| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by the Flex Association | With helping hands from Andrew Desiderio, Nancy Vu and Nicholas Wu HERE COMES JUSTICE JACKSON — Jet fumes are thick in the air after the Senate reached agreement last night to expedite votes to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court today. The chamber votes on cloture at 11 a.m. on with a vote on final confirmation expected around 1:45 p.m., but that depends on exactly how much time senators want to debate Jackson's nomination. While Democrats could have confirmed Jackson on their own with yes votes from all 50 members of their caucus, three Republicans have pledged their support: Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah). "It will be a joyous day. Joyous for the Senate, joyous for the Supreme Court, joyous for America," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) said. Schumer's announcement of the time agreement means that Republicans agreed to speed up Jackson's confirmation – i.e. not using all of their post-cloture time – to allow senators to leave for the two-week recess. If all 30 hours of post-cloture time were used, the vote on final passage would have been Friday. Justice Stephen Breyer will not retire until the summer, but Democrats are now poised to achieve the ambitious goal they set when he announced his retirement: to confirm his successor before the Easter recess. Jackson will be the first Black woman on the nation's highest court and also the first justice with a public defender background. TRADE YA FOR NOTHING (NOT EVEN OIL) — A two-bill package of bills targeting Russia will move in the Senate today after days of negotiation slowed action on House-passed measures to codify the Biden administration's ban on Russian oil imports and end permanent normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. The trade relations bill would also reauthorize sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, that target human rights violations and corruption with asset freezes, visa bans and other penalties. "The legislation at issue is so important — it strikes directly at Putin and cuts off the lifeblood for his war machine and his autocracy," Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a lead negotiator, said on the Senate floor Wednesday night. Because the Senate made changes to the legislation to satisfy the objections from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over Magnitsky Act language, the package will have to go back to the House for further consideration. The senate language targets "gross" human rights violations, the original designation from the Trump-era executive order. The House had changed it to be "serious" human rights violations.
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GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, April 7, where you can drown your sorrow over the fox in ice cream (see Hotdish for more.)
SENATE APPROVES LEND-LEASE — One of the many reasons the permanent normal trade relations bill was held up was Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) insistence that the Senate also pass his legislation establishing a lend-lease program for Ukraine. Such an effort hasn't been triggered since World War II, and it would give the president expanded authority to swiftly and efficiently send weapons and other critical supplies to Ukraine without all of the bureaucratic red tape. Lend-lease was credited as a game-changer in the fight against Nazi Germany. Well, the Senate passed it unanimously on Thursday night for Ukraine. Here's the headline, from Andrew: "In the fight against Putin, Senate unanimously approves measure that once helped beat Hitler ." Resurrecting lend-lease is not only an extraordinary action on its own; it's also a recognition that Ukraine can actually win the fight against Russia, which is committing what many Western leaders have said are war crimes. Schumer went further Wednesday night than the White House has been willing to go, calling Russia's actions in Ukraine a genocide. "When we murder wantonly innocent civilians because of who they are, whether it be their religion, their race, or their nationality, that is genocide, and Mr. Putin is guilty of it," Schumer said on the floor. RESTAURANT RESCUE?— The House votes today on a $55 billion bill to help restaurants and other small businesses harmed by the covid pandemic, $42 billion of which would go toward increasing the Restaurant Revitalization Grant Program's funding. (The bill does not open the program to new applicants, instead it offers reconsideration for applicants who were denied or qualified when previous aid had run dry.) Worker support: The bill on the floor Thursday includes language added to allay House progressives' concerns about restaurant aid funds going to businesses committing wage theft. