View in web browser

PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

Happy congressional recess Tuesday. At 11:30 this morning, we’ll talk to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — a noted Phish fan — about his push to get Congress to pass a $2.5 trillion infrastructure package. Sign up here. We have quite the crowd already.

At the moment, all the talk in D.C. is whether bipartisanship is possible — or even worthwhile — when it comes to President Joe Biden’s push for a massive infrastructure bill.

And by bipartisanship, we don’t mean whether there are some Republicans in America who support the bill. That would mean everything under the sun is bipartisan. No, bipartisanship means a significant number of lawmakers from both parties vote for this legislation.

We’ve soaked up all the debate here during the last few weeks, and we’re going to make two divergent arguments.

One, that the Biden administration should give Republicans the back of the hand and go big, jam the bill through using reconciliation on a party line vote. This is similar to what they did on the American Rescue Plan. 

The other argument is this: that the Biden administration and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill should pare back their ambitions and cut a real deal with Republicans. The left will howl that this was the Biden they were worried about getting, but it’s the right move for him, the party and the country.

Why Democrats should ditch Republicans:

1) Progressives are finally happy. The American Jobs Plan and the American Family Plan are enormously ambitious legislative packages that harken back to the days of FDR and LBJ, the New Deal and the Great Society. What do Democrats like more than a big public works bills? How many times have we heard that Democrats were too meager in the early days of Barack Obama’s first term and how they won’t make that same mistake again? Now it’s time to push their chips in the middle of the table and go all in. 

2) Sorry Democrats, but history tells us you’re going to lose your House majority in 2022, and your 50-50 Senate majority is as perilous as it sounds.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that this would be her last term, so Democrats will lose her at the end of this Congress. So if not now, when? 

3) Reality check: Democrats and Republicans are too far apart for a deal to be struck. Republicans are calling for $600 billion in “hard” infrastructure, they are a “No” on unraveling their 2017 tax cuts and will push back on the big green policies that the Biden administration wants. Democrats are demanding green policies, they want $900 billion in hard infrastructure, plus another $1.6 trillion in other spending, and — of course — hiking the corporate tax rate. This is too big a gap to make up.

4) Democrats have spent the last three weeks telling reporters and anyone who’ll listen that their plan is popular. And they’re right! If Republicans want to stand in the way of hugely popular initiatives, let them!

5) It’s the right thing to do. The American Jobs Plan and American Family Plan are “transformative, once-in-a-generation” initiatives. Millions of Americans would be lifted out of poverty if this is the law of the land. They would address spiraling economic inequality that threatens to unhinge American society. They would have a huge impact on serious racial and social problems across the country.

Why Democrats should go bipartisan:

1) This ain’t no way to run a railroad. Democrats jammed through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on a party line vote already this year. But like the $2 trillion GOP tax cut in 2017 or Obamacare in 2010 — both passed without any support from the minority — this isn’t how Congress or government is supposed to work. They’re just moments in an unending partisan struggle that clearly doesn’t yield the best result for American public, as the losing side simply tries to overturn these laws when they come into power. 

2) This could help insulate Democratic moderates. Getting Republicans on board could give a shield to Democratic moderates in next year’s elections. The White House and Democratic leaders on the Hill — especially House Democrats — have to protect their moderates. They’re the majority makers, as much as the progressives hate to admit that. Yes, history is against Democrats in 2022. Yes, it will be tough for them to keep their majority in the House. But if they jam a bill through with just Democratic votes, they’re guaranteeing a loss, and it could be years before those seats go blue again.

3) If you step away from Twitter, they aren’t that far apart. Yes, we made the opposite argument just a minute ago. But a deal is possible if both sides soften their rhetoric and drop their hard-line positions. If Republicans go a bit bigger and Democrats go a bit smaller and both sides agree that it’s inexcusable to get nothing done, a deal can happen. Ignore the chatter from the hard left or right, and focus on the middle. Both sides want infrastructure and believe the country needs it.

4) Biden would rather do it this way. We all know Biden is, in his heart, a dealmaker. He’d rather have the Big Four leaders in the Oval Office hashing out an agreement than jamming it through on partisan lines. Remember the 2010 tax deal? 2012 fiscal cliff deal? Biden ran on his ability to make deals with Republicans. They clearly haven’t had the “epiphany” he hoped for, but maybe good ol’ political pragmatism will work.

