| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | | With Nicholas Wu, Marianne LeVine, and Sarah Ferris. GOP UN-CHENED: The vote to oust Rep. Liz Cheney is all but a foregone conclusion; we already know she is a goner. But there are quite a few unknowns to keep an eye on: - Will Cheney (R-Wyo.), or another member, call for a recorded vote or allow it to pass by voice vote? One member estimated to your Huddle host that, if votes are counted, as much as 90 percent of the conference would vote her out – a landslide loss. They also estimated that a majority of the impeachment Republicans, apart from Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), will vote to remove Cheney from office. Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), one Republican who voted to impeach Trump, is on the record as supporting Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to replace Cheney. -Will members be allowed to speak? We expect it will be a quick meeting, with some House Republicans estimating it could wrap in an hour and a half (the last vote to oust Cheney took four hours). Some conservatives are not happy that Stefanik is being installed with the blessing of GOP leaders and they want to push for a delay in the process of naming Cheney's successor. So some may be chomping at the bit to air their frustrations. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) sent all his House colleagues a memo, first reported by your Huddle host, which raised opposition to Stefanik, though he is ready for Cheney to go too. He is the first member to be so public with his pushback, but it echoes the sentiment felt by other members of the House Freedom Caucus. -When will the vote for Stefanik be scheduled? Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is expected to announce the schedule after the Cheney vote today in conference. The tentative schedule we've heard is a candidate forum on Thursday, where candidates (just Stefanik right now) can make presentations, and then a vote on Friday. But we are hearing chatter it could also be next week. Here's the game plan for today: At 9 a.m., the conference meeting begins. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is expected to introduce a resolution to recall Cheney from leadership. Your Huddle host caught up with Foxx yesterday. She said: "I don't ever talk about Conference Room meetings, ever, ever -- before or after." McCarthy is then expected to make the resolution privileged, which would mean only a simple majority of members -- so around 107 of 212 GOP members -- would be needed to remove Cheney from the No. 3 post. Finally, the vote is cast, the decision is made. Then McCarthy is expected to announce what happens next with filling the leadership spot. Related: A defiant Cheney tears into Trump, GOP: 'We must speak the truth', by yours truly and Melanie: https://politi.co/3y7QHmP | Liz Cheney embraces her downfall, offering herself as a cautionary tale, by NYT's Catie Edmondson: https://nyti.ms/3vZr6dZ | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | THE IMPEACHMENT TEAM: In the House and Senate, there are 17 Republicans who supported impeaching Trump this year over Jan. 6. And most are trying to handle it the complete opposite way Cheney is: Keeping their head down and moving on. Instead, they'd rather focus on what Biden and Democrats are doing. "I tend to focus on policy, not personalities. And I made my [impeachment] decision very clear by giving a long floor speech explaining it. And it's time to move on to the challenges we're facing," said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the only Senate Republican elected from a state that Trump lost in 2020. "Let's move on." And lawmakers recognize that optics matter. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who voted to convict, said his House colleagues' Wednesday vote on Cheney is "going to be perceived as President Trump dictating what the House does." And for some House Republicans who voted to impeach, they feel Cheney's remarks are hurting them more than helping them. One House GOP lawmaker who voted to certify the election results told me: "This whole discussion is certainly hurting the impeachment people, because they want to move forward and talk about their agenda for 2022." This Republican added. "If anything, Liz is hurting the impeachment folks the most." Burgess and Melanie with the story: https://politi.co/3blVzv0 Meanwhile, here are some Kin-ZINGERS on GOP leaders and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Speaking of ... The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger reports that four women say Gaetz's wingman pressured them to have sex: https://bit.ly/3y63wy3.) TOP-ED: In today's Republican Party, there is no greater offense than honesty,' former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) wrote in WaPo: https://wapo.st/3vZXSMe ON TAP: President Joe Biden will meet with top congressional leaders at 11 a.m. to discuss Democrats' infrastructure plan. Biden has great working relationships with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and he has a long working relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). So what we will really be curious to see is how Biden and McCarthy play together, which will come right after the Cheney-rama. They also haven't met since Jan. 6. Also: The Senate Commerce Committee will begin its consideration of the bipartisan Schumer-Young Endless Frontier Act, which aims to counter China's influence in the technology sector. Related: Once deal makers, Biden and McConnell are miles apart, by NYT's Carl Hulse: https://nyti.ms/3y0Cc4t SUPP-DATE: House Democratic leaders will brief the caucus Wednesday morning on the status of a massive, post-Jan. 6 funding bill for Capitol security. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will lead the briefing, alongside Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who oversees funding for the legislative branch. Democrats will likely hear big-picture details of the roughly $2 billion package – which Pelosi shared with her leadership team on Tuesday night – but text is not expected on Wednesday, people familiar with the plans tell Sarah. Democrats hope to bring the funding bill to the floor next week. