Jordan vs. the power of the pursekeepers

Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition: An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Oct 17, 2023 View in browser   By Daniella Diaz and Caitlin Emma Presented by With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Several of the holdouts are senior appropriators who have clashed with Jim Jordan over discretionary spending cuts and brinkmanship tactics. | AP JORDAN’S SLIPPING, SLIPPING, SLIPPING Rep. Jim Jordan is scrambling to regroup after falling 20 votes short in his bid for the gavel this afternoon. The Ohio Republican bled support from various House GOP factions, from swing-district frontliners to defense hawks to veteran appropriators. Jordan is vowing to stand for a second ballot, and he’s spent the past few hours behind closed doors inside the Capitol trying to assemble a coalition that could get him to 217. The House adjourned moments ago until 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the next vote is expected. Importantly, there appears to be a core group of lawmakers dead set on denying Jordan the speakership: Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) this afternoon asked acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to “immediately” reconvene the House for a second vote — one that would presumably show Jordan at a dead end. The request was quickly backed by GOP Reps. Kay Granger (Texas), Steve Womack (Ark.), Mike Simpson (Idaho), Don Bacon (Neb.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Jen Kiggans (Va.), John Rutherford (Fla.) and Jake Ellzey (Texas) — more than twice the number of Republicans needed to block Jordan. Revenge of the appropriators: If you noticed a thread connecting several of those holdouts, several are senior appropriators who have clashed with Jordan and like-minded conservative hardliners over discretionary spending cuts and brinkmanship tactics. Granger chairs the House Appropriations Committee, while Díaz-Balart, Simpson and Womack are “cardinals” who lead subcommittees. Panel members Rutherford, Ellzey and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) also opposed Jordan in the first round, while another cardinal, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), suggested he might not stick with Jordan on a second ballot. Díaz-Balart insisted that the appropriators hadn’t intentionally banded together to keep Jordan from clinching the gavel. “These are individuals making a choice,” he said. But they have been at the frontline of the frustrations over the hard right's confrontational tactics, which are at odds with the Appropriations Committee’s customary bipartisanship. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the panel’s top Democrat, said Granger is a “tough, seasoned appropriator” who doesn’t believe in the shutdown tactics embraced by Jordan. To head off a shutdown on Nov. 17, Jordan is pitching a long-term stopgap spending bill that would allow a 1 percent government funding cut to kick in on April 30, with the goal of extracting spending concessions from Democrats. “I do believe there's probably been great pressure on Congresswoman Granger and the other appropriators, but they know what needs to be done,” DeLauro said after the vote. “They know that you can't continue to have appropriations bills that are not bipartisan.” Driving the drama: Meanwhile, old rivalries appear to be creating fresh problems. Per a Jordan ally, Majority Leader Steve Scalise would not commit to helping Jordan win over the holdouts during a private meeting after today’s failed vote. A person close to Scalise, meanwhile, denied that version of events. “Steve has been the only candidate for speaker who said he would publicly support the nominee and he has and still will,” the person told Olivia. You’ll recall there were hard feelings on Team Scalise last week after Jordan appeared to shop short of pledging to back Scalise if he won the conference nomination for speaker. Jordan later offered to nominate Scalise on the floor, but the Louisianan’s allies say that offer came with a major catch. In any case, if Jordan pulls it out, it would make for a potentially explosive dynamic atop the House GOP. “It’s imperative that Republicans come together, stop attacking each other, and get back to work as soon as possible,” Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson, told Huddle in a statement. Meanwhile: As the process drags out, conversation is ramping up about temporarily strengthening McHenry’s powers in order to advance legislation. That would require passing a privileged resolution naming him speaker pro tempore for a specified period. McHenry said he is not interested in the role and not involved in any of these discussions, a person familiar with the acting speaker’s thinking told Huddle. The person added that McHenry is working to get Jordan elected speaker. Fun fact: The House went 99 years and 29 days between multiple-ballot speaker elections before McCarthy was elected in January. This time, it was 283 days. — Daniella Diaz and Caitlin Emma   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: Don’t Let Durbin-Marshall Steal YOUR Data: Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall introduced legislation allowing big-box retailers like Walmart and Target to process credit card transactions based solely on what is cheapest for them, disregarding YOUR data security. Durbin-Marshall would shift billions in consumer spending to higher-risk payment networks, weakening America’s payment system and putting consumers in a vulnerable position. Last year, Congress wisely rejected a similar Durbin-Marshall bill, and they must do so again.