GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, Aug. 23, where butter cow, we hardly knew ye. McCARTHY FLIRTS WITH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY McCarthy is increasingly flirting with the potential that House Republicans could launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden as soon as next month. The California Republican has talked up the idea more as an investigative tool than a historic step toward recommending Biden’s removal from office. Still, the chatter sparks heartburn in the center of the GOP conference. What McCarthy is saying: During an interview Tuesday with Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow, McCarthy pointed to whether or not GOP requests for information are stonewalled as the party’s red line on a formal impeachment inquiry. “If they withhold the documents,” he said, “we will move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session." Friendly reminder: It’s far from clear whether McCarthy’s interview with Kudlow amounted to a literal announcement on the timeline for deciding on an impeachment inquiry. A spokesperson for the speaker didn’t respond to questions about the remarks. The House returns from its summer break on Sept. 12 and the California Republican didn’t say how quickly after the recess the conference could make a call. Even without an inquiry, GOP lawmakers will have their hands full in September with a push to fund the government before an end-of-month shutdown deadline. The House is also scheduled to leave town for the first half of October (barring a government shutdown that could keep lawmakers around). What are Republicans asking for? Asked Tuesday what his party is after, McCarthy pointed to bank records, credit card statements and other financial records requests. Responding to McCarthy’s remarks, Democrats were quick on Tuesday to flag comments from Oversight Committee Chair James Comer at the end of June touting compliance with his subpoena requests. But the Kentucky Republican has also increasingly warned in recent weeks of a looming court battle with the Bidens over their financial records, accusing “Biden attorneys” during a Fox News interview this week of “building Fort Knox records around these bank accounts that we are going to subpoena next." – Jordain Carney THE SENATE’S SEPTEMBER X-FACTOR: RETIRING INCUMBENTS As Senate Democrats prepare to negotiate with a House GOP that essentially wants to replay this spring’s debt limit fight on government spending — forcing conservative concessions in exchange for a deal — it’s worth watching four members in particular. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) have already announced their retirements next year, liberating them from any lingering reelection concerns. Their numbers may yet grow, as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (an independent who largely votes with Democrats but doesn’t attend their caucus meetings) weigh their futures. And if Cardin is any indicator of the mood in Chuck Schumer’s 51-seat majority, Senate Democrats have no interest in attaching any House GOP giveaways to the stopgap funding patch that will almost certainly be needed to keep the government open. As Cardin put it: “Here we go again. We saw the same type of threats on paying our bills on the debt ceiling. Here we're talking about continuing government because we can't get the appropriation bills done. And a [continuing resolution] is exactly that. It should be clean,” he told reporters Tuesday. Your reminder of the House’s stance: Conservatives across the Capitol threw a fresh hurdle in the path of any stopgap solution on Monday. Freedom Caucus members vowed that their support for any continuing resolution would hinge on the addition of multiple polarizing provisions related to border security, the Justice Department and diversity policies at the Pentagon. All of those ideas have, bluntly, zero traction in the Democratic Senate. Which may well put the onus on Schumer’s caucus to stand together against a House bill stocked with what they see as right-flank poison pills. Cardin, for his part, indicated that McCarthy would have little choice but work with Democrats. “It's totally irresponsible” to give in to conservatives on a funding plan that can’t pass the Senate, Cardin said. “And I think they'll figure that out. I hope they can figure it out before there's a shutdown.” Bonus Tuberville update: Cardin said the Senate Democratic caucus is trying to figure out how to handle Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blockade of military promotions when members return from recess in September. But getting around Tuberville by calling the promotions up one at a time is off the table, he affirmed. “We don't have the luxury to bring each one of these promotions up for a vote. There's not enough time on the calendar for that,” Cardin said of Tuberville’s hold on hundreds of military promotions, including multiple members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Alabamian began his stoppage in protest of a Pentagon policy offering paid leave for service members seeking abortions. “I do hope that we will have time for individual votes on those that are contested, such as our judges and ambassadorships,” Cardin said. “But not on military [promotions]. That's not controversial. That's a waste of time.” – Daniella Diaz
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