Assessing Patel’s confirmation chances

Presented by Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs: An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Dec 13, 2024 View in browser   By Hailey Fuchs Presented by Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Kash Patel held meetings with 17 Republican senators, including Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis, around Capitol Hill, many of whom publicly indicated their support for his nomination. | AP KASH’S HILL DASH Trump loyalist Kash Patel’s chances to become the head of the FBI are looking better and better. This week, Patel held meetings with 17 Republican senators, including Utah Sen.-elect John Curtis, around Capitol Hill, many of whom publicly indicated their support for his nomination. The resignation of his would-be predecessor Christopher Wray also smoothed the path for the president-elect’s pick to helm the agency after his confirmation, and Trump world is confident in the road forward. Asked in the Capitol Hill hallways about Wray’s decision, Patel promised he would “be ready to go on Day One.” But the Trump transition was prepared for more pushback, as the initial outlook on the nomination was murky. Patel has been known to spout conspiracies about the 2020 election, pushed supplements that he claimed could reverse the Covid-19 vaccine, and suggested he may prosecute journalists. Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly once said Patel would become deputy FBI director "over my dead body.” Patel has suggested he would shut down the FBI headquarters to create a “museum of the deep state” and promised to target political opponents. The incoming Trump team was “braced for impact,” said one transition official granted anonymity to speak candidly, adding, “We were ready for this to be more of a fight. … It hasn’t turned out that way.” Reacting to the news of Wray’s resignation, Republican senators said that Patel would have been confirmed regardless of whether Wray left on his own volition. And if he had stayed, Wray was inevitably going to be fired on Day 1, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) added. Bouncing between offices, Patel has been joined by his “sherpa,” Clint Brown, former vice president for government relations at the Heritage Foundation and former staffer to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The itinerary this week largely focused on Senate Judiciary Committee members. But in the coming weeks, Patel is expected to face members of the conference who may be less friendly, including centrists Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Collins’ decision remains unclear, but she has suggested she is open to Patel leading the FBI. And although Republicans are optimistic, it’s not clear what Democrats have planned for Patel’s confirmation hearings. Democratic senators will surely ask about some of his headline-grabbing positions and actions, like his list enumerating the “Executive Branch Deep State.” “There’s been no background checks [nor] in-depth consideration of his past statements,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “We’re only at the beginning of this process.” — Hailey Fuchs GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Dec. 13, where we wish Mary Todd Lincoln a happy birthday!   A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs: Big Pharma is pushing Congress to pass a self-serving scheme called “delinking.” This scheme would use government mandates to undermine market-based incentives that encourage pharmacy benefit managers to secure savings on prescription drugs. This scheme would hike premiums for seniors in the Medicare Part D program, resulting in a $32 BILLION profit windfall for Big Pharma – no wonder “delinking” is their top priority in Washington. Stop Big Pharma's money grab from America’s seniors. Reject "delinking!"   MIXED RECORD ON TRUMP-PROOFING Senate Democrats and their allies are trying to preserve their majorities at independent agencies as long into Donald Trump’s second term as they can. The record so far: Mixed. Most notably, earlier this week, they came up short in their bid to continue Democratic control into 2026 at the National Labor Relations Board — thanks to outgoing independent Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Krysten Sinema (Ariz.) They’ve had better luck in other spots, securing a majority at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission into 2027 after a Thursday confirmation. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is projected to hold a Democratic majority into 2026, as well. Control of some bodies may depend on whether current Democratic-appointed chairs relinquish their posts once Trump takes office. Current Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has said she’ll resign upon Trump’s inauguration, while Washington awaits a decision from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Willie Phillips. To be clear: Yes, these agencies are supposed to operate independently of the president, regardless of who is in office. But the members are appointed by presidents who are clearly looking to put their policy stamp on the work each body does. Democrats getting their preferred nominees in seat before Trump takes the oath of office is one way they are attempting to solidify their standing going into a GOP trifecta next year. — Anthony Adragna, with an assist from Catherine Morehouse   A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs:   STOPGAP TALKS HEAD INTO WEEKEND One week out from the Dec. 20 government shutdown deadline, top lawmakers are still working through disagreements over funding and policies getting added onto the funding patch they’re trying to finalize. Leaders hope to release bill text of the stopgap spending measure over the weekend. But they’re currently locked in a battle over what to do about farm aid and conservation funding, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. "It's a big f—g mess," said one Hill aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the negotiations. What Republicans want: $16 billion in aid for farmers hit by natural disasters and $12 billion for farmers who've experienced market losses in recent years. GOP leaders don’t want: To incorporate the $14 billion for conservation programs that Democrats passed under the Inflation Reduction Act into the farm bill budget each year. Democrats and Republicans have been fighting over whether to keep the strict climate parameters around the money. And Democrats say GOP leaders can’t have one without the other. Other additions: The list of possible bills that could hitch a ride on the stopgap is coming into focus as well with the shutdown deadline approaching. That includes a package to authorize a slew of expiring health care programs, bipartisan permitting reform and a measure to restrict U.S investments in China. — Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes  THE NEXT PHASE OF THE ETHICS FIGHT? House Republicans are quietly discussing potential repercussions against Ethics Committee ranking member Susan Wild (D-Pa.), including a possible censure resolution, after she reportedly shared panel information. But it’s less clear that House Republicans will ultimately move forward with any formal punishments — especially with less than a week of session left before they leave until January. One House Republican, who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter and confirmed talks about a potential censure resolution or other repercussions, summed it up this way when we asked if anything would actually happen given the schedule: “Two yards and a lot of dust.” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said in a statement that he was not leading a censure resolution effort against his fellow Pennsylvanian, but “there must be consequences for ‘leaking.’” “How can anyone have any faith in the House Ethics Committee when one of its very Members are engaged in unethical practices,” he added. The talk of potential punishments comes after The Hill reported on Monday that, according to two sources, Wild had acknowledged to the panel that she had leaked information. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he believed there should be “repercussions” for leaking. “Rep. Wild was frustrated by the manner in which the report was handled and didn't feel it was fruitful to participate in any further meetings on its ‘potential’ release. Characterizing it as anything more is inaccurate. There will be no further statement,” Jed Ober, Wild’s chief of staff, said in a statement referring to Wild’s absence from a recent Ethics panel meeting. — Jordain Carney and Nicholas Wu   A message from Conservatives for Lower Health Care Costs: Big Pharma's top priority in Lame Duck is a self-serving scheme called “delinking.” This plan is to further rob America's seniors, who already pay the highest prices in the world, and maximize profits by undermining market-based incentives for pharmacy benefit managers to secure savings on prescription drugs. This Big Pharma money grab in the Medicare Part D program would saddle seniors and taxpayers with higher health care costs of $13 billion to bail out big drug companies with a nearly $11 billion profit windfall. Our seniors cannot afford increased health care costs. Stop Big Pharma’s money grab – reject "delinking!"   HUDDLE HOTDISH There is plenty of Army-Navy smack talk to go around on Capitol Hill before the game on Saturday. A couple notables: Jason Crow sent a map to the stadium (and some Army support) to Chris Deluzio.  Joni Ernst and Rick Scott have a friendly bet on the game. If Army wins, Scott will send Ernst a key lime pie. If Navy wins, Ernst is sending along a bottle of mulberry gin. (Editor’s note, while he wears a Naval Academy hat: Beat Army.) Elsewhere in good-natured sports fun, Steve Daines and Mike Crapo have a friendly wager on for the Idaho-Montana St. game. Jamie Raskin’s team rounded up haikus for his birthday. (But shhh, don’t tell him.) QUICK LINKS  'I wish I didn't pull that damn fire alarm': Rep. Bowman reflects on his time in Congress, primary loss, from Kevin Frey at NY1 Gabbard struggles to woo senators ahead of confirmation fight, from Alex Gangitano and Al Weaver of The Hill Raskin requests information on Trump team background checks, from Jordain Carney TRANSITIONS  Send us your next steps to insidecongress@politico.com. MONDAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are in session. MONDAY AROUND THE HILL Zzz. TRIVIA THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Brad Fitch was the first to correctly guess that Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) is the member of Congress from Maryland who has served multiple nonconsecutive terms. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Brad: Who was the first private citizen who was never a president, Supreme Court justice, or member of Congress to be given the honor to lay in state in the U.S. Capitol building after their death? 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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