What’s next for the Senate – and its Dem incumbents

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

Mar 12, 2024 View in browser   By Burgess Everett Presented by With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Democratic incumbents are making a late-game push for new accomplishments – and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a former campaign arm chief, seems game. | Francis Chung/POLITICO VULNERABLE SENATE DEMS DRAFT WISH LIST FOR SCHUMER In the runup to the 2022 midterm election, something crazy happened: Senate Democrats clinched a fistful of bipartisan bills, from microchips to clean energy to gun safety. That remarkably productive period undeniably boosted Senate Democratic incumbents heading into November. These days, things are different. The House is Republican-controlled and famously dysfunctional, so no one is expecting another pre-election extravaganza. Nonetheless, Democratic incumbents are making a late-game push for new accomplishments – and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a former campaign arm chief, seems game. Schumer vows that once Congress is done with its endless government funding saga (which could be as soon as next week), he will turn to that long-awaited list of bipartisan bills he told us he was eyeing last summer. He’s going to get a lot of input about what to put on the floor. In interviews this week, Democrats sketched out their top priorities: The House-passed tax deal; a rail safety bill responding to the disaster in East Palestine, Ohio; cannabis banking legislation, a new farm bill, a package of community health center funding and action to lower drug prices; and a new FAA bill. Some Democrats even want another try on the bipartisan border deal that Republicans blocked. “If Republicans play it straight, we can do immigration, we can do the RECOUP Act [on executive accountability]. We can do [cannabis] banking, we can do the rail bill … and tax,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), one of the party’s most vulnerable senators facing voters this fall. Brown added, with a friendly personal gibe, “If Republicans do it right, and you get another haircut, then we can do it.” (Note: This reporter did just get a haircut.) Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), another incumbent up for reelection this fall in a tough race, said “there’s no question” there’s a hunger to do more. But he and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who’s also in cycle this fall, both emphasized that the big laws from President Joe Biden’s first two years are still important to their constituents. Chief among those earlier Biden-era laws: the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which continues to give senators the chance to roll out funding for big local projects. Those announcements, politically speaking, have just as much pop as newly passed legislation would. For example, Baldwin teased that Biden will be in Milwaukee on Wednesday “to make a major announcement. It may be legislation that was passed years ago, but these are huge accomplishments.” Back to Schumer’s next phase of the Senate agenda: The question remains whether the GOP will go along or filibuster anything major that Democrats want to do, even if there’s a Republican cosponsor attached. Some Republicans wonder why they would cut a deal with Democrats now when they think they’re likely to take back the Senate and the White House this fall. “My sense is some people would like to delay this,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) of the tax deal. “I understand that position but I’d be in favor of doing it now.” He also advised Schumer to take a chance with the rail bill despite unclear GOP support: “Put it on the floor and make people go on record.” Given the tilt of the Senate map, Senate Republicans don’t have a ton of electoral incentive to pass legislation that helps Democrats in key states. Still, history is littered with the dashed hopes of lawmakers who blocked bills because they thought they could get a better deal later. Even so, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) – yep, another vulnerable incumbent – warned that whatever gets done is not going to be as transformative as the bills passed in 2022. “What we get done now isn’t about [going] to the people and saying ‘look what we've got done that's that big.’ That cake has already been baked,” Tester said. “This is just getting shit done that needs to get done.” — Burgess Everett   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CONVENIENCE STORES ARE RAISING COSTS FOR CONSUMERS: Corporate convenience store chains and their special interest allies are trying to trick Congress into believing that interchange rates on credit card transactions are increasing. The truth: it’s exactly the opposite. Over the last decade, mega-convenience stores have received billions of dollars due to the Durbin Amendment—but haven’t lowered prices for consumers as they promised. Learn more.