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May 18, 2022
PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
Happy Wednesday morning.
The fallout from the dramatically redrawn New York congressional map has roiled the entire House Democratic Caucus this week, ensnaring Frontliners, progressives, party leaders, top staffers and political pros across D.C. and New York.
During an hours-long vote series in the House Tuesday night, that new map –and the tough choices it’s forcing on New York Democrats – dominated conversation on the chamber floor.
DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney is in the middle of everything. His decision to jump into a race against a junior Democratic incumbent has some members wondering privately whether he can serve effectively as campaign chair.
Reps. Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman — whose districts were overhauled by a judge-appointed special master — are the other players in the drama. The map is scheduled to be finalized on Friday.
Tensions are running so high that several members have approached Democratic leaders and said they’d call for Maloney to step down if he decides to go ahead and challenge Jones, a 35-year-old progressive. That would be a disaster for Democrats as they head into the heart of what’s going to be a very tough election cycle for them.
And we’re told House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries — the most powerful Democrat in the New York House delegation – and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark even approached Maloney, telling him he needed to address the situation with Jones and Bowman. Some New York Democrats are calling for a state delegation meeting to try to work out a deal.
Maloney’s move made for a very awkward caucus briefing at DCCC headquarters Tuesday, with many members privately fuming and waiting for him to address the “giant elephant in the room as he went all rah-rah about keeping the House,” as one lawmaker described it. We have much more on the DCCC briefing below, but Maloney didn’t discuss his announcement, we’re told.
This situation could get very sticky. Maloney has already exhausted any goodwill he had with many Frontliners, who have long been frustrated with him and feel like he doesn’t protect them from tough votes like previous DCCC chairs did. Now Maloney has several members of his own delegation – as well as progressives and other lawmakers in the broader caucus – fuming too.
We checked in with DCCC and sources close to Maloney. They made clear to us Maloney has no plans to step down as DCCC chair, even if he’s in a member-on-member primary while simultaneously leading Democrats’ efforts to hold onto their endangered majority.
“He has proven he can lead the DCCC without his own race interfering and he will continue to do so,” DCCC spokesman Chris Hayden said.
Maloney – who currently represents NY-18 – preemptively announced shortly after the new map was out on Monday that he would run in NY-17, where his home is located, even though he’s never represented the roughly 75% of the district that Jones currently represents.
Maloney’s decision caught everyone by surprise, including Jones, who was furious. Jones complained to anyone who would listen about the move. It’s especially sensitive because the DCCC chair – who sits at the leadership table – is bigfooting a first-term minority lawmaker.
Defenders of Maloney said Jones would be a better fit for the reworked NY-16, currently represented by Bowman. But if Jones does that, it could cause a huge split among progressives. Bowman – also in his first House term – is a member of the Squad. Jones is often described as “Squad adjacent.” Some Democrats also sent us unsolicited emails backing Maloney.
Jones – who was working the floor during Tuesday’s vote series – declined to comment.
Maloney defended his decision to run in the 17th District and potentially challenge Jones, instead of an open seat in the 18th District that would be slightly more competitive in the general election but has a significant chunk of Maloney’s current constituents.
“Look, I live in the district I’m running in. The voters can figure everything else out,” Maloney told us. “It’s a broken process, and it’s producing, obviously, broken results, but I think you’ll see these issues work themselves through.” Maloney said everyone should “calm down.”
Frontliners across the caucus were upset with Maloney’s handling of the situation, especially the fact that he didn’t inform Jones or Bowman of his decision to run in NY-17 before announcing it, according to Democrats.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team are standing behind Maloney. But the leadership has now been drawn into a nasty battle that is deeply dividing the caucus.
“This sort of pointless sniping is detrimental to our efforts to keep the majority,” one senior Democratic aide told us. “We have an extremely capable DCCC chair who has demonstrated he can walk and chew gum.”
This New York controversy comes as House Democrats are having a tough week overall. Party leaders have been unable to get the votes together for a Democratic messaging bill that would prevent oil companies from price gouging. The legislation, designed to blunt the political impact of high gas prices, has been a top request of vulnerable Democrats.
A few of the most high-profile progressive candidates lost during Tuesday primaries following a “tidal wave” of spending wave of spending by AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups, much to the chagrin of the left. And the Democratic plan to address the baby formula crisis is to basically hire some more staff at FDA, which isn’t making members that happy.
New York is a complete mess right now. Jeffries has been drawn out of his district and a host of Black and Hispanic lawmakers from across the city have found themselves with drastically different district lines. Furthermore, veteran Democratic Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler – who both chair committees with decades of service in the House – have been drawn into the same Manhattan-based district. That has the prospect of turning ugly as well.
–John Bresnahan, Heather Caygle and Jake Sherman
A new job at Punchbowl News
We have an announcement: We’re hiring. We’re looking for a reporter to cover how financial institutions and big players in finance operate in D.C.
Titans of finance – whether they be in the hedge fund world, cryptocurrency, private equity or big banks – have incredible sway in D.C. They’re increasingly cutting seven- and eight-figure campaign checks. They’re spending millions of dollars on lobbying, trying to shape legislation and public opinion. They have the ear of powerful committees and the Democratic and Republican leadership.
We want someone to cover the Power, People and Politics of this powerful niche.
Check out more details here and please email Jake or Heather if you’re interested – or know a reporter who might be a good fit. Our email address is [first name] [at] [punchbowl] [dot] [news].
PRESENTED BY PHRMA
Insurance companies and their PBMs threaten patients’ access to medications to make a profit. Tell Congress those savings belong to patients.
BOOK CLUB
First look: Ali Vitali’s new book
NBC News’ Ali Vitali has a new book out Aug. 23 on a particularly interesting topic: Why America has never elected a female president.
The book is called “Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House . . . Yet.” First of all, you should order it immediately right here. Vitali is a great reporter and a friend of Punchbowl News.
If you need more of a sales job, Vitali interviewed Hillary Clinton, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Carly Fiorina. Vitali was on the trail with many of these women, so she has a unique insight into this.
So, again, order this book.
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