| | | | |  | | By Nicholas Wu | Presented by The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing | With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
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Neither Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) or Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), seen left to right, are expected to pick up challenges to their top leadership positions next week. | AP | NO MAJORITY, NO PROBLEM Democrats are in full-blown recriminations mode after last week’s electoral thumping. Some are blaming the outgoing president. Some are blaming their economic policies. Some are blaming the culture wars. Some are blaming the language they use. But in the House, there’s one group that isn't feeling the heat: top Democratic leaders. While there’s some grumbling beneath the surface about the party’s campaign arm and the way leadership handled some tough votes this Congress, top honchos Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Katherine Clark (Mass.) and Pete Aguilar (Calif.) are not expected to face challenges in next week’s leadership elections. The only contested positions, in fact, are expected to be undercard roles such as the “battleground leadership representative,” which purple-district Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Susie Lee (D-Nev.) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) are vying for. And we’re told by three people that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who currently represents the freshman class at the leadership table, is looking to stay in the mix by challenging Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) as chair of the Dems’ policy and communications arm. The old college try: Put simply, most Democrats believe Jeffries & Co. did a commendable job given the national headwinds — greatly out-fundraising Republicans, for one thing — and do not deserve to be punished for failing to deliver a majority. “I think what we have to do now is move ahead,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “We have the right leader. I mean, there's not going to be one single contrary vote when Hakeem Jeffries is nominated to become the minority leader.” It helps that Democratic candidates in key battleground races generally outran presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and incumbents we spoke to felt like their leaders were responsive to their concerns. (In fact, they’re still responding: A series of private meetings and listening sessions is now underway.) Some Democrats simply argue that the scars of the post-COVID economy made it difficult for any incumbent political party to hold on. “In 12 or 14 countries that are democracies around the world, the party in charge lost coming out of COVID,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). “This is one more byproduct of it. Should we be more aware that core economics are important? Absolutely, and a lot of us are going to argue the party of FDR should continue to be the party of FDR because that's a winning coalition. But that's nothing that leadership did wrong in any way. In fact, just the opposite.” D-trip wire: One outstanding question: What happens to DCCC chair Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.)? The campaign committee head is now appointed by the party leader, not elected by members, following a rules change last Congress. While some have aired frustration with the group, Pocan called it “the best DCCC operation that I've seen in quite a while,” and no formal opposition to DelBene’s reappointment has materialized. She is expected to stay if Jeffries asks her to; Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) has publicly batted down rumors she’s interested in the job. Again, front-line lawmakers appear willing to grant the House’s political hands some grace. While they’re upset at the election results, they don’t see a huge political hole to climb out of. And they feel like the outcome could have been far worse if President Joe Biden hadn’t stepped off the Democratic ticket. “One question I feel like we should also be asking is, like, come back from what?” said purple-district Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.). “We didn't get the outcome that we wanted at the top of the ticket. But you know, Harris in Michigan came back from an eight-point deficit that Biden was experiencing and lost by a single point.” Jeffries said Wednesday that a decision on the DCCC chair “will be made at the appropriate time once we get through the leadership elections.” More to watch: In another undercard slot, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) is not planning to run again for co-chair of the policy and comms shop, according to a person familiar with her plans; Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) has thrown his hat in the ring for that post. And aside from the personnel moves, House Democrats will also be voting next week on changes to their internal caucus rules. One proposal already submitted for consideration, from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), would institute ranked-choice voting for caucus contests. “We came within one vote last time,” Beyer said. — Nicholas Wu, with an assist from Ally Mutnick and Daniella Diaz
| | | | A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: Big Pharma games the system to keep prescription drug prices high. Brand name drug companies build blockades of patents to extend monopolies and block competition from more affordable alternatives – costing patients, taxpayers and the U.S. health care system billions of dollars each year. Market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable for their egregious anti-competitive tactics, especially patent thickets, have broad bipartisan support. Congress must pass these solutions into law. Learn more. | | | GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Nov. 14, where we’re reading about 48 hours on Amtrak. CATCHING UP WITH THE CAUCUSES We’re also keeping an eye on the most influential blocs inside the Democratic caucus, many of which have their own leadership elections in the coming weeks. Even with House Democrats relegated to the minority, these subcaucuses play a large role internally and take part in the weekly “crescendo” meetings with leadership. Among the “Tri-Caucus” representing minority groups, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) is currently running uncontested for Congressional Black Caucus chair (despite a quiet, unsuccessful push by some in the bloc to draft Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter into the race). Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) is unopposed for Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair. And atop the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) will run for chair if its current head, Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), doesn’t run for re-election, according to a Meng spokesperson. As for the ideological blocs, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) is unopposed for Progressive Caucus chair, while the New Democrat Coalition has a contested race between Reps. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). The Blue Dogs’ leadership situation is still up in the air, with current co-chair Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) race still uncalled. — Nicholas Wu
