| | | | | |  | | By Nicholas Wu | | | With Sarah Ferris, Andrew Desiderio and Olivia Beavers. NOW WHAT? — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept us waiting, but we finally found out who she'd pick for the select committee to investigate Jan. 6. The next part will be harder. What don't we know? A lot. We still don't know exactly what the White House was doing on Jan. 6, whether members of Congress or staff played a role, or whether the groups present at the Capitol coordinated. What's it going to investigate first? The panel's first hearing is going to be on the Capitol Police, dozens of whom were seriously injured on Jan. 6. Chair Bennie Thompson said it'd make a "positive statement" to the people who "put their lives on the line" to protect the Capitol complex. Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), one of its members, said yesterday they might hold some of its investigations in closed-door settings. "There are some things that would be very appropriate in a public setting to get the information....but there's also potentially information that would be better taken in a more private setting," she said. Who's going to staff it? It's going to take some time to work that out. Thompson hinted yesterday they'd draw in currently employed investigators and staffers. Will the committee call Donald Trump or Kevin McCarthy to testify? We don't know. Its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), has left the door open to doing so, but otherwise declined to comment following a meeting with Pelosi yesterday afternoon. He said he wanted to set the "parameters" for the committee first. What did the Senate report find? Some members point to the bipartisan report from the Senate Rules and Homeland Security Committees released at the beginning of June as something that can close the book on Jan. 6. It detailed a laundry list of security failures leading up to and during the riot. But it's worth remembering that report was circumscribed in its scope and only examined security issues leading up to and during the attack. Is McCarthy going to nominate Republicans? That's unclear. He repeatedly dodged questions about it during a Thursday press conference. Democrats fear the appointment of incendiary Republicans like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene or Matt Gaetz could undercut the investigation and reduce confidence in its results. If McCarthy doesn't make any appointments, Democrats are prepared to move ahead anyway. Pelosi noted on Thursday that with their eight members: "well, we have a quorum." And of course, Pelosi still has the final say on who can join. How the picks are playing at home: L.A. Times: https://lat.ms/3hwSFWF; Casper Star-Tribune: https://bit.ly/3dD48Tb; Orlando Sentinel: https://bit.ly/3Aohv3g; Washington Post: https://wapo.st/3dBl0K7; WTKR: https://bit.ly/3hdL2oM | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WOMEN RULE : The Women Rule newsletter explores how women, in Washington and beyond, shape the world, and how the news — from the pandemic to the latest laws coming out of statehouses — impacts women. With expert policy analysis, incisive interviews and revelatory recommendations on what to read and whom to watch, this is a must-read for executives, professionals and rising leaders to understand how what happens today affects the future for women and girls. Subscribe to the Women Rule newsletter today. | | | | | INFRASTRUCTURE IMBROGLIO — Congressional Democrats have left Washington with one tricky task for the Fourth of July recess: Hang together on infrastructure despite growing restlessness from all corners of the party. They took a big step forward Thursday, approving a $715 billion transportation bill that party leaders say could be the legislative framework for holding a floor vote on President Joe Biden's infrastructure deal with the GOP this year. The bill was even bipartisan, with two Republicans backing it. "We've just passed a major piece of legislation, which is not the president's [infrastructure] plan but it is a significant part of what the president wants," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Sarah. "At some point in time, we're going to have to put them all together." While they eye that decision, top Democrats are also pushing ahead on a filibuster-proof spending bill that would significantly expand the social safety net while making good on the rest of Biden's long wishlist. But the uncertain timetable for that strategy is unsettling party progressives and moderates at turns, with the latter group of Democrats particularly vocal in nudging White House officials to tee up a vote on the bipartisan deal as soon as it's ready rather than waiting for the bigger partisan bill to go alongside it. The full story from Sarah: https://politi.co/3xeNReW Related: Drivers used to pay for roads. Washington is killing that idea, by our Tanya Snyder https://politi.co/3dBjgjW | | | | 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 Friday, July 2, where we're wondering what you're reading this summer. Nicholas Wu here, filling in for Olivia. He recommends Jason Schreier's Press Reset. THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Cleveland.com's story on congressional candidate Max Miller's primary D.C. residence was the big winner. