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PRESENTED BY

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

THE TOP

Today is the six-month anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Here’s where things stand:

→ The two parties loathe each other as much as ever. Some Democrats believe Republicans threaten their physical safety, especially on the House side.

→ There are still mags outside the House doors. 

→ The National Guard has gone home, but there’s still some security fencing around the Capitol. That too is coming down soon.

→ There have been shouting matches in the halls of the Capitol. One House Democrat moved her office because she did not feel safe near a Republican.

→ Congress has not approved additional security funding for the Capitol complex. The nearly $2 billion package remains stalled in the Senate.

→ The U.S. Capitol Police is opening field offices in Florida and California to investigate threats to members of Congress. More offices may follow.

→ The House finally created a select committee last week to look into the attack after a proposal to establish a bipartisan commission was blocked by Republicans. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) will run it.

→ There have been several narrow reports on the attack, including a joint analysis by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Rules committees, but no systematic attempt to figure out what happened across the federal government and Congress that day. That’s what Thompson’s committee will try to achieve.

→ While more than 500 people have been arrested and charged in the incident, there’s also a concerted effort by some Republicans — including several lawmakers who were in the Capitol  on Jan. 6 — to downplay the incident or minimize the impact. One called it a “normal tourist visit.”

→ Federal law enforcement agencies are still looking for at least 300 more suspects. The person who planted pipe bombs outside the DNC and RNC headquarters has not been found.

→ Trump continues to falsely claim he won the November election, and lots of Republicans back him up.

INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMER

Problem Solvers endorses Senate bill

The Problem Solvers Caucus voted to endorse the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal and is urging the leadership to schedule an “expeditious, stand-alone vote” in the House. 

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) chair the 58-member Problem Solvers Caucus and their endorsement here is interesting. 

But the House probably won’t vote on the bipartisan bill without a vote on a larger reconciliation package, so we’ll have to see how that impacts the group’s endorsement.

Furthermore, we remain somewhat skeptical that a large number of Republicans will vote for the bipartisan bill if the GOP leadership is opposed. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has been circumspect in his opposition to the legislation, but he and most other Republicans are expected to ultimately oppose it.

The Problem Solvers worked closely with the Senate bipartisan group as they crafted the $1.2 trillion plan. Gottheimer and Fitzpatrick sat in on some of the Senate meetings, and some of the “G10” group that negotiated the deal have briefed the Problem Solvers on the bipartisan package.

THE CANVASS

A few more nuggets from our exclusive poll of senior staffers

Chew on these data points from The Canvass — a joint project with the Locust Street Group — during this slow July week:

→ 40% of senior aides we polled said that only a “hard” infrastructure bill will pass, and the American Families Plan and the full American Jobs Plan will be left by the wayside. 

→ 36% of staffers say there’s a 50-50 chance criminal justice reform passes. However, 34% say it’s likely and 28% say it’s unlikely. So it’s pretty evenly split three ways.

→ Defense lobbyists and pharmaceuticals/health product lobbyists are the most effective in lobbying Congress. The least effective lobbyists are from the electric utilities. 

We’ll be sending a special edition to our Premium members this week with a deep dive on the poll. Join now!

SNEAK PEEK

Swalwell dishes on Jan. 6 in new paperback

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) penned a book called “Endgame: Inside the Impeachments of Donald J. Trump.” It’s out in paperback today — it initially was released last June. Here is one interesting nugget for Punchbowl News readers about Swalwell’s experience during the second impeachment of Trump. 

“I was also given a lead that night: that we should reach out to Vice President Pence’s aide, Marc Short. Short was with Pence at the Capitol on January 6, my tipster told me, and could shed light on what Trump knew  vis-à-vis communications with Pence. I scrambled to get a cell phone number for Short. I found it and called him. He didn’t answer. I left a message.  He called back.  

“I was jolted. Was he going to help us? I asked. Nothing. ‘Hello? Marc? Hello?” He didn’t say anything. The other end of the line had gone dead.  I texted him, telling him that we were seeking his testimony and now had an opportunity to seek witnesses. Other lawyers on our team had been  in touch with lawyers connected to Short. They had been trying to connect  with him for weeks. We pressed late into Thursday evening. Short never got back to us.”

MOMENTS

10:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his intelligence briefing.

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

1 p.m.: Vice President Kamala Harris will leave Los Angeles for D.C.

1:15 p.m.: Biden will get briefed on Covid-19 and the vaccination process.

2:45 p.m.: Biden will speak about Covid-19.

CLIP FILE

NYT

→ “Far-Right Extremist Finds an Ally in an Arizona Congressman,” by Catie Edmondson 

→ “Juul Is Fighting to Keep Its E-Cigarettes on the U.S. Market,” by Sheila Kaplan

→ Column by Philip Atiba Goff and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.): “Congress Can’t End Police Violence, but There’s a Lot It Can Do”

WaPo

→ “In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump’s false election claims,” by Amy Gardner

→ “Hackers demand $70 million to unlock businesses hit by sprawling ransomware attack,” by Rachel Lerman and Gerrit De Vynck

WSJ

→ “Biden to Temper U.S. Use of Sanctions Weapons, Officials Say,” by Ian Talley

→ “U.S. Oil Prices Hit Six-Year High Amid OPEC Standoff,” by Joe Wallace

AP

→ “Hunt for Capitol attackers still on 6 months after Jan. 6,” by Alanna Durkin Richer and Michael Kunzelman

→ “Pope Francis eats breakfast, takes walk 2 days after surgery,” by Nicole Winfield

Politico

→ “Republicans weigh ‘cracking’ cities to doom Democrats,” by Ally Mutnick

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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images