The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

Helene recovery tests Harris, Trump and Biden

House Dems to voters: Remember the last Congress?

Neguse hits the road for House Dems

Future of Defense Aviation: The key players

House Majority PAC’s latest buys

THE TOP

Helene recovery tests Harris, Trump and Biden

Happy Tuesday morning.

Happy October. There are 35 days until Election Day.

Hurricane Helene, the massive storm that ravaged the southeastern United States, killed more than 130 people, left more than 1.5 million without power and devastated communities across the region. Some of these communities will need months or years to recover — if they ever do.

The storm also brought to the fore a number of legislative and political dynamics that are worth diving into. With just weeks until the election and a razor-tight fight for control of both the White House and Congress, everything is magnified. So let’s get into it.

Potential for the Biden administration — and Harris. Massive storms have a surprising way of coinciding with presidential campaign seasons.

Remember, in 2012, former President Barack Obama got a boost when he stepped off of Air Force One in Atlantic City, N.J., and embraced then-Gov. Chris Christie after Superstorm Sandy slammed the Tri-State Area. You may recall that embrace was just seven days before Election Day, when Obama was facing off against Mitt Romney.

In the last few days, three Republican governors from affected states — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster — have praised President Joe Biden for his attentiveness to the states’ needs as they look to recover from the storm.

Of course, Biden is the president — not Vice President Kamala Harris. But competence is key in these situations. Already, Harris has cut short her West Coast campaign swing to return to Washington for FEMA briefings. Biden said he’ll head to North Carolina on Wednesday. Harris said she’ll also go soon.

Harris also spoke to Kemp and other local officials in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.

“I have received regular briefings on the impact of Hurricane Helene,” Harris said during a stop at FEMA headquarters on Monday. “We will do everything in our power to help communities recover.”

Winning North Carolina is a reach for Harris, no question about it. But the multiple controversies surrounding GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson already had Democrats salivating at the possibility of flipping the state. Harris’ response to the devastation caused by Helene in North Carolina adds another dimension to the race.

Of course, the priority here is to help those in need. But it’d be naive to believe Harris’ campaign isn’t thinking about how to capitalize on the situation — or make sure she doesn’t take a hit from it.

Where Trump is flailing. Former President Donald Trump visited Georgia Monday and claimed Kemp couldn’t get Biden on the phone to help secure much-needed aid for the state.

Of course, this isn’t true. Kemp said he’s spoken to Biden, and the president was responsive to his concerns.

Speaking from the Oval Office Monday afternoon, Biden said Trump was lying.

Then there was Trump’s Truth Social post alleging, without evidence, that the Biden administration and North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper were “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”

When NBC’s Garrett Haake asked Trump about this, the former president responded: “Just take a look.”

If Congress returns, they’d likely be in a jam. During a morning news conference at the White House Monday, Biden suggested that Congress may have to return in the next few weeks to pass a supplemental spending bill.

Almost immediately, Republican and Democratic aides on Capitol Hill said they saw no need for lawmakers to come back. As part of the last government funding bill that passed last week, Congress gave the administration spend-fast authority, which unleashed $20 billion in FEMA funds for disaster relief purposes. FEMA can also delay non-urgent projects to free up extra cash.

But should Congress have to return to session to deal with the Helene fallout, it would be a mess. Republicans are all over the place when it comes to disaster relief. There are a number of GOP lawmakers who have voted against storm aid. When Sandy hit New York and New Jersey back in 2012, 67 Republicans voted no on a disaster aid package. Many of them are still in Congress.

That’s not to mention the fact that calling lawmakers back to Washington would take vulnerable members off the campaign trail at a crucial time.

Veep debate tonight: Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) face off tonight in the only vice presidential debate. CBS’ Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan will host the 90-minute session in New York City. The debate starts at 9 p.m. We’ll have more in tomorrow’s AM edition.

Carter Century: Former President Jimmy Carter turns 100 today. There are a number of great tributes to Carter, who’s become far more popular as an ex-president than he was upon leaving the Oval Office in 1981. Carter, who was diagnosed with cancer back in 2015, has lived in hospice care for the last 19 months. Rosalynn Carter passed away last November. The couple were married for 77 years.

— Jake Sherman, Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan

October Events: Join us on the live stream or in person for an interview with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 9 a.m. ET. We’ll discuss the news of the day and how private equity drives innovation, supports jobs, and strengthens small businesses in North Carolina. RSVP!

HOUSE MAJORITY WATCH

House Dems to voters: Remember the last Congress?

House Democrats have largely spent their time in the minority this Congress as passive observers of internal GOP infighting. As Democrats left the Capitol last week to campaign, lawmakers told us a central part of their closing message is that they’ll govern more responsibly than Republicans.

And with a lack of legislative accomplishments to point to, it’s no surprise that Democrats are harkening back to achievements from the first two years of President Joe Biden’s administration.

Take Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), for example. The Frontline Democrat who represents parts of Las Vegas hailed the Brightline West high-speed rail project that broke ground this spring thanks to the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

“The infrastructure law brought 140,000 good-paying union jobs, not to mention the 40,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest investment in climate change in history,” Lee said. “We have a lot to talk about.”

