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PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

A new dynamic for Joe Biden: A trio of problems have sprouted up at home and abroad. 

→ Israel is on the brink of war with Palestinian militants in Gaza. What can Biden do? Probably not much. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has dispatched an envoy to the region. The United States, as Israel’s most important ally, always has some responsibility — whether the occupant of the White House likes it or not. So far, Biden has signaled strong support for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but with Israeli ground troops moving closer to entering Gaza and the military girding for a long conflict, the situation seems to be worsening quickly. 

→ The U.S. economy is showing just how fragile it really is as the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic. Jobs numbers were bad last week. There are fresh concerns about inflation. The stock market is dipping. A week ago, the White House was looking to boast about job growth since Biden was sworn in, and now that confidence has been shaken.

→ Gas prices are up. The Colonial Pipeline problem seems to be solved, but gas prices have spiked across the country. Images of Americans waiting in long lines to refuel their cars are splashed across newspapers and on newscasts. 

The modern presidency is defined by a series of brush fires, many of which are out of the White House’s control. But modern politics dictates that the administration needs to make progress on even the unsolvable.     

TREND ALERT

Congressional leaders give their rank and file a chance

We’ve noticed an interesting trend in recent months: Congressional leaders are looking for help.

In both parties and both chambers, party leaders have given the green light to their members or senators to explore whether there’s room for bipartisan deals with the other side. 

This doesn’t diminish leadership’s authority in any way; at the end of the day, they’re still the ones who have to hash out the fine print of any agreement. But with Congress wallowing in a toxic political mess following Donald Trump’s defeat, party leaders are searching for any way to move forward on key issues. 

A prime example will come today.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) will lead a delegation of Senate Republicans to the White House this afternoon to meet with President Joe Biden and other top administration officials on infrastructure. 

White House officials told us that it was absolutely clear that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was deferring to Capito on the specifics — for now. 

Capito, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, says she is entering into these discussions in good faith and is truly interested in a bipartisan deal, although she acknowledges that Republicans have some positions that ultimately may be difficult for Biden and Democratic leaders to swallow. This includes no tax increases or “unwinding” of the 2017 GOP tax cut.

“We’re just trying to come up with as many ideas as we can going into Thursday,” Capito said. “I think his [Biden’s] desire is to define where we have common ground, and I think we’ll probably spend the bulk of the time talking about that.”

There are more examples:

→ Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has given her proxy to Rep. Karen Bass to seek a police reform deal with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

→ Pelosi designated Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, to negotiate with his GOP counterpart, Rep. John Katko of New York, over the Jan. 6 commission.  

→ Pelosi allowed Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair of the Appropriations Committee, to craft policies to return earmarks to Congress. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) was the one who lobbied Pelosi to move ahead, but DeLauro and committee staff worked out the framework. House Republicans and Senate Democrats both decided to allow earmarks too. Senate Republicans formally ban earmarks, but some GOP senators are going to ask for them anyway. 

→ DeLauro is also taking the lead on a $2 billion-plus supplemental security package to “harden” the Capitol following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection by Trump supporters, although those talks aren’t going well.

→ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has recently deputized Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to look for a gun deal, and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to try to find an immigration deal.

None of these efforts have yielded major breakthroughs yet. Having some fresh faces at the negotiating table isn’t enough by itself to cool D.C.’s partisan fever, although bipartisan discussions continue in a number of areas.

The role of committee chairs in cutting deals can’t be underestimated either, even when leadership may snag the biggest headlines. For instance, Pelosi has relied heavily on Ways and Means Committee Chair Richie Neal (D-Mass.) throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to help put together and pass several massive relief packages, while Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was the star of Trump’s first impeachment.

Pelosi first tapped Bass to take a lead role on police reform last summer, when the House first passed a police reform bill following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. At the time, Bass was chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and a subcommittee chair on the Judiciary Committee. She’s not either this time, although Bass does have extensive experience with the issue.

“She [Pelosi] absolutely has delegated it, but I do report to her and let her know the status on a regular basis,” Bass said. These discussions are mostly in-person.

“I don’t have to, I seek her out. I enjoy her confidence,” Bass added. The California Democrat briefs Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on the discussions as well.

Bass says she “remains hopeful” that an agreement on police reform will eventually come together, yet she also notes Pelosi and the other party leaders will have to be there at the end.

Bass, who served as speaker in the California State Legislature, used the same tactic there that Pelosi is using with her now. Bass, in fact now serves in Congress with a former state lawmaker she tapped to help work on California water issues — Rep. Jared Huffman (D). 

“Jared was my point person and I asked him to take the lead. And he did that,” Bass said. “So I like that style of leadership.”

2024? MAYBE? COULD IT BE?

Robert O’Brien to South Carolina

Robert O’Brien, who served as National Security Adviser under former President Donald Trump, is going to South Carolina this weekend to meet with political players.

