Friday, March 29

Will progressives sink Manchin’s deal?


WILL PROGRESSIVES PERMIT PERMITTING?House progressives are once again balking at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), this time on a proposal to streamline energy project permits.

But many Democrats are wary of highlighting intra-party divisions as they head into the midterm stretch and want desperately to avoid brinkmanship over a government shutdown for which the public would blame Democratic infighting.

The Senate is planning to move a short-term government funding bill with the permitting reform tacked on just before the Sept. 30 deadline, essentially daring progressives, led by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), to risk the shutdown fight.

Grijalva wouldn’t say in a recent interview with Sarah whether he and other progressives were “willing to take the whole ship down” and trigger a standoff over government funding. But he said that without significant changes, any Manchin-led permitting bill would face “a great deal of resistance.” Final text of Manchin’s permitting plan has not been released.

“This is a tale of two houses,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said. He criticized the agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Manchin to take up permitting reform in exchange for his vote on the Democrats’ party-line climate, health care and tax bill as a “sleazy backroom deal.”

Instead of tanking the permitting deal, several lawmakers and aides said on Monday that progressives want to drive Manchin into negotiations to make changes to the proposal — but what those changes might be and what it will take to get agreement remains to be seen.

In an interview on Monday, Manchin told Burgess that Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are still standing by the commitment to take up this proposal. And he regarded the release Monday of a competing permitting reform bill by dozens of Senate Republicans as evidence that his ideas have bipartisan backing.

The White House knows that at this point, negotiation and changes are the path forward. “Without compromise, there would be no deal,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday morning aboard Air Force One. “The president is committed to the deal.”

From Sarah and Burgess this morning:‘Sleazy backroom deal’: Progressives tangle one more time with Manchin

RELATED:Beating Manchin to punch, Capito unveils permitting bill, from Benjamin J. Hulac at CQ Roll Call. Bill text of Capito’s permitting proposal can be read here.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, September 13, where the House returns for action.

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BIG DAY FOR THE LITTLE GUYSThe blockbuster races in today’s primaries might be in New Hampshire, but don’t forget that Rhode Island and Delaware are also holding contests. We’re closing out primary season with these races to watch:

New Hampshire Senate: The general election for Senate in the Granite State could be one of the most competitive in the country come November, but today Republicans must choose who will face incumbent Democrat Maggie Hassan. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who has backed former president Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and suggested closing the Department of Education, is running against state Senate President Chuck Morse, who has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the GOP’s establishment wing. A key Democratic super PAC has hammered Morse on the airwaves, trying to tilt the scale towards Bolduc, who they see as a better option for Hassan to compete with in November.

NH-1 – Republican Matt Mowers’ wants a rematch with Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who beat him out in 2020. But first he has to win the nomination against 25-year-old challenger Karoline Leavitt. Both GOP candidates worked for Trump, Leavitt as an assistant in Trump’s White House press office and Mowers on Trump’s 2016 campaign and in his administration at the State Department. It’s a MAGA-on-MAGA fight.

Little Rhody: Rhode Island was spared the elimination of one of its House seats in last year’s census and Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin’s retirement means one of them is open. Democratic Treasurer Seth Magaziner is running with Langevin’s endorsement against Sarah Morgenthau, a Biden administration Commerce Department appointee. Whoever wins will face former Cranston mayor Allan Fung, who has statewide name recognition after two failed gubernatorial races.

Delaware: Republican Lee Murphy is driving towards a rematch with Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester for the state’s at-large House seat. Murphy lost by 17 points in 2020.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKMembers-elect Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) and Joe Sempolinski (R-N.Y.) will be sworn into the House today. They each won special elections in August and they’re set for a wild little sprint through the next few weeks until the end of their very short first terms.

Notable new-hire: Peltola has hired Alex Ortiz, former chief of staff of the late Rep. Don Young for the same top job in her office, reports Anchorage Daily News.

Liz Ruskin from Alaska Public Media spent Monday with Peltola in Washington and has a dispatch, including picking up the member pin and figuring out how to get into her locked Rayburn office: Tomorrow, she becomes Alaska’s Congresswoman. Today, she has a lot to do.

