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PRESENTED BY

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

THE TOP

Good morning. It’s the last Wednesday of July, and Congress has not passed a police reform bill, a budget resolution, an appropriations bill, an infrastructure bill, a voting rights bill or a gun control bill. 

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s big USICA bill — aimed at combating the rise of China — is going nowhere in the House at the moment.

Happening this morning: Watch our interview online at 8:45 a.m. with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the first installment of our “Road to Recovery” series, sponsored by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Warner, of course, is one of the main Democratic negotiators in the bipartisan infrastructure talks. We’ll talk to him about that, and about access to capital, small business and the road to economic recovery out of the pandemic. Tune in here

You gotta give Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and White House Counselor Steve Ricchetti credit. We — Bres, Jake, Anna, Christian and Max — sent Punchbowl News PM last night at 5 p.m., and we reported at the top that Portman and Ricchetti were in the midst of what was described to us as a lengthy meeting in the Capitol about the infrastructure deal.

Around 8 p.m., we checked in again and the pair were still meeting. They generally take breaks to eat, we’re told, but these two men were burning the midnight oil in a bid to wrap this deal. 

The success of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, in some ways, is coming down to talks between Portman and Ricchetti, both longtime figures in Washington who are comfortable in their own skin and fluent in the art of legislating.

Why they’re the right people for the job: 

→ Portman: Put simply, Portman has spent the vast majority of the last three decades involved in crafting federal public policy. He was White House legislative affairs director, a member of the House, U.S. Trade Representative, director of the Office of Management and Budget and a senator for the last 10 years. He’s a voice Republicans will trust on whether the bill is properly paid for or structured. He’s freed from all external and internal political considerations — he’s not running for re-election. And furthermore, Portman is close to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. 

→ Ricchetti: Aside from White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, there’s probably no one closer to President Joe Biden than Ricchetti. What he is doing now is what he’s done for years: Ricchetti was a corporate lobbyist who had to cajole lawmakers. It probably doesn’t hurt that Ricchetti — like Portman — is Ohio born and raised. Sure, in today’s politics, a viral tweet or two might get many lawmakers through the day. But if he’s successful, Ricchetti will be the one who helps bring home a massive deal for the president of the United States. That used to matter. And it does, once again.

A note: In Punchbowl News PM last night, we reported that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said his “hope and expectation” is that the bipartisan group comes to a deal. The “hope” element seems new from GOP leadership — but we’re not going to make too much of it at this point. Thune also said that there are “more than enough” GOP votes in play to get the bill passed if it’s done right.

Problems: The clock is ticking here, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the White House is going to have a lot of work to do smoothing over relationships with senior lawmakers, many of whom aren’t pleased with what they see in the possible bipartisan compromise at this time. And among Republicans, GOP senators clashed over the issue during their policy lunch on Tuesday as well.

Problems with chairs:

→ Politico: “’Tiger of the House’ claws his way through infrastructure talks,” by Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle: “In a fiery tirade to fellow Democrats during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, DeFazio called the bill ‘crap.’ He blasted the White House and Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who he referred to as the three ‘Republicans’ crafting the Senate deal. ‘I could give a damn about the White House. We’re an independent branch of government,’ DeFazio said in a brief interview afterwards. ‘They cut this deal. I didn’t sign off on it.’”’

→ Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Tom Carper of Delaware: “It’s not clear where we’re ending up but we’re not where we need to be,” Carper said Carper wants the bipartisan group to fully fund a $35 billion water infrastructure package it’s using as part of its negotiations. “We want something very, very close to that. I don’t think we’re there yet. Can we get there? I think we can.” The "of Delaware" element of this sentence is key.

→ Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio: The Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee chair has complained about transit funding repeatedly. And he doesn’t trust Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose hand he sees at work in the slow pace of these talks. “Don’t forget that Mitch McConnell has said he wants Joe Biden to fail. And Mitch McConnell has not shown any real interest in a deal,” Brown said. “We get closer to a deal, and they ‘slow walk.’ We get closer, they ‘slow walk’ and they pull back. That’s the Mitch McConnell and whoever his acolytes are way of negotiating.”

→ Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon: The Senate Finance Committee chair was antsy on Tuesday as well, pointing out that his panel — which will have a huge say in any upcoming reconciliation bill — wants the Senate to pick up the pace on infrastructure. “Time is of the essence. We need to get moving,” Wyden said.

PUNCHBOWL NEWS BRINGS THE CANVASS TO LIFE

Punchbowl News hosted a small invite-only event for senior D.C. operatives and heads of Washington offices and trade associations as part of our "Cocktails & Conversation" series to showcase and celebrate The Canvass, our anonymous survey of senior Capitol Hill staffers. The event was in partnership with Sazerac House and attendees heard a preview of next month’s Canvass results from Locust Street Group’s Phillip Morris.

A big thank you to Sazerac’s Elizabeth Wise and Laura Pinsky for partnering on the event. 

