| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | HOT FOR FALL: JUDICIAL ROBES — There are months of summer weather left in Washington, but September in the Senate will bring that crisp fall feeling of … freshly minted judges. Democrats are eyeing the November midterms. Could their days advising and consenting on judicial nominees be numbered? They want to expand their barely-there majority, but if they can't, they'll hand confirmation of judicial nominees to Republicans. President Joe Biden has gotten more judges confirmed at this point in his presidency than Donald Trump, Barack Obama or George W. Bush. (Thanks, in part, to the 2019 rules change that expedited the confirmation of district court nominees.) But there's still pressure to pick up the pace. Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the holdup is on the Senate floor, not his committee: "We're producing judges at a historic clip — good, quality people with thorough investigations, and they're piling up on the floor," Durbin said. "I'm urging my colleagues to set aside some time." The panel currently has 29 announced judicial nominees: 5 waiting committee action and 22 awaiting floor votes. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.): "Democrats really need to step up on judges." She's talked to Durbin (D-Ill.) and thinks "we're going to have to double down in September," she said. "We need more days, more hearings, more everything but we need to get these judges through." Marianne LeVine digs into the data, progressive pressure and floor schedule realities in her story this morning: Senate prepares to pick up the judicial-pick pace as November looms.
| | | | 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 Monday, August 22, where a lifetime appointment is nice, if you're into that sort of thing. PAY FLOOR — The House's new $45,000 pay floor for full-time staff goes into effect next week and the chamber is gearing up to educate offices about what this means. Permanent, full-time staff and shared employees in personal office, committee, House officer, or leadership offices are eligible. Employees designated as "part-time," interns and other "non-permanent" positions are exempt from the pay floor. The House's Office of Payroll and Benefits is holding weekly webinars through the Congressional Staff Academy for Office Financial Administrators to get them up to speed and ensure compliance. "The Office of Payroll and Benefits will notify offices that have employees that do not meet the minimum annual rate of pay, based on their position type," according to a memo that went out on Friday. RUDY FOR INDIANA — Republicans in Indiana picked Rudy Yakym over the weekend to replace the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) on the ballot in November, following a nod from Walorski's husband last week. The reliably red district will make Yakym a favorite against Democrat Paul Steury and Libertarian William Henry. The November election will both decide who will complete the last few weeks of Walorski's term and choose a successor for the 118th Congress. More from Carley Lanich at the South Bend Tribune: Rudy Yakym, candidate endorsed by Jackie Walorski's husband, picked in Indiana GOP caucus GOING AFTER GOLDMAN — Progressives in the crowded field in New York's 10th Congressional District are taking aim at moderate Dan Goldman, who has surged into frontrunner status. "For much as the left complains about Goldman's elite background, Democrats privately acknowledge liberal votes are splintered in the newly created 10th District, which spans from lower Manhattan into parts of Brooklyn. After recent successes uniting around one insurgent challenger in Democratic primaries, progressives may be watching their field's ambition get in the way of a prime opportunity to claim a congressional seat in a liberal bastion," writes Nicholas Wu. RELATED: Can Anybody Stop Dan Goldman? From Nia Prater in New York Magazine OOO: UPPER CRUST CONUNDRUM — "In a twist befitting two of the wealthiest districts in the United States, the races could well be won or lost miles outside the city, in places like the Hudson Valley, the Berkshires and, above all, the sandy coast of eastern Long Island, where otherwise reliable voters … decamp in droves each August to spend the final weeks of summer in second homes and vacation rentals," writes Nicholas Fandos in The New York Times, from the Hamptons. How can Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler coax voters to abandon their vacations and come home to vote this week?
|  Dennis Rodman after being introduced as part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at on February 20, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. | Getty Images | DENNIS "DIPLOMACY" RODMAN — "I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl," Former NBA player Dennis Rodman told NBC News Saturday, referring to Brittney Griner. "I'm trying to go this week." The WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges earlier this month. The Worm has palled around with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the past and called Russian President Vladimir Putin "cool" after a trip to Moscow in 2014. More from NBC's convo with Rodman at a D.C. restaurant this weekend.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO 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. | | | | | QUICK LINKS Messy N.H. Senate race to end a messy GOP primary season, from Natalie Allison Congress ordered agencies to use tech that works for people with disabilities 24 years ago. Many still haven't, from Ruth Reader TRANSITIONS Murkowski hires three staff orphaned by the late Congressman Don Young's passing , from Amanda Bohman at the Fairbanks Daily News Miner Chonya Johnson is now chief of staff for Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). She previously was senior domestic policy adviser at Bread for the World. Marli Collier is now comms manager for Airlines for America. She most recently was press secretary for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Republicans and is a Shelley Moore Capito alum. Alejandra "Allie" Rodriguez has launched Alera Political Communications, a bilingual consulting firm that works to get conservatives elected. She is also press secretary for Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). Tyler Grassmeyer is joining the Observatory Group as senior Washington analyst. He previously was deputy chief of staff for Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL Looking quiet.
| | | FRIDAY'S WINNER: Vicki DiLeo correctly answered that former Ways and Means Committee Chair Dan Rostenkowski once tried to play professional baseball and the Philadelphia Athletics offered him a tryout? Fun fact: Connie Mack (grandfather of Senator Connie Mack) offered Rosty the tryout. TODAY'S QUESTION: This year marks the 50th anniversary (1972) of the enactment of the law governing the procurement of architectural, engineering, and related services by Federal agencies. What is the name of this law and its author/namesake? 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 | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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