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McConnell urges GOP to resist weakening leader post
Happy Wednesday morning. We only have one edition today in honor of Juneteenth. We’ll be back to our regular schedule tomorrow.
News: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been largely silent in public about the ongoing race to succeed him as the top Republican. But during Tuesday’s closed-door GOP lunch, McConnell gave an impassioned plea for preserving key elements of the leadership structure that are facing scrutiny from his potential successors.
McConnell’s remarks, recounted by several senators who were in the room, show how the longtime leader is working to prevent drastic changes to how the GOP Conference operates. Some are embraced by a wide array of Republican senators.
But these proposals, McConnell warns, could kneecap the Senate GOP leader in ways that rival House Republicans’ weakening of the speakership. McConnell believes the House became ungovernable because too much of the speaker’s power was ceded to rank-and-file members.
In the lunch: The Kentucky Republican specifically took aim at establishing term limits for the top Senate job. McConnell has made this case publicly as well but went into greater detail on Tuesday. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who are running to succeed McConnell, support term limits.
McConnell’s pitch centered on fundraising and raw power, arguing that some proposals on the table would impose unnecessary limits on both. Scott, a longtime McConnell critic who ran unsuccessfully for Republican leader in 2022, is the driving force behind many of the proposed changes.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, seen by GOP senators as the frontrunner in the race to succeed McConnell, has advocated for reforms that would amount to “democratizing” the conference, including opening the floor to a more robust amendment process. This would give senators new opportunities to weigh in on legislation.
Here’s what McConnell said, according to attendees:
→ | McConnell started off by arguing that there are direct consequences to weakening the power of the leader. The longest-serving party leader in Senate history made the case against term limits, noting that none of the other congressional leaders in either party are subject to them. |
→ | McConnell said term limits would make it harder for the leader to build a donor network and the type of political operation necessary to raise massive sums of cash — a crucial element of the job. The McConnell-aligned super PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, has been central to this. |
→ | To further underscore his point, McConnell named Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), saying Schmitt wouldn’t be in the Senate today if not for SLF. McConnell has used a variation of this line before when he argues that term limits would make it harder for the leader to do what’s necessary in the era of Citizens United. |
A senior Schmitt aide pushed back on this characterization, saying McConnell preferred then-Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) in the primary but “Missouri conservatives had other ideas” and Schmitt won by a big margin. SLF went on the attack against scandal-plagued Eric Greitens but didn’t explicitly promote Schmitt.
Reaction: Only one GOP senator, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), spoke after McConnell. Tillis endorsed McConnell’s remarks and the sentiments behind them — that the power of the Republican leader shouldn’t be weakened.
A central tenet of Scott’s pitch is that the leader should be guided by the will of the majority of the conference.
Tillis brought up the bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the gun safety bill he helped negotiate in 2022 — and said the effort wouldn’t have come together if McConnell were handcuffed by this rule.
Of course, just 15 Republicans — a fraction of the conference — voted for that legislation. Tillis said that other factions of the conference have the power to do the same when they’re in the minority on a particular issue without fearing any fallout.
Earlier this year, McConnell noted that if he had to listen to the majority of his conference on every legislative item, the government would never be funded and the debt limit would never be raised.
The pushback: McConnell’s opposition to term limits after serving as GOP leader for 18 years may not be that surprising. Nor is his desire to preserve the levers of power he has used.
One of the retorts we heard last night was that the money — and donors — follow the leader and aren’t McConnell-specific. We’ll note, however, that Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t been able to match Kevin McCarthy’s fundraising numbers.
We caught up with Scott late Tuesday and asked about McConnell’s comments. Scott didn’t take shots at McConnell, instead, he pitched his own ideas.
“I’ve told people very clearly — I’m running because I believe there’s a different way to govern,” Scott told us. “If you think the way we’ve been run is better, then you should not pick me. Because I want change.”
— Andrew Desiderio
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PRESENTED BY GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES VOICES
Small business owners are:
Economic drivers.
Job creators.
Regular voters.
And they deserve a voice in Washington.
Small business is America’s future. And small business owners are listening.
Bowman slams AIPAC in final debate with Latimer
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Trailing in the polls and facing an onslaught of AIPAC-funded ads, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) used the race’s final debate Tuesday to slam what he called an avalanche of “Republican racist MAGA Trump money” attacking him.
