| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | Safe! Rep. Liz Cheney held onto her leadership seat last night and the GOP leader won't punish Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over her past incendiary remarks. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy gamed out how to quash two big issues that were dividing his conference, and is now cheering that Republicans are unified once again...but band-aids don't mend a party so deeply divided over the future of the party. Let's dig in. BALL & CHEN: Cheney is keeping her job as the No. 3 House Republican after a resounding victory on Wednesday evening, in which the political scion easily defeated a conservative-led push to oust her as conference chair after she broke with the majority of Republicans to vote to impeach Trump. In a four hour, closed-door conference meeting, dozens of House Republicans stood to air their grievances about Cheney's impeachment vote and how she went about it. It was fiery. Passionate. Civil. Respectful. All the above, multiple members told your Huddle host, in what they largely described as a "family discussion." Ultimately, an overwhelming majority voted 145-61 by secret ballot to keep Cheney in power, sources told Mel and yours truly last night. Despite many members predicting ahead of time that the vote would be nail-biter, it wasn't even close. The vote now offers a critical boost for Cheney, who said the outcome was a "very resounding acknowledgment that we can move forward together." SAVED BY MCCARTHY'S SELL? Multiple Republicans, including Cheney critics, argued that a strong final push by McCarthy may have helped save the Wyoming Republican. The summarized version of what McCarthy told them in his concluding speech, according to sources: "We won seats this cycle. None of you lost your seats. We kept you safe. We, GOP leadership, did this together. We are a team." To some, it felt as if McCarthy tied himself to Cheney -- voting against her was a vote against him. "I feel like he was trying to project that," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a Cheney critic, told your Huddle host in a hallway interview. The backstory on Cheney vs. Massie: The bad blood between her and group of hard-line conservatives bubbled over the summer because of her repeated criticisms of Trump, support for Anthony Fauci and her decision to support a primary opponent going up against Massie. But on Wednesday night, this group of Cheney critics finally took their shot and missed. GREENE COMES CLEAN: McCarthy also sought to extinguish another political fire building up on Wednesday over Greene. Just as the Cheney meeting got underway, the GOP leader made his position known: He wouldn't preemptively strip her of her committee assignments ahead of a House vote to do just that. Instead, his approach was to fight Democrats, blasting them for raising the temperature with a "partisan power grab" in ousting Greene from her two committees. For some of Greene's GOP critics, it helped that the Georgia Republican apologized to the conference for her past rhetoric about 9/11 and school shootings being hoaxes and other QAnon-adjacent conspiracies that she previously peddled, which earned her a standing ovation from some members who described her remarks as articulate. Per our friends at Playbook, Greene told a story about a dark point in her life when she turned to QAnon, which she acknowledged was a mistake and said she was sorry for how her past statements were affecting her new colleagues. But how much is she really owning up? Your Huddle host attempted to ask her various times why say one thing privately and other things publicly. Why not share her denouncements publicly? Her answer? Nada from the congresswoman who wears a "Censored" mask. Meanwhile, her colleagues are saying she should say this loud enough that everyone can hear. Melanie and yours truly have the dispatch on both Cheney and Greene: http://politi.co/2Lhuz5X | | 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 | | | TWO VERY DIFFERENT TALES...What's her strategy when she privately admits to her colleagues that her past remarks don't reflect her views as a member of Congress but publicly remains unapologetic? Not going unnoticed: She very pro-Trump and said this week that she'll visit the ex-president soon, and even fundraised off of efforts to get her to denounce her views. When your Huddle host asked Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Greene critic, if it is generally acceptable for politicians to say one thing publicly and then privately denounce it, the Illinois Republican didn't skip a beat: "That's called trying to be famous and raise money. We have an obligation as leaders to tell the truth. And if we're not telling the truth, then we shouldn't be leaders." HITTING THE GREENE: It is safe to say, this won't change anything for House Democrats who have yet to hear Greene publicly come clean, and who are pressing forward with a vote on Thursday to strip Greene of her committee assignments. Melanie and Heather have more on this vote that is going down: http://politi.co/3oLBPok Related Read: McCarthy moves to keep splintering GOP intact, with protection for both Cheney and Greene by WaPo's Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane: http://wapo.st/3rnqahs HAPPY THURSDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this Feb. 4, where we are all looking for nice ways to wake up after this week. WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: AL.com's story on Tuberville saying he can't comment on Marjorie Taylor Greene because bad weather kept him from reading news was