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January 23, 2023
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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Happy Monday morning.
News: The Pentagon is in the early stages of planning for Speaker Kevin McCarthy to travel abroad — including an expected visit to Taiwan later this year, according to an official directly involved in the talks.
Biden administration officials anticipate McCarthy will visit the democratic island nation sometime in the spring, as House Republicans look to make countering China a major focus of their majority.
Planning a McCarthy trip to Taiwan would be a herculean effort for the Pentagon, which would need to consider the security logistics as well as the expected response from Beijing. When former Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled there last year, China ramped up its military drills near the island as an intimidation tactic and its top officials railed against the visit as a violation of long-standing U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
McCarthy expressed support for Pelosi’s trip at the time and said he’d also travel to Taiwan if elected speaker. And just recently, McCarthy touted the House’s vote to establish a select committee on China, which received significant Democratic support.
If McCarthy follows through, it would set up yet another diplomatic showdown between the United States and China. Hawks on both sides of the aisle have been pushing the Biden administration to take a harder line on Taiwan, which U.S. officials believe is under growing threat of an invasion by Beijing.
A handful of other lawmakers have traveled to Taiwan in recent months and faced similar threats from China. Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), for example, was in Taipei this past week.
The Biden administration was initially opposed to Pelosi visiting Taiwan, citing the potential for an escalation of tensions with China. Pentagon officials warned Pelosi of the risks, but she decided to move forward with the trip anyway. Pelosi, of course, flew on a U.S. military jet to the island and her trip was well received at home and in Taiwan.
This time around, the administration is being more proactive when it comes to planning a potential McCarthy visit.
In the meantime, Congress has already boosted security assistance to Taiwan as part of the annual defense policy bill, and the White House has asked for approval of billions of dollars worth of weapons sales. This is all intended to deter a potential invasion by China’s military.
The Pentagon and McCarthy’s office declined to comment on this report.
– Andrew Desiderio and Jake Sherman
COMMITTEE SHOWDOWN
Jeffries taps Schiff, Swalwell for Intel, Omar to get HFA, McCarthy to oppose
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has formally named Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to the Intelligence Committee, setting up a clash with Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the future of the panel, according to a letter obtained exclusively by Punchbowl News.
And Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) will be named to the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Democrats this week, according to multiple Democratic sources. McCarthy and GOP leaders have vowed to hold a floor vote to boot the third-term member off the panel over anti-Semitic comments that she’s made in the past. Omar has apologized for her remarks.
The fight over Schiff, Swalwell and Omar has been widely anticipated during the early stages of this Congress. McCarthy and Republicans vowed to retaliate against the trio after Democrats booted Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committees in 2021. Those were bipartisan floor votes in each case.
McCarthy told us recently that he intended to go through with denying the three Democrats their requested committees, saying, “I made all [three] cases before. It’s not like it’s anything new.” Jeffries’ action now puts the onus on McCarthy to carry through with his threat.
Here are the letters from Schiff, Swalwell and Omar to Democratic leaders requesting their committee assignments.
And here’s Jeffries in his letter, telling McCarthy that he’s appointed Schiff and Swalwell to the Intelligence Committee:
Jeffries noted that MTG and Gosar were removed from their committees by bipartisan votes following the Jan. 6 insurrection. According to Jeffries, this “does not serve as precedent or justification for the removal of Representatives Schiff and Swalwell, given that they have never exhibited violent thoughts or behavior.”
Jeffries also pointed out that Republicans gave committee assignments to Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) despite the numerous allegations facing the freshman lawmaker. In the “spirit of bipartisan compromise,” Jeffries urged McCarthy to hold off on any action against Schiff and Swalwell.
As speaker, McCarthy can simply refuse to allow Schiff and Swalwell on the Intelligence panel. The full House will have to vote to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs panel. Democrats are finalizing their committee assignments this week, meaning a House floor vote on Omar isn’t likely before next week.
Schiff is one of the longest-serving members on the Intelligence Committee during its 45-year history. Schiff was first named to the panel by then Speaker Nancy Pelosi back in 2007. He’s been chair or ranking member for the last eight years.
In his Jan. 3 letter to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, Schiff wrote “it is not for Kevin McCarthy to decide to remove Members from Committees based on smears and falsehoods. Whether that means Ilhan Omar or Eric Swalwell or myself, there is no basis for his threatened retaliation other than placating the most extreme members of his party.”
McCarthy alleges that Schiff repeatedly “lied to the American public” about evidence presented during former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. McCarthy called for Schiff’s censure back in 2019.
