| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | | With Sarah Ferris, Burgess Everett and Caitlin Emma. HEADIN' DOWN SOUTH TO THE LAND OF THE...BORDER: For months, GOP lawmakers have hounded Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the U.S. Mexico border amid a rise in migrant crossings, counting the days she has failed to pay a visit. Yesterday, my colleague Daniel Lippman scooped that the VP plans to visit this Friday, prompting the House Republicans to take a victory lap. "Kamala caves," the House Judiciary GOP twitter account tweeted, shortly after the news broke. Many Republicans are spinning the news not as a welcomed trip but as proof that their repeated press conferences bashing Harris, who Biden tasked with addressing the border issue, did their job. "91 days later…" tweeted Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.). "If it takes you 91 days to respond to a crisis - you are not a leader," echoed Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) on Twitter. "I think it's incredibly delayed. It should have happened months ago," freshman Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) told me. In the vying messaging battles over the border, Republicans say this is proof that they've won. While the Biden administration has avoided describing the surge in crossings as a "crisis" at the border, Republicans have attempted to cast blame on President Joe Biden for making changes to Trump's hardline border policies. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), Chief Deputy Minority Whip, said the announcement is "absolutely" a sign Republicans won on messaging. "I haven't spoken with the vice president about this, but it certainly appears that the pressure that Republicans put on her to go do her job paid off." But Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), GOP Conference Vice-Chair, offered genuine praise for Harris upon hearing the news. "I just hope that this is a sign that the Biden administration is going to now take this seriously." When I mentioned the "91 days" GOP talking point, Hudson replied: "So all of that's politics. That's all fun and games, but the fact that they're really going, that's a great sign for the country." Then there were those who predicted the trip will be too staged , in which Harris doesn't see the full impact of the situation: "I guess she finally opened the map and figured out where the border was. This won't change a damn thing," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told me. "It is the clear definition of a photo-op... She'll talk to all the people that work for her and they'll give her the dog and pony show and she won't actually go talk to ranchers, she won't go talk to people, they're being impacted the border, she won't go talk people who know what's going on with the cartels. Instead, she'll come back out and give some big statement about how we're working to figure out how to work with Guatemala, Mexico. They won't do crap to secure the border." What timing...Harris' trip also comes just days before Donald Trump and a group of House Republicans are expected to travel to the southern border next Wednesday. | | | | "THE WOMEN REOPENING AMERICA" – HAPPENING TODAY: With more than 100 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, a strengthening economy and relaxed Covid restrictions on businesses and public gatherings, America is on a path to fully reopening. What policies and systemic changes can help women recover from the disproportionate impact of the pandemic? Join today for a "Women Rule" conversation with leading women who are playing a pivotal role in determining what normal will look like for business, politics, schools and the workplace. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | SO YOU SAY WE HAVE A DEAL, HUH? It looks like the bipartisan Senate negotiators and the White House have agreed on a framework for an infrastructure package that they plan to brief Biden on today. This is an agreement for traditional infrastructure like roads, bridges, etc. The new topline for the proposal now also shifted from $579 billion to $559 billion, based on repurposing $20 billion in broadband funds, our Sam Mintz reports. Top Democrats are warning that they need their party on board with passing the families and job packages that they have also put forward. "One can't be done without the other," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-N.Y.) said last night. "I think our members across the spectrum realize that." Just because there's a deal, doesn't mean it is a done deal. There are 21 senators on board with the plan -- 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats. They have to get to 60. Keep an eye on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose support of the package is key. Also keep an eye on progressives. If no House Republicans support the bill, House Democrats will have a narrow pathway forward with just a four seat margin. More here from Sam: https://politi.co/362wS3P Related: Bipartisan group of senators to brief Biden on infrastructure 'framework' after potential breakthrough in talks, WaPo's Seung Min Kim: https://wapo.st/3wSgNJK | Infrastructure negotiators agree to framework for package, by WSJ's Kristina Peterson and Andrew Duehren: https://on.wsj.com/3d9GHRh ALSO RELEVANT: Progressives are no longer so pleasantly thrilled with the Biden era, our Laura Barrón-López and Nick report: https://politi.co/3qp1kOY D.C. PHONE HOME: The UFO's have landed… at least in conversations around the Capitol, with lawmakers finally keeping a straight face talking about Unidentified Flying Objects -- or as the government likes to call them, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). There is a long list of top government officials and lawmakers who have called for UFOs to be examined, from former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and President Bill Clinton's former chief of staff John Podesta to former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, as well as some former U.S. presidents like Barack Obama and Clinton. Now, as lawmakers prepare for the first-ever public report, scoffs and eye-rolls have been replaced with legitimate concerns about a national-security threat that has eluded U.S. intelligence agencies. Andrew reports: "There is no evidence to date that points to a sci-fi scenario of aliens from another galaxy visiting Earth. But the recent uptick in mysterious airborne objects — spotted mostly by naval pilots over U.S. military installations as well as at sea — has lawmakers worried that a foreign adversary like Russia or China has developed technology that Western governments can't identify." Some UAPs have been detected to be flying at hypersonic speeds. "There's stuff flying in our airspace and we don't know who it is and it's not ours. So we should know who it is, especially if it's an adversary that's made a technological leap," said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. More here from Andrew: https://politi.co/3vSNNju | | A message from Comcast: We've created a network with one simple purpose – to keep customers connected.
