The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

Welcome to shutdown week. House Republicans slow-walk a deal

Spending fight may delay Mayorkas Senate trial

What We’re Watching

Republicans use swag to lobby for open E&C spot

THE TOP

Welcome to shutdown week. House Republicans slow-walk a deal

Happy Monday morning.

The Senate is back today from the Presidents Day recess with the House returning Wednesday.

Also welcome back to another “Looming Government Shutdown” week because, yes, nearly five months into FY 2024, Congress still hasn’t approved any of the annual spending bills. A partial government shutdown will occur at midnight Friday if lawmakers don’t act, with a full government shutdown possible on March 8. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union is March 7.

Biden has invited the “Big Four” leaders — Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — to the White House on Tuesday morning to discuss this latest crisis and to lobby Johnson to pass the foreign aid package.

This impasse over government funding is all about House Republicans. Johnson is under pressure from House GOP hardliners who want to string out this fight as long as possible in order to trigger automatic spending cuts. So Johnson is holding out on a number of policy riders.

All the other players in these bicameral discussions — Senate Democrats and Republicans, House Democrats and the White House — have pushed for bipartisan deals. But House Republicans won’t go along once again.

Johnson, quite frankly, has been hesitant to lead on any issue at all. With the example of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in mind, Johnson won’t overrule the Freedom Caucus.

As we’ll get into in a moment, the disagreements, while moderately significant from a policy perspective, don’t feel like they could lead to a shutdown. But hardline conservatives don’t operate under the typical incentive structures that govern national politics.

And some Republicans suspect Johnson is toying with a shutdown to give himself more space to cut a deal with Democrats. This may be giving him too much credit, however.

Shutdown fears rise: With both sides saying progress was being made last week, congressional leaders had hoped to release text for the first four spending bills by Sunday night. These cover the Agriculture, Energy and Water, MilCon-Va and Transportation-HUD bills, the first tranche of annual appropriations under the “laddered” continuing resolution Johnson demanded last year.

But House GOP conservatives have refused to concede on anything. When Johnson said during a Friday night conference call with members that he wanted to do the first group of bills this week on the floor — meaning he would need Democratic help to pass them under suspension — there was strong pushback from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and other hardliners.

During that call, Johnson also said he didn’t want a shutdown but conceded that it may happen. Johnson also acknowledged that Republicans didn’t score any major policy victories in the funding bills either.

As the weekend progressed, the bicameral talks began to stall out. And by Sunday afternoon, as we first reported, it became clear that negotiators wouldn’t be able to release spending bills due to the GOP opposition.

The policy fights: There’s a dispute over hundreds of millions of dollars in WIC funding — Women, Infants and Children — under the Agriculture Department. The department has warned of a possible $1 billion shortfall in the program unless more money is approved, which could put millions of program participants at risk. Conservatives want to keep this funding flat.

Another disagreement involves a Senate provision barring the VA from sending a veteran’s name to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System — used for gun purchases — when a fiduciary is appointed to oversee that person’s benefits.

There’s also hundreds of millions in spending earmarks that are another problem area, according to Democratic and GOP aides.

Lastly, GOP hardliners are already suggesting that Republicans force Biden to add more money for border security. This comes despite the fact that Johnson and conservative hardliners helped kill a bipartisan Senate border security bill just weeks ago.

With the March 1 deadline approaching, Schumer warned senators in a “Dear Colleague” letter Sunday to keep their schedules flexible since no agreement had been reached:

In his own statement, Johnson asserted that Democrats had made new demands “that were not previously included in the Senate bills.”

Also: The House quietly added a short-term Federal Aviation Administration patch to the list of bills under consideration this week. The extension would keep the FAA authorized until May 10.

— Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Andrew Desiderio

INVESTIGATION TRACKER

Spending fight may delay Mayorkas Senate trial

Despite a looming government shutdown, the GOP investigations into the Biden administration are moving forward on several fronts.

But first, some news: The House is unlikely to present its articles to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate until after the government funding crisis is resolved, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

When the Mayorkas impeachment articles are presented, the Senate will convene the following day as a court of impeachment and senators will be sworn in as jurors. At that point, Democrats can offer a motion to table — or otherwise dismiss — the impeachment articles. They could also move to create a trial committee and refer the articles there.

It’s important to remember that Democrats can essentially dictate this entire process as long as they stick together. All of the aforementioned votes would be at a simple-majority threshold, so Democrats can bypass a trial entirely.

And there’s reason to believe that this is what could ultimately happen. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), for example, has dismissed the House’s impeachment effort, as have other moderates and vulnerable red-state Democrats.

House Republicans to grill Hunter Biden: President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will testify behind closed doors on Wednesday. The impeachment inquiry into the president has centered around allegations that Biden acted improperly while in office to benefit his family member’s overseas business deals.

To date, the inquiry hasn’t uncovered any conclusive evidence of impeachable offenses. And House Republicans only have a two-seat majority, which makes it even more difficult for GOP leaders.

Last week, the much-hyped transcribed interview of Biden’s brother, James Biden, fell flat. James Biden denied that his brother had any involvement in his financial deals.

