Caution: weekend work ahead

Presented by PhRMA: A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news

Aug 02, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus Presented by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to the U.S. Capitol Building on August 01, 2022 (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) | Getty Images | Getty Images WE'LL DO IT LIVE  — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is promising to bring the health care, tax and climate bill to the floor this week, even before the full package can be scrubbed. There could be some break-neck bill rewriting and text finalizing happening in real-time on the floor. (Cue: complaints about having time to read the bill.) "Our timeline has not changed, and I expect to bring this legislation to the floor to begin voting this week," Schumer said on the floor Monday. "We're excited and eager to pass this bill through the Senate as soon as we can." Weekend work: It also means putting any weekend plans on ice. Schumer has told his caucus to prepare to stay in through the weekend to finish up the package The bill isn't yet backed by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and there's no score yet from the Congressional Budget Office. The process of vetting Democrats' drug pricing provisions by the parliamentarian has taken more than a week (and is expected to continue into today). And after that, there's still the tax and climate portions to wrangle over. Staff on both sides of the aisle are expecting to have consecutive meetings with the parliamentarian through at least Wednesday and the Senate schedule has been adjusted to accommodate them. The chamber will convene at noon each day this week to make time for those parliamentary meetings each morning. A notice sent out about the floor schedule said that the fine-tooth-comb evaluation of the bill's compliance with Senate rules for budget reconciliation would "likely continue throughout consideration of the bill and could happen in real time." Marianne and Caitilin have more on the behind-the-scenes rollercoaster the Senate has strapped itself to: Dems dive into make-or-break week for their party-line vision RELATED: GOP eyes 2024 payback for Manchin's Dems-only deal , new from Burgess this morning PELOSI HEADS TO TAIWAN — Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to arrive in Taiwan Tuesday night, local time, which is likely mid-morning here in Washington. It will mark the highest-level trip in a quarter century by a U.S. government official to Taiwan, which is a self-governing island that China's Communist Party regards as a breakaway territory. The visit ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and China and prompted China's Foreign Ministry to warn the U.S. about potentially "disastrous consequences" for the visit. In recent days China's military has announced that it'll conduct a series of exercises in the waters near Taiwan.   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 Tuesday, August 2, where CHIPs is off to the White House, but we're still craving some dip. PRIMARY DAY — It's primary day in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas and Washington. Here are some races we're watching: Arizona Senate GOP: Former President Donald Trump has backed 35-year-old Blake Masters, who runs Peter Thiel's investment firm and is the president of Thiel's foundation. Theil has poured at least $15 million into Masters' campaign. The other Republicans in the race include Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire and businessman Jim Lamon. Missouri's double dip endorsement: The GOP Senate primary in Missouri has been tumultuous and Monday's incomprehensible endorsement from Trump only added to the chaos. The former president endorsed "ERIC" — the first name shared by two rival candidates: former governor Eric Greitens and state Attorney General Eric Schmitt. He's left it to voters to parse which Eric they want to support. But the Erics aren't it. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and Rep. Billy Long are also vying for the open Senate seat, but have been polling behind both Erics. Much more on the drama: Inside the wild Bedminster lobbying spree that led to Trump's double Missouri endorsement Impeachment litmus test: Of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection, three are on the ballot today: Reps. Peter Meijer of Michigan's 3rd District, Dan Newhouse of Washington's 4th District and Jamie Herrera-Beutler of Washington's 3rd District. Meijer faces a strong challenge from the Trump-backed John Gibbs, but Meijer has a massive financial advantage. (And Dems have boosted Gibbs , thinking he could be easier to beat in a general election). Herrera-Beutler and Newhouse both face Trump-backed challengers in their all-party primaries. Michigan members matchup: Democratic Reps. Haley Stevens and Andy Levin go head to head today after redistricting prompted Levin to abandon the redrawn version of his current seat to run against Stevens. "The matchup has turned into a proxy war between national political forces, with pro-Israel groups spending money in the race and national progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) coming in to stump for Levin," write Zach Montellaro, Ally Mutnick and Natalie Allison .   A message from PhRMA: In a moment of political desperation, Democrats are about to make a historic mistake that will devastate patients desperate for new cures. The bill saves the government $300 billion. But just $25 billion will go towards improving the Part D benefit. The rest goes to reducing the deficit and providing a windfall to insurers. Fewer new treatment options is a steep price to pay for a bill that doesn't do enough to make medicines more affordable.   BURN PIT PIVOT — "It will pass this week," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), McConnell's No. 2, said that at "some point this is going to pass and it will pass big." Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told POLITICO he would "expect it to pass." After tanking it last week, Republicans (many of whom have supported the bill in the past) are back on board with a bill to expand health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances while on active duty. Republicans say they blocked the bill because of concerns that it would allow certain funds to be used for programs unrelated to veterans' health care. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said it included what the retiring senator called a "budgetary gimmick." Toomey could get a vote on his amendment to the bill, but it isn't expected to have enough support to be adopted. Which will leave Republicans with the exact same bill they most of them voted to block last week and that initially passed the Senate in an 84-14 vote. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is on the Veterans Affairs Committee, maintains "There's no slush fund in this." More from Jordain and Anthony: Senate GOP backtracks after veterans bill firestorm   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 .     HUDDLE HOTDISH Tweeted and deleted… A staffer is out of a job in Rep. Chuy García's office (D-Ill.) after that tweet over the weekend that included a slur. Making a move… The Womens' Congressional Staff Association holds an event today focused on how members can make a leap on Capitol Hill to a new job. It will feature "hiring officials and congressional resource offices to discuss best practices to set yourself up for success in the job search and transition." Registration is still open . Chaotic, yet predictable?... Trump endorsed ERIC (without saying which one) in the Missouri Senate primary. But earlier in the day, Jacob Rubashkin from Inside Politics predicted it all: "The truly chaotic move here would be for Trump to just endorse 'Eric' and let the voters figure it out," he tweeted , hours before the announcement was made. Lunchtime picket… Senate cafeteria workers will be picketing outside Dirksen between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today to call for their union contract to be finalized. QUICK LINKS  Bill to declaw 'big cat' breeders heading to the Senate , from Mike Magner at CQ Roll Call TRANSITIONS  Charlotte Lawis now comms director for Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.). She previously was social media and comms coordinator for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Alexa Roth has been promoted to deputy chief of staff to Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.). Roth was most recently the Congressman's Director of Operations. Josh Shapiro is now a legislative correspondent for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). He was previously a staff assistant and scheduler in the office. "Judd Smith , a senior Republican staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee who was instrumental in drafting legislation to rein in tech giants, is leaving to take a job as a lobbyist for Amazon Web Services, according to two people briefed on the matter," writes Josh Sisco . Matt Corridoni is taking over the DCCC Midwest press desk through Election Day. He most recently has been comms director for Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), a job to which he'll return full time after the midterms. Jasmine Shoureh is now press and digital coordinator for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). She previously was press assistant for Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.).   A message from PhRMA:   TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 3 p.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at noon and a recess for weekly caucus lunches between 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences. TRIVIA MONDAY'S WINNER: Mitch Rablais correctly answered that Chief Justice William Howard Taft administered the oath of office to Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover (though he blundered through Hoover's). TODAY'S QUESTION from Mitch: Which Louisiana Senator was appointed to her seat by her husband – who was the Bayou State's Governor at the time? 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 PhRMA: What's missing from Democrats' price setting bill? Anything that could stop harmful practices by insurance companies and PBMs. Instead, Congress should : · Lower coinsurance for seniors in Part D · Address abusive insurance practices that block access to medicines · Require middlemen to share the savings directly with patients at the pharmacy     Follow us

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