News: Big headaches for party leadership

Monday, February 1, 2021

Big headaches for party leadership

Feb 01, 2021

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It's decision time for both parties this week. House Republicans will determine the fates of two GOP members on opposite sides of the party's civil war and Senate Democrats are facing a new speed bump in Covid relief funding.

The big picture: Democrats will telegraph how they will use their newly secured power, while the GOP must choose a path forward, without Trump in office or control in either chambers.

Here is the split screen:

GOP = GOT OUR PROBLEMS: The GOP civil war is taking center stage this week, as Republican lawmakers debate whether Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) remains in leadership after her impeachment vote. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy must also choose how to respond to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's controversial and dangerous rhetoric.

GREENE WITH NO ENVY: McCarthy is expected to meet face-to-face with Greene this week to discuss a series of conspiracy-filled social media posts she embraced, largely before running for Congress.

Democrats are painting the GOP's next move as either a choice between disavowal or embrace of QAnon with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not surprisingly, dinging the House GOP leader in a press release that tied McCarthy's party affiliation to "QAnon" rather than the GOP.

Greene remains remorseless amid the backlash, taking a page from Trump's playbook of leaning in when scrutiny comes knocking. The Georgia freshman, who has vowed she will "never back down," is fundraising off of the backlash and touting Donald Trump's continued support of her.

Greene represents a safe Republican district. While some of Greene's constituents have found her rhetoric "dangerous" and her behavior embarrassing, many voters still appear to back her, saying they knew she was an outsider who would push the buttons of the political establishment when they voted her in, reports NBC's Amanda Golden, who spent the weekend in the Georgia 14th District. And our Marc Caputo reports that state Republicans worry she could become the face of the GOP in Georgia.

Will some of this backlash inside D.C. and in the media may even further fuel support for her? Some Republicans think so.

It is a feedback loop, as one House GOP source described it: "The media needs eyeballs to make money. If this place really is a circus, she's the one selling tickets."

SOUND OF SILENCE: So why have many House Republicans remained largely silent on condemning Greene? Some Republicans point to a perception of fairness as fueling their silence.

Unfair referee?: While many Republicans seem to privately say Greene's remarks are abhorrent, they also feel the media isn't a fair referee and Democrats are not held to the same standards when they use dangerous or unfair rhetoric.

They acknowledge this isn't apples-to-apples. They know what Greene is saying is worse, but they warn this perceived unfairness can lead the GOP to minimize their own team's transgressions. (Some cited Rep. Maxine Waters' restaurant remark in 2018, or Democrats' treatment of Amy Coney Barrett during her SCOTUS nomination).

Related Read: Can Marjorie Taylor Greene Be Expelled From Congress? By New York Mag's Ed Kilgor: http://nym.ag/3pCbx9f

Now, time for Cheney:

DO THEY BREAK THE CHEN?: House Republicans are slated to huddle in person on Wednesday morning to debate Cheney's future, with a group of hard-line conservatives working to oust the No. 3 Republican from her leadership spot.

Cheney's fate likely depends on whether Republican leadership allows the conservatives' resolution to be considered right away -- that is unless two-thirds of the conference demands an immediate vote. And despite expressing frustrations about how the Wyoming Republican handled the vote, McCarthy has stated he wants her to keep her job.

That doesn't mean Wednesday won't turn heated as the conference gets the chance to air their grievances against her.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an ally of Cheney, chalked up these efforts as a form of "cancel culture" in a Sunday Meet The Press interview. Some Republicans, however, are also warning that the possible optics of punishing Cheney for her vote, while letting Greene get off scot-free, means the party is setting itself up to be further aligned with Trump.

Kinzinger, who voted for impeachment, is also jumping into the intra-party battle by launching the Country1st.com PAC, which aims to challenge Trump's loyal wing of the party and the GOP leaders who support them.

Melanie has more on all things GOP happening this week: http://politi.co/3cyy4jF

Related Read: More on Kinzinger's PAC from The Daily Herald's Charles Keeshan: http://bit.ly/3j3DN2l | Kinzinger: Relatives have sent letters claiming 'I'm possessed by the devil' by Myah Ward: http://politi.co/3tghiM3

A message from Independent Community Bankers of America:

Community bankers welcome the 117th Congress: The new Congress is closely divided at a time of historic challenge and opportunity, but it need not be gridlocked. Accounting for more than 3.5 million Paycheck Protection Program loans, community banks have been financial first responders amid the coronavirus pandemic. ICBA offers a bipartisan legislative agenda with common-sense reforms to continue moving our nation forward. Learn more

Now for the Senate Democrats:

SENATE DEMS: Democrats, meanwhile, must decide what they are going to do as Covid relief -- their No. 1 legislative priority -- remains outstanding, while they face dueling demands from moderates and progressives.

Ten Republican senators, led by Sen. Susan Collins, wrote to Biden over the weekend outlining a framework for a Covid relief bill and asking to meet with the new president, citing his calls for "unity," Burgess reports: http://politi.co/2NRDtIq. And Biden has granted their request, inviting the GOP senators to come to the White House at 5 p.m.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has quickly shot down the GOP proposal, which was $600 billion compared to Biden's $1.9 trillion.

"They should negotiate with us, not make a take-it-or-leave-it offer," Schumer said in an interview with the Daily News on Sunday, citing the lack of state and local funding and advising them to go back to the drawing board.

