Why the House and Senate GOP have switched places

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Feb 06, 2024 View in browser   By Daniella Diaz Presented by With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team In one chamber, a group of conservatives is bulldozing a bill that a fellow Republican helped write. But we mean the Senate this time, not the House. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images WELCOME TO BIZARRO CONGRESS Something odd is happening in the Capitol this week. In one chamber, a group of conservatives is bulldozing a bill that a fellow Republican helped write. But we mean the Senate this time, not the House. And across the Rotunda in the House, a group of more establishment and independent-minded Republicans is acting a lot like the Senate – slowing down an impeachment push by the right flank. It’s giving ‘Freaky Friday’: Have the two groups of congressional Republicans swapped political identities all of a sudden? GOP senators have often stayed true to their chamber’s more pragmatic tendencies in recent years, conscious that the legislative filibuster limits their ability to push legislation to the right. Yet when it comes to the sputtering border deal, the Freedom Caucus-esque conservatives in Mitch McConnell’s conference were more or less guiding the pushback. “The Senate Republican caucus is now the House Republican caucus, right?” a very frustrated Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the border deal’s chief negotiators, told reporters on Tuesday (using his party’s identifier, rather than the GOP “conference”). “There's nobody in charge. There's no ability to follow a plan,” Murphy added. Much like Speaker Mike Johnson (and Kevin McCarthy before him), McConnell is now facing an emboldened group of hardliners who even held a press conference on Tuesday to tout their leading role in killing the border-for-Ukraine negotiations. And much like House Republicans, GOP senators are now consumed by internal recriminations – largely focused on the fury that conservatives have aimed at Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a red-state conservative himself who helped shape the deal. Speaking of House Republicans: They’re still preparing to vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas before Wednesday. But it’s going to be a close one, thanks to a disparate handful of more establishment-aligned and retiring members who are openly skeptical of the effort. Not every fence-sitter or no vote on impeaching Mayorkas is a Senate-style pragmatist, to be clear. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who’s opposed, is an iconoclastic conservative who voted to oust McCarthy. Another no vote on impeachment, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), is a former Freedom Caucus member himself. But as the Mayorkas vote approaches, the list of potential defectors is growing to include more establishment and centrist names, including Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Maria Salazar (R-Fla.). It’s rare to see a House GOP leadership slowed down by opposition that’s not dominated by conservatives. And it’s a potential sign that Johnson will face more trouble getting any major legislation passed with just a three-seat majority. In fact, the speaker is now at risk of a few members from any corner of the conference rebelling against the majority of the majority. It’s almost like … a Senate filibuster. “It would be very embarrassing if House Republicans can’t do the most basic thing and hold the administration accountable” by recommending that the Senate boot Mayorkas, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said. (Reminder: The Democratic-controlled Senate plans to dispense with the impeachment, should it pass the House on Tuesday night.) Even when Johnson looks to Democrats for help, as he did on a standalone Israel aid package that’s coming to a vote tonight, he can’t count on a bailout from the opposing party. — Daniella Diaz, with assist from Jennifer Haberkorn  A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: New U.S. cancer diagnoses are expected to exceed 2 million for the first time in 2024. But by investing in the research of today, Congress can help prevent, detect and treat many of the cancers of tomorrow. Invest in cancer research at the NIH at no less than $47.7 billion, fund the NCI at least at $7.38 billion and increase funding for CDC cancer prevention programs to make time for precious moments. Learn more.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Feb. 6, where we are counting down for the weekend. APPROPRIATORS LEERY OF BORDER BILL IMPLOSION The implosion of the Senate’s $118 billion emergency border-and-foreign aid deal delivered a dose of bad news to the three negotiators and party leaders who pushed for it – but also to the Appropriations Committees. Why’s that? Congressional spending leaders are operating with very tight margins as they work on a government funding package that has any hope of passing before the March 1 and March 8 shutdown deadlines. With paltry extra cash to spread around, so the border pact could have beefed up lean budgets at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection … not to mention replaced Pentagon weapons transferred overseas and helped the Department of Health and Human Services assist unaccompanied migrant children. But all of that extra emergency money is now on the rocks. It’s leaving some on the Hill to privately wonder whether the absence of any emergency spending plan for national security could further burden a turbulent spending debate that really just got back on track. For the moment, top appropriators said they aren’t discussing a Plan B if the Senate’s border deal officially dies, including the possibility of attaching emergency cash to regular government funding. Doing so could bog them down, engendering more partisan opposition to a slate of spending bills already chock-full of potential policy pitfalls. And there’s little time to spare. “I view [regular and emergency spending] as separate at the moment, and that’s the way we’re trying to proceed,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), her party’s top appropriator in the House. “Let’s see where we go in the next couple days with the Senate. Certainly there will be conversations about, where do we go from here?” Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), who leads the House’s defense spending panel, agreed that “we can separate the two.” Calvert suggested that each foreign aid funding request, starting with Israel, should be pulled out individually from the Senate’s flailing bill so that lawmakers can “go through each one of them.” — Caitlin Emma   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.     JOHNSON’S EYEBROW-RAISING FUNDRAISING STOP Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his allies are on a mission for political revenge against the eight House Republicans who voted to oust him last fall. But it looks like Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t share the bad blood, at least when it comes to one of the “Gaetz Eight.” Johnson is expected to appear as a special guest at a Friday fundraiser benefiting Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), according to the lawmaker’s chief of staff, Michael Grider. Burchett, of course, joined Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and six other GOP lawmakers in voting to boot McCarthy from the speakership. Burchett’s district is just one stop Johnson is expected to make on his coming swing through Tennessee, where he plans to raise money for other members in the state's delegation. It’s quite the notable one, however, given the lingering animosity toward the “Gaetz Eight” among House Republicans who remain close to McCarthy. — Olivia Beavers   A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:   HUDDLE HOTDISH Derrick Van Orden and Darrell Issa gave the press corps sandwiches. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Jamie Raskin’s questions “stupid” during a committee hearing. QUICK LINKS  Trump is not immune from prosecution for bid to subvert the 2020 election, appeals court rules, from Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein Tensions flare in Trump world over Montana's GOP Senate primary, from Henry J. Gomez at NBC News TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are in session.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL 8:40 a.m. Chairman of the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group Congressman David Kustoff will host a press conference with the Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana and families of the Israeli hostages following the first meeting of the Parliamentary Friendship Group. (H-137) A message from The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Cancer takes away many things, but the most devastating is time. And while policies and federal research investment have helped avert 4 million cancer deaths since 1991, the fight against the country’s second most common cause of death is far from over. With over 611,000 deaths and 2 million diagnoses expected this year, there is still work to do in the fight against cancer. And that is where you come in. When Congress prioritizes ending cancer as we know it, for everyone, you literally make time for patients, loved ones, caregivers and everybody else affected by the 200 diseases known as cancer. By investing in the research of today, you’re helping prevent, detect and treat many of the cancers of tomorrow, creating countless moments for cancer patients and their loved ones in the process. Fight Cancer. Make Time.   TRIVIA MONDAY’S ANSWER: Joe Bookman correctly guessed that Herbert Hoover was the first president to write a biography of another president (Woodrow Wilson). TODAY’S QUESTION, from Joe: Who is the only person who married a future President and was ‘given away’ by a former President? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com. GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening. Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela.   Follow us

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