| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With Caitlin Emma and Andrew Desiderio. MARKING UP FOR BETTER OR WORSE — Members of the House Budget Committee met Thursday night with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to prepare for a Saturday markup on Democrats' multi trillion-dollar social spending bill — the price tag and parameters of which are still very much in flux as the lower chamber hurtles toward critical deadlines next week. "I mean, the speaker just wanted to get the process going," Budget Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) told POLITICO. "She called me this morning and said, 'I want you all to mark up Saturday if you can.'" Sweatpant Saturday?: The markup will be virtual, with Yarmuth dialing in from Louisville. "Ideally, we would have gotten a complete agreement" with the Senate before marking up the massive one-party package, he said. But the Budget chair acknowledged that resolving bicameral differences in time to satisfy progressives demanding a vote was "probably a long shot." The legislation is now destined to ping pong with changes between both chambers. "I actually do think it's important to put a stake in the ground and say, 'This is where the House is. These are the policies that we think are important and here's what it costs to do that,'" he said. What to expect from the GOP: During the markup Republicans wouldn't be able to offer amendments but they will be able to offer non-binding motions to instruct, which they could weaponize to drag out the proceedings with procedural gymnastics. For more on the path ahead (and how we got here), Heather, Sarah and Jenn Scholtes have more: https://politi.co/3zFSyyV And here is text of the reconciliation bill: https://bit.ly/3lYavUm | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | SENATE STOPGAP VOTE — "Every single member in this chamber is going on record as to whether they support keeping the government open and averting a default, or support shutting us down and careening our country towards a default," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. The Senate votes to limit debate on the motion to proceed to the spending measure at 5:30 p.m. Monday. With debt ceiling provisions included, nearly all Senate Republicans are expected to vote against the procedural move, blocking the Senate from proceeding to a final vote on the stopgap spending. That would leave Congress just three days to avoid a shutdown. GRASSLEY RUNNING FOR U KNO WHAT — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced early this morning that he'll run for another term, touting his near-perfect vote attendance record (perfection thwarted by COVID last year.) Grassley just turned 88 and will be 89 on election day. More from the Des Moines Register: https://bit.ly/3zCSHTM And from Burgess: https://politi.co/3u58fP2 | | A message from Chevron: Renewables are an important piece of the energy puzzle. Let's cover how we're exploring renewable energy sources. Learn more below. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, September 24, where a Saturday markup isn't exactly the weekend plans your Huddle host had in mind. THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Hope the clicks mean that the Congressional Women's Softball Game will have a serious crowd this year, no matter if you're rooting for Congress or the Press. The runner-up was a lot of curiosity about the National Radio Quiet Zone. STATE OF PLAY — If this week has both felt jam-packed and stagnant, it's not just you. To close out the week, data and graphics editor Sean McMinn and graphics reporter Patterson Clark broke down the state-of-play for four key to-do list items for Congress: | 
Sean McMinn and Patterson Clark/POLITICO | MCCONNELL TALKS MIDTERMS — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) talked to Burgess about the midterm elections, President Donald Trump's hand-picked candidates and the tension between Trump trying to topple candidates McConnell backs. "After vowing earlier this year to tangle with Trump if necessary to nominate electable GOP candidates in must-win Senate primaries, the Senate minority leader is tacitly blessing many of Trump's endorsements. As McConnell surveys Trump's picks in Senate battlegrounds, he's concluded that 'I don't believe they're troubling,'" writes Burgess. Besides conflict over Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, McConnell said he doesn't view Trump's endorsements of candidates like Herschel Walker in Georgia, Sean Parnell in Pennsylvania, Rep. Mo Brooks in Alabama, Rep. Ted Budd in North Carolina and Adam Laxalt in Nevada as counterproductive to taking back the majority. He also described next year's Senate battle as a "50/50 proposition." Don't miss Burgess' interview with McConnell (including his take on Herschel Walker): https://politi.co/3zxwmXK NDAA CLEARS HOUSE — The House voted 316-113 to approve the National Defense Authorization Act with broad support from Democrats and Republicans as momentum builds on Capitol Hill to add upwards of $25 billion to Biden's defense proposal. Connor O'Brien has many more details: https://politi.co/39wwSKW | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | SUBPOENA DROP — The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued its first subpoenas Thursday, to four current and former top aides to President Donald Trump, including his most recent chief of staff Mark Meadows. Others who received subpoenas include: former Pentagon official and longtime House Intelligence Committee aide Kash Patel; former top White House adviser Steve Bannon; and longtime Trump social media chief Dan Scavino. Kyle and Nick report that the subpoenas mark a turning point in the investigation as lawmakers begin homing in on Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results: https://politi.co/3lRRsLK SHALL WE PLAY A GAME? — Lawmakers have been working with the White House to repeal the 2001 AUMF, which has provided four successive presidents with vast authorities to carry out the war on terror, and replace it with one that's more specifically tailored to the current threats in the region. But the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — and the potential terror vacuum created along with it — has scrambled those talks. "Certainly the change — the absence of combat operations in Afghanistan — that's a new circumstance and a new fact, so we have to contemplate the current reality on the revision," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who has been leading those talks with the White House, said in an interview. "But I wouldn't say we need to pause anything." But even the Republicans amenable to AUMF reform, like Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), are apprehensive about scaling back the 2001 authorities so quickly. "There have to be legal authorities like those under the 2001 AUMF that allow this and future administrations to carry out a war on terror," Young said. His sentiments are a reflection of the real fears that terror groups like al Qaeda could reconstitute in Afghanistan, and the belief that the president should maintain existing powers to go after terrorists — especially as the U.S. counterterrorism doctrine post-withdrawal remains elusive. Andrew has more on the talks surrounding the repeal-and-replace effort: https://politi.co/39wPCtZ SESSIONS PORTRAIT SESSION — The portrait of former Rules Committee Chair Pete Sessions (R-Texas) was unveiled Thursday in the tiny hearing room tucked on the third floor of the Capitol. Sessions was joyous, gamely posing for photo after photo with colleagues, staff and the portrait artist long before the actual event started. He was feted by Rules Committee colleagues, with remarks from Chair Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and more. The portrait was paid for by a private fundraising effort "mostly from individuals," according to Sessions' office. House chairman portraits have price tags ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 and federal funds have been barred from use for portraits since 2018. | | | |   | | | QUICK LINKS — Can 400 pounds of barbecue help grease the wheels of the Senate? from Jim Saksa at CQ Roll Call — Two issues shaping Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's approach to budget reconciliation negotiations from Yvonne Wingett Sanchez at the Arizona Republic TRANSITIONS Ryan Kelly is now communications director for Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.). He previously was with the House Administration Committee. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. for legislative business. The Senate is not in session. AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m. Pelosi, co-chairs of the Pro-Choice Caucus Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Barbara Lee (D-Texas) and Women's Health Protection Act sponsors Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and others hold a press conference on abortion access. 11:30 a.m. Pelosi, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), co-chairs of the Democratic Women's Caucus Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) and other members of the caucus hold a press conference on the impact of President Joe Biden's agenda on women. TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: Jon Deuser correctly answered that the longest government shutdown was 35 days. It ran Dec. 22, 2018, until Jan. 25, 2019. TODAY'S QUESTION from Jon: Name the current governor whose father voted for the impeachment of Richard Nixon in the House in 1974? 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 Chevron: At Chevron, we believe the future calls for many different forms of energy. Our El Segundo refinery is looking to turn plant-based oil into renewable gasoline, jet and diesel fuels. We're also partnering with Brightmark to convert dairy biomethane emissions into renewable natural gas. Because it's only human to help power a better future. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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