Saturday's politics & policy stories

Trump plans to halt entrepreneur visas next week
In the coming days, the Trump administration will take steps to delay and ultimately rescind an Obama administration rule allowing foreign entrepreneurs to come to the U.S. to start companies, sources familiar with the situation tell Axios.
The details: The rule, called the International Entrepreneur Rule, is scheduled to go into effect July 17. U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services will take a procedural step to postpone that implementation date as soon as Monday, according to sources. In addition, the agency is expected to start the formal process to eliminate the rule. A USCIS spokesperson said the rule is "under review." More details on the rule here.
Why it matters: Since the rule hasn't yet taken effect, scrapping it won't change anyone's visa status. Still, it's a setback for tech and venture capital firms that supported the rule — and it's another sign of Trump's resolve to restrict visas, even for high-skilled immigrants.

Rural GOP senators abandon health bill
The July 4 recess hasn't worked out in the Republicans' favor. More GOP senators have come out against the bill, either saying they will vote against it or that they have increasing concerns about how it will affect their constituents, NYT reports.
This is particularly relevant in rural states, where local health care providers and hospitals are typically the largest source of jobs — eliminating things like Medicaid would have a significant impact on these medical institutions and, ultimately, residents' employment options.
Republican senators who have potentially defected over the recess, withholding their explicit support: John Hoeven of North Dakota, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Boozman of Arkansas, and Bob Corker of Tennessee, whose office told Axios, "He will take a position on the bill when the legislative text is finalized and he has a chance to fully review it."

Trump and Putin get what they came for
Trump and Putin perfectly staged their first meeting so that both men could get what they needed out of it, politically.
"The deal": Sources close to Trump told us he went into the meeting believing it was still possible to strike a deal with Russia.
Now we have a better understanding of what that means: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says they spent a good amount of the meeting discussing a solution to the Syrian conflict, and we saw a gift-wrapped victory, with the post-meeting announcement of a ceasefire. Tillerson held out the possibility of larger cooperation — which should be understood as possibly a deal that would encompass fighting ISIS together and resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Podesta: Trump needs to "get a grip"
Hillary Clinton's former campaign chairman, John Podesta, fired back at President Trump's claims that "everyone" at the G20 summit was talking about him:
"On a x-country road trip with my wife; Pulled in for a pit stop in E. Fairmont W. Va. to see that our whack job POTUS @realDonaldTrump is tweeting about me at the G20. Get a grip man, the Russians committed a crime when they stole my emails to help get you elected President. Maybe you might try to find a way to mention that to President Putin. BTW, I had nothing to do with the DNC. God only knows what you'll be raving about on twitter by the time we get to Utah. Dude, get your head in the game. You're representing the US at the G20."
Go deeper: A senior Republican foreign policy official told Axios that Trump may not even bring up Russia's election meddling at his meeting with Vladimir Putin today.

Tillerson: Trump pushed Putin on election interference
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting at the G20 summit has ended after 2 hours and 16 minutes — it was originally planned to last only 30 minutes.
The first big news out of the meeting: Russia and the U.S. are prepared to announce a ceasefire in southwestern Syria beginning on Sunday, per the AP.
The other big news out of the meeting: During an off-camera briefing with reporters, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that Trump opened the discussion by pressing Putin on the issue of Russian interference in last year's election — a charge Putin repeatedly denied. Tillerson called the election hacking an "intractable disagreement" between the two nations.
Russia's side: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Trump accepted Putin's denials regarding election hacking. Tillerson also said that Russia had asked for proof of their involvement in any election interference, which Trump said he'd leave to the U.S. intelligence community to provide.

Trump "absolutely" still wants Mexico to pay for wall
During a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto at the G20 summit, President Trump told reporters that he "absolutely" still expects Mexico to pay for a border wall.
Think back: Peña Nieto called Trump's bluff and cancelled a trip to Washington in January — via Twitter — after Trump attacked Mexico in a series of tweets about both NAFTA and funding for the wall.
Why it matters: It's an antagonistic move by Trump during a summit meant to built compromise and consensus between world leaders, but it's also a signal to Trump's base that he's standing by his campaign pledge.

Hawaii judge denies motion to limit scope of Trump travel ban
A federal judge in Hawaii Thursday denied a request filed by the state seeking to clarify the Supreme Court ruling on the scope of President Trump's travel ban, and told lawyers that they must take their motion to the Supreme Court, per CNN.
Refresher: Last month, the Supreme Court allowed Trump's 90-day ban to go into effect for foreign travelers who lack any "bona fide relationship with any person or entity in the United States." But Hawaii argued Thursday that he ruling was too narrow, and wrongly excluded grandparents and other close relatives.
What's next: Hawaii plans to appeal the judge's ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that upheld Hawaii's block on the second version of the ban in June.
Why it matters: The Supreme Court will review arguments in the case when the justices return from summer recess in October, at which point they will make their final ruling. Expect Hawaii's pushback to play a role in their decision.

One-third of D.C. residents have protested Trump
WashPost, top of Metro section, "Poll: 1 in 3 in D.C. has protested Trump," by Paul Schwartzman and Emily Guskin:
"One out of every three Washingtonians has marched in protest against President Trump or his policies at least once since January, making the District the capital of national dissent, a new Washington Post poll finds."
"53 percent of white residents participated in a march or demonstration in opposition to Trump's policies since the start of the year, compared with 16 percent of African Americans and 36 percent of Hispanics and those of other racial and ethnic groups."

Trump meets Putin: What you need to know
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