| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With contributions from from Burgess Everett, Elana Schor, Nicholas Wu and Marianne LeVine EAGER TO COMPETE — The Senate is closing out the week with a bang: moving to conference with the House on the long-awaited China competition bill. But it might take a while. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) locked in a series of procedural votes for Thursday that will launch the formal conference process with the House. Informal talks have already begun but these steps are needed to move forward officially. The two chambers need to hammer out the differences between their respective versions of the bill, which (in both versions) would bolster competitiveness with China by aiding the U.S. domestic semiconductor industry. There will be 28 separate motions to instruct conferees, a number that Schumer said is the most in decades and a sign that "many members on both sides of the aisle have a stake in seeing this bill finalized." Timeline: Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told POLITICO'S Gavin Bade on Wednesday that there are still months of negotiations still ahead. "By end of summer would be a more realistic timeline," he said. DOUBLE DOOMED? — Jostling over whether to combine another round of aid for Ukraine with a bipartisan agreement on Covid relief funding could delay the urgently needed help to the nation under Russian assault. Everyone agreed there was a need for speed. But that isn't how it is shaping up. The White House is expected to unveil its Ukraine aid request as early as Thursday. But Democrats' efforts to combine the two aid packages could result in Republicans forcing votes on the divisive pandemic-era border expulsion policy -- they, along with some Democrats, want to keep it in place. "[Schumer] thinks he can leverage support for Ukraine to get Covid supplemental funding. But I'm just saying, as a practical matter, I don't think that's a good move for him, because I think that our members are very much interested in having those votes separately," Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a brief interview. "And if he tries to link them, it probably dooms both," Thune added, noting that many Republicans don't support additional Covid relief funding. Democrats are basically daring Republicans to vote against Ukraine military assistance. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) told Andrew: "Republicans can vote against Ukraine." Read more: White House's Ukraine aid bid heads straight for Hill morass Today: The House is set to vote on a bill to waive statutory requirements on the president's ability to transfer military equipment to Kyiv under the World War II-era lend-lease program. | | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, April 28, where there's just one week until the first Library of Congress happy hour. Cheers.
TILLIS' TIRADE — There's no love lost between Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), but on Wednesday Tillis turned up the heat and expanded on previous criticisms of his freshman House colleague. Here's the highlights from the convo with Burgess… On Cawthorn's character:
- "He's got temperament and judgment issues. He's made comments at the worst possible time with respect for president Zelenskyy, called him a thug, now he apparently has this insider trading thing which just needs to be handled like everybody else. If there's no problem there, there won't be any problem with having transparency in it."
On campaigning in North Carolina: - "His political ambitions exceed his ambitions for his constituents. When he decided he was going to run in another district and he tried to lead people to believe that his district was split, he was leaving behind 80 percent of the people he represented. He made that decision 11 months into his freshman tenure."
- "Don't go out in western North Carolina and say you brought broadband there when you voted against the very bill he criticized me for to get there."
A very select group: - "There have only been two times in my brief political career where I've endorsed a challenger to a sitting Republican. One was Chuck Edwards, the other one was me when I challenged a two-term Republican in the statehouse.
Finally, the other North Carolinians are meeting about Madison, it seems: - "I want a delegation that works together, I don't want a delegation that gets together — minus one — and talks about the challenges that member is causing"
RELATED: After Cawthorn Charge, Democrats Are Split Over Capitol Gun Ban, from Luke Broadwater at The New York Times FOUR CORNERS — The top appropriators in both chambers are set to meet today to discuss topline numbers for fiscal 2023 government funding. It is the first time Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and ranking member Kay Granger (R-Texas) have officially convened on plans for the upcoming fiscal year. If it seems soon, that's because Congress cleared the omnibus six months into the current fiscal year. The official deadline for fiscal 2023 spending is Sept. 30, but Congress hasn't sent all 12 appropriations bills to the White House on time since Bill Clinton was in the Oval Office, relying instead on continuing resolutions and massive spending packages. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke with Leahy and DeLauro Wednesday, while they waited for the memorial service for Secretary Madeleine Albright to begin (always be appropriating). Hoyer also said he talked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about next year's spending. "I hope that they can come to an agreement this week on 302As," Hoyer told reporters Wednesday afternoon. But DeLauro said she doubts agreement can be reached today on toplines. | | | | A message from ACT|The App Association: Open and fair competition in the digital marketplace drives our members' success, but the proposals in the Open App Markets Act will hinder our small business members' opportunity for continued prosperity. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/ | | |
IS BIPARTISANSHIP ALIVE?— Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told Huddle that Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) bipartisan energy group will meet twice next week, including Monday. While Manchin insists the effort is separate from any talks of a party-line drug pricing and tax bill, the West Virginia's fellow Democrats are watching with great interest. "The only chance we have is if we try," Cramer said. "Joe wants to make a decision quickly."
