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In today's issue:

▪ 2028 Democratic hopefuls clash with Trump

▪ President tells Fed's Lisa Cook she's fired

▪ GOP chafes at Trump's Intel, Grassley moves

▪ Judge, ICE face off over Abrego Garcia deportation

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A chorus of Democratic governors are lining up to resist President Trump's policies, putting potential future party leaders squarely at the center of some of the biggest battles of Trump's second term.

Trump's push for mid-decade redistricting and call to crack down on crime in major U.S. cities have spurred blue state governors to broadly push back on federal intervention, lifting their own profiles in the process.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) have all locked horns with Trump in recent days over redistricting and threats to send National Guard to their states. Each has been floated to varying degrees as potential 2028 presidential contenders.

“The governors in those states are utilizing the power that they have to try to stop what Trump is doing,” California-based Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio told Morning Report. “It makes perfect sense for their personal self-interest and the Democratic Party… Everybody's fighting back in their own ways, depending on who their constituency is and what their ambition is.”

The president's attacks have given the Democrats ready-made messaging opportunities.

On Monday, Trump threatened to sue California over its redistricting efforts while championing Texas's own push to redraw its maps more favorably for the GOP. Newsom last week signed a law that will put the Golden State's temporary redistricting on the ballot in November.

“I think I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon and I think we’re going to be very successful in it,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office. “We’re going to [be] filing it through the Department of Justice, that’s going to happen.”

Newsom has relished the attention, gearing his social media presence to mirror Trump’s in tone and to troll the president. The governor on Monday responded to Trump’s threat of a lawsuit with two words: “BRING IT.”

Moore, who has taken steps in recent months to build his national brand, has become the newest blue-state leader to enter the fray.

Trump and Moore spent much of the weekend firing insults at each other after the president threatened to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore, describing the city as “out of control” and “crime ridden.”

Rebuffing Moore's invitation to walk the streets of Baltimore to observe the city's efforts to curb crime, Trump also threatened to cut federal funding for restoration of Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Moore is embracing the fight. In a Monday statement, he said Trump “represents what people hate most about politicians — someone who only seeks to benefit themselves.”

The governor also revealed over the weekend he is actively exploring redistricting options in Maryland.

“The redistricting fight is becoming somewhat of a litmus test for who’s willing to do what’s necessary to stop Donald Trump,” Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist, told The Hill’s Julia Manchester.

Another fight devolved into personal attacks Monday, with Trump saying Illinois's Pritzker “ought to spend more time in the gym.” The governor responded that the swipe is “just evidence of a guy who’s still living in fifth grade."

“It takes one to know one on the weight question,” Pritzker said. “And the president, of course, himself, is not in good shape. So, he ought to respond to that from me.”

The Illinois governor has forcefully pushed back on Trump's declaration he would send the military into Chicago.

Trump on Monday appeared to back off on his threat, saying it would be better to be asked by state and local officials for federal assistance.

“I was telling some of the people that in a certain way you really want to be asked to go,” Trump told reporters. “I hate to barge in on a city and then be treated horribly by corrupt politicians and bad politicians.”

National Guard members — some of whom are now armed — and a slew of other law enforcement agencies are deployed in Washington, D.C., to crack down on what the White House says was an unacceptable level of crime, despite statistics showing violent crime had declined in the city.

▪ The Hill: More than 1,000 arrests have been made since federal law enforcement was sent into D.C. earlier this month, the White House said.

▪ The Hill: The president assailed Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) as “incompetent.”

▪ The Hill: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) reelection campaign launched its first digital ad Monday, positioning her as an opponent to Trump’s administration in the Empire State.

▪ NBC News: Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) said the National Guard shouldn't be sent to cities without a governor's request.

LONG-TERM STRATEGY: Democrats’ public battles with Trump are showy and grabbing headlines, but they’re not emblematic of the post-2024 election comeback plan the party had envisioned.

Since their grueling defeat in November, Democrats have scrambled to form a unified voice against Trump, aiming to focus on kitchen-table issues such as the economy and inflation. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin

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