The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

The House members who want their colleagues out of Congress

Pompeo will speak at Johnson big-dollar retreat

Senate out until Tuesday with no FAA deal in sight

Senate leaders committed to CCCA vote, Marshall says

THE TOP

The House members who want their colleagues out of Congress

Happy Friday morning.

It’s six months until Election Day. As we count down to November, we’re excited to bring you deeper insights and analysis with The Tally: Election 2024, our in-depth coverage of the election, the changing power dynamics in Congress and the majority-making races to watch.

Welcome to the first installment of what will be a recurring Friday feature. Today we’ll be focusing on the House.

Primary warfare: There’s an unwritten rule around Capitol Hill that’s quickly fading away — Don’t endorse against your own colleagues. This cycle, Speaker Mike Johnson has had to plead with his conference to avoid backing primary challengers against incumbents.

Even the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus, an organization that places very high value on incumbency, is trying to oust a sitting Democratic lawmaker.

Here’s a look at two primaries that are flying under the radar this year — Reps. William Timmons’ (R-S.C.) and Shri Thanedar’s (D-Mich.) races — and why their colleagues want someone else in their seats.

CBC leaders get involved: The current and previous chairs of the influential CBC — Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) — are endorsing Adam Hollier over Thanedar in a bid for what they say is a more accurate representation of the district.

“For more than five or six decades, that community had been represented by a Black American,” Beatty told us. “We want to make sure that we have fair representation.”

Thanedar — who represents the Detroit-area seat — is an Indian immigrant, while Hollier is Black.

Horsford and Beatty both said their decision wasn’t meant to be a negative endorsement against Thanedar.

“This is more about what Adam offers than anyone else,” asserted Horsford, hailing Hollier’s military service and experience advising Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The incumbent: Thanedar said he’s been an effective freshman member. Thanedar touts how he’s secured earmarks, gotten bills signed into law and handled thousands of constituent calls.

“People aren’t worrying about my race,” Thanedar said. “They’re worried about crime. They’re worried about education. They’re worried about the sidewalks that are falling apart.”

Thanedar, a wealthy biotech executive, recounted what residents told him during a recent jazz event he attended in the Russell Woods area of Detroit:

The challenger: Hollier – a former state senator who lost to Thanedar in the 2022 primary – traveled to D.C. this week to meet with a number of House Democrats to rally support for his campaign.

“Representation matters, not because it’s important to have somebody who looks like you, but it’s important to have somebody who understands your life experience,” Hollier said.

Thanedar is trying to get Hollier kicked off the ballot by challenging hundreds of signatures for Hollier’s nominating petition. In turn, Hollier accused the incumbent of “silencing our votes.”

The leadership: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hasn’t endorsed Thanedar yet, but the New York Democrat told us he has a strong track record of supporting incumbents. Thanedar said Jeffries has promised him an endorsement closer to Michigan’s August primary.

“I met [Jeffries] in the hallway somewhere and I said, ‘Hey, don’t forget about me.’ And he said, ‘No, no Shri, I’m not forgetting about you,’” Thanedar said.

Meanwhile, in South Carolina, the same Republican infighting that’s plagued the House GOP conference during this Congress is evident on the campaign trail. Timmons is facing Adam Morgan, a state representative who chairs the South Carolina Freedom Caucus.

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Timmons. But both candidates have been trying to outdo each other over who is more MAGA.

HFC eyes a new recruit: Morgan is endorsed by nine members, including Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Timmons’ fellow South Carolinian, Rep. Ralph Norman.

Morgan’s endorsers report no personal issue with Timmons but prefer Morgan because of his hardline record with the state-level Freedom Caucus.

Norman, who held an April rally for Morgan alongside Gaetz, attacked Timmons as ineffective.

“William only got 52% of the vote [in the last primary.] I don’t know what he’s done for his constituents,” Norman said.

The incumbent: Timmons is painting Morgan as an anti-Trumper in disguise and has been touting his support from the former president across social media channels.

“He has never supported Trump up until the day DeSantis dropped out,” Timmons said of Morgan. “His biggest supporter, Ralph Norman, is the only member of Congress to support Nikki Haley.”

Timmons is also backed by Johnson.

The challenger: Morgan is running on his record of leading the state Freedom Caucus and leaning into red meat culture war issues in the statehouse.

Morgan, who was vying for Trump’s backing, said he believes the former president will end up regretting his Timmons endorsement.

“Trump’s endorsed a number of incumbents,” Morgan said. “I think this is definitely going to be one that he’ll regret doing.”

— Max Cohen and Mica Soellner

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THE CAMPAIGN

Pompeo will speak at Johnson big-dollar retreat

News: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will speak next week at Speaker Mike Johnson’s high-dollar donor event at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington.

The retreat begins Sunday and runs through midday Monday. It will include Team Johnson’s top donors. Team Johnson funnels its money through the entire House GOP fundraising apparatus.

The event begins with a welcome reception on Sunday evening. At 6:30 p.m., there will be a “regulatory reform” dinner with Joe Lonsdale. Lonsdale is a venture capitalist at 8VC who has frequently appeared at GOP events over the last few years. Lonsdale is also the co-founder of Palantir, the big military contractor.

On Monday morning, Johnson will appear on a political panel with Billy Constangy, his political director, and Dan Conston, the head of CLF and AAN, the Republican leadership-aligned super PAC and non-profit.

