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PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

In his first address to Congress as president, Joe Biden made a speech that progressives have been waiting years to hear. 

He laid out an agenda so ambitious that it would remake America if enacted. Yet the reality is that everything is in the hands of Congress, an institution dominated by a handful of mercurial, at times unpredictable lawmakers who often seem more interested in momentary political victories than fixing large-scale problems.

Overall, Biden did what he needed to do to keep Democrats happy, yet didn’t offer a whole lot for Republicans.

In his 65-minute address, the president covered an enormous range of issues. 

He spoke about new and expanded social welfare programs as part of the “American Family Plan,” raising taxes on the rich while cutting them for the middle class and lower-income Americans, climate change, gun control, vaccinations and hope, huge investments in infrastructure and universal pre-school, unions and the minimum wage, immigration and international trade. 

Biden mentioned China repeatedly. He spoke several times of conversations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden’s intent here was clear: If Democrats and Republicans can’t get their act together on major challenges facing the country, then China and other rivals would be there to supplant the United States as the world’s leading power. 

But the key to Wednesday’s speech was one word: jobs.  

Biden uttered the word “jobs” more than 40 times. Biden referenced the American Jobs Plan another dozen. He noted that the U.S. economy “created more than 1.3 million new jobs in 100 days,” better than any new president coming into office. While the figure is somewhat overstated, what is clear is that Biden sees his entire presidency, in a sense, as an opportunity to provide jobs — “good paying jobs” — to all Americans. Look at how he tackled some of the big issues during his speech. Climate change — jobs. Competition with China — jobs. Infrastructure — jobs. Closing tax loopholes — jobs. More money for schools — jobs. You get the idea.

Biden also painted a dire picture of a country facing multiple crises, but one that was clearly on the mend since he was sworn in as the 46th president.

“Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation: America is on the move again,” Biden declared. This too seemed like a conscious effort to put former President Donald Trump in the rearview mirror, both for the Congress and the country.

Another note: Biden called on Congress to finish police reform by next month! The Republicans and Democrats are meeting today, but — next month! That’s a big goal.

Democrats were clearly pleased with Biden’s performance, both substantively and stylistically. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Biden “laid out an ambitious, transformative vision for seizing this once-in-a-century opportunity for our economy to Build Back Better.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) added Biden “laid out a comprehensive, thoughtful vision tonight that provides a pathway to success for working people and America.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who Biden defeated during the Democratic presidential primary, went out of his way to greet the president following the speech. “I thought he was prepared to think big and not small, and understand that this is the moment to start paying attention to the long neglected working class in this country,” Sanders said. “He has given an overview of where he would like the country to go. Our job in the Congress is to write the laws, and I look forward to it.” 

The GOP reaction, as expected, was pretty negative. They politely clapped during the speech at times, with a few even rising for standing ovations. Some Republicans, such as Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), praised Biden’s delivery, if not what he said.

But mostly Republicans panned Biden for talking bipartisanship and then governing as a hardcore liberal or “socialist.” As a group, Republicans tend to skip over what happened in 2020 economically — or the Jan. 6 insurrection — and then point to the historically low unemployment rates of 2019 as “the greatest economy of our lifetimes.” And they also seem to forget the huge deficit spending of the Trump era that helped burnish U.S. growth and employment rates.

“Unfortunately, President Biden is using his presidency to implement the most radical socialist agenda in American history,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in a statement. 

“Our best future won’t come from Washington schemes or socialist dreams. It will come from you — the American people,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said in the official GOP response to Biden’s speech.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who has gained some admirers among Democrats for his support for Trump’s impeachment, wasn’t buying what Biden was selling. He was shown on TV looking displeased during the speech, and he made it clear afterward that was in fact the case.

“Well, $6 trillion and counting. I’m sure Bernie was happy,” Romney told CNN’s Ted Barrett. “I think with the experience we’ve had with the $1.9 trillion [American Rescue Plan], he would like Republicans to vote for his plan. But in terms of meeting in the middle, that hasn’t been something the administration has shown yet.”

So the net impact of Wednesday night was this: Biden delivered a passionate speech laying out his agenda. It didn’t seem to move any votes one way or the other inside the chamber, yet it showed Biden firmly in control of his party and his agenda — at least for one night. With Republicans looking solidly opposed to that agenda, the question now becomes whether the White House and Democratic leadership can hold their rank-and-file lawmakers together during a long, hot summer on Capitol Hill.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The speech: In person and on TV

Millions of people watched President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session last night. We did too — Jake from the chamber, Anna and Bres from home. So here are some observations from both places:

→ The House chamber is really big when it’s empty. It seemed almost eerie, as if we were attending a dress rehearsal for the big event. On TV, the scene was bizarre — like a ballpark with only a fraction of the fans there for the biggest game of the year.

