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PRESENTED BY

BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN
WITH MAX COHEN AND CHRISTIAN HALL

THE TOP

We are very proud of the stories we have been bringing you as part of The Bounceback, our editorial series that highlights how local officials are helping lead their communities out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Check out this installment about Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who has a very interesting story about his city before, during and after Covid. And don’t miss our recent profiles on Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.  

A DANGEROUS MIX?

Will the Senate bipartisan infrastructure plan and budget collide?

First, you should know that the bipartisan group of 10 senators negotiating the infrastructure deal will meet today. This is the “G10” — the five Republicans and five Democrats who led the $1 trillion compromise on “hard” infrastructure that President Joe Biden has endorsed. 

Now, here’s the good news for the G10: The bipartisan group is working around the clock to turn its compromise into legislative language. They say they are making good progress.

But here’s the bad news: Their bill isn’t likely to be completed or released this week. And the Senate Democrats’ budget resolution — or at least the outlines of that proposal — could be unveiled as early as today.

That means that Senate Democrats’ budget plan, which will include reconciliation instructions for a “human” infrastructure package, is going to be out there before the bipartisan infrastructure bill. And that could be a problem for the G10 because of the steep price of the multi-trillion dollar budget resolution. We’ll explain, keep reading.

The bipartisan infrastructure framework — some are calling it “BIF,” but we’re a hard no on that — and the budget resolution are tied together. For Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, passage of the bipartisan “hard” infrastructure deal unlocks the larger, far more expensive “human infrastructure” spending in the reconciliation bill. And to get to that reconciliation bill, Democrats need to pass a budget resolution, which they can do on a party line vote.

Senate Budget Committee Democrats met for almost two hours with White House officials on Monday night, and they all said “great progress” was made. This includes Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has called for a $6 trillion reconciliation package. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters afterward “I think there’s a very good chance we get to a resolution tomorrow night,” meaning Tuesday, aka tonight. “I’m hopeful we get a deal tomorrow. I think we made progress tonight. I think there’s a decent chance.”

But some Republicans privately told us that they’re worried that the size and cost of the Democrats’ budget  resolution — paid for at least in part by tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans — could push Republicans outside the G10 to oppose the bipartisan infrastructure deal. Undecided Republicans would see a “tidal wave” of new federal spending and “get turned off by it,” in the words of one GOP senator close to the issue. That would even include the bipartisan infrastructure package, which is fully paid for under the G10 proposal. That agreement was the product of negotiations led by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and White House officials.

Now, we know what you’re thinking — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his GOP colleagues are already trying to find a way not to support the G10 deal. And there could be an element of that here. But the fact remains — Portman and his fellow G10 Republicans need to begin corralling support for their initiative, and soon. It’s going to be really, really difficult for them to get the support they need to pass this bill. 

Here’s a good story from our friends Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett at CNN that covers some of these same concerns: “Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal could face key Senate GOP defections”

Portman insists he’s not worried about this possibility, despite what some of those around him are saying to us. “They’re just totally separate,” Portman said Monday night. “The only way they’re connected … is that infrastructure is something that more moderate members tend to like. And that’s being pulled out of [the Democrats’ budget resolution]. So what’s left are things that are relatively less popular, like increasing taxes and social spending.”

The Ohio Republican, however, acknowledged that the pay fors used by the G10 group to offset the $974 billion cost of their package are problematic — this will be a dynamic that will surface over the next few weeks. “We’ve always going to be a challenge. We view infrastructure spending as different than other spending. I’ve talked about this from the start. This is going to be adding to the efficiency, therefore the productivity of our economy.”

In some way, for the bipartisan group at least, having Sanders out there talking about a $6 trillion reconciliation bill was a good development. Senators in the G10 group never thought Sanders’ proposal would pass — there’s no way Democratic moderates would go for it, much less Republicans — so it made their $1 trillion initiative look reasonable by comparison.

But if Senate Democrats scale back the size of their proposed budget resolution, say to $3 trillion, that may make it more difficult for the G10 to thread the needle, even with Biden’s backing.

Sanders, though, insists he’s going to continue pushing for $6 trillion. 

“We’re gonna fight as hard as we can to pass the strongest possible legislation that protects the needs of working families,” Sanders said after returning from the White House. “And that addresses the crisis that we’re seeing every day now in terms of climate change. And you know, like everything else, there are 50 members of the Democratic caucus, there are 11 members on the Budget Committee, people have their different points of view and we’re going to work it out and at the end of the day I’m confident that we’ll come up with a really strong piece of legislation.”

This is all very fluid, so we stay tuned to Punchbowl News Midday and PM for more updates. Subscribe here.

THE POST-JAN. 6 WORLD

Big Capitol security package is now a big partisan fight

Two Senate old bulls are currently at loggerheads over funding for the U.S. Capitol Police, a fight that could become a major issue in the coming days.

Here’s the background: Punchbowl News broke the story last week that the The U.S. Capitol Police department is in financial trouble and may have to furlough employees. This is in part due to overtime costs the department racked up in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The House passed a nearly $2 billion security bill to help cover these costs, but it has been delayed in the Senate for months.

An angry Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy of Vermont (click and listen to the audio, it’s something) released a $3.7 billion bill to fund the U.S. Capitol Police Monday evening. That’s far more than the roughly $2 billion bill that the House approved. 

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) — the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee — said the Democrats’ legislation was moving in the “wrong direction” by getting even pricier.

