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March 25, 2022
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Happy Friday morning from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
One of the questions we consistently get asked by Silicon Valley, business groups and trade associations is this: What will happen to “Big Tech” if Republicans take the House majority in November?
Our answer is tech industry leaders should be prepared for an onslaught of investigations, probes and the potential for new legislation. Animosity toward Big Tech is a defining characteristic of the House Republican Conference, much like the aversion to big government spending was in the early 2010s.
House Republicans aren’t guaranteed to win the majority – they need to net five seats in November to get there. But they’re more likely than not to do so. And we’ve seen how Republicans handle oversight when they’re in charge. The GOP has, at times, lost control of hearings, allowing the oversight process to become scattershot. Yet the current House GOP leadership already is forcing its members to work together to craft a plan of attack, which signals a more organized process if they’re in the majority. We’ll see if this lasts.
To put it simply, if Republicans take the House majority, they’re prepared to take a battering ram to Big Tech. So we wanted to find out more about their plans.
We talked to two key players at the House Republican retreat about their plans for tech: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State. McCarthy is in line to be speaker if Republicans win the majority. And CMR, as she is known internally, is likely to be the chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.
In short, McCarthy and CMR are already eyeing legislative proposals, as well as hauling CEOs in front of Congress. And the pair of senior Republicans have a list of who they consider to be the worst actors in the tech space. So they’ve already put a lot of thought into this question.
Here’s McCarthy on Big Tech during a fireside chat we had with him at the GOP retreat.
McMorris Rodgers has thought through her plan of attack quite thoroughly.
| → | Her top-line thoughts on tech in a GOP majority |
| → | CMR told us that she believes there should be less censorship on social media |
| → | Tech’s most egregious actors – according to CMR. |
| → | CMR said she will absolutely call on the chief executives of big tech companies to testify before her panel. |
| → | The Washington State Republican also said she is working on reforms to Section 230 that would create “new rules” for companies with more than $3 billion in annual revenue and 300 million monthly users. |
As you can tell, this will become a central issue for the GOP.
Listen to our entire conversation with CMR on The Daily Punch this morning.
Also: McCarthy told us last night he may create a special committee focused on China if Republicans take the majority.
| → | The California Republican also said he thinks his party will have a greater than five-seat majority in the House in 2023. |
| → | McCarthy declared the first thing he will do if Republicans take the majority is get rid of proxy voting and remove the magnetometers from around the House chamber. And the GOP’s first pieces of legislation will include an energy independence package, a “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” a bill to secure the border and one to target the proliferation of fentanyl in the U.S. |
| → | McCarthy also said he intends to launch investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and the bungled withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. |
| → | Like many Republicans before him, McCarthy also said he would like Congress to begin projecting the federal budget over a 20-year window instead of the 10 years it currently uses. |
| → | The House Republican leader said that he may change the Jan. 6 committee’s focus to zoom in on why the Capitol was unprepared for the attack. McCarthy also said he would like to understand what Speaker Nancy Pelosi said to the sergeant at arms on Jan. 6. |
| → | McCarthy told us that he would like to send the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees to MIT for a course on artificial intelligence and quantum computing. |
Join us on the road: In two weeks, we’re hosting our first event in the states! Join us for our conversation with Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) about the challenges facing small businesses on Friday, April 8 at 9 a.m. ET in-person in Detroit or virtually on the livestream. RSVP today!
👀 Money watch: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) cut a $100,000 check to the DSCC this week as his party strives to maintain its fragile hold on the Senate majority in November, sources tell us. A Manchin spokesperson confirmed he gave the contribution but with the provision that the money not be used against any sitting senator – Republican or Democrat. Manchin has made similar stipulations in the past.
Manchin endorsed Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as she seeks another term, and she backed him. Manchin – the bane of all progressives – isn’t up until 2024. Murkowski is facing a GOP primary challenger this year backed by former President Donald Trump.
Manchin’s contribution to the party campaign arm comes amid reports that he’s once again interested in reviving some portions of Democrats’ ambitious Build Back Better bill, although on a much smaller scale and on his terms. Manchin – who blew up the BBB negotiations in mid-December – has been signaling his interest in resuscitating some aspects of the reconciliation package for weeks, paid for in part by tax reform, as our friends Burgess Everett and Nicholas Wu reported earlier this month.
Those conversations have picked up steam recently with draft text being circulated among senators’ offices. Manchin hopes to reach a deal by May, E & E News reported this week. Manchin reiterated at a private dinner his longstanding view that he wants a package focused on climate change, lowering prescription drug costs and reducing the deficit, Hans Nichols reported for Axios.
But many on the Hill are still skeptical anything will come together. Biden administration officials are also wary. Democrats have extremely narrow margins in both chambers. The calendar (this is especially true during an election year) is not on their side. Manchin’s relationship with the White House and many in his own party is strained, at best. And it’s hard to envision a deal that can both meet Manchin’s demands and satisfy liberal Democrats who pushed hard for generational changes to the country’s social safety net.
For example: “It’s this idea of if you coddle someone’s ego, that they’re going to… say yes. And if it hasn’t worked in two years why are we going to continue doing that when there’s an election this November?” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said at a town hall in her district last night.
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