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) had raised the issue during House Democrats' caucus meeting on Tuesday morning. She didn't want funds to go to restaurants that didn't comply with Department of Labor protections and for the funds to go towards businesses' payrolls. Those provisions in turn have turned off Republicans, most of whom are expected to vote against the measure. FIRST IN HUDDLE: HINSON'S HAUL — Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), co-chair of the GOP's Young Guns program this cycle, raked in $950,000 in the first quarter of 2022. Hinson is sitting on $1.8 million cash on hand. "I'm blown away by the financial support our campaign continues to receive. Iowans want common sense leadership in Washington and they know that won't happen next year unless we win this race and take back the House," said Hinson in a statement to Huddle. TAKING STOCK — The debate over whether or not members of Congress should be allowed to trade individual stocks is heading to a hearing today at the Committee on House Administration. While there are an array of legislative proposals to ban the practice, the hearing is focused on examining existing regulations and weighing if more are warranted, if they should extend to spouses and dependent children and if top staff should also be included. The panel will hear testimony from law professors, the Congressional Research Service, the Project on Government Oversight, the CATO Institute and others. Speaking of House Administration… The committee will take up a resolution this morning that would allocate funding for committees . The increases for most panels are significantly smaller than the 21 percent increase touted by appropriators, with most committees getting just a 10 percent increase. Not enumerated in the measure are allocations for the House Select Committees on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Economic Disparity. Those panels are funded, but through a slightly different mechanism because they did not exist when the first allocations for the 117th Congress were laid out. | | | | A message from the Flex Association: Flex is a new trade association you should get to know. If you use transportation network and delivery network companies, you are part of an economic ecosystem that millions of drivers benefit from and many millions of customers depend on. Flex is a source for information and ideas and is an association that advocates for policies that help drivers, customers, and the economy thrive. Learn more. | | |
CONTEMPT — The House voted mostly along party lines last night to hold Trump social media manager Dan Scavino and former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro in contempt of Congress, Nicholas and Kyle report . Only two Republicans — Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — joined all Democrats in voting for the motion. The bigger question for the Capitol riot investigators is what the Justice Department is going to do with this latest referral. The House has now referred four people to the Justice Department for prosecution for defying the Jan. 6 committee's subpoenas.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has already been charged with two counts of contempt, but the Justice Department hasn't acted on the referral for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. The lack of action has caused some committee members to vent their frustration, but panel chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) all but shrugged. "Well I would hope they give it serious consideration," he told reporters after Wednesday evening's vote. "We've done all we can, and it's in their court." NOT FRETTING FETTERMAN— "Democrats barely even noticed John Fetterman was running for Senate in 2016. Six years later, they might not be able to stop him if they tried. The filibuster-hating, gym-shorts-wearing progressive lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania is the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic nomination in one of the country's most important Senate races. And Washington Democrats are doing nothing to slow him down by boosting his opponents, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and the centrist Rep. Conor Lamb," write Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein. | | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | |
PALIN, PRESUMPTION— Former Gov. Sarah Palin is just one of dozens of candidates running for the Alaskan House seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), but some on the Hill are already thinking about how she might fit into the House GOP.
"I think she's going to be a great candidate," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters this week. It's not clear where she would fit in yet. She's got a vote of confidence from McCarthy, and certain House firebrands also see her as a potential ally. She's already locked in an endorsement from the former president, who insulted and disparaged her 2008 running mate, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), up until and even after his death. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said: "I think it's great," about Palin's House bid. Will she endorse her? "Possibly? I think she's fantastic. I'm really glad she's running," she told Nancy Vu this week. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) already sees an ally in Palin: "There'll be two of us saying, 'Drill, baby, drill,'" she said. Meanwhile in the Senate, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has a wider lens on the race to replace her friend and colleague: "All I will say is there's 49 other people running in that race. You wouldn't know it, though," she said. RELATED: Sarah Palin's House candidacy causes GOP rift and reopens old wounds, from Manu Raju, Alex Rogers and Melanie Zanona at CNN | | |
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) joins members of UNITE HERE Local 23, which represents dining and cafeteria workers in the Senate and Capitol Visitor Center, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. | AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite |
