Senate preps to bend time on debt deal

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Jun 01, 2023 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus and Daniella Diaz With an assist from Jordain Carney, Nancy Vu DEBT CLOCK — There are FIVE DAYS (including today) until the earliest possible federal default, according to the Treasury Department’s most recent projection. The House finished its business with the debt limit deal Wednesday night, clearing it 314-117 with a cross-section of Republicans and Democrats backing the deal. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is claiming victory and avoiding — for now — a challenge to his speakership. Sarah and Olivia unpack how McCarthy got it done. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) got started early on the debt limit deal, attending the House vote where he hung out with Republicans voting against the bill. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP MOVING ON — Now over to the Senate. While they had limited involvement in crafting the debt limit deal, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will now try to strike a deal of their own on timing and amendments. Once the House passed the bill last night, Schumer put it on the Senate’s calendar so that his chamber can start moving on the bill today. He can file cloture on the debt limit package as soon as today. “There's been a very good vote in the House. I hope we can move the bill quickly here in the Senate, and bring it to the President's desk as soon as possible,” Schumer said. But “as soon as possible” takes teamwork in the Senate. Any individual senator can drag out consideration of a bill for nearly a week and it takes all 100 members to agree to fast-track legislation. McConnell said Wednesday that he hopes that Schumer will agree to allow some amendment votes in exchange for votes in favor of a timing agreement to get the bill on that fast track. “I can tell you what I hope happens is that those who have amendments, if given votes, will yield back time so that we can finish this Thursday or Friday and soothe the country and soothe the markets,” McConnell told reporters. But so far Schumer has not publicly agreed to allow amendments, or counted them out. He did issue a warning: "We can't send anything back to the House. That would risk default." But that still leaves the door open for the Senate to consider amendments from senators who would otherwise hold up the bill (more on that below), if their proposals were almost guaranteed to not get enough votes to be adopted. Essentially, let the naysayers blow off steam with their long-shot proposals and then move onto passing the bill. They say magic can happen in the Senate on Thursdays. Here’re the senators we’re watching today: Rand Paul: The Kentucky Republican wants a vote on an alternative debt ceiling proposal that would raise the debt limit for a shorter time span while imposing hundreds of billions in budget cuts. He said he won’t hold up the time agreement as long as he gets a vote on his amendment, admitting his amendment won’t pass but insisting people need to see it get a vote.  Mike Lee: The Utah Republican railed against the bill on the Senate floor Wednesday night, calling the debt limit agreement “a fake response to burdensome debt” that is “born out of cowardly fear of confrontation & lack of conviction.” But also said he sees "no reason to hold it up" if he gets votes on his amendments. He has a half dozen amendments in mind, but may only demand a vote on one.  Tim Kaine: The Virginia Democrat is furious about the inclusion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline – which would cut through parts of his home state – in the debt limit proposal. “It’s extremely frustrating because there could have been other vehicles to do it,” Kaine said Wednesday. “It doesn't have to go into the debt ceiling.” He is also furious with the White House: “They don't even bother to pick up the phone and call me. Have I made them mad? No, I'm the one they call to try to get cabinet secretaries.”  We’re also keeping an eye on any amendments cooking on defense spending. McConnell called the defense caps “the worst part of the deal” but it’s others, like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) who may want changes. But some defense-minded Democrats are also unhappy with defense caps, so leaders want to make sure that any defense amendments don’t get enough votes to send the bill back to the House. Prog rock: Why the left held its fire on no-win debt deal, from Burgess, Holly Otterbein and Nicholas The firm no-vote Democrats: Bernie Sanders (who caucuses with Democrats), Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey The no vote Republicans: Sens. Tim Scott, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, J.D. Vance, Mike Braun, and Rick Scott.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.     GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, June 1, where we’re packing our snacks and heading to the Senate for the rest of the debt limit saga. DEAL OR NO DEAL? — Both Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and McCarthy have denied making a side deal to boost earmarks to Democratic districts in exchange for enough Democratic votes to clear the debt ceiling bill through the House. Jordan, Nick and Sarah reported that the talk of the deal had faded out by Wednesday afternoon, but stiffer denials were offered later in the evening. “We saved House Republicans from their extreme wing and made sure legislation to avoid a default survived an effort to take it down. There was no side deal. House Democrats simply did the right thing and made sure the procedural vote passed because failure was not an option,” Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson said Wednesday night. STUDENT LOAN BILL ON TAP IN SENATE — The Senate will vote today on passage of a Republican-led bill that would block President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan. The measure cleared a procedural hurdle Wednesday 51-46, with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) joining Republicans to move forward on the measure. If the measure clears the Senate today, Biden has committed to vetoing it. Don’t miss this piece from POLITICO’s Michael Stratford on what is next on this front. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his key negotiators Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Garret Graves (R-La.) took a victory lap Wednesday night. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP I HOPE YOU HAD THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE — Something unpredictable, but in the end it (passes the House), I hope you had the time of your life. Key negotiators of the debt limit deal reminisced Wednesday about some of the lighter moments of getting the deal done: Gumbo wars:  Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) and OMB Director Shalanda Young ribbed each other over the official cuisine of their shared home state: Gumbo. Graves said Young “conceded” in the debate over who made the stew better. And he offered some advice to gumbo-making aspirants: If the roux is bad, your gumbo will be bad. “It really depends on what it is you're making if you want to have a dark roux, or you want to have like a golden roux,” he added. Gym friends: Graves was asked about his relationship with Young. He pointed to another point of connection: He sometimes works out with her dad. "I was able to use that leverage a little bit, having your dad calling her and taking her to the woodshed a couple of times whenever she was getting out of line." Bike ride: McCarthy previously disclosed that he and Graves had a meeting on a bike ride. Graves said when he showed the video to his son and another friend, the question was, “why were you guys riding so slow?”  “We were we were actually meeting while we were riding so. … I love doing stuff like that where you you combine things. I've gone running with other members of Congress and met on issues. Seth Moulton and I actually went running. Joe Kennedy and I used to do it. And just sit there and talk about issues while you're out there.” Sweet tooth: You might have heard a joke about how it is hard for McCarthy and Biden to joke because they are Irish but don’t drink. But the two men, according to McHenry, do share something in common: A sweet tooth. (McCarthy likes “desserts broadly,” according the North Carolina Republican. Biden’s weakness is well known — ice cream.) Both Graves and McHenry were gifted signed gavels by McCarthy on Wednesday night. McCarthy wrote “Patrick, you made history,” on the gavel. Jordain snapped a picture. CICILLINE SAYS SAYONARA — Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said his goodbyes in the House Wednesday night during the debt limit vote. He arrived toting his resignation letter and a “list of accomplishments,” which Olivia captured. Once he was on the floor, it was nearly non-stop hugs, handshakes and smooches as his Democratic colleagues bid him farewell. His resignation was effective at close of business last night. QUICK LINKS  Aide fired by George Santos says he got his job after sending money to Republican’s deputy, from Jake Offernhartz at The Associated Press Sen. Bob Menendez Met Businessman Under Scrutiny in Federal Probe, from Corinne Ramey, James Fanelli and Summer Said at The Wall Street Journal The Quirky Conservative Who Saved the Economy and McCarthy from Ben Jacobs for New York Magazine US Sen. Brian Schatz’s Subtle Push For More Psychedelic Research, from Nick Grube at the Honolulu Civil Beat Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez failed to pay property taxes on her NE Portland auto repair shop, from Shane Dixon Kavanaugh at The Oregonian TRANSITIONS  Former Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and former Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) are joining the Bipartisan Policy Center as executive fellows. Reagan Harrison joined Rep. John Joyce’s (R-Pa.) office as a legislative assistant handling the communications and technology portfolio on the Energy and Commerce Committee. She’s an alum of Rep. Scott Fitzgerald’s (R-Wis.) office.   GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.     TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 11 a.m for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. for consideration of the student loans CRA, with a passage vote at 12:15 p.m. AROUND THE HILL Quiet one waiting to see how debt shakes out in the Senate. TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Ben Wainer correctly answered that Rhode Island was the first of the original 13 colonies to declare independence from Britain and the last to sign the U.S. Constitution. TODAY’S QUESTION from Ben: Often framed in contrast to the liberal ‘Three Musketeers’, by what epithet were the four conservative justices on the Hughes Court known? 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 and Daneilla on Twitter @ktullymcmanus and @DaniellaMicaela   Follow us

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