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PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

So as you may have heard by now, Democrats are trying to get back a House seat in Iowa, and it’s not even election season.

Democrat Rita Hart is contesting the results of her six-vote loss to Rep. Marientte Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 2nd district. Hart has filed with the Committee on House Administration challenging the results, as she’s entitled to do under the Federal Contested Elections Act (more on that later). The committee — controlled by Democrats, of course — has allowed the case to move ahead despite GOP complaints.

But Republicans are trying to exploit this situation, and so far, they’re winning the P.R. war. Miller-Meeks has been seated provisionally in Congress while the case is under review. GOP leaders in Iowa and Washington are busy slamming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), accusing her of trying to steal a seat to bolster her very slim four-seat majority. There’s more to it, though.

This is new: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is traveling to Davenport, Iowa, next Wednesday for a day’s worth of public events with Miller-Meeks — a clear attempt by the Republican leader to draw attention to the situation and forcefully back the Republican congresswoman. 

The dispute is both legal and political.  Hart has a seemingly valid legal argument. This election is the closest House race in nearly 40 years, and one of the closest in the last century. As we noted, the margin of victory was only six votes out of more than 393,000 cast. Hart’s lawyers assert there are more than enough contested ballots to potentially overturn that result. They point to alleged discrepancies in how the recount was handled to argue that Hart will win if improperly excluded ballots are counted and everything is done in the correct manner.

Miller-Meeks’ attorneys, meanwhile, say the recount was done by the book, and they note — repeatedly — that a bipartisan state election board certified the result after a recount.

But goodness, this thing could go on forever. Hart’s lawyers have proposed a schedule that would drag out this dispute until mid-July, and that’s before the Administration Committee makes any decision. Miller-Meeks’ lawyers, taking the maximum time possible under FCEA, are suggesting a timeline could last until the fall. And the longer it goes, the better it is for Miller-Meeks and Republicans because they can continue yelling about how unfair the whole situation is.

The Administration Committee can conduct its own investigation and hire an outside law firm. Or they can use GAO too, which has been done in the past. Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is expected to have some more information on this issue as early as Monday, Pelosi said.

Meanwhile, Pelosi has her own internal politics to worry about here. Already, a half dozen moderate Democrats have said the whole thing makes them uncomfortable. Which is why Pelosi on Thursday was trying to put the kibosh on any more Democratic defections. 

If the Admin Committee decides Hart should get the seat, removing Miller-Meeks from office, the House would have to vote on it. Which means Pelosi has to keep all of those uncomfortable Democrats in line during a floor vote.

Pelosi said she could have legally refused to seat Miller-Meeks on the first day of the 117th Congress, but didn’t do that, which shows she’s playing this issue straight.

“If I wanted to be unfair, I wouldn’t have seated the Republican from Iowa,” Pelosi told reporters. “But it would’ve been, under the rules, allowable for me to say, ‘We’re not seating the member from Iowa.’ We did not do that. So I want credit for that.”

And Pelosi pointed out that McCarthy served with Lofgren on a 2007 task force to look into a contested House race in Florida. That investigation dragged on for more than a year before the challenge was rejected.

JAN. 6 UPDATE

House Dems want Jan. 6 docs from W.H. and agencies

This is very interesting. 

The Democratic chairs for a half-dozen House committees investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol have asked the White House and a number of federal agencies — including the FBI, Justice Department and Pentagon — to turn over any documents or records they have on the incident. But the request may put the Biden administration in the awkward position of having to defend former President Donald Trump over the issue of executive privilege.

The Democrats are seeking any documents and records from Dec. 1 to Jan. 20 — the last 50 days of Trump’s term — related to the incident. They’re asking for the material to be turned over by April 8. 

The request comes from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the Oversight and Reform Committee; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chair of the Intelligence Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Homeland Security Committee; Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chair of the Judiciary Committee; Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House Administration Committee; and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chair of the Armed Services Committee.

In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, the House Democrats ask for documents or records from the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and Office of Vice President (OVP) “relating to the counting of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021, or the potential for demonstrations, violence, or attacks in the National Capital Region on or around January 6, 2021.” 

The Democratic lawmakers are asking the White House to “prioritize” intelligence assessments or communications with federal and state agencies, especially anything to do with security issues.

However, Democrats are also seeking “documents regarding participation in the events of January 6, 2021, by an EOP or OVP employee or official, as well as disciplinary measures considered or taken.”

And the committees want “communications, if any, with participants in the events of January 6, 2021, or with other individuals associated with the groups participating in the events of January 6, 2021.”

