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The House Dems eyeing top Oversight spot

December 2, 2024

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IN THIS EDITION

What Raskin’s exit would mean for Oversight

The Vault: Daines plots Banking exit for Foreign Relations

Dems seek distance from Hunter Biden pardon

What we’re watching: Tuesday

THE TOP

What Raskin’s exit would mean for Oversight

Happy Monday evening.

Add the House Oversight Committee to the growing list of Democratic battlegrounds.

Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-Md.) bid to be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee – if successful – would create a ranking member vacancy at Oversight. Raskin, who’s currently the Oversight ranking member, formally announced his decision to challenge Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the Judiciary post this afternoon. We first told you this could happen a couple of weeks ago.

The contenders: Among the potential members that could succeed Raskin on Oversight include Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.).

Connolly told us that he’s “obviously interested” in running to be top Democrat on Oversight and is “encouraged by the expressions of support” from colleagues. Connolly recently announced he was diagnosed with “cancer of the esophagus” and will be undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

AOC, who’s currently the vice ranking member on Oversight, is fairly junior on the panel. But the New York Democrat is one of the most well-known members of Congress and one of the most effective Democratic messengers despite being only in her third term.

Sources close to AOC say she “is very interested” and has been working the phones this afternoon to gauge the level of support for a potential bid.

Khanna said that he has had “several colleagues approach me and will be discussing the matter with the caucus to see what is best for the committee and our party.”

Krishnamoorthi is currently the ranking member on the China select committee. So he’d have to make a decision on whether to ditch that position in order to run to be the top Oversight Democrat.

Back in 2022, Raskin defeated both Connolly and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) to claim the top Oversight slot. Both Lynch and Connolly vastly outranked Raskin in seniority. In fact, Raskin wasn’t even a member of the Oversight committee at the time.

In his time on the committee, Raskin constantly sparred with Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and defended the Biden administration against the House GOP impeachment probe.

Under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, Raskin is making the bet that Judiciary — and not Oversight — will be where the action is.

Raskin is right in some respects. When the same party controls the White House and the House, the Oversight Committee is usually a pretty sleepy place. During the first half of Joe Biden’s presidency, then-Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) focused a great deal of time on investigating Washington’s NFL team.

But the top Democratic slot on Oversight could easily become very influential if Democrats flip just a handful of seats in the 2026 midterms and take back the House.

— Max Cohen and John Bresnahan

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The Vault: Daines plots Banking exit for Foreign Relations

News: Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is looking to depart the Senate Banking Committee as he eyes a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The move, if it happens, wouldn’t be shocking for Daines, who is riding high after netting a 53-seat majority as NRSC chair. Final committee assignments for the 119th Congress remain up in the air, subject to leadership approval and the passage of an organizing resolution in early January.

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But the change would also mean the Banking Committee would lose its lead GOP voice on cannabis banking legislation. Daines was a crucial bridge between Republicans and Democrats on the SAFER Banking Act, which cleared the panel with bipartisan support in September 2023.

A Daines exit from Banking would leave a minimum of two open seats for Republicans next year, with the other being vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance. Republicans could get an additional one or two seats depending on how the committee is rebalanced for the Republican Senate majority.

Representatives for Daines didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Republicans will likely need to fill at least three seats on the Foreign Relations panel next year. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is retiring, while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is expected to be confirmed in January as secretary of State. And the GOP will likely add an additional seat on their side of the dais to give the party a voting majority on the committee.

Daines has a modest foreign policy record in the Senate. He was one of the first U.S. lawmakers to visit Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022, and he’s been an outspoken China hawk. Daines lived in Hong Kong and China for several years when he worked for Procter & Gamble.

— Brendan Pedersen and Andrew Desiderio

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BIDEN BAILOUT

Dems seek distance from Hunter Biden pardon

A number of Democrats criticized President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden, arguing it sets a bad precedent for the next administration.

Multiple House Democrats issued statements condemning the move, as well as Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis accused Biden of putting “his family ahead of the country,” while Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said the pardon was “a mistake.”

“Presidential pardons are never judged solely on the merits of the case, particularly when it involves a family member,” Crow said. “And right now, upholding the fabric of our democracy is one of our most important tasks.”

Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his son Sunday night that grants clemency for any potential federal crimes committed between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024 – a period that includes the tax and gun-related charges with which the younger Biden was previously charged.

The move reversed a previous vow Biden made to not pardon his son. But in his statement, the president said he believed Hunter was “unfairly prosecuted.”

On a post on TruthSocial, President-elect Donald Trump called the move “an abuse and miscarriage of justice” while suggesting he should pardon people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

It’s worth noting that presidents pardoning family members and relatives is nothing new. Former President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton over drug charges on his last day in office.

Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, back in 2020. The elder Kushner served a year and a half in prison for filing false tax returns, retaliating against a witness and making false statements to the FEC. Trump appointed the elder Kushner to become his ambassador to France last week.

But the pardon of Hunter Biden comes at a time when Democrats are warning that Trump could abuse the justice system to go after critics and reward allies, making the president’s decision more fraught for his party.

The criticism, however, is a political layup for Democrats. Biden is a deeply unpopular president in the twilight of his public life.

– Mica Soellner

👀

What we’re watching: Tuesday

The Capitol Christmas tree lighting is tonight at 5 p.m.

The House. The House comes back into session on Tuesday. The House Rules Committee will meet to prepare legislation for the floor.

The Senate. Senate Democrats will hold their leadership elections behind closed doors beginning at 9:30 a.m. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is expected to rise to the No. 3 spot in the Democratic leadership, and a position will be added behind her for Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

Both parties will hold their weekly policy lunches at 12:45 p.m., followed by leadership press conferences at 2:00 p.m.

— Jake Sherman and Andrew Desiderio

DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD

The Duberstein Group has signed Fanatics, the sports memorabilia and apparel giant. Duberstein will be lobbying on “[i]ssues related to de minimis, gaming, youth sports, and economic development.”

– Jake Sherman