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March 1, 2023
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THE TOP
Happy Wednesday morning and welcome to March.
A high-ranking group of Senate Democrats pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week on the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, warning it could spark a backlash among Democrats on Capitol Hill and undermine efforts to achieve a two-state solution, according to multiple attendees of the gathering in Jerusalem.
The Senate delegation, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, stopped in Israel over the recess and met with Netanyahu and other top officials. The 73-year-old Netanyahu recently returned to office as the head of an ultra-right-wing government that supports the expansion of settlements.
Schumer’s CODEL included senior Democrats who made the argument to Netanyahu that his settlement policies are doing more harm than good.
“We conveyed the message that we’re all supporters of a two-state solution. And the continued building, increased building [of settlements], threatens a two-state solution,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) told us. “That was the message.”
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, described the discussion as “frank.”
“I’ve always supported a two-state solution. It’s critically important,” Peters said. “We continued to stress that with Prime Minister Netanyahu. And we also certainly made the point that continued expansion of settlements makes that more problematic. The accelerated rate of those settlements is also a concern of ours.”
In addition, the Democratic senators voiced their opposition to Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the Israeli judicial system, according to sources familiar with the meeting. The move by Netanyahu’s government would give more power to the ruling coalition, and it has spurred widespread protests throughout the country.
The Schumer CODEL — his first as majority leader — came at a moment of extraordinary tension in the region. After a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli settlers last week, hundreds of settlers retaliated by burning homes and cars. One Palestinian was killed.
Iran, long a U.S. and Israeli foe, has stepped up its uranium enrichment program to near-weapons grade. The Biden administration has also pressured Israel to distance itself from Russia following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine, which the Israelis have been slow to do.
In a statement, Schumer said the Democratic senators made their positions clear to Netanyahu:
The group didn’t do any press events while in Israel, and Schumer’s office didn’t publicize the visit in advance — perhaps a sign of the fraught political dynamics. Despite their differing political ideologies, Schumer and Netanyahu have been aligned in the past, most notably on the Iran nuclear deal. Schumer backed Republicans in opposing the 2015 accord.
The Israeli Embassy didn’t comment for this report.
New: Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw has agreed to testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on March 9, according to a source familiar with the situation.
That hearing hasn’t been officially scheduled yet, but Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair and ranking member of EPW, strongly urged Shaw to appear before their panel
A Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio. The subsequent fire and release of toxic vinyl chloride — done to avoid an even more catastrophic explosion — has caused an environmental crisis in the small eastern Ohio town. Residents are concerned about the short and long-term health effects from exposure to vinyl chloride, as well as the efficacy of government testing programs.
— John Bresnahan and Andrew Desiderio
Our bad: TikTok is a Chinese-owned company. The Chinese government has a stake in a separate subsidiary of ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.
Mark your calendar! Punchbowl News founder Anna Palmer will interview House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday, March 23, at 9 a.m. ET. DeLauro is going to discuss women’s access to healthcare, followed by a fireside chat. The event is presented by Bayer. RSVP now!
WASHINGTON X THE WORLD
Ukrainians push for call between McCarthy, Zelensky
Scoop: The Ukrainian government is trying to set up a phone call between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort.
The call hasn’t been scheduled yet.
The broader context here is important. A number of House Republicans have publicly turned sour on providing more funding to Ukraine to counter the ongoing Russian invasion, although there’s still majority support in the House for the embattled country. The United States has spent more than $113 billion so far on the war, with more than nearly $50 billion in direct military aid.
McCarthy told us in October that he didn’t want to give a blank check to the Ukrainians, although he doesn’t support cutting off funding totally.
McCarthy’s comments, however, have made Democrats and Republican supporters of more Ukraine funding fret about the future of the U.S. commitment to defeating Russia.
Zelensky has also pressed President Joe Biden to send Kyiv high-tech weaponry, including F-16 fighter jets and other long-range weapons systems. The Biden administration has resisted, although the White House did agree to send advanced U.S. tanks.
McCarthy’s office declined comment. The Ukrainian embassy in Washington didn’t reply to a request for comment.
– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
PAGING THE WHITE HOUSE
Virginia and Maryland delegations duel over FBI HQ
A pair of high-stakes meetings next week could help finally settle a long-running, multi-billion dollar debate — where to put the new FBI headquarters.
Top lawmakers and state officials from Virginia and Maryland will make separate presentations to the General Services Administration next week about why their state is the superior choice for the new facility, which could cost $5 billion or more.
This is all part of a delicate procedure agreed to in December following a heated dispute between the two Democratic-dominated delegations that ground government funding talks to a halt.
For nearly a decade, the federal government has been considering three potential sites for the future FBI headquarters: Springfield, Va., Landover, Md., and Greenbelt, Md. Yet the broader debate over relocating the FBI facility from downtown Washington has gone on for much longer than that. The politics about this decision are intense.
