| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | | JOURNOS AT THE GAETZ: It was all to be expected that when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) strolled into the Capitol yesterday evening, he would be met by a horde of questions. CNN's Ryan Noble got the first question in about the allegations against him just as Gaetz reached the magnetometers. There was a moment of silence before the Florida Republican asked: "Oh, are you Ryan?" When Ryan responded in the affirmative, Gaetz -- almost as if he had planned on it -- launched into a whataboutism, citing an attempt by conservative group Project Veritas to undercut CNN's credibility, saying he has "great comments" on what was exposed in an edited video, while bobbing and weaving around questions about the Justice Department's sex trafficking probe. "That doesn't have anything to do with the allegations against you, sir. Congressman, do you not deny the allegations against you?" Noble responded, which Gaetz ignored as he walked on the House floor. Gaetz made no attempt to hide or run as he exited, either (as is often the case when a member is consumed in scandal), though he did speed walk out as a flock of roughly seven reporters, including your Huddle host, trailed him down the Capitol steps. Gaetz twice cited The Washington Examiner Op-Ed that he previously authored and again tried to shift away from the questions and peck at CNN's Manu Raju over the Project Veritas video. A staffer was waiting for him with a running car, holding the back seat car door open, which he quickly slipped inside to depart the Capitol. The reporters then turned to head back inside, prompting one Dem House member to ask what all the commotion was about. "Ahh, of course," he said, when I informed him of who we were chasing. Gaetz's appearance on Capitol Hill -- the first since the reports and allegations against him emerged during the House recess -- came after Mel and your Huddle host spent the day asking House Republicans about Gaetz's political future and how a potential indictment would change their stance. Many did not want to touch on this topic with a 10-foot pole -- erm, maybe add a few more zero's onto that. The general response? Ducking and dodging: One GOP lawmaker when asked a question about Gaetz, replied: "Who?" Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said bluntly that he didn't "want to be drawn into talking about that." Another pretended they couldn't hear or see Mel when she approached him with a question about Gaetz. And one GOP member laughed when your Huddle host said I have a fun ol' Gaetz question for you, responding: "Those aren't words I thought I'd hear together." Their response emphasized how few Republicans are racing to defend Gaetz, nor are they -- apart from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) -- calling for him to resign. (Kinzinger wouldn't comment on it anymore, instead saying: "I made the statement that will stand"). Instead, the majority of GOP lawmakers have taken the position that the legal process should run its course. Here's the view from the top: -House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who called the accusations "serious" last week, declined to wade into theoreticals about the possibility of a Gaetz indictment. "These are hypotheticals," he told moi in the hallways. "We will deal with everything as they come." -House Minority Whip GOP Steve Scalise (R-La.) told Mel yesterday he needs to see "what the facts are" and pointed out there hasn't "been any formal DOJ action yet," but added that "obviously we're watching it close" and "we've been very consistent that if somebody is indicted that then they will be removed from their committees." All of this is to say Gaetz's seat in the House is safe for now. More here from Mel et moi: https://politi.co/3mHkDRC Related: Indicted Gaetz associate is said to be cooperating with Justice Dept, by NYT's Mike Schmidt and Katie Benner: https://nyti.ms/3mMabrR | New details shed light on Gaetz's Bahamas trip, by our Marc Caputo and Matt Dixon: https://politi.co/3de6o3s | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION: Power is changing, in Washington and across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. Our twice-weekly newsletter "The Recast" breaks down how race and identity are shaping politics and policy in America and we are recasting how we report on it. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear from important new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | ANTICIPATING SOME ANTICS: When asked whether they have plans to force roll call votes on bills under suspension today or make motions to adjourn, GOP Reps. Chip Roy (Texas) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.) simply said they have some plans in store. "In broad terms, we're still pretty committed to wanting to see changes around here without just greasing the skids for unlimited suspensions, so we'll be watching those tomorrow," Roy told me. Pressed a bit more: "I think it is safe to say that there are bills that, if they are attempted to move, would probably require the yeas and nays. I can't say how many, but I think that that stuff is likely, but we'll see. And I can't speak to [motions to adjourn]." Biggs was similarly coy about sharing finite plans. "Our job is to try to slow down what they're trying to do to the country, so we got some things up our sleeves." I.E. Prepare an extra to-go coffee cup for today, just in case. TODAY: The Problem Solver Caucus will have a bipartisan meeting this afternoon with senior White House officials, an aide confirmed. One big topic that is likely to come up? Infrastructure. …. ALSO: House panel to vote on slavery reparations bill for first time, by WaPo's Marianna Sotomayor: https://wapo.st/3scyNLL | | A message from Freight Rail Works: The freight rail industry stands ready to help America