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October 20, 2023
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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Happy Friday morning.
It’s been 17 days since Kevin McCarthy was thrown out of the speakership. The House is in the midst of a real crisis, with no end in sight.
But this morning, we wanted to remind you that the rest of the world is in crisis too. In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has taken a leap onto the world stage. We interviewed Schumer Thursday about his recent visits to Israel and China.
On the functioning chamber: After the cameras left Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Schumer pushed Chinese President Xi Jinping to deliver a message to Iran about the war in Israel.
“It would be really important for China to use its influence on Iran to not widen the war,” the Senate majority leader told the strongman, an account relayed to us by Schumer and confirmed by another person who was in the room on Oct. 9. “Xi said, ‘I will pass that message along.’ He’s supposed to just say nothing.”
That Schumer — the pride of Brooklyn — would be confronting the leader of America’s biggest long-term rival over its posture toward a major U.S. ally would’ve been inconceivable just a few years ago.
His four-decade congressional career, before becoming Senate majority leader, was laser-focused on domestic policy — from the assault-weapons ban to infrastructure and his ritual Sunday press conferences in New York.
Before this year, Schumer hadn’t been on a codel in 10 years. Now, within the span of a week, he’s logged dozens of flight hours, flying to China and South Korea, back to New York and then to Israel following Hamas’ terrorist attacks.
“Until recently, a long flight was to Buffalo,” Schumer quipped during an interview in his Capitol office.
For Schumer, it’s a new experience. His contemporaries in congressional leadership include former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, both of whom have carved out impressive foreign-policy legacies.
To be sure, Schumer is a longtime China hawk and supporter of Israel, as well as being one of the few Democrats to oppose the Iran nuclear deal. But foreign policy was never a priority. Until now.
Meeting the moment: When Hamas launched its devastating terror attacks on Israel, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history felt he had to step up — from pressing Xi on Iran to calling out members of his own party.
“The threat of Hamas has to be eliminated. This idea of a ceasefire — and let Hamas continue to exist so they can do it again? Nuh-uh,” an emotional Schumer said. “No one in Israel is for that.”
Schumer slammed those who are still blaming Israel for the bombing of a hospital in Gaza City, even after U.S. intelligence officials concluded Israel wasn’t responsible for the deadly attack. Misinformation fuels antisemitic violence, Schumer warned.
“Who would take Hamas’ position after what they did?” Schumer said. “Hamas doesn’t believe in two states. They want one Arab state, Palestinian state, with no Jews in it, and in their doctrines, they exult in shooting Jews.”
In Israel, Schumer pressed its leaders to operate within international norms of war and minimize civilian casualties, describing it as a “difficult” task given Hamas’ cruel tactics in Gaza.
“We stressed that Israel has to have a higher standard — as angry as they are,” Schumer said.
Confronting Xi: Schumer and his bipartisan delegation, co-led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), had just landed in Beijing for a long-planned trip when news broke about Hamas’ attacks. With little access to Western news sources, Schumer and the delegation didn’t learn the full extent of the violence until getting briefed at a secure facility inside the U.S. embassy.
Even in China, Schumer was focusing on Israel. Schumer kept thinking he needed to fly there but was told it wasn’t logistically possible until the senators returned home. So Schumer cut the trip short. A day later, he was wheels up for Israel with a different bipartisan group.
“We were all raising the same issues,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the only senator to accompany Schumer on both trips. “That, I think, made a real impact.”
After publicly calling out Xi for China’s bland statement on Hamas — leading to a stronger condemnation — Schumer continued, behind closed doors, to abandon the diplomatic niceties that often define these meetings. His strategy elicited actual responses from Xi — a rarity.
“It was supposed to be 30 minutes. Everybody said he’ll just read a perfunctory thing,” Schumer said. “It was an 80-minute discussion… It was a real give-and-take. I asked him direct questions and asked him to answer them.”
At one point, Xi told senators he favors a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Hamas doesn’t, Schumer responded, and “would do to the Jews in the rest of the country what they did near Gaza if they could.”
The way Schumer described the exchange — an account verified by others in the room — it seemed Xi was caught off guard by the New York Democrat’s unique style of diplomacy.
“He acted like he didn’t know [Hamas’ position],” Schumer said. “He didn’t say he didn’t know, but he acted like it — and that was the consensus in the room.”
