Rules rumination for the next Congress

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

Aug 06, 2024 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was named Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday. | Stephen Maturen/Getty Images WALZIN’ ONTO THE TICKET Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was named Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday, elevating the veteran, former schoolteacher and holder of a battleground House seat for a decade into the presidential race. And POLITICO has you covered with all the latest on the pick, including: 55 things to know about Walz (including one food-related one we have more on below) Why Kamala Harris chose him What the pick means for Harris’ electoral strategy The other VP contenders who lined up to support Walz, including Sen. Mark Kelly And for our policy people: Tim Walz’s policy positions: A guide to the VP pick’s record on Democrats’ priorities And speaking of the election, some members of Congress have started to look beyond November … Conversations about changes to both House rules and party caucus and conference rules have been underway for months. | Francis Chung/POLITICO NEVER TOO SOON TO BREAK THE RULES It’s not yet clear which party will control the House in the 119th Congress. But members are already discussing what rule changes they want to see next year. Adopting a House rules package may be routine, and no one is making a six-part Netflix series about it. But it’s highly significant: This “housekeeping” process effectively determines how the party in power governs the chamber. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy can attest to this. You can also take it from the late Rep. John Dingell: “If you let me write the procedure, and I let you write the substance, I'll [beat] you every time.” (He used a spicier word than beat.) Never too soon: We’re in the heat of August recess but conversations about changes to both House rules and party caucus and conference rules have been underway for months. There are already typical tensions between leadership and rank-and-file members over a more inclusive legislative process and how much power lies with leadership. POLITICO got a peek at a robust set of proposed changes for the 119th Congress from Zach Graves at the Foundation for American Innovation and Daniel Schuman at the American Governance Institute — two key advocacy groups that are part of what some call the Fix Congress Coalition. Here are a few of the proposals that caught our eye: Motion to vacate: We saw it in action last year, and the proposal’s authors view the motion that can be used to oust the speaker as “an essential tool” to keep the House’s leader “responsive to a majority of the chamber’s members.” They’d keep the 118th Congress MTV that allows any member to make the motion, along with all the options to dispose of the motion. Stock trading: The authors would require the House Ethics Committee to review and update guidance on securities trading, and force members to fully divest from publicly traded individual stocks (or move those investments to a blind trust.) They’re also urging Ways and Means to recommend policy that would let members sell securities in compliance with ethics without negative tax consequences. Member pay: The proposal would bar language used since 2009 to block cost of living increases — already in statute — for House members. Member pay is an issue that has contributed to tanked spending bills in recent years. Subpoena power and contempt: Graves and Schuman would like to see an independent special counsel who would decide whether or not to prosecute contempt findings by Congress, plus “provide an expedited review and enforcement process in the courts.” It takes just seven members of the Oversight Committee to demand information from the executive branch, but under current House rules one of those seven must be the committee chair. The proposal would restore the “rule of seven,” striking the requirement that the chair be on board — a way to claw that authority away from party leaders. Committee makeup: Graves and Schuman would like to see the speaker-appointed committees (Intelligence, Administration and Rules) get a shakeup. They recommend appointments by the steering committee or election of the full House. And they suggested that all committee chairs be elected by members of the panel they would lead. Intelligence staffing: Following recent Senate action, the proposal would allow every House member one personal office staffer who is eligible to apply for a TS/SCI clearance. Post-Chevron: Congress will need to be much more prescriptive when legislating regulations in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that ended the Chevron doctrine. That could require more subject experts on committees, so Graves and Schuman recommend providing resources and authority to hire professional staff, along with a legislative branch counterpart to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to analyze proposed regulations and advise on legislation. — Katherine Tully-McManus GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, where it’s a huge day for newsletters that named a section after a certain midwestern delicacy. (Bring back the Congressional Hot Dish Competition, please!)   During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more.     