The Archive

A QUICK NOTE

Will Biden call out McCarthy in Syracuse?

President Joe Biden will fly to Syracuse, N.Y., today to talk about the new Micron facility there. But Biden will also use the speech to lay out “the choice between two economic agendas, and Congressional Republicans’ plan to raise inflation and costs for American families.”

In other words, there are 12 days until Election Day, so the White House is drawing a contrast with Republicans.

On Wednesday, two senior White House officials held a background briefing for reporters on the president’s speech. These officials said Biden would compare the Democrats’ agenda and what the administration sees as a “mega MAGA trickle-down agenda that will increase inflation and costs for families.” Here’s a fact sheet from the White House, laying out what Biden may address.

In recent weeks, Biden has invoked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s name during political events at DNC headquarters, at the National Education Association headquarters in D.C. and at the Howard Theater.

So Republicans and Democrats are both watching closely to see whether Biden will use this event to go after the House GOP lawmaker trying to become the next speaker.

Democrats are also focusing more on economic themes in the closing days of the election cycle, with these issues as the top concerns for voters. A number of Democrats had been focusing more on abortion and GOP extremism throughout the summer and fall.

The view from McCarthy world is that anytime Biden mentions McCarthy’s name, they’re elevating him.

– Jake Sherman

LEADER LOOK

LaHood’s case for NRCC chair

The way Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) sees it, his bid to helm the House Republican campaign arm hinges on fundraising prowess. LaHood, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Finance Committee, is promising to raise large sums to defend a GOP majority if he’s elected NRCC chair during the upcoming Republican leadership elections.

LaHood is competing against Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) in the race to succeed Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) as NRCC chair. It’s a position that can springboard ambitious members into the upper echelons of leadership. Emmer is currently seeking the whip position.

LaHood, 54, is decidedly the underdog in this race. Hudson’s relationships across the conference are very strong. Hudson, in his fifth term, is also a former chief of staff to several members of the Texas delegation and has deep ties with the Lone Star State delegation, a crucial voting bloc in the House GOP Conference. Our profile on Hudson will run tomorrow morning.

Unlike the race to become GOP whip in the next Congress, there’s no bad blood in the NRCC election. LaHood insisted to us he’s “not running against anybody, I’m running for the job” and called Hudson “a friend.” Yet the Illinois Republican says his fundraising experience sets him apart from Hudson and makes him the best candidate for the job.

“Being the finance chair distinguishes me. Because if you look at it again, record amount of money at the NRCC this cycle, I’ve been in charge of that — nobody else,” LaHood told us. “That money is gonna get us across the finish line.”

The “nobody else” line isn’t exactly true. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has raised gobs of money for the NRCC and would’ve done so no matter who was finance chair.

LaHood, though, touts how the NRCC ended the third quarter with a record $92.3 million on hand..

LaHood, now in his fourth term, has also raised $3.7 million for his reelection campaign this cycle and distributed $685,500 to candidates and the NRCC from his campaign coffers. LaHood’s leadership PAC has sent another $637,500 to candidates this cycle.

Here’s LaHood on fundraising:

LaHood also hails his working relationship with the party’s standard bearer, former President Donald Trump. This dynamic will be critical during a cycle where Trump may mount another White House run. LaHood points to the NRCC’s 2019 Spring Dinner, where Trump was the featured speaker. LaHood chaired the event and says the group “raised the most money we’ve ever raised at a Spring Dinner.”

A former state and federal prosecutor, LaHood says his experience persuading juries is applicable to fundraising. And he’ll need to be persuasive during the 2024 cycle, where GOP donors will be inundated with requests to give their dollars to presidential campaigns. It would be LaHood’s job to make sure these donors don’t neglect the House.

“It becomes a different strategy when we take over and what we have to do. And obviously I hope we win it back with 40 seats. But that becomes tougher to defend— a new majority with that many,” LaHood said. “And again, I go back to fundraising is more important than ever.”

— Max Cohen

The Punch Up Profile: Daniela Fernandez

As part of The Punch Up, which launched in May, we’ll be featuring four trailblazers who are leading the charge for change when it comes to racial equity and sustainability.

We’re excited to share our third Punch Up profile, which features Daniela Fernandez, founder and CEO of Sustainable Ocean Alliance. We sat down with Fernandez to discuss her climate entrepreneurship story.

Check out the full profile here.

Here are the top takeaways from our conversation:

“We can’t simply be angry at this moment. We truly have to be doers,” Fernandez told us. “Simply pointing the finger at governments and corporations and demanding more isn’t going to cut it anymore. We need civil society to do their part. You need to ask yourself, ‘How can you contribute.’”

“We also need to change the way that we’re signaling the world, that we are recognizing that we are in a climate emergency, that we need more funding in this space,” Fernandez said. “And then we need every single sector to start moving in that direction.”

— Max Cohen

DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD

Ballentine departed the ABA in April and founded Ballentine Strategies. Quan, one of the CFPB’s earliest hires focusing on fintech policy, co-founded the venture capital fund NevCaut Ventures. As the firm’s first advisers – as opposed to full staff – the pair will provide analysis and insight to PFS and its clients on strategy but stop short of actual lobbying.

– Brendan Pedersen

THE AGENDA

New Dems push for Child Tax Credit action during lame duck

A group of 51 members of the New Democrat Coalition are urging Democratic leaders to “prioritize the enhanced [Child Tax Credit] in any end-of-year package.”

Democrats hail the enhanced Child Tax Credit, which was enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan but expired late last year, as a critical anti-poverty initiative. Extending the monthly payment to families was part of the failed Build Back Better Act. The provision was not included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Read the full letter, which was sent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, here.

The letter also calls for the House to “fix the punitive Republican R&D tax change to foster the competitiveness and cutting-edge innovation of the U.S. economy and American businesses.”

Both of these seem like longshots. But it does illustrate the pressure leadership will be under from members to squeeze more and more into the lame duck session.

It’s unlikely either of these goals will be achieved, though.

— Max Cohen

THE CAMPAIGN

– Jake Sherman

MOMENTS

9 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.

12:25 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Andrews, where he will fly to Syracuse, N.Y. Karine Jean-Pierre will gaggle en route.

3:30 p.m.: Biden will speak about Micron’s investment in chip manufacturing in upstate New York and give a speech contrasting the GOP and Democrats’ economic policies.

5:15 p.m.: Biden will leave Syracuse for Delaware, where he will spend the night.

CLIP FILE

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