| | | | | |  | | By Olivia Beavers | Presented by |  | | With Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu. CENSURE SEASON?: House Republicans are considering a censure resolution against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D- Minn.), which is expected to be debated in a GOP conference meeting this morning. But that could open Pandora's Box and spark a tit-for-tat. "I think there's a sense within the Democratic caucus that we've been very restrained in using tools such as censure and expulsion from committees to deal with members that even many of our Republican colleagues privately tell us are batshit crazy and dangerous," one moderate House Democrat told me. They pointed to censure resolutions against GOP Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) that Democrats haven't acted on, but said that if Republicans make a move against Omar and it doesn't get tabled, Democrats will likely have a "greater appetite" to strike back. This Democrat also said they considered Omar's previous remarks in 2019 anti-semitic, but they viewed her latest comments as a false and equivalency about foreign policy that "isn't merited by the facts," which they said is far below the bar of what should be cause for expelling or censuring a member. But, they warned, if Omar made another comment that they felt was anti-semitic, then they would support removing her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Three strikes, she's out. On the other side, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Colo.) is planning to introduce a censure resolution against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tomorrow over her equating vaccine and mask requirements to the extermination of millions of Jews, Sarah reports. Greene is now trying to clean up after those comments. She held a news availability yesterday where she apologized and stated: "There is no comparison to the Holocaust." Greene's moment of contrition comes nearly three weeks after she first sparked the backlash with her comments and as Republicans want to be able to go full blast on Omar. But GOP members are split on their strategy regarding the Minnesota Dem. During a leadership meeting yesterday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) argued against the idea of introducing a resolution to boot Omar off her spot on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Melanie reports. He advocated that they let Dems ruminate in their divisions. "I don't think we are in a hurry to get in the way of the civil war. We are hearing a lot from the Jewish community. They are outraged the Dems aren't condemning her," echoed a GOP leadership source, who noted they will know more tomorrow at the conference meeting. Still, there are others who want to push for Omar's removal as well as those looking to censure her over her war crimes remarks — and a few Dems may join them. "I think that Ilan should receive the same type of punishment as Marjorie because if it's good for one, it is good for another," Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), who voted to remove Greene from her committees, told me. "Anti-semitism is the same thing as anti-semitism. It's just that Nancy is afraid." Read more of Melanie and Sarah's story on Greene's apology: https://politi.co/3cGBOPr Side Note: Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who criticized Dem leadership for their statement welcoming a clarification from Omar, is waving off reporters who are asking if she stands by this view or if it has changed. She waved off your Huddle host twice. | | | | DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-24. | | | | | DEMS ARE JUDGING: Democrats may need Rogaine for all the hair they've pulled out trying to pass various parts of President Joe Biden's agenda, but there is one area where they are surprisingly confident: confirming judges. And they are ratcheting up their efforts to get more approved. Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson -- a potential SCOTUS nominee -- to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, considered second only to the Supreme Court in its nationwide reach. Jackson's confirmation comes after the Senate confirmed three district judges last week. Marianne reports: "While Democrats acknowledge that it's unlikely Biden will near the same number of approved judges as his predecessor — especially on the circuit courts, where 30 percent of judges are Trump appointees — they say they're pleased with their pace and are just as excited about who Biden is nominating, citing the president's uniquely diverse slate of picks." "The number's important, but the quality of the nominee is even more important," said Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "So we're being supportive and careful that the people who come before the committee are ready to serve." Trump came to office with 112 vacant judicial spots, including a Supreme Court seat that McConnell held open in 2016, and over the course of four years, Republicans filled 220 judges to the federal bench. Biden has 82 vacancies to the federal bench to fill, and he has so far announced 19 nominees. More from Marianne: https://politi.co/3gofxbi Related: Senators clash on whether to install public defenders on influential court, by the National Journal's Zachary Cohen: https://bit.ly/3pRDCKK | Senate confirms D.C. Circuit nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace Merrick Garland, by WaPo's Ann Marimow: https://wapo.st/3gAjCYJ Speaking of confirmations: The Senate is expected to vote to confirm Lina Khan's nomination for a vacancy on the FTC and Kiran Ahuja to be OPM Director as early as today. ON TAP TODAY: House Dems will hold their first hybrid meeting at 9 a.m. this morning, Sarah reports, the first time their caucus will have a chance to gather in person in 461 days — the entire lifespan of a worker bee. The caucus will hear from White House counselor Steve Ricchetti and OMB deputy director Shalanda Young on the Biden administration's infrastructure proposals. Although today's Dem caucus meeting is at least partly in person, the party's House leadership and steering gatherings are still virtual. ALSO: A source familiar tells me House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is also expected to meet with seven of her committee chairs as House Dems strategize their next move on probing the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Sarah is hearing there is a lot of discussion being had about a Jan. 6 select committee, though Pelosi did not tip her hand at the Dems' leadership meeting last night. Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)., Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and House Administration Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) are expected to be part of the huddle. | | | | A message from Genentech: A person's health shouldn't be determined by their gender, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or zip code. But data show these factors significantly influence access to care and health outcomes. Read more about how Genentech is challenging ourselves, and others, to pursue bold solutions rooted in population science, inclusive research, and philanthropy to realize the promise of personalized healthcare and optimized treatment outcomes for all. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, June 15, where the Harlem Hellfighters, an African American regiment that served the longest time in combat out of any U.S. regiment during WWI, are expected to receive formal recognition for their service for the first time… today. The House is expected to pass legislation led by Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), which would award them with Congressional Gold Medals. MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Axios' story on police union PACs launching text attacks on The Squad was the big winner. KEEP AN EYE ON: The House Science Committee will markup the House's alternative to the Senate-passed China package, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act today. KICKING THE CAN: After last week's near-collapse of police reform negotiations, top senators involved in the talks are pushing the timeline back even further. Following yet another meeting with the bipartisan group of lawmakers, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), said they'd get the bill done in the next two months. "We all have, like, the attention spans of a gnat. So we're gonna get this done before August," he said. Scott had previously said "June or bust" for a bill. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who's the lead Senate Democrat in the room, said "we're not putting a timeline out there" but noted "we still have a long way to go." One thing everyone could agree on? Asked by Scott as he walked out of the Senate chamber if they'd keep working on police reform through August, Booker replied "I'm not going to be here in August doing this." For now, they're mending relations after a draft proposal circulated by Booker last week infuriated police groups. Representatives from the National Sheriffs Association and the Major County Sheriffs of America met with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Booker this morning, with Scott's staff in attendance. Sheriff Greg Champagne, representing the NSA, told Nick after the meeting he felt "our concerns were heard," though "no new proposals were discussed" for their hour-long meeting. Related: 2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades. So far, 2021 is worse, by WaPo's Reis Thebault, Joe Fox and Andrew Ba Tran: https://wapo.st/3iE8pJv PLOT TWIST: "Senate Republicans are mulling support for a massive amount of new spending on infrastructure — in part because they think it'll help kill President Joe Biden's liberal agenda," Marianne and Burgess report. While Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not shared whether he will support the bipartisan infrastructure proposal put forward by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a growing number of Senate Republicans are believe that if a deal is reached on that sort of physical infrastructure, Democrats will lack the votes needed to pass the rest of Biden's "soft infrastructure" priorities, such as child care and clean energy. You know, parts they don't like. "It'll be awful hard to get those moderate Democrats to be for that," Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told my collleagues. "The stars are kind of lining up for an infrastructure bill. And if you do do something bipartisan on that, then I think doing something partisan on reconciliation — in some ways, with certain Democrats — it gets a lot harder." More here from Marianne and Burgess: https://politi.co/3iEv3S5 Related: Senate bipartisan infrastructure plan picks up steam but faces major hurdles ahead, by CNN's Lauren Fox and Manu Raju: https://cnn.it/3gq6mHv | | | | JOIN TODAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON REOPENING THE U.S.-CANADA BORDER : It's been more than one year since the border between the U.S. and Canada first closed to non-essential travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The unprecedented and ongoing closure imposed economic and social costs in border communities and across both countries. Join POLITICO for an urgent conversation on what's at stake in the border closure, what it will take to reopen safely, and how the pandemic will change the border in the long term. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | DEMANDING ANSWERS: House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) formally opened a probe into the Trump Justice Department's secret subpoenas targeting Democratic lawmakers, journalists, and others. He stated that Dems -- while pleased by his investigation -- cannot wait for the DOJ IG to submit their findings to Congress months or years from now, claiming that it appears the agency used "criminal investigations as a pretext to spy on President Trump's perceived enemies." Across the aisle: Every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called on Attorney General Merrick Garland in a letter to brief them ASAP and produce documents related to reports that the Trump Justice Department used secret subpoenas to seize the records of House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). "I'm glad that the Attorney General requested an Inspector General investigation. And it's going to be looking at doing a more sweeping review of the politicization department of the last four years," Schiff told me. Marianne has more on the letter: https://politi.co/2RXtjs8 THE SITCH ABOUT JAN. 6TH : Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman has declined to testify today at a hearing on the Jan. 6 insurrection, drawing fierce criticism from the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement Pittman claimed "she must watch another hearing where the Capitol Police Inspector General [Michael Bolton] is testifying in case she has to respond in some way to what's said at that hearing," calling the excuse "pathetic" and an attempt to "avoid answering the hard questions." The Capitol Police countered that they believed Pittman had been a "last-minute addition" to the hearing and was not able to attend because of the scheduling conflict with the House Administration Committee's hearing. She had "agreed to testify at another time," the USCP said, which a Dem committee aide said Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney echoed, saying the acting chief "had committed to testify before the Committee in the near future." More here from Nick: https://politi.co/3cHSDcK HOW ABOUT THAT RESUME… ERM, RAP SHEET: NH Man arrested after he 'chugged' wine at Capitol riot says he's running for Congress: https://bit.ly/2SA0e6b ALSO SCRATCH HEAD WORTHY: Ex-Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, now a Mainer, marched on the Capitol Jan. 6, Colin Woodward reports in the Portland Press Herald: https://bit.ly/3gxffOm Related: FBI warns lawmakers that QAnon 'digital soldiers' may become more violent, by CNN's Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild: https://cnn.it/3zpICdW NOT FINE: GOP Reps. Louie Gohmert (Texas) and Andrew Clyde (Ga.) filed a lawsuit Sunday challenging the hefty fines they received for violations of the House chamber's metal detector protocols. Both GOP members lost thousands of dollars for failing to properly go through the security screening process. They are suing Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine Szpindor, alleging that the 27th Amendment of the Constitution was violated. The Amendment states: "No law varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened." More here from the Washington Examiner's Kerry Picket: https://washex.am/3gwQXUG RECESS RETURN: In the House, it was visible members had some time away from D.C. Some sported tans, others seemed calmer after a time away from the swamp. But some also returned with some ouchies. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) had his arm in a cast. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was walking around in boot. When I jokingly asked if he got it from kicking someone, he said no… but now he is part of the Boot Caucus with Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), which members want to get out of as soon as they are forced to join. On the Senate side: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema returns to Capitol Hill after breaking foot during marathon: by the Arizona Republic's Yvonne Wingett Sanchez: https://bit.ly/2Uar85n Still, there were good vibes in the House yesterday , especially with the new, looser mask mandates, which say vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks on the House floor. A majority did not wear them. And lawmakers equated their excitement on the House floor to the first-day of school vibes, or spring break, with members smiling and hugging one another. Even birthday party invites were passed out during votes last night for Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Mel reports . One House Democrat remarked "He doesn't look a day over 94!" Pascrell is actually 84. New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury was also formally sworn into the House yesterday, just in time for the freshman Democrat to cast her first vote. Your Huddle host saw a sweet celebration of excitement shortly after her swearing in. Stansbury was walking with fellow New Mexican Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) to the House floor, hugging and saying "yay!" Stansbury won the special election to fill the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. She then was welcomed by Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) as she was about to go through the metal detectors. Related: New Mexico Democrat Stansbury sworn into Haaland's old seat, by The Hill's Cristina Marcos: https://bit.ly/3zuf6DK QUICK CLICKS: Chuck Schumer Apologizes for 'Outdated and Hurtful' Term for Developmentally Disabled Children, by The Wrap's Loree Seitz: https://bit.ly/3gleEjQ PAY RAISE?: More than half of House Dems endorsed a 21% increase in funding for the Member Representational Allowance (MRAs) which they say would help boost staff salaries in members' offices, committees, and leadership offices. "[T]he low salary available to entry-level staff continue to raise barriers to entry and advantage those who are already wealthy and connected. These realities have hamstrung the House in our ability to recruit and retain the talented and diverse workforce we need to serve the diversity and needs of the American people in the best way possible," they write. Daniel Schuman of Demand Progress praised the letter, arguing: "Paying congressional staff a living wage is the humane thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do. The current system overworks + underpays staff, pushing them to leave quickly and seek employment as lobbyists working for special interests, not the public interest." | | | |   | | | TRANSITIONS Yardena Wolf will be chief of staff for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). She previously was VP of the New York office of Berger Hirschberg Strategies. Current chief of staff Michael Reed will become a senior adviser to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Christian McMullen is now comms director for Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). He most recently was comms coordinator for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Nicole Christus is joining the Senate Banking Committee Republican staff, leaving the American Public Transportation Association to work for ranking member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). She was previously a staffer on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House meets at noon. The Senate meets at 10 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m.: GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) will hold a news conference. 10:10 a.m.: House Dem Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Vice Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) will hold a news conference. 10 a.m.: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will testify before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Of note: Senate Democrats are returning to lunching in-person, back in the Mansfield Room. Schumer has also invited members of the Texas legislature to brief the caucus on GOP efforts to curb voting access. 2 p.m.: Two hearings on the Jan. 6 insurrection. Capitol Police IG Michael Bolton is testifying before the House Administration Committee, and FBI Director Christopher Wray before the Oversight Committee. 2 p.m.: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will testify before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. TRIVIA MONDAY'S WINNER: Wilson Golden was the first person to correctly guess that the two politicians who went to grade school together, then later served as lieutenant governors of their adjacent states at the same time were Kathleen Kennedy (Townsend) of Maryland and Don Beyer Jr., who represented Maryland and Virginia, respectively. TODAY'S QUESTION: From Wilson: What glaring mistake did Barack Obama make at the beginning of his first inaugural address? 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 Genentech: Having a serious illness is challenging enough without having to worry about being able to afford the necessary treatment. The reality is that out-of-pocket costs are a significant concern for many patients and – all too often – can prevent people from getting the care they need. We believe there are opportunities to implement smart solutions that lower costs for patients and the system, while sustaining the large research and development investments necessary to drive the medical breakthroughs that are urgently needed. Learn more about how Genentech is engaging with patients, advocacy groups, providers, payors, other businesses and legislators to explore market-based policy reforms. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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