News : Meet the dealmakers-in-waiting

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Meet the dealmakers-in-waiting

Jul 05, 2022

Presented by Connected Commerce Council

With an assist from Andrew Desiderio

The country is reeling from yet another mass shooting, this time at an idyllic Independence Day parade in Chicago's North Shore suburbs. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and his campaign team were gathered at the start of the parade route in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire, killing at least a half dozen people and wounding dozens. His team was safe. The victims ranged in age from 8 to 85, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Last month Congress passed the most significant gun reform legislation in nearly 30 years, but Monday's tragedy has Democrats calling for more.

"Let us renew our vow to never relent until all our children can live free from the fear of gun violence," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said.

"Today proved that we can't stop there. We have to do more to keep our communities safe. We have to pass additional commonsense reforms that wide majorities of Americans are crying out for," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said in a statement on Monday.

DEAL MAKERS IN WAITING — The House Republican conference is known for its bomb throwers and rabble rousers. But with much anticipation of a GOP takeover in the midterm elections, there's a question of what a Republican controlled House could actually accomplish during a Biden presidency.

A top priority will be thwarting Biden at every turn, plus a cascade of investigations. But that isn't enough to satisfy some GOP lawmakers, who truly want to govern.

Enter, the dealmakers. They come from two camps: classic centrists who can find common ground with Democrats and conservative Republicans with tailored policy goals who can build odd-couple coalitions working on specific issues.

"Everything has to be a deal. If you can't make a deal, you're not going to be able to play. … It will be a big test as to whether you want to govern, whether you want to make a difference or make a point," Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told Jordain. Cole is the type of old-school pragmatist now nearly extinct in Congress.

The mod squad: GOP moderates, like Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who represent Biden-won districts, see a blueprint in last year's bipartisan infrastructure bill, which was negotiated by a group of centrists in the Senate. Others in that moderate camp include Reps. David Valadao (Calif.), Young Kim (Calif.) and María Salazar (Fla.), who will be potential deal-makers to watch if they win in November.

Pinpointing policies: But GOP moderates are a shrinking contingent of the conference, so there are also conservatives ready to make a deal.

"One of my biggest frustrations with bipartisanship in this town and how it's covered … is you think a really moderate Republican and a really moderate Democrat come together and make a deal — well, they agree 97 percent of the time. That's not bipartisanship. Bipartisanship, in my opinion, is a guy like me working with Hakeem Jeffries," Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) told Jordain. (The pair got 143 Republicans to support nixing federal sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses.)

But dealmaking at all will be a hard sell within the conference. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said "There's nothing we agree with them on," about the Biden administration.

Don't miss Jordain's dive into the (potential) dealmakers of a GOP-held House.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, July 5, where it is going to feel like a Monday, just be warned.

A TRAILER, TAILORED — POLITICO has exclusively obtained an over two minute long trailer for Alex Holder's "Unprecedented," the British filmmaker's upcoming Discovery+ docuseries about the Trump family. It was part of the hours of footage that was turned over the the House Jan. 6 committee under subpoena. Watch for yourself.

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SENATE ON THE ROAD — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is a fixture of the modern CODEL. She's not always in the spotlight back home, but at the NATO Summit in Madrid last week, the well-traveled Shaheen was swarmed by foreign press whenever she walked inside the vast media center at the annual gathering.

Andrew had rare access to the CODEL at last week's summit in Madrid and saw how CODELs can be Congress' secret weapon for getting things done at home.

The modern CODEL has facilitated dealmaking on Capitol Hill by allowing lawmakers to build trust on a personal level — something that has increasingly become impossible in today's political environment. During a CODEL, Andrew observed, "the rigid, often scripted nature of their typical day-to-day essentially disappears, allowing CODELs to function as a counterweight to domestic polarization."

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) barely knew each other before they started working on last month's historic gun safety bill, but what brought them together in the first place was a CODEL to the Balkans just two months prior. It shows how CODELs not only serve U.S. diplomatic goals, but they also foster bipartisan cooperation on issues completely unrelated to foreign policy. In Madrid, Tillis and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) even relaunched their immigration reform talks. Andrew traced the history of CODELs, from Dean Acheson to John McCain: The lore of 'CODELs': How foreign travel helps Congress at home

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).

LYING IN STATE — Woody Williams, a West Virginian and Marine who fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, will lie in honor in the Capitol. Williams was the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient before his death on June 29. He was 98. Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the honor over the weekend, but an exact date is not yet set.

"When Woody lies in honor under the Capitol Dome, it will be with immense gratitude for his service that the Congress will pay tribute to this legendary hero — and all of the patriots who fought for our nation in World War II," said Pelosi in a statement.

MEDAL ROUNDUP — The proposed design for the Congressional Gold Medals honoring law enforcement officers' defense of the Capitol on Jan. 6 2021 have been finalized for final signoff by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The designs include a view of the Capitol Building with a flag at half-staff with a ring around the image that looks like the windows of the Capitol Rotunda. On the reverse, the American flag is depicted alongside the service badges of the Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police with the inscription is "Honoring the Service and Sacrifice of Those Who Protected the U.S. Capitol."

Before the design process began, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee got a presentation from Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Weight about his own experience on the day of the insurrection, along with the service of his colleagues who protected the Capitol. CoinWeek (a publication from the U.S. Mint, in case you're not a frequent reader) has more.

Presidential Medal Recipients: The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) are among the 17 Americans who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden at a ceremony this week. Another Arizonan, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), is also set to be honored with a medal.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Giffords's husband, guessed that he and Cindy McCain "might be the proudest spouses in Arizona right now. I can't think of two Americans more deserving of this honor." More about the medal recipients here.

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HUDDLE HOTDISH

Walker might have to walk… Herschel Walker's classic car broke down in the middle of the parade route in his hometown of Wrightsville, Georgia. Greg Bluestein from the Atlanta Journal Constitution captured the scene, including folks pushing his car.

It's that time of year… When Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) walks across Connecticut. This time he started in Massachusetts (?) in a kayak (?).

QUICK LINKS

McConnell wants to win the suburbs by defusing cultural hot buttons. Trump and his own party have other ideas, from Sahil Kapur and Allan Smith at NBC News

Economic concerns — now joined by abortion rights and the Jan. 6 hearings — loom over midterm races, from Jessie Van Berkel and Hunter Woodall from the Minneapolis Star Tribune

If the U.S. Is in a Recession, It's a Very Strange One, from Jon Hilsenrath at The Wall Street Journal

TRANSITIONS

Jamie DeAtley is now a senior adviser for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). He previously was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md).

Daniel Bucheli is now deputy chief of staff and communications director for Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas). He previously was comms director for Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).

A message from Connected Commerce Council:

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The Senate convened at 6:25 a.m. for a pro forma session (you snooze, you lose.)

AROUND THE HILL

A quiet start to a short week.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY'S WINNER: Jennifer Stern correctly answered that the state constitution of Nevada was sent by telegram and transmitted entirely in Morse Code. The transmission, in the middle of the Civil War, was no easy feat. The National Archives have more on the creative endeavor.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Only one House speaker has ever been elected to the position on Independence Day. Who was it?

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).