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August 16, 2024
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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
New: Harris shifts the mood for House GOP
Happy Friday morning.
News: NRCC Chair Richard Hudson sounded a modest alarm Thursday evening on a House Republican Conference call, saying that he needs GOP lawmakers to actually “want” to grow the majority. The North Carolina Republican also warned that members need to step up their fundraising and stay on message or else they could “lose the country” this election.
Here’s what Hudson said:
This was the first widely attended Republican meeting since Vice President Kamala Harris took the lead in the polls over former President Donald Trump in several critical states, complicating the path for the GOP to keep its House majority.
Speaker Mike Johnson struck a slightly more optimistic tone, telling members he has been encountering strong Republican candidates and good energy on the ground as he travels the country over the August recess. But Johnson acknowledged the shift in the political landscape sounds “ominous” at first blush. Republican lawmakers were revved up by Hudson and Johnson’s messages, according to sources on the call.
Johnson announced that he would transfer $4 million to the NRCC. And House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said she would transfer $2 million to the NRCC, New York GOP and candidates.
HFC drama. The House Freedom Caucus will have to soon choose a leader to succeed lame-duck Chair Bob Good (R-Va.), but the group is grappling with limited options in who can best lead the ultraconservative Republican faction.
The leadership crisis marks perhaps the lowest point for the once powerful House Freedom Caucus, which has struggled to find its direction this Congress
Fresh off losing his GOP primary recount, Good is planning to step down as chair in September once the House is back in session, according to multiple sources.
As of now, there are plans to potentially reinstate former HFC Chairs Scott Perry (R-Pa.) or Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) during the period between Good’s resignation and a new Congress convening in January.
But Perry is facing a tough race against Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, who has raised a significant amount of money. HFC insiders told us Perry has to focus on his own race, so it’s unlikely he’ll return as HFC chair. Stelson has repeatedly hit Perry over his ties to the group.
Early momentum is building for Biggs, who chaired the group from 2019-2022. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a freshman HFC member, told us he plans to make a pitch to the group soon to put Biggs in for the remainder of this Congress.
But that still leaves the long-term problem of who comes next.
Bob’s baggage: Good’s time as chair was rocky at best, defined by multiple departures and Good’s high-profile feuds with Trump and HFC founder Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Good angered Trump with his early endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential primary. Good later tried to align himself with the former president but Trump and his allies went after him, giving primary challenger John McGuire an edge in the Virginia 5th District race.
Good kicked Texas Rep. Randy Weber out in March over attendance issues and pushed to oust Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) for supporting McGuire. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) resigned from the group over Davidson’s ouster. Other fed-up members have privately contemplated quitting.
Good also clashed with Jordan, booting one of the Ohio Republican’s top allies from leading the HFC’s fundraising apparatus. Good put the kibosh on the group using Jordan’s name to raise money, as we previously reported.
Complicated candidates: So far, Reps. Andy Harris (R-Md.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) have all been floated as potential recruits to lead the rambunctious group next year. Under current caucus rules, the chair has to be a member of the board, which limits their options.
There are concerns with Harris due to him being a cardinal on the House Appropriations Committee, according to multiple people familiar with the group’s dynamics. Harris, they say, could be hesitant to rebel against leadership-driven funding bills that the HFC doesn’t agree with.
Roy, currently the HFC policy chair, endorsed DeSantis, too, and has his own issues with Trump. Trump even called on someone to primary Roy in 2023. That bad blood doesn’t sit well for a group that’s supposed to be Trump’s biggest allies in Congress, especially if the former president returns to the White House.
Boebert is one of the most controversial members of Congress, with frequent negative publicity about her private life. HFC chairs also have to lead press engagement and messaging. The Colorado Republican isn’t exactly known for her accessibility for scrums.
Ogles running as a freshman has privately annoyed some of his colleagues, who think the chair should be someone of more senior status. The Tennessee Republican is also now under FBI investigation over campaign finance issues.
– Mica Soellner, Melanie Zanona and Jake Sherman
Time is ticking! Today is the last day to enter our Congressional Recess Giveaway. Enter here.
The Vault: Industry sues Illinois over swipe fee law
Some of the nation’s leading financial trade groups sued the state of Illinois on Thursday in an attempt to block a state law from going into effect that would place new limits on financial firms’ ability to charge interchange fees.
The lawsuit, brought by the American Bankers Association, Illinois Bankers Association, America’s Credit Unions and the Illinois Credit Union League, targets the first-of-its-kind law passed in May. The Illinois reform didn’t ban or restrict swipe fees writ large, but it limited banks from charging interchange fees on tax and tip revenues.
That’s still a problem for the banking and credit union sectors. The trade groups argued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that the law would “throw well-operating payment card systems into chaos” and “undermine the significant benefits, safety, and security that payment card systems provide to all participants.”
Read the 74-page filing here, which was submitted Thursday.