5) There are bipartisan coalitions ready to back a deal. In both the House and Senate, there are significant factions of lawmakers willing to vote for bipartisan deals. They’re in Congress to do something. They’re as sick of the partisan stalemates as the rest of the country is. Look at what happened in December: These lawmakers forced their leaders to come to the negotiating table on a Covid relief deal. It can happen again.

SNEAK PEEK

How the Biden administration will sell their agenda this week

We get asked a lot about the difference between the Biden administration and Trump administration, and this week is as good as any to highlight just how disciplined this White House is.

Top Biden administration officials are focused on reinforcing the message the president delivered in his address to a joint session of Congress.

They will focus on “the need to build on the successes from the first 100 days of the administration in rescuing our economy from crisis by making critical, once-in-a-century, investments in jobs, growth, the financial security of middle class families, and our competitiveness with China,” a White House official told us last night.

This started with President Joe Biden’s trip to Yorktown and Norfolk, Va., and will continue today when VP Kamala Harris travels to Milwaukee. On Thursday, Biden will speak in Louisiana about “the choice facing the American people – between investing in the middle class and our economic strength and cutting taxes for the wealthy and big corporations.” (BTW: Does Biden sound like he wants to give in on tax increases?)

On Friday, Biden will speak about the forthcoming April job reports and the “record-breaking growth we’ve seen over his first 100 days in office.”

Senior administration officials including Cecilia Rouse, Heather Boushey, Jared Bernstein and others will be on national and local TV to “make the case to the American people about the need to address the deep-seated economic challenges that have been exposed over the last year. In addition, top economic officials will be rolling out detailed analysis outlining the macroeconomic case for action on the president’s proposed plans,” the official told us. 

Cabinet officials will be doing regional and national media interviews to help further bolster the administration’s position as well.

INSIDE THE HOUSE GOP

Who will replace Liz Cheney if she’s ousted?

The conversation among House Republicans has mostly shifted from “Will Liz Cheney remain in the leadership?” to “Who can replace Liz Cheney?” if and when the Wyoming Republican is ousted as GOP Conference chair. 

Now, we don’t know for sure if she’ll be ousted. And there were plenty of people who handicapped it wrong last time. But the near-constant truth-telling about former President Donald Trump over the past several weeks has a lot of Republicans pissed off.

Her fellow GOP leaders are privately done with her, and someone seems certain to call for a vote to remove Cheney from leadership for the Republican cardinal sin of dissing Trump in public. Repeatedly.

We’re now at the phase where senior members of the House GOP are floating names of potential replacements for Cheney. 

BTW: The consensus is that it has to be a woman. Sorry, Rep. Jim Banks. 

So in no particular order, here are some possible successors:

→ Elise Stefanik of New York: She’s close to Trump, unafraid of the limelight and seen as whip smart by her colleagues. Her upstate New York district has gotten much better for Republicans during the Trump era.

→ Young Kim of California: The Orange County Republican is among the first Korean American women ever elected to Congress. She’s close to McCarthy; the GOP leader brought her to speak at the closing news conference at the party’s retreat.

→ Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida: Florida is the future of the Republican Party, and Salazar is someone that represents where the party would like to be heading. She’s a South Florida Republican, the daughter of Cuban exiles and a former Telemundo anchor who flipped a Democratic-held seat in November.

→ Ashley Hinson of Iowa: The former television anchor also won a seat from a Democrat. Like Salazar, Hinson’s TV experience means she’d be a good fit as the party’s top messenger.

→ Nancy Mace of South Carolina: Mace beat Joe Cunningham, who’s now running for governor. Mace has already had public-facing moments with leadership — she appeared at a news conference with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Cheney just a few weeks ago.

→ Jackie Walorksi of Indiana: Walorski is smart and has the trust of her leadership. She’s the top Republican on the Ethics Committee, a tough job given to someone looking to pay their dues inside the House and move up. Walorski has been in Congress for nearly a decade, so she knows the ropes.

→ Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma: Bice is the first Iranian American elected to Congress, so having her in the GOP leadership would be a boost for minority Republicans. Plus, Bice served in the leadership in the Oklahoma Senate.

