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
On the road with Jeffries: Cautious as hype surrounds him
Happy Monday morning. There are 15 days until Election Day.
MINNEAPOLIS — We spent some time with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries over the weekend at his stops here and in Milwaukee as the New York Democrat seeks to lead his colleagues to power.
Everywhere he goes, Jeffries is introduced as the next speaker.
“I didn’t know it until I got here that I was going to have the privilege of introducing our future speaker here this evening,” Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) gushed when she opened for Jeffries at a Friday night dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP’s Milwaukee chapter.
The next day at a canvassing event outside Minneapolis, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — a Frontliner representing a D+1 district — enthusiastically greeted Jeffries as “Mr. Future Speaker” in front of about 100 of her supporters.
Yet the ever-cautious Jeffries won’t guarantee a Democratic victory no matter how many ways you ask him.
“We’re in a strong position to be successful, but there are close races all over the country,” Jeffries said in an interview before the Craig event. “We’re taking nothing for granted.”
Jeffries has been blitzing swing districts during the last week, including in the Midwest. On Thursday, Jeffries was in Long Island, N.Y., for Laura Gillen, who’s challenging embattled GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito. On Friday, Jeffries attended a fundraiser in Milwaukee for Democratic hopefuls Rebecca Cooke and Peter Barca. NBA legend Doc Rivers was there. On Saturday, Jeffries revved up the crowd for Craig. Then it was on to Nebraska, where Democrat Tony Vargas has a good chance to unseat Republican Rep. Don Bacon. That will be followed by a trip to New Hampshire for Maggie Goodlander.
For the 54-year-old Jeffries, this is an extraordinarily important moment. Jeffries — along with Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, aka “The New Three” — replaced the iconic Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn at the start of this Congress. There were huge questions about how Jeffries would do on fundraising — Pelosi’s raison d’être — and whether he’d cut deals with a brand-new GOP majority.
The DCCC has clobbered the NRCC on fundraising (see below), although the Congressional Leadership Fund — the Republican-leadership-aligned super PAC — has kept the GOP in the money game.
And the House GOP majority has been one of the least productive in history. Hardline conservatives ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker in October 2023. Then Democrats had to save Speaker Mike Johnson following another uproar from the right over Ukraine aid.
Pretty much anything significant that House Republicans got done this Congress occurred because Democrats either supplied a majority of votes — government funding and the debt limit — or there was a bipartisan deal that won Democratic support, such as the prospective ban on TikTok and FAA reauthorization.
The historic level of GOP inaction and infighting should put Democrats in an ideal position to win the House. It’s all right there for them. Yet thanks to redistricting and a deeply divided country, only a few dozen House seats are really in play. This means the majority will be hashed in a series of political knife fights from coast to coast, including in Jeffries’ home state of New York.
Does Jeffries worry about a backlash if Democrats don’t win the House, especially since the road to the majority goes through New York?
“Our objective is to win back the House of Representatives. We’ll leave the post-mortem for the post-election period,” Jeffries said. Jeffries predicted Democrats could pick up at least two of the New York seats they’re targeting.
Yet what if Democrats win the House and former President Donald Trump is back in the Oval Office? Unlikely but possible. And remember, Jeffries was one of the House managers for Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“Without commenting on the hypothetical nature of a possible Trump presidency, as House Democrats, our view has always been that we will find a bipartisan common ground with Republicans on any issue wherever and whenever possible, if it will make life better for the American people,” Jeffries said. “We will stand up for traditional American values, not Trump values.”
We also asked Jeffries about Trump’s increasingly erratic behavior, an issue that Vice President Kamala Harris has made a major part of her closing argument as she seeks to become the first woman president.
“Donald Trump is a threat to traditional American values and to the American way of life,” Jeffries said. “It’s clear to me that a Trump presidency is not a return to normalcy. It’s a return to chaos, dysfunction and extremism every single day of our lives for four years. That’s a disaster.”
Yet there’s another major challenge for Harris, Jeffries and Democrats — Black men supporting Trump. As the top-ranked Black man in Congress trying to make history as the first Black speaker, this is a key topic for Jeffries. He covered it extensively in his Milwaukee speech.
“Vice President Harris has articulated a clear agenda that will focus on the economic wellbeing of both Black men, Latino men and working-class men in addition to the ‘Opportunity Agenda’ that she’s articulated as part of her campaign,” Jeffries added.
We’ll have more from our interview with Jeffries in the Midday edition, including the state of his relationship with President Joe Biden, Project 2025 and other issues.
— John Bresnahan
Want to make sure your whole office has the full Punchbowl News experience? We have team plans available for companies, organizations, classes, Capitol Hill offices and more. Fill out this form and find out if your team is eligible for a discount.
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: a new experience for teens, guided by parents.
