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PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

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Welcome to February. It’s a snow day in D.C. — the House pushed off its work today, and the Senate has postponed a vote to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS secretary. 

But this month in Washington is going to be busy, and is starting with lots of internecine tension.

Consider this:

→ Ten Republican senators wrote a letter to President Joe Biden proposing a pared back Covid relief bill Sunday. Democrats spent all day dismissing it as half baked and as evidence Republicans were not serious legislators. The GOP plan is roughly $600 billion, which is roughly one-third of what Democrats want. 

Then last night, Biden invited those senators to the White House for a meeting this afternoon at 5 p.m. That means Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Mike Rounds (S.D.) got a visit to the White House in motion quicker than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the congressional leadership. Maybe Biden spends the meeting telling Republicans that their plan is all wrong. Maybe not. 

→ As Biden huddles with Collins and Co., Democrats have to figure out how to pass a budget and assemble a Covid-relief package. They have to thread the needle between the two poles in their caucus: Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Progressive Democrats often get frustrated with Manchin, but he represents a vote that the party needs in an evenly divided Senate — a vote as important as Sanders or Warren. Dems have to see if they can squeeze a $15 minimum wage in the bill. And now, they have to also figure out if it’s worth waiting for Republicans to get all of this done. 

→ Republicans in the House are deeply split. You have House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy visiting and snapping photos with Donald Trump. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) has started an effort that plainly suggests the party has lost its way. Meanwhile, a huge chunk of the party is suggesting that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) get booted from the leadership over her vote to impeach Trump. McCarthy asked Republicans not to snipe at each other, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) flew to Wyoming to campaign against Cheney. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) continues to say outlandish things. McCarthy said he would meet with her about her behavior, and Trump called her to celebrate her.

→ Republicans in the Senate voted en masse that the impeachment of Trump was unconstitutional. Some have suggested going to court to halt the proceedings. Yet Trump fired his entire impeachment legal team because they wouldn’t argue the election was stolen. Senate Republicans won’t vote to convict him — they’ve made that clear — but now they’ll be forced to defend him as he argues that he won an election he lost during a trial that has absolutely nothing to do with that. 

What’s at stake? Well, everything. The Congress has a Covid relief package that needs to get done in six weeks. The impeachment trial starts next week. 

PUNCHBOWL’S INAUGURAL PASS THE PUNCH WITH TASHA COLE

Pass the Punch features members of the Punchbowl community sharing their thoughts on what’s happening in Washington. For our inaugural edition, we pass the punch to Tasha Cole, chief diversity officer for the DCCC.

"Power, properly understood, is the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political, or economic changes. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love."  – Martin Luther King Jr.

Washington, D.C. is a city of transition and tradition where power flips or is shared, only determined by the will of the American people.

Twenty-one years ago, I worked on my first presidential campaign as a surrogate scheduler in Florida. That election would be unprecedented, coming down to 537 votes and counting chads. As politics goes, unprecedented is par for the course. All these years later, I am deputy executive director for diversity and chief diversity officer at the DCCC — the first to serve in this role.

In recent months, our country has faced episodes of reckoning: brought to the fore by the murder of George Floyd and most recently on display after the terror on Capitol Hill. Our reaction to this reality reminds us that America is progressing — that’s our power, the ability to become more perfect. But we must acknowledge we have not yet transcended our original sin.

We must recognize it is our differences that make us whole. We are pieces of a puzzle, no two pieces the same. Leaders set the tone and establish expectation to yield equity and inclusion in politics. Purposeful, principled unity is coming together for a common goal. Our Democratic Leadership is committed to governing and passing legislation that delivers for all our communities.

Everyone can lead in their span of control. While I am the first to Pass the Punch, I know many people of different ideological beliefs will as well. My hope is that we all share the same commitment to a more perfect union.

Tasha Cole

COVID DATA

Is state and local funding necessary?