rebound, rebuild and reimagine our future. Freight rail is uniquely positioned to help policymakers meet three key priorities to help get the country back on track: strengthen our economy, reinvest in our infrastructure and protect our environment. See why freight rail has both the experience and vision to drive the nation's recovery. | | | HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this April 14, where some parents really need to get their priorities straight. TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Roll Call's story on how 2022 House takeover lists should come with big asterisks was the big winner. CONFIRMED: From CBS' Sara Cook: "Breaking overnight: @POTUS Biden has accepted @SpeakerPelosi's invitation to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28…" Biden's first formal address to Congress will be quite different than in years past amid the pandemic. As a Capitol official told my Playbook colleagues, the lawmakers who get seated on the House floor and in the galleries will be limited and they won't not be allowed to bring guests. Timing: The speech will come one day before the first 100 days mark of Biden in office and one day after the House GOP retreat in Orlando concludes. A PROGRESSIVE BET ON A PURPLE SEAT: Democrat Brittany Ramos Debarros, who's running for Congress in New York City's only GOP district, is a whole lot more liberal than the last member of her party to hold -- and lose -- that seat, Rep. Max Rose. And she says that's the point. Ramos Debarros, an Afro-Latina combat vet , knocked on doors for Rose last cycle and she argues that Democrats need an unapologetic progressive to unseat freshman GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis next November. "I would say it's because he was a moderate Democrat that he can't hold this district," the candidate said in an interview with Sarah. "In his very transparent effort to be all things to all people, he alienated a lot of that progressive base." Her campaign, which launched six weeks ago, has so far raised $128,000. Related: Brittany Ramos DeBarros, veteran and activist, is running for Congress, by Teen Vogue's Angelica Crisostomo: https://bit.ly/3mLmpkH CASH DASH: NRSC raises $8.3M in March to cap $23M quarter, per numbers that were first shared with our James Arkin: https://politi.co/3mNT9cX | NRSC's hands-off approach to primaries will backfire, by National Journal's Josh Kraushaar: https://bit.ly/3g7l1aC CONCRETE ANSWERS: With Congress back this week, all eyes are on Biden's infrastructure plan -- and all the ways its policies, pay-fors and price tag could change before an actual vote. Dem leaders in the House and Senate have been preparing extensively behind the scenes for the various options, including ahead of a Tuesday meeting with Pelosi and committee chairs. But many of the final decisions might depend on the party's most fickle members — Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) put it this way: "Number one: do we really want an infrastructure plan in Congress to pass, a bipartisan one? Two: do we want to pay for it? Do we want to add to the debt?...And number three: What obviously classifies as infrastructure?" The story from Sarah and Marianne: https://politi.co/3shqLRu SHOT: Biden insists he's willing to negotiate with Republicans on infrastructure, per WaPo's Seung Min Kim and Tony Romm: https://wapo.st/2OMOv2v … CHASER: Bipartisanship on infrastructure is possible unless it's 'My way or the highway,' GOP Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) wrote in a Morning Consult Op-Ed: https://bit.ly/3a7ZcEj As Bloomberg's Steven Dennis' notes: "One thing we haven't seen yet this go around: Republicans - any of them - making a specific proposal on infrastructure including how to pay for it." Related: Senate GOP nearing decision on whether to embrace earmarks, with momentum building, by Bloomberg's Erik Wasson: https://bloom.bg/3sfr8MF | | | | 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. | | | | | FILIBUSTER FRENZY AVERTED: Democrats are poised to amend their anti-hate crimes legislation, and Republicans are backing off their first filibuster opportunity of Biden's presidency. Some in the GOP said the bill from Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) was unnecessary or a government overreach, but McConnell and other Republicans seem open to moving ahead on the bill if they can amend it. Schumer, for his part, said Democrats would be open to "germane" amendments like a piece of bipartisan legislation from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) beefing up state and local hate crime reporting. "As a proud husband of an Asian American woman, I think this discrimination against Asian Americans is a real problem," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. "I'm hoping we will work out an agreement to get on the bill in a normal way, have some amendments and move to final passage." Schumer told Senate Democrats in Wednesday's caucus meeting he wanted to reach an agreement on amendments and pass the bill by the end of the week, according to a senior Democratic aide who'd been in the meeting. More here from Nick: https://politi.co/3ddd2H9 SPEAKING OF: 'Breyer Retire' campaign looms over Dems' tenuous majority, per Burgess, Marianne, and Laura Barrón-López: https://politi.co/3tlFJY4 FACETIME WITH BIDEN: The Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) raved to reporters that the group's first meeting with Biden and Harris yesterday was "amazing" and that it is "the first of many meetings to come," after discussing a wide-variety of issues like infrastructure and reparations. Beatty announced the CBC would launch a "Vaccine Day of Action" to boost vaccinations in communities of color. "Hesitancy is not the number one issue in the Black community," Beatty added, citing issues like education and access as larger concerns. Lots of people remembered the Tuskegee study and other infamous incidents, "but guess what? All of us here are vaccinated," she said of the CBC members. