| | | | | |  | | By Melanie Zanona | Presented by Mastercard | TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE -- The bipartisan "908 coalition" finally unveiled their highly anticipated, two-part coronavirus relief plan. And it could very well provide a pathway to a deal before the holidays. Said Senate GOP Whip John Thune: "It's trending in the right direction." But plenty of questions — and potential sticking points — remain. The first proposal includes money for small businesses, unemployment benefits, schools, vaccines and testing. And the second proposal includes the two thorniest issues in the relief talks: $160 billion for state and local funding, as well as short-term liability protections for businesses that reopen during the pandemic. Negotiators have struggled to reach wide consensus on those areas, which is why they were split off into a separate proposal. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers is still working to marry the two pieces together, with the hopes of crafting a single proposal that can hitch a ride an omnibus spending bill before the end of this week. THE BIG question now is: what does leadership do? They could try to tackle everything at once, which is a bigger lift, or just shelve the state and local aid and liability reform to focus on easier items that have bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn't commented directly on the bipartisan proposal yet, but he previously floated the idea of dropping both state and local aid and liability reform. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn't made clear whether it will be a red line for Dems. "I very much support state and local," Pelosi told reporters. "We are in negotiations." She also spoke to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin again last night, where she raised concerns about liability reform. All the latest from Burgess and Heather: https://politi.co/34conT7. ONE MORE key question: what will Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) do? Sanders, who is pushing for another round of stimulus checks, urged Democratic leaders to reject the 908 Coalition's proposal. And Sanders will have some leverage with the Friday government funding deadline: he can hold up funding the government if he really wants to make his case. But it's unclear how far he is willing to go. The story from Burgess: https://politi.co/37hrf2P. IN OTHER NEWS … "Congress nears deal on $1.4 trillion government funding measure," from Caitlin Emma and Sarah: https://politi.co/3acPKjS; and "Trump faces Dec. 23 deadline to veto - or sign - massive NDAA defense bill," by Reuters' Patricia Zengerle: https://yhoo.it/3mjUZk3. | | A message from Mastercard: With the pandemic accelerating the adoption of electronic payments, Mastercard is working with businesses and consumers to drive our economy forward, keep small businesses open, deliver innovative solutions that extend beyond the card, and ensure our financial system is inclusive. Learn more here. | | | SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, EVERYBODY! -- The first coronavirus vaccine was administered in New York yesterday, while White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that certain White House officials and members of Congress would receive early access to the vaccine. But so far, lawmakers have received no guidance about when or how many doses will be available to Congress and who will be first in line to receive them. Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois — the top Republican on the House Administration Committee — is now pressing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to roll out a comprehensive vaccine program, especially for frontline workers in the Capitol. An excerpt from his letter, obtained by your Huddle host: "Offering immunity vaccinations to the House's high-risk and frontline essential workers is not only fundamental to the institution's continuity of operations but is its duty to care for the health and safety of its staff and Members. Additionally, implementing a clear plan will signal to both the private and public sector that the House has confidence in the vaccine." The letter. But some members may be reluctant to receive priority treatment. "'I will not skip the line," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech on Monday. But "as soon as it's appropriate and recommended," he added, "we should all lead by example, take the vaccine and tell our constituents to take it as well." As WSJ writes: "Congress is grappling with whether lawmakers should be among the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine. ... Now policy makers face the question of whether lawmakers should receive priority as important elected officials and to give the public confidence in the vaccine—or whether they should wait in line with their constituents." More from Natalie Andrews and Siobhan Hughes: http://on.wsj.com/3oLPRH4. Related read: "Senate Democrats press Trump on possible vaccine shortage," via Dan Diamond: http://politi.co/3mlmV78. | 
Mark Lennihan/AP Photo | THE FINAL STAGE OF GRIEF -- It only took six weeks, numerous failed legal challenges and the Electoral College formally certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory. But more congressional Republicans — though certainly not all — have finally started to accept that Biden will be the next president of the United States. Some GOP responses from yesterday: Sen. Rob Portman: "The Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect."... Sen. Roy Blunt: "There's clearly a constitutional president-elect." … Sen. John Thune: "Once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it's time for everybody to move on." … Sen. Shelley Moore Capito: "It's time to turn the page and begin a new administration." On top of that, Biden said in a speech that seven Senate Republicans — including "one of the most senior members" — called to congratulate him on his victory last night and discuss some areas where they could work together. Much more on the GOP coming to terms with reality, from Marianne, Burgess and Andrew: https://politi.co/2WibGBT. Related read: "GOP leaders pinched by pro-Trump bid to reverse election outcome," via The Hill's Ian Swanson: http://bit.ly/3oYl8qp. GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Dec. 15, where Chuck Schumer randomly running into the SNL comedian who plays him on T.V. has to be the most New York thing ever. MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The AP's report on Senate "gangs" being a potential model for the Biden era was the winner. | | | | NEW EPISODES OF THE GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps us identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | APAULLED -- Retiring Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) announced on CNN that he's leaving the GOP — and becoming an independent — because of his disgust with President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the election and his party's refusal to stand up to him. "If Republican leaders collectively sit back and tolerate unfounded conspiracy theories and 'stop the steal' rallies without speaking out for our electoral process," Mitchell wrote in a letter to party leaders, "our nation will be damaged." Of course, there's hardly anything at stake for Mitchell at this point. There's only a few days left in his congressional term. He's not running for reelection. And not to mention, Mitchell is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, so it's not like he needs to run for office again. But his defection is still