| | | | |  | | By Daniella Diaz | Presented by The Alzheimer's Association | With a hand from Nancy Vu and Nicholas Wu
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Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), a self-identified sneakerhead, is looking to loosen the dress code in the Speaker's Lobby. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | STOMP IT OVER — Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) wants sneakers allowed in the Speaker’s Lobby – and he’s going to keep talking about it until it happens. For Huddle readers unfamiliar with every nook and cranny of the Capitol – the Speaker’s Lobby is a beautiful and historic room off the House floor where members can take calls, read the paper or – most importantly for reporters – do a pull-aside interview. But unlike almost any other spot in the Capitol, the Speaker’s Lobby has a dress code that is heavily enforced by the sergeant at arms. Sneakers, for example, are not allowed in the Speaker’s Lobby. Depending on what you’re wearing, you won’t be able to walk in to chase members for a story you’re working on (or follow your boss if you are accompanying them for votes while rocking a pair of Jordans). Moskowitz, in an exclusive interview with Sam Stein and Nicholas, is trying to end that. The self-proclaimed sneakerhead, who you can spot on Capitol Hill wearing Jordans with his suits, sent a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other relevant parties requesting a meeting to discuss lifting the sneaker ban for reporters with an eye towards eventually doing the same for lawmakers. While your Huddle host will drop the veil of journalistic objectivity just this once to say she agrees with Moskowitz, the Florida lawmaker’s crusade to relax the footwear dress code got us thinking about the evolution of sartorial limits in the Speaker’s Lobby in recent years. Starting with: For decades, men were required to wear a tie and jacket to get into the Speaker’s Lobby and women were required to wear a dress or blouse with sleeves and closed-toe shoes. The attire had to be professional as well – closed toe shoes did not include sneakers – and men had to wear proper suits. But then … A CBS News report published in 2017 changed everything with the story of a female reporter who was “forced to improvise” because she was wearing a sleeveless dress at House votes. The report said “she ripped out pages from her notebook and stuffed them into her dress’s shoulder openings to create sleeves” but was turned away from the Speaker’s Lobby. It caused a movement on Capitol Hill. Reporters, lawmakers and their aides all questioned the uniform. And then in 2017, our playbook colleague Rachael Bade covered then-Speaker Paul Ryan asking his sergeant-at-arms to “modernize” the speaker’s lobby, which barred women from exposing their shoulders or toes. Now, Moskovitz sees himself on the verge of igniting a new Speaker’s Lobby revolution? Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who also wears sneakers daily, has changed that conversation. “We are at a tipping point,” Moskowitz said. “I don't know if we’re at a turning point. McCarthy and his age, and Hakeem and the good relationship they seem to have – it’s a conversation that can be had.” Huddle wants to hear from you: Do you think sneakers should be allowed in the Speaker’s Lobby? Email Daniella at ddiaz@politico.com with an argument for or against. Make your case and you might end up in an edition of Huddle next week.
| | | | 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 Friday, June 16, where we wish you a wonderful long weekend (your Huddle host has been to four weddings in the past three weekends so she will definitely be enjoying this one!) SEE YOU NEXT WEEK: Huddle will not publish Monday, in honor of Junteenth. We’ll return to your inboxes on Tuesday, July 20. DEM FROSH HEAD TO VP REZ — First in Huddle: Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a small group of freshman Democrats Thursday night at her residence for a private dinner, which was coordinated by Democratic freshman class president Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a longtime friend and ally of the vice president. Their friendship dates to her time as attorney general of California, a role in which she swore Garcia in during his first term as mayor of Long Beach, California. Garcia was an early endorser of Harris during her Senate and presidential runs and was also involved in the Biden-Harris campaign as a surrogate. JUNETEENTH FLASHBACK ― Just like Huddle on Monday, Congress will be out of session to observe Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S. A few lawmakers who opposed the establishment of the federal holiday in 2021 told Nancy that while they still stand behind their vote, they’ll still be taking the day off. “It is now a national holiday, like so many of these battles I’ve lost,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who was one of 14 Republicans to vote against the bill. “So yeah, we're closing our office and respecting the national holiday, respecting the law.” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who was the lone impediment in the Senate to passing the bill establishing the holiday before lifting his hold in June 2021, said that he still thinks it’s “odd that we celebrate a holiday by giving 2 million federal employees a day off.” Before lifting his hold, Johnson’s objection stemmed from the estimated $600 million cost of providing another paid holiday to federal employees – he’d previously suggested eliminating another federal holiday, such as Columbus Day, in exchange for the creation of another one. The proposal got little traction. When asked if Johnson would be taking the day off to celebrate the holiday: “Well, they gave us the day off.”