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TWITTER, TRENDING — The Senate Judiciary Committee puts Twitter in the hot seat today with a hearing today with testimony from former Twitter head of security Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, whose whistleblower complaint exposed serious potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities. On Wednesday current and former officials from Twitter and Meta will testify at Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs along with senior officials from TikTok and YouTube at a hearing on “social media’s impact on homeland security” including amplification of misinformation and disinformation.

SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTSComing soon to the Capitol: covid boosters and flu shots for anyone with a Congressional I.D.

Booster: The new Pfizer bivalent coronavirus booster vaccine will be available by appointment from the Office of the Attending Physician starting this Wednesday, Sept. 14. Boosters are only available at the OAP health unit in Rayburn and appointments are available 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you’ve had Covid in the last 90 days, you’ll have to wait.

Flu: Starting next Monday Sept. 19, anyone with a Congressional I.D. can get their seasonal flu shot on a walk-in basis at all OAP health units (except Rayburn) between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

CRYSTAL CLEARThe Congressional Transparency Caucus is hosting a panel discussion entitled “What’s Next in Transparency Across the Federal Government” tomorrow, Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. with your Huddle host moderating a discussion between experts. RSVP here.

RECOMMENDED READ —A congressman wasn’t allowed on a flight — because of his wheelchair, from Amanda Morris the new disability reporter at The Washington Post.

Dining out…House dining workers, contracted by Sodexo, will join food service workers from the FBI, Fannie Mae and other D.C. sites to rally for improved treatment and wages near the Capitol this afternoon. The workers are represented by UNITE HERE Local 23 and are employed by the largest food service contractor with the federal government. House members, including Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), are expected to join the workers in Sharon Armesto Memorial Park between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Burr passes on crashing Dem gala… Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) just happened to be killing time ahead of a wedding right outside of the ballroom where North Carolina Democrats were holding a gala. The chair of North Carolina’s 11th District Dems ID’d the senator by his socklessness and chatted him up about football and even got the senator to help with decorations.

QUICK LINKS 

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These 97 Members of Congress Reported Trades in Companies Influenced by Their Committees, from Alicia Parlapiano, Adam Playford and Kate Kelly and Ege Uz at The New York Times

They tried to modernize Congress. Now time is running out, from Chris Cioffi at CQ Roll Call

Now more than ever, House Democrats are outspending Republicans on security, from Keturah Hetrick at LegiStorm

TRANSITIONS 

Beth Spivey is now legislative director for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). She most recently was a principal at Wolf Global Advisors and is a Trump administration Department of Homeland Security alum.

Tucker Aiken will be counsel for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). He most recently was Republican staff counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee.

Adam Berg is joining Squire Patton Boggs as of counsel in the firm’s public policy practice after more than 15 years on the Hill, most recently serving as the top lawyer on the House Appropriations Committee. Berg spent more than a decade as deputy staff director and counsel for Democrats on the House Rules Committee.

Drew Griffin is joining Invariant’s government relations and comms team. He most recently was chief of staff to Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio).

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at 2 p.m. for legislative business.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Arianna Freeman to be Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. The Senate will vote at 11:30 a.m. on confirmation of Freeman and on cloture on the nomination of Laura Montecalvo to be Circuit Judge for the First Circuit. The Senate will recess after votes until 2:15 p.m. for caucus lunches.

AROUND THE HILL

Noon Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) holds a press conference to discuss the introduction of his bill on a 20-week abortion ban (Russell 385).

2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences (Ohio Clock Corridor).

2  p.m. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) holds a press conference on a bill to improve nursing care (House Triangle).

MONDAY’S WINNER:Liam Burke correctly answered that President Barack Obama and other dignitaries scrapped plans to travel to Poland for the funeral of Poland’s president because of hazardous flying conditions caused by the volcanic ash cloud over Europe. Kudos to those who took a stab at spelling the Icelandic volcano’s name: Eyjafjallajökull.

TODAY’S QUESTION from Liam: What did the “S” in Harry S. Truman’s name stand for?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected]

GET HUDDLEemailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus



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