Bowman is embracing underdog status in his competitive primary against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is seeking to be the first mainstream Democrat to knock off a member of the far-left Squad.
Bowman’s scandal-plagued year — marked by his errant fire alarm pull, his speculation that the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel were “propaganda” and unearthing of his old comments that flirted with conspiracy theories — has made the two-term New York Democrat uniquely vulnerable to Latimer’s challenge.
According to a June poll from PIX11 — the network that also hosted the Tuesday debate — Bowman is trailing Latimer by 17 points among likely Democratic voters. This makes Bowman a favorite to be the first incumbent House Democrat to lose a primary this year.
We’re in New York’s 16th District this week for on-the-ground reporting during the final stretch of the most expensive House primary of 2024. Ahead of the June 25 primary, it’s easy to understand why Bowman is so aggressively going after the outside spending.
AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, has poured $14 million-plus into ads designed to boost Latimer and slam Bowman. Latimer’s campaign itself has contributed a further $2.5 million, while a cryptocurrency-aligned group is also running millions of dollars of attacks against Bowman.
“[AIPAC is] spending more money in this primary than any PAC has ever spent in U.S. history,” Bowman said during his closing statement. “Why? Because I’m an outspoken Black man. I fight against genocide in Gaza, and I fight for justice right here.”
During the debate itself, the pro-Latimer spending edge was evident. One ad break featured three attacks on Bowman from UDP, Latimer and the crypto Fairshake PAC. Bowman’s campaign had just one ad.
Latimer consistently called Bowman a liar during numerous testy exchanges, arguing Bowman is more concerned with progressive rhetoric than delivering for the district.
Bowman called for an end to all U.S. military assistance to Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system. Latimer labeled Bowman “hostile to the State of Israel” and said he would attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress.
Meanwhile, Bowman described Netanyahu as “genocidal” and pledged to skip the address.
— Max Cohen
Weekday mornings, The Daily Punch brings you inside Capitol Hill, the White House, and Washington.
Listen NowPRIMARY WATCH
Good’s fate hangs in balance as Trump is star of primary drama
Tuesday’s primary elections all had a common thread: former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s endorsement could usher in a massive upset that may unseat House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.). Trump’s former political director won a runoff for a Georgia House seat. The Trump endorsement was enough for an establishment Oklahoma Republican to survive a big-money insurgent challenge. And in Virginia, a Democrat who starred in Trump’s first impeachment defeated multiple more seasoned state legislators.
Here are our top takeaways.
Good narrowly trails McGuire in a very tight 5th District primary.
Good may be gone from Congress, but it’s not over yet. His Republican primary remains too close to call as he trails state Sen. John McGuire by just over 300 votes with almost all precincts reporting as of Wednesday morning. A recount is expected, so this may take some time to sort out.
If Good loses, it would be a stunning embarrassment for the head of the far-right HFC. Trump endorsed McGuire, along with a contingent of national security hawks and more centrist House Republicans.
In a statement late Tuesday, Good said he’s “still waiting for the results of mail-in ballots and provisional ballots. We are doing what we can to ensure we have teams of observers and legal counsel to ensure all the votes are properly counted in the coming days.”
The eventual GOP winner will take on Democrat Gloria Witt this fall in the R+7 district.
Cole brushes away Bondar’s big-money challenge.
National Republicans were concerned enough about House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole’s (R-Okla.) primary challenge that they funneled millions of dollars into the race. In the end, Cole crushed his main opponent and easily avoided a runoff in Oklahoma’s 4th District.
Cole was backed by Trump, but Paul Bondar ran a far-right campaign that slammed Cole as too friendly to Democrats. This is a heavily Republican district, so light up a cigar, Mr. Cole!
Impeachment celebrity Vindman will take on GOP establishment pick Anderson in Virginia’s 7th District.
Former national security official Eugene Vindman will face retired Green Beret Derrick Anderson in the toss-up seat being vacated by Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).
Vindman, whose brother Alexander Vindman was a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment, crushed a field of more experienced state Democrats. Vindman benefited from a big fundraising advantage thanks to his coalition of national liberal donors.
Anderson, backed by Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leadership, beat the House Freedom Caucus-aligned Cameron Hamilton in a close race.
Wexton’s preferred pick triumphs in a crowded Democratic field.
State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam beat 11 other Democrats to succeed retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.). Wexton’s endorsement was crucial in the packed field for the northern Virginia area open seat.