Speaking of bipartisan meetings, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) will meet this morning to talk about a potential bipartisan immigration bill. OPPOSING ENDORSEMENTS: TRUMP v. CRUZ — Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump haven't been this out of sync since the GOP presidential primary back in 2016. Heading into the 2022 midterm elections, the pair find themselves on opposing sides of some key senate primary races. Cruz endorsed Josh Mandel in Ohio and David McCormick in Pennsylvania. But then Trump came into the races later to back J.D. Vance in Ohio and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. "The races amount to a test of whether Trump's attraction to celebrity candidates can sway the GOP base more than Cruz's preference for doctrinaire conservatives," writes Burgess in his latest this morning: It's Trump vs. Cruz in Ohio and Pa. Senate races | | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER FOR THE CHANCE TO JOIN US IN-PERSON. | | | | |
GREENE VS. … CATHOLIC BISHOPS! — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) took heat from a prominent fellow religious conservative after a clip from a recent interview she gave to the far-right Catholic site Church Militant went viral on Thursday. During the interview, Greene said that Christian groups' involvement in aid to immigrants were a sign that "Satan's controlling the church."
"The church is not doing its job. And it's not adhering to the teachings of Christ," Greene added, saying of Christian groups that help migrants and refugees that "their definition of what 'love one another' means means destroying our laws." Her remarks met with alarm from Bill Donohue, president of the conservative Catholic League, who issued a statement calling Greene a "disgrace" and urging her to "apologize to Catholics immediately." Greene responded to Donohue with a statement that took aim at Catholic bishops specifically, saying she stopped attending church after having children, deciding she couldn't trust that her kids would be safe from "pedophiles" in its ranks: "It's the church leadership I was referring to when I invoked the Devil." LARRY ON THE LINE — Larry Summers is expected to speak to the New Democrat Coalition's Inflation Working Group this afternoon at 3 p.m., per a House Democratic aide. The group is exploring policies that would lower prices for Americans. | | |
SENATE CONSTRUCTION ZONE — What in the name of the Ohio Clock is going on outside the Senate chamber? Plenty of people are wondering where the art and benches went, why busts of vice presidents are crowded together around the corner. Now there's a New York City-style scaffolding tunnel running through the middle.
The paint in the beautiful arched ceiling has been peeling, badly, for years. But it isn't just getting a new coat. "Based on paint analysis and historic photographs, the conservators are finalizing the circa 1865-1896 paint scheme, to be executed by the AOC Paint Shop. Initial work will focus on repairing plaster surfaces, followed by repainting, which includes trompe l'oeil panels and other decorative elements on the walls and ceilings," Christine Leonard at the Architect of the Capitol told Huddle Wednesday. As for the art: "The Senate art displayed in the corridor has been temporarily relocated for the duration of the project." PHASE TWO — Capitol Police manpower shortages had hampered the reopening of the Capitol Visitor Center, but a partial reopening is approaching, Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton told lawmakers Wednesday. The issue? Staffing the front doors: "It takes a significant amount of police presence to have the main doors of the visitor center manned," Blanton said at an appropriations subpanel hearing. He added Capitol Police expected to have enough personnel by Memorial Day weekend to "partially" reopen the Capitol Visitor Center doors and the rest of the complex, which has been closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Huddle is hearing that means just two magnetometers operating at the CVC's main entrance. A phased reopening of the Capitol began last month. QUICK LINKS Shunned by the Right, Murkowski Bets Big on the Center in Alaska, from Emily Cochrane at The New York Times Mentored by Young, GOP U.S. House candidates navigate a race shaped by his death, from Iris Samuels at the Anchorage Daily News SCOOP: McCarthy-aligned super PAC plans $125M ad buy to win the House, from Ally Mutnick Opinion: I'm back protecting the Capitol, helping tourists — and reliving Jan. 6, Aquilino Gonell in The Washington Post Scalise and Gaetz meet privately after tension over leaked audio, from Olivia TRANSITIONS Kristie Greco Johnson will join the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, effective June 13. She was most recently chief of staff for Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). Johnson previously served as senior advisor for Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and as the head of communications for the Federal Aviation Administration. Libertie Green is now the scheduler for Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). She most recently was finance associate at Eckert & Associates. | | | | A message from ACT|The App Association:   | | |
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. (Friday votes have been canceled, ICYMI) The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 9:45 a.m. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference. She will be joined by Schumer, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) to discuss lowering gas prices (Studio A). Noon Greene holds a press conference on Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter and her vision of free speech online (House Triangle). 1 p.m. Del. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.) and Reps. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) hold a press conference on equal treatment of veterans living in Puerto Rico (House Triangle). 3:45 p.m. Reps. Primila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and others hold a press conference on Title 42 (House Triangle). | | |
WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Edmund Sim correctly answered that Crowley, Louisiana, was home to Governor Edwin Edwards, Sen. John Breaux, Sen. Elaine Edwards, Rep. Chris John, and Victoria Reggie Kennedy.
TODAY'S QUESTION from Ed: To start Asian Pacific American history month early, who were the first Asian-American member of congress and Asian-American Senator? 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 ACT|The App Association: When the largest sellers on the app stores, with multi-billion-dollar valuations, come to Congress with proposals to reshape the mobile marketplace to suit their needs, policymakers should be rather skeptical. We urge Congress not to sacrifice consumers' most important privacy and security protections–and with them, the competitive prospects of small app companies–in order to further advantage the app stores' biggest winners. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/ | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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