While the benefits of the infrastructure bill might not have been felt in the 2022 midterms, House Democrats are hoping that the implementation phase is paying off in the minds of voters now.

Lee’s fellow Nevada Frontliner, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), said she’ll be talking on the trail about the region’s bounce-back from the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Southern Nevada went from 35% unemployment to 5%. The Strip was shut down. Nobody was working,” Titus said. “It’s an amazing recovery.”

In the 117th Congress, the Democratic House and Senate joined together to pass sweeping legislation to expand Covid stimulus programs, beef up the nation’s infrastructure, provide benefits to veterans and expand climate change initiatives.

But because Republicans won back the House and Democrats held the Senate, the past two years have been lean times for legislative deal-making. As we reported on Monday, even House Republicans acknowledge there are few tangible legislative wins for the majority party to campaign on back home.

“We’ve been enduring the least productive Congress in my lifetime, and possibly in history,” Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) told us. “I remember from history class Harry Truman going on his whistle stop tour and complaining about the ‘Do Nothing Congress.’ We are in the ‘Do Nothing Congress,’ not on steroids but on sleeping pills.”

With bills passed few and far between — Democrats aren’t eager to tout the Fiscal Responsibility Act back home — many lawmakers are instead focusing on contrasting themselves with Republicans.

“We’ve got a forward-looking choice, or we’ve got a backward-looking choice,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) said. “We’ve got one that embraces American values and democracy, and we’ve got one that embraces authoritarianism and autocracy.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has consistently struck a message of contrast when discussing the stakes of the 2024 election.

In his final press conference before recess, Jeffries hailed Democratic vision to “put people over politics, lower costs and defend freedom” and bashed “the extreme MAGA Republican plan to criminalize abortion care” and “increase the tax burden on working class Americans.”

“We’re going to make our case to the American people, put it in their hands on Nov. 5 and see what happens,” Jeffries said.

— Max Cohen

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Neguse hits the road for House Dems

House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) is hitting the road to campaign for fellow Democrats this week.

Neguse headlined a fundraiser for Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), a freshman Frontliner who flipped a red seat in 2022, in Cincinnati on Monday night. On Tuesday, Neguse is going to Arizona for a fundraiser with Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) to benefit other battleground candidates.

Neguse has raised and donated $17 million this cycle for the DCCC, candidates and Frontliners.

The cross-country stint is just the latest example of jockeying by younger, upcoming members of the House Democratic Caucus with long-term leadership ambitions.

If House Democrats win the majority in November, Neguse is slated to become assistant speaker. The Colorado Democrat became assistant Democratic leader in March after longtime Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) stepped down from Democratic leadership. Before taking over the assistant leader role, Neguse served as the chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Neguse has crisscrossed the country since March, campaigning for House Democratic candidates in Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut.

During his recent trip to Oregon, Neguse campaigned for Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) and state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who’s challenging Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.).

— Max Cohen

FUTURE OF

Future of Defense Aviation: The key players

With billions of dollars at stake and expensive technological, logistical and research needs, the defense aviation sector requires several forces to work together.

The fourth and final segment of our series, The Future of Defense Aviation, highlights the key figures and institutions that play a crucial role in shaping the nation’s air defense policies and capabilities.

They include lawmakers on powerful congressional panels, government agencies, think tanks and trade groups. Read all about The Players here.

ICYMI: Over the last four weeks, we’ve explored the state of the U.S. defense aviation sector and the outlook for the nation’s aero-defense capabilities. Be sure to check out the previous segments in the series: the state of play, the legislative landscape and an interview with a leading voice on the issue.

– Elvina Nawaguna

THE CAMPAIGN

House Majority PAC’s latest buys

First in Punchbowl News: We’re in the final month of campaigning, and the House Majority PAC is running a string of new ads in competitive seats across the country.

In California’s 47th District, the Democratic super PAC is running two ads hitting Republican Scott Baugh on abortion and crime. We reported on Monday that HMP’s Republican counterpart was spending on a new ad painting Baugh’s opponent, Dave Min, as soft on crime.

In Michigan’s 10th District, HMP is attacking Rep. John James (R-Mich.) on abortion rights.

In Montana’s 1st District, HMP is accusing Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) of raising the cost of living in the state.

In New York’s 19th District, the HMP ad paints Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) as a career politician.

HMP is also playing defense and protecting Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) with an ad that shows his GOP opponent, former Rep. Mayra Flores (R-Texas), as a conspiracy theorist.

Swing state watch: Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) has a new ad linking his military experience in the Navy to his job in Congress. Deluzio highlights his efforts to fight for freedom from “greedy corporations” and “radical abortion bans.”

The DCCC also has a new ad targeting GOP candidate Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania’s 7th District over his “radical” views on abortion. Mackenzie is running against Democratic Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.).

In Arizona, the DCCC has a similar digital and TV ad up hitting Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) on his “extreme” stance on abortion. It will air in the Phoenix market starting today.

Schweikert is running against Amish Shah, a doctor who has campaigned on protecting abortion access. An amendment to the Arizona state constitution codifying abortion rights will also be on the ballot in November.

– Max Cohen and Mica Soellner

MOMENTS

CLIPS