Pompeo will appear on a panel with Johnson at 10:30 a.m.

And at 11:30 a.m., there will be a tech and AI panel with Jacob Helberg, Matt Ocko and Daniel Gross. Helberg is a policy adviser to the CEO of Palantir and a Kevin McCarthy appointee to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Ocko is the founder of DCVC. And Gross is the founder of Cue, which was acquired by Apple. And he was an early investor in Uber, Instacart and Coinbase.

These events are pretty standard for a speaker of the House.

— Jake Sherman

THE SENATE

Senate out until Tuesday with no FAA deal in sight

There’s new uncertainty this morning about whether the Senate can pass the five-year FAA reauthorization bill before next Friday’s deadline.

The Senate is gone until Tuesday, and official negotiations on a time agreement and amendments are only just beginning. Multiple senators have indicated they won’t consent to fast-tracking the bill if their amendments aren’t considered.

On top of that, the No. 2 Senate Republican suggested a short-term extension of the FAA’s authority might be needed. Even that would require a unanimous consent agreement to pass it in time — and senators could throw up roadblocks to maximize their leverage on potential amendment votes.

“We want to get this done in the quickest, best way possible,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told us. Schumer added that he wants to “avoid” a short-term patch.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who’s managing the FAA bill on the floor for the GOP side, said Thursday that he still believes the Senate can pass the five-year reauthorization next week.

That’s going to take a lot of cooperation. And there are several moving parts here that could derail the effort.

Getting the ball rolling: Shortly after the Senate voted to begin debate on the bill Thursday afternoon, leaders in both parties ran the first hotline for a possible time agreement. This allows senators to request votes on specific amendments.

The hotline, which we obtained, includes an amendment from Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) that would restrict the TSA’s ability to use facial recognition technology. A big bipartisan group is behind this.

But the hotline didn’t include some of the more contentious amendments — and perhaps that was by design since this was the initial offer. In order to secure a time agreement, the deal is likely going to need to include many, if not all, of the following:

→	An amendment from Maryland and Virginia senators that would scrap a provision adding flight slots at Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport.

→

An amendment from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that would codify the Biden administration’s recently announced policy on automatic refunds for canceled or delayed flights. We scooped this Thursday. Democrats complained to their leadership that the negotiated FAA bill text includes a provision that seems to contradict the new policy.

→	An amendment from Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) that would extend the Affordable Connectivity Program with $7 billion.

→	The Kids Online Safety Act, which has nearly 70 co-sponsors and is led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

→	Hawley’s bill to reauthorize a $50 billion compensation program for victims of nuclear radiation.

→	Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.) Credit Card Competition Act. (More on this below.)

On another note: The Senate tried to quickly pass the House’s antisemitism bill on Thursday, but there were objections from both parties.

Schumer said he still wants to try to pass it. But with the FAA deadline looming, it seems unlikely that the Senate will try to pass this measure unless there’s a unanimous consent agreement.

— Andrew Desiderio

Senate leaders committed to CCCA vote, Marshall says

News: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said he received a commitment from Senate leadership to hold a vote on the Credit Card Competition Act before the end of the 118th Congress.

Marshall spoke to reporters Thursday night about his push for amendment votes in the reauthorization of the FAA, including a bill co-sponsored by Majority Whip Dick Durbin that attempts to reduce the transaction fees card companies charge. The legislation allows merchants to use a secondary, cheaper network to process payments, and it’s staunchly opposed by the banking sector.

Asked whether Marshall had received any commitment from Senate leadership about holding a vote on the CCCA, the Kansas Republican replied:

That’s a significant claim from Marshall, and it’s the first time he has made it publicly. Marshall has threatened multiple times in the past year to hold up must-pass legislation in the Senate unless the Credit Card Competition Act received a floor vote — or a commitment to hold one later.

Aides to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t comment on Marshall’s statement.

We asked Marshall whether he was willing to place a hold on the FAA reauthorization bill if the CCCA isn’t included among the amendments that get floor consideration. Marshall said he was “just going to keep my cards really close to my chest right now.”

A floor vote on the Durbin-Marshall package would be a significant blow to the banking sector, which has lobbied furiously against the bill over the past two years.

The CCCA’s odds of passage are uncertain. The bill’s co-sponsors are a motley crew, running the spectrum from Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) to Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).

The issue is complicated by the might of the two industry lobbies at odds here. The retail sector is pushing hard for this bill’s passage in order to reduce the fees they pay in credit card transactions. Many lawmakers would rather not choose between banks and merchants with billions of dollars at stake.

Senior bank lobbyists have told us for months that the financial industry doesn’t have a reliable whip count about where many senators may fall. If there’s one thing banks hate more than anything, it’s uncertainty. Also, losing money.

— Brendan Pedersen

THE CAMPAIGN

News: Democratic candidate Kirsten Engel, who’s running to unseat Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), raised $500,000 in the three weeks since the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated an 1864 abortion ban. The state legislature repealed the ban this week.

Ad watch: Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.) has a new ad attacking his primary challenger Adam Morgan on his record on abortion.

Timmons’ ad shows a clip of Morgan – a South Carolina state representative – supporting an amendment that aimed to imprison women who have an abortion.

The ad also accuses Morgan of lying about that vote with a clip of him saying he believed that he’d voted to table the motion and had never voted for giving women who obtain abortions to be criminally prosecuted.

— Mica Soellner and Max Cohen

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