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said they'd brought up a proposal to provide tax credits for grocery stores to establish themselves in underserved communities, in the same way credits are provided for housing. Related: Black lawmakers press Biden to deliver on his promises, by WaPo's Cleve Wootson Jr. and Tyler Pager: https://wapo.st/3mLoixM SCATHING: "The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which 'Congress itself is the target.' But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agency's internal investigator," NYT's Luke Broadwater scoops. More here: https://nyti.ms/2QnKphu Pelosi on Jan. 6: 'They would have had a battle on their hands' if the mob had caught her, the Speaker told USAToday's Susan Page and Ledyard King: https://bit.ly/329PFbo (Nugget: the Speaker calls herself a "street fighter.") NO MIDDLE SPLIT: Biden's plans to start withdrawing U.S. troops out of Afghanistan next month, with every service member home by Sept. 11, will end the longest war in the nation's history. While the move received praise from progressives and derision from GOP hawks, the split wasn't so straight forward. As CNN's Jeremy Herb put it: "Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham [are] on one side, with Jeanne Shaheen. Elizabeth Warren and Tim Kaine are on the other ... with Ted Cruz. How Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan makes strange bedfellows after a 20-year war." More here from Andrew and Lara Seligman: https://politi.co/3uPfhqo | And here's Herb's story: Biden's plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan splits Congress: https://cnn.it/3dc8j8O Related: Will Afghanistan become a terrorism safe haven once again? by NYT's Julian Barnes and Eric Schmitt: https://nyti.ms/3siHLXR QUICK CLICKS: All the times John Boehner cried, by Roll Call's Lindsey Gilbert: https://bit.ly/3g39ZTY | Here is how Sen. Ted Cruz reacted after receiving a signed copy Boehner's new book: https://bit.ly/3tuBsC1 | Senate Democrats: Let's do lunch, just without food, reports Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus: https://bit.ly/3e1SyAA | | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | TRANSITIONS Nicole Mata has joined Rep. Ro Khanna's office as Scheduler. She was formerly with the Beto for America Campaign as the National Scheduling Deputy Director and Research Coordinator and the Warren Presidential campaign as her National Surrogates Scheduling Coordinator. Doug Campbell, a longtime House Foreign Affairs staffer, has been named Managing Director at Blue Star Strategies, an international strategic consulting, public affairs, and government relations firm. Doug served 12 years on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, most recently as deputy staff director. Jason Tuber has been promoted to chief of staff for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who also added Carlos Barrezueta as senior adviser for Latino affairs. Barrezueta most recently was dean for the social sciences, business and history division at Union County College. Austin Vitale is now correspondence manager for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). He previously was digital press assistant/legislative correspondent for Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour debate and 12 p.m. for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10:30 a.m.. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m.: House GOP Leadership will hold a press conference. 10 a.m.: The House Judiciary Committee will mark up a reparations bill…The Oversight Committee will mark up a D.C. statehood bill. 10:30 a.m.: Dem Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Vice Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) will also hold a press conference. 12 p.m.: Speaker Pelosi holds ceremonial swearing-in for Rep.-elect Julia Letlow (R-La.). 1 p.m.: The Natural Resources Committee has a hearing on Puerto Rico statehood, featuring Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi. 2:30 p.m.: Congress' Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a remote hearing titled "Vaccinations and the Economic Recovery," featuring a panel of experts. TRIVIA TUESDAY'S WINNER: Wally McKenzie was the first person to correctly guess that Massachusetts and Maine celebrate the third Monday in April as Patriots Day, treating it as a public holiday. (Wisconsin also observes it in schools.) TODAY'S QUESTION: From Wally: Who was the physician who learned of the British planning to attack Lexiington and had lanterns displayed in the Old North Church? This physician later became a general in the army and died a few months later at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The lanterns were made famous by Longfellow's poem. 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: As Washington turns its focus to fixing America's outdated infrastructure, freight rail is a model industry that carries its own weight. We've got what it takes to help Congress meet three key priorities for today and tomorrow. The first: supporting the economy. Even during the height of the pandemic, freight rail kept goods moving 24/7 while offering customers competitive rates. Second: modernizing infrastructure. Freight railroads are already paving the way in this area, creating the safest era in rail history thanks to an annual $25 billion investment. Third: protecting our environment. If one-tenth of the freight shipped by the largest trucks were moved by rail instead, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million tons annually. See how freight rail can help America rebound, rebuild and reimagine our future. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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