A Squadster stares down an ouster

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Jun 21, 2024 View in browser   By Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz Presented by  With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) could be the first member of the "Squad" to be ousted in a primary. | AP BOWMAN WATCH Days before Election Day, things aren’t looking good for Jamaal Bowman. The House Democrat is getting massively outspent and is underwater in the polls in his race against Westchester County Executive George Latimer. He’s in danger of being the first member of the progressive “Squad” to lose a primary. But he’s getting some backup this weekend from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who are scheduled to rally with him in the Bronx. It’s set to be a test of Latimer’s local political clout and massive outside spending against the progressive star power of Bowman, who got to office by ousting a powerful incumbent. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of next Tuesday’s primary matchup … Progressives vs. AIPAC: The bulk of the roughly $27 million spent on the race so far has been to attack Bowman and boost Latimer. But leaders in the Congressional Progressive Caucus say they’re trying to help Bowman counter the onslaught with whatever resources they can provide. They’re publicly projecting confidence in Bowman, citing the race as one of their top incumbent protection priorities this year, even though the $140,000 spent by the CPC’s political action committee has been swamped by pro-Latimer groups. The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project, for instance, has spent 10 times as much. “We're 150 percent in for Jamaal Bowman,” said CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) in a brief interview. “We’re worried about the fact that AIPAC is spending enormous amounts of money to defeat him, going up with attack ads 24/7. This is their playbook. They want to take him out.” It’s more than a little bit personal for Jayapal: FEC filings released yesterday revealed what many progressives had long suspected — United Democracy Project had heavily contributed to two outside groups that had spent against her sister Susheela in the primary in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. Said Bowman in a statement, "As AIPAC's Republican megadonors have made this the most expensive House primary ever, it is clear now more than ever that this election is a fight for the soul of our democracy and Democratic Party: the many versus the money.” Foibles to the fore: This race has gotten personal, with Bowman dogged by personal controversies including his misdemeanor prosecution for triggering a Capitol fire alarm and accusations of antisemitism that he strongly denies. The amount of negative attention he’s attracted in his two terms has made him a ripe target in a deep-blue district. Just this week, Latimer’s campaign knocked Bowman for running an ad that falsely implied he had the endorsement of the New York Daily News. The endorsement had actually gone to Latimer, drawing a rebuke from the newspaper. On the other side, Bowman and his allies are seizing on Latimer’s sometimes cringe-y comments about race — accusing him of using “dog whistles,” for instance, when he referred to Bowman’s “ethnic advantage.” Latimer has denied any racist sentiment, and his campaign, in a lengthy statement to Inside Congress, played up his grassroots support and said “voters in the district know George and have seen his results, and they know Jamaal and have seen his dishonesty.” Eyes on St. Louis: Bowman won’t be the last “Squad” member to face a competitive primary this cycle. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) is facing similar headwinds in her quest for renomination on Aug. 6. Bush, like Bowman, has faced personal controversies, and United Democracy Project has already spent $1.7 million to boost her opponent Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney. Progressives’ fear is that a Bowman loss could turbocharge that group’s investment in that race, which is set to garner more attention regardless of Tuesday’s result in New York. Bush insists she’s not fazed. “The momentum that he is gaining in his own race — that just rolls my way,” Bush said when asked about her prospects amid Bowman’s struggles. “So now, we're good. Jamaal is going to be great. He is great.” — Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz  GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, June 21, where we’re not eating dog food, sorry.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     RINGWISS’ RULES CORNER Editor’s note: You might already be familiar with the X account @ringwiss. For the uninitiated, he’s a parliamentary savant who’s become a go-to resource for D.C. staffers thanks to his deep knowledge of congressional rules and history. (In real life, he's a 20-year-old economics student in England.) He’ll be sending Inside Congress occasional dispatches on parliamentary procedure. Here’s his first: The House has plenty of standing committees that deal with specific issues — and then there’s the so-called Committee of the Whole. True to its name, this committee includes the whole of the chamber’s membership, including non-voting members who are not “representatives” but rather delegates from non-state locations, like D.C. and U.S. territories such as Guam. The Committee of the Whole convenes to consider amendments to major bills. Under the House rules, any measure with tax or spending consequences should be considered in this committee. And