In other Virginia news, Republican Hung Cao — who lost to Wexton in 2022 — won the Republican Senate nomination and will face Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in November.
Trump’s political director set to join the House in deep-red Georgia seat.
Brian Jack, who served in Trump’s White House, won a runoff in Georgia’s safe Republican 3rd District. He’s almost certain to win the election in November.
— Max Cohen and John Bresnahan
PRESENTED BY GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES VOICES
DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD
Redbird Capital Partners Management, the private equity firm, has a new lobbying firm. Redbird has hired Tides Group to lobby on “[g]eneral investment issues, issues related to professional sports and financial services.”
Redbird is run by Gerry Cardinale and counts Jeff Zucker as a partner. It has stakes or owns AC Milan, YES Sports Network and the United Football League.
– Jake Sherman
The Vault: Brown vows fast action on FDIC nominee
The chair of the Senate Banking Committee is promising to move as quickly as possible to advance the nomination of Christy Goldsmith Romero to be the next chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
“As fast as we can make it happen,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Tuesday. “I’ve started talking to Republicans on the committee about it,” Brown said.
Brown declined to specify when his committee would move on Goldsmith Romero and other nominees put forward by the White House earlier this month.
But speed is top of mind for the Ohio Democrat, who called for current FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg to step aside in May following an independent report documenting the agency’s toxic workplace culture.
A tough sell for some: Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), a Senate Banking Republican and close ally of former President Donald Trump, blasted Goldsmith Romero in an interview, claiming she lacked crucial banking experience.
Hagerty said he was “shocked the Biden administration would put forward somebody with no banking experience and no managerial experience at a time when we need to get this agency back on track.”
Goldsmith Romero is currently a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She previously led the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which scrutinized banks’ use of a billion-dollar program designed to stabilize the sector in the years following the 2008 financial crisis.
White House spokesperson Sam Michel pushed back on Hagerty in a statement, saying Goldsmith Romero was “highly qualified” and a “proven tough reformer with over 20 years of experience as a respected administrator, manager and financial regulator.”
Crunchtime: As we’ve written elsewhere, the Senate’s calendar is getting awfully tight. The nomination – along with the FDIC – will languish if Goldsmith Romero isn’t confirmed before the August recess. Brown and his fellow Senate Democrats will need to contend with two separate week-long breaks in July.
If a personnel hearing isn’t scheduled for the second week of July, it will be all but impossible to clear the nominations by the end of the month.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will also play a key role here. Assuming Goldsmith Romero advances through the Senate Banking Committee – and we think she will – Schumer will need to give up some floor time. It’ll take more floor time than usual if Republicans decide to block speedy consideration on the nomination, as they have with other lower-profile roles.
Brown said he’s discussed the nominations with Schumer. “We’ve been talking to Schumer to move this as quickly as we can, yes,” Brown said, adding: “He wants to move on it. He knows how important this is.”
Brown did caution, however, that Schumer hasn’t committed to giving Goldsmith Romero floor time “because he can’t. I mean, too many things come up.”
– Brendan Pedersen
PRESENTED BY GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES VOICES
Small businesses drive our economy — Washington needs to listen.
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
10 a.m.
President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
CLIPS
ABC News
“Witness tells House Ethics Committee that Matt Gaetz paid her for sex: Sources”
– Will Steakin
NYT
“Supreme Court Ruling on Bump Stocks Could Open Door to More Lethal Weapons”
– Jack Healy
WaPo
“How Marco Rubio went from rival to one of Donald Trump’s VP finalists”
– Marianne LeVine
Bloomberg
“Kim Vows to Back Putin ‘Unconditionally’ on War in Ukraine”
– Soo-Hyang Choi
WSJ
“Israel and Hezbollah Inch Toward Wider War”
– Rory Jones
Axios
“‘In Mike I trust’: Biden’s faith-based campaign”
– Alex Thompson
PRESENTED BY GOLDMAN SACHS 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES VOICES
“Small business owners are resilient, and most are enduring despite the challenges. As campaign season kicks off, small business owners want policymakers and candidates to focus on issues that improve the small business climate because small business is America’s future.”
— Jessica Johnson-Cope
President, Johnson Security Bureau
The Bronx, New York.
In spite of economic challenges, 64% of small business owners say their business is operating at or above pre-pandemic levels.
Small businesses drive American innovation. Small businesses are America’s future.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.
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