Instagram is launching Teen Accounts, with built-in protections limiting who can contact teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
So parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
GREAT LAKES STATE UPDATE
Why Michigan Republicans feel confident
FREELAND, Mich. — Speaker Mike Johnson’s “ambassador of hope” tour played to a receptive crowd in Michigan this weekend, rallying Republicans who feel increasingly confident that they can win key seats only two years after a Democratic blowout in the state.
As Johnson looks to protect the slim House GOP majority, he’s eyeing flip opportunities in two open seats currently held by Democrats. In the toss-up 7th and 8th Districts, well-known Democrats with impressive brands are leaving the House, which gives Republicans a chance to make the math harder for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Appearing alongside former state Sen. Tom Barrett in a manufacturing repair plant in Lansing, Johnson called the 7th District race “one of the best pickup opportunities in the country.” Barrett lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in 2022, but he’s optimistic now that Slotkin is vacating the seat to run for Senate.
“Two years ago, I was running against an incumbent that had unlimited money to spend and was well ingrained into the Washington establishment,” Barrett told us. This time Barrett is running against Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel.
Farther north in Michigan’s 8th District, another repeat candidate — Republican Paul Junge — is sensing a chance to win after the retirement of Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). Before Kildee held the seat, his uncle and former Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) served in Congress for decades.
“It’s hard to overcome that incumbency and that name recognition,” Junge told us before pivoting to attacking his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet.
GOP’s Senate outlook: The state’s Senate race, which pits Slotkin against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), is also exciting Republicans. Slotkin’s lead is narrowing, per public polls, and Rogers told us his campaign is benefiting from an aggressive door-knocking campaign and former President Donald Trump’s focus on Michigan.
“We are working very closely with the Trump campaign all over the state,” Rogers said, calling it “massively important for us.”
Trump lost statewide in Michigan in 2020, in addition to losing both the 7th and 8th Districts. There was once a time that Republicans in Democratic-leaning turf might have distanced themselves from Trump.
But no longer. Strong support for Trump has united all the GOP campaigns in Michigan. And Johnson, who is fashioning himself as a close confidant of the former president, regaled the party faithful with behind-the-scenes tales of Trump’s fortitude and his own Trump impression.
Repelling Democratic attacks: Democrats argue that the cadre of Michigan GOP challengers all bring vulnerabilities to their races. Rogers has faced questions over his voting address and has drawn heat for buying a home in Florida after leaving the House in 2014.
McDonald Rivet has seized on comments Junge made where he said he hadn’t worked a job in five years.
The Republicans deflected the Democratic criticism and said voters would ignore the messaging in favor of economic issues.
“Slotkin’s more concerned about my house because she hasn’t been concerned about everyone else’s house here,” Rogers told us. “I worry about your rent doubling.”
The Democratic cash advantage also hung over every GOP event in Michigan. But Johnson, as ever, preached defiance.
With Rep. John James (R-Mich.) in St. Clair Shores, Mich., Johnson said the freshman would win “no matter how much money they spend against him.”
— Max Cohen
Weekday mornings, The Daily Punch brings you inside Capitol Hill, the White House, and Washington.
HOUSE INVESTIGATIONS
Trump task force report finds ‘stunning’ security failures
News: The House’s bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassinations of former President Donald Trump released an interim report this morning detailing “stunning” security failures in the lead-up to the July 13 rally in Butler, Pa.
The 53-page preliminary report, which comes nearly three months after the task force was created, says congressional investigators found a serious breakdown in communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement that enabled a gunman to climb up on a rooftop and fire at Trump from only 150 yards away. Two people were killed in the attack, including the shooter, while Trump was injured.
While there are few new revelations in the report, the document adds to a growing mountain of evidence detailing the Secret Service’s failures in preventing the attack. The agency neglected basic planning duties, such as holding a joint meeting on the day of the rally between the Secret Service and relevant state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as not providing clear guidance about managing the areas outside the security perimeter, according to the report.
The report particularly homes in on the Secret Service’s consequential decision to place the building where the gunman was located outside of the security perimeter despite the fact that it had clear sight lines to the stage, close proximity to the main road, and an elevated position. And while there were local sniper teams inside the building, they had a narrow field of vision and thought their assignment was to watch over the rally site — not to secure the roof.
The task force also faults federal, state and local law enforcement officers for not engaging the shooter at “several pivotal moments.” His behavior became increasingly suspicious throughout the day but “fragmented lines of communications” allowed the gunman to evade law enforcement.
“Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the report states.
Next steps: The task force will still release a final report by Dec. 13 with potential legislative recommendations, as required by the resolution creating the panel. There are also plans to hold additional public hearings when the House returns in November.
