider a resolution that would take the House a step closer to filing a lawsuit against President Obama. We learned Friday the suit will focus solely on Obamacare, not immigration, and the focus of the litigation will be the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The draft resolution authorizing the lawsuit says that "there are many examples of executive overreach by the president, but his actions on the health care law are the ones that give the House the best chance of success in the courts." The hearing sets up a vote by the full House as soon as Thursday, and the Bipartisan Legal Authority Group could move by the end of the month to direct counsel to file the suit.
As we get closer to summer recess, there are other important issues on the legislative calendar. Next week, Republicans hope to pass their version of a federal Highway Trust Fund extension. If money for the fund isn't found, road and infrastructure projects could grind to a halt, and money for highway projects will run out completely at the end of September.
READ:Obama Knocks Do-Nothing Republicans: 'So Sue Me'
quicklist:4title:DETROIT PROG CITYtext:The annual Netroots Nation convention starts next week with Vice President Joe Biden opening up the convention on Thursday in Detroit. The conference is a major event for liberal political activists, and it's the first time Biden will address the gathering. Expect there to be some Biden 2016 talk, as the conference usually attracts candidates as well as rising stars who appeal to the progressive wing of the party. Speaking of 2016, Elizabeth Warren will also address the group, sure to do anything but tamp down the longtime speculation she could be the one to take on Hillary Clinton.
Clinton will not appear, but the Ready for Hillary bus will be there, reaching out to the progressive base. It's a bloc that abandoned her in 2008, and, if she runs again, she'll need its support. Both Biden and Warren, as well as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, will also appear at the Generation Progress "Make Progress" national summit on Wednesday in DC. The group is focused on issues that matter to young progressives, like student debt.
READ:Elizabeth Warren: 'I'm Not Running for President'
quicklist:5 title:FIRST LADY'S FOOD FIGHT: KID CHEFS AT THE WHITE HOUSEtext:First lady Michelle Obama will host the third annual Kids' State Dinner at the White House Friday. She hosts the 54 kid winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge as part of her "Let's Move!" push. The challenge was organized by the White House as well as Epicurious magazine, and the healthy lunch is expected to feature a selection of the winning recipes from the children represented. More than 1,500 recipes from kid chefs were submitted, and the winners also get a trip to the White House Kitchen Garden.
It may sound like all fun and quinoa, but this is part of Michelle Obama's greater initiative to fight childhood obesity, a plan that has seen resistance from the other side of the aisle. Earlier this month, the first lady made it clear she will fight a House Republican effort to soften a key component of the effort. She usually stays away from public flights, but she said she will "fight until the bitter end" to maintain the progress that has been made for healthy food in schools, despite numbers that show kids may not be buying the more nutritious lunches.
WATCH:Michelle Obama Hosts Kids' 'State Dinner'
ABC News' Christopher Good contributed to this report.
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