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BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPGetty Images Something weird is happening. Things are becoming a lot less … weird. President-elect Joe Biden released a Covid relief plan, and here’s how he did it: His staff scheduled a background briefing for 2 p.m. Thursday. They sent reporters who RSVP’ed a 19-page policy paper explaining the positions they were taking, why they were taking them and what they were trying to achieve. After that, they put two senior officials on a conference call with reporters. The officials answered detailed policy questions. Then at 7:15 p.m., Biden himself took the stage and explained the policy and why he thought America needed it. He didn’t stray from his message, or start ad-libbing about world leaders or his political enemies. Biden talked about his legislative plan — whether you liked it or hated it, that’s what he did. Immediately afterward, statements started coming out in support of the plan. Senators, members of the House, the Democratic leadership, trade associations and public-policy groups all said that they were on board with the plan. It was … coordinated! The campaign sent out a press release highlighting positive reactions. He’ll give another speech today. Biden plans to lay out how he will administer “100 million shots at the end of my first 100 days as president. This will be one of the most challenging operational efforts we have undertaken as a nation.” Biden’s not claiming it’ll be easy. He has a plan. We’ll hear what it is. And if it works, terrific. If not, he’ll get flak. He hired David Kessler, the FDA chief from 1990-1997, to help him get the vaccine out, the NYT broke this morning. Weird. It’s all very … not weird. OK now let’s game this out. The question everyone is asking is when can we expect this to get to the floor and into law. Fair question. A few things to think about on that front. Will Democrats use budget reconciliation, which requires a simple majority for passage? Will they blow up the filibuster? Will they try to negotiate with Republicans to get 60? As of now, they say they want to use regular order, and pass this with a 60-vote threshold. That may change. The conversation on the right is not promising for Biden. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) put it this way in a tweet:
Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on Ways and Means and a key ally of the leadership, was also not a fan.
These are two people worth paying attention to. If you’re a Biden supporter, you can dislike Rubio and hate the GOP all you want, but Democrats have to get 10 Republicans to support this package if they don’t blow up the filibuster or use budget reconciliation. Brady, who lived with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise for years, wouldn’t issue this statement without a nod from his leadership. So, summing it up, this won’t be as easy or quick as the Biden administration would like. This is already a bit of a flashback to 2009, when Republicans stood together in opposing Barack Obama and Biden’s stimulus package. Meanwhile, at the White House, President Donald Trump is plotting revenge while aides busily packed up their offices. Trump has told multiple associates that he’s looking forward to launching primary challenges to the likes of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and others who voted to impeach him. There are reports he doesn’t want to pay Rudy Giuliani’s legal fees, and also that he’s considering pardons for himself and others. It’s the final weekend of the Trump presidency. Bloomberg News says he’ll leave the White House for Mar-a-Lago. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Big decision on the filibuster One of the big questions Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer will have to answer in the next few weeks is what they want to do with the legislative filibuster. The left sees the 60-vote threshold as the principal hurdle in the way of delivering a progressive agenda. They’re kind of right. Schumer’s soon to be 50-member Democratic Caucus isn’t going to be lining up to rework American society without some change to Senate rules. Fix Our Senate, a broad coalition of progressive groups, labor unions and government-reform organizations, is spending $500,000 on a digital ad campaign in D.C. and around the country urging an end to the filibuster. The group argues Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Republicans will just filibuster Biden’s agenda to death unless Democrats band together to eliminate the century-old practice. This ad buy is the opening salvo in what could be an expensive fight. "The American people just voted for a government that promised to tackle the crises we’re facing, put workers and families ahead of special interests, and deliver results – but unless the filibuster is eliminated as a tool for Sen. McConnell to use to continue his gridlock and dysfunction from the minority, that’s simply not going to be possible,” said Eli Zupnick, the group’s spokesman and a former top Senate aide himself. “Every day that the filibuster remains is another day that Sen. McConnell holds the keys that voters thought they just took away.” Schumer warned in a “Dear Colleague” letter this week that he won’t let Republicans “stop progress” on Democratic legislative priorities, a veiled threat to dump the filibuster using the so-called “nuclear option” — a straight-up partisan vote to change Senate rules. But Schumer also knows that several of his Democratic colleagues — Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and others — don’t want to go down this road. And Schumer also knows that if Democrats eliminate the filibuster, at some point a Republican president with a Republican-run Senate will make Democrats pay. It’s unclear when a potential filibuster showdown will occur. The Senate has to deal with the looming impeachment trial for President Donald Trump. Senators will also have to clear Biden’s key Cabinet nominations. A proposal that could trigger this fight — the Covid-relief package — was only introduced yesterday. It’s Biden’s “American Rescue Plan.” Or it may be another bill. Stay tuned. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
