| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by Connected Commerce Council | With help from Marianne LeVine PRIMING THE PARLIAMENTARIAN — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will submit text today to the Senate parliamentarian on a 50-Democrat agreement (yes, that includes Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)) to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug costs for Medicare, according to two sources familiar. That will kick off the so-called "Byrd Bath" where the parliamentarian reviews the proposed text to make sure it abides by the Senate's reconciliation rules. The bath is supposed to purge extraneous provisions that don't align with the reconciliation instructions. But drug price negotiation is just one piece of the puzzle. The rest of the party-line package is still in flux and isn't ready for its Byrd Bath. Schumer and Manchin have been meeting regularly about what might make it into the bill, talking about tax reform and climate provisions. The move does show serious commitment to moving forward on a new reconciliation bill, despite doubt among many on Capitol Hill that bringing a party-line package across the finish line before the midterms is possible. GUN LAW (AND CASH) HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL — There's abortion, inflation, gas prices and so much more to talk about on the campaign trail, but as mass shootings continue to strike communities across the country, gun laws are shaping up to be a topic of interest for the midterms. And gun safety advocates are betting big on it. Last month Congress passed the most significant gun policy package in nearly 30 years and Giffords PAC is pouring money into championing that legislative success and spotlighting lawmakers who opposed the legislation, Marianne reports this morning. Giffords PAC is investing $10 million in local, state and federal elections in Texas and Florida, which have both seen tragic mass shootings, as well as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Colorado, all key battlegrounds that will determine whether Democrats keep their Senate majority. The money will be spread between television and digital ads, plus public events and organizing efforts. Final passage of the bill was overshadowed in the moment, as the vote came in the hours after the Supreme Court's decision on abortion. Democratic supporters of the new law aim to remind voters that Congress actually took tangible action. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who led the negotiations, said he'd "absolutely" campaign against those who voted against the bill. Don't expect Republicans to stump on it, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he hoped the bipartisan bill would help Republicans with suburban voters who would support the modest changes the law provided. While Democrats in Congress called for more action on guns in the wake of the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, McConnell touted the bill lawmakers have already managed to pass. "The problem is mental health and these young men who seem to be inspired to commit these atrocities. So I think the bill that we passed targeted the problem," he said Tuesday, highlighting the bill's investments in school safety and mental health. "We have got to figure out some way to identify these troubled young men and it's very complicated." More: Gun safety group announces $10 million for battleground state races
| | | | 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 Wednesday, July 6, where there are just a few more recess days left. THEY WON'T PLAY BALL — A coalition of climate advocacy organizations plan to disrupt this year's Congressional Baseball Game, scheduled for July 28, unless Democrats pass a climate change bill through the budget reconciliation process. "We refuse to watch a member of Congress play baseball while the world burns," said Jamie DeMarco, federal policy director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network told The Washington Post. Disrupting the annual Republicans vs. Democrats baseball game at Nationals Park is an ambitious goal for the disillusioned climate activists. Security around the game is serious, given that the president usually stops by for a few innings. And security has been ramped up even further after a gunman opened fire on GOP lawmakers at a baseball practice in 2017, seriously injuring GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). With advanced notice of a disruption, attendees will likely face even more scrutiny from security officials. NEXT UP, EXTREMISM — The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection will hold a hearing next Tuesday focused on connections between the effort by former President Donald Trump and his inner circle's effort to overturn the 2020 election and violent, right-wing domestic extremist groups that organized the attack on the Capitol. The hearing was announced Tuesday, but aligns with next-steps projected by Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) before the current recess. It follows explosive surprise testimony last week from Cassidy Hutchinson, an ex-aide to former Trump chief of staff who outlined the then-president's knowledge that his supporters were armed before they headed to the Capitol. RELATED: Fulton grand jury subpoenas Giuliani, Graham, Trump campaign lawyers, from Tamar Hallerman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution WARNOCK LAWSUIT — Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) used campaign money to cover legal expenses for a lawsuit relating to his time as a church minister. The transactions raise questions about whether the spending breaks Federal Election Commission rules governing personal use of campaign funds, reports Natalie Allison. The lawsuit is a carbon copy of another that was filed in 2019 and dismissed, but this time Warnock is a sitting senator. While the lawsuit is widely viewed as frivolous, the question of campaign finance violations is not. Natalie walks through the case, the FEC's "irrespective test," and what's ahead .