when the Committee of the Whole votes, the non-voting members get to cast a vote as well. But what happens when the delegates’ votes make the difference in the result of a vote? For only the seventh time in history, that happened last week. The first vote on an amendment to the annual defense policy bill by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who proposed eliminating the Pentagon’s diversity, equality, and inclusion offices, ended in a 212–212 tie — which meant its rejection. Without the votes of non-voting members the outcome of the vote would have been reversed, which means the amendment had to get voted one to lol again, this time by the House after leaving the Committee of the Whole. On that second vote, Norman’s amendment was agreed to, 211–208. Why does this happen? Simply put, it resolves the constitutional concerns that come up when the votes of delegates who don’t represent states are decisive on a vote. — Ringwiss   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     PRIMARY PROBLEMS The cavalry is riding in to block a controversial Republican from winning a House seat in Colorado. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) spent the past week campaigning for Jeff Crank in the open 5th District ahead of Tuesday's high-stakes primaries in the state. Crank, a conservative commentator, faces state GOP chair Dave Williams. Williams has been the target of more than $2 million in ad spending from establishment outside groups who are desperate to keep him out of Congress. He came under fire this month for sending an email titled “God Hates Pride,” that described LGBTQ+ people as “godless groomers” and “creeps.” Banks, the GOP's current Senate nominee in Indiana, has a history in the district: He was Crank's campaign manager back in 2006, when he narrowly lost the primary to now-Rep. Doug Lamborn, who is retiring this year. — Ally Mutnick   A message from PhRMA: The 340B drug pricing program is supposed to help vulnerable patients access medicines at qualifying hospitals and clinics. It’s meant to be a safety net for those who really need it. So why is the 340B program padding profits for large hospitals, PBMs and chain pharmacies? Let’s fix 340B so it can help the patients that need it most. Let’s fix 340B.   HUDDLE HOTDISH Shout out to Jeff Merkley who worked the 6:30 a.m. pro forma in the Senate. We have to admit, this was pretty funny. Paris Hilton will be back on the Hill. Rep. Tony Gonzales, check your schedule. Sen. Rick Scott’s got some hurricane season reminders. We’re a fan of Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s baking.   A message from PhRMA:   QUICK LINKS  As November Nears, U.S. House Shifts Into High Lawmaking Gear — To Rename Post Offices, from Jonathan Nicholson in The Huffington Post A Trip to Israel Changed Jamaal Bowman’s World View — And Could Cost Him His Reelection, from Calder McHugh Inside the upstate NY House primary where Dems stand best chance of defeating GOP in November, from Bill Mahoney Anthony Fauci's Covid Text Messages Revealed, from Jason Leopold at Bloomberg Candidate accused of assaulting Jackson County GOP vice chair in clogged toilet fight, from Jonathan Shorman at the Kansas City Star Crypto crashes Capitol Hill’s stock ban talks, from Eleanor Mueller and Declan Harty Bob Good is already sowing doubt about his primary election and promising a recount, from Ally and Olivia   A message from PhRMA: Hospitals that participate in the 340B program contract with more than 33,000 pharmacies to dispense the program’s drug prescriptions. More than 40% of these pharmacies have financial ties to one of the three largest PBMs – CVS Health, Express Scripts and OptumRx. 340B hospitals and the PBM-owned pharmacies they contract with are profiting off discounted medicines while uninsured patients are left paying full price for their medicines. Let’s fix 340B so it better helps patients.   TRANSITIONS  Antonio White is now director of the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He previously was deputy assistant secretary for community engagement at the Treasury Department. Anna Connelly and Morgan Snyder are joining New Heights Communications. Connelly will be a senior associate and previously was a corporate reputation consultant at FTI Consulting. Snyder will be a comms manager and previously was deputy upstate press secretary for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trace Mitchell is joining Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) office as general counsel. He most recently was senior counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. Ankita Verma is now adviser for strategic comms for special envoy Abby Finkenauer at the State Department. She previously was deputy comms director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). MONDAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. MONDAY AROUND THE HILL Quiet. Trivia THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Michael Mayersohn was the first to correctly answer that Ira R. T. Smith under President William McKinley was the first head of what later became known as the Office of Presidential Correspondence. TODAY’S QUESTION, from our resident trivia expert Tyler Weyant: With soccer tournaments in Europe and North America dominating the sports scene, we’re thinking of Washington’s history with the beautiful game. How many matches did the Capital region host in the 1994 men’s World Cup and 1999 women’s World Cup combined? 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 us

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