notable: Mitchell was a member of House GOP leadership as early as this year. And he is now the second Michigan Republican to flee the party because of Trump, following in the footsteps of Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.). "While admittedly symbolic, we all know that symbols matter," Mitchell said. The dispatch from Matthew Choi: https://politi.co/2LDrEED. SOMEONE ELSE LEAVING THE PARTY EARLY -- "Attorney General William Barr to step down," by Josh Gerstein and Kyle: https://politi.co/384c0tp. JOE AND THE GIANT PEACH STATE -- Joe Biden will stump for the Senate Democratic candidates in Georgia today — his first event as the incoming campaigner-in-chief. A preview of the high-stakes visit from Marc Caputo and James Arkin: "The success of the president-elect's agenda hinges on the two Senate runoff races that will decide the balance of power in the chamber. "If Ossoff and Warnock fail to defeat Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler on Jan. 5, it will mean a GOP-controlled Senate that's guaranteed to stand in the way of implementing Biden's policy goals. "Then there's the matter of appearance. While Biden risks expending precious political capital even before taking the oath of office, if he plays it safe and declines to go to a state he narrowly won — especially after President Donald Trump and a bevy of Republicans have campaigned there — it will send an early message of caution and timidity. And it would signal to Georgia Democrats that the uphill contests were too far out of reach." More: http://politi.co/3oYooC9. Related read: "Trump antagonizes Republicans with Georgia fundraising ploy," by Alex Isenstadt: http://politi.co/3mjE94L. | | | |   | | | MURPHY ON MTRS -- Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), co-chair of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, is sending a letter to Democratic leaders today urging them to make changes to the "motion to recommit" — a procedural tool that the House GOP has successfully used eight times to divide Democrats and force last-minute changes to a bill on the floor. With Dems preparing for a shrunken majority come January, there's been talk of altering the MTR or even eliminating it all together in order to make life less painful for the Dem caucus. But many Democratic leaders are institutionalists, and any decision to change the rules won't be taken lightly. Murphy's proposal: raise the threshold for adopting an MTR from a simple majority to two-thirds. "We do not believe the MTR should be eliminated or fundamentally changed, because we view it as an important tool for the minority party in an otherwise majoritarian institution," Murphy writes in the letter, signed by 17 Dems and counting. "At the same time, we do believe the MTR process requires reasonable reform. In practice, the minority party makes a deliberate decision to circulate the MTR to the majority party only a few minutes before Members must vote to adopt or reject the MTR. This sets off a mad scramble by Members to understand the MTR and its effect on the underlying bill." The letter, shared with your Huddle host. CABINET CORNER -- "Families at Border Present Familiar Test for Biden's Homeland Security Pick," by NYT's Zolan Kanno-Youngs: http://nyti.ms/2IPzSIC; and "Biden's defense nominee courts Democrats amid concerns over waiver to lead the Pentagon," from CNN's Manu Raju and Jeff Zeleny: http://cnn.it/38519i. | | | | HAPPENING TODAY - CONFRONTING INEQUALITY IN AMERICA TOWN HALL : The pandemic-induced recession has put over 40 million Americans at risk of foreclosure and eviction and caused a steady decline in Black homeownership. What solutions need to happen to make housing more inclusive and fair? Join POLITICO for its fourth town hall in the series "Confronting Inequality in America." Our latest town hall explores "The Housing Gap" and will convene policymakers, lawmakers, advocates and mortgage industry leaders to discuss various approaches for eliminating housing inequality as we begin to recover from the Covid-19 recession. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
|  | TRANSITIONS | | Claire London is now scheduler for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). She most recently was scheduler for Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Senator-elect Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) has announced senior staff hires: Kristin Walker will serve as chief of staff, Leland Christensen will serve as state director, Darrin Munoz will be the legislative director, Tyler Lindholm will be state policy director, Chris Land will serve as general counsel and policy advisor, and Josh Arnold will be deputy chief of staff. Patrick Mocete will serve as chief of staff to Rep.-Elect Young Kim (R-Calif.). He was Kim's campaign manager this cycle and is an Ed Royce and John Katko alum. And Callie Strock will be Kim's communications director. She is communications director for E&C Republicans and a Rep. Will Hurd alum. Marty Reiser will be policy director for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), taking over from Bill Hughes, who is retiring after 31 years in Congress. Reiser previously was deputy policy director for Scalise. David Planning -- special assistant to the president for legislative affairs -- will be GOP staff director on the House Small Business Committee. He is also a Scalise and Patrick McHenry alum. John Walsh will be COS for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). He previously was Markey's campaign manager. Arie Dana will be COS for Rep.-elect Michelle Steel (R-Calif.). Dana previously was COS for Steel on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Dillon Iwu is now director of government affairs at the American Investment Council. He most recently was a senior field representative for Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.). | | TODAY IN CONGRESS | | The House is out. The Senate meets at 10 a.m. Lawmakers will resume consideration of the nomination of Thomas Kirsch to be a U.S. circuit judge for the 7th Circuit, post-cloture. They'll recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. for weekly party caucus meetings. Roll call votes are expected but have not been scheduled. | | AROUND THE HILL | | Quiet. | | AROUND THE HILL | | MONDAY'S WINNER: Stefani Koorey was the first person to guess that FDR's dog bit the sitting prime minister. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Stefani: In what years were Senate salaries $7,500 per annum? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to mzanona@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. | | A message from Mastercard: Our economy has been hit hard by COVID-19. But, by delivering innovative payment solutions and a resilient and reliable network, Mastercard is helping small businesses stay open, protect jobs, reach customers, and generate revenue with digital services. Mastercard is also applying its technology, philanthropy, data science and cybersecurity expertise to rebuild communities, ensuring that economic growth is inclusive and helping address new challenges of the touchless economy.
Mastercard is committed to identifying and addressing the needs of small businesses, governments and communities as they fight to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to help them adapt to new ways of working and new payment preferences, such as contactless payments, so that they can thrive in the years ahead. Learn more here. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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