→ Even the standing ovations were odd. Republicans who remain seated while some of their GOP colleagues stood stuck out like a sore thumb.

→ Lots of Republicans looked around to see if others would clap with them when they liked a Biden line. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) looked straight ahead, and he never seemed to care who was clapping and who wasn’t.

→ “Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President — no president has ever said those words, and it’s about time.” Biden opened his speech paying tribute to Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). It was the first time in U.S. history that two women sat on the dias behind a president. Amazing moment for America, whether you agree with them or not. More from The 19th’s Errin Haines on this history making scene.

Do check out this photo by NBC’s Frank Thorp of Harris walking through the Rotunda. A breathtaking image.

→ “Go get vaccinated, America. Go and get the vaccination!” Biden crowed about 220 million vaccinations in his first 100 days, yet he also implored Americans to seek out vaccinations as quickly as possible. Roughly one-third of American adults have been vaccinated, but “vaccine hesitancy” is slowing down even higher rates of immunization.

→ This Biden-Cheney fistbump will find its way into political ads in Cheney’s Republican primary next year.

→ This photo of an empty Statuary Hall — normally mobbed with hundreds of reporters, members and senators right after any presidential address — symbolizes everything you need to know about this unprecedented day.

The coverage: NYT: Peter Baker’s A1 leadall … Annie Karni’s four takeaways … Nick Fandos and Emily Cochrane on the “uneasy and isolated Capitol” receiving Biden … Jim Tankersley on A1 with a news analysis

WaPo: Dan Balz on Biden trying to reverse the Reagan era … Matt Viser and Tyler Pager’s leadall

WSJ: Siobhan Hughes on Tim Scott

HOW THEY’LL SELL IT

You probably have read some places about “memos” from the White House or other political entities in town. These memos are usually more akin to press releases, not actual memoranda. 

But every once in a while, they’re revealing. So we’re presenting one of these “memos” to “interested parties” from President Joe Biden’s  Senior Adviser Anita Dunn this morning. It shows how the White House is thinking about the American Jobs Plan, which Biden rolled out last night.

This “memo” shows that much of what Biden rolled out in the American Family Plan enjoys majority support. Of course, different polls say different things. But this nearly $2 trillion plan is going to be controversial for its size and scope. And the White House is trying to make the point that, in fact, it’s worthy of consideration because it’s not only good policy, but good politics too.

Here’s the “memo” for Punchbowl News readers.

BIG CHANGE DOWNTOWN

New: Veteran Democratic lobbyist David Castagnetti is stepping down from his leadership and managerial position at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas. The former chief of staff to ex-Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will remain a senior adviser to the firm as he begins to consider “new professional, personal, and philanthropic endeavors,” according to a letter announcing the transition. 

Castagnetti has counted companies like AHIP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Business Roundtable as clients for more than two decades. Over the past 17 years, the firm has grown from five people to 25 and has increased its annual revenue to more than $20 million. The move will be a big shift for the firm which includes name partners Bruce Mehlman, Dean Rosen and David Thomas. The full memo.

DAILY PUNCH BONUS EPISODE

Liz Cheney speaks

Rep. Liz Cheney, the House Republican Conference chair from Wyoming, is all over the news these days. She’s feuding with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), and many in the GOP are wondering if her days in the leadership are numbered. Former President Donald Trump wants to defeat her, and said in a statement Tuesday she’s preoccupied with the Middle East, and doesn’t focus enough on Russia and China. 

Well, we sat down with Cheney for a wide-ranging conversation Tuesday before Trump’s statement. We talked about China and many other topics.

Subscribe to the Daily Punch. This episode will be live at noon.

Jake: “I get the sense that people don’t fully understand the threat … maybe COVID has brought it to the to the surface, but I mean, I get the sense that people aren’t fully aware of how bad of an actor China is on the global stage I mean could you put that in context for for people how to I mean, what are we dealing with here?

Cheney: “Look, the fundamental question is ‘Do you want to live in a world, and do you want your kids to grow up in a world, where the United States sets the rules of the road basically with our allies who believe in freedom, or do you want to live in a world that’s controlled by a global surveillance state?’ Where you know the Chinese Communist Party knows your every move, they’ve got all of your data, they know what illnesses you have, they know everything about you, know what you’re doing online, they potentially have cameras in everybody’s homes. 

“I mean, this is the path that we’re headed down, and I think that the combination of those voices in both parties who said the United States needs to withdraw from the world, and the rise of our adversaries at the same time, has put us in a really precarious situation. And when you start walking down the path of thinking about what kinds of weapons systems have the Chinese deployed that we don’t have, and what are the Chinese doing in space, it’s a very real, all-encompassing threat.”