The requests were sent to the FBI, DOJ, Defense Department, Interior Dept., Homeland Security, National Guard, Director of National Intelligence, U.S. Park Police, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Metropolitan Police Department. The Architect of the Capitol, U.S. Capitol Police and House and Senate Sergeant at Arms’ offices were also asked for whatever info they had.

A couple of points here:

→ With no bipartisan Jan. 6 commission happening yet, or likely to happen, this looks like the Democrats’ backup plan.

→ These are document requests, not subpoenas. If the agencies and the White House don’t comply, subpoenas are likely — especially for the agencies.

→ The requests were broadly written as Democrats don’t know exactly what they’re looking for, so they’re trying to get everything they can. They clearly have some ideas, though.

→ When Congress seeks information from the White House under this broad of a request, there’s going to have to be some negotiations or discussions on what administration officials can or will turn over. While Trump is out of office, he still can assert executive privilege on some records. And the Biden White House doesn’t want to create a precedent that can be used against it by a GOP-controlled Congress in, say,  2023.

→ This White House seems unlikely to do Trump any favors. Look for administration officials to be as helpful as they can, under the legal limits they face.

GUN CONTROL UPDATE

Murphy says he’ll work for "the next several weeks" seeking gun deal

Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Dick Blumenthal, both Connecticut Democrats, met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday about gun-control legislation.

Here’s what Murphy had to say: 

I met with @SenSchumer today and we agreed to spend the next several weeks working with both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to try to craft the strongest background checks bill that can pass.  Lives are at stake. Failure is not an option.

Lot to unpack here:

→ The lowest common denominator here is a bill mandating background checks for all commercial sales. But that’s way less than what the House has passed.

→ Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has pushed a “red flag” proposal that allows law-enforcement agencies to take guns away from people who are a potential danger to themselves and others. Dems support this, and some Republicans do too. But there are a number of GOP lawmakers and gun rights groups who oppose such measures as a violation of due-process rights. 

→ The next question worth asking is will Democrats get rid of the filibuster if they can’t get 10 Republicans to support a gun bill. This may turn into a major challenge for Schumer. But if they can’t get 10 Republicans to support a gun bill, that means they may not be able to get Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) or Kysten Sinema (D-Ariz.) to vote for it either, so there’s no point in gutting the filibuster at that point if Democrats can’t pass it.

MOMENTS

9:30 a.m.: VP Kamala Harris will hold a ceremonial swearing in for HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. 

9:55 a.m.: Harris will hold a ceremonial swearing in for Shalanda Young as deputy OMB director.

10:15 a.m.: The Covid-19 team will brief the press.

10:20 a.m.: President Joe Biden and Harris will receive their daily intelligence briefing.

11:50 a.m.: Harris will leave Andrews for New Haven. 

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

2:10 p.m.: Biden will receive his weekly economic briefing.

2:35 p.m.: Harris will hold a listening session at the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy on the American Rescue Plan. 

3 p.m.: Biden will participate in a fundraiser for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. 

4:35 p.m.: Harris will visit and speak at the West Haven Child Development Center. Cardona and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will speak.

6:15 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Wilmington. He’ll arrive at 7:10 p.m.. 

6:45 p.m.: Harris will leave New Haven for D.C.

CLIP FILE

NYT: “Timing Is Everything, Biden Says, and ‘Politics Is the Art of the Possible’” by Annie Karni and Katie Rogers

“Why the Georgia G.O.P.’s Voting Rollbacks Will Hit Black People Hard,” by Richard Fausset, Nick Corasaniti and Mark Leibovich

“In Suez Canal, Stuck Ship Is a Warning About Excessive Globalization,” by Peter Goodman in London

“Buttigieg Asks Congress for ‘Generational Investment’ in Infrastructure,” by Emily Cochrane and Pranshu Verma

Kara Swisher: “Trump May Start a Social Network. Here’s My Advice.”

WaPo: “Biden promises to tackle the nation’s crises, but says some may wait,” by Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim

“‘The art of the possible’: Biden lays out pragmatic vision for his presidency,” by Matt Viser and Annie Linskey

WSJ: “AstraZeneca Got Its Vaccine Right. The Rollout Has Been a Mess.” by Jenny Strasburg, Thomas M. Burton and Joseph Walker

WSJ Editorial Board: “Biden Lifts the Curtain”

AP: “Georgia Gov. Kemp signs GOP election bill amid an outcry,” by Ben Nadler and Jeff Amy in Atlanta: “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp drew protests Thursday as he signed into law a sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections that includes new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run.

“Democrats and voting rights groups say the law will disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color. It is one of a wave of GOP-backed election bills introduced in states around the country after former President Donald Trump stoked false claims that fraud led to his 2020 election defeat.”

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images