Raising a glass: Former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) of Squire Patton Boggs, Jodi Sakol of AARP,  Mark Isakowitz of Google, Dontai Smalls of UPS, Cristina Antelo of Ferox Strategies, Robert Hoffman of Broadcom, David Castagnetti of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Erin Billings of Global Strategy Group, Matt Haller of the International Franchise Association, Jane Adams of Johnson & Johnson, Anne MacMillan of Invariant, Lisa Kountoupes of KDCR Partners, Paulette Aniskoff of Bully Pulpit Interactive, Justine Handelman of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Steve Danon of Restaurant Brands International, Chris Swonger of DISCUS, Lauren Belive of Zoom, Hugh Gamble of Salesforce, Matt Dogali of ADSA, Jonathan Nabavi of the NFL, Mike Spahn of Precision Strategies and Jimmy Ryan of Subject Matter.

TEXAS 6

Trump gets trounced

Our phones were lighting up with text messages throughout the night after Republican Jake Ellzey beat fellow GOPer Susan Wright in the runoff for the open seat in Texas’s sixth congressional district. 

Former President Donald Trump endorsed Wright and sent out at least seven statements touting her candidacy. Club for Growth spent $1.1 million on this runoff. You should read WaPo’s Dave Weigel, who did a terrific job laying out the dynamics of this race. This runoff allowed Democrats to vote, which could have helped Ellzey.

Here are the dynamics we heard about most frequently last night:

→ Ellzey is an establishment candidate who serves in the statehouse in Austin. He’s a veteran who beat the Trump endorsed candidate.

→ How much does Trump’s endorsement mean? That’s an open question to a lot of Republicans we spoke to last night. Does it help? Yes, of course, it can. But is it everything? Clearly not. Not only did his candidate not win, but this was a low turnout race — so Trump didn’t even bring people to the polls. 

→ The Club for Growth clearly whiffed.

→ A few Republicans — all of whom are pro-Trump — wondered if the 45th president should consider hiring some new political advisers.

The Coverage: 

→ Texas Tribune: “In a major upset against a candidate backed by Donald Trump, Jake Ellzey wins runoff for Fort Worth-area congressional seat,” by Patrick Svitek 

→ Dallas Morning News: “Jake Ellzey beats Trump-backed Susan Wright in race to replace the late Ron Wright in Congress”: “‘[Trump] would have been better off staying neutral,’ said former U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, an Ellzey supporter who represented District 6 for 34 years. ‘Jake is not anti-Trump. He’s a strong conservative.’ … ‘He’s a classic Texas conservative,’ [former Gov. Rick] Perry said of Ellzey.”

THE NEVER-ENDING PANDEMIC

Masks are back in the Capitol

Well, that was fun while it lasted. We’re going to be masked up in the Capitol — once again. Check out the new guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician. And everyone please stay safe.

WHAT THE W.H. WILL BE FOCUSED ON TODAY

Buy in America day for Biden

The Biden administration today will be talking about a new proposed rule aimed at forcing the federal government to buy more American made goods. This fact sheet was off embargo from the White House at 5 a.m. Biden is slated to talk about this issue today in Allentown, Pa.

LOOK WHO IS COMING TO DEM CAUCUS

Chris Krebs will huddle with House Dems today

Check out this invite: A House Democratic Caucus briefing this afternoon with Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The topic: ransomware and “the impact attacks have on American businesses and U.S. cybersecurity strategy.” This event was organized by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Jim Langevin (D-R.I.).

MOMENTS

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

9:15 a.m.: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats will hold a news conference on “climate action.”

10:55 a.m.: Biden will leave for Andrews, where he’ll fly to Allentown, Pa. He’ll arrive at noon. Karine Jean-Pierre will brief on Air Force One.

11:30 a.m.: Pelosi will hold her weekly news conference.

1:25 p.m.: Biden will visit Mack Trucks – Lehigh Valley Operations Manufacturing Facility.

2 p.m.: Biden will speak about “American manufacturing, buying products made in America, and supporting good-paying jobs for American workers.”

3:20 p.m.: Biden will leave Allentown for Andrews. He’ll arrive at JBA at 4:05 p.m. and then he’ll be at the White House

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ “Jumping prices and the ghost of 2013’s market meltdown loom over the Fed,” by Jeanna Smialek

→ “Hooked on Trump: How the G.O.P. Still Banks on His Brand for Cash,” by Shane Goldmacher

WaPo

→ “Biden plans to require federal workers to be vaccinated or undergo repeated tests,” by Tyler Pager and Eli Rosenberg

→ “Justice Dept: Republican Rep. Mo Brooks may be sued over Jan. 6 speech to Trump supporters,” by Devlin Barrett and Rachel Weiner

WSJ

→ “Lysol. N95 Masks. UPS. For Some Pandemic Winners, the Boom Is Over.” by Paul Ziobro and Austen Hufford

→ “Work-From-Anywhere Perks Give Silicon Valley a New Edge in Talent War,” by Katherine Bindley

AP

→ “Infrastructure talks leave Biden’s entire agenda at risk,” by Alan Fram

Politico

→ Michael Kruse in Wellington, Ohio, on former Trump aide and GOP candidate Max Miller: “‘I Can Tell You He’s a Great Guy’”

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images