| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | | With Melanie Zanona and Susannah Luthi. UNDER ATTACK: The deadly shooting rampage in Atlanta, which killed six Asian women and two others, has sparked a broader discussion about racial attacks, misogyny, inflammatory political rhetoric, mental health, and gun violence on the Hill. Concerns that this shooting was a racially motivated crime renewed conversations about how lawmakers should respond to hate fueled attacks, specifically amid a surge in attacks in the U.S. against the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) , who heads the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), blamed Donald Trump for his pandemic rhetoric after Robert Aaron Long, a white man, took eight lives on Tuesday: "[Trump] used these terms — China virus, Wuhan virus and even kung flu — and as a result the anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents increased exponentially," she said during a Wednesday press conference. Chu has called on Congress to pass a bill that would have the Justice Department help with hate crime tracking -- including creating locally focused grant programs for hate crime reporting and establishing state hate crime hotlines -- as well as establish a national day to speak out against anti-Asian hate on March 26. Chu has described the attacks against the AAPI community as a "daily tragedy," with the community facing spitting, shunning, shoving, fear of physical assault, the use of racial slurs, and other forms of discrimination while out in public. And when your Huddle host asked Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) how Congress should respond to the uptick in attacks against AAPIs, he pointed to his Hate Crimes Commission bill that he first introduced in 2017, which calls for a 12 member commission -- split evenly between Democrats and Republicans -- that would examine the causes and how to respond to the general rise in hate crimes. "We have 70 co-sponsors and it's now quickly becoming like a caucus wide initiative," Krishnamoorthi told me, projecting confidence that more House members, including Republicans, will get behind the legislation amid the renewed national spotlight on AAPI attacks. According to the Pew Research Center: "A majority of Asian adults (58%) say it is more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views about people who are Asian than it was before the coronavirus outbreak." And Stop AAPI Hate reported roughly 3,800 instances of discrimination against Asians in the past year -- though the reported number is likely just a fraction of the true number of discriminatory episodes. "Our community is bleeding. We are in pain. And for the last year, we've been screaming out for help," Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) said Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing. During the hearing, Republicans and Democrats got into a heated back and forth about whether divisive rhetoric is contributing to the attacks on the Asian community. Democrats argued that terms like "Kung Flu" and the "Wuhan virus," which Donald Trump repeatedly used while in office, have fueled the attacks against the AAPI community, which have skyrocketed during the pandemic. "I would urge members of Congress who continue to use that type of hateful rhetoric: Cut it out! Because you also have blood on your hands," Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said at the hearing. | | | | JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST": Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country, and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out on this new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | Some Republicans are dismissing this claim that the rhetoric and the rise in violence are tied together. "I would struggle to see a connection between the virus lingo that everyone has made a big deal about and really what is a really concerning problem with anti-Asian hate crimes," Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) told me. "There's a lot of assumptions that we talk about in today's culture wars and it usually involves making assumptions without offering any evidence to back it up." Other Republicans phrased it a way where they said such rhetoric shouldn't lead to violence, not that it is. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, told reporters Thursday: "It shouldn't lead to violence. We have disagreements with a country in the world who operates very different than ours, but there's never any justification of that leading to violence." Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who represents the district where the shooting took place, said he recently spoke with the sheriff investigating the shooting on Wednesday and that the law enforcement official believes the gunman, who claims the rampage was the result of his sex addiction. "[The sheriff] felt, by the cooperation of the shooter and that he admitted...why he did it, they didn't feel that it was racially motivated," Loudermilk told your Huddle host. "Definitely there has been an increase of attacks against Asian Americans across the nation, but it doesn't look like this is related to that. This is just a mental health issue. It's tragic." "What [the sheriff is] doing is coming out and telling the truth which should be healing to our nation. It should be a relief to say, 'Good, I'm glad that this wasn't racially motivated,' but we're taking the opposite approach and saying, 'because I want it to be, then there's something wrong with the sheriff.'" But some experts argue it is hard to extricate race from the killings. And others say the attacks are part of a broader domestic extremism issue facing the country. Related: Why this wave of anti-Asian racism feels different, by The Atlantic's Morgan Ome: http://bit.ly/30XuUPG | Anger over anti-Asian violence, rhetoric rips through Capitol by The Hill's Scott Wong and Mike Lillis: http://bit.ly/3lyssIS | Asian-American lawmakers call out racist language: 'I am not a virus,' by