The Archive
Every issue of the Punchbowl News newsletter, including our special editions, right here at your fingertips.
Join the community, and get the morning edition delivered straight to your inbox.
48 million family caregivers give everything to help older loved ones. They give time and energy, too often giving up their jobs and paying over $7,000 a year out of pocket. With a new Congress, it’s time to act on the Credit for Caring tax credit.
PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Milton hammers Florida, Perry faces big trouble in the Keystone State
Happy Thursday morning. There are 26 days until Election Day.
Milton latest: Hurricane Milton lashed central Florida overnight, spawning deadly tornadoes, flooding a huge swath of the state, tearing the roof off Tropicana Field, leaving at least 3 million people without power and more.
Sustained winds remain near 90 mph. Milton is still packing hurricane force as it crosses the state and then will dissipate, according to the National Hurricane Center: “After moving into the Atlantic, Milton is expected to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.”
The St. Petersburg area received a stunning 18 inches of rain, and the storm surge is a major threat.
President Joe Biden was briefed late Wednesday night by Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, according to the White House.
We’ll have more on the reaction from Washington, Florida and lawmakers throughout the day.
On the trail
HARRISBURG, Pa. — There are increasingly dire signs that six-term conservative Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) is on the verge of losing his seat, potentially a big pickup for House Democrats.
Recent public polls have shown both Perry and former President Donald Trump down several points in the south-central Pennsylvania district.
The district still ranks as R+5 according to the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. But Perry, a former House Freedom Caucus chair, is being walloped in fundraising by Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, a well-known former local news anchor.
Yet the conservative firebrand tells us he has no plans to temper his views in an effort to appeal to moderate voters who could save him.
“When you fear God, you have nothing else to fear,” Perry said in an interview here Wednesday. “I don’t answer to the Republican Party. I answer to the people of this district.”
House GOP leaders are clearly worried about losing the seat. Speaker Mike Johnson will campaign for Perry on Friday in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and the House Freedom Caucus is mobilizing staff to canvass for their former leader up until Nov. 5. HFC aides are planning to knock on doors this weekend in Mechanicsburg, New Cumberland and Harrisburg.
Perry referred to Pennsylvania and his own race as “ground zero” for the future of the country. We’ll note so far Perry has improved his margins in every general election since 2018.
“When you’re in one of these races, you always want as much help as you can get,” Perry told us. “I’m confident that leadership is going to look at it and determine what the appropriate level of involvement is right now.”
It seems likely that the Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP super PAC that conservatives sharply criticized for the last few years, will have to consider putting money into Perry’s district.
Fellow Freedom Caucus Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are pushing their colleagues to contribute to the House Freedom Fund, which will then funnel money to Perry’s race, according to HFC insiders. Roy campaigned for Perry in Harrisburg last week.
The HFC is eager to avoid another high-profile defeat after the group’s last chair, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), lost in a GOP primary this cycle.
And a new super PAC linked to a former executive director of the NRSC has also earmarked more than $2.3 million in TV ads to support Perry in the coming weeks, according to his campaign.
Committed conservative: Perry is unique within the Pennsylvania delegation, which includes some of the most moderate Republicans in Congress.
Though he once celebrated joining the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Perry is now recognized as one of the most conservative members of the House. He frequently bucks GOP leadership on spending bills and withheld support for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy until the California Republican agreed to prioritize House conservatives’ agenda.
Perry also faced scrutiny over his role in trying to help former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. FBI agents seized his cell phone as part of their probe into the events leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Perry was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 select committee but refused to testify.
Perry has tried to appeal to voters in other ways. He’s repeatedly mentioned his self-made upbringing, being the grandson of Colombian immigrants, as well as his military background. Perry has also shared how his mother struggled as a single parent to raise him and his brother.
Stelson has countered that Perry is too radical for the district and has vowed to work across the aisle if she’s elected.
Despite the uphill battle to keep his seat, Perry pushed back against the idea of tweaking his views to help himself win reelection.
“I’m going to do the right thing every single time, regardless of where or who it came from,” he said. “That’s what I was elected to do … not the politically right thing, but the right thing.”
— Mica Soellner and John Bresnahan
Dive into 5G & a Brown Bag Live! Join us for a conversation with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Thursday, Oct. 31, at 9:30 a.m. ET. We’re discussing the news of the day and how 5G supports America’s global competitiveness. This is the second event in a two-part series, “5G and America’s Competitiveness,” presented by CTIA.
