| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus, Daniella Diaz and Jordain Carney | Presented by The Alzheimer's Association | With a hand from Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris
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Rep. Steve Womack is looking towards September and isn't convinced that spending will be sorted. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | “There's the scene in Austin Powers where there's a security guard standing there and there's an incredibly slow moving steamroller heading toward him,” Appropriations Committee member Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) said yesterday, describing the spending fights to come this summer on Capitol Hill. “The security guard keeps yelling, ‘No!!!!’ and then it drives over him,” he continued. “This feels like an incredibly slow moving process that will result in calamity in that the committee is going to [do] bills that aren’t going to go anywhere.” Maybe it’s early to be making predictions about where Congress will be on Oct. 1, but it’s easy at the moment to find lawmakers on Capitol Hill playing the role of security guard. The steamroller heading towards them is a government shutdown. Yes, with months to go there are plenty of off-ramps between now and the end of September, when government funding is set to run dry. But the right flank of the House GOP conference’s insistence on undercutting spending levels negotiated weeks ago by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden — plus the realities of their narrow majority and the Democratic Senate — have put Congress on a path to a government shutdown. "All but guarantees a shutdown," House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told reporters. "How do you renege and walk away from the law of the land?" she said of the caps set in the debt limit deal. ‘It's all problematic right now’: It isn’t just Democrats talking shutdown at this (fairly early) stage. Some Republicans are also sweating what fall may bring. Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a GOP appropriator, said that in September he anticipates “we're going to have a dilemma on our hands” with remaining disagreements on federal funding. “I still think there is a prospect that we could be at an impasse going into September. We're going to get 12 bills out of committee. I would like to think we can get 12 bills through the house. But I'm not making that prediction because we cannot agree,” he said Tuesday. Womack is one of the many House Republicans growing frustrated with the small band of conservatives making demands of the narrow GOP majority, which broadly supports decreasing spending but is deeply divided on how to achieve it. “I would like for our conference to look a little bit beyond the end of our nose right now,” he said. McCarthy’s right flank, for its part, insists that the negotiated spending caps are nothing more than a ceiling for this summer’s appropriations talks. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), one of the most ardent supporters of the spending cuts, said he “worries daily about what Senate appropriators are going to do.” While he said he doesn’t think anybody wants a shutdown, when asked what the strategy is for the hardliners who want the deeper spending cuts as spending discussions continue he said simply: “leverage.”
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: Medicare Access Restrictions: Only for Alzheimer’s? Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research have led to new FDA-approved treatments. But, for the first time ever, CMS blocked Medicare coverage to these treatments costing patients with a terminal disease time they will never get back. Now CMS insists on imposing unprecedented, unclear and unnecessary restrictions for coverage that are not required for any other FDA-approved drug. Medicare must be fair. Learn more. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, June 14, where Republicans are looking for a three-peat at tonight’s Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park. LISTENING TO BRITT — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has quietly added Sen. Katie Britt to his leadership team. Britt (R-Ala.) was spotted going into McConnell’s office on Monday right around 5 p.m. for Republican leadership’s standing meeting with a team of informal counselors, a group that also includes Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and former pro tem Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Those senators get a seat at the table with the elected leadership every Monday, getting an early look at the GOP’s strategy and tactics for the week. In a statement, Britt said that she’s delivering on a pledge to her constituents “to ensure Alabama has the best possible seat at the table in the Senate, so our state’s people, values, and interests can be represented effectively and strongly.” She also nodded to her unique bio as one of the youngest senators and a parent: “I bring to the table a critical perspective and voice that is often missing in D.C. — that of the next generation of conservative leaders and that of moms with school-aged children.” A BURGEONING ANTI-TRUMP COALITION? — Burgess is keeping a tally in the Senate of who’s backing Trump and who is quietly avoiding doing so. “In total, the number of senators who say they want someone other than Trump or who voted to bar him from office is equal to the number endorsing him. And while the primary won’t be won in the Senate GOP, Trump’s critics there represent a considerable swath of the party base, including donors, that want a different standard-bearer to take on President Joe Biden,” he writes this morning.
| | | | 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. | | | | | ANOTHER ONE FOR BERGUM — North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven told Burgess he’s backing his state’s governor, Doug Burgum, in the 2024 presidential race. This comes a few days after Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said he was willing to do what he can to help Burgum to win the White House. SENATE’S HOLD-ING PATTERN — Holds are hot in the Senate. On Tuesday, first term Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) got in on the game, threatening to put holds on all nominees to the Department of Justice aside from U.S. marshals (Burgess explained the nuances of how that would work). Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has flexed a months-long blanket hold on hundreds of senior military promotions, which could leave the Marine Corps in limbo in less than a month. But Democrats have gotten in on the hold action also, with HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hindering health-related nominees over prescription drug prices and Energy Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) opposing all of President Joe Biden’s EPA nominees. WAY TOO MUCH WAYS AND MEANS — After a nearly 12 hour markup, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced along party lines a tax package that would undo recent restrictions on several business tax breaks, temporarily expand the standard deduction and revive tax incentives for businesses that have lapsed under the 2017 GOP tax law.