MOMENTS Nancy Pelosi will hold a news conference in the Capitol at 11:30 a.m. Joe Biden will speak at 3:45 p.m. in Wilmington, Del., about his plan to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine. CLIP FILE NPR interviewed VP-elect Kamala Harris NYT: “Inaugural Security Is Fortified in D.C. as Military and Police Links Are Eyed in Riot,” by Alan Feuer and Katie Benner: “The Secret Service, which is leading the effort to secure the ceremony, announced on Thursday that it would establish a “green zone” in downtown Washington this weekend, shutting down traffic and train stations as troops continue to flood into the increasingly militarized city. In a statement, the Secret Service added that most of the streets around the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol would be closed from Saturday morning until the day after the inauguration. “And Customs and Border Protection planned to deploy aircraft to Washington to conduct surveillance over the inauguration, the agency said in a statement. Agents on the ground can watch video footage of the event in real time to spot potential threats. “Such preparations and precautions were necessary because the F.B.I. had picked up ‘an extensive amount of concerning online chatter’ and was trying to discern between ‘aspirational’ plots and actual threats, the bureau’s director, Christopher A. Wray, said in a televised briefing with Vice President Mike Pence. Mr. Wray said the scores of arrests already made in last week’s riot — and the fact that agents have so far identified about 200 suspects altogether — should ‘serve as a very stern warning to anyone else who might be inclined’ to return to Washington to commit more violence.” WaPo: “Far-right groups make plans for protests and assaults before and after Inauguration Day,” Shane Harris, Souad Mekhennet and Razzan Nakhlawi: “President Trump’s incitement of his supporters before their attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6 has galvanized a nationwide extremist movement and fueled those determined to disrupt the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden and violently challenge the legitimacy of the election for months — and possibly years, according to U.S. officials and independent experts. “U.S. officials have warned authorities nationwide to be on alert for potential acts of violence at state capitols, as well as a possible second attack on the Capitol or on the White House. Law enforcement authorities have said extremists might use firearms and explosives and are monitoring online calls to rally in cities nationwide beginning Sunday. Security at the inaugural ceremony in Washington on Wednesday probably will be the most intense ever.” … … “Dozens of people on FBI terrorist watch list came to D.C. the day of Capitol riot,” by Devlin Barrett, Spencer Hsu and Marissa Lang: “The majority of the watch-listed individuals in Washington that day are suspected white supremacists whose past conduct so alarmed investigators that their names had been previously entered into the national Terrorist Screening Database, or TSDB, a massive set of names flagged as potential security risks, these people said. The watch list is larger and separate from the ‘no-fly’ list the government maintains to prevent terrorism suspects from boarding airplanes, and those listed are not automatically barred from any public or commercial spaces, current and former officials said. “The presence of so many watch-listed individuals in one place — without more robust security measures to protect the public — is another example of the intelligence failures preceding last week’s fatal assault that sent lawmakers running for their lives, some current and former law enforcement officials argued. The revelation follows a Washington Post report earlier this week detailing the FBI’s failure to act aggressively on an internal intelligence report of Internet discussions about plans to attack Congress, smash windows, break down doors and ‘get violent . . . go there ready for war.’” … … “Inauguration Day closures expected to include the Mall, major bridges,” by Emily Davies and Justin Jouvenal AP: “Capitol rioters included highly trained ex-military and cops,” by Michael Biesecker, Jake Bleiberg and James LaPorta: “An Associated Press review of public records, social media posts and videos shows at least 21 current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement have been identified as being at or near the Capitol riot, with more than a dozen others under investigation but not yet named. In many cases, those who stormed the Capitol appeared to employ tactics, body armor and technology such as two-way radio headsets that were similar to those of the very police they were confronting.” Tulsa World: “Sen. James Lankford apologizes to Black Tulsans for questioning presidential election results,” by Randy Krehbiel: “U.S. Sen. James Lankford apologized to Black Tulsans on Thursday for not recognizing that his involvement in questioning presidential election results would offend them. “In a letter addressed to ‘My friends in North Tulsa,’ Lankford acknowledges that his actions ‘caused a firestorm of suspicion among many of my friends, particularly in Black communities around the state. I was completely blindsided, but I also found a blind spot.’ “Arguably, Lankford has been more involved with Black Tulsans, and particularly the historic Greenwood District, than any statewide Republican officeholder in decades. ‘What I did not realize was all of the national conversation about states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, was seen as casting doubt on the validity of votes coming out of predominantly Black communities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit,’ he wrote.” JOB MOVES DNC picks, and more Jaime Harrison’s appointment as Democratic National Committee chair signals big changes at the party organization. Led by Harrison, Joe Biden tapped a very diverse group to serve atop the committee. Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will serve as vice-chairs. Harris is a former aide to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a key Biden ally. He lost a high-profile Senate race to Sen. Lindsey Graham, but he shattered fundraising records and made a name for himself nationally. … Zach Hunter, formerly of CLF and the Energy and Commerce Committee, is heading to Narrative D.C. OUR BAD We misspelled incoming Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) name in our PM edition Thursday. Our apologies for the error. Enjoying Punchbowl AM? Subscribe 10 friends with your unique link (below) and get a Punchbowl News hat! Your referral link is: Or share via You currently have: 0 referrals |
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