A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) departs a vote at the U.S. Capitol July 18, 2022. (Francis Chung/E&E News/POLITICO) | Francis Chung/POLITICO
A MANCHIN-FLAVORED PILL TO SWALLOW — That’s what some Democrats are choking down this week.
Democrats are getting a dose of reality and coming to terms with the idea that even a pared down party-line climate and tax bill is looking unlikely, leaving just a sliver of their original legislative agenda on the table: a narrow health care bill.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) swears he hasn’t walked away: “I haven’t walked away from anything. And inflation is my greatest concern because of how it has affected my state and all over this country, and that’s all I have to say. … I don’t know what tomorrow brings.”
Some Democrats want to keep negotiating climate proposals with the key centrist, who has to okay anything they want to move by party-line vote. But they are ready to vote on lowering prescription drug costs and health care premiums.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.): "Continuing to negotiate, it’s sort of like: what would be your evidence that would lead to something positive? If you want to do that, that’s fine. But let’s go ahead. We should have voted on some of this months ago."
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) says his party has two options going forward: take a guaranteed agreement or wait for a better one. "I'd go with the former rather than the latter," he said Monday.
More from Marianne and Burgess on the Manchin state-of-play as the week continues: Dems lean toward taking Manchin's small-ball deal
… BUT ABOUT THAT HEALTH CARE BILL — Republicans will be using all the tools in their toolbox to chip away at the health care package that Democrats hope to move using the complex budget reconciliation process, which allows them to pass it with a simple majority and circumvent the filibuster.
“We’re going to fight as hard as we possibly can, and we’re going to challenge as much as we believe is properly challengeable,” said Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, which is in charge of the policies that remain in the proposal.
Republicans are preparing their arguments to the Senate parliamentarian in an attempt to make even more provisions ineligible for inclusion under the reconciliation rules.
Our budget experts have much more on the GOP strategy heading into this week’s Byrd bath: Republicans ready grenades against Democrats’ dwindling dream bill
STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, July 19.
MORE SPICE THAN A BUSHEL OF CRABS — Maryland holds the only primary contest of July today, with a hot contest for governor and a drama-rich Baltimore City State’s Attorney race. But the congressional race to watch is for Maryland’s 4th district, which is an open seat because Rep. Anthony G. Brown is running for state attorney general. There are nine candidates for the Democratic primary in the deep-blue district, but the race seems to be centered on former Rep. Donna Edwards and Glenn Ivey, a former state’s attorney for Prince George’s County, high-level Hill staffer and Justice Department official.
NOT OVER YET — “The Jan. 6 select committee once envisioned a single month packed with hearings. Then a fire hose of evidence came its way — and now its members have no interest in shutting or even slowing the spigot,” write Kyle and Nicholas.
“As its summer hearings show some signs of chipping at Donald Trump’s electoral appeal, select panel members describe Thursday’s hearing as only the last in a series. Committee members, aides and allies are emboldened by the public reaction to the information they’re unearthing about the former president’s actions and say their full sprint will continue, even past November.”
DESTINATION: INVESTIGATION— House Republicans, confident that they’ll take control of the House and its oversight apparatus, are planning to go all-in on investigations of President Joe Biden’s administration, from the Afghanistan withdrawal, to the formula shortage to the southern border and … you guessed it, Hunter Biden.
“I think it’s really going to be focused on holding the Biden administration accountable and getting answers. … It is going to be a lot of intense oversight,” Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who is expected to be majority leader if the chamber flips, said in a brief interview with Jordain. Much more on Republican’s plans to pounce on investigations: It's not just Hunter Biden: Prepare for a 2023 packed with House GOP investigations
KENTUCKY’S MEREDITH MELTDOWN— Remember that anti-abortion judicial nomination deal cooked up between President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)? The White House's plans to nominate Chad Meredith dissolved last week, with both McConnell and the administration blaming Kentucky’s junior Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for refusing to sign off.
Paul aired his side of the story on Monday, how the McConnell-Biden deal was secret and how it was “a little bit insulting” for him to learn about the nomination from an FBI background check.
“McConnell’s to blame for tanking this because he tried to do it secretly, Democrats caught wind up in the state. And they also tried to do it secret[ly]” and go around McConnell’s home state partner, Paul told reporters. “We never heard about it from McConnell’s office. And his people simply said, ‘you can’t do this but we can.’ You know, ‘we’re so powerful, we can do whatever we want.’” Burgess explores the longstanding odd-couple dynamic between Paul and McConnell… who are often not aligned, despite being in the same party and representing the same state. Read more: Rand lights into McConnell over 'secret' judicial deal
CHIPS PLUS… WHAT, EXACTLY?— A bipartisan group of senators met Monday night on the semiconductor chip and onetime China competition bill that the Senate could start procedural action on as soon as today. After “Endless Frontiers'' and “USICA,” we’re now talking about “CHIPS plus”... aka $52 billion in support for the semiconductor industry, plus…provisions that lawmakers are still hashing out.
