| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | | With Nicholas Wu and Andrew Desiderio. THE RIPPLE EFFECT: Tremors from the Jan. 6 attack and subsequent impeachment vote continue to reverberate in the Republican party, showing how a strong appetite for Donald Trump means little patience for vocal anti-Trumpers. And while elections will be the greatest indicator of how that tug-of-war plays out (more on this front below), for the time being, it's still up in the air on whether elected Republicans will punish one of their own. Chatter is growing as to whether Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) will face another campaign to oust her from leadership, as she remains outspoken in her criticism of the former president and the direction of the party at large. No House Republican has launched another campaign to remove her, but last week's GOP retreat triggered a new wave of party anger towards Cheney after she repeatedly made headlines about the Jan. 6 aftermath. Per one House GOP member: "There's a sizzle among R members down in Florida about her days being numbered and leadership seems to be not preparing to come to her defense." The member noted the past criticism, adding: "Just seems to be a lot louder now." Multiple Republicans say if a vote arises, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) won't defend his deputy like he did before, once again broaching the prospect of her political future. One visual sign of their split: Notice how McCarthy and Cheney no longer appear on the stage together? And now, over the weekend, GOP Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the head of the Republican Study Committee who hasn't ruled out a bid for Conference chair, went public with their own criticisms of Cheney in interviews with Axios. The counter argument: "If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit," Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who also voted to impeach Trump, told The Hill over the weekend. "Liz isn't going to lie to people." Another point: It's also is important for the party to weigh whether they want to go through the motions of ousting Cheney as conference chair and risk alienating swing voters who might not be Trump die-hards. Cheney is not the only one facing backlash from fellow conservatives. Over the weekend, Sen. Mitt Romney only narrowly avoided a motion by Utah Republicans to censure him over his votes to impeach Trump in two separate impeachment trials, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Romney, however, was booed in what was a clear public display of disapproval. Another test: The recent all-party primary special election for Texas 6th came to a head over the weekend with Susan Wright -- the widow of the late congressman Rep. Ron Wright -- and fellow Republican Jake Ellzey taking the two top slots. Both Wright and Ellzey, who have praised the former president, will face off in a yet-to-be-scheduled runoff. The special election was framed as a test as to whether there was room for candidates running on anti-Trump platforms after Jan. 6 as well as a test of Trump's influence in the GOP after he endorsed Wright. Among the candidates who did not make the runoff? Michael Wood, who ran as an anti-Trump Republican with the support of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who polled at around 3 percent of the vote. Our Ally Mutnick has more details on the race and what its results mean: https://politi.co/3eLTPw1 Related: Susan Collins defends Romney, Cheney: 'We are not a party that is led by just one person,' by our Myah Ward: https://politi.co/3ujn1RG | For Republicans, fealty to Trump's election falsehood becomes defining loyalty test, by WaPo's Ashley Parker and Marianna Sotomayor: https://wapo.st/2So029V | | | | 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. | | | | | FIRST IN HUDDLE: Speaking of Jan. 6...GOP members on the House Administration Committee want their panel to "immediately" begin conducting oversight hearings over the three-person Capitol Police Board amid concerns of how the top Capitol security figures responded to the deadly insurrection, Nick reports. "Its structure is flawed, leading to slow reactions to crises and politically driven decision-making," said ranking member Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), and Reps. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) in a letter to Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). The trio of Republicans fault the board's structure and membership with crippling "its rapid response capabilities and decision-making abilities" on Jan. 6. It has been 76 years since the Capitol Police Board's members last all appeared together before a congressional committee, the members wrote. They also note that the Architect of the Capitol, one of the board's members along with the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms, "was left out of key security decisions" according to emails reviewed by the committee. The House Administration Committee has not yet scheduled any hearings on the Capitol Police Board, which is tasked with overseeing nearly every security decision made in the building. The Capitol Police Inspector General, however, is likely to come before their committee again in the next several weeks to testify on his security reports. Lofgren said Friday the latest report had, as with previous reports, "identified troubling deficiencies," including the "Department's threat assessment and counter-surveillance operations." Read the full letter here: https://politi.co/339wsHi ON TAP: The House Democratic Caucus is meeting today at 2 p.m. with two big names joining them: Susan Rice and Brian Deese, who will discuss the American Families Plan with members. Related: Biden's expansive infrastructure plan hits close to home for McConnell, by NYT's Campbell Robertson and Nick Fandos: https://nyti.ms/3uqiKLW | | A message from College of American Pathologists: Our health care system relies on pathologists to guide and inform patients' care decisions. Pathologists decode illnesses and ensure laboratory quality in your community. Learn more about the CAP's public policy agenda and key issues affecting pathology. Learn more. | | | HAPPY MONDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill on this May 3, where your Huddle host learned Bill Barr is also a Shakira fan. FRIDAY's MOST CLICKED: The National Journal's story on how Biden's tax-and-spend agenda will alienate his party's affluent voters was the winner. JIGSAW PUZZLE: Senate Democrats said they'd push House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) ethics and voting reform bill...Now they just need to figure out how… and so far, it looks like they're trying to squeeze a cow through a doggy door. As Burgess and Marianne report: "Democrats are preparing to kick off a sensitive internal debate over the issue this month as the Senate Rules Committee takes up the sprawling House package. But no Republicans support it, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) hasn't signed on and at least a half-dozen Senate Democrats have issues with the bill, according to senators and aides. That's not to mention the constraints of the filibuster in a 50-50 Senate." No pressure -- not only is it a key promise the party has made but it could also potentially mean the future Democratic majorities, particularly if redistricting hurts frontline Democrats. The issue consumed much of Democrats' last in-person lunch before they broke for recess, several senators said, with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) urging those in his caucus who are pushing for changes to submit their revisions ASAP to Senate Rules Chairman Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and chief sponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). While 49 of the 50 Senate Dems have signed on as co-sponsors, some still have reservations, my colleagues report -- including Manchin, who is pushing his party to focus on the standalone voting rights bill, named after the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.). If they can't get all Senate Dems on board, let alone any Republicans, this could build on Democrats' push to gut the filibuster. Burgess and Marianne have the details: https://politi.co/3gXRPUe STAN AGAINST IRAN: Iran has always been a hot-button issue -- but President Joe Biden faces headwinds not just from Republicans but also from members of his own party as he considers re-entering a "longer, stronger" Iran nuclear deal. Republicans are looking to put up roadblocks to make it harder for Biden to rejoin the deal, particularly without a more comprehensive pact that addresses Iran's support for terrorism and other malign actions. While they are still discussing strategies, it looks like they are leaning towards using legislative tools tied to the sanctions that Trump put in place. These efforts come as Biden administration officials are engaged in indirect talks with the Iranians in Vienna. Republicans aren't the only challenge. "Democrats want the president to resist the urge to seek a broader set of concessions from Tehran, saying it will sink U.S. chances of re-entering the agreement. But fellow Democrats are also warning of an increasingly rocky path back to full Iranian compliance with the terms of the 2015 deal, particularly after recently leaked audio revealed Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, lamenting the influence of the country's Revolutionary Guard Corps in his diplomatic efforts with the West," Andrew reports. "I'm all for a longer, stronger deal with Iran, but that only happens after we get back into the JCPOA," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a brief interview, using the abbreviation for the 2015 deal that is officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "If we were to insist that we do a comprehensive deal to include their support for terrorist groups, their human-rights record, their ballistic missile programs — it would be a death knell to the JCPOA." What is also complicating the picture? Zarif's leaked audio not only made references to John Kerry, Biden's climate adviser and a former Secretary of State, but also signaled that moderate forces in Iran are taking a back seat to more extremist hard-liners who are hesitant to engage with the U.S. and other western nations. Andrew has the story: https://politi.co/3eakuDB | | | | JOIN TUESDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON SMALL BUSINESSES AFTER COVID-19: About one in six small businesses in the U.S. closed their doors since the pandemic began. The ones that remained open are getting by with fewer employees after laying off workers or a hiring freeze. What is ahead for small businesses in 2021 as they try to weather the ongoing economic uncertainty? And how does President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package intend to support small-business owners? Join POLITICO for a virtual conversation with White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein and Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, on what small businesses need to survive and thrive beyond the Covid economic crisis. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PPP = PROGRESSIVE PRAISE FOR PADILLA: Sen. Alex Padilla has been looking to make his mark in Congress as he finishes out the rest of Kamala Harris' Senate term and so far, he has swatted back questions about whether he is progressive enough, L.A. Times' Jennifer Haberkorn reports. "He impressed everyone," said Amar Shergill, chairman of the California Democratic Party's Progressive Caucus, which in 2018 helped power progressive Kevin de Leon's failed primary challenge against Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). "He is doing the work … to show publicly that he is in support of ideas that California progressives hold dear but are controversial elsewhere." But not everyone seems fully sold: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the only one of the 42 California House Democrats that did not endorse Padilla, is not fully ruling out a primary challenge in 2022 -- though he didn't seem too gung-ho about running either. "I'm happy where I am. I mean, I haven't ruled anything out in my future..." he said. More here from Jennifer: https://lat.ms/2QH60lR Campaign Related: Democrats face growing list of swing-district retirements, dimming midterm prospects, by WaPo's Michael Scherer: https://wapo.st/3b0aISB | New York faces likely congressional redistricting fight after latest