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, March 12, where we hope you play Trivia today! (Scroll down for the question.) MENENDEZ WON’T ADDRESS REELECTION Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is staying mum on whether or not he’s running for re-election, despite a report last week that he didn’t plan to run again for his seat. When approached in the Senate basement on Tuesday, Menendez twice said he’s not doing interviews. That’s an about-face from last year, when he followed an indictment on federal bribery charges by spending weeks defending his actions and leaving the door open to a reelection bid. Menendez’s reported decision to not run for reelection — if true — would be welcome news to Democrats. The scandal-plagued senator has been a headache for his party’s leadership. If he ran again, he’d force Senate Democrats to have to choose between their default position of supporting incumbents versus supporting a primary challenger. There are already a handful of Democrats running for Menendez’s seat, including New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim. Menendez’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — Ursula Perano and Daniella Diaz MAYORKAS TRIAL STILL LINGERS OVER THE SENATE  Remember the House GOP’s oft-touted push to impeach the Homeland Security chief? It’s still in limbo. The House is expected to keep holding onto the articles of impeachment against Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas until after government funding is wrapped up, which could be another few weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. Until those articles are delivered to the Senate, no trial of Mayorkas can begin (and when it does, it is expected to get dispensed of quickly, with no conviction). The next government funding deadline is March 22; the Senate has a two-week recess scheduled after that. So while the Senate may be eager to move on to more amiable subjects — like Schumer’s long list of wants for the rest of this Congress — they’ll likely need to deal with the trial first. It’s still unclear whether Schumer would support a motion to dismiss the proceeding outright. But we reported last month that a number of Senate Democrats would. Asked if he had any updates on the trial, Schumer reiterated to reporters at his Tuesday press briefing that “there's no evidence that he's committed any impeachable activities that are core actions, and I think it's absurd.” — Ursula Perano, with an assist from Daniella Diaz   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.     MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE ON MIDDLETON: ‘I HOPE HER HEALTH IS GOOD’ The Katespiracy discourse has reached U.S. politics. Mike Rogers, the former House Intel chair who is now running for Senate in Michigan, said in an interview on the Michigan's Big Show radio program that he hopes the Princess of Wales’ “health is good” when asked about the royal family conspiracy theory that has taken over headlines. “I don’t know,” he said, laughing after being asked about it. “I hope her health is good. I’m sure that King Charles has some issues and I’m sure she is trying to work through some health issues. And they probably deserve as much privacy as you can have as a royal right now.” The remarks from Rogers come after Middleton, wife of the heir to the British throne Prince William, apologized Monday for the messy Photoshop of a photograph released over the weekend of her and her children. Royal watchers have questioned Middleton’s whereabouts and health after she has not been seen in public since spending two weeks in the hospital in January for abdominal surgery. — Daniella Diaz and Ursula Perano   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:   HUDDLE HOTDISH Here’s a look at the geographic spread of the phrase "deep state" in official congressional e-newsletters. Who do you think is taller?   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.      QUICK LINKS  Senate Dem says blocking weapons shipments ‘on the table’ if Israel invades Rafah, from Joe Gould and Alexander Ward A look at the demographics of the 118th Congress Rep. Gaetz, crusader against reckless spending, led the House in 2023 office expenses, from Keturah Hetrick at Legistorm White House expected to announce new aid package for Ukraine, from Lara Seligman TRANSITIONS  Emily Domenech is joining Boundary Stone Partners as SVP. She previously was a senior policy adviser for Speaker Mike Johnson and is a Kevin McCarthy and GOP Science Committee alum. Kota Mizutani is now a senior adviser for the White House Office of Public Engagement. He previously was the deputy communications director for House Education and the Workforce ranking member Bobby Scott (D-Va.). Keenan Hochschild is now an associate on DoorDash’s D.C. public affairs team. He previously worked on former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s comms team.   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: Despite vigorous lobbying attempts from corporate convenience store chains and their allies, the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill is deeply unpopular—among both Democrats and Republicans. Credit card routing mandates hurt small businesses by increasing costs, weakening payment security, harming small financial institutions, reducing access to credit for those who need it the most, and ending popular credit card rewards programs. THE CHOICE IS CLEAR: CONGRESS MUST OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL Learn more.   TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are in session. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL 11 a.m. Rep. Ted Lieu, as well as Sens. Michael Bennet and Richard Blumenthal and others will host a press conference on Ukraine. (House Triangle) 2 p.m. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ranking member Rick Larson and Rep. Donald Payne will host a Democratic roundtable called, "Listening to Rail Workers and Communities." (2167 RHOB) TRIVIA MONDAY’S ANSWER: The four presidents who delivered both a SOTU address and the response were Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden. TODAY’S QUESTION from the Congress team: Which current senator is a geologist? 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

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service