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Learn how the network keeps you connected. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, June 24, where your Huddle host believes it is destiny for Sen. Mitt Romney to meet Sin(ger) Ritt Momney. WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Open Secrets' story about dark money groups battling bipartisan efforts to limit big-tech was the big winner. YELLEN FROM THE ROOFTOPS: Democrats are hurtling toward crunchtime for action on the debt ceiling, but they have no clear plan on what to do. The limit on the government's borrowing authority is suspended until July 31 and after that, the Treasury Department can buy time with certain tactics to avoid missing payments or defaulting on the federal debt. But Secretary Janet Yellen set off alarm bells on Wednesday when she urged Congress to raise or suspend the debt limit within the next month, floating the possibility of a crisis-level situation as early as August when Congress is scheduled to be out of town. Typically the Treasury Department can hold things together for a few weeks for lawmakers to reach a deal, but Yellen said Covid has made it tougher to guess exactly how long she can keep the U.S. from defaulting on its debt. Pick your poison: Democrats are weighing a couple of options to handle the perennial issue, which could potentially throw the economy into a tailspin if Congress fails to act. They could use budget reconciliation to raise the debt ceiling to a higher amount, but that would require lockstep support from Senate moderates, who are already wary of skirting the normal legislative process and political blowback for voting to hike the $28 trillion debt. Or Democrats could find 10 Senate Republicans to suspend the debt limit to a later date through a bipartisan deal, which has been done in recent years. GOP leaders, however, claim they don't have the votes without spending concessions. More here from our Caitlin Emma: https://politi.co/3gS4UxD ANTITRUST UPDATE: Google, Facebook pressure falls short as antitrust measures advance in House committee, by WSJ's John McKinnon: https://on.wsj.com/35RiZ8e … The committee was up all night and will resume the hearing again this a.m. | | | | TUNE IN TO DISPATCH+ ON APPLE PODCASTS : POLITICO Dispatch, our daily podcast that cuts through the news clutter and keeps you up to speed on the most important developments of the moment, is expanding. In collaboration with the new Apple Podcasts Subscription platform, Dispatch+ launches this week! This new podcast gives premium Dispatch+ subscribers exclusive bonus weekly reporting and analysis from POLITICO's newsroom. Don't miss out, subscribe and listen to Dispatch+ on Apple Podcasts. | | | | | TALIBAN EXPANDS: The U.S. intelligence community concluded last week that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is having a more dire effect than previously projected: The Afghanistan government could collapse as soon as six months after the U.S. military withdrawal is complete, the Wall Street Journal scooped yesterday. According to the report: "American intelligence agencies revised their previously more optimistic estimates as the Taliban swept through northern Afghanistan last week, seizing dozens of districts and surrounding major cities. The new assessment of the overall U.S. intelligence community, which hasn't been previously reported, has now aligned more closely with the analysis that had been generated by the U.S. military." More than half of the 3,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan have been withdrawn already ahead of Sept. 11, when the rest are due. To certain war hawks, this news didn't come as a surprise. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who served in the Marine Corps, told me: "This thing is an unmitigated disaster. From the moment they sort of announced 9/11 is the day was a huge propaganda win for the Taliban...I think it's a sober reminder of what happens when you do things just for politically motivated purposes as opposed to geopolitical purposes." Some Democrats I talked to described it as a lose-lose. More American lives were going to be lost if they stayed and now the Taliban is moving to take over the region. "There was very little more we could do," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told me. IOWA BOUND: Nikki Haley, Trump's former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is planning a trip this weekend to Iowa to be a guest of honor at a fundraiser for freshman Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa.). Feenstra increasingly appears to be an "it" member for these potential presidential contenders to tie themselves to -- which some are seeking to do this early. Next month, former Vice President Mike Pence will attend an inaugural family picnic hosted by Feenstra. "I look forward to hosting Ambassador Haley in Iowa this weekend as we work to win back the House majority," Feenstra told me in a statement. Feenstra said during her visit, he plans to bring her around the area and showcase "the farmers and Main Streets of the 4th District that feed and fuel the world." INTERNS TAKE A STAND: A group of House interns (yes, you heard that right) have drafted a letter