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Huddle will not publish on Monday July 5. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, July 6. Please continue to follow us! GAETZ PUTS BRITNEY AT CROSSROADS WITH CONGRESS — Matt Gaetz has invited Britney Spears to talk about her toxic conservatorship one more time, this time appearing before the circus on Capitol Hill. The invite comes as Spears appears at a crossroads with her father's control, which her fans have dubbed crazy. More from Politico's Brittany Gibson: https://politi.co/3hrGaeS Related : Senator Warren urges federal government to provide more data on conservatorships, citing Britney Spears' case by the Boston Globe's Amanda Kaufman: https://bit.ly/3hr3JnV POLICING UPDATE — Your Huddle fill-in host caught up with Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), House Democrats' lead negotiator on police reform, outside the House chamber yesterday. She had more to say about law enforcement organizations after the Fraternal Organization of Police lobbed a warning at negotiators. "I want to be clear that there are police organizations and humans that are interested in reform. I think the FOP was and is an honest partner. The problem was, the police unions and organizations...that want reform, then can get attacked by ones that do not," she told me. Related: Concern over crime is growing — but Americans don't just want more police, Post-ABC poll shows, by the Washington Post's Cleve Wooston and Scott Clement: https://wapo.st/3AoecJq NEXT TIME, TRY A SCREAMING INTO A PILLOW? — Lots can happen in a very lengthy markup in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the House counterpart to the Senate's China bill. That includes something of a hot-mic moment during amendment debate, when Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) dropped an amendment that wasn't exactly loved by every Democrat on the panel. When Rep. Malinowski spoke up to support it, one of Meeks' staffers grabbed a copy of the amendment and visibly ripped it in half, according to a person in the room. The staffer then went into the committee's side room, where he yelled "F---" so loudly that people in the hearing room could hear it. Meeks then called a 10 minute recess, and ultimately allowed the amendment to pass via voice vote. The completion of the markup, by the way, will be pushed until after the July Fourth recess. Final committee votes will now take place the week of July 12. | | | | JOIN TODAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ANITA DUNN: Anita Dunn, a senior White House adviser to President Biden and one of the most influential women in Washington, will join Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss the administration's legislative priorities, including getting the massive infrastructure plan through Congress, the latest on efforts to get 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated against Covid, and preparations for the White House's first big public event on Independence Day. Don't miss this Playbook Live event, REGISTER HERE. | | | | | OVERSIGHT, OVERSHOT — Thursday's indictments of the Trump Organization and its CFO Allen Weisselberg served as a stark reminder to House Democrats that their similar efforts to investigate Donald Trump's sprawling business empire were largely a failure. The indictments, which were the result of years of investigating and at least one successful subpoena fight in court, exposed glaring flaws in Congress' oversight machinery and its weak mechanisms for enforcing its own subpoenas. After Michael Cohen delivered bombshell testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in 2019, Trump's business practices became a focal point of the various investigations on the Hill. But those probes didn't really go anywhere, in large part because the witnesses sought by House Democrats threw up roadblock after roadblock. Case in point: the Oversight panel is still fighting in court to obtain Trump's accounting records from Mazars, and there was a court hearing on the matter on Thursday afternoon while Weisselberg was being arraigned. Prosecutors in New York, of course, won their Supreme Court battle last year to obtain eight years of Trump's personal tax returns, which were likely used as part of the case against Weisselberg. That's quite the contrast. Andrew has more on this storyline: https://politi.co/365ykSH Related : Trump, fighting to toss out subpoena, offered to give House Democrats peek at financial statements by the Washington Post's Spencer S. Hsu: https://wapo.st/3hlvdeA WHAT DOES THE FOXX PAY?: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) does not have to pay a hefty fine after a majority of members on the House Ethics Committee agreed to her appeal. Foxx had requested to come before the committee to contest the fine, writing in her appeal that she disputes "the facts as presented." We don't know what was said before the House referee panel, but we know Foxx no longer has to pay the $5,000 fee that comes with failing to complete a security screening before entering the House chamber. Olivia was on the scene to witness the incident that ultimately got Foxx reported to the Sergeant at Arms. It included a tossed purse as the North Carolina Republican sprinted through the metal detector to make a vote, a remark "Good thing no one tried to stop me" when she came to reclaim her bag, and a response from two police officers, who informed her that she had in fact set off the metal detector. THIS MAKES A BUDGET VOTE FUN — The U.S. government will record a roughly $3 trillion budget deficit this year, marking one of the largest imbalances since World War II, exceeded only by last year's enormous shortfall. Still, CBO expects that figure to shrink quickly amid an economic reopening that will bring in a windfall of tax dollars from businesses and consumers. More from Caitlin Emma: https://politi.co/3werPYm AD WARS — Amid the ongoing battle over what ends up in a reconciliation package, the health advocacy group Patients For Affordable Drugs is out with a new six-figure ad campaign to pressure moderate Democrats and a few Republicans who have not yet endorsed allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, reports POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein. The group launched ads on Friday in the districts of Reps. David Valadao (R-Cal.), Scott Peters (D-Cal.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) -- lawmakers who have long been friendly to the pharmaceutical industry and have expressed reservations about government negotiation of drug prices. The ads feature a multiple sclerosis patient talking about having to ration her medication because of the high cost. On Thursday, the group put up similar ads targeting Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.), but halted those targeting Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Col.), who is up for reelection next year, after P4AD said they received "strong assurances" from Bennet that he supports the effort. QUOTE OF THE DAY — Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) doesn't think Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer should retire despite pressure from progressive groups. Asked by Post and Courier reporter Jamie Lovegrove about Breyer, Clyburn replied, "Who am I to tell somebody to retire?...I feel fine. I'm still able to play 18 holes in the morning, 18 holes in the afternoon and have a little libations for lunch." | | | |   | | | CAMPAIGN CORNER — Rematch in Jersey's 7th: The GOP candidate who came within one percentage point of ousting Rep. Tom Malinowski will run again in 2022, the New Jersey Globe reports. Tom Kean Jr., the minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate, plans to formally announce his candidacy on July 14. — Faceoff in Ohio's 11th: Shontel Brown raised $160,000 in the 24 hours after a key endorsement from House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, who has also cut her a TV ad, our Ally Mutnick reports . Brown has been backed by several other Congressional Black Caucus members as well as Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, progressive-backed Nina Turner — the other leading Democrat in the race — has raised over $920,000 in June from 24,000 donors, her campaign tells Ally. Turner is rolling out a new TV ad on equal pay featuring some footage of the U.S. women's national soccer team. — Big cash hauls in Iowa: Freshman Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) raised $850,000 in the second quarter, a record for an Iowa House incumbent, per National Journal's Kirk Bado. Rep. Cindy Axne, the state's only Democrat, meanwhile, posted another big sum with $700,000 raised and over $1 million on hand in the last quarter, per Ally Mutnick. — JD Vance has launched his bid for Senate to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), per James Arkin: https://politi.co/3qT8N9f. Vance scrubbed his old tweets attacking Trump, according to CNN's Andrew Kaczynski. TRANSITIONS Joseph Ciccone has been promoted to be legislative director for Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.). He most recently was senior adviser for Napolitano. Kathryn Mitchell-Thomas is now team chief for research and engineering in the office of the assistant secretary of Defense for legislative affairs. She most recently was a strategic comms consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, and is a Jim Langevin and Albio Sires alum. TODAY IN CONGRESS: The House is out. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL Jet fumes TRIVIA WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Newsy's Nathaniel Reed guessed that Thomas Jefferson and Woodrow Wilson's mothers were born in England. TODAY'S QUESTION: from Nathaniel: Only one hallway in the U.S. Capitol Complex has $12.50. Where is it, and what is it? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to nwu@politico.com . GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Nicholas on Twitter @nicholaswu12 | | | | 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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