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing over plans for a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission between the two parties' appointed negotiators, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Katko. McCarthy sent the latest response to Pelosi on Tuesday night – which she received in the middle of her leadership meeting – but no final deal was reached, according to multiple sources. | | A message from Freight Rail Works: Harnessing cutting-edge technology and predictive analytics, freight railroads are rising to the challenges of the 21st century. Today's freight rail network is safe, sustainable and always evolving to meet the nation's changing needs today – and tomorrow. Railroads are ready for whatever comes next. Learn how. | | | HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this May 12, where sometimes they don't even hear your question before rejecting you. TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Business Insider's story on Kyrsten Sinema's side hustle as a California winery intern was the big winner. FIRST IN HUDDLE : In what they call a crucial step for a community that has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, Democrats in both chambers are introducing legislation to expand health care to immigrants. Immigrants, including children, currently have to wait five years before they can enroll in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Health Equity and Access under Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Families Act would lift the waiting period and also allow undocumented immigrants to buy health insurance through the ACA marketplace, among other provisions. The bill's sponsors say the large proportion of immigrants on the front lines of the pandemic left them more vulnerable to Covid and underscored the need to increase health care eligibility for immigrant populations. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said in a statement to Nick that many immigrant communities had been "unfairly denied access to health coverage" for "far too long." And Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the legislation was an "urgent, necessary, and just first step to eliminating senseless barriers to health care, making our communities healthier, and ensuring all immigrants get the care they need — during a pandemic and always." Read the bill text here: https://bit.ly/3o7lTy2 UNEMPLOYMENT BOOST IN JEOPARDY: Senate Democrats are increasingly skeptical of extending the added $300 unemployment benefit after the weaker-than-expected jobs report. Schumer said at a Tuesday press conference there was "overwhelming support" among Democrats to keep providing the additional money to existing unemployment insurance. But not every member of his caucus is on board. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who had previously expressed hesitation over the benefit, said that if the economy continued to improve and vaccinations increased, "I'll never vote for another extension." Senate Republicans are not expected to support another extension. So without Manchin's vote, Democrats wouldn't be able to pass the added benefit through reconciliation. There's also some hesitation among moderates in the House. When asked whether House Democrats had the votes to extend benefits, one moderate Democratic lawmaker responded: "God, I hope not." The full story from Nick and Marianne: https://politi.co/3vYzJFF | | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON TRANSGENDER POLITICIANS: More transgender people got elected to office at all levels across the country in 2020, in both blue and red states – and that number is likely to continue to grow. During the last year, constituents across America elected six transgender candidates at the state level as transgender rights gain more attention across the country. Join POLITICO Nightly: Daytime Edition for a conversation featuring transgender elected officials as they discuss their experiences running for and serving in public office. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | WAITING ON SOME ANSWERS: House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is expected to raise some knowledge gaps about Jan. 6 in her opening remarks during a hearing on the attack today. Per an excerpt: "DOD's explanations of its own actions have failed to address critical questions. Why did military leaders place unusual restrictions on commanders on the ground? [Former acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller] says that he first learned that the mob had entered the Capitol between 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. So why did the Defense Department wait until after 5:00 p.m. before sending the National Guard to the Capitol? My colleagues Betsy Woodruff Swan and Daniel Lippman got a hold of Miller and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen's prepared testimony, where they plan to defend their actions on Jan. 6. Miller, in particular, will praise the quick and effective work done by the National Guard and Army leadership and say critics don't understand how difficult it is to deploy forces in a city like Washington; he will testify concerns and claims in the media that a military coup was possible "factored into my decisions regarding the appropriate and limited use of our Armed Forces to support civilian law enforcement during the Electoral College certification"; he plans to stand by his comments that Trump had encouraged the protesters on Jan. 6 and that Trump didn't interfere with Defense Department efforts on that day. More here: https://politi.co/3vXeUdM Related: Pentagon chief feared 'coup' accusations if he deployed troops to Capitol riot, by Luke Broadwater and Katie Benner: https://nyti.ms/3uKy7iD DRAMA RAMA: If you think the reverberations of Jan. 6 are gone, think again. Your Huddle host first reported yesterday that a fight erupted on the House floor yesterday over the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act, a bill that aims to close "a loophole for drugs that blocks pharmaceutical competition and prevents innovative treatments for opioid use disorder from coming to market." Let me explain: It is a bill led in part by Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) , but the issue is Dean told Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) that he couldn't be a co-lead of the bill after he voted against certifying Pennsylvania's Electoral College following the deadly Capitol attack. She instead said he could be one of the co-sponsors. Well, that didn't go over well with Buddy, who had been a co-lead the previous Congress. Quickly, Republicans who initially planned to vote in favor of the bill learned that he had been knocked off and opted to vote against the bill being passed under suspension yesterday in protest. It needed two-thirds of the House to support it to pass under suspension but it failed with 250 votes. This sparked a big fight on the floor with leaders like McCarthy and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) yelling at one another. Hoyer blasted McCarthy for allowing his rank-and-file Republicans to oppose the bill. McCarthy shot back: "I'm not going to screw over my members." Hoyer says