A broken plane and a leadership flub

IN THIS EDITION

A failed vote that exposed a GOP leadership blindspot

Congress’ Trump reassurance tour goes NATO

Inside the race to lead Ag Dems

Hill Republicans’ $20-million night

THE TOP

A failed vote that exposed a GOP leadership blindspot

Happy Friday morning.

Watch Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Fly Out Day this week!

Speaker Mike Johnson had an interesting start to his trip to London on Thursday afternoon.

Johnson arrived at Joint Base Andrews to find out that the U.S. government plane he was scheduled to take to England had mechanical issues. The Air Force offered to bump another congressional delegation from its jet to ferry the speaker to London.

But Johnson refused the offer, and instead, he flew Economy Plus on United Airlines from Dulles to London-Heathrow. Johnson has official meetings in London in honor of the United States Semiquincentennial and will be the first speaker of the House to address the British Parliament.

Back on Capitol Hill. We need to review another snafu inside the House GOP leadership, plus what it means for the endangered Republican majority and the party at large.

What’s become clear: The House GOP leadership’s current processes aren’t designed for this historically-narrow majority, and most members in the Republican Conference recognize they need to change how they operate.

With less than 10 months until Election Day, many rank-and-file Republicans feel like they’re free agents and are completely willing to buck their leaders to gain leverage. But the GOP leadership also has some blame here. They’re still putting bills on the floor that their vulnerable members oppose.

And House Republicans have a major attendance issue that they can’t seem to resolve. All of this calls into question what, if anything, GOP lawmakers can get done in the next few months.

The flub. Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer lost a Tuesday vote on a labor policy bill sponsored by Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), who is running for Senate. This was a very embarrassing episode, and potentially preventable, depending on who you ask.

Hinson’s bill would change the definition of “hours worked” to exclude education and training. It was approved on a party-line vote in the Education and Workforce Committee last April but had been waiting since then for floor action. The AFL-CIO opposed the bill and, believe it or not, there are still Republicans who support organized labor.

Emmer’s whip team did what they call a “spot check” on the legislation. That means a pair of emails were sent to member offices on Friday and Monday before the vote to check if there were major concerns.

Only Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) gave the GOP leadership a heads up that he was a firm no on the legislation, according to leadership sources. Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) also gave a heads up later that he would be voting no, the sources said.

When the bill reached the floor, Fitzpatrick, Moore, plus GOP Reps. Rob Bresnahan (Pa.), Nick LaLota (N.Y.), Chris Smith (N.J.) and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) all voted against it. The bill failed 209-215, an outcome that caught top Republicans off guard. The House GOP leadership ended up pulling two other labor bills.

Unpacking it all. After an episode like this, it’s always possible to say that some bills will fail on the floor, and that’s not a problem. But it is a problem and House GOP leaders know it. It’s a sign of weakness and disarray.

House Republican leadership has followed the same voting procedures for decades. The whip canvasses the conference for problems. The whip then reports to the speaker and the leader what he finds.

In this instance, Team Emmer said they had no reason to believe that the bill was going to fail. Emmer’s team didn’t conduct a full whip of the measure because it was too time consuming.

But now the Republican leadership acknowledges that, with this narrow majority, they are going to have to be more careful about vote counts before they put anything on the floor.

Small margins and big absences. House Republicans have a historically thin majority heading into what’s going to be a tough election year. The sudden death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and the retirement of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also left them with two unexpected vacancies.

Then there’s members missing votes. Not just for a day here and there, but weeks.

Some of these absences are legitimate. Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) had surgery and is recovering. Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s (R-Wis.) wife is sick. Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) got into a hit-and-run car accident, although he is back now.

Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) has barely shown up for work this year, missing dozens of votes. A public schedule for his Senate campaign showed that Hunt had events this week across Texas, even though the House was in session. Hunt’s team says he’ll come back to Washington if he’s needed for a vote. But with a two-seat cushion, he’s needed for every vote.

The big picture. House Republicans have designs on a busy 2026. Johnson, Scalise and other top Republicans say they want to pass a reconciliation bill that the speaker believes will be as “beautiful” but perhaps not as big as the last package.

But the problem is that every single House Republican now has a veto over any legislation that comes to the floor.

“There’s still big things that we want to do,” Scalise said. “We are going to have to remain unified if we’re going to get them done. … I’ve been very clear. I’ve never promised we’re going to do [a second reconciliation bill]. I want to do one, but have also said we only do one if we’re all in. Every member has to be there.”

Scalise added: “There’s a narrow path. We’re not there. … One person saying no, because of this majority, could kill it.”

– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

WASHINGTON X THE WORLD

Congress’ Trump reassurance tour goes NATO

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Officials from Denmark and Greenland were on Capitol Hill all week meeting with lawmakers amid President Donald Trump’s threats to seize control of the island.

Now members from both parties are returning the favor during a delicate mission: reassuring Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and other senior officials here that any effort by Trump to take over Greenland would be met with strong opposition from Congress.

It’s the latest stop in Congress’ global reassurance tour, a phenomenon that’s unique to the Trump era but difficult to do without further inflaming tensions.

“I’m going to remind them that we have co-equal branches of government,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-leader of the delegation. “And I believe there’s a sufficient number of members, whether they speak up or not, that are concerned with this.”

While it may have been easy initially to dismiss or laugh off Trump’s persistent musings about Greenland, even Trump’s closest allies on the Hill are taking it seriously now and trying to diffuse the situation.