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: Medicare Access Restrictions: Only for Alzheimer’s? Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research have led to new FDA-approved treatments. But, for the first time ever, CMS blocked Medicare coverage to these treatments costing patients with a terminal disease time they will never get back. Now CMS insists on imposing unprecedented, unclear and unnecessary restrictions for coverage that are not required for any other FDA-approved drug. Medicare must be fair. Learn more. | | | HERE WE GO AGAIN — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is set to bring back her resolution censuring Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), this time with its language amended to mollify Republicans who voted to table it earlier this week, Nicholas reports. Twenty Republicans had joined most Democrats in voting to sink the measure on Wednesday, which also would have triggered an ethics investigation into Schiff over his leadership of the House Intelligence Committee’s probe into former President Donald Trump and a potential $16,000,000 fine if the probe found he committed transgressions. Some Republicans, like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), had blanched at the potential fine over its constitutional implications. Since then, a Luna spokesperson said the Florida lawmaker had removed the fine to address the concerns of Republicans who voted to table the measure and had “gotten excellent feedback so far.” A Schiff spokesperson referred to comments the California Democrat made to reporters after the Wednesday vote, where he said Luna was trying to distract from Trump’s legal troubles. The House could take it up again next week. Some Republicans, like Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), told Olivia they could support the censure resolution now that the fine was removed. “As a constitutional conservative, her revisions meet my concerns regarding Constitutionality,” Molinaro said. REDISTRICTING REDO — Democrats are still smarting from the 2022 redistricting process, which contributed to the narrow loss of their House majority. To win it back, they’re angling for a redo in several states. Nicholas and Ally Mutnick report that with Democrats' new liberal court majorities in New York and Wisconsin, some think they have a decent shot at redrawing congressional maps in their favor. NO SU VOTE — It doesn’t look like Labor Secretary hopeful Julie Su will get a vote next week in the Senate before the two-week July 4 recess, Burgess noted. The plan before recess is for the Senate to finish voting for Julie Rikelman’s nomination to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit as well as set up votes for the Chilean tax treaty and for Natasha C. Merle to be U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York. ICYMI: Biden world goes to the mat to get Julie Su confirmed, from Jennifer Haberkorn
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association:   | | | | | Sen. Mark Warner talks tuna melts with the Washingtonian … Never forget his tuna melt lockdown “cooking” video that definitely broke the internet. QUICK LINKS ‘Maybe they don’t exist’: Republicans question legitimacy of alleged audio recordings of Biden bribery scheme, from Annie Grayer and Sara Murray at CNN Krysten Sinema spends campaign cash on vacations, restaurants — and security services, from Lydia Moynihan at the New York Post
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO 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. | | | | | TRANSITIONS Emily L. Armstrong has been promoted to be director of constituent services for Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.). She most recently was a caseworker for Hayes. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 2 p.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL Quiet Friday!
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: Are Continued Restrictions for FDA-approved Alzheimer’s Treatments the Future of Medicare? For people living with Alzheimer’s, Medicare hasn’t been the “rock solid guarantee” President Biden has promised. For more than a year, CMS has blocked Medicare coverage to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments costing patients with a terminal disease time they will never get back. Now the agency is planning to continue unprecedented restrictions, saying they’ll provide coverage only through a registry — something Medicare has never before done for an FDA-approved drug. Yet with a deadline only weeks away, CMS has yet to explain the barriers patients will face or the steps doctors must take to prepare to deliver long-delayed treatment. Each day is crucial to someone living with early stage Alzheimer's when it comes to slowing the progression of this disease. Medicare must do better for beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s. | | | | | THURSDAY’S WINNER: Bruce Mehlman correctly guessed that the last time the Democratic and Republican – or Republican and Democratic – presidential candidates were not first and second in an election was in 1912. And the two states that left the incumbent president off the ballot were California and South Dakota. TODAY’S QUESTION from Bruce: Who were the first Presidents to ride in a train, car & airplane respectively… and in what years? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ddiaz@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Daniella on Twitter @DaniellaMicaela. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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