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An ambassadorial nominee in trouble, plus Pelosi plots on gas prices
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.
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BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER, JAKE SHERMAN AND HEATHER CAYGLE
WITH MAX COHEN AND CHRISTIAN HALL
THE TOP
Happy Tuesday morning.
For your awareness: President Joe Biden will come to the Capitol this afternoon to pay his respects to the late Rep. Don Young of Alaska. Young was the “dean of the House” when he died on March 18 at the age of 88. He was also the longest serving Republican in the chamber’s history. Young was first elected in 1973. Young will lie in state in Statuary Hall today.
More so than any recent president, Biden goes out of his way to pay tribute to one-time congressional colleagues who have passed away, or attend other memorials in the Capitol. Biden has made the trip up Pennsylvania Avenue to pay his respects to former Senate Majority Leaders Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.). He did the same for U.S. Capitol Police Officers Billy Evans and Brian Sicknick. Evans was killed in an attack on the Capitol in April 2021, while Sicknick’s death was tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Biden came off the campaign trail in July 2020 for a Capitol Hill stop in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).
Garcetti’s nomination is on life support
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The long-stalled nomination of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be U.S. ambassador to India is in limbo, with some Senate Democrats privately whispering its dead – or “withering on the vine,” in the words of one Democrat.
First, Garcetti’s nomination was left out of a package of nominees that the Senate cleared in December.
Now, Several Republican senators have holds on Garcetti’s nomination, preventing it from reaching the Senate floor. The Senate is unlikely to vote on Garcetti’s nomination until late April or May – at the earliest – due to this GOP opposition. And that’s only if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the White House can round up the votes to make it happen.
White House officials insist President Joe Biden continues to back Garcetti, despite the long delay in confirming him. Biden nominated Garcetti – his former campaign co-chair – last July.
“The president has confidence in Mayor Garcetti and believes he’ll be an excellent representative in India,” said a White House spokesperson. “His nomination advanced unanimously with bipartisan support in committee. The White House and the State Department are making calls to senators and working to earn bipartisan support for his nomination. He should receive a vote in the Senate expeditiously.”
Garcetti’s nomination has been hung up for months over allegations by a Los Angeles police officer that Garcetti witnessed a former top aide, Rick Jacobs, sexually harass the officer and did nothing about it. Garcetti denies the allegation. The officer, Matthew Garza – who served on Garcetti’s security detail – has sued the city over the claim.
Jacobs has also been accused by the mayor’s one-time spokesperson, Naomi Seligman, of forcibly kissing her and then having that behavior covered up by Garcetti’s staff. Seligman “has briefed more than a dozen Senate offices from both parties — including members of the committee – to give a detailed account of the harassment she suffered and said she saw,” Axios reported last week.
The Los Angeles Times reported on March 17 that Garcetti’s office turned over a “nonpublic, city-ordered report into allegations of sexual harassment in his office to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee” last November, prior to the panel’s vote on Garcetti’s nomination in January. That report cleared Garcetti of any wrongdoing. You can read all 310 pages here, courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told us he has extended his hold on Garcetti until after the Easter recess so he can review the report. Grassley got it last Thursday from authorities in Los Angeles.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has placed her own hold on Garcetti as well, Axios reported.
Democrats could overcome the GOP holds, but Schumer would need some floor time – a very valuable commodity right now – to do it, as well as unanimous support from all 50 Senate Democrats, or backing from some Republicans.
We asked Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) about Garcetti’s prospects on Monday night.
“It’s never dead as long as the nominee is seeking to move forward. [Garcetti] maintains his innocence and we’ll have to see whether he can get a vote,” Menendez said.
But another Senate Democrat familiar with the situation suggested Garcett’s nomination is suffering from “neglect,” meaning there’s little momentum for his confirmation among the president’s party at this point.
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WASHINGTON AND THE WORLD
New: Biden officials head to Capitol Hill to brief on Iran deal
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We’ve written a good deal in recent weeks about consternation among members of Congress who feel as if the White House has left them in the dark over the Iran nuclear talks.