The GOP posture. Top Republicans have spoken out against the idea of taking control of Greenland. All of the Danish and Greenlandic officials’ meetings over the past two weeks have been bipartisan, including GOP committee chairs.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who led a CODEL here in August, has similarly sought to lower the temperature as Trump ratchets up his threats. Thune wants his colleagues to deliver a similar message here this weekend.

“There’s certainly not an appetite here [in Congress] for some of the options that have been talked about or considered,” Thune told us, urging senators making the trip to “demonstrate a willingness to work constructively.”

There’s now serious talk of a war powers resolution for a NATO ally. And bipartisan legislation was introduced this week that would prevent the Trump administration from using funds to assert control over sovereign NATO territory.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) predicted on “Fly Out Day” that there would be a veto-proof majority for a measure to rein in Trump’s power to use military force in Greenland. That’s far from a certainty, though.

“It’s almost inconceivable that we are using the word ‘Greenland’ in the same sentence as ‘war powers resolution,’” added Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who joined the delegation.

But Murkowski noted that there are more NATO-skeptical Republicans than ever before, and she suggested that some view Trump’s Greenland threats as a way to undermine the alliance. This isn’t what Danes and Greenlanders want to hear

Tillis and Murkowski are among the relatively few Republicans who have leaned in this intensely. Tillis isn’t running for reelection, while Murkowski is a self-proclaimed centrist.

On the ground. As of this report, the bipartisan group just wrapped up a meeting with Frederiksen.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is leading the CODEL, in addition to Tillis and Murkowski. Coons is joined by Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

“I know there are real, deep concerns here in Denmark and in Greenland,” Shaheen will say in a speech here shortly. “These concerns are understandable when trust is shaken. But I believe saner heads will prevail.”

There are House members here too, including House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), along with Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Sarah McBride (D-Del.).

— Andrew Desiderio

THE MINORITY

Inside the race to lead Ag Dems

House Democrats once again need a new ranking member on the Agriculture Committee, and an early top contender is Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio).

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) won the panel’s top slot in 2024 by ousting the ailing Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.). Craig’s victory ushered in more generational change among House Democrats, but it deprived the Congressional Black Caucus of a top post on a big committee.

Now that Craig is running for Senate, the CBC is eager to regain that position, which could become even more valuable if House Democrats take the majority in November. Brown is a CBC member and currently the vice ranking member on the Ag Committee.

Plus, the farm bill still needs a long-term reauthorization, so whoever wins here will have a huge say in that policy fight.

Brown told us last month she is “absolutely” eyeing the position. Asked if she’s making her pitch to others, Brown said, “I’m doing the work. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Brown has expressed her interest to top Democrats, and the CBC is likely to back her bid, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The Ohio Democrat came to Congress in a blockbuster 2021 special election for a Cleveland-area seat that came open when then-Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) joined the Biden administration.

The competition. Brown is likely to have some competition for the post. And she’s not the most senior Democrat interested in running.

The 73-year-old Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) confirmed to us he is eyeing the perch after being passed over for Craig when both decided to challenge Scott in 2024.

Scott dropped out of the race after receiving only a handful of votes from the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Then Craig beat Costa.

Costa, a Blue Dog elected in 2004, said he’d like to make another run and has already begun “informal conversations.”

Another potential candidate is Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.).

Hayes, also a CBC member, is more senior than Brown. And she’s Frontliner, having won her district in 2018. Some CBC members wanted Hayes to run to replace Scott in 2024.

Hayes was coy when asked about her potential interest last month. “I’m on the committee,” Hayes said. “I haven’t made any decision about that yet.”

“Nice to hear that the streets are talking about me,” Hayes added when told that other Democrats had mentioned her as a possible contender.

CBC members and allies say Brown and Hayes are unlikely to run against each other.

In a brief interview, Brown acknowledged she and Hayes are close. “We are friends and we will always be friends,” the Ohio Democrat said. “We will work the details out among us.”

One possible exit ramp to avoid a clash: Hayes is also seen as a potential candidate to lead Democrats on the Education and Workforce Committee once Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) retires.

– Ally Mutnick and John Bresnahan

THE MONEY GAME

Hill Republicans’ $20-million night

GOP mega-lobbyist Jeff Miller will host two fundraisers in February for House and Senate Republicans, each expected to raise about $10 million.

Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the House Republican leadership will appear at the House fundraiser on Feb. 10. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott will appear at the Senate fundraiser on Feb. 11. A number of senators are expected to attend.

The House event will benefit Grow the Majority, Johnson’s joint-fundraising committee. To get in the door, you’ll have to pony up between $50,000 and $1,058,200.

Tickets to the Senate event range from $25,000 to $639,600. Proceeds will benefit One Team Senate Majority, which funnels money to Senate Republicans and the NRSC.

Miller hosted a pair of fundraisers last year to benefit the Senate and House GOP.

Miller, the founder of Miller Strategies and a partner of Watchtower Strategy, was the finance chair of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Miller Strategies’ clients include Apple, General Motors, Oracle, OpenAI, Delta, SpaceX and Blackstone.

– Jake Sherman

…AND THERE’S MORE

Scoop. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) raised $1 million in Q4 and ended 2025 with $3.1 million on hand. This is an impressive sum for an incumbent member in a seat that Democrats are making a top target. Ciscomani has raised $3.9 million total in 2025.

New. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) are introducing legislation to ensure federal employees still get paid in the event of a future government shutdown. The Shutdown Fairness Act would force federal agencies to continue paying workers even in the event of a lapse in appropriations.

– Max Cohen and Ally Mutnick

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