| | | | |  | | By Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu | Presented by American Chemistry Council | With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
|  President Joe Biden under pressure from swing-district members who want to see immediate action to stanch the flow of migrants, including executive actions that progressives have opposed. | AP | A HOUSE CAUCUS DIVIDED As President Joe Biden visits the U.S.-Mexico border today, a profound split among Democrats is playing out right now in the House over how to handle the migrant surge there and the immigration issue more generally. On one side are the progressives who make up the party’s base and want to preserve migrants’ rights to come to the border and claim asylum. They have been influential in the early years of the Biden administration, pushing for — and securing — rollbacks of President Donald Trump’s border policies. Now he’s under pressure from another group of Democrats: swing-district members who want to see Biden take immediate action to stanch the flow of migrants, including executive actions that progressives have opposed. They include a handful of Hispanic members who are warning that the political consequences could be dire if Biden does not act before November. “There's an uptick on Republican numbers [on the border], which are mainly Hispanic,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from a Texas border district. “I hear from people, ‘I'm voting for you, Henry, because of what you stand on border security, but I'm not voting for another Democrat because they're there for open borders.’ And that’s the way people see it,” Deep in the heart: Biden today is visiting Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, where Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents the area and is traveling with the president, faces a tough re-election battle. Gonzalez is among the Democrats calling for stricter asylum standards, such as the measures included in the recently rejected Senate border deal. Since the Senate deal’s demise, Biden has been weighing a number of different executive actions to clamp down on border crossings and to make it harder to seek asylum. It’s unclear when or if the Biden administration will unveil the actions. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has previously signaled it would oppose attempts to change the asylum system by executive order. But Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), the caucus chair, said Thursday they were open to some executive orders: “Should the president enact executive orders? We’re not opposed to that,” she said. “What it is, and the content of it, is a different story.” Zoom out: Two new polls this week show that Biden has a major immigration problem. Public concern about illegal immigration is higher during Biden’s term than it was under the prior two administrations, according to a Monmouth University poll. And a Gallup poll found that immigration has now passed the government as the most often cited problem for Americans. Meanwhile, the number of eligible Latino voters grew by 12% — or nearly 4 million people — since the last presidential election. Cuellar warns, however, that opinion is split among Latinos, too: “People want law and order,” he said. “They still want to … treat the migrants with respect and dignity.” Either way, the border issue puts Biden in a tough spot: There are credible arguments about the president losing support on either side of whatever decision comes from the White House, and that has reflected in the evolving debate among House Dems. “Within the Hispanic Caucus, there's diversity of opinion,” Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) said in an interview. “There is a challenge at the border, and the president is trying to find a solution, and is doing the best he can to address this challenge.” — Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu, with assist from Myah Ward
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council: America is under assault and Congress has left the door open to our adversaries. The constant threat to national security is real and shows no signs of diminishing. The country lost a critical tool in the fight against terrorism when Congress allowed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program to expire. Communities and companies should not be forced to go it alone. Congress must join the fight and act before terrorists do. Restore CFATS now! | | | GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Feb. 29, where we believe Dany has every right to stay exactly where she is. THE WINNER IS JOHN DOUGH Whoever succeeds Mitch McConnell as Republican leader will have to prove their ability to fundraise for the Senate GOP — a central responsibility for whoever assumes the role. Not only will the next leader be tasked with helping to fundraise for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that person will also help steer the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, which has done the bulk of the big-money spending for GOP candidates in recent cycles. “Of all the things that Leader McConnell did right, it was raising money,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said. “I think that's something that is in my consideration as well. Which one of these people can raise money? … Those are some big boots to fill.” Among the candidates so far, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is a former NRSC chair who has built a reputation as a top Senate GOP fundraiser over more than a decade. Cornyn, who announced his bid for Republican leader Thursday morning, has shown the ability to raise astounding amounts for his races and others — raising $13 million for incumbents, the NRSC and Senate Republican nominees in the 2024 cycle so far, according to a person familiar with his fundraising. His efforts in the last election cycle totaled $20 million. Of course, Senate Minority Whip John Thune is no slouch, either. The South Dakotan, who has launched a quiet campaign to succeed McConnell, has $17.7 million in his own campaign account. A person familiar with Thune’s efforts told POLITICO he has raised more than $8 million for the NRSC so far this cycle. He also holds the record for largest NRSC transfer in history, $2 million in 2016, and donated this cycle to pay off the NRSC’s debt. — Daniella Diaz, Burgess Everett and Ursula Perano
