With help from Sarah Ferris
ROUGH SENATE SEAS — It’s not smooth sailing for the Covid-19 aid agreement hammered out by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
Announced on Monday, it already hit a hiccup Tuesday and final passage could be out of reach this week as senators squabble over amendments“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/05/gop-opposition-biden-immigration-policy-covid-deal-00023156″,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70000″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70001″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”> as senators squabble over amendments before leaving for a two-week recess.
Tuesday’s turbulence: Republicans demanded to vote on an amendment that would keep in place language limiting immigration during the Covid pandemic, called Title 42. They plan to hold up the bill until they get one.
The GOP might have enough votes to include Title 42, with at least more than a handful of Democrats breaking with President Joe Biden on the border restrictions: Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
What’s next: Without agreement among all 100 senators, the Senate will be unable to take up and quickly move the bill this week. It could take until late April or early May to move the aid, which the White House says is urgent (Republicans don’t think so).
Stress points: Democrats already made a major concession to Republicans: the zeroing out of global vaccine funding. That means there’s little appetite to also give the GOP a vote on an immigration amendment.
CAPITOL CONTEMPT — The House votes today on holding Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas from the Jan. 6 select committee investigation. The vote will determine whether to make a formal referral to the Justice Department. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C. would then decide whether or not to file charges.
VIBE CHECK — “There are three kinds of days here. There’s West Wing days, when we do some really cool stuff. There’s House of Cards days, where the place just seems like it’s falling apart,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) told Sarah on Tuesday. “Then there are Veep days. Today’s sort of like a Veep day. The fox bites“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-5-2022/fox-news/”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70002″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70003″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>fox bites Ami, Fred’s leaving“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-5-2022/uptons-exit/”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70004″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76d70005″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>Fred’s leaving. It just sucks.”
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, March 6, where we didn’t have fox attacks on the bingo card. Who knows what will happen next?
SPEAKING OF ANIMALS THAT BITE… — The political arm of the Blue Dog Coalition will roll out its first endorsement of the 2022 cycle on Wednesday, backing three moderates that the group believes will help protect the party’s fragile majority in November.
The candidates, as scooped by Sarah“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/06/moderate-democrats-midterms-00023228″,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76da0000″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76da0001″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>as scooped by Sarah:
— Adam Gray: a state assemblyman running in California’s open 13th seat, a district that’s newly redrawn and mostly rural. (Biden +11.4.)
— Rudy Salas, a state assemblyman running in California 22th, challenging GOP Rep. David Valadao (Biden + 13.1)
— Ruben Ramirez, an attorney and Army vet running in the open Texas 15th (Trump +2.9)
This cycle, both the Blue Dogs and another group of Dem mods, New Dem Action Fund, are being more selective about who they endorse — and what races they wade into altogether. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), who leads the Blue Dog PAC, put it like this: “You need someone who can actually have a chance of helping us keep our majority.”
So far, nearly all of the 11 endorsements from both groups are in double-digit Biden districts. Some would still be Dem pickups though, thanks to redistricting (think, former Rep. Max Rose running against GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis in a newly blue seat in Staten Island). As the GOP advantages keep piling up, Dems consider these must-win seats.
Also notable: Even Blue Dogs (not exactly known for rosy relations with DCCC) is giving credit to the party arm this year. “My experience with DCCC this cycle compared to 10 years ago is night and day,” Schrader said. “It’s a maturity of the organization,” he added. “I give Sean Patrick some credit.”
REBEL KELLY — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is breaking with Biden, over and over, from Labor Department nominee David Weil, to Title 42 and the administration’s stance on fossil fuels and gas prices.
“I tell them when I think they’re not getting stuff right, like in this case. There’s no plan,” Kelly said in an interview, referring to the Title 42 rollback. Burgess takes a close look at Kelly’s stances and where he fits in the Senate puzzle“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/05/mark-kelly-joe-biden-congress-00023176″,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76da0002″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76da0003″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>a close look at Kelly’s stances and where he fits in the Senate puzzle.
Reviews from his Democratic caucus colleagues are in:
— “His arm is kind of untwistable,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “Mark’s going to be a tough vote for Democratic presidents for as long as he’s going to be here.”
— Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.): “smart as shit” and “a centrist with a progressive tilt.”
— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.): Collaborative but “when he sees things that are in conflict with his people, he votes against it.”
Election element: When Burgess asked if he’s tacking right because of his bid for a full six-year term, Kelly said: “Nope, not at all. Science, data and facts is all I care about.”
But NRSC Chair Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has doubts: “He’s figuring out he’s going to lose his election,” said Scott.
WORTH A WATCH in your Huddle Host’s humble opinion…
Crisis Management: 9 a.m. House Congress Modernization Committee hearing on the legislative branch’s preparedness for a crisis, with testimony from former Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Mike Bishop (R-Mich.), Secretary Donna Shalala (D-Fla), former general counsel for the House Rules Committee, and others (Longworth 1134).
Gouging Gas: 10:30 a.m. House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing on gas price gouging and inflation titled “Gouged at the Gas Station: Big Oil and America’s Pain at the Pump,” with testimony from CEOs from ExxonMobil, BP America, Shell, Chevron and others (Rayburn 2123).
House Budget: 2 p.m. House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal 2023 budget for the House of Representatives, with testimony from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Inspector General, Chief Administrative Officer, Sergeant at Arms and more (Rayburn 2362-B).