This case is an intense microcosm of a lobbying war banks and retailers have been fighting in Washington for a couple of years. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, has led the charge against swipe fees for years, and his latest effort with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) would target credit card fees specifically.
Merchants have complained for decades that credit card companies, led by Visa and Mastercard, charge exorbitant fees to process payments. Financial firms reply that those fees help keep their payment systems secure and operational.
But while Congress hasn’t seen much movement on swipe fee legislation, Illinois is a different matter. The financial industry is concerned that if Illinois’ law is allowed to stand, other states could follow suit and cut into a lucrative source of profits in the payments sector on a national scale.
A key argument for the financial sector is that Illinois state law should be preempted by the National Bank Act, which theoretically prevents state governments from “significantly” interfering with a “national banks’ exercise of its powers.”
The law is set to take effect July 1, 2025 — unless, of course, a court steps in and blocks the implementation from moving forward.
Meanwhile in tax: Not even Iowa State Fair’s butter cow is safe from the 2025 tax fight. The Ways and Means Committee will host a field hearing in Des Moines, Iowa, today starting at 10 a.m. ET.
The Iowa State Fair is no stranger to politics, and this field hearing will be no different. Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) will use the hearing as a springboard to take on the tax positions of Vice President Kamala Harris. That’s something the GOP members of the House’s tax-writing committee haven’t had a chance to do since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election.
Ways and Means Republicans will hammer home the stakes of the 2025 tax fight, accusing Harris and other Democrats of wanting the Trump-era tax cuts to expire, a move that would raise taxes for a lot of folks. Democrats have their own ideas.
— Brendan Pedersen
PRESENTED BY PHRMA
IRA price setting could have unintended consequences like higher costs and disruptions in Medicare coverage.
SWEET HOME CHICAGO
In the Windy City already? Here are your parties for the weekend
Lots of you are already in Chicago or you’re heading there this weekend ahead of the Democratic National Convention. The early bird gets the worm, or something like that. Great. You can already party this weekend.
Saturday: The Chicago Teachers Union is hosting a Back to School Summer Jam beginning at 10 a.m.
The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition has an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1984 presidential campaign.
The Chicago City Council LGBTQIA+ Caucus has a welcome event.
Sunday: The DNC has a delegate welcome party at Navy Pier. The Black Legislative Leaders Network has an event celebrating Black excellence in state legislatures.
The 46th Ward Democrats will host a welcome reception for the D.C. Democratic delegation to the DNC. The DNC Black Caucus has a worship service at Apostolic Faith Church.
The Harris Victory Fund is hosting a private podium preview.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has a welcome party at Cindy’s.
Scheduling update: DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi have Wednesday speaking spots at the DNC, per a person familiar with the planning.
DelBene will talk about the Democratic path to the House majority and Suozzi will talk about immigration.
– Jake Sherman and Mica Soellner
… AND THERE’S MORE
The Campaign.
News: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is endorsing former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) in the Florida Senate race. Mucarsel-Powell is running in the Aug. 20 Democratic primary for a chance to unseat Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
“It’s time to turn the page on Rick Scott’s extreme far right agenda, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is the one to do it,” Jeffries said in a statement.
Also: The Blue Dog Coalition’s PAC endorsed Democrat Whitney Fox in Florida’s 13th District. Fox is challenging GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who is on the DCCC’s target list. Fox most recently served as the communications director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.
Ad watch: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is running a new ad where he attacks his Democratic opponent, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), accusing him of putting Texas children at risk. The ad is all in Spanish and Cruz, who’s Cuban-American, even speaks in Spanish to say he approves the ad at the end.
The narrator connects Allred to a number of controversial positions on sexual content in schools, minors undergoing gender transitions and school choice. The ad cites Allred’s “no” vote on the GOP’s Parental Bill of Rights package in March 2023.
The ad also claims Cruz is protecting kids and standing up for parental rights.
Two New York Republicans — Reps. Brandon Williams and Nick Langworthy — are up with ads paid for by taxpayers. Williams has a spot up that touts his bringing home federal dollars for projects in the district. And Langworthy’s ad implores constituents to call his office if they need help navigating the federal bureaucracy.
Road Show. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will be in Pennsylvania for “election integrity training” with the Lehigh County Republican Committee. Greene will be speaking on Aug. 18 at 4 p.m., according to an invitation obtained by Punchbowl News. Greene has previously spread false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Lehigh County is in Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.)’s district. Wild is facing a tough election against GOP state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.
Downtown Download. BlackRock has hired Stephen Replogle and his Capitol Consulting Group to lobby on financial services policy.
— Max Cohen, Jake Sherman, and Mica Soellner
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Presented by Apollo Global Management
Apollo is helping fuel the economy and promote resiliency in the financial system by originating investment-grade private credit. Learn how Apollo is helping the great American businesses of today become leaders of tomorrow.