Here’s where this is going to get complicated: Leahy’s bill includes money for lots of priorities that have nothing to do with the U.S. Capitol Police. He added $425 million to “address unmet needs due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic placed on organizations providing services to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and victims of child abuse;” “$1.3 billion in emergency funding to address COVID impacts at the Department of Defense;” and $100 million for emergency aid for Afghan refugees.

Senate Republicans have started to argue to us that, while these may be important priorities, they don’t belong in a bill to backfill money for the USCP or National Guard. Thousands of National Guard troops helped to protect the Capitol post-Jan. 6. 

But here’s the reality: The Capitol Police may have to consider furloughs in the next month if this doesn’t get solved. So Congress needs to get on this — and quickly. The department can shift some funds around, but this funding shortfall will hit by mid-August.

AUMF

Menendez will move ahead with votes to repeal two AUMFs

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he will move ahead with a panel vote to repeal the 1991 and 2002 resolutions authorizing military force against Iraq.

Both President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) support this unprecedented step, although there remains significant opposition inside the Senate to the move, including from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Menendez, however, said he planned to schedule a committee vote to repeal both AUMFs. Menendez’s comments came Monday night following a classified briefing by State and Defense department officials in a secure room in the Capitol. Several Republicans on the panel had asked for the briefing before any AUMF repeal vote.

There are also concerns from lawmakers in both parties about a recent spate of attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militias. Biden had ordered airstrikes recently against some Iranian-affiliated groups near the Iraq border.

“It is my intention to have a markup, which was postponed. We had noticed a markup. It is my intention to move forward with a markup,” Menendez said. “I think there were several members who had asked for this briefing that I think were very honest in terms of them trying to figure out what is the right policy, what is the right vote. And, I suspect, this briefing was very helpful for them in coming to that conclusion.”

Menendez added: “Now, there are other members who have ideological issues. There’s no briefings in the world that I can ultimately provide that will deal with that. That’s just a question of a person’s ideological view. But I think that for some members who actually want to get a sense of whether the right vote would be to rescind [the AUMFs] or not, I think this was very helpful.”

Menendez didn’t give a date for this vote, but he said it would happen before the Senate recesses in August.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, remained noncommittal on what position he would take. “The matter is complex, it’s an issue, it’s fluid at this point,” Risch said.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who was one of the Republicans who sought Monday’s briefing, said he wanted to hear from more senior officials at State and Defense, but he did call it a “helpful discussion.”

“I heard their perspectives. I expressed my view, they expressed their views. It was a useful discussion,” Romney said. “I was a little disappointed we didn’t have Cabinet secretaries on something of this magnitude.”

What Romney is saying is Senate speak for “the administration sent aides to talk to us, and that was a bad idea. We wanted secretaries.”

JOB MOVES

A few quick job moves for you this morning:

→ A bunch of moves in Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) world: Brianna Manzelli, who was at the FAA and led comms during the Boeing 737 Max issue, will be Romney’s new communications director. Arielle Mueller is now press secretary. She previously worked for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Paige Waltz will be deputy communications director; she was previously Romney’s digital director. Dilan Maxfield is deputy press secretary and digital director. Maxfield was previously digital director for Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

→ Christine Hennessey, the communications director for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is going to work at Narrative DC, the strategic communications firm. Carper, of course, is chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which is in the driver’s seat on infrastructure-related legislation. Rachel Levitan will become communications director for both Carper and the Environment and Public Works Committee.

MOMENTS

9:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his intelligence briefing. 

10 a.m.: Texas House Democrats will appear at the House Triangle to discuss leaving the state during the voting debate in Austin. Democratic embers of the Texas delegation — Reps. Marc Veasey and Lloyd Doggett — will appear with them. 

1 p.m.: Biden will leave the White House for Andrews, where he’ll fly to Philadelphia. Karine Jean-Pierre will brief on Air Force One. 

2 p.m.: Senate lunches will break up, and both leaderships are expected to gaggle.

2:50 p.m.: Biden will speak on voting rights.

4:10 p.m.: Biden will leave Philadelphia for D.C. He’ll get to the White House at 5:15 p.m.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ “U.S. Officials Press Pfizer for More Evidence of Need for Booster Shot,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Sharon LaFraniere

→ “Biden Seeks to Confront Crime While Supporting Police Reform,” by Michael Shear and Zolan Kanno-Young

WaPo

→ “‘This is really fantastical’: Federal judge in Michigan presses Trump-allied lawyers on 2020 election fraud claims in sanctions hearing,” by Rosalind Helderman

→ “Texas Democrats arrive in D.C. after leaving their state to block restrictive voting legislation,” by Amy Gardner and Eva Ruth Moravec

WSJ

→ “Trump Organization CFO Removed as Officer of Subsidiaries, Records Show,” by Corrine Ramey: “The Trump Organization has removed longtime finance chief Allen Weisselberg as an officer at some of its subsidiaries, after prosecutors accused him and the company of a 15-year tax-fraud scheme, according to public filings and people familiar with the matter.

“The removal of Mr. Weisselberg as an officer from multiple Trump Organization entities comes amid discussions of potential changes in the chief financial officer’s duties, responsibilities and possibly title at former President Donald Trump’s company, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family since 1973, is expected to remain at the company, the people said.”

AP

→ “Taliban surge in north Afghanistan sends thousands fleeing,” by Kathy Gannon

→ “In long-awaited speech, Biden to decry voting restrictions,” by Jonathan Lemire

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images