| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | With help from Jordain Carney EMERGENCY HEARING — The House Judiciary Committee is pressing pause on the Memorial Day recess to take up a slate of gun safety proposals in response to the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo. But more mass shootings have taken place even since the markup was announced earlier this week. Last night, a man opened fire in a medical office building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing four people and wounding several others before he took his own life. The gunman used both a rifle and a handgun in the attack. On the agenda: Legislative proposals under consideration include raising the age limit to purchase some semi-automatic rifles to 21 years old and establishing a federal ban on new high-capacity magazines. Two proposals would address safe gun storage and another would create a new federal firearms offense for gun trafficking and straw purchases. The bills would codify an array of regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, including banning so-called "bump stocks" and subjecting "ghost guns" to the same background check and serial number requirements as traditional firearms. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) committed Wednesday that the House would take action on an assault weapons ban, despite no path for such a measure, or many of the proposals before Judiciary today, in the Senate. SENATE ACTION — Senators are inching closer to a bipartisan agreement on gun reforms as they enter the final days of the one-week break — but hurdles remain. The nine-member group met virtually Wednesday for roughly an hour. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) tweeted afterward that there was "growing momentum" and they had "agreed on a plan to keep working." The group wants to eke out a proposal by next week. GOP Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), another member of the group, sounded optimistic, saying that they "are making rapid progress" toward a package that could get bipartisan support. The Senate negotiators are working on several pieces of a potential agreement: Tightening background check laws and providing grants to incentivize states to pass so-called "red flag" laws. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have taken the lead on the second piece and got feedback from their colleagues Wednesday, according to Blumenthal. They are also working on safe storage for firearms, providing more money for mental health and have said school security is on the table. "We are all speaking multiple times a day. There is still significant work to do and hurdles to overcome," Blumenthal said in a statement provided to POLITICO. | | | | WIN A VIP TICKET TO JOIN POLITICO's CONGRESS TEAM FOR COCKTAILS AND CONVERSATION: Our reporters spend each day firing off questions to elected officials and their staff – so we figured it's time to return the favor and give lawmakers a chance to turn the tables on us with a (short!) reverse press conference, featuring Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representative Julia Letlow (R-LA) followed by cocktails & conversation. Enter for a chance to join newsmakers at this exclusive event on June 15th at The Observatory at America's Square on Capitol Hill. Winners will be notified by June 10th (travel and accommodations not provided, this is a widely attended event pursuant to House & Senate ethics rules). ENTER HERE. | | | | |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, June 2 where House disbursements have us thinking about lunch already. (More on that below.)
TRACK IT ALL: ARMS AND EXPENDITURES — Congress overwhelmingly approved $40 billion to help Ukraine fend off the ongoing Russian invasion, but it would like an itemized receipt. Especially if lawmakers are going to back any more requests from the Biden Administration for Ukraine aid. The Pentagon is under growing scrutiny from Congress to have a clear accounting of where the money and firepower is being doled out, and how it is being used, report Andrew Desiderio, Lara Seligman and Connor O'Brien. It's not a partisan concern. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has raised questions and Sen Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held up the recent package with a demand that Congress tap a special inspector general to monitor the spending of the Ukraine funds. Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an email that a full accounting of the already-appropriated funding will be "critically important for both past and future funding requests." Key context: Biden announced on Wednesday that the U.S. will send a $700 million package of arms to Ukraine, the first trance from that massive funding bill Congress passed last month. It includes a precision-guided rocket system that will allow Ukraine to strike targets even further away, but Ukrainian officials have given "assurances" to Washington that they won't use them to strike within Russia, which could provoke escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not-so-ancient history: U.S. weapons sent to war zones across the globe have gone missing or unused, and sometimes have fallen into enemy hands. And Ukraine has previously been a hub for smuggling . But Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said "Ukraine is a different story" because its forces are well-trained and have been using the weapons for several years already. "Obviously, we always have to be on the lookout, but this is not the same scenario that we have in the past," Gallego said. "There have been agreements between our governments about [some of the weapons'] usage. And I believe so far Ukraine has abided by all of them." AN OPENING IN THE MAP MESS — While incumbent New Yorkers on Capitol Hill lamented and scrambled to adjust to the newly drawn electoral maps, a 38-year-old Asian-American state assemblymember saw an opening. Yuh-Line Niou pivoted from a state senate run to the new 10th Congressional District, which includes Chinatowns in both Manhattan and Brooklyn's Sunset Park. Twenty percent of the voters in NY-10 are Asian American. She's facing some recognizable names, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Rep. Liz Holtzman (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who currently lives in and represents a district more than 30 miles north. And this week, Daniel Goldman, who served as counsel for House Democrats during the first Trump impeachment inquiry, announced that he's running for Congress in NY-10. "I see myself as the underdog, but I also see myself winning," Niou said. "There's a lot of erasure, especially when women and women of color run. There's a lot of focus on when big names are running — or like when, you know, it's men." Nicholas spent time with Niou in New York: One 'underdog' candidate sees opportunity in N.Y. maps mess COMPETITION CONFERENCE — A coalition of online marketplaces and resale sites, including ebay, ETSY, Poshmark and others are urging the China competition bill conference committee to scrap language the package on accountability for counterfeit goods and country of origin labeling. The group, which calls itself the Coalition to Protect America's Small Sellers (PASS) is urging conferees in a letter to ditch the SHOP SAFE Act, which would require online marketplaces to adopt a set of preventative measures or face greater liability for counterfeits purchased on their platforms.