Well here’s something new: The House Armed Service Committee will get a classified briefing today about the status of the multinational negotiations.
Robert Malley, the United States Special Representative for Iran, and Brett McGurk, the NSC’s Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, will brief lawmakers on the panel. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee got a similar briefing by McGurk.
There’s intense interest on Capitol Hill about the prospects for an accord between the United States, Iran, European nations and Russia. Congress will almost certainly have to vote on a disapproval resolution should the Biden administration decide to reenter the JCPOA – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – with Iran, even in some modified form. As the midterm elections grow closer, that vote will become more of a political football.
Malley said last week at the Doha Forum in Qatar that an agreement “is not around the corner and is not inevitable.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel during the last few days. Blinken said during an appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that, with or without a deal, “We will continue to work together and with other partners to counter Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the region.”
INSIDE THE ROOM
Pelosi plots gas price relief in private meetings with House Dems
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi used her leadership meetings Monday night to sound out her Democratic colleagues on the best way to address record-high gas prices. Some senior Democrats still hope the House can act next week before Easter recess but the path forward remains unclear.
As we first reported earlier this month, Democratic leadership has been mulling a variety of options – from a gas tax holiday to rebate cards or vouchers – as they try to head off what has the potential to become a huge political liability in the midterms.
Pelosi huddled with her small leadership team on the issue first on Monday. She then brought up gas prices again during a broader steering meeting, reading a memo aloud with a list of potential ideas as she sought feedback from Democrats in the room, according to multiple sources who attended the meeting. We caught up with Pelosi afterwards but it sounds like Democrats are still far from definitive action.
Here’s Pelosi:
“We’re listening to members to see what they think. We have a variety of opinions on the subject. We want to lower the cost at the pump but not hurt our trust fund contributions. So we’ll have to find a way to offset.”
Democrats are well aware this could become a steep political liability later this year, with Pelosi, President Joe Biden and others already trying to brand the skyrocketing prices as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault due to the invasion of Ukraine. Pelosi has called it “Putin’s gas hike,” Biden went with the more alliterative “Putin’s price hike.”
It’s clear the issue is front and center for voters. Respondents in a pair of polls from AP-NORC and NBC News in recent days ranked gas prices and record inflation as their top concerns. Republicans have repeatedly dismissed Democrats’ efforts to address gas prices as “gimmicks.”
CHIPS!
House eyes USICA vote this week to begin negotiation with the Senate
One of Capitol Hill’s main priorities in coming months is passing the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a legislative package aimed at boosting high-tech research and chip manufacturing in the United States.
The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill, so the two chambers will have to vote to begin a formal negotiation. The Senate took a big step in that process Monday evening.
We caught up with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who told us his chamber will vote this week.
“I think we’ll vote this week. … Right now, I think we’ll probably vote on Thursday but if we can do it sooner, we might do it sooner.”
This is, of course, of intense interest to the business community and a wide swath of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the Capitol. Once the two chambers vote to begin a formal conference negotiation process, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell need to work out the structure of those talks – an important step in the 50-50 Senate. We anticipate a vote could come at some point this spring, if the two sides come to an agreement on a final legislative package.
THE SELECT COMMITTEE
Thompson warns select committee may still subpoena members
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The Jan. 6 select committee has been making so much news lately that it’s hard to keep up.
The panel voted Monday night to approve criminal contempt referrals to the Justice Department for Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, two aides to former President Donald Trump, for failing to comply with its investigation. The full House will have to vote on the referrals before they’re sent to DOJ.
A federal judge also ruled yesterday that it was “more likely than not” that Trump committed felony obstruction as part of the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the panel’s chair, also told us Monday night that the panel is prepared to subpoena Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, over what she knows about efforts to overturn the election. The Washington Post and CBS reported last week that Ginni Thomas was sending text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on this issue shortly after the election. Clarence Thomas was then the only no vote when the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had to turn over documents to the select committee.
There’s something else in our Thompson interview that we wanted to share with you.
We pressed Thomas on the issue of whether the select committee will subpoena any Republican members to testify about their conversations with Trump before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Pa.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) were all “invited” to testify but refused.
