Johnson to GOP: Let Dems flail

An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Jul 09, 2024 View in browser   By Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Speaker Mike Johnson succinctly summed up his take on Tuesday: “It is not my preference to make headlines right now.” | AP GOP’S BIDEN FIGHT STRATEGY: STAY OUT OF IT House Democrats are in the middle of their biggest political crisis in years. Republican leaders have directed their members to sit on the sidelines and watch the food fight. What does that mean in practice? Republicans are definitely feeling validated after years after not only raising questions about President Joe Biden’s mental acuity, but also having a searing spotlight on their own internal divisions. They’ve giddily watched as, this time, the press bombards Democrats with questions about their party’s future. But, based on our conversations with half a dozen GOP lawmakers, including leadership, key chairs, centrists and members of the right flank, don’t expect that to translate into any real momentum for the long-stalled effort to impeach Biden. When asked how the implosion of Democratic drama impacts GOP talk of impeachment, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed to a variety of other legislative priorities Republicans are focusing on instead, including legislation to require proof of citizenship in order to vote in federal elections or a resolution that aims to challenge the Biden administration’s Title IX regulation related to women's sports. “This is one of the many issues you're gonna see in the election,” Scalise told us, adding that those bills took priority over impeachment. Of course, House Republicans are a difficult conference to keep entirely on message. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) has requested that White House physician Kevin O’Connor appear behind closed doors for a transcribed interview with committee counsel — a step some members of his panel had been clamoring for. And Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced a largely symbolic resolution calling on Vice President Kamala Harris and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment. Still, those efforts have gotten soft pushback from fellow Republicans. Some said the 25th Amendment issue is not their fight. Speaker Mike Johnson said he believed the 25th Amendment is “appropriate,” but added that “we know, and Chip knows, we all know that the House doesn’t have the authority to do that.” Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said he hadn’t had any discussions yet about holding a hearing or markup on Roy’s resolution, adding “that’s a question for the Cabinet, that’s not a question for the Congress.” And some argue why risk a lesser-known quantity running against former President Donald Trump when Biden appears at such a disadvantage. “I want to burn the bridge to the graceful exit for Joe Biden,” said one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “There's no reason for Republicans to root for what's behind door number two, when what's behind door number one is a nursing home patient.” Behind the scenes, every member of House GOP leadership is giving the same straightforward advice about how Republicans should handle Democrats’ ongoing internal drama, according to two sources in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday: “Stay out of their way.” And it’s not just leadership. Even members of the conference’s right flank believe Republicans should take a similar line. Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), asked if he wanted the House GOP to use their majority to weigh in, instead pointed back at Democrats: “I think the media, DNC conspiracy of silence is finally shattered. Let’s see what they do about it.” To the straying few: Comer indicated Tuesday that his intent is not to launch a sprawling investigation — instead making the White House doctor the sole focus of his questions. He’s not planning, for now, to hold public hearings. Asked about concerns that even a small investigation could distract from Democrats’ disarray, Comer acknowledged some of his fellow Republicans would grumble. “There’s always some Republicans that are critical of everything,” Comer said. Another thing that may pull away such attention: An internal party clash over Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) resolution to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt, or perhaps a pre-convention announcement on Trump’s pick for vice president. Johnson succinctly summed up his take on Tuesday: “It is not my preference to make headlines right now.” — Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers  GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, July 9, where we would like members to stop trying to give us a heat stroke.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     WHAT BIDEN’S BACKERS ARE SAYING Congressional Black Caucus members are steadfast in their support for President Joe Biden and plan to discuss a “path forward” for him during a meeting in just a few hours — when they could release a formal statement supporting the president, according to a person familiar with the planning. The CBC’s meeting comes amid loud support of Biden from caucus members after House Democrats’ first formal meeting since Biden’s poor debate performance more than a week ago. “I’m fired up, ready to go for Joe Biden,” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), a CBC member supporting Biden, said after the meeting. “The meeting was excellent, comments from everyone [were] well taken, and I'm proud to be a member of the Democratic Party.” Johnson was one of many Democrats who were supportive of Biden after a meeting many described as a “listening session.” “So [Jeffries] was listening to all the members who wanted to share, and I think the caucus is very supportive of the president, but recognizing that there are some challenges going ahead,” Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said Tuesday. "We've got a couple of challenges here. One is the timeframe, right, and the process. We've got to deal with that as well." Lynch, who supports Biden, said the majority of Democrats might be embracing Biden because “there’s not a role for Congress to play” as long as he is committed to running. "This is his choice, right?” Lynch added. “If the president decides that he wants to answer the bell for this one last campaign. I think every single member will be in his corner. Every single Democrat." — Mia McCarthy and Daniella Diaz, with Eugene Daniels    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.     