MOVING ON UP(TON)— “Rep. Fred Upton, one of the longest-tenured Republicans in the House of Representatives, has decided to retire rather than seek reelection in 2022. Upton was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump in January 2021 … Now, Upton is the fourth of those 10 to retire, joining Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) in exiting Congress,” write Alex Isenstadt and Olivia Beavers“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/05/gop-rep-fred-upton-to-retire-00023009″,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76dc0000″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76dc0001″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>write Alex Isenstadt and Olivia Beavers
Related: Fred Upton calls it quits, leaving a much different House“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/05/fred-upton-retirement/”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76dc0002″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76dc0003″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>Fred Upton calls it quits, leaving a much different House, from Paul Kane at The Washington Post.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) announced on Tuesday afternoon that he has Covid, though is only experiencing mild symptoms. A few hours later, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) did the same. Both were at the Gridiron dinner, per our friends at Playbook. The testing sites in Dirksen and Rayburn are open until 2 p.m. daily!
SENATE DINING PICKET— Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) are expected to join Senate dining workers and the Unite Here labor organizers at a picket line demonstration this afternoon as they pressure lawmakers to find a fix to avert massive layoffs of the contract workers employed by Restaurant Associates.
Eighty one Senate food service workers, who interact daily with senators, staff and media (including your Huddle host) received layoff notices and expect to lose their jobs next week. These are the same folks who served the Senate through the pandemic and even delivered food to senators in their “undisclosed location” while the Capitol was under siege on Jan. 6, 2021 and about half of the Senate dining staff.
Searching for a solution: On Monday night, senators were murky on the situation. But by Tuesday afternoon there were discussions underway to try and legislate a stopgap solution before the end of the week.
Brown brought it up in the closed-door Democratic caucus lunch on Tuesday, where Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), local lawmakers who have constituents included in the layoff threats, also told Huddle they discussed finding a way to prevent the layoffs.
“I’m more than happy to continue to look for another stopgap solution but two years is a long time to do what we’ve done,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the top Republican on the Senate Rules Committee, referring to Congress appropriating money to pay workers during the pandemic to avoid previous layoff threats.
There are “different paths” under discussion for getting money to the dining services workers “So that it’s not necessary to lay off the people who have supported us throughout the pandemic,” said Warren. She said whatever can be cobbled together this week will be a short term solution.
“It’s a stopgap until we get the Capitol fully open, at which point the cafeteria will have enough business right? Then they’ll be crying for more workers not trying to lay these folks off,” she predicted.
Blunt says the Senate is reaping what it sowed: “The decision was made long, a decade ago, really more like 15 years ago, to privatize Senate restaurants, and now we’re seeing some of the results of that.” Blunt opposed the privatization of Senate dining services in 2008.
“We are helping employees seek opportunities to work at our other area locations,” a Restaurant Associates spokesperson told Huddle in a statement.
Workers who spoke to Huddle say they are not encouraging staff, Senators and other customers to boycott the Senate’s eateries at this point. They’d rather see their regular customers and hear that they’re looking for a solution (or telling their bosses to find one).
FOX AND FRIENDS — “I expect to get attacked if I go on Fox News. I don’t expect to get attacked by a fox,” Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) told reporters on Tuesday. But that’s what happened. Bera, along with POLITICO’s own Ximena Bustillo, were just two of the six people who Capitol Police says were bitten and sought medical treatment. Bera is undergoing rabies protocol.
Capitol Hill Gives No Fox… One fox was dramatically captured“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://twitter.com/CapitolPolice/status/1511427545308221444?s=20&t=Bwye80UFBZXWzf1MrFFetA”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e00000″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e00001″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>dramatically captured on Tuesday and removed from Capitol grounds. But stay vigilant. “There are possibly several fox dens on Capitol Grounds,” a Capitol Police email read. “Foxes are wild animals that are very protective of their dens and territory. Please do not approach any fox you see.” More on Congress Minutes“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/04-5-2022/fox-news/”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e00002″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e00003″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>Congress Minutes.
TRANSITIONS
Andy Dockham is joining Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s newly launched strategic risk and crisis management group as partners. Dockham previously was chief counsel and deputy staff director for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Justin Goldberger is now VP of technology at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He previously was senior policy adviser to Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), handling tech and telecom work on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Jason Galanes is now chief of staff for Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). He previously was chief of staff for Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.).
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House convenes at noon.
The Senate convenes at 10 a.m with a vote at 11:45 a.m.
AROUND THE HILL
9 a.m. House Education and Labor Committee hybrid hearing examining HHS policies with Secretary Xavier Becerra (Rayburn 2175).
10:15 a.m. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Jared Golden (D-Maine), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich) and others hold a press conference on Iran negotiations (House Triangle).
1 p.m. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) host the fourth Congressional Hackathon (CVC Auditorium).
1 p.m. Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and other House Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans hold a press conference on Iran (House Triangle).
2 p.m. House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal 2023 budget for the House of Representatives (Rayburn 2362-B).
TUESDAY’S WINNER: Casey Burgat correctly answered that Presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce and Joe Biden each began their careers in the Senate as the youngest U.S. senator.
TODAY’S QUESTION: Who is the sole veterinarian serving in the current Congress?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected].“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”mailto:[email protected]”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e20000″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e20001″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>[email protected]
GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone“,”link”:{“target”:”NEW”,”attributes”:[],”url”:”https://www.politico.com/newsletters”,”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e20002″,”_type”:”33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df”},”_id”:”0000017f-ff74-d214-a3ff-fffe76e20003″,”_type”:”02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266″}”>emailed to your phone each morning.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism