WE HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS: A new (election) year, a new speaker, and now a new name for this newsletter! Starting on Jan. 8, this newsletter will become “Inside Congress” to align with our companion “Inside Congress Live” blog, which you should definitely check out if you haven’t yet. WHERE SPENDING DEALS STAND Congressional leaders had hoped to strike two major spending deals before lawmakers return next week. One has some signs of positive progress, but the other seems stuck. There’s a tight timeline for lawmakers to reach a deal on overall funding levels, with dual shutdown deadlines on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2. Then there are difficult negotiations on border security, which don’t have a strict timeline but have become inextricably tied to foreign aid, including Ukraine funding, which officials insist is needed ASAP to help the country in its war with Russia. Plus, it’s entirely possible lawmakers could combine a supplemental package with the broader funding bill. The quick status update: People familiar with the talks on topline funding numbers report positive progress, saying there should be a deal “soon” — a fairly amorphous term that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll come together this week. Border talks seem to be in worse shape, with negotiators now saying they hope to have a proposal ready next week. We’ll get into more specifics on both. Let’s start with the supplemental: Senate negotiators met in person Tuesday for the first time since the chamber left for the holidays. Sen. Chris Murphy, the lead Democratic negotiator, sounded a pessimistic note, saying they have “passed the deadline” for a deal. Senators had hoped to come to an agreement in December; now chief negotiators say they’re aiming to have something they can present to rank-and-file senators next week, when the Senate reconvenes. “We put some really serious proposals on the table. And I hope that at some point, Republicans can take the offer that we've all been working on together in the room for a long time,” Murphy told reporters after the meeting with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). Sticking points: The negotiations remain pretty opaque at the moment, with both parties generally agreeing on raising standards for asylum but continued dissent on interior enforcement, new expulsion authorities and parole. More meetings are planned Wednesday and throughout the week. “More judges, more lawyers to actually adjudicate these cases faster. Those are the areas of easy agreement … how many people get asylum a year? What are the ways that you apply? How is that adjudicated more efficiently? Those are really complex questions that I know they're wrestling with,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) told reporters earlier Tuesday. What’s at stake: Just last night, a “seething” Russian President Vladimir Putin battered Kyiv and Kharkiv with missiles and drones, killing at least four people and injuring 92 more. And a group of senators will travel to the Middle East this week and plan to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. About government funding: An accord on overall spending levels is within reach, a person familiar with the private negotiations told us this afternoon. Representatives for Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer continue to hash out a potential deal, which is critical to move forward on passing any spending bills. An agreement could come together “soon,” and it would include no cuts to defense and lower non-defense spending levels than those set under the bipartisan debt deal, the person added. Of course, the old adage “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” always applies. With whiffs of a final funding deal in the air, conservatives outside the room aren’t staying quiet. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Tuesday afternoon fired off a “Dear Colleague” letter with a clear demand for Republican leadership: Refuse to fund the bulk of the federal government until the conservative-favored border security bill H.R. 2, “or its functional equivalent,” is law. The Texas Republican also announced in the letter that he would not attend Johnson’s border visit to Roy’s home state Wednesday, saying people are “tired of meetings, speeches and press conferences.” — Burgess Everett, Jennifer Scholtes and Daniella Diaz, with an assist from Jordain Carney GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Jan. 2, where we wish you a Happy New Year! JOHNSON STEPS INTO THE RACE TO REPLACE SANTOS House GOP leadership is hosting a D.C. fundraiser next week for their hopeful successor to ousted Republican Rep. George Santos. Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), and other House Republican leaders are joining the Long Island GOP congressional delegation to host a fundraiser on Jan. 10 for Mazi Melesa Pilip. The Nassau County legislator and retired Israel Defense Forces soldier is running in the Feb. 13 special election for the New York seat. The race is expected to be competitive, with former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi running. Losing the race would be a major blow to the speaker and his allies, who are already struggling with an incredibly thin majority. The minimum donation required to attend the fundraiser is $1,000 to the PAC and $500 to a personal campaign account. The buy-in for top hosts of the event is a $5,000 contribution to a PAC, or $3,300 to a personal account. Some of the hosts include Santos' most ardent critics before his historic expulsion, like New York GOP Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota. — Olivia Beavers ANOTHER TYPE OF SENATE RESOLUTION For at least six senators, this year is their last shebang. And while Congress’ gridlock is painting a gloomy forecast for the next few months, those lawmakers are still holding out hope for their priorities. We asked senators who aren’t running for reelection for their New Year’s legislative resolutions.
- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said — surprise! — permitting reform. His previous attempts to tackle the issue have stalled. But Manchin also said he’s hoping to pass a bill that would create a bicameral fiscal commission to tackle the national debt, which he introduced with fellow retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) wants to pass a five-year authorization of the farm bill. That’s also not exactly a shocker: Stabenow is chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and she pointed out that it’s the “third one I’m leading in the Senate.” She also has efforts around home health care and mental health she’d like to tackle.
- Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) has quite the lofty agenda, everything from affordable housing to telehealth efforts. But as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, Cardin said he wants to work toward “peace in the world.” He cited items like continuing support for Ukraine and working with his colleagues to find a “constructive way for peace in the Middle East.”
- Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), the newest senator to the chamber after the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), said she wants to focus on work that supports the country’s young people, including “mental health, housing affordability and economic opportunity.” She added in a statement to POLITICO that she wants to “create space for future generations of leaders,” noting that she’s “one of the few parents of school-age children in the chamber.”
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) — who was adamant that he is NOT retiring, but merely leaving the Senate — pointed toward the list of priorities he detailed in his original retirement speech. That included ensuring the Internal Revenue Service is well resourced, bolstering economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific and funding school-based mental health services. In that speech, Carper also said he wants to find “a bipartisan path forward on permitting legislation.” (Someone ring Manchin!)
POLITICO could not reach Romney, the one other retiring senator. But if we had to guess — aside from the debt commission bill with Manchin — it seems like Romney wants to get something done on China. He has introduced two bills this term on the issue, and the subject fits with his role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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