→ Kat Cammack of Florida: The youngest Republican woman on Capitol Hill, Cammack is a former aide who has now replaced her old boss in Congress, ex-GOP Rep. Ted Yoho. Cammack’s family lost its ranch when she was young, leaving her homeless. It was a searing experience that spurred Cammack’s interest in politics.

McCarthy and Scalise will want someone in leadership who is not only relentlessly on message, but also someone who does not pose a threat to them and their power. 

One question we have is if this race would be seen as a proxy contest for GOP whip if Republicans get in the majority? If so, it could be very crowded. It would be easier to oust Cheney if Republicans had an alternative who was willing to step up. 

We assume this whole process of ousting Cheney will begin in earnest next week when the House returns. We don’t anticipate any Republicans in leadership backing her.

BIG MEDIA MOVE

Yamiche Alcindor will host PBS’s Washington Week

NYT’s Michael Grynbaum:

Last month, when Yamiche Alcindor learned she would become the next moderator of the PBS current-affairs show “Washington Week,” she immediately felt the emotion of the moment.

“I basically instantly cried,” Ms. Alcindor recalled, “thinking about Gwen.”

“Washington Week,” a calm redoubt in the shouty battleground of political television, is most closely associated with its longtime moderator Gwen Ifill, the pioneering journalist who broke barriers as a Black woman in the Washington press corps.

Before her death in 2016, Ms. Ifill also became a mentor to Ms. Alcindor, the White House correspondent at “PBS NewsHour.” Starting with the episode on Friday, Ms. Alcindor, 34, will take Ms. Ifill’s old chair at the helm of “Washington Week.” She succeeds Robert Costa, a reporter for The Washington Post who took over in 2017 and left the show this year.

CHAMBER NEWS

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is naming Mike Rose, VP of external affairs at Comcast, as its new chairman of the business lobby’s political advocacy committee. Steve Roberts, president and CEO of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, will serve as vice chair of the committee. The changes come ahead of the 2022 election cycle and as the chamber is continuing to find its footing in the Biden era. It’s also having to contend with GOP candidates and lawmakers who are increasingly willing to spar with the trade group.

MOMENTS

9:35 a.m.: VP Kamala Harris will speak to the Washington Conference on the Americas.

10:15 a.m.: President Joe Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing.

10:55 a.m.: Harris will travel to Milwaukee.

11:30 a.m.: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be live with Jake and Anna in a Punchbowl News pop-up interview.

12:30 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief reporters. … House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will be in Cobb County, Ga., with Georgia Reps. Drew Ferguson and Barry Loudermilk to “tour a local small business that has been negatively impacted by MLB’s decision to relocate its 2021 All-Star Game.”

2 p.m.: Harris will visit a clean energy lab at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

2:30 p.m.: Biden will speak about the Covid-19 response and vaccinations. 

2:50 p.m.: Harris will participate in a roundtable on the American Jobs Plan and the investment in research and development.

5:50 p.m.: Harris will leave Milwaukee for D.C.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ News Analysis: “Why Rising Diversity Might Not Help Democrats as Much as They Hope,” by Nate Cohn

→ “Schumer Readies Plan B to Push Immigration Changes Unilaterally,” by Luke Broadwater

WaPo

→ “U.S. trustee opposes NRA bankruptcy petition in blow to gun rights group,” by Tom Hamburger

→ “FDA appears poised to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adolescents by next week,” by Carolyn Y. Johnson

→ “Maryland will pay $100 to state employees who are fully vaccinated,” by Rebecca Tan and Lola Fadulu

WSJ

→ “Epic Games CEO Slams Apple’s Fees as Unfair on Trial’s First Day,” by Sarah Needleman

→ “GOP Lawmakers Urge Probe of Amazon’s Pursuit of Pentagon Contract,” by Dana Mattioli

AP

→“Flurry of diplomatic contacts fuel Iran deal speculation,” by Matthew Lee

→ “Israel’s Netanyahu faces midnight deadline to form coalition,” by Josef Federman in Jerusalem

Enjoying Punchbowl News AM?

Subscribe 10 friends with your unique link (below) and get a Punchbowl News hat!

Your referral link is: 

You can see all the rewards in here!

Or share via

You currently have: 0 referrals

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images