The Archive

Every issue of the Punchbowl News newsletter, including our special editions, right here at your fingertips.

Join the community, and get the morning edition delivered straight to your inbox.

Email Address

Did you mean ?

Thank you for signing up!

Search for:

Start Date

End Date

Punchbowl News AM

Happy Fourth of July!

July 4, 2022

Presented by AARP

48 million family caregivers give everything to help older loved ones. They give time and energy, too often giving up their jobs and paying over $7,000 a year out of pocket. With a new Congress, it’s time to act on the Credit for Caring tax credit.

PRESENTED BY

BY PUNCHBOWL NEWS STAFF

THE TOP

Happy Monday morning and happy Independence Day!

We have a ton of fascinating data to share with you today from our latest edition of The Canvass: K Street. The Canvass is a joint project by Locust Street Group and Punchbowl News. We’ll be sharing this month’s edition all week long in our AM newsletters.

This month, we polled senior K Street leaders on their attitudes towards Congress. We asked respondents a wide range of questions, from which party they trusted most to run Congress to how effective they believe the next Congress will be. Their responses were very insightful.

Republicans are seen as virtually guaranteed to take over the House during the next Congress. Democrats have many challenges ahead of the midterm elections – historic levels of inflation, crime and an unpopular President Joe Biden are just a few of the challenges. K Street leaders don’t believe a GOP takeover will translate to an effective Congress, however.

The majority of senior K Street leaders believe that the next Congress will be less effective at passing meaningful legislation than the current one. 60% of respondents said that the next Congress will be less effective. Only 16% believe Congress will be more effective at passing legislation.

We asked K Street leaders to tell us whether a Democratic-controlled, Republican-controlled or a divided Congress would better address various issues. The vast majority of respondents said they trusted a Democratic-controlled Congress to address more of the issues surveyed than a Republican-controlled Congress.

This is interesting – 49% of respondents said they trusted a Republican-controlled Congress over a Democratic-controlled Congress when it comes to jobs and the economy. Weakness on the economy and what can be done to fix it are the biggest political threat that Democrats face ahead of the midterms.

Republicans also score higher on foreign policy. Democrats lead on social issues, health care, education, gun rights and immigration.

The overwhelming majority of K Street leaders believe Republicans will win control of the House in November. 99% of respondents said Republicans will take over the House after the midterms. Respondents were split on who they thought would control the Senate after the midterms. 52% of K Street leaders said Republicans would take over the Senate, while 48% believe Democrats will hold their majority. So basically a jump ball there.

Are you a senior aide on Capitol Hill and want to participate? Sign up here. Want to participate in The Canvass: K Street? Sign up here.

Programming note: The Midday and PM editions will be on hiatus this week due to the July 4th recess. The AM edition will be out as usual.

– Christian Hall

PRESENTED BY IBM

Congress: Fully fund the CHIPS Act to propel the U.S. as a global semiconductor innovation leader.

INSURRECTION INVESTIGATION

Will Trump be indicted? Jan. 6 committee members say ‘maybe.’

Former President Donald Trump can be indicted for criminal actions related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, two top members of the select committee investigating the Capitol attack said on Sunday.

Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) made the comments during separate interviews.

Cheney’s comments on Trump got way more headlines – she is very newsworthy these days – but we thought Schiff’s remarks were equally important. We’d also note the two form a critical axis within the select committee – the Republican vice chair and a very high-profile Democratic committee chair who led Trump’s first impeachment and is a potential future party leader.

The Sunday shows featured a quartet of Jan. 6 select committee members across different networks discussing the blockbuster testimony by former White House aide Cassidy Hutcinson.

The aim of the P.R. offensive was to defend Hutchinson from attacks on her credibility by Trump and his allies. Trump and other Republicans have focused on Hutchinson’s testimony about the former president’s angry demands to be taken to the Capitol on Jan. 6, including an alleged physical altercation between Trump and a Secret Service agent. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Tony Ornato, also a former Secret Service agent, told her about this incident, Hutchinson testified. Ornato is now denying it, according to news reports. Ornato didn’t respond to phone calls, emails and text messages seeking comment.

Cheney – who faces a Trump-backed challenger in her Aug. 16 primary – insisted that not prosecuting Trump would be a “much more serious threat” than the legal and political problems that would come from indicting him.

Here’s Cheney to Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week”:

“I have greater concern about what it would mean if people weren’t held accountable for what’s happened here. I think it’s a much graver constitutional threat if a president can engage in these kinds of activities and … the majority of the president’s party looks away or we as a country decide … we’re not actually going to take our constitutional obligations seriously. I think that’s a much more serious threat.”

Karl also asked Cheney about a criminal referral from the select committee against Trump. This has been a touchy subject for the panel. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the select committee, told reporters in mid-June that there wouldn’t be any criminal referral from the panel, it really wasn’t their job to do so. This was immediately shot down by other committee members, including Cheney and Schiff. However, panel members also complain when reporters focus too much on this angle, saying the Justice Department doesn’t have to wait to seek an indictment against anyone involved in the insurrection.

Look at this exchange between Karl and Cheney:

Karl: “So, the committee will or will not make a criminal referral?”

Cheney: “We’ll make a decision as a committee about it.”

Karl: “So it’s possible there will be a criminal referral –”

Cheney: “Yes.”

More Cheney:

“The Justice Department doesn’t have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral. There could be more than one criminal referral.”

And here’s Schiff on CBS’ “Face The Nation” during an interview with Margaret Brennan:

“You know, for four years, the Justice Department took the position that you can’t indict a sitting president. If the department were now to take the position that you can’t investigate or indict a former president, then a president becomes above the law. That’s a very dangerous idea that the Founders would have never subscribed to. Even more dangerous, I think, in the case of Donald Trump.”