Afterward, we’ll host a Brown Bag Live with Jake Sherman and Punchbowl News reporters Max Cohen, Andrew Desiderio and Mica Soellner to discuss the political landscape ahead of the 2024 elections and the busy lame-duck calendar. RSVP!
PRESENTED BY CONSTELLATION
Constellation is America’s #1 producer of nothing. Zero pollution. Zero emissions. In fact, Constellation produces 50% more clean, emissions-free energy than any other company in America. Thanks to decades of innovation, we are leading the clean energy transition and securing America’s energy independence through wind, solar, hydro, and the nation’s largest nuclear fleet.
Learn more about our commitment and see how together, we can achieve nothing.
HOUSE WATCH
The LGBTQ women poised to make history in the House
A record number of LGBTQ candidates are running for Congress this cycle. And several of them are poised to make history if they are successful in November.
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride is on track to become the first transgender member of Congress. As the Democratic nominee for her state’s lone House district, which is solidly blue, McBride will almost certainly be serving in Congress next year.
Over in Texas, state Rep. Julie Johnson is running for a safe Democratic seat in Dallas. If she prevails, which is likely, Johnson would become the first openly gay member not only to represent the Lone Star State but the South in general.
Meanwhile, Washington state Sen. Emily Randall is the favorite to win an open blue seat, which would make her the first openly LGBTQ Latina member of Congress.
On the GOP side, New York House candidate Alison Esposito could become the first openly gay Republican woman in Congress. Esposito is locked in a competitive race against Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.).
Being the ‘first’: While McBride is excited about having a seat at the table, she also said there’s some pressure being the “first” of a marginalized identity to represent that community in Congress. “The only way that I can guarantee that I’m not the ‘last’ is to quite simply be the best member of Congress that I can be,” McBride said in an interview.
McBride also had to take other factors into consideration when deciding whether to run. “I had to grapple with the risk that comes with running for federal office as an out trans candidate,” McBride said. “Unfortunately, the risk of violence and even outright threats are not new for me.”
Asked whether she’s worried about serving alongside certain Republicans who have been hostile toward the trans community, McBride said, “I won’t be distracted by their immaturity. I’ll be focused on the job in front of me. Sticks and stones can break my bones.”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said having more LGBTQ representation in Congress is crucial to advancing equal rights because it can help open up the eyes of skeptical colleagues.
“The more you get to know someone, it takes away any of the myths that are out there. It’s easier to hate someone you don’t know,” Pocan told us. “Sarah will be the most significant this cycle for that.”
Identity politics: While McBride acknowledged there’s going to be a “lot of attention around one aspect of who I am,” she also wants to make clear that she’s “not running to be a spokesperson for a movement.” McBride has other priorities she wants to address, such as health care, public safety and reproductive freedom.
Esposito also said she doesn’t want to be defined by her sexual identity. “That just happens to be part of who I am. I’m not really big on identity politics,” she told us. “I identify as an American first.”
Asked whether she feels welcome by her own party — which has promoted a number of anti-LGBTQ policies — Esposito said it’s a “lie” to suggest that Republicans are anti-gay.
“The Republican Party stands for personal freedoms, personal accountability and less government,” she said. “So they are not focused on making decisions in the home or about who we love.”
Esposito, however, said she wasn’t going to just rubber stamp the House GOP agenda. Republicans have pushed for provisions to weaken discrimination protections for same-sex couples and restrict gender-confirming care for adults and minors. “I’m not going to say I agree with any party 100% of the time,” Esposito said.
— Melanie Zanona
Weekday mornings, The Daily Punch brings you inside Capitol Hill, the White House, and Washington.
Listen NowTECH REPORT
Kids online safety bill supporters bring the fight to Johnson
Supporters of the Kids Online Safety Act are taking their pressure campaign to Speaker Mike Johnson’s literal home turf as they push him to move the bill during the upcoming lame-duck session.
A group of the bill’s supporters are placing digital ads on smartphones within a two-mile radius of Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday for the LSU football game. The advocates say they chose that matchup against Ole Miss because Johnson is scheduled to do the coin toss.
The speaker’s office didn’t respond to questions about his schedule, which can change at the last minute.
The effort comes from a coalition of tech accountability groups, youth advocates and parents. The group is escalating its push to get Johnson to override other senior Republicans’ issues with the bill, which would require large social media companies to design their platforms for the safety of young users.
The advocates will also buy space on screens near the stadium — at gas stations, restaurants, etc. — and hand out swag to tailgaters. The ads feature images of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and then groups of kids. “Are you on his team or theirs?” they ask.