| | 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). | | | BIDEN'S ANTI-ABORTION JUDGE — On June 23, White House aide Kathleen M. Marshall sent an email giving a heads up: "To be nominated tomorrow: … Stephen Chad Meredith: candidate for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky." Meredith is an anti-abortion Republican, who Biden intended to nominate as a federal district judge in Kentucky. The next day, the Supreme Court issued their decision overturning Roe v. Wade ending the constitutional right to abortion. And the nomination has still not been put forward. The team at the Louisville Courier Journal who broke the Meredith nomination news has a story outlining every twist, turn and the emails that flew between the White House, Gov. Andy Beshear's office and Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who vehemently opposes the nomination. Gov. Beshear turns over White House 'privileged' emails on Chad Meredith judge nomination, from Joe Sonka, Michael Collins and Joey Garrison at the Louisville Courier Journal. KINZINGER CALLS OUT THE CALLERS — Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is the latest lawmaker to make public the horrific threats and vile voicemails his staff field, a reality that has become the norm for so many offices on Capitol Hill. "The darkness has reached new lows," he tweeted Tuesday. "My new interns made this compilation of recent calls they've received while serving in my DC office." "Gonna get your wife. Gonna get your kids," one caller said. A woman caller said that she prayed "if it be God's will, that you suffer," and a man on another call said he hoped someone kills "your nasty mom and your nasty wife." What's an intern to do? Many other offices in both parties and both chambers face similar situations. Heads up for senior staff: The Congressional Management Foundation has guidance on how to change your congressional office's phone policy to protect staff (usually college age interns or entry level aides) from abusive and threatening calls. Recommendations include establishing a "tipping point" for sending calls to voicemail when vitriol heats up and giving individual staffers the ability to step back from phone duties for a period to recover from threatening or abusive calls.
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | MICK'S MUST-WATCH — One Republican who's been keeping an eye on (and tweeting along with) the Jan. 6 select committee hearings, says other Republicans should be tuning in. Mick Mulvaney, onetime acting chief of staff to President Donald Trump and a House Freedom Caucus founding member, is calling on Republicans to pay attention to the hearings in an Op-Ed in the Charlotte Observer. "Despite all of the flaws in the structure of the heavily Democrat committee, almost all of the evidence presented so far is coming from eminently credible sources: Republicans," he writes. "When Republicans start testifying under oath that other Republicans lost the 2020 election and then broke the law to try to change that, Republicans should pay attention. Everyone should." PRO TEM STARTS PT — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has been released from the hospital following his surgery for a broken hip last week. He's now in a rehabilitation facility "where he will continue to recover and focus on his physical therapy regimen," according to his staff. SEEKING BETA TESTERS: Were you glued to the election returns in 2020? The POLITICO Interactive News team is building the next generation of our results pages, and we want your help making them the best around. Sign up to be a beta tester and get early access to our work.
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Interns, this is for you… There's a meet and greet this Friday in the Rayburn Gold Room from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. hosted by Congressional Black Associates, Congressional Hispanic Staff Association and The Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association.
Hashtag corn watch… Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is at it again. Turns out "knee high by the 4th of July" is a thing of the past. QUICK LINKS Republican states are trying to use federal covid aid to cut taxes, from Tony Romm at The Washington Post Top secret D-Day map of Omaha Beach goes to Library of Congress, from Mchael E. Ruane at The Washington Post The insurrectionists' clubhouse: Former Trump aides find a home at a little-known MAGA hub , from Maggie Severns, Jason Paladino,Steve Reilly and Anya van Wagtendonk at Grid TRANSITIONS Ashleigh Padgett is starting a new role this week as Government Affairs Associate at Active Policy Solutions. She was previously a Senior legislative assistant for Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). Michael Scurato has joined House Energy and Commerce Committee staff on detail from the Federal Communications Commission. Scurato previously served in the FCC's Media Bureau and in the offices of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and former Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
| | | | A message from Connected Commerce Council:   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL Looking quiet.
| | | TUESDAY'S WINNER: Diana Deem correctly answered that Pennsylvania Rep. Galusha A. Grow became the only Speaker of the House of Representatives elected to that position on Independence Day when he assumed the office in 1861. TODAY'S QUESTION from Diana: What Vermont Senator is credited with writing the Land Grant College Acts of 1862 and 1890, and what was significant about the second law? 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). | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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