The trip is being organized by Ed McMullen, who was ambassador to Switzerland under Trump and a political figure in the Palmetto State.

“The McMullins are good friends,” O’Brien said to us in an email. “Ed and I worked closely together in the Trump [Administration]. Lo-Mari and I are looking forward to spending a couple of nice days with Ed, Margaret and their friends in the great Palmetto State.”

McMullen didn’t reply to a request for comment. 

If you’re asking yourself what the constituency is for O’Brien, you are not alone

LEADERSHIP ELECTION UPDATE

Stefanik plows ahead

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) met Wednesday evening with the House Freedom Caucus in a session both sides described as productive.

Stefanik is facing some questions from conservatives about her voting record as she seeks to replace Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as GOP Conference chair. Party leaders want to hold a vote on Friday, but a number of Freedom Caucus hardliners are arguing they need more time and someone may challenge Stefanik. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is not going to delay the Friday election, a source told us. A reminder: Anyone can get into this race.

A few other points here:

→ In the HFC meeting, Stefanik reminded the group that her Elevate PAC supported the election efforts of many HFC members, including Reps. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.) and Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.).

→ Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who is mulling a longshot bid of his own, didn’t speak during the Freedom Caucus session with Stefanik.

→ Team Stefanik felt like they won over support after the session.

→ Here’s something new: The Freedom Caucus used to be a very leader driven organization. The membership nearly always followed in the footsteps of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mark Meadows, the former North Carolina congressman. But now, Jordan is supporting Stefanik, as is former President Donald Trump, yet there’s still those in the HFC who are rebelling against Stefanik. The group has lost a lot of juice in the minority, and it seems to be struggling with how to use its power. 

Stefanik needs 50%+1 of the House Republican Conference — roughly 107 yes votes — to cement her ascent into leadership. Most insiders guess she’ll lose 50 or so votes, which would be a pretty resounding victory for the 36-year-old New York Republican. 

Of note: George P. Bush, the Texas Land Commissioner, son of Jeb Bush and nephew of George W. Bush, came out against Cheney. As the NYT’s Jonathan Martin said, “The layers here.”

MOMENTS

8:45 a.m.: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is hosting a “Back the Blue Bike Tour” this morning, and will have his weekly news conference at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (450 F St, NW)

10:45 a.m.: President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris will get their daily intelligence briefing. … Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have her weekly news conference.

11:50 a.m.: Biden will speak about the Colonial Pipeline. 

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

1:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris will meet with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

4 p.m.: The Covid response team will brief.

5:15 p.m.: Harris will meet with the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ “Biden Signs Executive Order to Bolster Federal Government’s Cybersecurity,” by David Sanger and Julian Barnes

→ “As Gaza War Escalates, New Front Opens in Israeli Cities,” by Patrick Kingsley in Jerusalem: “ A new front opened in the military showdown between the Israeli Army and Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday as a wave of mob violence between Jews and Arabs spread across several Israeli cities, leading to riots and attacks in the streets as rockets and missiles streaked across the sky.

“Israel said it assassinated 10 senior militants and continued to pound both military and residential areas across the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, while Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, and its allies continued to fire rockets into civilian areas across central and southern Israel.

“More than 1,000 rockets had been fired from Gaza by Wednesday night, most of them intercepted by an antimissile defense system, the Israeli military said.”

→ Political Memo: “Republicans’ Overthrow of Liz Cheney Risks Worsening Their Headaches,” by Jonathan Martin: “As she arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday morning to meet her fate, the soon-to-be deposed No. 3 Republican in the House hinted that she was already eyeing her next role.

“‘The party is going to come back stronger, and I’m going to lead the effort to do it,’ Representative Liz Cheney said as she stepped into an elevator and down to her demise. Less than an hour later, accompanied by the acclaimed photographer David Hume Kennerly, a family friend, Ms. Cheney returned to her office for an interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. A sit-down with Bret Baier of Fox News was to follow.

“The message was unmistakable: Her colleagues may have stripped Ms. Cheney of her post as chair of the House Republican Conference, but they have effectively handed her a new platform and a new role as the leader of the small band of anti-Trump Republicans.

WaPo

→ “Israel-Hamas fighting poses test for Biden and exposes rifts among Democrats,” by Anne Gearan and John Hudson

→ Paul Kane: “McCarthy pushes out Liz Cheney, then pushes bipartisanship at the White House”

→ “Rep. Greene aggressively confronts Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, causing New York congresswoman to raise security concerns,” by Marianna Sotomayor

→ “Economic tremors hit White House at crucial moment for Biden policy agenda,” by Jeff Stein, Rachel Siegel and Andrew Van Dam

WSJ

→ “FAA Approves Boeing Fixes for Latest 737 MAX Problem,” by Andrew Tangel

AP

→ “US agents encounter more single adults are crossing border,” by Adriana Gomez Licon in La Joya, Calif.

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