Here’s Alix Fraser, director of the Council For Responsible Social Media, which is (ahem) quarterbacking the pressure campaign:
“Leaders in the House have an extraordinary opportunity right now to heroically stand on the side of the millions of parents and young people who are demanding commonsense safeguards. It’s time to get the job done.”
Tensions in leadership: Louisiana is, of course, home to both Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Advocates view Scalise as the major holdup and are hoping Johnson would be willing to act on his own.
We’ve reported how Scalise’s team confronted top supporters, including Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). Scalise is worried about KOSA’s possible effect on speech and the breadth of the legal “duty of care” requirements it would impose on platforms.
The KOSA coalition had started with smaller ad buys in D.C. and Louisiana. Now, the group is looking to spend nearly a half-million dollars this fall. They’re also planning an event in Louisiana next week with parents who believe social media contributed to the death or severe mental suffering of their children.
KOSA passed the Senate in July with 91 votes. But getting the bill through the House has been a different matter. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), the lead Senate Republican on the bill, has been among those lining up conservative support.
So far, GOP House leaders haven’t budged.
— Ben Brody
PRESENTED BY CONSTELLATION
Constellation produces 50% more emission-free energy than any other company in America.
2024 WATCH
Scalise posts double-digit fundraising haul in Q3
First in Punchbowl News: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise raked in $10.3 million during the months of July, August and September, bringing his fundraising total to $55.8 million this cycle.
Scalise’s double-digit haul is nearly double the amount he raised during the third quarter of 2022, which Scalise’s team attributes in large part to his robust online fundraising operation.
So far this cycle, Scalise has given $26 million to Republican campaigns, including $15.2 million to the NRCC, $10 million to candidates and $500,000 to state parties.
Scalise has been barnstorming the country in the final weeks before the election. This week, the Louisiana Republican headlined grassroots rallies in Arizona and Nevada, and attended events benefiting several California incumbents.
— Melanie Zanona
THE CAMPAIGN
News: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) raised $1 million for four Senate GOP challengers at a pair of fundraisers in the Lone Star State on Wednesday, according to a source familiar with his political operation.
Cornyn, who’s running for Senate GOP leader, hosted separate fundraisers in Houston and Dallas benefitting the Republican nominees in key Senate battlegrounds — Bernie Moreno in Ohio, Tim Sheehy in Montana, former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin.
Here are the invites for each.
More money game news: Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) raised over $1.5 million in Q3 and ended the quarter with $3.2 million-plus cash on hand. Kim represents a district that President Joe Biden won in 2020, but is still the favorite to beat Democrat Joe Kerr in November.
Speaking of California: Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise paid a joint visit to the Central Valley to boost Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.).
— Andrew Desiderio and Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY CONSTELLATION
Constellation: the #1 producer of clean, emission-free electricity.
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
8:30 a.m.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index data for September.
9 a.m.
President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
1:30 p.m.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief.
4 p.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in the taping of a Univision Town Hall in Las Vegas.
7:10 p.m.
Harris will depart Las Vegas en route to Phoenix, arriving at 8:10 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
Harris will deliver remarks at a campaign event in Phoenix.
CLIPS
WSJ
“Trump Pledges to End ‘Double Taxation’ of Americans Abroad”
– Rich Rubin and Alex Leary
WaPo
“Republicans challenge legitimacy of overseas votes, including military”
– Colby Itkowitz and Amy Gardner
PRESENTED BY CONSTELLATION
When it comes to producing clean energy, nothing really matters. While others just talk about clean, zero-emission energy, Constellation is actually producing it. The emissions saved every year by our fleet is equivalent to taking 26 million cars off the road. We’re generating 90 percent carbon-free power with hydro, wind, solar and the nation’s largest nuclear fleet – that’s 50% more than any other U.S. company. Constellation is America’s #1 producer of emission-free energy and is uniquely positioned to lead the clean energy transition and help secure America’s energy independence.
Learn more about our commitment and see how together, we can achieve nothing.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.
Crucial Capitol Hill news AM, Midday, and PM—5 times a week
Join a community of some of the most powerful people in Washington and beyond. Exclusive newsmaker events, parties, in-person and virtual briefings and more.
Subscribe to PremiumThe Canvass Year-End Report
And what senior aides and downtown figures believe will happen in 2023.
Check it outEvery single issue of Punchbowl News published, all in one place
Visit the archive48 million family caregivers give everything to help older loved ones. They give time and energy, too often giving up their jobs and paying over $7,000 a year out of pocket. With a new Congress, it’s time to act on the Credit for Caring tax credit.