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.
January 17, 2023
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.
PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Happy Tuesday morning.
EL PASO, Texas – The Senate Republican leadership has a new member.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has named Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) as a counselor on his leadership team for the 118th Congress.
The addition of Tillis comes after the North Carolina Republican stood out as a common denominator in the chamber’s bipartisan accomplishments over the past two years. From infrastructure to gun safety to same-sex marriage, Tillis was either the lead Republican or a crucial player in the negotiations.
We chatted with Tillis about all of this during a CODEL to the U.S.-Mexico border last week, where he finds himself at the center of talks on yet another, if lofty, bipartisan goal: coming up with immigration reform and border security legislation.
The record-breaking 50-50 split last Congress gave senators such as Tillis a unique opportunity to gain influence in the chamber. And the 117th Congress was historically productive, in no small part due to the willingness of several Republican senators to help Democrats overcome GOP filibusters and advance measures that are among President Joe Biden’s hallmark achievements during his first two years in office.
“It’s not like I haven’t gone through this thought process in the prior three Congresses. There were just not as many opportunities. There were some,” Tillis said in an interview. “But nothing compared to this particular Congress.”
Tillis was first elected to the Senate in 2014 after having served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Republicans controlled the upper chamber during his entire first term in the Senate.
Tillis gained prominence when he worked with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller. He was later admonished by Democrats for flipping his position on former President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration on using non-related funding for the southern border wall.
Tillis narrowly won re-election in 2020 against Democrat Cal Cunningham. Cunningham was leading the polls until just weeks before the election when it was revealed that he had an extramarital affair.
That campaign was particularly brutal, but Tillis and Cunningham have since become friends and even did an event together last year focused on bipartisan cooperation.
The 2020 race was something of a transition period for Tillis, who has emerged as a bridge between the two parties, as well as between the competing factions inside the GOP.
“I don’t like getting involved in things where I can’t see a path to a successful outcome,” Tillis said. “And there happened to be that combination of chemistry, issues — so I use that as an opportunity. But it’s not some sort of revelation that I became some sort of somebody I’m not. It’s actually a continuation of something I started when I was in the minority in the state house.”
Tillis’ posture is the type that would typically enrage conservatives, many of whom have slammed Senate GOP leaders for helping Democrats get so many big agenda items over the finish line — even if the outcome was something both parties could cheer. And McConnell’s decision to appoint Tillis to his leadership team shows the GOP leader isn’t bowing to Republican critics who’ve expressed frustration with his leadership style.
On the bipartisan legislation he’s helped shepherd through the chamber, Tillis explained that it’s transactional.
“I think a lot of people get so caught up in the moment,” Tillis said. “Just realize these are transactions. I care about people, I build relationships with people, and then I take positions on transactions.”
Tillis has formed a close friendship with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a dealmaker in his own right but also a fiercely loyal Democrat. The pair became close last year while traveling to the Western Balkans on a CODEL. Just days later, they began negotiating what became one of the 50-50 Senate’s biggest accomplishments: the gun safety bill.
In an interview in El Paso, Murphy described Tillis as a “really credible broker” because he’s always “honest about how far he’s willing to go and how far he’s not willing to go.” During the gun control talks, Murphy said, “several times [Tillis] put the brakes” on elements that he wanted to include in the legislation.
It’s all the more reason why Tillis’ central role in the immigration talks is lending optimism to those pushing to clinch a Senate deal. Democrats see Tillis as someone who shows his cards and sits in the middle of the GOP conference, allowing him to work both ends of the party on big votes.
The big questions at this point, though, are whether a GOP-run House would take up any Senate immigration deal. And Senate Democrats face a brutal map in 2024 – a presidential election year – so how long can bipartisan dealmaking continue in that chamber?
— Andrew Desiderio
TODAY: Join us at 5 p.m. ET at the Capital Hilton for our interview with Durham, N.C. Mayor Elaine O’Neal (D). We’ll be talking to her about big issues facing local government and what can happen at the local level when there is a divided Congress. The conversation will be followed by a reception with drinks and light bites. RSVP here!
We’re proud to be a media partner of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 91st Winter Meeting this year. Don’t miss our coverage of it starting Wednesday!
THE CAMPAIGN
Banks makes Indiana Senate bid official
When Indiana Rep. Jim Banks lost his bid for House majority whip at the end of 2022, it seemed fairly obvious that he needed to make a move. Lucky for him, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) decided he would run for governor in the Hoosier State.
Banks this morning is launching his Senate bid with a glossy video, playing up his blue-collar upbringing, military background and what he calls “America First policies.”
Banks has endorsements from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.).
In a statement, Cotton said “We need more leaders like Jim Banks in the U.S. Senate — leaders with military experience who will defend our rights and our national security.”
And Bucshon, who was elected in 2010, said: “Hoosiers deserve to have another tried and true conservative in the Senate, and Jim Banks is by far the best person for the job. Jim and I are both veterans of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and we need Jim in the Senate to build a strong military that will defend the homeland and stand up to our adversaries like Communist China.”
This could be a crowded race. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb and former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels have all expressed some level of interest in running for the seat in the deep red state.
– Jake Sherman
THE SPEAKER
McCarthy names new director of House operations
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has brought on Tim Monahan as his director of House Operations.
Monahan is charged with helping re-open the Capitol after years of limited accessibility because of Covid-19. In fact, changing the way the House operates has been a priority for McCarthy, and Monahan will be captaining many of those efforts.
Monahan has worked for the Chief Administrative Officer. He has also served on the legislative branch appropriations subcommittee and was most recently the GOP staff director of the House Administration Committee.
– Jake Sherman
PRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE
Read API’s plan to learn more about how we can Make, Move and Improve energy.
BIDEN’S DEFENDERS
From impeaching Trump to defending Biden, Goldman takes center stage again
Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) made his name as lead counsel for the House Democratic effort to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Now more than three years later, Goldman is back in the House as a freshman member whose main role will be defending President Joe Biden against Republican investigations.
A cable news mainstay with years of experience as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Goldman is poised to go to the mat in rebutting GOP oversight attempts. But while Goldman may have been expecting to train his focus on Hunter Biden investigations and other highly anticipated probes, the burgeoning classified document scandal has thrown a curveball at Hill Democrats.
When we sat down with Goldman last week, the freshman didn’t seem overly concerned about how classified documents ended up in Biden’s personal residence and think tank office.
“The American people are smart enough to understand the difference here [between Biden and Trump],” Goldman said in an interview.
Goldman, who spent millions of his own dollars to win a crowded Democratic primary in New York’s open 10th district last August, is already appearing on the Sunday shows to defend Biden. And due to Goldman’s experience in law enforcement and his role in Trump’s first impeachment, he’s likely to serve on the House Oversight Committee this Congress.
Messaging will be key to any minority pushback against GOP investigations. Here’s Goldman’s response to the litany of incoming attacks on the president’s family:
As for the newly established subcommittee to investigate the “Weaponization of the Federal Government,” the former prosecutor dismissed the effort as “nothing else than the committee to obstruct justice.”
In a whirlwind first month in office, Goldman has also been at the forefront of the Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) media storm. Goldman, along with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), filed a House Ethics Committee complaint against Santos.
— Max Cohen
DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD
| → | Live Nation, the concert giant, has signed up Stewart Strategies and Solutions to lobby on “[r]egulatory and legislative issues related to the entertainment industry.” |
– Jake Sherman
PRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE
Read API’s plan about making, moving and improving energy.
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 Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo has donated ~$2 billion over the last five years to help build a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and other community needs. What we say, we do. See how.