Some anxious moderates want to make sure their leaders aren't going to try for *only* reconciliation, since it'll take 6-8 weeks even if things go perfectly, according to Sarah, who scooped the Blue Dogs are getting a key audience on Tuesday night with White House Leg Affairs Director Louisa Terrell.

Some are interested in doing a $500B package as a starting point for reconciliation. And many moderates are on board with the idea of first pushing for funding for vaccine distribution and stimulus check packages. To drive this point, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) spoke to Harris on Saturday to explain how desperately money is needed for vaccines. Progressives, meanwhile, while progressives want a more robust coronavirus bill.

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HAPPY MONDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this Feb. 1, where things are getting trippy with presidents' portraits.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Big campaign donors stick by election denier Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene by the Georgia Recorder.

FRESH FACES: Greene is just one of the nearly 60 freshman class who entered the halls of Congress this year. While all have entered a historic body at a historical low point, there is quite a mix in how the freshmen of both parties are dividing and uniting in various ways. Here is your Huddle host's breakdown of the freshmen: http://politi.co/2MgzV22

SOME STATIC: And at this critical time, the Biden administration may have offended -- or alienated -- a key ally in Covid negotiations, with Sen. Joe Manchin blasting VP Harris for doing a TV hit on Covid relief in his home state without any warning: "That's not a way of working together." More from our Maria Carrasco: http://politi.co/3j3qLSq

OFF AIR: If you've been seeing the impeachment managers in interviews or TV appearances the past week… don't expect to anymore. Your Huddle host is told that Pelosi is warning them to focus on their arguments and stay away from their airwaves.

LAWYER ROLLERCOASTER: Over the weekend, Trump parted ways with five members of his initial impeachment legal team. Then, the next day, he named two lawyers who will represent him.

David Schoen, a lawyer based in Georgia who represented Roger Stone, and Bruce Castor, a former DA in Pa. who declined to prosecute Bill Cosby in 2005, will lead the new team, according to Trump's office, who says they will bring "national profiles and significant trial experience in high-profile cases to the effort."

Both are expected to get to work immediately, with Trump's first filing due tomorrow.

And if you haven't caught the connection yet, your Huddle host is told by a GOP source that Bruce Castor is related to Steve Castor. Steve Castor served as the general counsel for the Republican minority on the House Oversight Committee who had a big role during the first House impeachment process.

The legal switch up comes reportedly amid a disagreement about strategy, with Trump pushing the defense to focus on his baseless claims about election fraud.

Related Read: Trump Names Two Members of Impeachment Defense Team by NYT's Maggie Haberman and William Rashbaum: http://nyti.ms/3oAQliE | Tom Rice says SC GOP 'cowering before Donald Trump' after censure for his impeachment vote by the Post and Courier's Jamie Lovegrove and Tyler Fleming: http://bit.ly/3aksYET

NOW FOR SOME GOP STEERING FUN: Your Huddle host spoke to some sources to learn just what sort of enticing gifts GOP lawmakers, angling for a certain key committee, gave to members of the Steering Committee. Many were gifts of candy or snacks that are local to their district, but here are a few fun ones:

-Rep. David Kustoff (Tenn.) showed up with probably the most grand food gesture: A rack of ribs for each member.
-Rep. Kevin Hern (Okla.), who owns some McDonalds stores, chose to go with the classic fast food bite.
-Rep. Glenn Thompson (Pa.) gave ice cream, which made some sweet teeth pretty excited.
-Rep. Rick Crawford (Ark.) gave a cool House of Representatives toolkit bag.
-And Rep. Sam Graves (Mo.) handed out Transportation themed ties.

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TRANSITIONS

Eric Morrissette, senior policy advisor to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, is leaving the House to become Deputy COS to Sen. Amy Klobuchar starting today.

David Marten is Sen. Maria Cantwell's new LD today after previously serving as her LA for Transportation.

Greg Dotson is joining the Senate EPW Committee as its new chief counsel, replacing Andrew Rogers, who left the committee to become chief counsel for the Federal Highway Administration.

Alex Siciliano, who previously served as Deputy COS to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), is now VP of comms at the Petrizzo Group.

Bettina Weiss, who previously was campaign manager for Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), will be the first executive director of Elect Democratic Women, the political arm of the House Democratic Women's Caucus.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is back at 3:00 p.m.

The Senate convenes at 3:00 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL

9 a.m.: CSIS will hold a webinar on "A New U.S. Policy Toward Africa," with House Foreign Affairs Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) joining the panel.

2 p.m.: The House Oversight and Reform Committee will have a full committee meeting to organize for the 117th Congress.

3:30 p.m.: The House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth will hold a Virtual Pen & Pad with reporters.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY'S WINNER: Bree Galeano was the first to correctly guess that the key bipartisan tradition begun by California Sen. George Murphy, which will pass into new hands in the next Congress with the retirement of Sen. Pat Toomey (Pa.), is the candy desk!

TODAY'S QUESTION: From Bree: Currently, there is only one commercial airline pilot in Congress. Who is it and what airline do they fly for?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answer to obeavers@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

A message from the Independent Community Bankers of America:

Community bankers and ICBA offer a bipartisan agenda: Community bankers welcome the 117th Congress at a time of historic challenge and opportunity. While the new Congress is closely divided, it need not be gridlocked. Employing more than 700,000 Americans across nearly 50,000 locations with a presence in every congressional district, community banks have a track record of working with both parties to craft pragmatic solutions grounded in consensus. ICBA's bipartisan legislative agenda for the 117^th Congress offers common-sense policy reforms that will continue our economic recovery in urban, suburban, and rural communities nationwide. Learn more