| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With help from Andrew Desiderio MOVE ON, OR DOUBLE DOWN?— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is doubling down. When asked Monday night about his recent calls for primary challenges against two of his Democratic Caucus colleagues, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), he carried the same tune. It's "not my job to tell Arizona or West Virginia what to do but if the people in those states want new leadership, I'd be prepared to support them," Sanders said. When pushed on the possibility of alienating the two key moderate Democratic votes for key moments, Sander's downplayed that, saying: "They're big boys and big girls." But Burgess and Marianne report that this stance from Sanders is a lonely one, as the rest of the Democratic Caucus are desperately hoping to leave infighting behind and move on to unifying legislative efforts (and defending their tiny majority in the midterm elections). "The party needs to move on," said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). "We've got people talking about an election in '24? So, I don't get it," said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). Democrats need both Manchin and Sinema to drag any part of their agenda across the finish line in the Senate, whether it is salvaging the Build Back Better social spending and climate bill or confirming a new Supreme Court Justice. And those potential wins on the Senate floor are what many say are needed to convince voters that Democrats aren't in… disarray. Burgess and Marianne have more: Senate Dems back off Manchin and Sinema — except Bernie MISSION: COMPETITION —The House returns today and is laser focused on a bill focused on upping U.S. competition with China and attempting to address the inflation crisis and semiconductor shortages that have tripped up the American economy. The bill is at House Rules today before floor action later this week. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, February 1. Happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating!
SAY, WHAT ABOUT SPENDING? — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will meet with key appropriators today to discuss the ongoing (but slow going) negotiations towards a federal government spending deal. Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) told reporters Monday that despite the pressure of a Feb. 18 deadline, there's no deal yet on an omnibus spending package and it might not come together this week. "We're going to work day and night to bring a funding package together, avoid a shutdown and make sure Congress fulfills this basic duty to the American people," Schumer said in a Monday floor speech. SANCTIONS SIMMERING — The bipartisan gang working on a Russia sanctions bill is "finalizing a couple of elements" but is still hung up on two key provisions, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said Monday night. A day after saying the group was "on the one-yard line," Menendez said they're still trying to find an agreement on how to deal with Nord Stream 2 sanctions as well as the "pre-invasion" sanctions that Republicans have been pushing for. That's not necessarily a bad sign. Members of the group are already indicating publicly that they're willing to compromise. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who has favored the post-invasion approach when it comes to sanctions, said "Putin has already crossed a significant line that deserves some consequence" — a nod to the GOP position. We spoke with four of the eight members of the bipartisan gang, all of whom said there's an urgency to get something done ASAP. "I don't think we should kid ourselves to think we have a lot of time," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. "Putin could literally move any day that he decides." Of note… Cornyn told us last night that his bipartisan bill to set up a lend-lease program for Ukraine will likely be included in the final product. "That's not controversial," Cornyn said. "I think everybody supports that." This is a huge deal. A lend-lease program would allow the U.S. to send weapons, equipment and supplies to Ukraine with the promise of repayment at a later date. This hasn't been done since World War II. (Yes, you read that right.) HUDDLE EXCLUSIVE: BIPARTISAN BORDER MEETING — U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz will be on Capitol Hill today for an in-person bipartisan briefing on the southern border. Members expected to attend this afternoon's briefing include Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Susie Lee (D-Nev.). | | | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance: Nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries today choose Medicare Advantage. It's not hard to see why. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries save an average of $1,640 a year compared to fee-for-service Medicare, and a new Morning Consult poll shows 9 in 10 beneficiaries are satisfied with their coverage. Medicare Advantage – it's working. | | |
ELECTION REFORM, BUT IN CHUNKS — A bipartisan group of 16 senators met last night to work on elections reform and changes to the Electoral Count Act. They broke into sub-groups to focus on more bite-size pieces of the effort. According to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the groups include the ECA, presidential transitions and contingent elections, protection of election workers and officials, voting practices and rights and the Election Assistance Commission and Help America Vote Act (HAVA) security grants. Timing: Manchina and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the groups are working on their specific issues this week and then the whole group will meet again virtually on Friday for a status update. It isn't yet clear when there might be an agreement or a final product.
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The Big Board hits the small screen… Eric Flannery, owner of The Big Board on H St. NE, was on Fox News last night talking with Laura Ingraham about his bar losing their liquor license for defying the city's mask and vaccine mandates for restaurant workers and patrons. He said that the requirement that servers be masked at all times while patrons unmask to eat and drink makes them "second class citizens." He touted his ten years of military service and that his bar hasn't catered to one political persuasion or another over the years, bringing people together. "I never thought that in the capital city of the United States of America it would be controversial to open up a bar where everybody is welcome," he told Fox News.
Recipes and restaurants… The Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA) will be highlighting members' favorite Lunar New Year recipes and AANHPI-owned restaurants in the DMV area on their social media accounts. Your Huddle host can't wait to see some staffers favorites. Nothing but the best … Metro has received a "Gold Standard Award" for transit security from the Transportation Security Administration, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority announced in a statement. There's a joke somewhere in here about inflation and the gold standard… | | | | DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | |
QUICK LINKS
Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children under 5 could be available by the end of February, people with knowledge say, from The Washington Post Sinema's grassroots donor pool dries up, from Hailey Fuchs TRANSITIONS Dena Baron Smith is joining bipartisan government relations and communications firm Invariant after serving on the professional staff of the House Appropriations Committee for 24 years. Owen Kilmer is now comms director for Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). He most recently was comms director for Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), and is a Doug Jones alum. Katie Teleky is now legislative director for Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). She most recently was a counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Jill O'Brien is joining the Alliance for Health Policy as assistant director of policy. She previously was health policy adviser for Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.). Marisa Aleguas is now special assistant in the office of the assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services. She most recently was scheduler and executive assistant for Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.). Mariana Perera, the current Scheduler in Rep. Eric Swalwell's (D-Calif.) office, is leaving DC to complete a Fulbright research grant in Brazil. She is being replaced by Karina Gallardo, who previously served as Scheduler in Rep. Anthony Brown's (D-Md.) office. Chris Dalton is now communications director for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). She was previously press secretary for the Ohio Democrat. Anna Yelverton is now deputy legislative director for Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). She most recently was energy and environment legislative assistant for Coons. | | | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance:   | | |
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House convenes at 2 p.m. with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 10:15 a.m. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the nominations of Shalanda Young to be Office of Management and Budget director and Nani Coloretti to be OMB deputy director (342 Dirksen). 11:30 a.m. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) hold a press conference on health care for post-9/11 veterans exposed to toxic materials (Senate TV Studio). 12:30 p.m. Senators hold their weekly caucus lunches from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., followed by separate press conferences from Democratic and Republican leadership 2:30 p.m. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo testifies at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on expanding broadband programs. (Dirksen 192) | | |
MONDAY'S WINNER: Tommy Brown correctly answered that there are 28 corinthian columns in the House's Hall of Columns.
TODAY'S QUESTION from Tommy: Five current U.S. Senators were born in a foreign country. Name them! Bonus points if you can list the countries. The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus | | | | A message from Better Medicare Alliance: Medicare Advantage works for more than 28 million Americans – whether they're living on a fixed income, or in an underserved neighborhood. It's health care the way it should be – high-quality, coordinated, accessible, and affordable.
According to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult, 9 out of 10 seniors are satisfied with their Medicare Advantage, and research shows Medicare Advantage beneficiaries save an average of $1,640 a year. Medicare Advantage – it's working. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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