Dems add chairs to the leadership table

Presented by National Retail Federation: A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news

Nov 22, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus Presented by National Retail Federation With a hand from Nicholas Wu House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) emerge from a House Democratic Caucus meeting. (J. Scott Applewhite) | AP LEADERSHIP MUSICAL CHAIRS — Pull up a chair. And if you can't find one, House Democrats might create one for you — if it's going to save internal caucus strife. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) is running to lead the Democrats' messaging arm in the next Congress and is letting go of his bid for caucus chairmanship. That will leave Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) on track to lead the caucus next year. Neguse is currently one of four co-chairs of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), but he's running for a bigger role. There's a proposal to change internal caucus rules to restructure its leadership to create a lone chair position that Neguse is pursuing. We've seen the DPCC have the "chair of chairs" structure before, but they scrapped it for the current Congress. The elevated position is seen as a consolation for Neguse, whose move allows the top three House Democrats to run unopposed. The DPCC is expected to rise in prominence in the coming years, with the exit of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) from leadership. The outgoing speaker kept a tight grip on caucus messaging decisions, which Democrats privately said had the impact of diminishing the role of the DPCC. That sometimes left the group somewhat adrift, which could lead to internal divisions and a struggle to find a singular voice. What's new is old, and new again: Neguse is not the first member who's had a position essentially created for him. In 2011, the assistant Democratic leader position was created to avoid a clash between Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), who were both vying for the Minority Whip position. Clyburn is making a new bid for assistant Democratic leader, the same role he assumed in 2011, this time with the endorsement of his old friend Hoyer. What did Shirley Chisholm say? "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." Some of the most politically vulnerable House Democrats are floating a new leadership position that would represent the interests of frontline members — a "Battleground Leadership Representative," according to a letter dated Nov. 20 to Democratic colleagues obtained by POLITICO. "For our Caucus to be best positioned to compete cycle-after-cycle, win in the most competitive districts across the country, and ultimately regain and maintain a majority, our Caucus needs the direct Battleground Member perspective in the room where our Caucus agenda is steered and where key decisions are made," the letter says. The creation of the position could require the whole Democratic caucus to approve a rules change.   A message from National Retail Federation: The INFORM Consumers Act is a bipartisan solution to stop organized retail crime. It's supported by retailers, law enforcement organizations and consumer advocates alike. It's time for Congress to pass the INFORM Consumers Act — this year — and help keep our communities safe. Learn more here.   GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, November 22, where we wish you good luck with any holiday travel. SCHEDULING NOTE: Huddle will be off Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday. But will return to your inbox on Nov. 28. AND THEN THERE WERE TWO — Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) won reelection last night after defeating Democratic state Assemblyman Rudy Salas . The victory means that of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump, two have hung on to return to Congress: Valadao and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) . GOP DIVIDE ON UKRAINE — Republicans who attended the Halifax International Security Forum, an annual pro-democracy conference, tried to tamp down the divisions within their party over continued U.S. military and economic assistance to Ukraine. The divide is in the spotlight as Congress is likely to try to combine a new tranche of aid with the must-pass year-end government funding bill. Lawmakers in Nova Scotia tell Andrew they expect to move significantly more than the $38 billion the Biden administration requested for Ukraine. "There are some very loud voices over there," said Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview, referring to conservatives who oppose more assistance for Kyiv. "It doesn't worry me as much as you wish it wasn't there … If we were on the other side of this, they'd be pounding the table saying, 'Send more money to Ukraine.'" Republicans most closely aligned with former President Donald Trump have been beating a more isolationist drum. "Is Ukraine now the 51st state of the United States of America? And what position does Zelenskyy have in our government?" Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) asked sarcastically just a day before the Halifax conference kicked off. Uncertainty over how a very narrow House GOP majority might approach future funding, Democrats and many Republicans are motivated to frontload U.S. funding during the lame duck session, bracing for opposition in the new Congress.   POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP .     Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) at the 2021 Met Gala in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola) | Getty Images MALONEY'S MET BALL MESS — Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is in hot water over allegedly soliciting invitations to the glitzy Met Gala in violation of House Rules. The House Ethics Committee is digging into allegations that Maloney sought out an invitation for herself after being cut from the invite list in 2016, with a personal call to a former president of the Met, Emily Rafferty. "She is unhappy to say the least that she is not receiving an invitation to the Party of the Year," wrote Rafferty in an email. Maloney's attorneys say her attendance at the Met Gala "was appropriate and complied with all applicable House gift rules, laws, and regulations. In addition, Chairwoman Maloney did not impermissibly solicit an invitation to these events." Proceed to the exit: Don't expect any dramatic conclusion to this. The House Ethics Committee is usually eager to let inquiries into outgoing members of Congress fizzle out. Maloney lost a bruising member-on-member primary race to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) . But but but… That redistricting that forced the Maloney/Nadler faceoff? Maloney's chief attempted to have the lines drawn to ensure that the Metropolitan Museum of Art be included in a potential new district represented by Maloney. Our own Nicholas breaks down the case against Maloney . Nicholas Fandos from Maloney's hometown paper, The New York Times, also unpacked the Met madness: How Carolyn Maloney's Ticket to the Met Gala Led to an Ethics Inquiry HAVANA NIGHTS — For the first time in more than three years, lawmakers are wrapping up a trip to Cuba. A bipartisan CODEL from the House Agriculture Committee finishing a trip to the island nation to examine agriculture and food supply, meet with farmers and local officials. The trip is led by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and includes Reps. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). The trio are looking to "discuss where opportunities for mutual economic benefit may exist for American businesses and the Cuban people." Even with the fraught relationship with Cuba,the U.S. is one of the island's largest suppliers of agricultural imports.   A message from National Retail Federation:   LINE OF DUTY — The Capitol Police are backing a decision by the Department of Justice to designate the death by suicide of Capitol Police officer Howie Liebengood following the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol as a "line of duty" death. Nicholas has more from USCP, Liebengood's family and Sen. Tim Kaine on the decision . PLEDGING PRAYERS — GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is promising to start every session of the House under the new Republican majority with both a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. That won't be a hard promise to keep — it is already how the House starts every session. Check out the prayers in the House Chaplain's archive . QUICK LINKS  Listen: The end of the Pelosi era , Paul Kane talks to WaPo's Post Reports podcast Opinion: Rep. Steny Hoyer, a model leader in Congress, steps down but not out , from The Washington Post's Editorial Board Twitter reinstates Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account , from Tia Mitchell, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution TRANSITIONS  Jenna Valle-Riestera is now a spokesperson at the Treasury Department. She previously was press secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Brooke Nethercott is now comms director for Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.). She previously was a senior consultant at FTI Consulting. Caitlin Carroll is joining Powell Tate as a senior VP. She previously was comms director for Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). Adam Carasso is joining Corning Incorporated's government relations team as a director. Carasso most recently was senior tax and economic adviser for Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).   GO INSIDE THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO is featuring a special edition of our "Future Pulse" newsletter at the 2022 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit from Dec. 6 to 8. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of health industry leaders and innovators solving the biggest global health issues to ensure a healthier, more resilient future for all. SUBSCRIBE TODAY TO RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE .     TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9:30 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 5:30 p.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL A quiet one. TRIVIA MONDAY'S WINNER: Matthew Brown correctly answered that there are four physicians currently serving in the Senate: Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). TODAY'S QUESTION from Matthew: In honor of it being cider season, which president started each day by drinking a hard cider? 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 National Retail Federation: According to NRF's National Retail Security Survey, retailers reported an average 26.5% increase in organized retail crime last year alone. Retailers, consumer advocates and law enforcement organizations agree: Congress should pass the INFORM Consumers Act this year. This bipartisan bill will make it tougher for criminals to sell stolen goods online, while ensuring honest small businesses can use ecommerce to reach customers. Learn more here.     Follow us

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