| | | | REGISTER NOW: Join POLITICO and Capital One for a deep-dive discussion with Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman, Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and other housing experts on how to fix America’s housing crisis and build a foundation for financial prosperity. Register to attend in-person or virtually here. | | | | | HOUSE GOP TO TRUMP: PLEASE STOP When President-elect Donald Trump noted to House Republicans behind closed doors this week that he had already tapped two of their own to join the administration, someone shouted at him from the crowd, according to a member in the room: “No more, no more.” Within hours, Trump shocked Washington by tapping a third House Republican: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whom Trump intends to nominate for attorney general. And according to one GOP lawmaker close to Trump and his team, the incoming president is expected to take several more. Republican leadership is becoming increasingly public with its pleas to Trump to stop pulling from the House ranks. While Republicans will officially keep the House next year, they’ll have only a handful of seats to spare, with any vacancy temporarily depleting their ranks further. “No, I’m not comfortable with that,” Johnson joked to reporters when asked about Trump’s picks slimming his majority, adding that the former president is “very aware” of the margin. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), asked about a potential role in the administration, separately added: “We’ll see what happens. We all serve at the pleasure of the president.” He added that he had also talked to Trump’s team about some of his colleagues, though he declined to say who. The member close to Trump said the president-elect plans to stagger any future House picks to avoid cutting too deeply into GOP margins. Even so, it will threaten to leave Johnson’s already small majority perennially shorthanded. On that front: When the House clerk read out Gaetz’s resignation letter on the floor Thursday, one line caught our ear: Gaetz said in the letter that he does “not intend” to take the oath of office on Jan. 3 for the 119th Congress. Johnson was expected to speak with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday about filling the vacancy. While Gaetz told Johnson his early departure could allow a replacement to be seated Jan. 3, we’ve heard some skepticism about that timeline. — Jordain Carney | | | | A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing:   | | | | | | House Republicans are poised for a standoff over a seat on the much-coveted steering committee, an internal group that decides most committee assignments. Some seats are assigned by geographic region, and a new proposed map, up for a vote on Friday, would pit Reps. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), both current steering members, against each other. We caught up with Loudermilk on Thursday, who said that, despite some conversations about horse-trading, he expects the new map sticks. That means next Wednesday, when steering representatives will be elected, members will need to decide between Loudermilk and Rogers. PSA: Chesty the Bulldog is NOT Babydog. Who isn’t reading Ron Wyden’s book? QUICK LINKS After Dems pickups in N.Y. on Election Day, Gillibrand makes her pitch for DSCC chair, from Kevin Frey at NY1 As NY shifts right, could a Republican governor be next? Rep. Mike Lawler hopes so, from Jon Campbell and Michelle Bocanegra at Gothamist Senate Republicans squirm over Trump's tariff plans, from Ari Hawkins and Gavin Bade House Ethics chair reiterates he does not plan to release Gaetz report, from Daniella Should the Democratic Party be listening to John Fetterman? From Holly Otterbein
| | | | Policy change is coming—be the pro who saw it first. Access POLITICO Pro's Issue Analysis series on what the transition means for agriculture, defense, health care, tech, and more. Strengthen your strategy. | | | | | TRANSITIONS Rep.-elect Tony Wied (R-Wis.) has added Tyler Houlton as chief of staff, Abby Natoli as director of operations and Aidan Strongreen as comms director. Houlton is a Trump DHS alum, Natoli was previously D.C. scheduler for Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), and Strongreen was Wied's campaign manager. Roddy Flynn will be chief of staff for Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.). He currently is executive director of the Delaware Broadband Office and is a Biden-Harris Commerce Department, Mary Gay Scanlon and LGBTQ Equality Caucus/Equality PAC alum. Alberto Martinez is joining Continental Strategy as managing partner. He most recently helped lead the public affairs division at Targeted Victory, and is a Marco Rubio alum.
| | | | A message from The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing: Big Pharma's abuse of the patent system is designed to maintain monopolies over their biggest money-makers, boosting brand name drug makers’ profits at the expense of American patients and taxpayers. One of their anti-competitive tactics involves filing dozens, sometimes hundreds, of patents on blockbuster products to build extensive “patent thickets,” completely disconnected from any true innovation. An economic analysis found Big Pharma’s patent thickets on just five drugs cost American patients and the U.S. health care system more than $16 billion in a single year.
The Congressional Budget Office has confirmed bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable for patent abuse will lower drug prices and the U.S. Senate unanimously passed one solution, Cornyn-Blumenthal (S.150), earlier this year. Now is the time for Congress to finish the job – and pass solutions to lower drug prices by cracking down on patent abuse and promoting competition. Learn more. | | | TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are in session. THURSDAY AROUND THE HILL 9:15 a.m. Chair Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus introduce new members. (House Triangle) 10:45 a.m. Democratic Leader Jeffries holds weekly press conference (Studio A)
| | WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Samuel Simon correctly answered that Richard Nixon was the president who met William Rehnquist, who was serving in his administration, and asked his staff, "Who is the guy dressed like a clown?" then later nominated him to the Supreme Court. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Samuel: Which two chief justices of the Supreme Court were initially recess-appointed? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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