| | | | |  | | By Daniel Lippman | | | With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
|  Soon after Israel launched retaliatory strikes following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Rep. Summer Lee became one of the first lawmakers to urge a ceasefire. | Getty Images | PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off next week for the holidays but back to our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 2. LEE LIGHTS UP AIPAC Amid a brewing political firestorm sparked by the Israel-Hamas war, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) accused pro-Israel group AIPAC of “textbook racism” and being “an existential threat to the Black community” in private Facebook posts last month. Lee is a critic of the current Israeli government whom AIPAC targeted in last year’s elections and is planning to target next year, as well. Soon after Israel launched retaliatory strikes following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, she became one of the first lawmakers to urge a ceasefire, prompting criticism from some of her Facebook followers — one of whom told her that AIPAC was not supporting her for “blatant anti-Israel positions.” Responding to a comment, she wrote: “I understand that faces don't always matter to you and the Black community's needs definitely don't matter to you ... but what AIPAC does to me is textbook anti blackness.” In another post, she said: “AIPAC is not supporting those Black candidates to be supportive of their community’s needs if the only issue it cares about is their own. That’s textbook racism actually.” In mid-November, she posted a status update on her personal Facebook, sharing an article that said AIPAC was going after her and other members of the Squad, commenting: “Since no one else will say it, I will: AIPAC is an existential threat to the Black community and its right to self [determination].” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann called Lee’s statements “slanderous” and a “transparent attempt to hide her strident anti-Israel record.” He noted that AIPAC has strongly supported candidates of all races — including, in 2022, a majority of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses. "I stand by my assertion,” Lee told Huddle in a statement that called AIPAC "an existential threat to all of democracy.” “Any Republican-funded Super PAC that endorsed over 100 January 6-supporting Republicans who voted to overturn our election and shared a goal with a mob of armed white supremacists while spending $5 million in attack ads darkening my face and labeling me as a Trump/[Marjorie Taylor Greene] supporter in order to keep Black folks from showing up to vote … is racist,” she added. — Daniel Lippman
| | | | A message from Instagram: New federal legislation will give parents a say in teen app downloads.
According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more. | | | GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, Dec. 20, where Chuck Schumer wished a handful of reporters "Merry Christmas!" as he left the Capitol for 2023. NEXT PHASE OF THE SPY FIGHT? With House Republicans at loggerheads over how to reauthorize a controversial surveillance program, one Democratic senator is eager to pick up the baton. “I think the path forward may be clearer in the Senate than it is in the House,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Huddle when asked what comes next for the spy powers debate. A procedural vote last week that saw 65 senators support keeping a short-term extension in a larger defense bill amounted to a “test vote,” Warner said, showing broad bipartisan support for some version of the existing surveillance authority. A reminder: Congress this month gave itself until mid-April to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is meant to target foreigners abroad but has garnered scrutiny because of its ability to sweep in Americans. Worth watching: Warner, who is both a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team and the Intelligence Committee chair, is an influential voice inside his party. At the same time, we’ve noted, he has been outnumbered inside the Democratic caucus when it comes to some surveillance fights in recent years. Warner has been working behind the scenes with House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who has been battling civil libertarians in his own chamber who want relatively far-reaching changes to the program. If Warner can get his bill to the Senate floor, or convince his chamber’s leaders to include it in a separate must-pass bill, it could give intelligence community allies a leg up after Speaker Mike Johnson tried and failed to bring dueling proposals up for a vote last week. Some caveats: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) hasn’t weighed in on the matter, beyond pledging to negotiate a final bill. And Warner, stating the obvious, acknowledged he doesn’t control the floor, which is already facing a first-quarter traffic jam. When we raised the possibility of a Senate product preempting his own efforts, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Wednesday, “They can try, but Speaker Johnson still has to put it on the floor.” And then there’s the pushback from privacy advocates on and off Capitol Hill, who deeply oppose the House and Senate Intelligence proposals. Even if Schumer could be convinced to bring an Intelligence-spearheaded bill to the floor, those advocates believe they have an obvious path to a filibuster. The 35 opponents on last week’s test vote aren’t themselves enough to block or force changes to the bill, but the advocates and Senate aides we spoke with believe enough opposition will materialize now that it has been detached from the annual Pentagon policy bill. “I think we have proved at this point that there is a bipartisan coalition for real reform. … So I feel that we’re in good shape coming into the next year,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). — Jordain Carney
| | | | 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. | | | | | TRUMP BALLOT BOOT Republicans have blasted the Colorado Supreme Court decision barring Donald Trump from that state’s 2024 ballot as extreme judicial overreach, but Senate Democrats are taking a far more measured approach to the decision, which seems certain to reach the Supreme Court. “I haven't read it yet,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told a small group of reporters as he left the Capitol on Wednesday. “Before I comment, I want to read it.” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he wasn't surprised by the decision: "I assumed just based on the [constitutional] language that some court might say [he was disqualified],” he said in a brief interview. “I'm not surprised that one court said, ‘Hmm, that language seems pretty straightforward.’" Republicans struck an entirely different tone: “Voters should decide elections, not liberal, activist judges,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House Majority Whip, said on Fox News on Wednesday. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), meanwhile, told reporters that he hadn’t read the ruling. “But my gut instinct is, you got to let the people of the country decide.” — Anthony Adragna
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | EXCLUSIVE: DEMOCRATS WANT ANSWERS ON WATCHLIST A group of Democrats, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), demanded information from top Biden officials Wednesday on the federal database known as the “terror watchlist,” including what steps they are taking to address allegations of anti-Muslim discrimination surrounding its use. The letter, sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland and others, comes days before millions of Americans are expected to travel for the holidays. The senators specifically want answers from the agencies on the redress process and what agencies are doing to address potential discrimination during travel screening processes. “This year marks 20 years since the creation of the watchlist. Yet the same pervasive due process and civil rights critiques that were raised in the first years of the watchlist persist,” they wrote in the letter. “Meanwhile, even unclassified details surrounding how the system functions remain largely hidden from public view.” The letter is signed by Warren, as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). — Daniella Diaz
| | | | POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show. | | | | | | | | | The best photo caption maybe ever? QUICK LINKS GOP hardliners learn to love the Biden-McCarthy debt deal — as a weapon against Dems, from Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma Speaker Mike Johnson and daughter were profiled attending 'purity ball' in 2015 German TV news segment, from Will Steakin Horny on the Hill: Staffers React to the Sex Tape, from Sylvie McNamara at the Washingtonian A ‘chaotic’ January? Congress faces two shutdown deadlines with no action yet on spending, from Jennifer Shutt at States Newsroom
| | | | A message from Instagram: More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | TRANSITIONS Jonah Wendt is joining Advancing American Freedom, the nonprofit advocacy organization founded by former VP Mike Pence, as a policy adviser. He previously was a legislative staffer for Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). Joe Gilson is now director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation, where he will lead Farm Bill efforts. He most recently handled agriculture and energy policy for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and is a USDA alum. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate is out. THURSDAY AROUND THE HILL Nothing.
| | TUESDAY’S ANSWER: Kevin Diestelow correctly answered that former Speaker Joe Cannon was on the cover of Time's very first issue. TODAY’S QUESTION from Kevin: The only Revolutionary War “battle” fought within the city limits of Philadelphia was actually a riot fought between conservative and radical factions of the patriot cause. What was this battle that took place at the home of a future constitutional architect and Supreme Court justice? 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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