And, perhaps more interesting to the GOP leadership crowd on and off the Hill, here’s Cheney on her primary challengers and Trump:

Jake: “Leave it on this last question, you quite famously have a primary challenge. … Do you think you’re gonna win that?  Clearly you wouldn’t be doing it if you didn’t.”

Cheney: “I’m confident I’m gonna win. It’s gonna be, certainly, a challenging primary. I’m preparing for that right now. We’ve got multiple opponents …”

Jake: “Which is probably helpful to you.”

Cheney: “Yeah, I mean, l look forward to whatever that primary looks like, whoever I’m going to be up against, I’m gonna fight hard and I’m not gonna take it for granted, but I anticipate that I’ll prevail. But I also think there are some pretty big constitutional issues at stake, and I think those are really important. So anybody who wants to get in that race and who wants to do it on the basis of debating me about whether or not President Trump should have been impeached, I’ll have that debate every day of the week.”

Jake: “And you might be having that every day of the week.” 

Cheney: “I might be. But I think it really, really matters that we not go down the path of every election cycle, you know, something like what happened can happen again.”

SENATE GOP DATA

One Nation has a poll with the filibuster being popular

One Nation is the 501(c)(4) linked to Senate GOP leadership, so they do a lot of policy polling for Senate Republicans. 

You can read the polling “memo” here, but we also have some data that’s going to be of intense interest to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

When it comes to the filibuster and its possible removal, the messaging and the opportunity are even clearer. While voters are hearing “a lot” to “a little” (67%) about the filibuster recently, very few feel able to define what the filibuster is and its purpose; just 16% say they could explain the filibuster “very well” to someone else. Again, this presents a massive opportunity to define and educate voters on the filibuster and its importance.

Even when defined in fairly neutral terms, support for keeping the filibuster is solid. When informed that “the filibuster allows any U.S. Senator to prolong or stop legislation until 60 Senators vote to end the filibuster and vote on the legislation. In a closely divided Congress, it is used by the minority party to stop legislation that it disagrees with to force a compromise on the legislation or stop it entirely,” a strong majority (63%) support keeping the filibuster.

There are two key reasons that voters support the filibuster. First, two-thirds (66%) say the filibuster results in “better laws” for the country by requiring senators to compromise and work with each other.

Even a majority of Democrats (58%) believe the filibuster results in “better laws” for the country. Second, past bi-partisan support the filibuster has enjoyed is a point that is not lost on the electorate and is important to emphasize. Highlighting past support from leaders like Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama resonates with voters: 66% again say that support makes them more likely to want to keep the filibuster in place.

Now listen — If your name is Adam Jentleson and you’re a Democrat, you’ll disagree with this. You don’t need to email us to tell us. We get it! We’re not saying we agree with the data. But this is how Republicans are viewing these issues, and it’s how they’re trying to sell it to the American public.

MOMENTS

9 a.m.: President Joe Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing.

10 a.m.: Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will leave the White House for Andrews, where they’ll fly to Lawson Army Airfield Plains, Ga. They’ll head from there to Jimmy Carter Regional Airport. Katrine Jean-Pierre will gaggle en route to Plains, Ga.

10:45 a.m.: Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold her weekly news conference. 

1:15 p.m.: VP Kamala Harris will travel to Baltimore. 

1:25 p.m.: The Bidens will meet with former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter.

2:20 p.m.: Harris will tour a vaccination site at M&T Bank, and will speak on the progress made in the first 100 days of the administration.

2:55 p.m.: The Bidens will leave Jimmy Carter Regional Airport for Gwinnett County Airport.

4:10 p.m.: Harris will leave Baltimore for D.C.

6 p.m.: The Bidens will participate in a car rally.

7:35 p.m.: The Bidens will leave Dobbins Air Reserve Base for Andrews.

9:20 p.m.: The Bidens will arrive back at the White House.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ “The S.E.C.’s director of enforcement stepped down just days after taking the job,” by Matthew Goldstein: “Gary Gensler’s tenure leading the Securities and Exchange Commission is off to a rocky start: Alex Oh, who he named just days ago to run the regulator’s enforcement division, has resigned following a federal court ruling in a case involving one of her corporate clients, ExxonMobil.”

WaPo

→ “Trump supporter found guilty of threatening to kill members of Congress after Jan. 6 insurrection,” by Shayna Jacobs in New York

WSJ

→ “Some Democrats Not Sold on Biden’s Proposed Capital-Gains Tax Boost,” by Andrew Duehren

→ “Private Equity and Hedge Funds, Facing a New Tax Burden, Prepare Their Defense,” by Miriam Gottfried and Juliet Chung

AP 

→ “US indicts 3 on hate crime charges in death of Ahmaud Arbery,” by Michael Balsamo and Russ Bynum

LAT

→ “How a photo and a Long Beach book drive led to a false story and attacks on Kamala Harris,” by Erin Logan

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