on official letterhead calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reopen the Capitol, an unusual move from individuals at the bottom of the Hill food chain. "One of the many opportunities we as interns are afforded in a typical semester is the privilege of guiding our districts' constituents on a tour of the U.S. Capitol Building and grounds," they wrote, warning that both parties will miss out if the Capitol remains closed. "We as a nation have faced so much in the last year, but we are approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. The people are ready, and it's time for them to see their U.S. Capitol," they added. While the letter was being circulated yesterday for signatures, your Huddle host reviewed a copy that had three names on it -- all from the office of Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-N.D.). Your Huddle host does not know how many interns have signed on or if it is bipartisan since it was leaked to Beavers. But it certainly has some higher-level GOP staffers scoffing at it. The interns' letter, which is also addressed to GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), comes after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said conversations about re-opening the Capitol will likely be taking place this week and next. "I think we'd like to get that done," he said. CHIP OFF THE OLD MANCHIN: Joe Manchin is getting plenty of attention for his views on infrastructure and voting rights, but he's also undecided on a key Biden nominee. The West Virginia senator said in an interview on Wednesday that he's still studying ATF nominee David Chipman, who earned the opposition of GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Collins's no vote could place Chipman's fate in Manchin's hands in a 50-50 Senate. "We're working with him. I've spoken to him and I'm speaking with him again. I know there's a lot of controversy," Manchin said. "Just looking at everything I can. I really am undecided." Related: Staving off G.O.P. attacks, Democrats show new urgency on crime, by NYT's Alex Burns: https://nyti.ms/2U0hemq NOT SURFING THIS SCANDAL? Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse admits being member of sailing club that "does lack diversity," by Axios' Rebecca Falconer: https://bit.ly/3h0bYY2 | Bailey's Beach Club breaks silence on membership, denies all-white allegations, by the Providence Journal's Amy Russo and Patrick Anderson: https://bit.ly/2UuaBsV … Here is the full statement from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and here is the full statement from Bailey's Beach Club. QUICK CLICKS: Trumpworld: Critical race theory backlash is our springboard back to power, by our Maggie Severns, Theodoric Meyer and Meridith McGraw: https://politi.co/3d63qgT | The first Capitol rioter was sentenced and won't get any jail time, by BuzzFeed News' Zoe Tillman: https://bit.ly/3zVXIIz | | | |   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House meets at 10 a.m. The Senate also meets at 10 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m.: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq will unveil evacuation plans for Afghan allies. (House Triangle) 9 a.m.: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will testify before the Armed Services Committee. 10 a.m.: A House Administration subcommittee will hold a hearing on voting in America, with former Attorney General Eric Holder among those testifying. 10:15 a.m.: Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will testify before the House Education and Labor Committee. 10:45 a.m.: Pelosi holds a weekly press conference. 11:30 a.m.: GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and The GOP Doctors Caucus will hold a news conference on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. -Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) has been hosting an annual conference for district directors. Today, for the close of the conference, they will hear a keynote speech from Stacey Abrams, who Clark invited to speak with staff about the power of community building and engagement. TRIVIA WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Zach Cohen, a fellow CapHill reporter, was the first person to correctly guess that Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is the only currently serving U.S. Senator to have also been a member of the House and their state's Governor? TODAY'S QUESTION: From Zach: In 1988, then-Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd tried to end a Republican filibuster of campaign finance reform legislation by instructing the sergeant-at-arms to arrest absent senators. Which senator did Capitol police in dramatic fashion drag onto the Senate floor feet first in response to Byrd's order? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to obeavers@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Olivia on Twitter @Olivia_Beavers | | A message from Comcast: 2020 was historic. In the span of four months in the wake of pandemic lockdowns, Comcast's network experienced almost two years' worth of traffic growth. 2020 saw a 38% increase in downstream traffic and 56% increase in upstream traffic over 2019 levels.
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