Dems in Philly: Piano, painting and midterm planning

Presented by Better Medicare Alliance: A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news

Mar 11, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus Presented by IN THE NICK OF TIME — If you vote on an omnibus while the sun is up, is it even binding? Late last night, more than 25 hours before the funding deadline, the Senate cleared the $1.5 trillion bill that includes aid to Ukraine and federal funding through September. It now heads to the White House for President Joe Biden's signature — the first fresh spending levels since Donald Trump left office. Flashback Friday: The House took a late night vote on Wednesday to move the bill (but doesn't it feel like an eternity has passed since then?) The Senate bucked expectations that they might not meet the deadline and did not have to utilize the House-passed continuing resolution that would have given them more time to clear the more than 2,000 page bill. Burgess and Jennifer followed every twist, turn and amendment vote: Senate gives final OK to $1.5T government funding bill MEANWHILE IN PHILLY — Before they could bust a move with DJ Jazzy Jeff, House Democrats spent Thursday behind closed doors, digging into key issues including inflation, immigration and the climate crisis… along with a healthy dose of strategizing on how to convey their work to the American people ahead of the midterm elections. Today, they'll hear from President Joe Biden. There has been a lot of talk about executive action at the retreat, as House Democrats acknowledge the reality of their slim margin majority and the big stop sign that is the Senate. Members have been strategizing how to get more of their policy priorities moving with the help of the White House. Nicholas, Sarah and your Huddle host set up shop at the retreat and have lots more: House Dems try to keep it sunny in Philadelphia RELATED: Democrats Look for Bright Spots Ahead of Midterms at Philadelphia Retreat from Natalie Andrews and Eliza Collins at The Wall Street Journal, Bracing for Losses, Democrats Look to Biden for a Reset, from Annie Karni at The New York Times, Biden will address House Democrats as they plot midterm strategy in Philadelphia, from Steve Inskeep and Maura Liasson at NPR News   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.     GOOD MORNING FROM PHILADELPHIA! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, March 11, where if you like watching an hours-long stressful slog through the legislative process… might I recommend baseball? PAINTING OVER POLITICS— Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) gave Sarah a peek at his retreat masterpiece: a painting he did during a session focused on painting rather than politics. "Cocktails, Canvasses and Connections" was offered Thursday afternoon and Crow made the most of it. A Huddle Exclusive photo of the artist and his work: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and his work of art. | Sarah Ferris/POLITICO BEHIND THE SCENES — Months ago, House Democratic Caucus staff put together a 60-page spreadsheet checklist chronicling must-do list items if they were going to successfully pull off the first in-person retreat in years after shutdowns and pandemics scrapped a few in a row. Fast forward to this Tuesday when the first batch of staff descended into Philly and transformed a weird room in a maritime museum into a press filing center and a Hilton into a headquarters. They sweated it out on Wednesday, wondering if it would all be for naught. But bus captains packed a fleet with lawmakers and roused sleeping members after 2 a.m. when they arrived in the city of brotherly love. How were staff feeling Thursday night? There was laughter (delirium?) and careful deliberation to decide between going to see DJ Jazzy Jeff (and witness their bosses' dance moves) or getting some solid sleep for the first time in days. CHECKERED RECORD?— "The late GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn's widow is laying the groundwork to try to seek his old seat in Minnesota, according to multiple well-placed Republicans who are already raising alarms about her polarizing background," reports Olivia. THE RECAST POWER LIST — POLITICO's Recast, has named the 40 power players of 2021. From strategists to politicians, activists to influencers, they undeniably impacted the intersection of race, politics and policy. There are a lot of familiar names to Huddle readers on it, from Eugene Goodman to Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.). Photograph by Mamadi Doumbouya One duo nominated: California GOP Reps. Michelle Steel and Young Kim. They are the only Asian American Republicans with voting power in Congress — and they're forging their own path amid a spike in hate incidents against their community during the Covid-19 pandemic. You can explore the full list. HERE COMES THE HACK-A-THON— It's not every day that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) team up, but they both agree that Congress can harness technology and outside experts to improve Congress. They're co-hosting the fourth Congressional Hackathon on April 6. "All this change is an opportunity to rethink, rebuild, and improve the way our institutions use technology, including the United States Congress. This Hackathon will bring together a diverse group of experts to explore how we can best take advantage of these exciting new technologies," said Hoyer. Reminder that "many of the ideas that were developed during the three prior Congressional Hackathons have since been adopted by Congress," according to their announcement.   A message from Better Medicare Alliance: A record-setting 409 bipartisan members of the U.S. House and Senate — over 75% of Congress – sent letters to the Biden administration supporting Medicare Advantage coverage. Why? Because Medicare Advantage is delivering high-satisfaction, lower costs, and better outcomes for the over 28 million seniors it serves. Medicare Advantage – it's working.   HUDDLE HOTDISH Piano man… Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) was captured tickling the ivories at the House Democrats retreat, delighting his colleagues. Will calling from Bel-Air... Your Huddle host thought they knew the best C-SPAN moments, but was introduced to this absolute classic from 2015 last night at the Dem retreat. Must share in honor of the DJ Jazzy Jeff show. Sushi madness…Lines formed and reviews rolled in for the debut week of Rayburn sushi. CNN's Melanie Zanona has thoughts, and the top chef in the House has video. QUICK LINKS  Sen. Cruz rides with 'People's Convoy' truck to D.C. as Beltway protest enters fourth day, from Ellie Silverman, Karina Elwood, Dana Hedgpeth and Luz Lazo at The Washington Post Justice Department reports more than $8 billion in alleged fraud tied to federal coronavirus aid programs, from Tony Romm at The Washington Post   SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.     TRANSITIONS  Evan Hollander starts Monday as the executive director of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Hollander led communications for House Appropriations Committee Democrats the last four years, under chairs Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL Nothing cooking.   A message from Better Medicare Alliance:   TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: William Weidner correctly answered that Sens. Arlen Specter and Boeis Penrose were Pennsylvania's longest serving senators. Specter served for 30 years and Penrose served for 24 years. TODAY'S QUESTION from William:  Who was the first senate page? 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: Bipartisan consensus can sometimes seem elusive in Washington, but 409 members of the U.S. House and Senate proved it's still possible – coming together in record-setting numbers to declare bipartisan support for seniors' Medicare Advantage coverage. It's not hard to see why. More than 28 million beneficiaries choose Medicare Advantage today, giving it a 94% satisfaction rate, and 89% say it saves them money compared to other coverage options. With ongoing bipartisan support in Washington, Medicare Advantage will continue delivering lower costs and better outcomes to seniors today and in the future. Medicare Advantage – it's working.     Follow us

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