More Schiff directly backing up Cheney:

“You know, it’s certainly not a step to be taken lightly at all. At the same time, immunizing a former president who has engaged in wrongdoing, I would agree with our vice chair [Cheney], I think is more dangerous than anything else. And the decision not to move forward to the investigation or not to move forward to the prosecution because of someone’s political status or political influence or because they have a following, to me, that is a far more dangerous thing to our Constitution than following the evidence wherever it leads, including when it leads to a former president.”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), another panel member, basically lectured the Justice Department during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

Here’s Lofgren responding to a question from Chuck Todd on whether the select committee “blindsided” DOJ with its Cassidy Hutchinson hearing. It’s a long answer, but vintage Lofgren:

“We’re not an arm of the Department of Justice. We’re a legislative committee. They have subpoena power. They could subpoena Ms. Hutchinson. I’m surprised they had not done so. We interviewed her four times. I think that’s publicly known at this point. And the fourth interview was very compelling. And it’s obvious she is being intimidated. People are trying to discredit her. People were trying to dissuade her from testifying. The Trump world was paying for her lawyers, which was very problematic for her. She changed lawyers and got an independent lawyer, and then proceeded. You know, I was surprised that the prosecutors were surprised. What are they doing over there? They have a much greater opportunity to enforce their subpoenas than our legislative committee does.

– John Bresnahan

CAPITOL HONOR

Woody Williams will lie in honor

Woody Williams, the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient, will lie in honor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Sunday.

No date for the ceremony has been set yet. Pelosi and Schumer said the high honor was a tribute to all those Americans who fought in World War II.

Williams, a Marine Corps veteran, died on June 29. He was 98.

The West Virginia native fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman in 1945.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said Sunday that they secured the honor for Williams. Here’s Manchin in a statement:

“One of Woody’s last wishes was to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol, not for himself, but to represent all World War II Medal of Honor recipients. Senator Capito and I are proud to announce that we have secured a commitment for the last of the Greatest Generation, Woody Williams of Quiet Dell, to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol in the coming weeks. We are grateful to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for their bipartisan work to make this happen. This recognition is the best way to honor the sacrifices Woody and all of his fellow servicemen and women made for our great nation, and I know that Woody is smiling down on us as we honor his last wish.”

Americans who have lain in honor at the Capitol include U.S. Capitol Officers Billy Evans and Brian Sicknick, the Rev. Billy Graham and Rosa Parks.

– Jake Sherman

PRESENTED BY IBM

Congress can bolster the United States’ standing as a global leader in innovation and manufacturing. Fund the CHIPS Act now.

THE CAMPAIGN

→	Planned Parenthood has another spot up in their post Dobbs advertising push. This ad says “Together we are a force of nature,” and highlights their plan to reinstate abortion rights. It is airing in New York, D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

→

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is running an ad that’s mostly positive about Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) but includes some very clear reconciliation messaging.This spot tells voters to call Manchin to thank him for lowering gas prices, yet it also says to tell him to oppose tax increases. Of course, Manchin is in favor of undoing the Trump-era tax cuts. This spot is running in Charleston and Clarksburg.

– Jake Sherman

FRONTS

PRESENTED BY IBM

Advance American leadership and fund the CHIPS Act now!

MOMENTS

Congress is out this week. No committee hearings are scheduled.

1:30 p.m.: President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will arrive in D.C. from Camp David.

5 p.m.: The Bidens will host a Fourth of July BBQ for military families.

9:09 p.m.: The Bidens will watch the fireworks over the National Mall.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→	News Analysis: “New Insights Into Trump’s State of Mind on Jan. 6 Chip Away at Doubts,” by Peter Baker

→	”As City Falls, Ukraine’s Last Hope in Luhansk Falls With It,” by Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Kamila Hrabchuk and Vivian Yee

→	“76 Fake Charities Shared a Mailbox. The I.R.S. Approved Them All,” by David A. Fahrenthold, Troy Closson and Julie Tate

→	“Justice Dept. Braces for Summer of Violent Crime,” by Glenn Thrush

WaPo

→	“Inflation is making homelessness worse,” by Abha Bhattarai and Rachel Siegel

→	“Trust in Supreme Court falters after Roe decision,” by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Patrick Marley and Matthew Brown

→	“Texts, web searches about abortion have been used to prosecute women,” by Cat Zakrzewski, Pranshu Verma and Claire Parker

Bloomberg

→	“Long, Moderate and Painful: What Next US Recession May Look Like,” by Rich Miller

→	“US Ambassador Urges China to Stop Spreading Russian ‘Lies,’” by Colum Murphy, Jing Li, and Dan Murtaugh

WSJ

→	“Jeff Bezos Criticizes Biden’s Call for Gas Stations to Cut Prices,” by Rina Torchinsky

→	“‘Hell on earth’: Ukrainian soldiers describe eastern front,” by Francesca Ebel

Reuters

→	“EU lending arm aims to raise 100 bln euros to help rebuild Ukraine,” by Philip Blenkinsop

USA Today

→	“Jayland Walker bodycam footage: Policing experts say shooting video raises more questions,” by Cady Stanton

PRESENTED BY IBM

Congress must fully fund the CHIPS Act to end the United States’ dependence on foreign chip manufacturing and R&D and invest in domestic chip production and innovation—creating new American jobs.

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

Crucial Capitol Hill news AM, Midday, and PM—5 times a week

Join a community of some of the most powerful people in Washington and beyond. Exclusive newsmaker events, parties, in-person and virtual briefings and more.

Subscribe to Premium