| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by the National Association of Manufacturers | ON YOUR MARKS — The race to August recess is upon us. Both chambers are trying to churn through legislative priorities in the coming days, with the House sprinting towards the exit after final votes this week and the Senate sticking around through August 5. (But the House could return early, depending on what happens with the Senate's drug pricing deal.) Buckle up for the ride. CHOMPING AT THE CHIPS — The Senate takes a procedural vote this evening that will determine the future of the bill that would pump $52 billion into the domestic semiconductor industry. Congress wants to boost U.S. competitiveness and reduce reliance on China for manufacturing key components of cars, appliances and the national security apparatus. It needs to clear the 60-vote cloture threshold before the chamber can move on to a final vote later this week. The measure got 64 votes to advance it forward last week, but that was before what's actually in the bill was finalized. The measure that's on the move now includes $100 billion in authorizations for the National Science Foundation and programs to support regional technology hubs. Democrats are grappling with the fact that the bill approves a major tax cut, but it isn't for parents grappling with the cost of having children or targeting climate change, which they've hoped to accomplish. It is instead a $24 billion credit for the semiconductor industry. Brian Faler has more on the tax tightrope . RELATED: Semiconductor bill unites Sanders, the right — in opposition , from Kevin Freking at The Associated Press | 
Sen. Tammy Baldwin talks to reporters after a private meeting with Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 2022. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | BALDWIN SEEKS "I DO's" ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY — Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) didn't anticipate that she'd have to lead a charge to find 10 Senate Republicans to codify same-sex marriage protections into law. A decade after becoming the first openly gay senator and seven years after the struck down restrictions on same-sex marriage in 2015, she thought it was settled. "I had not expected to be fighting to protect a right that's already been won in court," she told Burgess in an interview. And yet… She spent much of last week talking to more than 10 Republicans and continued her outreach this weekend trying to find colleagues across the aisle who might sign on. She's handed out cards with key points about the bill to on-the-fence GOP members. "I am talking to a lot of folks, but folks who I think want to get to yes," Baldwin said. Halfway there: Five Republican senators are signaling their support for same-sex marriage legislation. Five more are needed to break a filibuster. She's zeroing in on Republicans who have personal connections to the LGBTQ community, whether friends, family or staff members, who might be convinced to vote in favor of codifying marriage rights based on those personal relationships, according to people involved in the effort .
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today . | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, July 25, where if you need inspiration for this mid-summer sprint, check out some of the Team USA wins at the World Athletics Championships. SPLISH SPLASH — Democrats hope to move their slimmed-down party-line measure on drug pricing before August recess – but they're in a holding pattern, awaiting guidance from the Senate's parliamentarian. They are using the complex budget process known as reconciliation, which has its own set of rules that each provision must adhere to. They hope to clear the bill with a simple majority, circumventing the filibuster. But the authority to use that legislative tool runs out on Sept. 30. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that if the Senate can act soon, the House would return early from the August recess to pass the measure. They're in a rush as subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire this fall and the measure would extend those and prevent a major price hike. UKRAINE BRIEFING MIDWEEK — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has scheduled an all-Senators classified briefing on Ukraine on Wednesday afternoon. A weekend in Kyiv: A bipartisan House delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv Saturday as the Russian invasion approaches its fifth month. CODEL members included House Armed Services Committee chair Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Reps. Representatives Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) The group also visited Irpin and Bucha, where Russian forces have carried out atrocities against Ukrainian civilians. They were briefed on missile strikes that Russia launched against Ukraine in recent days, specifically targeting the port of Odessa. RELATED: Ukraine wants more 'game-changer' HIMARS. The U.S. says it's complicated , from Isabelle Khurshudyan, Karen DeYoung, Alex Horton and Karoun Demirjian at The Washington Post; 'The money is gone': Evacuated Ukrainians forced to return , from Cara Anna at The Associated Press