the big winner. | | | | THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO OFFICIAL WASHINGTON: Washington hasn't slowed down in 2021. A new administration and Congress are off and running, and our new Playbook team is two steps ahead of the pack to keep you up to speed. The new Playbook foursome of Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Tara Palmeri is canvassing every corner of Washington, bringing you the big stories and scoops you need to know—and the insider nuggets that you want to know—about the new power centers and players. "This town" has changed. And no one covers this town like Playbook. Subscribe today. | | | | | COVID COMPROMISE? President Joe Biden told House Democrats yesterday that he's open to compromise on who is deemed eligible for the next round of stimulus checks, but he is not willing to bend on the size of the check, my colleagues report. Yet, Biden's remarks come as the House approved a budget measure in a 218-212 vote, which effectively unlocks the reconciliation process so Democrats can bypass a GOP legislative filibuster in the Senate as they push through Biden's $1.9 trillion relief proposal. "I am not going to start by breaking a promise to the American people," Biden told the House Democratic Caucus about direct payments. "Let's stick together," he added. Caitlin Emma, Sarah and Heather with the inside details: http://politi.co/2MqhBnc INSIDE BIDEN'S COVID PUSH: Biden has repeatedly stressed how he wants to get Covid relief quickly passed, and he is hitting the gas: Working the phones and meeting with fellow Democrats at the White House because there is a belief within the White House that the new president's broad agenda success is tied to the success of this Covid relief package, our White House team's Natasha Korecki and Tyler Pager report. More here: http://politi.co/2YFRJGn VOTE-A-RAMA: GOP senators are preparing hundreds of amendments to be introduced in an upcoming vote-a-rama to protest Democrats' efforts to avoid a Republican filibuster on the Covid relief package with the reconciliation process. With more than 400 amendments already filed, senators are bracing for a bruising Senate hazing tradition that could keep the upper chamber voting in the wee hours of the night. "Senate Republicans will be ready and waiting with a host of amendments to improve the rushed procedural step that's being jammed through," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in floor remarks yesterday. Our Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma have the story: http://politi.co/2Lj1vuZ Related: Dems' push to increase the minimum wage to $15 runs into roadblocks… and if they are excluded or watered down, that would be a potential letdown for progressives by Marianne and Burgess: http://politi.co/3apULUo POWER SHARING COMPLETE: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and McConnell finally struck a power-sharing agreement on Wednesday that will guide how they will govern the 50-50 split upper chamber. After weeks of negotiations, Democrats can now take control of committees after a weird period of limbo in which Senate Republicans still technically held committee gavels and were overseeing the confirmation process for Biden's nominees, despite Democrats having the Senate majority. Plus: Schumer also announced that he is tapping a new secretary of the senate to replace Julie Adams: Sonceria "Ann" Berry. Berry, who is expected to start this role on March 1, will be the first African-American -- and eighth woman -- to serve in the role. More here from Marianne: http://politi.co/3oMI4Io Related Read: Power-sharing deal in hand, Schumer turns to climate change by E&E News' Geof Koss and Nick Sobczyk: http://bit.ly/39O1bOl | | | |   | | | WRONG PLAY: Republican senators are urging Trump's impeachment lawyers not to push discredited election fraud claims as part of their defense strategy in the upcoming Senate trial, warning that doing so could backfire. But… this warning comes one day after Trump's defense team maintained that the election results were "suspect" in its first official response to the House's impeachment charge. The senators are instead urging Trump's lawyers to focus on the procedural objections that it is unconstitutional to convict a former president, now a private citizen, which Republicans have already rallied around. "The point here is to avoid conviction. It's not a great moment for trying to score political points," said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who has criticized the House's case for convicting Trump. "And I don't think litigating the election is a winning strategy. I think it's got a lower percentage of success than a Hail Mary in the Super Bowl." Andrew with the story: http://politi.co/3pLlzFm READ ME: Sen. Josh Hawley is becoming "the face of the Biden resistance," writes Marc Caputo and Burgess, who profiled the Missouri Republican. Hawley has distinguished himself in recent weeks by opposing everyone of Biden's Cabinet nominees and being the first senator to announce he would vote against the Electoral College results. Despite denying any interest, Hawley is widely expected to launch a 2024 presidential bid, which coincides quite nicely because his Senate seat will be up for re-election. More here: http://politi.co/3jeiTh0 Related Reads: More than 370 House Dem aides are calling for Trump's conviction in rare public statement by NYT's Nick Fandos: http://nyti.ms/3tke6PL | Alabama's Richard Shelby among few senators to have participated in three impeachments by AL.Com's John Sharp: http://bit.ly/39LNcZp SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE IT