he plans to bring the bill for a floor vote next week, where it is likely to pass. Here is part of Dean's statement … Here is Carter's statement … and here is Hoyer's statement on the matter. Related: "Grievance, rebellion and burnt bridges: Tracing Josh Hawley's path to the insurrection," by WaPo's Michael Kranish: https://wapo.st/3ffeybx THE REOPENING DILEMMA: The Capitol physician yesterday formally stated that lawmakers no longer need to wear masks while speaking at the mics on the House floor. But the rest of the reopening guidance from the Capitol physician's office will be a lot trickier. Democratic chiefs got a taste of the complexity on their weekly call Tuesday, where legal reps from the House employment office answered some questions on vaccines, in-person staffing and more. This all comes in the wake of this week's reopening guidance from D.C., with most business restrictions -- minus masks -- loosening next month. We're told more guidance from the attending physician's office is expected in the coming weeks. SENATE RULES COMMITTEE DEADLOCKS ON S1: The Senate Rules Committee deadlocked on Democrats' signature elections and ethics reform bill Tuesday evening, after more than eight hours of debate. The two Senate leaders, Schumer and McConnell, delivered dueling opening remarks, each accusing the other's party of weaponizing voting laws in the name of raw political power. Schumer said in his testimony that GOP voting laws in states like Georgia and Florida "carry the stench of oppression" by restricting access to the ballot. McConnell retorted that Democrats' rationale behind S.1. has changed since they first introduced the bill. "Our democracy is not in crisis, and we're not going to let one party take over our democracy under the false pretense of saving it," he said. McConnell, in a rare committee appearance, stayed at the markup for most of the day and offered three amendments, all of which failed in tied votes. While Republicans had more than 100 amendments ready to go, the vast majority went nowhere. And Senate Rules Committee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) saw her amendment to address concerns from state election officials also fail to move forward. Despite the tied final vote in Tuesday's markup, Schumer is expected to discharge the bill and bring it to the floor (though when exactly that happens is unclear.) Senate Democrats will hold an internal caucus meeting on the bill Thursday. More from Marianne and Zach Montellaro: https://politi.co/3eD8s5H A FAREWELL: Former Rep. Lester Wolff (D-N.Y.), who served eight terms in the House from 1965-1980, died yesterday. A centenarian, he was the oldest living U.S. Congressman (both current and former), born on January 4, 1919. In a speech marking his 100th birthday in 2019, he attributed his longevity to God, good genes and good habits per an AARP write-up here: https://bit.ly/3bkhkuZ QUICK CLICKS: Rubio stands with Colombia president, but other senators not so sure, by Latino Rebel's Pablo Manríquez: https://bit.ly/3fr4dd1 | Jason Crow has moved to Centennial from Aurora, potentially affecting the 2022 election amid redistricting, by the Colorado Sun's Jesse Paul: https://bit.ly/3uGMSmC MORE HERE: After criticism, Rep. Steel says apology for working with California Democrat was a joke, L.A. Times' Sarah Wire reports: https://lat.ms/2Q8T1Ja | Rental to Rep. Kevin McCarthy violated condo bylaws, WaPo's Glenn Kessler reports: https://wapo.st/3hkL8f8 | | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | TRANSITIONS Alexa Vance is now comms director for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.). She previously was a Department of Justice spokesperson, and is a John Ratcliffe alum. Joby Young, former Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, is teaming up with David Lasseter, an alum of the Justice and Defense departments, in their recently launched firm, Horizons Global Solutions. Young also previously served as Chief of Staff for Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), a senior member on the House Agriculture and Armed Services Committees. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House meets at noon for legislative business. The Senate meets at 10 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m.: The GOP conference will meet to consider whether Cheney stays on as conference chair. 9:30 a.m.: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies before the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Biden's 2021 trade policy agenda. 10 a.m.: The Senate Commerce Committee will mark up 10 bills — including the Endless Frontier Act. 10 a.m.: The House Oversight Committee has its hearing on the Capitol insurrection. 10 a.m.: The House Foreign Affairs Committee will have a hearing on a "whole-of-society" approach to climate change with John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate, testifying. 10 a.m.: Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on domestic violent extremism in America. 11 a.m.: Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are slated to meet with the Big Four congressional leaders about infrastructure. 11:30 a.m.: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Democratic Caucus Chair, and his deputy, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), will hold their weekly news conference. 12 p.m.: The House Administration Committee virtual hearing on the Architect of the Capitol's emergency preparedness before the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. 1 p.m.: Pelosi and House Transportation Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) are expected to hold a news conference about infrastructure. TRIVIA TUESDAY'S WINNER: Bruce Mehlman was the first person to correctly guess that James Monroe has a capital named after him. The capital of Liberia, Monrovia, was named after Monroe after he worked with the American Colonization Society to help create a state where freed slaves could live. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Bruce: Who were the 5 Presidents with the best stock market (DJIA) returns over their first 100 days? 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: The terabytes of data collected across the freight rail network each day are key to unlocking freight rail's full potential. Using new technology, like continuous rail inspection and advanced data algorithms, railroads are uncovering insights to optimize nearly every aspect of the 140,000-mile network. The result? A 21st-century transportation solution that delivers a safer, greener, more prosperous future for America. Where trains go, big things follow. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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