The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

Johnson meddles in Montana, bucking McConnell and the NRSC

House Dems want Harris on the campaign trail

Gallagher’s Mayorkas vote gets him a primary challenger

Aguilar on Schiff, border talks and the Super Bowl

THE TOP

Johnson meddles in Montana, bucking McConnell and the NRSC

Happy Thursday morning.

Breaking news: Speaker Mike Johnson plans to endorse Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-Mont.) looming campaign for Senate, according to multiple sources close to the situation.

Rosendale is expected to jump into the race on Friday.

Johnson’s endorsement would put him in direct conflict with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the NRSC and the Senate Leadership Fund, all of whom are opposed to Rosendale’s candidacy. The Senate GOP political operation has backed Tim Sheehy to take on Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in one of the marquee races this year.

Rosendale turned heads in the House Republican Conference earlier this week when he voted to send $17.6 billion to Israel without corresponding budget offsets. Previously, Rosendale has said this type of aid package needs to be paid for.

The charitable view is that Johnson is backing one of his own rank-and-file lawmakers for “member management” purposes. Needless to say, though, Senate Republicans aren’t very happy with Johnson here on Day 106 of his speakership — for this and many other reasons.

Johnson’s team did not reply to a request for comment.

The Senate’s morass: It’s difficult to out-chaos the House Republican Conference. But Senate Republicans are getting pretty damn close.

Senate Republicans are rudderless. Their conference meetings regularly descend into angry conflict. And they’re staring down a politically treacherous few days in which they’ll struggle to — maybe — pass a $95 billion foreign aid package with a minority of Republicans supporting it. All while hardline GOP conservatives vow to fight it every step of the way.

And if you feel like you’re in an endless “border security-Ukraine funding” time loop, you’re not alone.

Just minutes after rejecting the bipartisan border security supplemental on Wednesday, Senate Republicans were demanding amendment votes dealing with the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border before they would provide the votes to advance the foreign aid package.

As of Wednesday night, the path forward remained unclear. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recessed the chamber to “give our Republican colleagues the night to figure themselves out.” Ouch.

A pivotal procedural vote looms later today. The Senate is still short of the 60 votes necessary to advance the foreign aid package, and even many Republicans who support the underlying bill are holding out until they get amendment commitments from Schumer.

It’s also been an especially brutal stretch for McConnell, who has been forced to defend his record-setting stint as the Senate GOP leader.

“This has been an extremely unpredictable turn of events,” lamented Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who hasn’t missed a Senate vote in 27 years. Collins was one of just four Republicans who voted to advance the bipartisan border security supplemental and one of just eight who were ready to move ahead with the standalone foreign aid package.

What now? Senate Republicans will meet behind closed doors at 9:30 a.m. to chart a path forward — if there is one. These days, their private meetings devolve into ritualistic snipe-fests between the dwindling number of traditional Republicans and those aligned more closely with former President Donald Trump, who don’t want to do anything on the border or Ukraine. The session on Wednesday was no different, according to several attendees.

We scooped that Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the NRSC chair, was urging senators to block the foreign aid package because it would kneecap Senate GOP candidates who have insisted on a strong border component. Daines was once a vocal supporter of Ukraine aid and was one of the first lawmakers to travel there after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

At another point, Senate Minority Whip John Thune said Republicans “need to stop being p*ssies and just vote,” noting that the issue isn’t going to go away. And Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) got into a heated argument.

The end result of this debacle may very well be that Democrats get everything they originally wanted — a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without border restrictions. In order for that to happen, GOP leaders will likely be forced to go through multiple days of cloture votes, contentious amendments and complaints from hardliners.

“Oh, I think Republican leadership has shown they’re a well-oiled machine. They just do great. Couldn’t be improved upon. Absolutely have it all together. Very impressive,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said, dripping with sarcasm. “No, it’s a total embarrassment.”

With each procedural vote that’ll be required before final passage of the foreign aid package, GOP opponents will retain some leverage. McConnell and his allies are determined to finally get this ugly, months-long Ukraine funding chapter behind them.

Of course, the Senate might once again be hampered by Johnson’s indecision. Johnson declined to say Wednesday whether he’d put an Israel-Ukraine-Taiwan bill on the House floor. But the speaker did signal that he wants the issues broken up. Here’s Johnson:

— Andrew Desiderio, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

DEMOCRATIC RETREAT

House Dems want Harris on the campaign trail

LEESBURG, Va. — House Democrats said they would welcome Vice President Kamala Harris to campaign for them this year, despite her dismal approval ratings.

Harris spoke to Democrats at their annual retreat Wednesday. Afterward, several members praised Harris for her efforts as VP.

“She’s an asset on the campaign trail,” Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) told us. “She is an incredible surrogate. I’ve welcomed her to my community willingly and would be delighted to have her come back.”

Both Harris and President Joe Biden have struggled with approval ratings in the mid-30s — anemic numbers that Democrats privately fear could significantly harm their own reelection prospects. Biden continues to lag behind former President Donald Trump in head-to-head polls.

Harris has had difficulty breaking out as she’s been tasked with a sprawling — and often thankless — agenda that includes everything from leading the administration’s response to the border crisis to reproductive rights.

Despite that, House Democrats assert Harris has done a good job in her role. She spoke to members about abortion rights, gun violence and health care.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) said Harris was “results-oriented.” And Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) praised Harris for emphasizing abortion rights — an issue that became central to the vice president’s portfolio after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — and ensuring the administration doesn’t forget about underserved communities.

“I’ve never seen the kind of resources coming into communities like mine before and have never felt the level of compassion and support from an administration,” Escobar told us. “It’s really important to give credit where credit is due.”

