| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With Burgess Everett and Andrew Desiderio. BERNIE WON'T BUDGE — With the budget resolution cleared by both chambers, Senate Budget chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is now attempting to protect the $3.5 trillion spending plan from members on the Democratic side while also trying to sell it to the public. Sanders talked with Burgess Wednesday about the tough balancing act he faces in the coming weeks, trying to build popular support for the policies and programs among working class Republicans across the country, while also keeping all 49 Democratic caucus members on board back on Capitol Hill. More from the Burgess / Bernie confab here: https://politi.co/3BbL33W The Vermont senator hits the road this weekend, barnstorming Iowa and Indiana to sell Democrats' sweeping visions of expanding health care coverage, taking climate action and increasing access to education while hiking taxes on the wealthy and corporations. "I understand that budget chairpersons, historically, have done their work within the Beltway in D.C. I think really the function of a budget chairman is to get out among the people," Sanders told Burgess in an interview. "What we are proposing in this budget is going to be enormously popular." He hasn't ruled out trips to Arizona and West Virginia to tout the plan in Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's (D-Ariz.) back yards. Can you imagine? As for that topline number that Sinema and Manchin have been skeptical of, Sanders isn't budging at the moment. "I already negotiated. The truth is we need more," Sanders told Burgess. "The needs are there. This is, in my view, the minimum of what we should be spending." | | | | 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. | | | | | 'THIS IS NOT GOING AWAY' — That's what Republicans' response to Biden's handling of Afghanistan boils down to. And it's how they plan to turn the messy withdrawal into a key campaign issue for the midterms. But several factors promise to complicate that message. For starters, there's more than a year until the election. Second, absent a global catastrophe, voters tend to act based on domestic and pocket-book issues; foreign policy often doesn't really factor in. And then, of course, there's Donald Trump's withdrawal deadline, as negotiated with the Taliban. But Republicans tell Andrew and Olivia that they think this one will stick. They're messaging this as a legacy-defining failure for Biden, and a way to boost their chances next year to chip away at Biden's popularity. The GOP is bolstered by a strong contingent of Democratic lawmakers who have come out swinging against Biden, too — something they believe could weigh on voters. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) says that while foreign policy often doesn't matter in elections, this particular blunder will stick because "it undermines the core argument for Biden" — that he was a steady hand who would competently run U.S. foreign policy. The drawbacks here are also pretty clear. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) noted that it's "disingenuous…for people who were all supportive of how Donald was doing it to now also be critical" of Biden. And Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who said the images of desperate Afghans will "stick with the public," warned his party against using Afghanistan as a "political football." Olivia and Andrew break down the GOP strategy as Biden takes incoming fire from both sides: https://politi.co/3mB7VpA RELATED: Relief, and Worry, for Arrivals From Afghanistan, New York Times dispatch from Dulles | | | | A message from Walmart: Walmart will now pay 100% of college tuition and books for eligible part-time and full-time associates. This means approximately 1.5M U.S. associates can earn college degrees or learn trade skills without the burden of education debt. As the largest U.S. private employer, Walmart is committing to invest nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career-driven training and development. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, August 26. WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Ethics office: Rep. Mooney tapped campaign funds for family vacations, fast food, from Chris Marquette at Roll Call Scheduling Note: Huddle will not publish the week of Aug. 30 and will return to your inbox after Labor Day. LET'S ALL RECONCILE — Reconciliation is getting real now that the House has passed its budget. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) held a conference call with his committee chairs on Wednesday evening to discuss next steps, according to a Senate Democratic aide. It's part of Schumer's strategy to meet weekly over the long recess about the multi trillion dollar spending blueprint, which Democratic leaders want to complete by Sept. 15. Good luck! JAN. 6 SHOOTER, REVEALED — The Capitol Police officer who shot Ashli Babbitt as she attempted to gain access to the House chamber during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol goes public today. The interview with NBC News's Lester Holt will be the first time the officer publicly reveals their identity since the events of that day. It comes just a few days after Capitol Police formally exonerated the officer after an internal review found that the officer's actions were justified. Capitol Police said Monday that the department would not be identifying the lieutenant because the officer and the officer's family "have been the subject of numerous credible and specific threats for actions that were taken as part of the job of all our officers: defending the Congress, members, staff and the democratic process." | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | DOCUMENT DELUGE — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has cast a wide net in its flurry of requests to federal agencies for records related to the attack. A deadline of Sept. 9 has been set, which is a quick turnaround time for the sheer number of requests made. It also sets up a huge document dump coming right as the House heads into a jam-packed September. Betsy Woodruff Swan and Nick look at what the requests mean for the future of the inquiry: https://politi.co/38hAfoC FUNDING FOOD FIGHT — With the collapse of the Afghan military and the hurried U.S. exit from Afghanistan, there is $6 billion in unspent funding that Congress now has to decide how to spend. The House Armed Services Committee has already slashed the Pentagon's Afghan security forces budget request for next year and next week they meet to write the sprawling defense policy bill. Connor O'Brien, Lee Hudson and Paul McCleary write that there's a "food fight" ahead: https://politi.co/3BcMXkP BOMB SUSPECT UPDATE — The man who claimed his intention to bomb everything in a two-block radius of the Library of Congress last week was determined to need further medical treatment, a court-appointed psychologist said Wednesday at a competency hearing. A psychologist for the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health told Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui that she believed a psychiatrist in North Carolina had prescribed the wrong medication for defendant Floyd Ray Roseberry, who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In a virtual hearing in Washington federal court, Faruqui agreed to a 30-day delay to see whether Roseberry improved on new medication. "I appreciate that you want to get help," Faruqui told him before closing the hearing. "The greatest challenge is asking for help." More on the hearing from WUSA9 here and the Washington Post here. | | | |   | | | QUICK LINKS — U.S. leaders move to shut down further freelance trips to Kabul, from the Washington Post — 2 U.S. Representatives Try to Explain Unauthorized Visit to Kabul, from Catie Edmondson at the New York Times — Only a Fraction of Covid-19 Rental Assistance Has Been Distributed, from the Wall Street Journal TRANSITIONS James Adams is now deputy chief of staff for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), after serving as his communications director for several years. Luke Ball is now communications director for Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.). He previously worked for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Natasha Wood starts today as a legislative assistant for Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), covering his Foreign Affairs portfolio. She previously worked as a legislative correspondent for Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). Lauren Offenberg is now press secretary for Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.). She most recently was a legislative correspondent for Fitzpatrick. Kaylin Dines is now comms director for Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.). She most recently was press secretary for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in session. The Senate is not in session AROUND THE HILL All is quiet (until it's not.) TRIVIA WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Vicki DiLeo correctly answered that Arthur Pue Gorman was the former Senate page, messenger, doorkeeper and U.S. Senator responsible for previous MLB franchises in Washington being called the "Senators." Here's more on how the senate is entwined in Washington baseball history: https://bit.ly/3zjiIrO TODAY'S QUESTION: A violent explosion rocked the old north wing of the Capitol on November 6, 1898. What was the cause and what big change to the Capitol was made after the explosion? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus | | | | A message from Walmart: The largest U.S. private employer commits to invest nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career-driven training and development. That means:
• Walmart will now pay 100% of college tuition and books for part-time and full-time associates.
• More than 1.5 million U.S. associates are eligible to participate in Live Better U, Walmart's debt-free education benefit. More than 52,000 associates have enrolled since 2018.
• Associates can pursue a degree at more than 60 programs with academic partners like Johnson & Wales University, the University of Arizona, the University of Denver and Wilmington University.
Learn more about associate opportunity at Walmart. | | |
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