NYT's Catie Edmondson: http://nyti.ms/3cPKT7I UPCOMING: FCC pressured to produce broadband maps ahead of infrastructure push by the National Journal's Brendan Bordelon: http://bit.ly/3s5wiLR | | A message from Freight Rail Works: According the American Society of Civil Engineers' Infrastructure Report Card, rail is top of the class. The U.S. rail network was recently awarded its highest grade. Thanks to spending $260,000 on average per mile of track, freight railroads are keeping our economy – and our country – moving forward. Learn more. | | | HAPPY FRIDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this March 19, where Hannity didn't quite get away with ripping this a new one. THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Bulwark's story on J.D. Vance joining the Jackals was the big winner. PUPS OF CAPITOL HILL: Like most things in D.C., there is no such thing as a friendly competition without a little campaigning… The three Pups heading to the next round from Day 2 are: Louis the Pembroke Welsh corgi, Cooper (another Cooper) who loves visiting the Capitol and reading budgets, and Henry, Rep. Dean Phillips' (D-Minn.) Norwich Terrier, who he campaigned for on his Twitter accounts, pulling ahead of Abelour, the Aussie pup, before the polls closed. Game on. Be sure to vote for your favorite and get your friends involved in this bi-paw-tisan competition… others certainly are. Up on deck today: Batch 6... Batch 7…Batch 8 . Side Note: Your Huddle host was including all these details about the pups that you Huddlers sent, but apparently those aren't visible to you all when you go to vote. Woof! THIS IS CURIOUS: The three Republican House members who voted "present" on GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's resolution that aimed to force Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) off the House Intelligence Committee are all members of the House Ethics Committee, your Huddle host noticed. The members include Reps. Michael Guest (Miss.), Kelly Armstrong (N.D.), and Dave Joyce (Ohio) (though two other GOP members, ranking member Rep. Jackie Walorski (Ind.) and Rep. John Rutherford (Fla.), voted against the motion to table and all the Dem members on the panel voted to table it). Former Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) filed a complaint against Swalwell last Congress, shortly before he left office, after the California Democrat faced scrutiny for his relationship with a Chinese spy between 2012-2015, which started before he became a member of Congress. While the request was made late last year, the panel had to reconstitute at the start of the new Congress and lawmakers your Huddle host spoke to would not say whether or not this matter was still before the committee. Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing. Yesterday, he tweeted the following: "Meet the New McCarthyism. Multiple sentences in resolution state "Swalwell has not denied..." Yet fails to include multiple FBI statements of "no wrongdoing" and did nothing but "cooperate." All of this to deflect from @GOPLeader's support for QAnon," Swalwell tweeted in response to McCarthy's resolution. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has previously said she is not concerned about his fitness to serve on the panel. She appointed Swalwell to serve as an impeachment manager and just last week, she reappointed him to serve on the high-profile intelligence panel. Also: The resolution was rejected, 218-200, with Democrats unanimously voting to table it. (More here from the AP's Mary Clare Jalonick: http://bit.ly/3lshCnC.) Related: FBI reiterates lawmakers should report counterintel threats as GOP forces Swalwell vote, Kyle reports: http://politi.co/3s3oCto TOP-ED: Earmarks are the GOP's bridge to nowhere, the WSJ Editorial Board writes: http://on.wsj.com/3cMrbK5 GOMEZ SAYS GREENE'S GOTTA GO: Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) is moving forward with his efforts to oust Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her past controversial remarks, with the House Democrat expected to introduce a resolution today to expel her from Congress. So far, 72 House Democrats have co-sponsored his resolution … no GOP support. A DIFFERENT SHADE OF GREEN: "Rep. @AOC tells me that she will be using the three week recess members have from voting in Congress in part to prepare the Green New Deal for 're-rollout,' working to get new cosponsors and coalition partners on the progressive environmental policy," CNN's Annie Grayer reports. Related: Chuck Schumer stalls climate overhaul of flood insurance program, by NYT's Christopher Flavelle and Emily Cochrane: http://nyti.ms/2OE4oIx | | | | TUNE IN TO 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 and start listening today. | | | | | IMMIGRATION BILLS MIGRATE THROUGH THE HOUSE: "The House on Thursday passed a pair of popular immigration bills that once seemed like the tickets to a cross-aisle deal on one of Washington's thorniest issues — but not lately," Sarah and Melanie report. Some Republicans crossed party lines to support the bills, including nine Republicans joined Democrats in passing the Dream and Promise Act and 30 supporting the Farmworker Modernization Act. Rep. Jared Golden (Maine) was the only Dem to vote no. Neither bill is expected to garner enough GOP support to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Sarah and Melanie have more on what is next: http://politi.co/3lt3zyd Related: Biden administration lacks a system for tracking Covid at the southern border, by our Erin Banco and Sabrina Rodriquez: http://politi.co/3tBiSaN YOU SAY GOODBYE, I SAY HELLO: Democrats are watching as their Republican allies on immigration disappear as the crisis mounts at the border. Take Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who introduced a bipartisan immigration bill earlier this year and who now says he wouldn't support it if it was brought to the Senate floor today. "God no," he told Burgess in an interview. "I'm not in support of legalizing one person until