| | | | |  | | By Ursula Perano and Anthony Adragna | | Presented by |  | | | With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly condemned the campus demonstrators. | AP | ‘IT’S A HARD TIME’ An eruption of campus protests against Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza has again put Chuck Schumer — the highest-ranking elected Jewish leader in U.S. history — in an unenviable spot. The demonstrations first picked up steam at Columbia University, in the metropolitan heart of Schumer’s home state, but they’ve since spread across the country. And when Democrats returned to the Hill this week, his caucus’ vulnerable incumbents were peppered with questions about whether they would denounce the protests amid reported antisemitic incidents. Just weeks after taking on political risk by urging Israel to hold elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and criticizing the same Palestinian civilian casualties that protesters object to, Schumer publicly condemned the campus demonstrators. It’s a delicate balance for the Democratic leader, who clearly felt a personal weight before speaking out against the Israeli government. As Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) put it: “It’s a hard time, especially for him. It is for all of us.” Schumer’s Democratic colleagues say he’s handling the burden well. And his No. 2 made clear that he’s not alone in having to draw tough lines against demonstrations that turn discriminatory while projecting respect for the broader right to protest. “It’s a tough challenge. If you respect the Constitution, you want to say freedom of speech is fundamental in America,” said Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “But there are lines you can't cross. And when they cross the lines, they need to be held accountable.” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), one of the House’s most senior Jewish members, said that “I agree with” Schumer’s actions so far – suggesting that too much attention is being paid to the campus protests against Israel. “The news media is making this a huge thing. It is, in fact, a small thing.” But that “small thing” isn’t going anywhere. Though the Columbia protests largely dissipated Tuesday night after at least 200 police entered campus to disperse protesters who had occupied a campus building. Many other universities are bracing for disruptions to their commencement ceremonies later this spring, and school administrations are continuing to struggle with the line between free speech and impermissible disruptions. The tense images and video emerging from campus protests have catalyzed Republican-led efforts to pass legislation addressing antisemitism, including a proposal to strengthen Department of Education discrimination standards that overwhelmingly passed the House on Wednesday. Senate Republicans are already calling on Schumer to immediately take up the House legislation, but he would not commit to that on Wednesday. “We haven't seen what the House is sending us yet,” Schumer told Inside Congress. Other Republicans urged him, even in lieu of the antisemitism bill, to make a formal show of opposition to the campus protests. “I think he especially needs to show leadership,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). “If nothing else, just a resolution saying this is the voice of the Senate, that we condemn these riots.” Notably, Schumer’s fellow New Yorker and Democratic leader, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, formally previewed his support for Wednesday’s bill before it passed. And Schumer has gone farther in criticizing Israel in recent weeks than many would have expected of him just a few months ago. Even before his remarks calling for Netanyahu’s removal, he delivered a November speech on antisemitism that grew uncharacteristically personal about the intersection of his faith and politics during a troubling time. After Schumer’s anti-Netanyahu speech, which drew him a rebuke from some Jewish American groups, Welch could be seen giving the majority leader a hug on the floor. — Ursula Perano and Anthony Adragna, with an assist from Nicholas Wu
| | | | A message from American Beverage: America’s leading beverage companies – The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo – are bringing you more choices with less sugar. From sparkling, flavored and bottled waters to zero-sugar sodas, sports drinks, juices and teas, Americans have more options than ever. In fact, nearly 60% of beverages sold today have zero sugar. Families are looking for more choices to support their efforts to find balance and America’s beverage companies are delivering. Explore choices at BalanceUS.org. | | | GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, May 1, where we actually can’t believe it’s May already. SENATE STILL SQUABBLING ON FAA To amend or not to amend? That is the question plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. It’s a time-worn congressional question — and despite the Senate struggling through almost every piece of major legislation this term, this one isn’t likely to be easy. Why it’s happening: The FAA reauthorization is the last must-pass measure the Senate will face until this fall, when the farm bill and government funding will need to be addressed. That means the FAA bill, which advanced in the Senate by a 89-10 vote on Wednesday, could be the last chance this year for eager lawmakers to try and attach their favored policy initiatives to a larger piece of legislation. (That is, before the heat of election season dissuades lawmakers from doing anything but the basics.) Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) put it like this: “The place is broken, and we don’t have many bills we can do things with. So when someone sees something that's going to move, or has to move… then yeah, it's human nature.” But some lawmakers are warning that adding a hodgepodge of policy priorities to the FAA bill could overly complicate otherwise straightforward legislation. “If you add in extraneous matters that haven't had the benefit of consideration in the House, you complicate the bill,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). He is pushing for an amendment to nix additional long-distance flights for Reagan Washington National Airport from the bill, but he says that amendment is “very narrow” and “squarely within the four corners of the bill.” Schumer on Wednesday said “there are lots of people who have different amendments not relevant to the FAA, that want to get them on – I'm one of those – but we have to get this done in a bipartisan way.” Majority Whip Dick Durbin similarly told reporters he would like to see his credit card competition bill added to the FAA bill, but that he doesn’t think it will happen. “I think Schumer at least goes into this with the understanding that there's going to be no extraneous amendments,” Durbin said. “That may change.” Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) is among those openly eying the bill. He is pushing for passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which he spearheaded alongside Sen. Josh Hawley (D-N.M.). “Any tool, any package that is slated to pass, if there's an opportunity to attach RECA to it, that’s something I support,” Luján said. An effort to add funding to rebuild Baltimore’s destroyed Francis Scott Key bridge to the FAA bill has already been nixed. Still, plenty more policy proposals are bound to crop up in the next few days. “The bus is going that direction, you're going that direction, catch a ride,” Manchin said. — Ursula Perano
| | | | A message from American Beverage:   | | | SPEAKING OF THE BRIDGE REBUILD… Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) paid Capitol Hill a visit today to give lawmakers an update on recovery efforts (and a thank you) after the collapse of the Key Bridge. “They've been so incredibly supportive literally from the time the bridge fell,” he told Inside Congress as he left the Black Caucus’ lunch meeting. “And so I just wanted to personally come down and just say thank you. And also just say that we still have a long road ahead of us.” A group of House appropriators is also set to visit Baltimore on Thursday to tour the wreckage as they weigh legislation to rebuild after the collapse. Moore has previously said that the channel leading to the Port of Baltimore could be functional by the end of May, a priority for lawmakers weeks after the destruction of the bridge left rubble in the water. But the state still needs billions of dollars in funding from Congress to rebuild the bridge, which faces a murky path forward in both chambers without any must-pass bills on the horizon to attach the money to. Eyes emoji: The Black Caucus also welcomed Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to their meeting today, according to a caucus spokesperson. Her Maryland Senate bid has been endorsed by several members of the influential bloc, including its former chair Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio). — Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz
| | | | A message from American Beverage: Families are looking for more choices to support their efforts to find balance. That’s why America’s beverage companies are now offering more than 600 brands with less sugar or no sugar at all, and our actions are making a real difference.
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Learn more at BalanceUS.org | | | | | John Kennedy questioned if a witness would call him a “sick f***” … we’re not kidding. Robert Garcia hosted Free Comic Book Day at his office. Dan Meuser handed out home-state staples at the Republican Study Committee lunch: cheesesteaks and Yuengling. Anyone trying to learn how to hack? Thom Tillis can help … Dianne Feinstein fandom, but make it fashion. Mark your calendars, soccer fans: Democrats and Republicans will face off at the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s 10th Congressional Soccer Match at Audi Field on May 8th
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | QUICK LINKS Voter behind Silicon Valley recount downplays candidate ties from Sarah Grace Taylor United Coordinated With Senators, Lobbyists to Undercut Delta from BGov’s Kate Ackley House committee calls on Bowser, MPD chief to testify over encampment from the GW Hatchet’s Sejal Govindarao Congressional candidate Anthony Kern fundraises off his indictment as a fake elector from Laura Gersony at The Arizona Republic They staffed the Jan. 6 committee. Threats still follow them from Chris Marquette and Michael Macagnone at CQ Roll Call The 8 Types Of Democrats And Republicans In The House from 538’s Tia Yang, Cooper Burton, Mary Radcliffe, Katie Marriner and Amina Brown
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. POLITICO Pro dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | TRANSITIONS Liz Wolgemuth is now VP at Story Partners. She’s a Lamar Alexander/Senate HELP Committee alum. Anne Marie Chotvacs will be VP for public policy and international government relations at RTX. She most recently was chief clerk and staff director for the House Appropriations Committee. TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House is out. The Senate is in session. THURSDAY AROUND THE HILL Quiet.
| | WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Ryan Burg was the first to correctly guess that Hillary Clinton, a lead producer of the new musical “Suffs,” got nominated Tuesday for Best New Musical. TODAY’S QUESTION, from Ryan: Who was the first woman appointed to the U.S. Senate? 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 | | | | |