| | | | A message from the National Association of Manufacturers: Manufacturers are driving our economy and helping to rebuild supply chains amid record cost increases and historic worker shortages. But tax increases on manufacturers pending before Congress do nothing to bring down costs, solve the workforce crisis or promote energy security. Learn why the National Association of Manufacturers is urging Congress to reject higher taxes at https://nam.org/taxaction. | | | A SUMMER OF MCCARTHY DISCONTENT — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) redrawn district in California's Central Valley is redder than it was before, which you'd think would be a good fit for McCarthy, a Trump loyalist who is doing what he can to take control of the House in the midterms. But some of his constituents doubt his conservative credentials or think he's too entrenched in the Washington swamp. They call him "a snake" or "kind of a marshmallow." That's the peril of life in party leadership. But Jasper Goodman from the Los Angeles Times found that despite some disillusionment, "McCarthy can count on support from most of those who are distrustful of him — if only because they have nowhere else to go." More from Clovis, California: As Kevin McCarthy's California district gets redder, discontent brews on his right FINES, FINE AND FINAL — The House Ethics Committee almost always takes a look when their colleagues get arrested. Most recently they've closed their cursory look at the arrest of Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who was arrested June 30, 2022 in a demonstration for abortion rights outside the Capitol and Supreme Court. Chu told the Ethics panel that she'd be paying her $50 fine. The panel voted against looking into the matter further . More expected: There will be more of these predictable Ethics check-ins on lawmaker arrests in the coming weeks, after the arrest of 17 lawmakers last week who were protesting in front of the Supreme Court in support of abortion rights. Another demonstration the next day, calling for a union contract and improved stability for Senate dining workers included the arrest of Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.). SWING, BATTER, BATTER — There's baseball in the air, and we aren't talking about Big Papi being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Congressional Baseball Game is Thursday at Nationals Park. The weather will be hot, but the partisanship will be hotter. The game benefits Boys and Girls Clubs of America and The Washington Literacy Center. Buy your tickets here . Climate disruption: Climate activists are planning to try and disrupt the game, to air their dissatisfaction with the inaction on climate policy on Capitol Hill. More than a dozen climate groups plan to converge on the game to "shut it down." Orange fliers posted around the city say "If they don't deliver on climate, we won't let them play." Plus, the group Now or Never's website says : "We will not stand by, watching them play games while the world burns. Everything we love is at stake. Our safety, our future, our one and only home. It's time to leave everything on the field." Security at the game is already tight, given that the president and Congressional leaders usually make an appearance. (Remember Pelosi on the phone last year?) Security was tightened further after a gunman opened fire on GOP lawmakers at a baseball practice in 2017, seriously injuring GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
| | | | INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | IS UTAH SHAPING UP TO BE A RACE? — Deep-red Utah hasn't had a competitive Senate general election in many, many years. But with independent Evan McMullin trying to unseat Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), it's looking different this year. The Wall Street Journal's Natalie Andrews (a Utahn herself), writes : "Utah Republicans said Mr. McMullin hasn't spent significant time working political and donor circles. But some political watchers said the race could shape up to be a true contest for Lee, even as he remains a strong favorite." McMullin wants to be a swing vote in the Senate and says he'll eschew both the Dem and GOP caucuses. (Which would leave him lonely at lunchtime on Tuesdays, amiright?) That would be a different path than other Independent senators like Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont have taken. Both caucus with the Democrats. QUICK LINKS The education of Adam Kinzinger, from Paul Kane at The Washington Post Inside the GOP Freakout Over J.D. Vance's Senate Campaign , from Sam Brodey and Roger Sollenberger at The Daily Beast Inside the Pentagon slugfest over the future of the fleet , from Laura Seligman, Lee Hudson and Paul McLeary 'Nobody would choose this': A turnpike rest area and a van become home for one Maine family , from The Portland Press Herald
| | | | A message from the National Association of Manufacturers:   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with votes expected at 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL A quiet start to the week.
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FRIDAY'S WINNER: Frank McDougall correctly answered that there are 35 bathrooms in the White House.
TODAY'S QUESTION: Which president was once pulled over and ticketed for driving his horse-drawn coach dangerously fast in Washington, D.C.? 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 National Association of Manufacturers: The National Association of Manufacturers has led the charge against higher taxes on manufacturers. Undoing the progress achieved through tax reform—after which manufacturers kept their promises to raise wages and benefits, hire new workers and invest in their communities—would cost 1 million jobs in the first two years, according to NAM research. With Congress now considering proposals to raise taxes on manufacturers, the NAM is sending a clear message that higher taxes will do nothing to promote competitiveness or address rising costs and workforce shortages. Learn more at https://nam.org/taxaction. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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