Good Monday morning. I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing. Stay tuned after the show for a message from Sherm, the Society for Human Resource Management. President George W. Bush is speaking this morning at a naturalization ceremony in Dallas. They expect more than 45 candidates for more than 20 countries. Here's a snippet of what Bush will say.

The great yearning of so many to live in our country presents a significant challenge.

America's elected representatives have a duty to regulate who comes in and when.

In meeting this responsibility, it helps to remember that America's immigrant history made us who we are.

Amid all the complications of policy, may we never forget that

immigration is a blessing and a strength. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United

States is now preparing to leave up to 1,000 troops in Syria to work with Kurdish fighters after

talks with allies failed to agree on a safe zone. The Post and Courier in South Carolina reports the

Vice President Mike Pence will headline Senator Lindsey Graham's re-election kickoff in South

Carolina later this month. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has an op-ed in the Washington Post, framing

the Democratic debate for this recess, calling for a two-state solution and the equal application

of American values to all

nations. On the trade front, the New York Times is reporting that talks with China could stretch

into late April with the threat of tariffs hanging over Beijing. Bob Lightheiser has a very full

plate. In addition to the USMCA and China, Lighthizer is starting separate bilateral negotiations

for free trade agreements with

Japan and the European Union. And he's also in a trilateral negotiation with those countries on

WTO rules to tackle Chinese non-market practices. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the prime minister

plans to announce gun law reforms within a matter of days after last week's terrorist attack.

In North Carolina, our colleague Laura Baron Lopez reports the 10 Republicans met last

week's filing deadline to run in the open primary in the 9th congressional district,

which will make for a crowded, underfunded field. On the 2020 front, our colleague David Sider's

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