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THE TOP
Cornyn already running hard

Happy Friday morning.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was just getting off the phone with Arizona GOP candidate Kari Lake Thursday night when we approached him outside the Senate chamber.
Cornyn, the first GOP senator to officially jump into the race to succeed Mitch McConnell, has been talking to any Republican with a pulse to try to gin up support for his bid to be Senate Republican leader. In fact, Cornyn’s call with Lake came as another potential McConnell successor, GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso, was out in Arizona campaigning for her.
Cornyn’s blitz includes nearly every member of his conference and the most important Republican in the country — former President Donald Trump.
The 72-year-old Cornyn, who’s been in the Senate since 2002, has been very aggressive out of the gate. Cornyn is relying heavily on moves he’s previously made on the fundraising front, including raking in money for GOP incumbents and candidates even before they ask for it.
Remember, Cornyn doesn’t currently serve in elected leadership, although he’s part of McConnell’s inner circle. Cornyn, who twice served as NRSC chair, was term-limited out of the GOP whip job in 2019. That puts him at a disadvantage compared to Barrasso or Senate Minority Whip John Thune. Barrasso won’t say anything yet about his intentions for the race, while Thune is still looking at it.
“I’ve been telling people for a long time now that I was interested in succeeding Mitch,” Cornyn told us, later recounting how he communicated this directly to Thune when the South Dakota Republican succeeded him as whip. “It’s no secret.”
Cornyn added: “And I think there would be a lot of speculation about who’s in and who’s out, and I didn’t see any benefit in waiting.”
Cornyn may have the most at stake here of any potential McConnell successor. Cornyn is up for reelection in 2026, and a lack of a leadership post could be a factor in whether he stays. Cornyn — who serves on the Finance, Judiciary and Intelligence panels — told us he intends to run for reelection.
The rest of the field is being much more cautious so far. Thune’s office released a statement saying he’d call around to senators to find out “what they would like to see in their next leader.”
Barrasso, who is sailing to reelection this year, was in Arizona Thursday with Lake.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote on X thanking a House member for saying he’d make a good GOP leader (Scott was easily defeated by McConnell in a Nov. 2022 leadership challenge). And NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who’s being encouraged by Trump to run, says he’s laser-focused on winning the Senate majority.
To some potential candidates, there’s no particular rush, especially since the race itself will be a long slog — eight months.
The case for Cornyn: There are some obvious strengths here for the Texas Republican. First, his fundraising abilities are similar to those of McConnell. Cornyn can raise a lot of money fast, and he’s been very deliberate in spreading it around the conference.
According to a source familiar with Cornyn’s political operation, he has raised $13 million for the NRSC, GOP incumbents and candidates so far in the 2024 cycle. Cumulatively, Cornyn has been the top Senate GOP fundraiser over the last decade except for McConnell.
“I come from a big state which is the ATM for Republicans,” Cornyn joked. “And people expect the leader to raise money for the team.”
Cornyn also served as GOP whip during a consequential period in Trump’s presidency, helping shepherd through the former president’s tax overhaul bill and dozens of judicial appointments. Cornyn told us he reminded Trump of that when they spoke on Wednesday.
Possible fault lines: After leaving the whip job, Cornyn was a central player in several of the Senate’s bipartisan achievements during the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency. This includes the CHIPS Act and the gun safety bill.
Cornyn’s involvement in the latter drew complaints from Senate conservatives and back home, as well as from Trump, who called him a “RINO.” But following the horrific Uvalde school shooting in 2022, Cornyn said even Texas lawmakers knew that changes to gun laws were necessary.
Cornyn also criticized Trump following the 2020 election, saying his “time has passed.” Cornyn told us he thinks Trump is willing to “bury the hatchet.”
“You remember the things that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham have said?” Cornyn noted. “[Trump] doesn’t really hold a grudge unless you’re in constant battle with him.”
But Cornyn also suggested to us that, if Trump is president and he’s the GOP leader, he would push back when necessary:
“One of the best services that you can provide somebody like President Trump is to tell him the truth. He may choose not to believe it, he may choose to do something different. But it’s important to me personally as a matter of personal integrity to always tell the truth.”
— Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan
The results are in: We’ll be highlighting the most interesting results from our monthly survey, The Canvass, all next week. Check in to see what top Capitol Hill aides are saying about the most important issues driving Washington. In the meantime, catch up on our last survey of K Street leaders here.
PRESENTED BY META
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WASHINGTON X THE WORLD
News: Pro-Israel House Dems call for temporary ceasefire
News: Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) are leading 27 other pro-Israel House Democrats in a letter to President Joe Biden backing “a temporary pause in fighting” between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a hostage release.
The group of Democrats, which also includes longtime Israel supporter Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), represents the center-left wing of the caucus. This effort marks a sea change in the way Democrats are viewing Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian casualties and enraged the Democratic base.
“A temporary pause in fighting will not only help release the hostages and give desperately needed relief to the millions of civilians displaced by this war, it can also open a path to permanently ending the conflict,” the House Democrats asserted.
A sign of the pro-Israel bonafides of this group: Roughly half of the 29 Democratic signatories voted for the Republican-led Israel-only aid package that failed last month. Notably, however, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), who also voted for that package, are not on the letter.
Schneider told us he was motivated to organize the effort after Biden expressed cautious optimism that a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal was imminent.
“The war could end tomorrow if Hamas would release the hostages,” Schneider said. “We need to find a path to get to peace and that’s what this letter talks about.”
The Illinois Democrat also said he notified House Democratic leadership of his letter.
When Hamas carried out its brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, the group captured roughly 250 Israelis to hold as hostages in Gaza. While roughly 100 hostages were freed during a November ceasefire, another 100-plus remain in captivity. This has led to protests inside Israel.
And as Israel military forces have continued to expand their operations in Gaza, the Palestinian civilian death toll has skyrocketed. Deadly incidents like the one involving an aid delivery in Gaza — which resulted in more than 100 Palestinian deaths and several hundred wounded — have ratcheted up calls for a ceasefire.
Biden has come under intense pressure from his left flank to forcefully demand an end to fighting. Progressives have warned of electoral impacts to Biden’s reelection campaign due to voter anger over the president’s public support for Israel.
Schneider made clear that the letter’s goal differed from activists who called for a ceasefire in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war.
“It’s one thing to say, ‘Israel, hold your fire, keep Hamas intact,’” Schneider said. “No one is calling for that. Hamas cannot be left as a threat to Israel or to the Palestinians.”
The White House is deeply skeptical of a planned Israeli invasion of Rafah and wants more assurances from Israeli leaders that they will limit civilian casualties. Biden has consistently spoken out in support of humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
“We resolutely believe that peace is possible—that a Jewish democratic state of Israel can live within safety and security alongside a viable, democratic Palestinian state,” the Democrats wrote to Biden.
— Max Cohen
THE CAMPAIGN
‘Commonsense’ GOP group jumps into open primaries
With more than two dozen safe-seat House Republicans heading for the exits this year, there’s a real opportunity to shape the next generation of the House GOP Conference. And the “pro-governance” Republican Main Street Partnership is trying to seize the moment by aggressively playing in open-seat primaries.
Defending Main Street — the RMSP’s super PAC — is pledging to spend $3 million in Republican primaries this cycle.
The RMSP is rolling out a slate of endorsements today for Republicans running on the platform of actually governing.
→ | In open House races, the group is backing Mike Rulli to succeed former Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio); Craig Goldman to replace retiring House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Riley Moore in Rep. Alex Mooney’s (R-W.VA.) old seat. |
→ | Over in the Senate, RMSP is endorsing former Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland, Gov. Jim Justice in West Virginia and Rep. John Curtis in Utah. |
Groups like the RMSP, which bills itself as the pro-governance wing of the GOP, want to send more members to Washington who’ll work to achieve realistic conservative policy outcomes. Think of the group as the counterbalance to the House Freedom Caucus.
Of course, the current House Republican majority has been riddled with dysfunction. This chaos is largely thanks to hardline conservatives, who ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and consistently demand unrealistic policy positions.
As a result, more establishment members of the House GOP — including multiple committee chairs — are ditching the chamber. The departures include prominent RMSP members like House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), China Select Committee Chair Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.).
While much has been made of a so-called revenge tour aimed at unseating Republicans who voted to oust former McCarthy, RMSP is currently more interested in playing in open-seat primaries. But that could change, as some GOP election observers see primary vulnerabilities for Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Bob Good (R-Va.).
— Max Cohen
PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS
Young and Warner on McConnell, AI, government funding and more