GOP ATTACKS ON WALZ Hill Republicans on Tuesday quickly labeled Gov. Tim Walz a “radical leftist” who will continue the Biden-Harris agenda, messaging points they had lined up before Kamala Harris chose her running mate. It’s a bit of a generic talking point by the GOP, but another attack line against Harris’ pick was not: Speaker Mike Johnson argued Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.) lost out in the veepstakes to Walz because of his Jewish heritage. “I think that clearly was a major factor, is that she was reluctant to put a vice presidential nominee on the ticket with Jewish heritage because they’re having a split in the Democratic Party,” Johnson said in an interview with The Hill. “They have a pro-Palestinian, in some cases pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party,” the speaker added, arguing that is why Shaprio was “overlooked.” The messaging, which aims to highlight divisions within the Democratic Party over the Israel-Hamas war, took off in conservative circles. (Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, had a classic response to one such social media post.) Our POLITICO colleagues reported that toward the end of the decisionmaking process, Shapiro’s camp didn’t feel his final interview with Harris went well and that he later called and said he was struggling with the possibility he would have to leave Harrisburg. Another line of backhanded GOP messaging: Republicans were “relieved” it was Walz, suggesting he was a weaker pick for Harris than other Democratic options. While many Republicans said they thought Shapiro would’ve been Harris’ strongest bet for winning in November, Harris and Democrats have been in lockstep behind Walz throughout the day. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House GOP whip, wasted no time bashing Walz as an “empty suit who … solidifies this ticket's full embrace of a radical, America-last agenda.” But keep in mind: The two men from the Land of 10,000 Lakes have an online trail of photos indicating they were friendly during Walz’s time in the House. — Olivia Beavers PELOSI, IN PELOSI’S WORDS  Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s book, “The Art of Power,” is out Tuesday, a reflection on her tenure as the first woman to serve as speaker of the House. Here are some of the highlights we noticed after reading through it: The attack on Paul Pelosi: Pelosi opened up about the October 2022 hammer attack on her husband Paul Pelosi, which she said nearly killed him. Paul Pelosi “never discussed the attack with me or with our children. It is ‘too traumatic,’ he says.“ Nancy Pelosi said she’s never been able to listen to Paul Pelosi’s 911 call from that night or view the police body camera or security footage. “The attack on Paul caused our family its own deep trauma and my own survivor’s guilt,” she wrote. The work of being speaker: Pelosi said a “source of pride” for her as speaker and minority leader was to expand the leadership team and to make it more “representative and inclusive.” Under her leadership, the team grew from eight to eighteen members, new leadership positions were created, a weekly meeting was set up with the ideological and affinity caucuses, and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress was started.  No love lost for Trump: When Pelosi first called former President Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the election in 2016, it prompted him to launch into a monologue about how she got his cell phone number. “I was cautiously optimistic that perhaps the Trump White House and House Democrats could work together on some issues. Almost every day of the next four years, Donald Trump would prove me wrong,” she wrote. Jan. 6: Pelosi recounted the traumatic, confused events of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy “remained almost entirely unseen” as her daughter Alexandra Pelosi filmed inside their secure location at Fort McNair, she recounted. And she expressed empathy for her staff, who’d been trapped inside the Capitol as rioters roamed the halls: “The whole day was horrendous, but what happened to the staff was and is unforgivable to me.” But wait, there’s more. Pelosi, in a Monday CNN interview, hinted there was more to come: “I'll write another book about what's been happening the last few months.” — Nicholas Wu HUDDLE HOTDISH Long before there was Huddle Hotdish, there was the Congressional Hotdish Competition — which Tim Walz won three times (2013, 2014 and 2016) during his tenure on the Hill. Another staff collaboration space has launched, House Admin announced today. Ted Lieu is trying to make brat happen. QUICK LINKS  How the landmark climate law hobbled Joe Manchin, from Kelsey Brugger A fight broke out at the opening of a Trump campaign office in Valdosta, police say, from Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution What are D.C. interns wearing this summer? They’re figuring it out, Sofia Andrade from The Washington Post FBI agents execute search warrant on Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles, NewsChannel 5 confirms from Phil Williams at NewsChannel 5   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.     TRANSITIONS Derek Kravitz is now deputy editor for special projects at Consumer Reports. He was previously investigations and data editor at MuckRock Foundation. Guneev Sharma is now senior manager of government relations and public policy at the Certified Financial Planners Board. He was previously senior manager of government relations at the National Park Foundation and is a Thorn Run Partners and Heidi Heitkamp alum. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL Quiet. Trivia TUESDAY’S ANSWER: This one stumped y’all. 3,200 delegates make up this original base that determines the amount of delegates to the Democratic National Convention. (It’s due to a specific formula.) TODAY’S QUESTION, from Nick: Who started the Congressional Hotdish Competition?   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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