you're in control of the border." As Burgess reports: "But beyond Graham, it's not even clear the narrow DREAM Act he and Durbin so recently reintroduced could get a single Republican vote in the Senate — a big problem for Democrats who just pushed the immigration legislation through the House on Thursday." More here: http://politi.co/38RGT5B Related: Elizabeth Warren calls Senate filibuster racist, by Axios' Alayna Treene: http://bit.ly/3lGu3fP NO-GO ON PAYGO: Senate Republicans won't go along with Democrats' plan to extend a temporary pandemic freeze on the Medicare sequester through a stand-alone bill that would also waive the "Pay-as-you-go" or PAYGO rules following the Democrats' $1.9 trillion rescue package. The stance isn't a surprise, but teases more Hill drama over a top priority for Washington's powerful provider lobbies -- given the money at stake in the sequester's 2 percent cuts to Medicare. The House is poised to vote this morning on the measure (H.R. 1868) unveiled last week by Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.). JAN 6 CLICKS: Congress stalls on independent Jan. 6 probe while House GOP-Capitol security tension grows, CNN's Congress team reports: http://cnn.it/3s1GlkV | 'Comey Rule' director working on Jan. 6 insurrection miniseries, by Kyle: https://politi.co/3r2caZC | Man ID'd as former Special Forces soldier is charged with assaulting police during Capitol riot, also by Kyle: http://politi.co/3tASwpr GET OUT THE POPCORN: Senators introduce bipartisan bill to televise Supreme Court proceedings, by CNN's Caroline Kelly: http://cnn.it/3vGeqJF STAFFER SPOTLIGHT: The Chabad chief in the House by the Jewish Insider's Gabby Deutch: http://bit.ly/3vIOaOM | | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | CAMPAIGN CENTRAL: -DeSantis rejects Rick Scott's call to return stimulus money: 'Doesn't make any sense,' by our Gary Fineout: http://politi.co/3lspIg3 (N.B. both are 2024 potential presidential candidates…) -Zeldin, who is actively exploring a bid for New York governor, gets testy when asked if Biden won election, by our Ben Leonard: http://politi.co/3cIjIf4 -Mo Brooks' Alabama Senate bid leaked as official campaign page changes reveal run, by Newsweek's James Walker: http://bit.ly/2NuDBxw -Matt Mowers lost his bid for New Hampshire's 1st District U.S. House seat last year, but he may run again, per WMUR's John DiStaso: http://bit.ly/3lvGB9J CABINET CORNER: Updates: The Senate narrowly confirms Xavier Becerra as health secretary. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday lifted his holds on the nominations of William Burns, Biden's pick for CIA director, and Brian McKeon, Biden's choice for deputy secretary of State for management and resources, after the State Department signaled it'd punish entities involved in the construction of a controversial Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline. Both were also confirmed on Thursday. Andrew, Martin Matishak and Natasha Bertrand have the story: http://politi.co/2P1XvQZ Upcoming: The Senate on Monday is expected to confirm Marty Walsh as Biden's Labor chief. And Black lawmakers ready another Shalanda Young push as Biden slow walks OMB nominee, by our Laura Barron-Lopez: http://politi.co/3rYco5o TRANSITIONS Fox hires former GOP lawmaker Greg Walden as political consultant, The Hill's Alex Gangitano reports. Biden taps former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) as NASA chief, by The Verge's Joey Roulette: http://bit.ly/3r44mXk Erin Collins is joining Platform Communications as a director. She was previously communications director for Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio). James Paluskiewicz, who most recently served as chief Republican health counsel for Energy & Commerce's Health Subcommittee, has left the Hill to join Alston & Bird's health care practice as a senior policy adviser. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House meets at 9 a.m. Votes are expected at approximately 10-10:30 a.m. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL 10:45 a.m.: Pelosi holds her weekly press conference with Dem Reps. Angie Craig (Minn.), Lauren Underwood (Ill.), and Teresa Leger-Fernandez (N.M.). 11 a.m.: The Woodrow Wilson Center is holding a webinar on assessing the U.S. homeland security mission for the next decade with Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y) participating. 12 p.m.: The Hudson Institute is holding a webinar on climate change and environmental issues, featuring Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and others. 1 p.m.: CSIS hosts a webinar on the global rise of authoritarianism with Schiff participating. TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: Bruce Mehlman was the first person to correctly guess that the highest office to which Gerald Ford was elected was the House -- specifically minority leader. He wasn't elected to either VP or POTUS. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Bruce: Which President owned a Golden Retriever named Liberty? 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. Follow Olivia on Twitter: @Olivia_Beavers | | A message from Freight Rail Works: Once again, rail receives top marks in safety and infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers just awarded freight rail the highest accolade of any U.S. infrastructure. How does the industry keep almost 140,000 rail miles running smoothly? Through healthy private investment that prioritizes improvements in safety and efficiency. Over the last 40 years, freight railroads have spent nearly $740 billion to maintain and modernize today's network, averaging $25 billion a year. And as policymakers work to address infrastructure challenges and advance other priorities, railroads stand as ready partners to help craft well-designed, viable solutions. See how rail is uniquely poised to be a key player in helping the U.S. meet future climate, economic and infrastructure goals. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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