Former President Donald Trump first canceled a plan in 2017 to build a new FBI HQ in the suburbs, then quietly tried to insert billions of dollars into a Covid-19 bill for a new building across from his downtown hotel. That didn’t work either.
And you’ll remember that congressional negotiators worked furiously to hash out language in the days before Christmas that would satisfy both delegations and ensure Congress cleared the looming government funding deadline.
The final agreement, tucked into the 4,155-page funding bill, requires the GSA to “conduct separate and detailed consultations” with state leaders on the site selection process, further considering factors such as “sustainable siting and equity.”
This language is central to the argument roiling Capitol Hill. There are five criteria for the GSA’s consideration of the new headquarters, with proximity to the FBI Academy in Quantico weighted significantly more than the others.
But Maryland lawmakers, led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), argue that all five criteria – including advancing racial equity – should be considered equally. Both Maryland sites are located in predominantly Black communities in Prince George’s County and would be a boon to economic growth there.
We caught up with Hoyer on Tuesday, who blamed FBI Director Christopher Wray for putting “his thumb” on the scale to skew the decision toward Virginia. The Maryland Democrat has long fought to bring the FBI headquarters to Prince George’s County and sees this as a capstone to his long congressional career.
Hoyer didn’t want to reveal too much about the Maryland delegation’s strategy going into next week – lest he inadvertently give Virginia an advantage. But Hoyer said his group, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, hopes the GSA will be open to their argument that equity should be considered equally to the other criteria.
“We believe that is the fair way to do this. Being close to Virginia, if that was the whole deal, why did they pick two Maryland sites?” Hoyer said. “The language [in the omnibus] was not agreed to to just to go down there and say our argument and have them say, ‘Welp, we’ve already decided.’”
As we wrote in December, several prominent Black leaders have also encouraged the White House to pick a Maryland site, arguing it is in line with President Joe Biden’s commitment to advancing racial equity and diversity within the federal workforce.
Led by Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Virginia lawmakers have stepped up their own lobbying in recent weeks. The delegation made a final push to federal officials for the Springfield site and hosted a big, bipartisan press conference with GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin on the issue last month.
– Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan
INVESTIGATION WATCH
Comer’s subpoena calculus
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, is taking his time on subpoenas. While House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent an early flurry of subpoenas to Big Tech executives and top administration officials, Comer has largely held his fire.
The Kentucky Republican says it’s an intentional strategy based around one thing: Prevailing in the likely upcoming legal challenges.
“It’s not just issuing a subpoena,” Comer said. “It’s about winning.”
Here’s more:
The comments shed light on Comer’s thought process as the Oversight chair navigates a sprawling array of ongoing investigations, stretching from Hunter and James Biden’s business deals to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Comer did note the panel issued subpoenas to the former Twitter employees who testified last month. But that was a unique situation, as the individuals requested to be subpoenaed so they would be compelled to testify. That happens at times during congressional investigations.
“It’s important to me that the dozen or so subpoenas I issue, people comply with,” Comer said. “So we’re on a roll and we’re gonna go.”
Comer told Lou Dobbs on Monday that “you’ll be seeing subpoenas go out very soon for the bank information.” The Oversight chair is referring to his quest to access “Suspicious Activity Reports” filed by banks related to Hunter and James Biden and other associates.
The Kentucky Republican has been left frustrated by the Treasury Department’s response to his requests for SARs on the Bidens. Treasury has said it will take some time for the department to confer with law enforcement partners on the release of the reports.
“That is complete bullcrap,” Comer retorted on Monday.
Earmark flap: The top members on the House Appropriations Committee are clashing over the new GOP earmarks policy.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) released a statement on the new GOP policy Tuesday. Earmarks continue, but they’re barred on the Defense, Labor-HHS, and Financial Services-General Government bills. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), ranking Democrat, isn’t happy about this move.
— Max Cohen and John Bresnahan
PRESENTED BY META
BORDER WATCH
News: House Judiciary Dems plan border trip
House Judiciary Democrats are heading to Brownsville and McAllen, Texas, from March 19-21 to tour the U.S.-Mexico border. The trip comes after Judiciary Republicans repeatedly blasted Democrats for skipping last week’s committee field hearing on the border situation in Yuma, Ariz.
The panel’s Democrats will meet with local and federal officials, in addition to community leaders and NGOs. While the itinerary is still being finalized, the Democrats will also likely tour a migrant processing center and a CBP port of entry.
Of note: The House Republican retreat in Orlando, hosted by the Congressional Institute, is also taking place from March 19-21. So we don’t expect any GOP participation in the Democratic trip.
— Max Cohen
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Presented by Apollo Global Management
One size rarely fits all. That’s why Apollo provides custom capital solutions designed to help companies achieve their ambitious business goals. Think Credit New