TRUMP’S THIRD INDICTMENT Donald Trump has been indicted for a third time. This one is a result of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. The usual House Republicans are rushing to his defense and threatening a very specific (and somewhat wonky) retaliation against the Justice Department. More on that below. WARREN’S REPUBLICAN PARTNERS When you think of progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, bipartisan dealmaker might not be the description that immediately comes to mind. But the Massachusetts Democrat has a record of working with Republicans on less headline-grabbing legislation, and recently she’s upped her efforts to work with even the staunchest conservatives to pass bills regulating big tech, banks, the Federal Reserve and more. Why it matters: It’s a reflection of the reality of split government — if lawmakers want to tout results, they have to work with the opposing party. While Warren is expected to easily win reelection in her deep-blue state, she’s made no secret of the fact she has aspirations for the presidency, even if she’s not pursuing it in 2024. Real results to reign in less-than-popular corporations could boost her future support. Take her recent partnership with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The two introduced a bill to majorly police big tech, including huge brands like Facebook, Google and Amazon. It would require platforms that operate in the country to be owned by U.S. citizens or have a U.S. subsidiary. It would also give users of big tech platforms the ability to access their personal data and to know when that data is collected and processed. “As far as I know, there has never been an effort to rein in any monopolist or other powerful group that is taking advantage of consumers or putting our children at risk,” Warren told Huddle Tuesday. Though the Judiciary Committee has signed off on multiple other bills to regulate the tech industry, Warren argued bipartisan support on hers meant it might have a better shot on the floor — and Graham is a powerful Republican on the committee. “Once there’s a public vote, there will be many elected officials who will decide that they are with the American people and they will vote to support this bill,” Warren said. That’s just one example. Warren has also partnered up with some of Democrats’ least-liked Republicans: - Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on a bill to claw back compensation from executives of failed banks.
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on legislation that would require a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed inspector general to oversee both the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
- Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Graham on legislation to crack down on crypto money laundering.
“In order to overcome the armies of lawyers and lobbyists in Washington, it often takes a strong coalition to make meaningful change. I work hard at both building consensus inside the Senate and also making the direct case to the American people for Congress to act,” Warren told Huddle. |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, August 2, where we hope the folks in Canon 107 are OK! TICK TOCK: Government funding runs out in 59 days. WOULD HOUSE REPUBLICANS TRY THE HOLMAN RULE? Trump has been indicted for the third time, this time for his role in trying to reverse President Joe Biden’s 2020 win. The announcement has given extra juice to some Republicans who have considered using the so-called Holman Rule. What is that? The Holman Rule allows Congress to amend spending bills to target federal employees in certain ways: reducing their salaries, terminating workers or cutting specific programs. House Republicans “revived” the rule when they took over the chamber in January. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a major ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was quick to say she wants to push using the rule to defund the investigation when lawmakers return in September. And there were more who called to defund Smith’s investigation, including Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.). The politics: GOP lawmakers could try to defund the special investigation using the Holman Rule, but it would do little more than give Democrats political ammunition to use against Republicans in competitive districts. Even if it could pass the House (by no means a guarantee, with the GOP’s slim margin), it has no chance at Senate approval. Don't miss the reporting on the indictment from our team: Lawmakers quickly react to latest Trump indictment, from Lucy Hodgman | Key revelations, groundbreaking strategies and notable omissions in the new Trump indictment, from Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney | Trump’s new judge is a tough Jan. 6 sentencer — and has a history with him, from Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein | A very different indictment, from Playbook's Ryan Lizza, Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade THE ULTRA-RICH TIM SCOTT BACKERS Despite his relatively low polling, Sen. Tim Scott is one of the best-financed candidates in the Republican presidential field. And his super PAC’s numbers add another bullet point that suggests the South Carolina senator is pulling ahead of his back-of-the-pack opponents. Dig into the details: Trust in the Mission PAC — TIM PAC for short — raised $20 million between its inception in mid-May and the end of June, relying on a handful of wealthy donors to fund its operations. Our POLITICO colleagues have reported some of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ backers have been taking a closer look at Scott’s campaign. A quarter of the Scott PAC’s total came from a single donor. Why it matters: TIM PAC — and thus, these huge donors — has become a major factor in Scott’s campaign, pledging to spend $50 million in advertising through January to boost his bid. It’s already spent $35 million on ad reservations. Here’s a look at some of the biggest names putting their money behind the senator’s super PAC: - Benjamin Navarro donated $5 million, the biggest single donation aside from a cash transfer from the Opportunity Matters Action Fund, an allied Scott group. Navarro is the founder and chief executive officer of Sherman Financial Group, which owns Credit One Bank.
- George Dean Johnson donated $1 million to Scott’s super PAC. He is a former state representative in South Carolina. His daughter, Susanna Johnson Shannon, donated $500,000.
- Gregory Wendt, a partner at asset manager Capital Group, donated $500,000 to TIM PAC. An additional $250,000 came from the Wendt Family Trust.
- Former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam donated $300,000.
- The former Tennessee governor’s brother Jimmy Haslam, who co-owns the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, donated $50,000 to Scott’s super PAC. His wife, Susan Haslam donated another $25,000.
Also of note: Billionaire GOP megadonor Jeff Yass was also among the contributors to the Opportunity Matters Action Fund, giving $600,000 so far this year. Larry Ellison, the Silicon Valley billionaire and co-founder of Oracle, lavished cash on that fund last year but has not contributed to either TIM PAC or the action fund in 2023. The context: Like nearly every other candidate in the Republican primary field, Scott’s polling numbers have remained mired in the low-to-mid single digits, putting an extra onus on TIM PAC to bolster the senator’s White House bid. His PAC numbers are still trailing behind DeSantis, but we’re keeping an eye on it as donors start to feel skittish about the Florida governor’s chances at beating former President Donald Trump.
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