U.S. Census, by WSJ's Jimmy Vielkind: https://on.wsj.com/2QGi9aF SCOOP, THERE IT IS: The Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday confirmed reporting by POLITICO about the increasing frequency of directed-energy attacks on U.S. personnel around the world. In a statement, Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chair Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) vowed to "identify those responsible" for the suspected attacks and "hold them accountable." CIA Director William Burns has placed a "renewed focus" on the suspected attacks, Warner and Rubio said. Our Andrew, Lara Seligman, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Erin Banco first reported last month that the Pentagon had opened an investigation into the issue and that top officials told lawmakers less than two weeks ago that American personnel are increasingly vulnerable to directed-energy attacks. POLITICO also first reported about a suspected incident against U.S. officials in Miami and another against a National Security Council official in Alexandria, Va. CNN first reported one that occurred on the Ellipse in Washington. The latest from Lara: https://politi.co/3nHv8op AND THE AWARD GOES TO..: The Georgetown Lugar Center is out with its bipartisan rankings of last Congress and the winner's in both chambers are… drum roll please... previous winners: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who "extended her unprecedented run as the most bipartisan Senator," and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) who again finished first among his House colleagues. General findings, per the report: "In the Senate, both Republican and Democratic Senators scored above the historical average, with Republican Senators holding a higher cumulative score than their Democratic counterparts. In the House, however, Democrats outscored Republicans, with both parties scoring only slightly above the historical norm." The bottomline: "The Bipartisan Index scores show that despite the embittered partisan climate, members still sought out bipartisan partnerships in the run-up to the 2020 election — usually below the radar of the national news cycle," Lugar Center Policy Director Dan Diller said in a statement. Among those at the bottom of list? Two Republicans who voted against Trump during the last House impeachment: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Cheney. Read the findings here: https://politi.co/3vBkh1X Related: Biden is talking to Republicans, but for only so long, our Anita Kumar reports: https://politi.co/3xJGhtC | | | |   | | | ICYMI: - Republican Sean Parnell expected to run for Senate in Pennsylvania, by our James Arkin: https://politi.co/3e8jpfr -'There's a lot of crazy going on': Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood blows up key GOP race, our Marc Caputo reports: https://politi.co/3xHXkvZ -In new book, Elizabeth Warren calls Mike Bloomberg's presidential run 'completely wrong,' by HuffPost's Kevin Robillard: https://bit.ly/3xDUYye … Good excerpt: "I wondered whether anyone said to Bernie when he asked for their support, 'Gore lost, so how can you win?' I wondered whether anyone said to Biden, 'Kerry lost, so America just isn't ready for a man to be president.'" TRANSITIONS Charli Huddleston is now the comms director for Eric Schmitt's U.S. Senate campaign. Most recently, she did comms for Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). She also recently was the associate director of media affairs for Trump 2020 and is an House Oversight Committee alum. Ellie Turner is now press secretary for Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.). She previously served as North Carolina regional press secretary on the Biden-Harris campaign and is a Hamilton Place Strategies and former Sen. Claire McCaskill alum. Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Cissy Jackson are joining Arent Fox's government relations and government enforcement and white collar groups as counsel. Jackson previously was counsel and national security adviser for Jones. Parker Poling will lead Rep. Ashley Hinson's (R-Iowa) "Kitchen Cabinet" in D.C. She previously was executive director of the NRCC. Kaitlin Fahey, Paul Kohnstamm and Leah Israel, all longtime aides to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), are launching Magnify Strategies and will be working with Duckworth's reelect and "other statewide political campaigns, national political coalitions and organizations, trade associations and companies with Illinois ties." Fahey previously was chief of staff for Duckworth, Kohnstamm was administrative director, and Israel was a senior adviser and longtime chief fundraiser. Steven Smith is now a senior director at the Herald Group. He previously was national press secretary for the House Republican Conference. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate will convene at 12:45 p.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL 9:50 a.m.: VP Kamala Harris will ceremonially swear in Bill Nelson as NASA administrator. 1:30 p.m.: Harris will also swear in Samantha Power as USAID administrator. TRIVIA FRIDAY'S WINNER: Jason Morganti was the first person to correctly guess that Harry Truman was the president who met his wife, Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, in the fifth grade. The two were high school sweethearts, but ultimately did not marry until their mid-thirties. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Jason, in honor of Infrastructure week: When was the gas tax last raised and from what to what price? 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 College of American Pathologists: Throughout America, patient care is powered by pathologists. Every day, even amid the pandemic, pathologists are working behind the scenes to lead laboratories in examining samples to determine the root causes of patients' illnesses. From a fluid or tissue sample to the moment patients receive results, pathologists are there to inform patients' treatment options and guide decisions with their care teams. Our health care system relies on pathologists to inform treatment options. Patients' recovery begins with discovery. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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