2023 isn’t over for the Senate, but the House feels differently

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

Dec 14, 2023 View in browser   By Daniella Diaz Presented by Humana With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Speaker Mike Johnson hasn't committed to putting any Senate deal on the House floor. | Francis Chung/POLITICO HOUSE TO SENATE: YOU MIGHT BE TALKING, BUT WE’RE GOING HOME The Senate plans to come back to Washington next Monday to continue pushing toward a deal that can pair stricter border measures with U.S. aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. But even if senators can finish their work, they’ll have to contend with the House – which left Thursday with no plans to return this month. It’s safe to say that while most senators share a sense of urgency to approve Ukraine aid before the holidays, after which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned he’ll be perilously short of help, their House counterparts don’t exactly agree. “They could pass whatever they want in the Senate. We've been passing stuff all year. They didn't come back miraculously when we passed bills. So no, I'm not giving them that level of importance,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) told us. “Look, if the Senate passes the supplemental, OK. What do you want me to do? Jump through hoops?” It’s not just Republicans. Some House Democrats are also not thrilled about the idea of the Senate nudging them back to town this month. “What fucking makes you think that in four days before you're supposed to be finishing the wrapping paper and putting up the tree, you're gonna come up here and have a deal that the majority of us can agree on?” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) replied when asked about the House potentially returning to session during the holidays. Zoom out here: There’s a reason why congressional leaders often rush for votes when a bipartisan deal emerges. Letting a Senate border agreement sit in the public eye for weeks, giving advocates on all sides of the issue enough time to pick it apart, could prove fatal to its prospects. But it’s not like Speaker Mike Johnson has committed to putting any Senate deal on the House floor, either. Johnson wouldn’t say Thursday if he planned to call the chamber back for a vote on a package of border changes and foreign aid, if the Senate can agree on its parameters. “We’ve been waiting for the Senate a long time,” Johnson told reporters. And remember this: House Republicans are pretty done with their 2023 annus horribilis, as the late Queen Elizabeth II might call it. Richard Hudson, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was asked Thursday to “describe this year in Congress.” He responded, simply, "Merry Christmas." — Daniella Diaz, with assist from Katherine Tully-McManus, Nicholas Wu and Anthony Adragna    A message from Humana: Medicare Advantage plans are making health care more affordable than ever for seniors and others with Medicare in rural communities: The average monthly premium for an MA plan in 2023 is $18, a 16-year low, and 69% of beneficiaries with MA plans in rural areas are enrolled in $0 premium plans. That means even more eligible Americans have access to the health care their doctors recommend at a price they can afford.   GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Dec. 14, where we don’t agree with Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-Mich.) weather assessment. WHY CONSERVATIVES LINED UP AGAINST THE NDAA The majority of House Freedom Caucus members voted to tank the final version of the annual defense policy bill on Thursday morning after taking a formal stance against the legislation last week. And while many of the conservative bloc’s members typically oppose the defense bill – a must-pass measure that always attracts unrelated add-ons – this time was a little different. The defense bill’s extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in its current form helped propel Freedom Caucus resistance on the final vote, underscoring how hard a time GOP leaders will have trying to overhaul the surveillance program next year. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) even tried to adjourn the House early on Thursday in an effort to stop the vote on the defense bill. After he failed, the legislation passed with the support of most Democrats. Roy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “We have rampant [surveillance] abuses going on. And this body is just going to extend the very mechanism of those abuses on the back of the National Defense Authorization Act.” His conservative colleague Rep. Thomas Massie also tried to rally Republicans against the measure, writing on X that “Congress will vote to reauthorize, with no reforms, the FISA 702 surveillance program that has been used illegally to invade Americans’ privacy hundreds of thousands of times. If 1/3 of the House votes against this, we can stop it.” The other conservatives who voted against the defense policy bill included Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and his recently chosen replacement to lead the group, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.). — 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.     MGP’S CAMPAIGN CLAPBACK With 11 months until the general election, one battleground House race is already getting fiery. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s (D-Wash.) campaign is going after Republican Joe Kent’s social media posts as he gears up for a 2024 rematch with her. The Democrat’s team is highlighting, for instance, Kent’s commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor – which compared the number of people who died then to fentanyl and border deaths – among others. It’s a page from the same playbook Gluesenkamp Perez deployed against Kent last cycle, when she framed herself as a moderate alternative to the firebrand conservative. “The internet is filled with many strange things, but Joe Kent’s violent fantasies are definitely some of the weirdest. He really needs to log off or at least think before he posts. People can see these and it’s getting embarrassing,” Gluesenkamp Perez campaign manager Timothy Gowen said in a statement to us. The race for a House district Donald Trump won in 2020 is still expected to be hotly contested this cycle, with Republicans’ campaign arm identifying it as a top pickup opportunity. The district was formerly represented by GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), who lost her primary to Kent last year in part over her vote to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Gluesenkamp Perez ultimately eked out a tight win against Kent in the general election. — Nicholas Wu   A message from Humana:   HUDDLE HOTDISH Mariah Carey made it to the House floor because of Mike Collins. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a photo line Thursday morning since it’s the last day of session and he resigns at the end of the year. Asked about the bull on the subway tracks, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) laughed and declined comment: “I need to investigate it fully,” she quipped. Roger Marshall enjoyed a glass of milk on the Senate floor.   A message from Humana: More Americans are choosing Medicare Advantage. Today, 40% of all eligible Medicare beneficiaries in rural counties are enrolled in an MA plan, four times the share in 2010. Their choices have also increased: Today, rural Medicare Advantage enrollees can choose from among 27 plans, on average—triple the number of plans available five years ago. Humana is committed to continuing to increase access to quality, affordable care in rural areas to support and enhance the lives of people who need it the most. In 2024, Humana will have plans in every county in 27 states and Puerto Rico, including offerings in 39 new counties—many of them rural. Learn more about Humana's presence in rural communities here.   QUICK LINKS  Drew Ferguson and Wiley Nickel won't seek reelection to their House seats, from Anthony Adragna and Nicholas Wu House sends defense bill to Biden, despite conservative anger over spy powers, culture wars, from Connor O’Brien TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate is out.   POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show.     FRIDAY AROUND THE HILL *crickets* TRIVIA WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: President Harry Truman holds the record for most MLB games attended while in office, going to 16 games, all in Washington. TODAY’S QUESTION from your Huddle host: How many years in a row have both the House and Senate passed the NDAA? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to huddletrivia@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each evening. Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela.   Follow us

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