“It has not happened, but it is not off the table,” Thompson said. “We just have not done it.”
We noted that it was late in the election cycle, meaning there’s not a lot of time to deal with potential legal challenges over member subpoenas, to which Thompson responded: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Thompson was also asked about Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who spoke at Trump’s rally on the Ellipse prior to the insurrection. Trump un-endorsed (dis-endosed?) Brooks last week in the Alabama Senate race, which upset Brooks. Brooks issued a statement declaring that Trump “asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.”
None of those things could happen, of course, but hell hath no fury like an un-endorsed candidate.
“A lot of times, as we work, things develop,” Thompson said about the possibility of a Brooks invitation. “He was not, obviously, somebody we were really interested in. But now since he has something he wants to say, we will at least discuss the likelihood of bringing him in.”
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→ | The Tennessee House cleared a bill Monday that would require candidates for Congress to have lived in the state for three years. The Senate has already passed this bill, so it will now head to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. |
This bill is seen as targeting Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department official who is running for Congress. Ortagus moved to the state earlier this year. She has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Here’s something interesting. We hear Tennessee Conservative PAC, a super PAC that’s expected to back Ortagus, will support a lawsuit seeking to overturn the law. The super PAC already has at least $1 million in the bank, a source connected to the group told us. They will argue that the legislature is putting unconstitutional requirements on serving in Congress.
FRONTS
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MOMENTS
8:45 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his intelligence briefing.
9 a.m.: House Democrats will hold a closed-door caucus meeting.
9:15 a.m.: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) will meet with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
10:15 a.m.: House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries and Vice Chair Pete Aguilar will hold a news conference.
10:30 a.m.: The late Rep. Don Young’s (R-Alaska) casket will arrive at the Capitol.
10:45 a.m.: Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, will visit the White House.
11 a.m.: Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) will meet with Jackson. … Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will speak at a ceremony honoring Young.
12:45 p.m.: Biden and Lee will speak to reporters.
1:35 p.m.: Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Lee.
2 p.m.: Senate Republicans and Democrats will hold their party lunches.
2:05 p.m.: Biden will come to the Capitol to pay his respects to Young.
3 p.m.: Kate Bedingfield will brief reporters.
3:15 p.m.: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) will meet with Jackson.
4 p.m.: Biden will sign the anti-lynching bill into law. Harris will speak.
CLIP FILE
NYT
→ | “Biden Administration Will Start Vaccinating Migrants at Border,” by Eileen Sullivan |
→ | “Zelensky says Ukraine will create a group to analyze the effectiveness of sanctions,” by Jesus Jiménez |
→ | “Local Election Officials in Georgia Oppose G.O.P. Election Bill,” by Maya King in Atlanta and Nick Corasaniti |
WaPo
→ | “Kyiv and Moscow meet for peace talks in Istanbul with different expectations,” by Annabelle Timsit, Rachel Pannett, Amy Cheng, Miriam Berger, Adela Suliman and Jennifer Hassan |
→ | “Germany, urged to ‘stop Putin’s war machine,’ resists Russian energy embargo,” by Isaac Stanley-Becker in Berlin |
→ | “‘It’s about the 30-second ads’: Biden budget offers a counter to GOP midterm attacks,” by Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Annie Linskey and Marianna Sotomayor |
WSJ
→ | “Internet Provider to Ukrainian Military Hit With Major Cyberattack,” by Robert McMillan and Dustin Volz |
“How Russia’s Central Bank Engineered the Ruble’s Rebound,” by Caitlin Ostroff
→ | “Antitrust Bill Targeting Amazon, Google, Apple Gets Support From DOJ,” by Ryan Tracy |
Politico
→ | “Rand’s latest stand undercuts GOP’s Ukraine message,” by Burgess Everett and Andrew Desiderio |
→ | “‘Do your job’: Jan. 6 committee presses DOJ as push for Meadows contempt charge languishes,” by Kyle Cheney, Nicholas Wu and Josh Gerstein |
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Visit the archiveAt 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.