TRUMP PROTECTIONS DEFEATED House conservative demands to thwart former President Donald Trump’s prosecutors with this year’s funding bills have been muzzled yet again. In a notably skewed vote, House appropriators rejected an amendment Tuesday that would block federal cash from funding Trump’s prosecution or that of any other presidential candidate ahead of Election Day. That’s another blow to conservative calls for Speaker Mike Johnson to use the spending measures to freeze out special counsel Jack Smith’s office, along with that of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Next stop for the Justice Department funding bill: The House floor, where this issue could complicate passage of an already contentious measure. It’s been five weeks since Johnson committed to using the funding process in a “three-pronged” strategy to “defend the integrity” of the U.S. criminal justice system following Trump’s felony conviction. That promise to “do everything within our scope of our responsibility” followed demands from House Freedom Caucus members and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan’s detailed proposal for specific policies that could be added to the bills. Yet House Republican appropriators debuted the spending measure last month without language to hamstring prosecution of a current or former president. And Tuesday, the Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) to that end. The tally is especially interesting. Just the right number of Republicans missed that committee vote to tank the amendment 25-26, after 30 Republicans voted just minutes earlier on a different amendment. There are two main ways House conservatives could try to win on this issue once the Commerce-Justice-Science bill comes to the floor, tentatively scheduled for the week of July 22. They could get the Rules Committee to tee up an amendment floor vote. Or they could demand leadership add the language directly to the bill, through the rule for floor debate. In past Congresses, leaders have used that method to delete and add language to funding bills when they didn’t like the way the committee process played out. — Jennifer Scholtes  HUDDLE HOTDISH House Democrats found creative ways to get around D.C. traffic. No shouting out anyone in the House gallery (even if it’s your spouse). Debbie Lesko learned the hard way. Democrats’ coaching staff for the Congressional Baseball Game must be salivating at this story. Patrick McHenry, capturing the mood of Republicans amid all the Biden divisions among Democrats, was smiling and waving to reporters when exiting the House floor: “Hi, I’m a Republican!” QUICK LINKS  House Dems’ ‘sad’ venting session yields no clear path forward on Biden’s future, from Sarah Ferris, Nicholas Wu, Adam Cancryn and Daniella Diaz Andy Kim says he has ‘concerns’ about Biden as Dem nominee, from Joey Fox in The New Jersey Globe The late Sen. Jim Inhofe made an indelible mark on the Senate, here’s a roundup of recommended reads on his passing: From his hometown Tulsa World, Former U.S. Sen. James Inhofe has died at 89; an inside-the-beltway look from Roll Call, James Inhofe, iconoclastic former senator from Oklahoma, dies at 89, TRANSITIONS  Leslie Martes is joining Forward Majority as chief strategy officer. She previously was VP of political and strategic initiatives at the DLCC. Andrew Peng is joining the Biden-Harris campaign as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander spokesperson. He was most recently comms adviser at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and co-founded the nonprofit newsroom The Yappie. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and the Senate are in session. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m.,  House Triangle: Reps. Jack Bergman, Lou Correa, Morgan Luttrell, Jimmy Panetta and others will host a press conference and display a powerful art installation at the U.S. Capitol to bring attention to the FDA to approve MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) for PTSD. 11 a.m., HVC Studio A: Assistant Leader Joe Neguse, Reps. Mark Takano, Mike Levin, Mikie Sherrill, Nikki Budzinski and others will have a news conference on PACT Act Benefits for American Veterans 2:30 p.m., H-217: Speaker Mike Johnson to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 3 p.m., HVC Studio A: Rep. Kat Cammack, Sens. Rand Paul and Eric Schmitt et al on the overturning of Chevron and the future of administrative regulations. 4:30 p.m., H-231: Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. TRIVIA MONDAY'S ANSWER: This one stumped y’all. Former Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii). On Sept. 20, 1986, Abercrombie won a special election to serve out Rep. Cecil Heftel’s term while simultaneously losing the primary for Hawaii’s 1st District seat to Mufi Hannemann. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Jordain: What former president was Nathaniel Hawthorne with when he died? 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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