| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by the Flex Association | With help from Sarah Ferris EYES ON THE TIE — The spotlight is back on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to vote this morning on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. The Democratic votes on the panel are locked in and the one Republican who previously voted to confirm Jackson to the federal bench, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), has confirmed that he'll oppose her nomination this time. That sets up a likely tie vote along party lines. Untangling the knot: A committee deadlock typically means doom for a bill or nomination, but Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is expected to file a "motion to discharge" the committee from further consideration of her nomination. The full senate would have four hours to debate Schumer's discharge motion before a vote, with a simple majority needed to spring the Jackson nomination out of Judiciary. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has said she's a yes vote on Jackson, and could help move the nomination to the floor with a yes vote tonight. Keep an eye out sometime after 5:30 p.m. tonight. Anthony Adragna has a guide for the tie vote playbook. RELATED: Why Democrats hope Romney will support Ketanji Brown Jackson, from Seung Min Kim at The Washington Post CAN DEMS MAKE A DEAL? — They're returning to the table with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) after he dashed their big, bold Build Back Better dreams more than three months ago. They say they'll do it differently, quickly meeting Manchin where his priorities lie rather than dragging out slow-motion negotiations pushing for policies he'll never support. "We still have a chance to get something not just significant, but unprecedented, done. And I think we should use every possible ounce of energy we have to do that," said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). "April and May is a good window within which to do it." Cards on the table: "Manchin (D-W.Va.) is open to a smaller bill focused on raising taxes on the rich and big corporations married with prescription drug reform and climate spending, which would be a significant accomplishment if it actually gets to Biden's desk. He wants roughly half of any new revenues from the bill to go toward deficit reduction, and Democrats say that — if they can pass the package — they'll sell it this fall as a cost-cutting law that makes the wealthy pay their fair share," writes Burgess in: Dems plot spring sprint for party-line spending deal with Manchin
| | | | DON'T MISS 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. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, April 4. Ramadan Mubarak to everyone celebrating. STILL THE TRUMP SHOW? — Using Donald Trump as a bogeyman in this year's midterm wasn't exactly what Democrats expected going into this year. Then comes a few weeks of salacious headlines for Trump and his inner circle in Congress. Democrats hope that putting Trump and his inner circle top of mind will energize a restless base after a rocky few months for the party. Their argument to voters: Things may not be going great for Democrats, but wouldn't it be worse the other way? "We'll have to remind people of what that was like," Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said of the GOP's last turn in power. "And that sure scares the hell out of me." They'd be picking up a time-honored trick that Trump himself has mastered: fear. "A lot of this is causing a lot of fear among not just Democrats but also rational individuals everywhere," said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). And Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) added: "I do think the Ginni Thomas stuff, the Mo Brooks — all that helps our turnout a lot." Of course, this doesn't win in battleground districts. Most Dems defending GOP-friendly turf have little interest in nationalizing the election. They'll be running mayoral-style races — playing up local issues and training their attacks entirely on their own opponents — to make it less of a referendum on President Joe Biden. And hopefully keep the GOP's Trumpiest voters home. "You see that there's an energized Trump Republican base out there. There's probably less energy on our side. We're going to have to go out there and block and tackle," Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) said. | | | | A message from the Flex Association: Flex is a new trade association you should get to know. If you use transportation network and delivery network companies, you are part of an economic ecosystem that millions of drivers benefit from and many millions of customers depend on. Flex is a source for information and ideas and is an association that advocates for policies that help drivers, customers, and the economy thrive. Learn more. | | |
STATES WRESTLE COVID…AND CONGRESS — "States are eager to transition to a long-term Covid response strategy, but Congress' failure to provide new pandemic dollars is leaving them instead grappling with an acute crisis," writes Megan Messerly. Read more: States are ready to live with Covid. Congress' funding fight is making that hard.
