The Archive

INTRODUCING THE PUNCH UP

Punchbowl News launches new ESG platform, The Punch Up

We are excited to share with you our new platform, The Punch Up, in partnership with Target.

The Punch Up is a platform vital to Punchbowl News, and something we’ve been working on for a while now.

This multi-pronged initiative will bring together a wide variety of voices and experiences in the ESG space. We will convene leaders and inform our community of readers. In our inaugural year, we will be focused on two pillars: Racial Equity and Sustainability.

We officially kicked off The Punch Up with members of our community last night at The Eaton. View photos from the event here.

A big thank you to our partners at Target, without whom this platform wouldn’t be possible: Isaac Reyes, Kiera Fernandez, Amanda Nusz, Breanna Schafer, Laysha Ward, Maggie Henderson, Janis Lazda and Amy Oberhelman.

Raising a glass with us last night:

Marc Morial of National Urban League, Rick Wade of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Vince Evans of the Congressional Black Caucus, Nicole Venable of Invariant, Rodell Mollineau of ROKK Solutions, Sean Broderick of P&G, Keenan Reed of Alpine Group, Christine Godinez of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Sean Harper of Ballast Research and Adjoa Asamoah of HUD.

CONGRESSIONAL TRADING

Congress stalls on stock trading ban for lawmakers

Three months ago, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer backed efforts to curb stock trading by members of Congress. The two Democratic leaders were responding to a barrage of media reports on stock trading by lawmakers and aides, often in companies that had business before Congress.

Dozens of lawmakers failed to disclose their transactions in a timely manner, with the value of trades running into the millions of dollars over multiple years. The House Ethics Committee has opened several investigations into these allegations following reviews by the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent watchdog agency.

Yet since that time, nothing has happened on the legislative front. Nada. Zip. Zero.

Senior Democratic aides, in fact, told us that the effort to reform the STOCK Act is stalled and there’s no path forward at the moment. One even described the effort as “in ‘Nowhereland.’”

As Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga), one of the lead sponsors of the Senate effort, pointed out to us this week, lawmakers are quickly running out of time to do much else this year before politics overwhelms the legislative calendar.

“We’re getting short on time,” Ossoff said. “The legislation that I offered with Sen. [Mark] Kelly is ready for the floor. Discussions continue to consider other proposals that others may have. I want to get legislation to the floor that bans members of Congress from trading stock.”

The impasse comes after Democratic leaders spent the last few months reviewing a variety of options to amend the 2012 STOCK Act, which governs how members disclose the purchase or sale of stocks. Democrats have been considering ways to eliminate the trading of individual stocks by lawmakers, revising other ethics laws covering members and staff and putting new restrictions on federal judges as well. The House Administration Committee had a hearing on the issue earlier this spring.

But as we wrote in February when we first broke the news Democratic leaders were looking to do this, the issue is very, very complicated.

Publicly, Democratic leaders are still trying to project momentum.

“We’ve had several meetings with the group of senators who are pursuing this and we hope to have legislation and vote on it this year,” Schumer said Tuesday when we asked him about the status of this legislative review.

Behind the scenes, however, lawmakers and aides have wrestled with the complexities of barring members of Congress and their families from trading stocks. So far, they’ve found no path forward.

Another complication is senior Democrats want to include language that would also cover the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court has no disclosure, it has no reporting of stock transactions, and it makes important decisions every day,” Pelosi said in February.

Congress did pass a bipartisan bill late last month that would hold federal judges to the same STOCK Act standards that other government officials, including lawmakers, must meet. It would also create an online database for judicial financial disclosures. That bill is awaiting Biden’s signature.

2022

Trump loses in Nebraska but wins in West Virginia

Charles Herbster, former President Donald Trump’s candidate for governor of Nebraska, lost his GOP primary race last night to Jim Pillen, who had the endorsement of the Republican establishment, including current Nebraska GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Pillen got 33.3% of the vote, Herbster had 30.4% and State Sen. Brett Lindstrom had 26.1%.

We’re not going to make too much of Herbster’s defeat. The wealthy farmer turned candidate was accused last month of groping eight women during public events, including a GOP state senator. Herbster’s campaign never recovered from the allegations, despite Trump’s continued support.

The lesson here – Trump remains the most powerful person in the Republican Party. He’s going to win some races and lose others.

For example: Trump-endorsed Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) handily beat Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) in a nasty member-on-member primary. Mooney got 54.2% of the vote and McKinley got 35.6%.

There’s one other angle worth noting on the Mooney-McKinley contest: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was backing McKinley, while Trump supported Mooney. Manchin even cut an ad for McKinley, but it wasn’t enough.

Here’s our friend Manu Raju of CNN on Twitter: “Mooney, in WV, said of Manchin tonight: ‘I’m 2-0 against him. Maybe I should make it 3-0.’” Manchin, 74, is up for reelection in 2024.

The Coverage

THE CAMPAIGN

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MOMENTS

All times eastern

10 a.m.: President Joe Biden will leave for Andrews, where he’ll fly to Chicago. Karine Jean-Pierre will gaggle on Air Force One. … House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and other Republicans will hold a news conference after their closed party meeting.

10:05 a.m.: House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, Vice Chair Pete Aguilar and other Democrats will hold a news conference after their party meeting.

11 a.m.: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will hold a pen and pad with reporters.

11:45 a.m.: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will hold a news conference on DHS’s disinformation board.

12:15 p.m.: Biden will arrive in Chicago.

1 p.m.: Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a photo opportunity with Jordanian King Abdullah.

1:45 p.m.: Biden will visit a family farm to talk about the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices.

2:15 p.m.: Biden will speak about what his administration is doing to support farmers.

2:45 p.m.: Pelosi will hold a photo opportunity with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

5 p.m.: Biden will speak at the IBEW’s international convention.

5:50 p.m.: Biden will speak at a DNC fundraiser.

7:40 p.m.: Biden will leave Chicago for D.C.

9:35 p.m.: Biden will land at Andrews. He’s expected back at the White House at 9:55 p.m.

CLIP FILE

NYT

WSJ

AP

Politico