UP: Sen. Bernie Sanders is shaking up his staff as he steps into a powerful new role in the Senate, with some departing and others changing roles, multiple sources tell our Holly Otterbein. Some senior aides from Sanders' 2020 presidential bid have come on board in their place. More here (and the names are mentioned down below in Transitions): http://politi.co/3aBhhdn And then more happenings on the House side: SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS: AOC gives master class on social media by Axios' Alexi McCammond: http://bit.ly/2MAdmFB | Van Drew's Twitter account deleted by our Matt Friedman: http://politi.co/2NVX1eA ROAD BUMPS FOR BOEBERT: Two Democrats have launched bids for Rep. Lauren Boebert's seat, including Democrat Kerry Donovan per Colorado Sun's Jesse Paul: http://bit.ly/2LjZwXi who also profiled Gregg Smith, the Blackwater-connected Democrat running to unseat Boebert: http://bit.ly/2O0o0pj Also on tap: The Colorado congresswoman is also facing some scrutiny over her gas mileage reimbursements, with some experts saying it "raises red flags," by Denver Post's Justin Wingerter: http://dpo.st/3arEK0o CABINET CORNER: Coming Up: 10 a.m.: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a full committee markup to vote on the nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. representative to the UN. 10 a.m.: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will have a full committee hearing on the nomination of Marty Walsh to be Labor secretary. 2 p.m.: The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will have a full committee markup to vote on the nominations of Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to be HUD secretary and Cecilia Rouse to lead the Council of Economic Advisers. Top Senate Republicans are warning that there are unlikely to be additional votes on Biden Cabinet picks until after the impeachment trial. The Hill's Jordain Carney with the story: http://bit.ly/36XsDYb
| | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODES OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: 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 to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | |  | TRANSITIONS | | David Bonine is now deputy assistant secretary for Senate legislative affairs at the State Department. He most recently was LD for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and is a Jim Webb and Robert Byrd alum. The staff changes from Sanders' office include: Misty Rebik, Sen. Bernie Sanders' former Iowa state director and executive director of his campaign committee, is taking over as COS. Ari Rabin-Havt, Sanders' 2020 deputy campaign manager who previously worked in his Senate office, will be legislative director. Bill Dauster, former deputy COS for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, will be chief counsel for the Budget Committee. Lori Kearns is moving to a new position as staff director for the Senate HELP Primary Health and Retirement Security Subcommittee, which Sanders chairs. Caryn Compton and Keane Bhatt are on their way out, with Matt Duss also expected to leave for a position at the State Department. | | TODAY IN CONGRESS | | The House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon to consider the resolution calling for Greene to be removed from her committees. First vote is expected between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the budget resolution. | | AROUND THE HILL | | 10 a.m.: The Homeland Security Committee will actually hold a hearing examining the ongoing domestic terrorism threat after the Capitol attack. (Mea culpa, mentioned it a day early in the last Huddle edition.); the House Oversight and Reform Committee will have a full committee hearing on the Trump administration's child separation policy with DOJ IG Michael Horowitz testifying; the House Financial Services Committee is having a committee hearing on the need for additional Covid stimulus; and the House Small Business Committee will have a full committee hearing on the state of the small business economy amid the pandemic. 10:45 a.m.: Speaker Pelosi holds her weekly press conference. 11 a.m.: Congressional Democrats including Schumer, Warren, and progressive House Democrats will hold a news conference to reintroduce a resolution "calling on the President to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for federal student loan borrowers." 11:05 a.m.: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will have a full committee hearing on "Protecting Transportation Workers and Passengers from COVID: Gaps in Safety, Lessons Learned and Next Steps." 12 p.m.: The Senate Republicans hold a closed luncheon meeting beginning at noon. | | TRIVIA | | WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Jon Lin was the first person to correctly guess that eight presidents have died in office. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, JFK were assassinated. Then, four presidents died from other causes. William Henry Harrison delivered a long inaugural speech in the rain, caught pneumonia and died. Zachary Taylor caught lethal cholera from cherries washed in dirty water. Warren Harding died from a stroke. And FDR died of a brain hemorrhage. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Jon: How many times did Chief Justice John Roberts administer the oath of office to President Barack Obama? 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 117th Congress offers common-sense policy reforms that will continue our economic recovery in urban, suburban, and rural communities nationwide. Learn more | | |
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