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PRESENTED BYBY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOPHappy Wednesday. The House sent President ill a bill to hike the debt limit Tuesday night. Biden is expected to sign it today and we’ll get a two-month reprieve on dealing with the nation’s borrowing limit. Great. Now onto the next deadline. In 18 days, federal highway spending authority expires. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer want to get a reconciliation package and infrastructure bill to Biden’s desk before November hits. But let’s just be abundantly clear Democrats are nowhere right now. They do have a window to strike a deal over the next few weeks, but can they make it happen? That’s the huge question hanging over Washington right now. → Negotiations between the White House, Pelosi and Schumer haven’t resulted in a “topline” spending number yet, and it’s not clear when that will happen. No one in the House or Senate leadership could give us any timetable on Tuesday other than to say they were “working on it.” Without that compromise, the rest of the multi-trillion dollar reconciliation package can’t be finished. And House Democrats can’t pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill already approved by the Senate, a critical issue for Biden that Democrats outside the Beltway are begging for right now. Ask Terry McAuliffe what he thinks it would mean in the Virginia gubernatorial race. → Moderates and progressives seem to be hardening their positions. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said this Tuesday night: “A lot of people have asked, ‘Isn’t something better than nothing?’ And the answer quite simply is no. Because when it comes down to something rather than nothing, it’s the same people who are forced to settle for nothing over and over and over again.” → Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jayapal both said Tuesday that the package must include expanded Medicare coverage for dental, hearing and vision programs. Sanders called it “non-negotiable.” That’s a pricey addition for Democrats. This doesn’t sound like a party on a path toward compromise in the next few days. Again, it’s not the end of the world if Democrats take until the end of the year to finish this package. But you need to be prepared for a bumpy landing. Also important: → Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer seem to be softening on including the debt limit as part of reconciliation next time around. Pelosi said to us she wanted it to be bipartisan, but when we pressed her on whether that’s realistic, the speaker added: “It’s interesting that we have to do it for [Republicans], that they can’t do it for the country.” Hoyer just said flatly he is in favor of including a hike of the debt limit in reconciliation: “I am. Because I do not believe that … allowing default is an alternative.” This goes what a number of other top Democrats, including Schumer, have said publicly — they won’t use reconciliation for boosting the debt limit. Here’s Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), one of the leading House moderates, following Tuesday’s vote on the debt limit:
PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK Internet regulations are as outdated as dial-up. The internet has changed a lot in the last 25 years. That’s why Facebook supports updated internet regulations to address today’s toughest challenges, including: – Combating foreign election interference INSIDE THE DEM CAUCUS What Yarmuth’s retirement means for the Budget Committee and the House House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) announced Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2022. Yarmuth, an eight-term lawmaker, is the only Democrat in the Kentucky delegation, and his retirement was seen as further bad news for the embattled majority as Democrats try to hang onto power. It’s not that Democrats will lose this Louisville-based seat, which is D+8. That’s not likely to happen. It’s the message being sent when a full committee chair bails out less than halfway through a two-year term. With many Democrats on the Hill and on K Street already privately saying the House is probably lost next year, Yarmuth’s announcement further played into that scenario. Or at least that’s the way Republicans are spinning it. Yarmuth, though, denied he’s leaving because he’s worried about Democrats losing the House. “I don’t want anybody to draw any political narratives out of this. This is 100% a personal decision,” Yarmuth told reporters. “I’ll be 75 at the end of this term, and I want to control the rest of my time… I have a 2-year-old grandson, and I don’t want to miss his growing up.” More Yarmuth: “I’m actually one of the more optimistic Democrats in terms of next year. I think we’re going to do better than historic precedent says we will. I’m not concerned about that.” He’s not going to be in front of voters next year. Why would he be concerned? Yarmuth’s departure also got us thinking about what happens to the Budget Committee in the post-Yarmuth era, whether in the majority or minority. We spoke to a number of members and aides, and no one wanted to go on the record yet. But we’ll share what we heard anyway. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is next in line on the panel. But Jeffries has leadership aspirations. He wants to be speaker of the House, and would make history as the first Black speaker if he gets there. Jeffries would also be the first Black minority leader, and the first person of color to lead a party caucus in either the House or Senate. So Jeffries isn’t going to be chair or ranking member on Budget. The next three members — Reps. Brian Higgins of New York, Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania and Lloyd Doggett of Texas — also happen to serve on the Ways and Means Committee as well. Higgins, 62, is in his ninth House term. A self-described moderate and centrist, Higgins is very big on infrastructure. Boyle, 44, is in his fourth House term. Like Higgins, Boyle graduated from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with a master’s degree in Public Policy. Boyle may be the natural choice if Speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking for a fresh face at the panel (if she’s the one making the choice), and he’s spent a lot of time focusing on budget issues. Doggett, 75, is in his 14th term. He’s next in line on the Ways and Means Committee, so Doggett’s interests may be oriented more toward that panel. Following those three lawmakers are Reps. David Price (D-N.C.