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council:   | | | LAWMAKERS FUME AT HOUSE’S SHORT WEEK “Pathetic.” “Embarrassing.” “A joke.” Even by House standards, this week’s session schedule was stunningly short, vexing lawmakers who arrived for their first votes at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and were done voting by mid-afternoon Thursday — making their Washington workweek effectively about 20 hours long. “It's just another lowlight from this clown-car Republican majority,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told IC. “I keep thinking we’re going to find the bottom soon.” “There’s an awful lot of really good legislation that is introduced every Congress, but never gets looked at — never comes up in committee, never gets a hearing — because we just don't work hard enough,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “In all my years here, this is probably the least productive Congress I've ever witnessed,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Rules Committee. “These people can't govern.” Some Democrats conceded that their own party had cancelled Friday votes when they were in the majority, but they also suggested the condensed weeks — paired with the grueling cross-country travel many face — offers a powerful argument for restoring proxy voting of some sort. Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) floated a system where each member might get, say, five days a year to cast votes remotely, as was permitted from May 2020 until December 2022. Paying for members to jet back and forth across the country for a day’s work, he said, “is kind of a waste of taxpayer money.” It isn’t just Democrats who are annoyed. “It is ridiculous that after Congress missed the deadline to pass appropriations — for the fourth time — we are being sent home early instead of reigning [sic] in wasteful spending,” wrote Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) in a post on X. To be fair, there was one Democrat who was happy about the early exit: Alaska’s Mary Peltola. “One of the things I've really noticed is when we adjourn our work here and go home to work, the press refers to it as a vacation,” she told IC. “I would never call it a vacation because I'm home as fast as I can possibly be to connect with as many Alaskans as I possibly can and see how I can better serve them.” — Anthony Adragna, with assist from 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. | | | | | | | | | Nancy Pelosi and Emanuel Cleaver settled their Super Bowl bet. Jack Reed has got jumps. (Though we must note the photo is… not recent.) Joni Ernst endorsed Kari Lake for Senate. “Arizona deserves a Senator who will fight to secure the border, lower prices, and restore safe streets in our communities. I know Kari Lake will do just that,” she said in a statement. Tom Suozzi accidentally went to the GOP conference meeting this morning, his first back in the House. “Where are the Democrats meeting?” he asked Roll Call’s Bill Clark. Senate candidate Eric Hovde stripped down in a Wisconsin lake to prove… we’re not sure what.
| | | | A message from American Chemistry Council: Chemicals are critical to every U.S. industry and to a strong supply chain. From farms to factories – chemicals are essential for growing food, protecting the safety of our water supply, making life-saving medicines and equipment, and producing energy. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program was created specifically to address cyber and physical threats to the chemical sector. It is the only program that allows companies to vet personnel against the FBI terrorist screening database.
Congress allowed CFATS to expire, and for the first time in nearly two decades America is without a national chemical security program. According to DHS approximately 9,000 individuals were typically screened each month, which means more than 40,000 people have not been vetted for terrorist ties since CFATS expired. We can’t afford to go another day with our guard down. Congress must do its job and pass legislation to restore CFATS now! | | | QUICK LINKS Tlaib declines to say whether she'll back Biden in November, encourages look at 'whole ballot', from Nicholas Wu Republicans push Austin for answers during tense hearing over his hospitalization, from Connor O’Brien and Laura Seligman Inside Mitch McConnell’s Season of Losses, from Jonathan Martin Former Rep. Justin Amash enters Michigan's jumbled GOP Senate primary, from Henry J. Gomez at NBC News The US is bracing for complex, fast-moving threats to elections this year, FBI director warns, from Eric Tucker at The Associated Press
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House is in for a pro forma session at 10 a.m. The Senate is ??? FRIDAY AROUND THE HILL Quiet.
| | WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Peter Krug correctly answered that John F. Kennedy was described in a campaign song as, “Old enough to know, and young enough to do.” TODAY’S QUESTION, from Peter: Who is the only U.S. president to hold a patent? 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 Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