Did you miss our event with Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center yesterday? The lawmakers discussed the government funding fight, the future of Senate leadership and artificial intelligence.
You can watch the full conversation here.
– Elvina Nawaguna
STAFF REPORT
News: House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar is launching a new series of training sessions for Democratic staffers.
The training covers communications, legislative procedure, digital strategy, direct mailing and scheduling. Here’s a sampling of some of the sessions on offer this year:
→ | How to reach diverse audiences |
→ | How to: Appropriations |
→ | How to work with the White House |
→ | How to work with the Senate |
→ | How to have bipartisan wins |
The new sessions build on last year’s efforts, where over 750 staff members attended the Democratic professional development trainings.
— Max Cohen
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
10 a.m.
President Joe Biden will get his intelligence briefing.
1 p.m.
Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will hold a bilateral meeting.
1:30 p.m.
Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby will brief.
5:45 p.m.
Biden will leave the White House for Camp David.
6:15 p.m.
Biden arrives at Camp David.
CLIPS
NYT
News Analysis: “How the Biden-Trump Border Visits Revealed a Deeper Divide”
– Shane Goldmacher
Bloomberg
“Biden Amasses Cash Lead as Trump Bleeds Money in 2024 Fight”
– Bill Allison
Politico
“Spending in the California Senate race has hit record levels”
– Chris Cadelago
PRESENTED BY META
“The more muscle memory that you have, the smoother your weld is.”
Shanna Ford gets high-quality welding practice with a VR training platform powered by ForgeFX.
When training is more accessible, welders can practice over and over again to improve their skills and advance their careers.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

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