Task force members may also visit the site of a second Trump assassination attempt in Florida. Initial plans to travel there were scrapped due to Hurricane Helene, but a trip is still “on the table,” according to a source familiar with the planning.
This is just the latest report to find numerous security failures by the Secret Service, including an independent review released by the Department of Homeland Security last week and an interim report released by the agency itself.
— Melanie Zanona
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
HOUSE DEMS
Schneider hits the road as he seeks top New Dem spot
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) is hitting the campaign trail hard as he runs to be leader of the New Democratic Coalition in the next Congress.
This cycle, Schneider has raised and given over $3 million to Democrats. And $2.5 million of these funds have gone to New Dem members and candidates.
In the third quarter alone, Schneider raised and gave $1 million. Schneider has also exceeded his DCCC dues — he’s chipped in $350,000 — and raised a further $1.4 million for the campaign arm.
Last week, Schneider brought in $60,000 during events in Nevada and Colorado supporting two New Dem Frontliners, Reps. Steven Horsford (Nev.) and Yadira Caraveo (Colo.). Schneider also held a fundraiser for Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) in Illinois.
Schneider is facing off against Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) in one of the most closely watched leadership contests in the House. A big part of Schneider’s pitch is that his political chops will benefit New Dems, a group that proudly proclaims it includes most of the Democratic Frontliners.
The current vice chair of communications for New Dems, Schneider has extensive leadership experience within the group and served as the leader of the New Dem campaign arm from 2020 to 2022.
What’s next: Schneider is aiming to campaign for House Democratic candidates in Michigan and New York later this month. Schneider is also hosting virtual fundraisers for Democrats running in Ohio, Iowa and Alabama.
— Max Cohen
THE CAMPAIGN
The NRCC raised $18 million in September, according to a filing made public Sunday evening. This is $12 million short of the DCCC’s $30 million September haul. The NRCC also took out a $15 million line of credit. The two committees are neck and neck in the cash-on-hand metric. The DCCC has $49.8 million and the NRCC has $48.8 million.
House Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC, raised $68 million in September. Roughly $34 million of that came from House Majority Forward, the group’s non-profit, which doesn’t need to disclose its donors.
House Freedom Fund, the PAC associated with the House Freedom Caucus, has a new ad saying George Soros is spending millions of dollars to elect Vice President Kamala Harris, Janelle Stelson and “other Democrats.” Stelson is the Democrat running to unseat Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in Pennsylvania’s 10th District. The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter moved the Stelson-Perry race to toss-up last week.
The ad closes by saying “stop Soros, stop socialism, save America, vote Republican.” The final frame is a video of Perry shaking former President Donald Trump’s hand.
Speaking of House conservatives, Tamie Wilson, Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) opponent, has a new ad up in Columbus in her longshot bid to oust the House Judiciary Committee chair. The spot notes that Jordan has voted against every farm bill since coming to Congress in 2007. Jordan is exceedingly unlikely to lose. Trump carried Ohio’s 4th District by 36 points in 2020 and Jordan beat Wilson in 2022 with 69.2% of the vote.
— Jake Sherman
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
11:40 a.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a campaign event in Malvern, Pa.
1:25 p.m.
Harris will travel to Oakland County, Mich., arriving at 2:55 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will brief.
4:10 p.m.
Harris will participate in a campaign event in Birmingham, Mich.
5:30 p.m.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks at a National Arts and Humanities Reception.
5:45 p.m.
Harris will travel to Milwaukee, arriving at 6:50 p.m.
8 p.m.
Harris will participate in a campaign event in Brookfield, Wis.
9:30 p.m.
Harris will travel to D.C., arriving at 11:10 p.m.
HARRIS’ WEEK AHEAD
WEDNESDAY
Harris will travel to Philadelphia and participate in a CNN Town Hall in Chester Township, Pa.
THURSDAY
Harris will travel to Georgia for a campaign event.
SATURDAY
Harris will travel to Michigan for a campaign event.
CLIPS
NYT
“Harris Sets Record for Biggest Fund-Raising Quarter Ever”
– Theodore Schleifer and Albert Sun
Bloomberg
“Israel Hones Plans to Attack Iran After Attempt on Netanyahu”
– Ethan Bronner and Galit Altstein
WSJ
“U.S. Investigates Intelligence Leak About Israel’s Plans for Attacking Iran”
– Michael R. Gordon and Dustin Volz
AP
“Israel targets Hezbollah’s financial arm and begins striking Beirut”
– Wafaa Shurafa, Kareem Chehayeb and Samy Magdy
AP
“Harris seeks to win over Republicans uneasy about Trump with visits to Midwestern suburbs”
– Colleen Long in Philadelphia
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts with automatic protections for teens.
Instagram is launching Teen Accounts, with built-in protections limiting who can contact teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
This means parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
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.