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.
October 5, 2022
Presented by Apollo Global Management
Learn how Apollo is rethinking retirement income to last the modern lifespan. Think It New.
THE TOP
Happy Wednesday morning.
Voters in the country’s most competitive House and Senate races face a deluge of Republican ads focusing on the dubious claim that Democrats have empowered the IRS to hire an army of 87,000 new agents to target the middle class.
Since Aug. 1, Republican candidates and groups have spent more than $12 million on roughly 24,000 airings of ads warning of a massive influx of IRS agents, according to an AdImpact analysis. The spots are targeting vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbents in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and New Hampshire, as well as toss-up House races from Michigan to Kansas.
But at the heart of the attack ads is an argument the IRS itself says is “inaccurate.” Experts say that the IRS is mainly seeking to replenish its aging workforce and beef up its outdated tech, not hound average Americans.
The GOP messaging links back to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ signature legislative achievement this Congress. The party-line bill authorized $80 billion in new funding for the IRS over a decade. According to a 2021 Treasury report, this wave of new money would facilitate the hiring of nearly 87,000 full-time employees through 2031. The IRS could generate as much as $200 billion in new revenue by better enforcing existing tax laws, more than covering the added costs.
For context, the IRS expects up to 50,000 of its current 80,000 employees to retire in the next five years. And despite facing a far broader set of responsibilities, the agency is operating with far fewer employees than it was 30 years ago, when the IRS boasted 117,000 workers. Here’s a statement from the IRS:
The IRS hasn’t produced a plan of how it would spend the newly authorized funds. The White House and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have vowed that the IRS will focus on high-earning tax evaders rather than Americans making under $400,000 a year. Audit rates for the wealthy and corporations have plunged in recent years because it’s just too hard for the agency to do.
But the situation is presented as a growing crisis in GOP campaign ads. Here’s how it goes in Republican spots: An out-of-control IRS is about to stomp the American middle class in their own homes and businesses.
| → | The National Republican Senatorial Committee says Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) voted to hire “87,000 IRS workers — enough to fill Sun Devil Stadium.” |
| → | Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, accused Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) of voting “yes to 87,000 new IRS employees to audit the middle class.” |
| → | SLF also assailed Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) for his vote “to hire 87,000 new IRS employees to dig even deeper in middle class pockets.” |
| → | And in Nevada, an ad from the right-wing Club for Growth rhetorically asks “Who loves the 87,000 new IRS agents that Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto just authorized?” |
Elsewhere in the Senate map, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) says his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, “supports 87,000 new IRS agents coming after you.” Republican candidates are using the new IRS agents line in Senate races in Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado and Washington.
Republicans running in House races are also utilizing the same messaging.
| → | Endangered Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) is accusing his Democratic challenger Greg Landsman of backing the hiring of “87,000 new IRS agents.” |
| → | GOP candidate Amanda Adkins is dinging Frontline Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) for supporting “87,000 new IRS agents” who “won’t fix crushing inflation, skyrocketing gas and grocery prices or unaffordable healthcare.” |
Frontline Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Jared Golden (Maine) and Dan Kildee (Mich.) are also targeted with the IRS line in Congressional Leadership Fund attack ads.
— Max Cohen
Join us: In two weeks, we’re sitting down with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. ET. We’ll be talking to her about mobile technology security and app store legislation. RSVP here to join us at Hawk ‘N’ Dove or on the livestream.
PREMIUM MEMBERS EVENT
Want to join a virtual briefing with the Punchbowl News editorial team? Join us TOMORROW at 1 p.m. ET for our Brown Bag Lunch conversation, our monthly briefing with our Premium Community. We’ll discuss everything happening in Washington and answer member questions live. Join Punchbowl News Premium to RSVP!
THE HURRICANE
Why we won’t see fireworks between DeSantis and Biden
President Joe Biden will fly today to hurricane stricken Florida to survey the damage – and come face to face with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered a top GOP presidential candidate in 2024, and GOP Sen. Rick Scott, a frequent foil of the 46th president.
Make no mistake – Biden, DeSantis and Scott are smart enough to keep this visit focused on Hurricane Ian victims and the damage it wrought, not the political tensions between them.
But Democrats haven’t forgotten that DeSantis voted against a $9.7 billion Hurricane Sandy relief package in 2013 for New York and New Jersey. Scott also opposed a stopgap funding bill last week that included disaster relief.
Sunshine State authorities are still counting the deaths from Ian, with the total reaching 105 so far. It’s in no one’s interest to make this visit anything but professional and apolitical.