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). We think the likelihood is that the next top Democrat will probably be either Higgins or Boyle. But it is very, very early, and there will be a lot of things that go into this decision. Not least of which is whether Pelosi is still the speaker and Democrats still have the House. We wanted to give a shout-out to our friend Garrett Haake of NBC. He did a great interview with Yarmuth on Monday which we neglected to cite in yesterday’s AM edition. We’re sorry, Garrett! NOTABLE QUOTABLE Jack Nicklaus on John Boehner and golf Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) interviewed golf legend Jack Nicklaus and former Speaker John Boehner last night at the NRSC’s private retreat in Palm Beach. Nicklaus on playing golf with Boehner: “Last time we played it was a 22 cigarette round. You broke out the second pack at the 17th hole.” THE MONEY GAME A Portman raising money for Jane Timken Check out this invitation. Jane Portman, the wife of retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), is raising money for Jane Timken, who is running for Portman’s Senate seat. Portman has not endorsed in the contest between Timken, J.D. Vance and Josh Mandel. This fundraiser will be at the Ricketts’ residence in D.C. (NYT’s Jonathan Martin tweeted this invite yesterday, as well.) AROUND TOWN You should go to the Congressional Women’s Softball game We feel super fortunate to be among the sponsors of the Congressional Women’s Softball game this year. It’s an event that raises a ton of money for a very important cause — the Young Survival Coalition, which focuses on women 40 and under who are diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s a very important event for the community that we serve and write for every day. The event is Oct. 27. Get tickets to the game here. The contest, as always, is between the Bad News Babes and members of Congress. Spotify is hosting a vote for the best team playlist — and you should vote immediately. Some notable walk up songs: NYT’s Mikayla Bouchard: "Rhythm is Gonna Get You" by Gloria Estefan, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.): "Let’s Go Crazy" by Prince, CBS News’ Shawna Thomas: "Good As Hell" by Lizzo, Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.): "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice, PBS NewsHour’s Gretchen Frazee: "She’s a Self Made Man" by Larkin Poe, Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.): "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.): "American Girl" by Tom Petty. MOMENTS 9:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will receive his intelligence briefing. 11 a.m.: The Covid-19 team will brief. 11:15 a.m.: Biden will sign H.R. 2278, An Act “To designate the September 11th National Memorial Trail Route, and for other purposes” into law. 1 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief. 1:45 p.m.: Biden will hold a meeting about supply chain bottlenecks. Of note: WaPo: “As supply chain troubles mount, Biden to tout longer hours for L.A. port,” by David J. Lynch Attendees, via the White House: → Gene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles → Mario Cordero, Executive Director, Port of Long Beach → Willie Adams, International President, ILWU → James Hoffa Jr., General President, Teamsters → Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO → John Furner, President & CEO, Walmart U.S. → Dr. Udo Lange, President and CEO, FedEx Logistics → Nando Cesarone, President, U.S. Operations, UPS → Brian Cornell, Board Chairman and CEO, Target → KS Choi, President and CEO, Samsung Electronics North America → Matt Shay, President & CEO, National Retail Federation → Peter Friedman, Executive Director, Agriculture Transportation Coalition → Chris Spear, President and CEO, American Trucking Association → Ian Jeffries, President and CEO, American Association of Railroads → Suzanne Clark, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce → Geoff Freeman, President and CEO, Consumer Brands Association → Jim McKenna, President and CEO, Pacific Maritime Association 2:20 p.m.: Biden will speak about supply chain issues. CLIP FILE NYT → “National Issues Dominate Ad Wars in Virginia Governor’s Race,” by Nick Corasaniti → “Biden Ends Workplace Immigration Raids, Reversing Trump Policy,” by Eileen Sullivan → “W.H.O. Will Announce New Team to Study Coronavirus Origins,” by Benjamin Mueller WaPo → “Ban on vaccine mandates in Texas sharpens political battle lines,” by Annie Linskey, Fenit Nirappil and Ian Duncan → “White House to ease overland border crossings from Canada and Mexico,” by Cleve Wootson, Jr. and Nick Miroff WSJ → “Fed’s Bank Supervision Committee Will Have No Chairman After Quarles Term Ends Wednesday,” by Nick Timiraos AP → “The AP Interview: McAuliffe wants Democrats to ‘get it done’” by Steve Peoples PRESENTED BY FACEBOOK Facebook’s industry-leading investments are stopping bad actors We’ve invested $13 billion in teams and technology over the last 5 years to enhance safety. It’s working: In just the past few months, we took down 1.7 billion fake accounts to stop bad actors from doing harm. But there’s more to do. Learn more about how we’re working to help you connect safely. Enjoying Punchbowl News 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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