Biden will address House Democrats in Leesburg this afternoon.

— Mica Soellner

THE HOUSE GOP

Gallagher’s Mayorkas vote gets him a primary challenger

When Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) cast his vote against impeaching DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, he opened himself up to a firestorm of criticism from his party’s right flank.

Now, Gallagher is facing a primary challenge from MAGA world political consultant Alex Bruesewitz.

The Republican base, furious at the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, was eager to impeach Mayorkas. And Gallagher — along with Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) — joined with all 212 Democrats to sink the impeachment.

But when we caught up with Gallagher on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Republican told us he didn’t care about the political repercussions of his stance.

“That can’t be the North Star that guides your votes and guides your principles,” Gallagher said.

In a detailed Wall Street Journal op-ed, Gallagher explained his vote as a stance against political impeachments. Impeaching Mayorkas “would only further pry open the Pandora’s box of perpetual impeachment,” Gallagher wrote.

We asked Gallagher if he had been following the reaction to his WSJ piece.

“I don’t live online, guys. Get offline! That’s not healthy for you,” Gallagher replied.

The 39-year-old Marine veteran is seen as a rising star within GOP politics and was heavily recruited to run against Sen. Tammy Baldwin (R-Wis.) this year. Gallagher hasn’t been shy at bucking the far-right wing of the Republican Party — a rare position to be in today’s GOP.

Following the Jan. 6 attack, Gallagher strongly criticized former President Donald Trump’s behavior. In his role as chair of the select committee on China, Gallagher has made bipartisanship a top priority alongside his Democratic counterpart Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.).

It’s unclear how much juice a pro-Trump primary challenge would have in Gallagher’s district.

“A vote like this is a conscience vote and I think Mike’s got strongly held beliefs in regards to it,” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) told us when we asked about Gallagher’s political future. “We’ll see what happens.”

— Max Cohen

PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS

Aguilar on Schiff, border talks and the Super Bowl

LEESBURG, Va. — Our very own Heather Caygle sat down with House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar Wednesday at Punchbowl News’ “Cocktails and Conversation” during the House Democratic retreat in Leesburg, Va. Aguilar dished on his endorsement in the California Senate race, and how he’s viewing the Super Bowl matchup. The Network partnered with Punchbowl News to make the conversation possible.

Before the interview, Carrie Glenn, senior vice president of external relations at The Network, gave brief remarks.

Here are our top takeaways:

→	Aguilar made news by endorsing Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) Senate campaign. Schiff is running against two fellow House Democrats — Reps. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter — in the top-two March 5 primary. Schiff is leading the field in public polls.

→	President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings don’t bother Aguilar, who said he was confident “that voters are going to choose Joe Biden to lead us for the next few years.” Aguilar said the country’s improving economic landscape will be key to Democratic success up and down the ballot in November.

→

Aguilar said the failed impeachment vote of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “underscores the chaos, dysfunction and extremism that we see with House Republicans.” Aguilar added “there’s no way [former Speaker Nancy Pelosi] would have lost a vote like that,” labeling the GOP vote-counting mishaps “an exercise in self-harm.”

→	After Senate Republicans walked away from the bipartisan border security bill this week, Aguilar said “it just doesn’t seem that Republicans want to meet us halfway or that they’re interested in solutions at all” on immigration reform.

→	The California Democrat picked his home state team, the San Francisco 49ers, to triumph in the Super Bowl. But he cautioned that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a hard man to beat in big-game situations.

→	If Aguilar could be invisible for an entire day in the Capitol, he said he would “spend a little bit of time with the professional parliamentarian team.” Uh, OK.

→	In a scenario where Aguilar was alone at Tune Inn with Speaker Mike Johnson, the Democrat said they would bond over their previous roles as conference vice chairs. Exciting stuff.

In addition to Aguilar, raising a glass with us at the Punchbowl News event were House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene and Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer (Md.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Annie Kuster (N.H.), Ami Bera (Calif.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Scott Peters (Calif.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Marc Veasey (Texas), Brad Schneider (Ill.), Veronica Escobar (Texas) and Maxwell Frost (Fla.).

Also joining us: Reps. Jared Huffman (Calif.), Joe Neguse (Colo.), Nanette Barragán (Calif.), Shontel Brown (Ohio), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Greg Landsman (Ohio), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), Wiley Nickel (N.C.), Betty McCollum (Minn.), Joe Morelle (N.Y.), Darren Soto (Fla.), Val Hoyle (Ore.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas) and Becca Balint (Vt.).

And Reps. Lois Frankel (Fla.), Nikki Budzinski (Ill.), Madeleine Dean (Pa.), Sean Casten (Ill.), Mike Levin (Calif.), Rick Larsen (Wash.), Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Lori Trahan (Mass.), Julia Brownley (Calif.), Paul Tonko (N.Y.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Glenn Ivey (Md.), Robert Garcia (Calif.), Hillary Scholten (Mich.), Gabe Vasquez (N.M.), Jennifer McClellan (Va.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Morgan McGarvey (Ky.), Dan Goldman (N.Y.) and Greg Stanton (Ariz.).

— Max Cohen

THE CAMPAIGN

News: The Ohio Democratic Party is running a new digital ad hitting GOP Senate frontrunner Bernie Moreno for his opposition to the now-dead bipartisan border bill.

Moreno is the leading candidate among the Republicans vying to take on Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in November. Moreno, like many Republicans nationwide, came out against the bill negotiated by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).

Here’s the ad, which the state party is running on Facebook and Instagram:

The Border Patrol union’s support of the bill was flagged intensely by the package’s proponents. But it ultimately wasn’t near enough to convince skeptical Republicans.

— Max Cohen

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