TRUMP AND ELVIS — "Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kan.) sees a comparison between Mr. Trump and Elvis Presley. 'I don't know what President Trump's future holds, but I think the rock 'n' roll music's still playing,'" he told The Wall Street Journal. WSJ's Natalie Andrews and Eliza Collins dig into how Republicans are handling the split over the former president as they hurdle towards the midterms. MEIJER, MIRED — Rep. Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) got the Trump treatment this weekend, when the former president ripped into the freshman congressman for how his last name is spelled and pronounced. (Meijer is of course a household name in Michigan, where there's a beloved local chain of Meijer supermarkets.) "A guy who spells his name `M-E-I-J-E-R' but they pronounce it `MY-er,'" Trump said. "The hell kind of a spelling is that? `MY-er.' I said: `How the hell do you pronounce this guy's name?'" "Nobody knows him," Trump said of Meijer. "He's done nothing in Washington. I said `How do you pronounce his name? Is it 'MAY-jer? MY-jer?' They said it's `MY-er.' How the hell do you get `MY-er' out of it?" IT WASN'T APRIL FOOLS — No, really. Former Alaska Governor and onetime vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is running for Rep. Don Young's House seat and has already picked up an endorsement from Trump. (Remember that she endorsed him , too.)He called her a "wonderful patriot" and "tough and smart" and said she had been "a champion for Alaska values, Alaska energy, Alaska jobs, and the great people of Alaska." Check out this look at Palin's return to a party transformed, from David Siders: Palin's unexpected bid jolts Alaska DISSOLVED — The House Ethics Committee's Investigative Subcommittee looking into allegations against (former) Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.). He submitted his resignation and "As a consequence, the Investigative Subcommittee and the Committee no longer have jurisdiction over him. The Committee considers this matter closed. No other public statement will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules." | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | |
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A ROTUNDA REUNION FOR THE AGES — A pair of former Cuban political prisoners were unexpectedly reunited for the first time in more than 50 years in a visit to the U.S. Capitol last week. The two men, Ángel de Fana & Álvaro Borrego, were in neighboring cells in prison for years, but had not seen each other since. (De Fana served over 20 years in prison, and Borregos served 17 years.)
One of the men was in town for a visit to Rep. Mario Diaz Balart's (R-Fla.) D.C. office — and the other was the grandfather of the congressman's intern, who had been showing the visitors around. Don't miss the video, from Diaz Balart's team. QUICK LINKS Jan. 6 panel wonders: Is Trump criminal referral necessary?, from Nicholas and Kyle IRS Races to Hire Thousands in Hot Job Market to Get Rid of Paper Jam, from Richard Rubin and Niki Chan Wylie for The Wall Street Journal TRANSITIONS Steve Ruhlen is rejoining Rep. Kay Granger's (R-Texas) office as chief of staff, a position he previously held in 2015, taking over for Cole Rojewski. Ruhlen most recently was a partner at Total Spectrum and is a Bush White House alum. Jazmine Kemp has been promoted to deputy chief of staff for Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.). She previously was his communications director. Dave Straka is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio). He previously was a legislative correspondent for Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). Robert Winkler, a former SASC staffer, has joined Kratos as vice president for corporate development and national security programs. Bryson Wong is now director for federal government affairs for the Idaho National Laboratory. He previously was a senior legislative assistant for Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
| | | | A message from the Flex Association:   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with votes at 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 3 p.m. House Rules Committee business meeting on a resolution recommending that former Trump administration officials Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino be held in contempt of Congress for refusing subpoenas issued by the Jan. 6 Committee to investigate the attack on the Capitol (H-313). | | |
FRIDAY'S WINNER: Joe Bookman was the only person to submit a correct answer on Friday, that Sen. James Shields represented three states: Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri.
TODAY'S QUESTION: Who was the first Black justice on the Florida Supreme Court?
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 the Flex Association: What is Flex? A new trade association made up of DoorDash, Gopuff, Grubhub, HopSkipDrive, Instacart, Lyft, Shipt, and Uber. We deliver facts, data and public policy ideas to inform the conversation on the app-based economy and workforce.
We are a voice for the millions of app-based drivers, consumers, and entrepreneurs who rely on our platforms. We advance commonsense policies that strengthen our transportation and delivery networks, improve safety, advance sustainability, and deliver equity and opportunity so all communities can thrive.
Our industry touches nearly every community across America. App-based platforms provide services that so many depend on, throughout the pandemic and day in, day out. We contribute nearly $350 billion to the economy. We provide flexible opportunities for tens of millions of Americans who want to earn on their own terms. And we continue to advocate for innovative policies to better serve drivers, customers, and the communities where we live and work. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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