But the weeklong journey around the world had a much greater meaning for Schumer — a personal one.
“If not now, when? If not me, who?” Schumer said, quoting Rabbi Hillel from the Hebrew text Pirkei Avot. “As the leading Jewish elected official in America, that’s how I feel.”
— Andrew Desiderio
SPEAKER DRAMA
House GOP hasn’t hit bottom yet, keeps digging
Welcome to Day 17 of “The House With No Speaker.”
Let’s start with this: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the GOP’s speaker designee, will hold a press conference at 8 a.m. today in the Capitol. We’re told this event will be an attempt by Jordan to rally support and make a case for his flailing bid to be speaker.
The House is then scheduled to begin the third roll-call vote on Jordan’s speaker candidacy at 10 a.m. Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan for speaker on the floor Tuesday. That number grew to 22 on Wednesday. Senior Republicans predict it may be even worse today.
In short, things are bleak right now for House Republicans. But as we’ve been warned repeatedly in recent days, Republicans still haven’t reached the bottom yet. We’re not sure when that will happen after yesterday.
Let’s review where things stand.
No Republican can get 217 votes to be speaker. Some GOP lawmakers, their aides and spouses have been besieged with death threats after voting against Jordan, but the Ohio Republican — while decrying this intimidation — keeps insisting on more votes while his allies use right-wing media to pressure holdouts.
During a closed-door session on Thursday, Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry threatened to quit if any GOP lawmaker tries to pass legislation during his very restricted reign, our friends Scott Wong and Rebecca Kaplan of NBC News reported. Tensions are running high inside the House Republican Conference, with yelling matches breaking out and members blocking each other on social media. Some Republicans warned Jordan in front of colleagues that they can’t keep voting for him if he can’t win. More than a half-dozen Republicans are considering quixotic speaker bids of their own.
The chamber is in the midst of one of the most significant institutional crises we’ve seen in several decades of covering Congress.
And to add insult to injury, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), one of Jordan’s closest allies, warned that the Ohio Republican intends to keep calling floor votes on his speaker bid throughout the weekend if necessary.
Whether Jordan really carries through with the threat is unclear. It would mark a dramatic reversal for the 59-year-old veteran pol.
On Thursday morning, Jordan was the leading advocate inside the four-hour GOP conference meeting for a plan by Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) to elect McHenry to his post on a temporary basis. That would’ve allowed the House to get back to work until early January.
Jordan did this in part because it was clear that he didn’t have the votes to become speaker. The additional time could help Jordan win over his opponents while freezing potential rivals in place.
But there was a strong backlash against that plan inside the heated Republican conference meeting, so electing McHenry has been shelved for now. Joyce still may introduce it in the coming days. But for now, this strategy shift meant the end of a potential off-ramp for Republicans. Now no one is quite sure how GOP leaders will get themselves out of this mess.
Instead, Jordan held a closed-door meeting with a number of his Republican opponents in a bid to win them over.
But Jordan was told repeatedly by these members that they won’t vote for him under any circumstances. One lawmaker who attended the meeting said Jordan couldn’t have come away thinking he had a prayer of becoming speaker. Another told us Jordan is “torching” any chance he had to be a member of leadership in the future.
So what’s left? What’s the next move? While Jordan tries to push ahead on the floor, some Republicans have begun floating House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington of Texas as a candidate, but he can’t win either. Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.) said he’s not interested in being speaker. Others have suggested RSC Chair Kevin Hern of Oklahoma. Rep. Jack Bergman (Mich.) has said he may look at a bid.
But we’ll repeat this once again — none of these members can get to 217.
So the House will continue in this state of paralysis until Republicans elect a speaker of their own or cut a deal with Democrats on a speaker pro tem.
— Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
BUCKING THE TREND
Buck distances from Freedom Caucus amid speaker fight
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), a longtime member of the House Freedom Caucus, is keeping his distance from the right-wing group as tensions remain high over his opposition to Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) bid to be House speaker.
Buck, who told us Thursday that he won’t “ever” vote for Jordan, hasn’t been attending any HFC meetings amid the speaker fight and will disengage until the issue is resolved.
“I’ve stayed away from Freedom Caucus meetings because I don’t want them to think I’m spying on them,” Buck told us. “We disagree on this. I respect our disagreement. When this is over, I will engage again.”