We are about to get into the maelstrom of Covid relief in a very big way. We hear frequently from Wall Street folks who are quizzical about how D.C. works — join the club, right? But this is interesting, and should help shape your thoughts as we begin thinking full time about Covid relief.

This is from JPMorgan’s research arm. And it was taken by some to mean that state and local funding should not be a part of any package that clears Congress. Look for Republicans to jump all over this in negotiating this package — if they’re even involved at all.

2020 state tax receipts for the 47 states who report the data, shows an avg decline of just 0.12% vs. 2019, with a weighted avg decline of 0.06%, virtually flat to 2019. 21 of 47 states show positive YoY growth of tax receipts … Of the 40 states that report personal  taxes, 2020 collections rose 1.3% vs 2019, with a weighted avg growth of +2.0%. Over half (25) of states reported positive growth, especially larger states (CA, NY, IL, MA) 

Republicans have blocked the full Democratic ask on state and local so many times in recent negotiations. They promised that they’d get it in this round, and we can’t see them abandoning that promise.

In fact, in responding to the letter from the ten Republicans on Sunday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the N.Y. Daily News’ Michael McAuliff that “It doesn’t have any state and local money in it.” So you can tell that this is a big priority for Schumer. 

CLIP FILE

NYT: “77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election,” by Jim Rutenberg, Jo Becker, Eric Lipton, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, Matthew Rosenberg and Mike Schmidt

“As Trump Raked In Cash Denying His Loss, Little Went to Actual Legal Fight,” by Shane Goldmacher and Rachel Shorey: “Former President Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party entered this year having stockpiled more than $175 million from fund-raising in November and December based on his false claims of voter fraud, spending only a tiny fraction on lawyers and bills for his effort to overturn the presidential election, according to new campaign finance reports filed on Sunday night.”

“The Gerrymander Battles Loom, as G.O.P. Looks to Press Its Advantage,” by Reid Epstein and Nick Corasaniti: “Republicans hold total control of redistricting in 18 states, including Florida, North Carolina and Texas, which are growing in population and expected to gain seats after the 2020 census is tabulated. Some election experts believe the G.O.P. could retake the House in 2022 based solely on gains from newly drawn districts.

“Already, Republicans are discussing redrawing two suburban Atlanta districts held by Democrats to make  one of them more Republican; slicing Democratic sections out of a Houston district that Republicans lost in 2018; and carving up a northeastern Ohio district held by Democrats since 1985.  

“21 Men Accuse Lincoln Project Co-Founder of Online Harassment,” by Maggie Astor and Danny Hakim

WaPo: “Trump’s legal team exited after he insisted impeachment defense focus on false claims of election fraud,” by Josh Dawsey, Tom Hamburger and Amy Gardner: “Trump’s lawyers had initially planned to center their strategy on the question of whether the proceedings were constitutional and on the definition of incitement, according to one of the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the internal conversations.

“But the former president repeatedly said he wanted to litigate the voter fraud allegations and the 2020 race — and was seeking a more public defense of his actions. Bowers told Trump he couldn’t mount the defense that Trump wanted, the person said.” 

WSJ: “Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Sees a ‘Fever’ in the State GOP. Others See the Future,” by Eliza Collins

AP/Naypyitaw, Myanmar: “Military takes control of Myanmar; Suu Kyi reported detained”: “Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.

“An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. It said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.”

POLITICO: “’She is weighing us down’: Georgia GOP cringes at Marjorie Taylor Greene spectacle,” by Marc Caputo

THE PAPER OF RECORD

MOMENTS

10 a.m.: President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris will receive their daily briefing.

11 a.m.: The White House’s Covid response team will brief. This includes Anthony Fauci and Andy Slavitt.

12:30 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief.

5 p.m.: The president and VP will meet with the bipartisan group of senators.

THIS IS ONE WAY TO DO IT!

A Georgia senator — either Jon Ossoff or Raphael Warnock — has taken to the New York Times help wanted section to look for a chief of staff. 

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