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Oct. 17 where corn watch is BACK, y’all. EXPULSION REPULSION Even with a shocking new charge looming over him, senators still aren’t planning to force Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) out. Days after prosecutors accused Menendez of acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is the only senator to call for Menendez’s expulsion. And the tally of calls for him to resign have remained mostly the same. “It's not going to happen,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said. Ousting Menendez, he explained, would require the Senate to “spend an immense amount of time on an expulsion resolution that probably won't succeed, when we have so much else that we have to do.” That’s in keeping with the Senate’s approach to Menendez so far. While more than half of the Senate Democratic Caucus has called on him to resign, they’ve left it at that. They’re not organizing to block him for reelection. And while he’s no longer chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, he still has a seat on that committee and others. Briefing book: One issue did nearly bring things to a head: a scheduled classified briefing tomorrow on the Israel-Hamas war. Said Fetterman, “If you're accused of being a foreign agent for a nation, like, say, Egypt, should you be attending a classified briefing on Israel tomorrow? I'm just asking for a friend.” As we reported earlier, Menendez sidestepped a confrontation, indicating he does not plan to attend. One senator’s support for Menendez did change Tuesday: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) became the first Senate Republican to call on Menendez to step down. But he, too, stopped short of calling for Menendez to be expelled. "That's really a question for the Democrats. I mean, they're in control here," Hawley said. "I want to hasten to add, he has every right to defend himself. He's entitled to due process, and I hope he's innocent. But I think the charges and the evidence — I haven't heard a lot of defense from him." — Ursula Perano, with an assist from Burgess Everett   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     SENATE SHUFFLE Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats have finalized their decision to fill several key committee seats left vacant by the death of former Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). According to people familiar with the moves, Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) will join the Appropriations Committee, Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) will join the Judiciary Committee and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) will join the Intelligence Committee. The Judiciary vacancy was especially critical to fill quickly: Democrats can only confirm party-line judges quickly with a real majority on the panel under the current Senate rules. The Senate still has to clear the reshuffle on the floor, a move that typically goes through unanimously. That could happen as soon as tonight. — Burgess Everett   PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW.       A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:   A photo is worth a thousand words. Boy math equals speaker’s math? If you have to explain the joke, it didn't land.   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CONGRESS: Don’t Let Durbin-Marshall Steal YOUR Data: Cyber-attacks against consumers are on the rise, with large retailers like Target falling victim to breaches that expose customer information to hackers and foreign countries. Now, mega-retailers like Walmart and Target want to leave you even more vulnerable to credit card cyber-attacks so they can pocket billions of dollars in additional profits. After Senator Dick Durbin passed similar routing mandates for debit cards in 2010, the fraud rate for debit cards increased by NEARLY 60%. A similar outcome for credit cards would likely cost OVER $6 BILLION in additional fraud and likely require passing much of the bill onto consumers. Last year, Congress wisely rejected a similar Durbin-Marshall bill, and they should do so again. Congress must protect consumers, preserve the integrity of the payment ecosystem, and reject this detrimental and unnecessary government intervention into the U.S. payment system.   QUICK LINKS  Matt Gaetz, now a well-known disruptor, honed his brash style in Florida, from Emily L. Mahoney from The Tampa Bay Times Bipartisan group of governors push Congress to help Israel, from Nick Reisman Rep. Dean Phillips misses filing deadline for Nevada's presidential primary, won't be on ballot, from Hunter Woodall and Ryan Faircloth at The Star Tribune TRANSITIONS  Anne Sokolov is now the executive director of the New Democrat Coalition in the House. She previously was the chief of staff for Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.) and is a Biden administration, Max Rose, Tim Ryan and Charlie Wilson alum. Nairka Treviño Müller is now director of Hispanic media for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. She previously was communications director for Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.). Elisabeth St. Onge is now the press secretary for Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). She was previously the press secretary and digital director for Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio). Matt Fisher is now communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. He most recently was press secretary for Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.). TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House is in at 11 a.m. for another speaker's vote. The Senate is in session. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) will host Las Vegas High School Mariachi Joya on Capitol Hill for Hispanic Heritage Month. 11 a.m. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Women for Gun Rights and others will host a news conference on upcoming gun rights legislation. (House Triangle) 12 p.m. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), as well as Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) will host a news conference to unveil new legislation to protect the nation's waters. (House Triangle) 12 p.m. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), along with Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), will host a news conference on the Better Care for Animals Act. (Senate Swamp) TRIVIA MONDAY’S ANSWER: Bruce Mehlman correctly answered that since 1946, the president’s party won seats in the midterms twice (1998 and 2002). TODAY’S QUESTION from Bruce: How many presidential election rematches have there been between major party candidates? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to huddletrivia@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each evening. Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela.   Follow us

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