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association:   | | | | | Doug to visit Dads Caucus … First Gentleman Doug Emhoff is on the Hill this morning to visit the House’s Dads Caucus. He’ll join Jessica Seinfeld, who founded Good+, a nonprofit combating child poverty, and Heidi Murkoff, the author of What to Expect When You're Expecting, where they plan to meet with members of the Dads Caucus to discuss how the government can make systems more inclusive of co-parenting. “We’re going to talk about the different issues that dads and moms and parents are facing all over the country,” Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), chair of the Dad’s caucus, told Huddle Tuesday. The roundtable will be at the Library of Congress at 10 a.m. Hill staffers participate in first-ever Data Skills for Congress program, from Nihal Krishan at FedScoop Root, root, root for the home team … If you’re planning to go to tonight’s Congressional baseball game, tickets are available here. Remember it benefits charity! Ben Sasse, is that you?... Who’s to say if former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and current president of the University of Florida was in one of these Florida Gator costumes? Eye on the prize… Literally. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) had complaints about the refs at the Congressional Soccer Match and, well, did something about it. QUICK LINKS Ethics office director in hot seat at House hearing over DUI, from Justin Papp at CQ Roll Call G.O.P. Rebels Are Breaking the Rule on Rules, Upending How the House Works, by New York Times’ Carl Hulse GOP senator blocks arms sale to Hungary for stalling Sweden’s NATO bid, from John Hudson and Loveday Morris at The Washington Post Estuaries? Pickleball? Rum? There’s a congressional caucus for practically everything, from Jim Saksa at CQ Roll Call TRANSITIONS Sidney Johnson is now press secretary for Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). She most recently was press assistant for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) . LaVontae Brooks will be a foreign service officer with the State Department. He currently is deputy chief of staff for Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and is a Dianne Feinstein and Congressional Black Caucus alum. Sean McClintock is now senior defense policy advisor for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). He was previously the national security advisor for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and was a career naval aviator before coming to the Hill. Irvin McCullough is joining the Senate Judiciary Committee’s human rights panel chaired by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). He’ll be leaving his post as a press officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Kyle Klein is joining The Roosevelt Group as a senior adviser. He most recently was staff director for the House Homeland Security Committee.
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m for morning hour and noon for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of P. Casey Pitts to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California, with a cloture vote at 11:30 a.m. followed by cloture on Dale E. Ho to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York. At 2:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on confirmation of Pitts and Ho. At 5:15 p.m. the Senate will vote on cloture on the nomination of Jahan Choudhury to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. AROUND THE HILL 9:15 a.m. House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) joins Reps. Clay Higgins (R-La.), August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) for a press conference to announce an investigation into Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. (Studio A) 10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ensuring the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children. (106 Dirksen) 10 a.m. House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Open Borders Closed Case: Secretary Mayorkas Dereliction of Duty on the Border Crisis.” (310 Cannon) 11:30 a.m. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and others unveil the Douglas ‘Mike’ Day Psychedelic Therapy to Save Lives Act for active-duty service members. (House Triangle) 3 p.m. Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Republican Study Committee members announce their fiscal 2024 budget. (Studio A) 2 p.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Ensuring an Impartial Judiciary: Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023.” (226 Dirksen) 2 p.m. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on “Assessing U.S. Efforts to Counter China’s Coercive Belt and Road Diplomacy.” (210 HVC)
| | TUESDAY’S WINNER: Joe Bookman correctly answered that Abraham Lincoln, then a freshman in Congress, was a pallbearer for John Quincy Adams. TODAY’S QUESTION from Joe: Name the three Presidents who lost the popular vote two times. 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 and Daniella on Twitter @ktullymcmanus and @DaniellaMicaela
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: Are Continued Restrictions for FDA-approved Alzheimer’s Treatments the Future of Medicare? For people living with Alzheimer’s, Medicare hasn’t been the “rock solid guarantee” President Biden has promised. For more than a year, CMS has blocked Medicare coverage to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments costing patients with a terminal disease time they will never get back. Now the agency is planning to continue unprecedented restrictions, saying they’ll provide coverage only through a registry — something Medicare has never before done for an FDA-approved drug. Yet with a deadline only weeks away, CMS has yet to explain the barriers patients will face or the steps doctors must take to prepare to deliver long-delayed treatment. Each day is crucial to someone living with early stage Alzheimer's when it comes to slowing the progression of this disease. Medicare must do better for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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