PROGRAMMING NOTE: The Inside Congress newsletter will not publish from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2. We’ll be back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 3. THE MOST INTERESTING RACE ON THE SOUTH TEXAS BORDER McALLEN, Texas — In the Rio Grande Valley — the land of tacos, 100+ degree heat and three congressional districts — one battleground House seat has garnered a lot of attention. Democrats want to reclaim it and Republicans need to keep it for their majority. First-term Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) flipped the seat after it had been a longtime Democratic stronghold (the district was redrawn a few years ago). She's facing Democrat Michelle Vallejo, who ran and lost against her in 2022. De La Cruz is a moderate Republican, part of the business-oriented Main Street Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Conference. And in a sign of the times, particularly in border states, Vallejo is striking a different tone this time. She ran in 2020 as a progressive — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stumped for her on the trail — but is taking a more moderate approach to her race this time around, particularly on immigration. “I want people to know that this is a race that's critical, not just for South Texas, not just for the state of Texas itself, but also for our entire country,” Vallejo said in an interview. “The pathway to bring back the House majority runs through South Texas.” Cook Political Report rates the district as likely Republican. De La Cruz beat Vallejo in 2022 by about 9 points. “I’m proud of the work I've done to lower costs for families, secure the border and protect seniors’ benefits,” De La Cruz said in a statement about her tenure in Washington. “DC might feel like a telenovela, but I’ve shown that actions speak louder than empty rhetoric by focusing on improving people’s lives — and that’s why we’ll succeed in November.” A pivot? Vallejo made waves in the local community when she put out an ad that touted her stance on increasing border security and hiring more border patrol agents, something neighboring Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez have also pushed for. “I call myself a South Texas Democrat,” Vallejo responded when asked how she identifies within the caucus. “We know that we need a safe, secure and orderly process at the border, and that does include more resources for Border Patrol and to fight drug and human trafficking. But that also means that we are also fighting for a legal, orderly, earned pathway to citizenship.” Republicans are already pointing out what they call an immigration pivot. “While Democrats duke it out over Michelle Vallejo's fake border posturing, Republicans are united in securing the border, keeping South Texas communities safe and re-electing Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Delanie Bomar. The Harris factor: Having Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket has injected newfound energy into voters in the district, Vallejo said, adding it could make a difference in November. “We had so many people who were not happy about having a rematch with President Biden and Donald Trump,” Vallejo said, adding: “[But] we've seen a resurgence of hope.” News from Nick: Democrats are still calculating how large their fundraising bump might be from their convention, but early signs are good. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it saw a 71 percent increase in the amount of money raised online from Monday through Friday morning of this week compared to the week before, and in the first three days of the convention, the number of new online donors to the DCCC was four times higher than a typical week. This comes as Harris’ campaign experienced a similar boost. — Daniella Diaz, with assist from Nicholas Wu GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Aug. 23, where we look forward to being back in your inboxes after Labor Day. WELCH'S SUMMER OF ‘68 MEMORIES It was 56 years ago when Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) was in the vicinity of another DNC in Chicago, but the Vermont Democrat said the vibes couldn’t be more different than decades ago when he was a young Vietnam War protestor outside the political convention’s security barriers. “The ‘68 convention was at a time of the most conflicted time in our country. There was real discussion about violence even more so than now,” Welch recalled to Inside Congress. “You really had a sense of despair among young people. The political system was unresponsive, whereas I think you're seeing now with the extraordinary decision of the president to step aside… He was responsive.” He added: “I’m not out on the street. I'm in the convention and it's different to be here as a protester than as a senator. But what's really different is just this feeling that we have in this convention with enormous hope and optimism about democratic unity and about democratic possibility to win this election.” Welch wasn’t alone in breathing a sigh of relief that widespread unrest — and associated violence — didn’t materialize this go around in Chicago. Welch credits this Democratic Party with listening more sincerely to those critical of it (though there were unsuccessful calls for a Palestinian American to speak on the ongoing impacts of the war in Gaza). “You had a big critic of the party, AOC and a big critic of the party, [Sen.] Bernie Sanders, both being given coveted speaking spots, and it's because they had an impact on our agenda to focus on the middle class and economic opportunities for people struggling,” Welch said. Back in 1968, Welch was a community organizer in Chicago focused on civil rights issues (he’d met Martin Luther King the summer before at a civil rights conference in Atlanta) after having dropped out of college. He was also staunchly opposed to the Vietnam War and saw first-hand how protests around the convention descended into violence thanks in part to the orders of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. “It gave me a lifelong horror to violence as a political tactic because it only made a bad situation far, far, far worse,” Welch recalled. — Anthony Adragna HARRIS ADVICE, CARDIN EDITION It’s been clear this week that Democrats have energy — lots of it — heading into November after a summer of absolute chaos for the party. But keeping that momentum will be a challenge. Retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) this week told reporters the key to Harris keeping the excitement up is not shying away from sharing her own vision for the future, even if it differs from the Biden administration. “She's her own person, so it'll be a different administration. But it’d be carrying on that legacy versus going back to what we saw for four years under Donald Trump. There's so many things we can talk about,” Cardin said, noting topics like preserving democracy, climate change, global leadership and more. “I think that contrast is so dramatic,” he added. — Ursula Perano, with an assist from Nicholas Wu COURTROOM COLA FIGHT A lawsuit alleging that members’ pay was unconstitutionally adjusted when Congress repeatedly opted out of annual cost-of-living increases went to court today. “It won’t surprise you that I’m not going to give you a bench ruling, I’ve got to chew on this,” said Judge Eric G. Bruggink. So, we’ll wait. The session was about the government’s motion to dismiss the case brought by both sitting and retired members of Congress from both political parties. Former Rep. and plaintiff Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) tuned in online. Here are some central questions the government and the plaintiffs’ lawyers (and the judge!) tussled over:
- Whether the 27th Amendment is “money mandating” or only deals with legislative timelines.
- Whether the 6-year statute of limitations that exists for judges pay under Beer v US can be applicable to congressional salaries and retirement benefits.
- What exactly is an intervening election — spending bills (and CRs) killing COLAs are often passed very close to elections.
- … and quite a few others. The judge asked both sides tons of questions.
Point of bleak reality: Lawyer for the plaintiffs Ken Cuccinelli explained to the judge that bills with language barring congressional COLAs often have an end date (see: one-year spending bills and even shorter CRs) and that sometimes they are extended. “The legislation itself vaporizes?” asked the judge. “Have mercy” and “good golly” were additional responses to Cuccinelli explaining the dysfunctional modern appropriations process. “I can’t pretty that up for the court,” Cuccinelli said. Read about the original lawsuit filed back in March here. — Katherine Tully-McManus
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