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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
House Republicans find an issue — and Democrats squirm
Happy Thursday morning.
After flailing around for months unable to unite on anything, House Republicans finally think they’ve found an issue they agree on — countering the scourge of antisemitism on college campuses nationwide.
With 187 days until Election Day, a legislative cupboard that’s all but bare, a presidential impeachment inquiry that’s going nowhere and a speaker who has struggled to generate any discernible level of excitement, the anti-Jewish sentiment that’s spilled out at universities from coast to coast during Gaza war protests offers what Republicans believe is a compelling plot line during the closing months of the 118th Congress.
“It’s morally the right thing to do — to call it out,” Speaker Mike Johnson told us Wednesday evening. “And you have to do the right thing. And you would hope that people would see this as clearly as it is. This is right and wrong. This is good versus evil. There’s no gray area here.”
But for House Democrats, the entire picture is gray — and therein lies what Republicans see as a gigantic political upside.
While the majority of House Democrats still back Israel through its brutal war against Hamas in Gaza, many Democrats have been critical of the way the Israeli forces have conducted the conflict. This represents a serious break in the bipartisan support for Israel, a hallmark of congressional politics for decades.
Furthermore, a large group of House Democrats don’t see vigorous criticism of Israel or the large-scale, pro-Palestinian protests that have broken at numerous schools as inherently antisemitic. Numerous younger, more progressive Democrats back the protests, lamenting the deaths of 30,000-plus Palestinians killed during the war.
Yet the Republicans’ response to the protests — a parade of votes on antisemitism and a stream of high-profile hearings with university officials — is causing serious heartburn in the House Democratic Caucus.
The Democratic angst is compounded by the fact that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team may end up providing the votes to save Johnson’s speakership. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has promised to force a floor vote to oust Johnson next week. Jeffries said Democrats have said they will help defeat that effort.
Case in point: On Wednesday, 70 House Democrats voted against a bipartisan bill to broaden the definition of antisemitism used by the Education Department in discrimination cases. The legislation was backed by Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. Only 21 Republicans voted no.
Democratic leaders were hoping that they could keep their defections near 30.
The bill, authored by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Yet inside the GOP leadership, there was glee that they were pushing what they considered to be good policy while also putting Democrats in a bind.
Here’s Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), who neatly encapsulates the frustration felt by the rank and file of the Democratic caucus:
“Yeah, it is frustrating. I’m of the opinion that there should be more of a conversation before we save [Johnson.] And I also trust the leadership of Hakeem and what he wants to do. But votes like this don’t do anything to battle antisemitism.”
One House Democrat, speaking anonymously to avoid angering the leadership, put it this way:
“Jeffries is saving Johnson even as he’s allowing Republicans and moderate Democrats like [Rep. Jared] Moskowitz and Josh Gottheimer to continue jamming us on tough votes and leaving the rest of us hanging and getting hammered at home. If they showed real leadership, they would keep us all together to protect all of us and use their leverage to stop with the gotcha bills.”
Rep. Becca Balint, a Jewish Democrat from Vermont in her first term, said she’s frustrated with the fact that her caucus doesn’t have conversations about antisemitism.
“We have voted on so many antisemitism resolutions. As a Jewish person, I can say, I’m fed up with it. I don’t want to talk about it. It’s absurd. It’s not moving us towards action. It’s not making me feel any safer in this country.”
But consider what House Republicans have in store over the next few months.
Johnson has announced a House-wide investigation into antisemitism on college campuses. This probe will take up the next several months. The House Education and Workforce Committee is bringing officials from Yale, UCLA and Michigan to a hearing next month.
Next week, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing to probe why the Metropolitan Police Department rebuffed the George Washington University administration’s request to clean up its campus.
And several GOP-run panels said they’ll spend appropriations season trying to strip federal funds from schools that don’t do enough to protect Jewish students. House Democrats told us this will put many of them in a tough spot.
And there’s a benefit for Johnson too. Just for a moment, Johnson doesn’t have to think about the stinging criticism from Greene and conservatives about his stewardship of the House.
— Jake Sherman, Mica Soellner and Max Cohen
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PRESENTED BY AMAZON
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THE SENATE
Ted Cruz, bipartisan warrior?
In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sounded a lot like the GOP leaders he’s spent the better part of his decade-plus in the Senate bashing.
The Texas Republican, who’s about to be the floor manager for a major bipartisan bill for the first time in his career, stood up during the Senate GOP lunch to urge his colleagues to hasten final passage of the five-year FAA reauthorization bill, hailing it as a significant bipartisan feat.
According to multiple attendees, Cruz said he favors a “robust” amendment process for the bill, but then went on to discourage his colleagues from offering amendments.
Cruz listed specific requests from individual GOP senators that ended up in the final product, which was negotiated with the House. This is how Cruz framed it: “Senator X, you got Y in the bill.” And so on.