“We’ve got a short amount of time to persuade people that there is more that has to be incorporated into the CHIP plus package as proposed,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), an original co-sponsor of the competitiveness bill, told reporters after the meeting.
Young hopes to include the commerce and trade titles left over from the broader bill negotiations that have been largely scuttled, along with National Science Foundation funding. Young is trying to build a coalition to make the “plus” part of the package as robust as possible.
“He wants an outcome like everyone else in that room,” Young said of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
GE plans for three new industry-leading companies–GE HealthCare, GE Vernova, and GE Aerospace– which will mark the beginning of something new. Building off a 130-year heritage of innovation, these planned companies will amplify elevated missions for precision health & connected care, a cleaner future, and flight & defense. This new era will transform a world that works into a future that does too. Learn more.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE— At least five Democratic members of congress will participate this afternoon in an act of civil disobedience on the Capitol steps in support of abortion rights and in protest of the overturning of Roe v. Wade: Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) will join activists on the Capitol steps. These types of demonstrations have yielded arrests of both activists and lawmakers before and that could transpire again. The protest begins at 12:30 p.m. on the House steps.
MODCOM MARKUP— The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress meets today to approve a set of 29 recommendations for improving the operations of the House, with a focus from crisis planning to district office operations.
Status Update: Close to 77 percent (110 of 142) of ModCom’s previous recommendations have been implemented (or partially implemented or are “in progress.) Thirty-four have been fully implemented and 27 are approaching that mark.
MINIBUS ON THE MOVE — 190 amendments have been made in order for debate on the six-bill appropriations minibus, out of more than 600 originally filed. The measure includes half of the 12 annual funding bills: Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment, Financial Services and Military Construction-VA. Note: Government funding runs out at midnight on Sept. 30, less than 80 days away.
LATE SHOW OFF THE HOOK— The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is declining to prosecute the case against nine staffers from “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” who were arrested on “unlawful entry” charges on June 16. “We respect the decision that office has made,” the Capitol Police said in a statement Monday evening.
INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.
New in town…Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) doesn’t like the new furniture. There’s a monstrous new set of cabinets in the Senate basement by the subway, installed exactly where Senate pages usually set up to track which senators have made their way to votes and who’s lollygagging. Gone is the wobbly little table where Booker was known to perch to chat with the pages. Our own Marianne got an exclusive (forbidden?) peek inside. Heavy stanchions for cordoning off certain areas (usually the press) with velvet ropes are stored inside. Your Huddle host tweeted questions into the void, but the pages readily answered them: there’s a cubby for the phone they use on the side of the cabinet.
“This is an outrage!” Booker shouted, with a smile, at the pages. “I'm gonna call my congressman.”
ICYMI: Union Strong… Eight House offices made moves towards unionizing yesterday and more are expected to file for recognition in the coming weeks. Your Huddle host reported Monday morning. Read more from Roll Call: Staff in several House offices begin the process of unionizing and The New York Times: Eight U.S. House Offices File for the Right to Unionize. Huddle will be following every turn of the screw on this, so if your office is in the process or even just considering…get in touch.
Pelosi plans trip to Taiwan in August, from Laura Seligman
How Joe Manchin Left a Global Tax Deal in Limbo, from Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley at The New York Times
The House convenes at 10 a.m. for legislative business
The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes expected at 11:30 a.m. and a break for party lunches until 2:15 p.m., when another set of votes is expected.
10:15 a.m. Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Vice Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Reps. Kathey Manning (D-N.C.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I) hold a press conference following the Democratic Caucus meeting (Studio A).
10:45 a.m. Scalise, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Reps. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Fla.) and Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) hold a press conference after the GOP Conference meeting (Studio A).
Noon Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) joins the Congressional Workers Union for a press conference (House Triangle).
2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences.
3 p.m. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds a pen-and-pad session with reporters (H-107).
MONDAY’S WINNER:Leisel Bogan correctly answered that a parliamentarian has been appointed by the Speaker in every Congress since 1927. Of course there were plenty of parliamentary advisors before then.
TODAY’S QUESTION from Leisel: What was the first measure of the 66th Congress and who introduced it?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected]
GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.
Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus
GE announces plans for three industry leading companies: GE HealthCare, GE Vernova, and GE Aerospace. Each with an elevated vision to lead us into the future. This will be a new era of precision health & connected care, a cleaner future, and flight & defense, built off of a 130 year-old heritage of innovation. Continuing to build a world that works and ensuring our future does too. Learn more.