- The letter is the latest move in a months-long lobbying fight between the SHOP SAFE Act and the INFORM Consumers Act, both of which aim to crack down on the sale of counterfeit goods online.
- The coalition wants to lock in provisions from the INFORM Consumers Act, which would require online marketplaces to take steps to verify the identity of high-volume sellers and provide some of that information to customers.
Also asking: The group also wants to see major changes to the Country of Origin Labeling Act section, which they say as currently written "would make it virtually impossible to sell products online for millions of American small and microbusinesses."
- They want an exemption for small sellers, a process for situations where the seller doesn't know the origin and to limit liability of marketplaces.
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Members of the K-pop supergroup BTS from left, V, Jungkook, Jimin, RM, Jin, J-Hope, and Suga join White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during the daily briefing at the White House, Tuesday, May 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) | AP Photo/Evan Vucci |
COOL SHADE STUNNER — Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) isn't on Senate Armed Services, but he's in the BTS Army. Back on May 26, when it was announced that the the mega-star K-Pop band BTS would be visiting the White House, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said:
"I'm the only U.S. Senator who knows who BTS is," per WSJ's Natalie Andrews. (She's both on Armed Services and in the BTS Army, it seems.) But Coons responded on Twitter, "Not even close. #BTSARMY" with a photo of what looks like his desk with a photo of the band among framed family photos. Hirono tested his commitment to the band asking, "If you're a true fan, who's your bias? And don't ask your staff." (For the uninitiated a "bias" in BTS fandom is a fan's favorite member, a "bias wrecker" is the member who tries to drag you away from that favorite.) After their White House briefing room appearance this week to talk about anti-Asian racism and hate crimes, Coons was ready to declare : RM is his Bias and J-Hope is his bias wrecker. We're waiting for Hirono to respond with hers. Meanwhile… Tucker Carlson belittled the group's appearance at the White House. RIP his mentions. SNACK ATTACK — First quarter House disbursements are out and Nicholas did us all a favor and rounded up some notable food spending.
- We The Pizza: House offices spent $2,700.70 at the pizza joint just down the street from the Capitol.
- Chick-Fil-A: A GOP mainstay, the fast food chain raked in $4,940.05 from Republican offices in Q1, with $729.94 from the office of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.).
- Hill Country Barbecue: House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn's (D-S.C.) office loves the taste of central Texas. His office spent $5,507.95 at Hill Country BBQ.
- Trump Hotel: Rep. Lauren Boebert's (R-Colo.) office spent $1,304.16 at BLT Prime at the Trump International Hotel in Washington in Q1. Will the spending habits change now that Trump's name was taken off the building (and the lease)?
That's just a taste. Don't miss Nicholas' roundup, plus a brief explainer on which situations allow offices to spend tax dollars on food. QUICK LINKS Pa. GOP gubernatorial nominee shares documents with Jan. 6 panel, agrees to interview, from Betsy Woodruff Swan House Republicans to unveil conservative road map on climate, energy, from Maxine Joselow and Jeff Stein at The Washington Post Former House Speaker Paul Ryan campaigns for Tom Rice in Florence, from Nick Reynolds from The Post and Courier TRANSITIONS Joelle Lawrence is now a press assistant for Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.). She previously was a staff assistant/legislative correspondent for Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. House Judiciary holds a markup of gun safety legislation (Rayburn 2141) | | |
WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Grace Ko correctly answered that the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, providing for the direct popular election of senators.
TODAY'S QUESTION from Grace: Whose portrait did Dolley Madison decide to save during the burning of the White House by the British in 1814? 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 | | | | DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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