It’s a pitch that sounds a lot like one that his party’s leadership would deliver when they’re trying to get must-pass bills over the finish line in a timely manner amid opposition — and delay tactics — from senators like Cruz.
“We have seen enormous bipartisan progress. We have a very strong bill with agreement on both sides of the aisle,” Cruz told us.
Longtime Senate watchers know that Cruz has been a perpetual thorn in the side of both Republican and Democratic leadership throughout his 11 years in office.
But Cruz’s posture is also notable in the context of his reelection campaign. The conservative firebrand has spent a lot of time lately emphasizing bipartisanship — and, indeed, there are several cross-party efforts he can point to throughout his career.
Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), Cruz’s opponent, has been accusing the incumbent of trying to rewrite his record.
Democratic senators, though, were careful not to criticize Cruz, especially as there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether the FAA bill can reach President Joe Biden’s desk in time. The current FAA extension expires on May 10. There were, however, some eye rolls and chuckles when we asked Democrats about it.
“I’d rather just take advantage of it and get shit done,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) quipped.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) put it this way: “For a lot of those people, it’s like having an itch and getting to scratch it. It feels good, it feels like you’re doing the right thing.”
Next steps for FAA: The Senate will take the next procedural vote this afternoon before leaving town for the week.
But senators and leadership aides have their work cut out for them over the next few days. They’re working feverishly to get a deal on amendment votes in order to speed up final passage.
Virginia and Maryland senators officially introduced their amendment Wednesday to scrap a provision from the bill that would add flight slots at Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
As we’ve reported, other senators are using the must-pass bill as a chance to get long-stalled — and unrelated — bipartisan legislation over the finish line.
It’ll be up to leadership to cut a deal that all 100 senators can live with and wrap up the process quickly in order to give the House enough time to pass it before next Friday.
— Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan
Weekday mornings, The Daily Punch brings you inside Capitol Hill, the White House, and Washington.
RIP
Members head to New Jersey to pay respects to Payne
More than 50 members of Congress will travel to New Jersey on Thursday to pay their respects to former Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), who died last week after suffering a heart attack.
The House canceled votes today to allow for lawmakers to attend Payne’s funeral in Newark, N.J. The New Jersey Democrat, who had served in the House since 2012, died at age 65 on April 24.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be in attendance.
Jeffries said on Wednesday that he’s “given zero thought to what comes next in the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey” in terms of filling the empty seat.
“We haven’t had those conversations because we’re still in the process of both mourning the loss of a great member of Congress and a classmate of mine,” Jeffries said.
Payne Jr. was lain in state at the Essex County Historic Courthouse Wednesday. His funeral is at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
— Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY AMAZON
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PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS
DeLauro talks appropriations and defense readiness
We held an event with Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) Wednesday where she discussed national security and defense preparedness.
DeLauro also defended House Democrats’ plan to rescue Speaker Mike Johnson from a motion to vacate and expressed frustration with the use of continuing resolutions to fund the government.
If you missed the event, you can watch the full recording here.
THE CAMPAIGN
Veterans on Duty is up with an ad in the D.C. market, praising Speaker Mike Johnson for his work on foreign policy. This is the first ad we’ve seen that has an image of the encampment at Columbia University. The ad also flashes images of Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) as examples of lawmakers who are “fighting for freedom at home and abroad.”
“Call Speaker Johnson and thank him for keeping America safe,” the ad says in closing.
— Jake Sherman
PRESENTED BY AMAZON
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MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
9 a.m.
President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
10 a.m.
The House will meet in a pro forma session.
11:25 a.m.
Biden will depart the White House en route to Charlotte, N.C. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will gaggle aboard Air Force One.
12:50 p.m.
Biden will arrive in Charlotte to pay his respects to law enforcement officers killed and wounded in the line of duty.
3:10 p.m.
Biden will depart Charlotte en route to Wilmington, N.C., arriving at 3:55 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
Biden will deliver remarks on his Investing in America agenda at the Wilmington Convention Center.
6:05 p.m.
Biden will depart Wilmington for the White House, returning at 7:30 p.m.
CLIPS
NYT
“Menendez Lawyers Cite ‘Traumatic’ History to Explain His Cash Stockpile”
– Benjamin Weiser and Tracey Tully
Bloomberg
“Biden Calls Ally Japan ‘Xenophobic’ Along With China, Russia”
– Justin Sink and Isabel Reynolds
AP
“Blinken presses Hamas to seal cease-fire with Israel, says ‘the time is now’ for a deal”
– Matthew Lee in Jerusalem, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Samy Magdy in Cairo
AP
“Biden keeps quiet as Gaza protesters and police clash on college campuses”
– Chris Megerian
Politico
“Judge rejects Eastman bid to retain law practice while fighting disbarment”
– Kyle Cheney
PRESENTED BY AMAZON
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“Fulfillment by Amazon lets us focus on growth instead of spending all our time shipping products,” said Madeline, Fellow’s senior global manager. Fulfillment by Amazon costs 70% less on average than comparable two-day shipping options.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.
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