Buck added that he wasn’t afraid his membership in the conservative group would be revoked. But it’s clear that there are growing frustrations with the Colorado Republican, according to several HFC members we spoke with.
The Freedom Caucus, which Jordan helped found in 2015, has been pushing forcefully for him to win the speakership. Several members of the group, including Buck, were responsible for ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the first place.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said it’s “sad” Buck opposes Jordan.
“I don’t know what the exact reason is for him opposing Jim Jordan,” Boebert told us. “I know many constituents in his district want to see Jim Jordan as speaker.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) echoed Boebert’s sentiment.
“I don’t understand his opposition,” Good said, adding that he’s talked to Buck frequently about it.
One Freedom Caucus member told us Buck’s motivations are “personal and petty.” Another HFC lawmaker said they would be in favor of removing Buck from the group.
“He would be lucky if he remains a member,” that lawmaker said.
HFC Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) dismissed any frustration with Buck but told us he didn’t know why the Colorado Republican is opposed to Jordan.
Buck and Jordan have had disagreements in the past. Most notably, Jordan passed over Buck to name Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) the chair of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee.
Buck also skipped Jordan’s high-profile Judiciary Committee field hearings on crime in Chicago and New York, arguing they infringed on local jurisdiction.
Publicly, Buck has also taken issue with Jordan’s objections to certifying the 2020 presidential election. Buck says he wants a speaker who acknowledges President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
It’s also been widely reported that Buck has been angling for a possible TV contributor contract. Buck’s continued opposition is no doubt keeping him in the media spotlight.
Buck refused to comment on his media ambitions to us this week.
Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson, told us Buck and Jordan have a “great relationship.”
“Mr. Jordan and Mr. Buck have had a great relationship for years and they are good friends,” Dye said in a statement. “We look forward to continue working with him when Mr. Jordan is Speaker.”
— Mica Soellner and Max Cohen
House Judiciary will hear from David Weiss next month
The House Judiciary Committee will conduct a transcribed interview with Special Counsel David Weiss on Nov. 7, a major breakthrough for Republican investigators eager to hear from the figure leading the probe into Hunter Biden.
Weiss’ scheduled appearance is an unprecedented move for a prosecutor leading an ongoing criminal investigation into a subject as high-profile as President Joe Biden’s son.
Weiss, who’s investigated Hunter Biden for years in his role as U.S. attorney for Delaware, is a central figure in the GOP impeachment inquiry on Biden. Republicans have touted whistleblower testimony from IRS agents who claim Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden was handled differently because the subject was related to the president.
Weiss has consistently denied charges that his probe was influenced by outside political factors. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as special counsel in August. And last month, Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on gun charges. This only came about after a proposed plea deal with federal prosecutors collapsed earlier this year.
A note: DOJ officials have been consistent in their correspondence with Congress that because of the ongoing investigation, Weiss only has time to make a single appearance before Congress. As a result, the Nov. 7 transcribed interview means Weiss won’t be testifying publicly.
Back in July, the DOJ wrote to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) offering up Weiss to testify before the panel. DOJ expressed a desire to correct “any misrepresentations about our work—whether deliberate or arising from misunderstandings—that could unduly harm public confidence in the evenhanded administration of justice.”
— Max Cohen
THE FUTURE OF…
ICYMI: The key players driving cybersecurity policy
We published our third segment of The Future of Cybersecurity series Tuesday, highlighting some of the top people driving cybersecurity policy.
They include big tech CEOs, key administration officials and top lawmakers crafting legislation in Congress.
As we wrote, any substantial action on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence will require those different players to at least agree on the general outlines of policy decisions.
Read more about the players here. You can listen to the podcast too.
Next Tuesday, we’ll look at how the issue of cybersecurity is getting amplified through lobbying efforts, TV ads and state actions. You can check it out here.
— Elvina Nawaguna
PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS
Did you miss our event Thursday with Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) discussing cybersecurity, the speaker race and more? You can find the full recording here.
Interested in learning more about what’s in store for cybersecurity on Capitol Hill and beyond? Check out our series, The Future of Cybersecurity, with new segments publishing every Tuesday this month.
— Elvina Nawaguna
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Presented by Wells Fargo
At Wells Fargo, we cover more rural markets than many large banks, and nearly 30% of our branches are in low- or moderate-income census tracts. What we say, we do. See how.