| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | DEBT CEILING STILL DAUNTS — There’s been lots of talk but little progress towards a solution to the upcoming debt ceiling crisis on Capitol Hill. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is set to meet this week with President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss Congress’ need to pay the tab it’s already racked up. All eyes will be on the Biden-McCarthy meeting on Wednesday. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is already trying to thread a needle by both hammering House Republicans for their willingness to use the debt limit as a bargaining chip and not closing the door on bipartisan deals that Senators are seeking. Burgess and Olivia have dug into Schumer’s approach to divided government and his relationship with McCarthy. Schumer and McCarthy haven’t met one-on-one yet this Congress. Aides say that will come soon, but it isn’t on either man’s schedule yet. “Unfortunately, [McCarthy] let a group of very extreme people, he gave them the tools” to wield power, Schumer said in an interview. “The plan is to get our Republican colleagues in the House to understand they’re flirting with disaster and hurting the American people. And to let the American people understand that as well. And I think we’ll win.” McCarthy brushed off the Senate’s multiple budget bills last session that allowed for party-line legislation on health care, climate, covid relief and taxes, asking: “When was the last time he did a budget? So, he wants somebody to lift the debt ceiling, but he won’t tell the American people where he’ll spend money?” McCarthy said of Schumer in a brief interview. Biden and his key aides maintain that the White House will not be negotiating on the issue, standing firm in their position that the debt ceiling should be raised without conditional spending cuts that House Republicans are calling for. “His staff tries to say something different, but I think the president will be willing to make an agreement together,” McCarthy said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” yesterday. “Does the president really believe there is no waste in government?” McCarthy said Sunday. And he wants an examination of every dollar spent on discretionary programs, including defense, but is drawing the line at mandatory spending programs. When asked about some Republicans’ calls to examine bedrock programs including Social Security and Medicare in pursuit of a balanced budget, McCarthy said, “Let’s take those off the table.” Related read: Never again: How a 'lesson of 2011' shaped Biden's no-negotiation stance on debt limit, from Sahil Kapur at NBC
| | A message from Humana: 30 million people choose Medicare Advantage. With Medicare Advantage, members can see better health outcomes at lower costs. That’s one of the reasons why nearly half of the total Medicare population chooses Medicare Advantage. Learn more. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Jan. 30, where committees are kicking things off this week. SPEAKING OF THE BUDGET… House Republicans are bracing for a painful test as they endeavor to build out a budget proposal that meets their promises. Touting fiscal constraint is easier than being the political face of real cuts to federal programs, writes Caitlin this morning. McCarthy reiterated over the weekend that he is open to defense spending cuts, as are conservatives like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). But the issue divides the GOP, where defense spending is sacred for some. There are also political calculations to be sorted in the budgeting process. Steep cuts to domestic programs could threaten GOP members in battleground districts and put Republicans’ already razor thin majority at risk. Caitlin talked with new House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who knows “it won’t be easy.” Former House Budget Chair Diane Black (R-Tenn.) told Caitlin: “I think it’s a big lift,” of getting a budget resolution together that can pass. “I don’t know, frankly, because of where they are right now … that they really have the time to dig in and do it that well. Maybe they do.” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said the task will be “difficult” but said adopting a budget would show that House Republicans “have their ducks in a row.” COMPASS AND MAP RECOMMENDED — Hearings are expected to start this week as the House Republican investigations into the Biden administration and family ramp up. There’s the Hunter Biden inquiry, the examination of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the border, the Justice Department and FBI, the origins of Covid and the government response and the Biden administration’s decisions abroad from the Afghanistan exit to China. Jordain is tracking the probes and has developed a handy “field guide” to the sprawling inquiries unfold.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | AFTER TYRE — Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said on Sunday that the CBC is requesting a meeting with Biden this week “to push for negotiations on much needed national reforms to our justice system - specifically, the actions and conduct of our law enforcement.” "We are calling on our colleagues in the House and Senate to jumpstart negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities,” Horsford said in a statement. Horsford has invited the parents of Tyre Nichols to be his guests at the State of the Union address next month. POWER OF THE PURSE MEDIA BLITZ — Once relegated to the House Beauty Shop Committee, women are now running the show on all federal spending for the first time in history. And they’re taking their moment in the spotlight before getting down to brass tacks of a daunting year of appropriating. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), Senate Appropriations Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and ranking members Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), plus Shalanda Young, the first Black woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget, sat down with Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim at The Associated Press. The four lawmakers also talked to Melanie Zanona and Kristin Wilson at CNN (and we hear there are more stories set to drop this week.) Murray: “I have no doubt this is going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done since I’ve been here. What I feel good about is I have great partners on both sides of the Capitol and both sides of our caucuses.” Collins (with the jokes!): “We wanted to create an opening for a male to be head of the Beauty Shop,” quipped about women climbing the ranks. Granger: “Women, they’re good listeners. And you learn a lot by listening, not just talking,” Granger said. “We do share information about what we’re doing, which is very helpful.” DeLauro: “You are really looking at five women who have control of the most powerful levers of government.” Still, she says, “none of us have our head in the sand. We know there are difficulties that are going to be involved.” Former Senate Appropriations chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.): “What I’m excited about is that they have not only broken the glass ceiling, but they have the keys to the vault.”
| | | | A message from Humana:   | | | | | | Seeking: signs of life... Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) was in Philadelphia yesterday decked out in San Francisco 49ers gear. Just checking to make sure he didn't get stomped on Broad Street. He was at the big game with Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) who hopefully vouched for his colleague. State lines are hard... Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) bet Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) some BBQ ribs, but from a joint in Kansas. QUICK LINKS Matt Gaetz, Political Arsonist, Has New Powers. What Will He Do With Them?, from Robert Draper at The New York Times DePape in bizarre phone call to KTVU says he should have been 'more prepared' from Amber Lee at KTVU San Francisco Concerns over prayer breakfast lead Congress to take it over, from Gary Fields at The AP Who would work for Rep. Santos? Capitol Hill is watching closely, from Joe Heim and Meagan Flynn at The Washington Post Warner and Rubio together call for document oversight for national security, from Olivia Olander and Nicholas Wu TRANSITIONS Alex Stepahin starts today as legislative director to Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) after previously serving as senior legislative assistant to Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and working for Jodey Arrington, Richard Burr, Dan Bishop, and the Ways & Means Committee. Jess Pavel is now director of global health advocacy for malaria at the U.N. Foundation. She most recently was senior health policy adviser for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Keith Nagy is now press secretary for Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.). He most recently was an associate at Pocket Aces Consulting. Mary Kathryn Daigle is now a press assistant for Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.). She most recently was a staff assistant for the House Administration Committee. Alex Rosenberg is now scheduler for HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. He previously was chief of staff for former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.). Sarah Henderson is now comms director for Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). She most recently was press assistant for the GOP side of the House Science Committee. Ramping up for possible gubernatorial bid, Gottheimer picks national political operative as new chief of staff, from David Wildstein at The New Jersey Globe
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TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House meets at noon for morning hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 p.m. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with one vote expected at 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 4:30 p.m. House Rules Committee business meeting to organize for the 118th Congress. (H-313) 5 p.m. House Rules Committee business meeting to consider four measures, including a resolution that would terminate the Covid-19 national emergency declaration from March 13, 2020. (H-313)
| | | FRIDAY’S WINNER: David Bass correctly answered that Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) was the most recent majority leader who instructed the sergeant at arms to issue warrants of arrest for absent senators to break a filibuster. TODAY’S QUESTION: What was the first select committee ever created by the House, established on April 7, 1789? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus
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