GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, April 4, where sometimes you gotta let somewhere else be the center of the political universe for a little while. Best wishes, NYC. (INVESTIGATIVE) HIGH, HIGH HOPES? — House Republicans spent months talking up what they would investigate if they won back the majority, including hunting for a smoking gun linking President Joe Biden to his son's business deals and GOP claims of political bias within the federal government against conservatives. Now, roughly two months into wielding their gavels, Republicans are facing indifference from both governing-minded conservatives and centrists within their party while part of their base, including prominent pundits, wants to see them hit the gas. Some of the angst is due to unrealistic expectations for the the politicized government subpanel run by Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and the Oversight Committee led by chair James Comer (R-Ky.). Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), for example, told Jordain that some of his constituents think lawmakers should have indictment powers and be making arrests. But it also comes as the GOP’s hyped probes are running into the slow-mo nature of congressional reality, with Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a member of both panels, adding that: “There’s always going to be people who want to go 110 miles an hour and get frustrated with the pace of how things work.” What have the two investigations done so far? Comer and Jordan have fired off scores of letters, have already held transcribed interviews and have more on the books. The Kentucky Republican also scored a win when Treasury granted his staff access to suspicious activity reports. But there’s also been significantly fewer public-facing developments: Comer has held one Biden family hearing, in February, and Jordan has held three hearings so far for the politicized government panel. Comer has put out one report on payments received by Hunter Biden and other Biden family members — something he did, in part, because of criticism from both parties that he had yet to issue a subpoena even though he already had, albeit quietly — while Jordan has put out two public reports and one private memo to members about subpoena compliance. What’s next? Not, according to Comer, a subpoena of Hunter Biden — something he got asked about as recently as last week in a Bloomberg interview — or a dive into a sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden that the president has denied but is nonetheless a focus of the GOP’s rightward edge. Instead, the Oversight chair told POLITICO that he is in touch with a handful of Biden associates and “banks, plural” — though Bank of America is the only financial institution publicly known to have received a subpoena. Jordain has more: House GOP’s Biden investigations sputter out of the gate. KYIV CODEL — House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said in Kyiv Monday that there is “overwhelming” support in Congress for continued aid to Ukraine in its defense against Russia, despite loud voices within his own party questioning Ukraine’s value to American interests. “There are those on the left and on the right who question continued support or the amount of support. That will certainly be part of the debate,” Turner said, The Associated Press reported from Ukraine. “But overwhelmingly, there is support for continuing aid to Ukraine, so that they can continue to fight against this aggression of Russia.” Turner was joined on the quick trip to Ukraine’s capital by Reps. Chris Stewart of Utah, Rich McCormick of Georgia and Darin LaHood of Illinois. The group met with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. MORE ON STAFFER STABBING — The friend who intervened in the stabbing attack on Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) aide Phillip Todd, shared his story with The Washington Post. “It all happened so fast, I feel like I didn’t have time to be scared in the moment,” he said. “But in the days after, it was like being stuck in a bad, surreal dream. The ‘what ifs’ were the worst part,” Christopher Barnard, a vice president at the American Conservation Coalition, told WaPo. INTERN PAY — Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), along with 118 other House members, are calling on appropriators to keep intact funding for paying interns on Capitol Hill and in district offices. The letter requests that the current fiscal year’s funding be kept steady for fiscal 2024, at $46,800 per office. “These positions are too often limited to a small group of candidates who are privileged enough to be able to afford the high cost of living in Washington,” said Moulton in a statement. “Continuing to properly fund the House intern allowance means that a diverse array of interns have the opportunity to try out public service. The more diverse perspectives we can have in Congress, the better.” Read the letter. STREET SENSE — Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) doesn’t want to see vehicle lanes removed to accommodate bike infrastructure. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) is ready to end parking minimums and “start pricing the curb.” (Fifteen or so years ago, they’d have to hash out their differences to move infrastructure projects in Massachusetts.) There’s something about recess that gets lawmakers thinking local. "Removing automobile lanes to put in bike lanes is, in my opinion, the height of stupidity, it means more cars backing up, creating more emissions," Romney told Insider, also dismissing the idea of subsidies for e-bikes.
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