Hunter Biden is expected to also forcefully reject GOP claims that his father played a role in his business ventures. Previous witnesses have testified that Hunter Biden would call his father and place Joe Biden on speakerphone while meeting with his partners. But Joe Biden never directly discussed business, according to former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer.

Another factor to consider is that Hunter Biden is under federal indictment for allegedly falsifying gun purchase forms and avoiding taxes. As such, the president’s son may refuse to answer some questions from congressional investigators.

The Smirnov spin continues: The Biden impeachment inquiry suffered an embarrassing blow earlier this month when an FBI informant was indicted for allegedly lying about a Biden bribery scandal. Weeks after Alexander Smirnov’s arrest, top Republicans are continuing to face questions over how the revelation impacts the impeachment inquiry.

House Republicans are pivoting to attacking the FBI for retaining an informant who is accused of fabricating key claims. But the underlying facts are harmful for the GOP inquiry.

Smirnov provided fodder for the theory that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was supposedly too tough on a company that Hunter Biden served on the board of. This was a central claim of the investigation and is now allegedly completely made up.

— Max Cohen and Andrew Desiderio

📆

What We’re Watching

Tuesday: The Senate HELP Committee has a hearing to consider a number of nominations, including Julie Su to be secretary of Labor. The Senate Judiciary Committee has a hearing focused on stopping American guns from getting to Mexican cartels.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on Yemen and Red Sea security issues. Witnesses include Timothy A. Lenderking, the special envoy for Yemen, and Daniel Shapiro, the deputy assistant defense secretary for the Middle East.

Wednesday: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will testify in front of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on “Tehran’s shadow Army.” Brian Hook, former President Donald Trump’s Iran adviser, will be among those testifying.

Thursday: The Senate Armed Services Committee will have a hearing with Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command and Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, the commander of U.S. Space Command.

– Jake Sherman

THE SWAG SECTION

Republicans use swag to lobby for open E&C spot

Swag is king. At least when it comes to the ultra-competitive House Energy and Commerce race.

Several House Republicans are jockeying for the open GOP spot on the panel by trying to tempt their colleagues with all kinds of district-based goodies. In recent weeks, candidates have given out everything from model cars and coasters to a variety of locally-made snacks.

“I have noticed the swag and gifts are higher now,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). “It’s very competitive to get on the committee and the next generation has to rise to the occasion.”

Several senior members of the committee, including McMorris Rodgers, are retiring, leaving behind a huge knowledge gap on the panel. The panel has one of the broadest jurisdictions on Capitol Hill, touching everything from public health to telecommunications to environmental issues. So the vacancies are bound to set up a highly competitive steering process in the next Congress.

But right now, at least four Republicans are vying to fill former Rep. Bill Johnson’s (R-Ohio) spot. Johnson left Congress last month to become president of Youngstown State University.

Reps. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), John James (R-Mich.) and Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.), all freshmen, are actively campaigning for the spot.

Here’s a look at what some of these contenders have sent to offices:

→	Fry handed out pimento cheese dip and crackers.

→	Williams gave honey from his farm, a circuit board coaster, a challenge coin and two palm cards, including one from his official office and one from his campaign.

→	Langworthy fed leadership and committee members with Buffalo-style pizza. Here’s a picture with a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, where Langworthy proudly notes the pizzas were cooked in a gas stove.

→	James sent out mini model Dodge Ram trucks.

“I’m proud to show off the brick, the resilience and the importance of my district,” James told us. “The perfect symbol is a pickup truck from my district.”

Swag surfin’: This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this. Republicans were distributing gifts all around during the three-week speakership and vice chair races last year.

While it’s less common on the Democratic side, the minority party has also gotten in on the act. Notably, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) handed out goodies to colleagues during his successful bid to serve as a DPCC co-chair.

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), a senior member of the E&C panel, said gifting has always been part of campaigning for committee spots, acknowledging he has also participated in the practice.

“It’s not just gifts, it’s also soliciting donations for people, so it’s politics within politics,” Carter told us. “Whether that’s the best way to do it or not, that’s debatable.”

Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who many have speculated is also vying for the spot, told us he won’t be seeking the seat. Currently, there is no deadline to fill Johnson’s seat.

– Mica Soellner

THE CAMPAIGN

News: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has raised a total of $100 million in online grassroots contributions since 2017, according to his political team. Scalise invested early in digital fundraising. He has 489,916 unique donors and has collected 3,408,806 contributions online.

Also: Defend the Vote, a pro-democracy group, is endorsing Rebecca Cooke in the Wisconsin 3rd District Democratic primary

“Rebecca Cooke will put people first,” said DTV Executive Director Brian Lemek in a statement. “She’s running for Congress to give Wisconsin families a greater voice in our democracy to help create more opportunities for success for the people in her district.”

Cooke – who unsuccessfully ran for the nomination in 2022 – is one of a quartet of Democrats looking to take on controversial GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the western Wisconsin district.

Van Orden launched a “curse-laden outburst that interrupted a White House briefing on the Israel terrorist attack” back in October, according to Politico. And we reported that Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, screamed at a bunch of Senate pages in the Rotunda back in July. Finally, Van Orden yelled at a teenager working in a library in 2021.

This R+4 district is rated “lean Republican” by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

MOMENTS

CLIPS