News: Hill mourns Abe, an ally assassinated

Friday, July 8, 2022

Hill mourns Abe, an ally assassinated

Jul 08, 2022

Presented by Connected Commerce Council

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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TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, July 8, where it is the last Friday of recess. Make it count.

ALL-SENATORS BRIEFING — Next Wednesday there will be an all-Senators classified briefing from administration officials "on the global innovation and technology race and the bipartisan innovation bill which is vital for America's long-term national security," per Schumer's office.

The briefing signals Schumer's commitment to the economic competitiveness legislation that is struggling through its conference committee and has faced an ultimatum from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The briefing could be a move to emphasize the importance of the bill aimed at bolstering U.S. competitiveness against China.

On McConnell's USICA threat: What do the Manchin/Schumer reconciliation talks mean for the economic competitiveness legislation that has been in the works for over a year? McConnell laid down an ultimatum last week to withhold GOP support if Dems pursue reconciliation.

"With all due respect Sen. McConnell, we're not there yet. This is a hypothetical. He's issuing a hypothetical threat," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said. "I am confident that I have Republican colleagues who know and recognize how urgent it is to invest significantly in our competitiveness and in meeting the challenges of this century."

INTO THE THICK OF IT, INTO THE THICK OF IT — The Jan. 6 select committee's next hearing will "plunge into conspiracy-driven fever swamp, where groups like the Proud Boys flourished and strategized openly ahead of Jan. 6," Kyle writes in POLITICO Nightly.

"Our investigation shows that there was a tremendous convergence of interests between the domestic violent extremist groups and the broader MAGA movement," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who will lead next week's hearing, told Nightly in an interview. "This hearing will be the moment when one sees both the convergence of efforts at a political coup with the insurrectionary mob violence. We see how these two streams of activity become one."

A message from Connected Commerce Council:

Small businesses face big consequences from overregulating tech. By breaking up integrated services, it gets harder and more expensive for smaller shops to reach customers. That's why 87% of small businesses are concerned that antitrust legislation is going to make digital tools more expensive and less useful. Say yes to supporting small business success. Vote NO on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992).

TRAVEL LOG — Kyiv: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) were in Ukraine Thursday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The pair gifted him a framed copy of a resolution they have proposed to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. Andrew has more on the trip.

Stockholm: A bipartisan group of lawmakers were in Sweden to attend a meeting of the Helsinki Commission, which monitors human rights and international cooperation. The group included Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) plus Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and August Pfluger (R-Texas).

Rzeszow: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) met with troops from Illinois stationed on the Polish-Ukraine border.

SENATE HOPEFULS STAY THE COURSE — GOP Senate hopefuls trying to win seats of retiring dealmakers aren't tacking to the center as they move from the primaries to the general election. The slate of GOP candidates is "largely foregoing appeals to the center, instead doubling down on conservative positions — from opposing popular bipartisan reforms to celebrating the rollback of abortion rights," Natalie Allison writes this morning.

"The stark difference in rhetoric and policy positions between those outgoing senators and the Republicans back home running for their seats also illustrates the deeply polarizing approach being taken by a new crop of GOP candidates," Natalie writes. "It's a reflection of both the Trumpification of the party and a calculation that they can still win because the environment is so bad for Democrats this year. And it shows their apparent belief that the electorate now prefers fighters, not peacemakers."

TEAM WALKER PLAYS DEFENSE AGAINST WALKER — Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker lied to his own campaign team about how many children he has, reports The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger. The story is full of stunners like this:

"Emails and texts show advisers discussing how they don't trust Walker — both to tell the truth to them and to handle campaign events properly — and harboring concerns that he isn't mentally fit for the job. He spouts falsehoods 'like he's breathing,' [one] adviser said — so much so that his own campaign stopped believing him long ago. 'He's lied so much that we don't know what's true,' the person said, adding that aides have 'zero' trust in the candidate. Three people interviewed for this article independently called him a 'pathological liar.'"

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QUICK LINKS

Ron Johnson Campaign Scrambled to Pull "Mass Murder" Ad After July 4 Mass Shooting, from The Intercept

Facing pressure, Biden to sign order on abortion access, from Seung Min Kim and Zeke Miller at The Associated Press

TRANSITIONS

Tyler Menzler has left Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' (R-Iowa) office for the role of communications director for Herschel Walker's Senate campaign. He starts Monday.

Max Richards is joining Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux's (D-Ga.) office as a special assistant. He was previously a legislative assistant for Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.).

Harlow Poteete is now scheduler for Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.). She most recently was scheduler for Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.).

Ben Johnson has been promoted to be deputy chief of staff for Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas). He continues as legislative director for the office.

Maggi McClanahan is starting as press secretary for Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). She previously was a press assistant for Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

Remy Golla is joining Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán's (D-Calif.) office as a legislative assistant covering defense, education and foreign affairs. He previously was an Asian Pacific American Institute Congressional Fellow in Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D-Wash.) office.

Audrey Cook is joining Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) office as deputy press secretary. She previously worked in regional comms at the RNC.

David Thompson is now senior legislative assistant for Rep. Shontel Brown (D–Ohio). He most recently was a legislative assistant for Rep. Charlie Crist (D–Fla.).

A message from Connected Commerce Council:

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are out.

AROUND THE HILL

Appreciate the (relative) calm ahead of the July sprint.

HUDDLE HOTDISH

THURSDAY'S WINNER: Michael Herson correctly answered that Claude Pepper made the jump from the Senate to the House (though not directly – he lost reelection and later ran in a newly drawn House district).

TODAY'S QUESTION: What strike on Capitol Hill brought in some unusual guests in January 1978?

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 Connected Commerce Council:

Small businesses run on tech. Integrated digital tools help Frank DiCarlantonio at Scaffidi's Restaurant reach customers, scale up, and compete. In fact, 75% of small business leaders say digital tools are important to their operations. But Congress is aiming to break up the digital tools and services that small businesses rely on—making them more expensive and harder to access. It could be the difference between success and closing their doors for good. Don't forget about small businesses. Vote NO on the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S.2992).