Swalwell echoed Schiff’s line in his letter, saying McCarthy’s expected move is “based on fabricated stories or political revenge, and there is no basis for attempting to remove me, Adam Schiff, or Ilhan Omar from our committee assignments.”
Axios reported in 2020 that Swalwell was targeted by an alleged Chinese spy. Swalwell insists he cut all ties with the woman following an FBI briefing on the purported Chinese influence operation and has done nothing wrong.
– John Bresnahan
DEPT. OF LEGISLATING
Congress is back and Biden is getting a new chief of staff
The House and Senate are back in town and the real work of the 118th Congress can begin. The Senate will vote tonight, while the House is in tomorrow. And an embattled president will have a new chief of staff. Let’s get to it.
Jeff Zients will replace Ron Klain as White House chief of staff next month, according to the Washington Post, which broke the news. Zients – who has extensive experience across two Democratic administrations – led the Covid-19 pandemic response and vaccination efforts for President Joe Biden. He’s also a co-owner of Call Your Mother, the bagel store. And who doesn’t like bagels?
Zients will take over at a difficult moment for Biden. Klain helped steer the White House through a successful 117th Congress, scoring some big legislative wins and an impressive midterm performance.
But the classified-documents scandal has been a debacle for Biden and Democrats. The U.S economy is sputtering. House Republicans are threatening to investigate everything. The brutal war in Ukraine grinds on with no end in sight. And the first octogenarian president still has to decide whether he’s running again.
One Capitol Hill GOP veteran who worked with Zients said that he’s “pragmatic” and understands “the kabuki dance” of congressional legislating. This could be useful in the upcoming debt ceiling brawl. Remember: Zients was involved in the 2011 debt ceiling fight when he was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Hill Democrats will meet with Biden.
We don’t expect much to come from this meeting, but look for Schumer to challenge Speaker Kevin McCarthy to pass any spending cuts, proposed changes to entitlement programs or debt-limit legislation using “regular order,” including amendment votes. Democratic leaders and the White House believe these will be tough votes for the 18 Republicans representing districts that Biden won.
Biden will also host a reception for new members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday night.
The McCarthy-Jeffries committee agreement: House Republicans and Democrats have struck an agreement on the composition of committees, a milestone that allows the panels to get up and running despite the partisan clash over three Democratic members (see above).
In a letter sent to House Democrats Sunday, Jeffries said that the “ratios are consistent with an inversion of those from the prior Congress where Democrats held a similarly sized majority, notwithstanding a few changes in overall committee size.”
House Democrats are broadly pleased with the ratios, although they will lose a seat on the Ways and Means Committee. The negotiations over the panel ratios were delayed due to the drawn out speaker election.
Over the next few days, McCarthy must name five new members to the House Rules Committee, including some from the hardline House Freedom Caucus. The makeup of Rules was a major flashpoint between McCarthy and conservatives in his bid for speaker. But the GOP majority has been hobbled by failing to have the Rules panel populated, so they need to get this done quickly.
The House will spend most of the week considering legislation that limits the Biden administration’s ability to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This bill will be considered under a “modified open rule,” which will allow lawmakers to offer a stream of amendments. Shockingly, this is the first time the House has allowed floor amendments since 2016.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm claims H.R. 21 will result “in more oil supply shortages in times of crisis and higher gasoline prices for Americans.” We also don’t expect it to go anywhere in the Democratic-run Senate.
– Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Heather Caygle
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
🗓️
What we’re watching
| → | Tuesday: The Senate Judiciary Committee will have a hearing on “promoting competition and protecting consumers in live entertainment.” The Senate Intelligence Committee will have a closed briefing. |
| → | Wednesday: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on nominations. The Senate Intelligence Committee will have a closed briefing. |
| → | The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on nominations. |
– Jake Sherman
DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD
| → | Crypto.com has hired Delta Strategy Group to “[m]onitor legislation and regulation impacting derivatives and/or securities markets.” Jim Newsome, the chair of the CFTC under former President George W. Bush, is on the account. |
| → | AHIP has hired Fulcrum Public Affairs to lobby on “[i]ssues related to Medicare Advantage and health insurance industry.” |
| → | CTIA has hired Origin Advocacy to “provide strategic advice and counsel on issues impacting the Association and the wireless industry.” |
| → | Southern Company Gas has hired SBL Strategies to lobby on “[a]ccess to natural gas; general natural gas issues; natural gas transportation issues.” |
– Jake Sherman
PRESENTED BY INSTAGRAM
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Punchbowl News Presents
By transforming bill tracking and floor action with expert analysis from the Punchbowl News team, The Portal delivers concise, curated insights that cut through the noise, helping policy leaders win. Request a demo today.