Congress takes it to the bank

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Mar 14, 2023 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus With an assist from Jordain Carney House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry and rankng member Rep. Maxine Waters are plotting a hearing. But the details are TBD. | Alex Wong/Getty Images MORE BANK FOR YOUR BUCK — They’ve gotten briefing after briefing on the bank collapses over the weekend, but lawmakers aren’t out of questions. They want to know why Silicon Valley Bank’s balance sheet was so tenuous, what California regulators could have done differently and what broad economic conditions paved the way for the implosion. As the FDIC moves ahead with plans to try (again) to auction off the failed Silicon Valley Bank, lawmakers are looking ahead to holding hearings on the banks’ collapse and possibly the government’s response. CUE THE HEARINGS — Congress is watching like a hawk as this all unfolds. The top Democrats in both chambers have promised that they’ll be “looking closely at the causes” behind the bank run that spelled the end for Silicon Valley Bank and others “and how we can prevent a similar crisis in the future,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Monday. The House Financial Services Committee is shifting into high gear too. Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) met with subcommittee chairs Monday afternoon and held a larger briefing with Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the House Republicans Conference later in the evening. The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), told POLITICO’s Eleanor Muller on Monday that she and McHenry “are planning to have a hearing as soon as possible." “As the chair of the committee I’ll make those decisions in the coming days,” McHenry told our other POLITICO colleague Sam Sutton. “If the banks have made mistakes, if the investments have been bad, if they weren't watching the balance sheet — they're going to be held accountable," Waters said Notable: While some GOP lawmakers are blasting the Biden administration for the intervention, McHenry said he thinks the administration and agencies are trying their best to keep lawmakers updated with “accurate and adequate and quick information in a dynamic situation.” But there is pressure from some within the GOP to come down harder on Biden and Democrats and lay the blame squarely at their feet. House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) pushed back against comments in favor of lowering the partisan heat and during the House GOP briefing last night, Olivia reported. The best advice you’ll hear all week: Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) warned his colleagues on the call against tweeting and going on TV to talk about the bank collapse if they don’t understand the details. Eye out: The Labor Department will issue its February consumer-price index report this morning, a closely watched measure of inflation. The update could steer the Fed’s decisions on interest rate hikes, but the banking turbulence of recent days will surely factor into the Fed’s next steps. RELATED READS: How Biden saved Silicon Valley startups: Inside the 72 hours that transformed U.S. banking, from Adam Cancryn, Ben White and Victoria Guida; FDIC Planning Another Silicon Valley Bank Auction, from Andrew Ackerman at The Wall Street Journal McCONNELL MAKES PROGRESS — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was discharged from the hospital on Monday after last week’s fall and concussion. He will spend a period in an inpatient rehabilitation facility for physical therapy before returning home. In addition to the concussion, doctors found a “minor rib fracture” resulting from his fall last week. The statement from spokesperson David Popp did not say when McConnell will return to the Senate.   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, March 14, where we’re thinking of former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who knew where to store his cash. (This is not financial advice.) A DIFFERENT BANKING UPDATE — Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced on Tuesday morning that Treasury has agreed to give him access to suspicious activity reports (SARs) related to “Biden family and their associates’ business transactions” as part of his investigation into Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden and other family members. “We are going to continue to use bank documents and suspicious activity reports to follow the money trail,” Comer said, adding that if needed the committee would “use tools at our disposal to compel compliance” in the future. As part of the deal the committee will get “in camera review,” which means that committee staff will go to Treasury to review the financial documents. A GOP committee aide said they also believed they would get access to reports all related to everyone from their January letter, where Comer requested any SARS related to Hunter Biden and several associates. As part of the agreement, the committee postponed a transcribed interview that had been scheduled for Thursday morning with Jonathan Davidson, Treasury’s assistant secretary for legislative affairs. OPEN SEASON  — A trove of data from the recent breach of D.C. Health Link was posted online Sunday and includes nearly 2,000 entries on members, families and staff, CyberScoop reports. From the CyberScoop report: “By late Monday, the user that uploaded the data threatened that more was to come. ‘More data exists, but will not be leaked for the time being,’ a user named Denfur posted. ‘The use of it is something important. More than one database were (sic) exposed.’” Briefing today: The House Administration Committee is expected to hold a members-only bipartisan briefing today on the breach. EAT YOUR HEART OUT, BUDGET NERDS — The Biden administration posted the appendix, analytical perspectives and other explanatory materials for the president’s fiscal 2024 budget proposal. Enjoy your tables, friends. AHEAD: AUMF VOTE — Schumer is expected to file cloture today on a bipartisan bill to kill both the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq’s government. That puts the Senate on a rough timeline to take a procedural vote on Thursday and consider final passage as soon as next week. The repeal push, led by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a 13-8 vote. If this feels familiar, it is because the House voted to repeal the 2002 Iraq authorization in 2021 with bipartisan support. But the Senate did not vote. Attendance will be key. Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and John Fetterman (Pa.) are expected to still be out, along with McConnell. But last week more than a half dozen senators missed votes. The threshold for cloture doesn’t shift if senators are absent, supporters will just need to find more votes. There are 12 GOP cosponsors. PAT SCHROEDER DIES  — Former Rep. Patricia Schroeder, a liberal Colorado Democrat who served 12 terms in the House, died at 82 from complications from a stroke. An ardent feminist, she reshaped the role of women in American politics and on Capitol Hill, where she was a key player in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. “I have a brain and a uterus, and I use them both,” she responded when one male lawmaker questioned how she could be a mother, wife and Congresswoman. Patricia Schroeder, congresswoman who wielded barbed wit, dies at 82, from The Washington Post; Patricia Schroeder, Feminist Trailblazer in Congress, Dies at 82, from The New York Times   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     QUICK LINKS  House Republicans Quietly Halt Inquiry Into Trump’s Finances, from Luke Broadwater and Jonathan Swan at The New York Times Ted Cruz's publisher shaved off his mullet on the cover of his new book about 'cultural Marxism', from Bryan Metzger at Insider Ron DeSantis Says Protecting Ukraine Is Not a Key U.S. Interest, from Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times TRANSITIONS  Naree Ketudat is joining DHS as assistant press secretary. She previously was comms director for Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.). Britton T. Burdick will serve as Democratic communications director for the House Agriculture Committee. He was most recently communications director for Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 4 p.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. and will resume consideration of the nomination of Brent Neiman, of Illinois, to be a Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury. AROUND THE HILL 4:45 p.m. Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on the U.S. Space Force Programs in review of the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization request. (Russell 222) TRIVIA MONDAY’S WINNER: Zach Cohen correctly answered that John C. Calhoun cast 31 tie breaking votes as vice president, the most of any vice president in history. (Kamala Harris is at 29.) TODAY’S QUESTION from Zach: Who is the only person to ever serve as governor of two U.S. states, and which states were they? 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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