ABE ASSASINATION — The world was stunned overnight by the assasination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a campaign event. The country's longest-serving prime minister was a staunch U.S. ally and resigned in 2020 for health reasons, but remained a power player in Japanese politics. There are sure to be outpourings throughout the day from the American political sphere and some have already started to roll in. Sen. John Cornyn: "Tragic loss of one of Japan's leading statesmen. Hard to believe it was just April when I had a chance to meet Prime Minister Abe," he posted, with a picture of him, Abe, former ambassador to Japan and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) called the assasination "A dastardly act" and noted that he'd met with Abe twice, calling him "A superior leader and diplomat." He offered "Condolences to his family and all of Japan." Former President Donald Trump: He described Abe as a "truly great man and leader" on Truth Social and said he "was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America." In 2015 Abe spoke at a joint meeting of Congress and quoted Carole King. RECONCILIATION STATE-OF-PLAY — Senate Democrats are eyeing the closed-door door negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on a potential reconciliation package, some with high hopes and others with jaded skepticism. What Manchin wants: Manchin is seeing "if there is a pathway forward to shore up domestic energy production and reduce emissions, lower health care costs for seniors and working families, and ensure everyone is paying their fair share of taxes," according to Sam Runyon, a spokeswoman for Manchin. This week Democrats finalized a prescription drug pricing reform, which both lowers prices and is expected to raise at least $250 billion in revenues and submitted it to the Senate parliamentarian for review. Next, they plan to submit an additional piece on a deal that extends Medicare solvency. Both those pieces are expected to have the support of all 50 Senate Democrats. Next up is the Byrd Bath. On energy: Manchin is looking at a $300 billion pricetag on energy provisions and new subsidies for electric vehicles could be cut, a second person familiar with the negotiations told Burgess and Marianne. On health and taxes: Health care premiums are set to skyrocket this fall and Democrats are hoping to legislate a solution to avoid that, in addition to tax increases and enforcement that would both pay for the bill and reduce the deficit — both big priorities of Manchin's. Manchin and Schumer are aiming at legislation that provides $1 trillion in new revenues, split half-and-half between deficit reduction and energy and health spending. But the tax and energy provisions are far from solid. If you want to know how tightly held these negotiations are, even Burgess says they're tough to cover because the only people in the know are Manchin and Schumer and a handful of staff and advisors. That's strategic. Who could forget that Manchin and Schumer entered into a secret reconciliation agreement last July and five months later Manchin scuttled President Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill. Plus Manchin's opposition to weakening the legislative filibuster, it hasn't always been smooth sailing between the pair. Much more on where things stand, from Burgess and Marianne: Dems' climate and tax agenda to consume Congress in July
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