In situations like this, Biden thrives on the technocratic aspects of the job – the “We’re-going-to-be-there-for-all-Americans” speak that is the mark of most every president.
Rising above the political fray is a mark of crisis-time governing for Biden and you should expect that he won’t wade into the political muck as former President Donald Trump tended to. What would it gain him to treat this as anything besides an apolitical trip? Absolutely nothing. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre even said during Tuesday’s briefing he has no interest in rejoining the fight against DeSantis during this daylong visit.
DeSantis is already under a microscope when it comes to how he handles Biden’s visit to Florida. His state is hurting – entire swaths of the Gulf Coast will need to be rebuilt – and getting into Biden’s face has no obvious political benefit for DeSantis.
Biden has already spoken to the governor on the phone and dispatched his FEMA director to Florida. His administration has privately and publicly indicated it will do anything it needs to do to help put the state back together. There’s no doubt at all that the two men have very different long-term political incentives, but in this case, their interests are aligned.
Nor is there any risk that DeSantis will offer Biden too warm an embrace. Former New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist – a Republican-turned-Democrat – had their careers irreversibly defined by cuddling up to former President Barack Obama during disaster-related visits to their home states. There’s no mistaking DeSantis as anything but a warrior for the right and eager to throw Biden to the curb if given the opportunity.
The Coverage:
| → | AP: “Biden to focus on hurricane victims in Florida, not politics,” by Josh Boak |
| → | Politico: “Biden and DeSantis will test their accord during Florida visit,” by Gary Fineout in Tallahassee |
| → | Miami Herald: “Biden to meet DeSantis as he visits Florida after Ian. Migrant flights not on the agenda,” by Alex Roarty |
– Jake Sherman
NEWS ABOUT PUNCHBOWL NEWS
How – and why – Punchbowl News will cover financial services
For the first time in two years, Punchbowl News is zooming into a new coverage zone: financial services.
As Axios wrote Tuesday, we’re excited that Brendan Pedersen has taken on the role leading our coverage. Brendan was previously at American Banker. We see this as a huge boon for our audience and a big opportunity for Punchbowl News.
Here’s a bit of insight into how we think about this topic – and how we intend to cover it.
Financial institutions are among the most powerful corporate entities on the planet. They employ millions of people, have views on a wide range of policy issues and make gigantic bets on how Congress will behave. They have an army of lobbyists – both in-house and on contract – and run massive public issue campaigns. They pay for political intelligence and are some of the most active players in the Washington ecosystem.
Hugely important innovation is happening in the fintech and crypto space, with a new generation of entrepreneurs working to write the new rules for a nascent economic sector.
Hedge funds and private equity firms are as active as they’ve ever been in Washington, attempting to understand what’s coming around the bend.
On top of all of that, the industry’s titans – people such as Citadel’s Ken Griffin and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried – are among the biggest political donors in the nation. Top figures in the finance industry have the political leadership’s ear – and fill their coffers.
Last but not least, we may be about to enter divided government, which will provide an entirely new investigative landscape for Corporate America. In the financial services space, you should expect that there will be investigations into the cross section of financial institutions, society and politics; payment processors; fintech companies and the crypto space.
Brendan’s reporting on the power, people, politics and policy of the financial services sector will appear in our free and Premium newsletters several times a week. (Not a Premium subscriber? Now is a really good time to subscribe.)
We’ll also be branching out into special editions and events – in D.C. and elsewhere – to help bring to life our reporting for the Punchbowl News community.
Also: Donna Baeck is joining us as an editorial web producer. Her charge is to help make our copy sparkle. Donna has an amazing eye for detail and a hunger for news. Donna is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a native of the Chicago area.
– Jake Sherman
THE CAMPAIGN
| → | New: Democrat Eric Sorensen, who’s running to replace Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), raised more than $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2022. Sorensen is a meteorologist running against Republican Esther Joy King. It’s a competitive seat that the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates as a “Democratic Toss-Up.” |
| → | Jeremy Shaffer’s campaign is up with a new ad that touts the Republican’s support among Democrats in the western Pennsylvania swing seat. Shaffer is portrayed as a “bipartisan problem solver” while his Democratic opponent, Chris Deluzio, is tied to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic spending policies. |
Shaffer is running to replace retiring Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) in another seat that is classified a “Democratic Toss-Up” by our friends at Cook.
— Max Cohen
FRONTS
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 Premium
The 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 archive
Presented by Apollo Global Management
Learn how Apollo is rethinking retirement income to last the modern lifespan. Think It New.