DINING DEAL — Eighty-one Senate cafeteria workers who were given layoff notices by contractor Restaurant Associates last week are keeping their jobs after Democratic senators announced Wednesday that they had secured funding to keep the dining staff on payroll.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told a crowd of workers picketing outside the Senate that the Architect of the Capitol's office, which manages the chamber's food service contracts, will use $3.75 million from previously appropriated funds to prevent the layoffs that were set to go into effect last week. "Restaurant Associates cannot access the money except by keeping people on staff," Warren told reporters. Contract changes: The Restaurant Associates contract has been rife with problems for years, including $1 million in wage theft from Senate dining workers , and is set to expire in Dec. 2022. Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee which has oversight of the Architect of the Capitol, said Wednesday there are discussions underway with the Architect to overhaul the structure of the Restaurant Associates contract — shifting from the current fee-for-service model to something different that could be a better fit for the unusual rhythms of Capitol Hill. Order in: Warren said that in Wednesday's meeting with the Architect, there was no discussion of reopening Senate eateries that have been shuttered since the pandemic began, although the dozen lawmakers who rallied with workers agreed that reopening is a key step to maintain consistent work for the dining staff. Klobuchar said Senators and staff need to do their part, too. "We got to put our money where our mouth is with our members and our staff. We need to bring the staff back … the next thing is they've got to make sure that they're not going and ordering sushi from three blocks away or 15 bucks away. They've got to go right here and put their money where their mouth is," Klobuchar told the workers. SEE YOU AT HAPPY HOUR— The House Members Dining Room is open tonight for another happy hour. $6 drinks and appetizers included is a deal you won't find almost anywhere else. Stop by between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM — No, not because of how insane this week has been. We all scream for ice cream! Soft-serve ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, or swirl – with toppings) will be available soon in the Rayburn Subway. No, the Subway is not closing. It is just getting an ice cream machine as a neighbor. ALSO, THE FOX IS DEAD— And had rabies. What an emotional rollercoaster. QUICK LINKS Tim Ryan Struggles to Reach Ohio's Exhausted Majority, from The New York Times What's A Woman? GOP Senators Stumble On Their Own Question To Ketanji Brown Jackson, from Arthur Delaney and Jennifer Bendery at HuffPost (And here is Ted Cruz reenacting his interview with Arthur on the Senate floor) Paul Gosar to attend white nationalist social gathering on Hitler's birthday, from Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at The Arizona Mirror Torn from the pages of a thriller or disaster planning? ModCom takes on continuity of Congress, from Chris Cioffi at CQ Roll Call. TRANSITIONS Juven Jacob is now director of operations and scheduling for Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.). He previously was a professional staff member for the House Oversight Dems. | | | | A message from the Flex Association:   | | |
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House convenes at 9 a.m. The Senate convenes at 9:30 a.m. AROUND THE HILL 10:45 a.m. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds weekly press conference (Studio A). 12:30 p.m. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other GOP Senators hold a press conference on the Supreme Court nomination vote (Senate TV Studio). 12:30 p.m. Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) hold a press conference on stock trading by members of Congress and Senators (Studio A). | | |
WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Maddy Ravishankar correctly ID'd Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) as the only veterinarian in the current congress. (Fitting, for a Blue Dog.)
TODAY'S QUESTION from Maddy: Which president kept a pet alligator in a bathtub in the East Room of the White House? 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 the Flex Association: What is Flex? A new trade association made up of DoorDash, Gopuff, Grubhub, HopSkipDrive, Instacart, Lyft, Shipt, and Uber. We deliver facts, data and public policy ideas to inform the conversation on the app-based economy and workforce.
We are a voice for the millions of app-based drivers, consumers, and entrepreneurs who rely on our platforms. We advance commonsense policies that strengthen our transportation and delivery networks, improve safety, advance sustainability, and deliver equity and opportunity so all communities can thrive.
Our industry touches nearly every community across America. App-based platforms provide services that so many depend on, throughout the pandemic and day in, day out. We contribute nearly $350 billion to the economy. We provide flexible opportunities for tens of millions of Americans who want to earn on their own terms. And we continue to advocate for innovative policies to better serve drivers, customers, and the communities where we live and work. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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