THE GOOD-MCGUIRE DEBATE WITH AN AUDIENCE OF ONE The bruising primary for Virginia's 5th Congressional District is finally coming to an end tomorrow. But one month before that, House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) and his GOP rival John McGuire found themselves face-to-face in New York with the former president himself. Both men had traveled to the Big Apple on May 16 to support Trump in his criminal trial. Once they were close to Trump, they used their access to try to curry favor with the presumptive presidential nominee — who at that point had yet to endorse in the primary. Here’s how it went down, according to five people present in the room, including some who spoke on condition of anonymity: When Trump mentioned a debate with Joe Biden, Good seized an opportunity to needle McGuire for declining to debate him. Good told Trump that he knows the feeling of an opponent who would not debate. “It kind of sucked all the air out of the room, because McGuire was on the other side of the table and it was just super-awkward,” recalled Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a Freedom Caucus member who is backing Good. Crane, who called McGuire “weak” for not debating, also remembered the Virginia state senator shooting back in front of Trump that Good would “rig it.” Good quickly asked how one would rig a debate. McGuire then openly questioned why he should debate Good when his internal polling shows him up 14 points over the incumbent. Good shot back that his internal survey showed him up 25 points, according to two of the five people present in the room. Others in the room more generally recalled a back-and-forth about polling, including the two men talking over one another. Trump cut through the lingering tension, according to two people in the room, where he spent most of his time complaining that his criminal trial was unfair and rigged. Here’s where Trump telegraphed the McGuire endorsement he later offered. Trump ribbed Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Good, the two people in the room who initially endorsed his primary challengers in the 2024 presidential race. As four people in the room recalled, Trump asked about Norman’s endorsement of Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s former governor. Some Republican lawmakers present responded: “Nikki who?” Norman said he acknowledged to Trump that she’d lost in the race. Then Trump turned to Good, as confirmed by Crane and Norman, and asked how his endorsement of “Ron DeSanctimonious” (read: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis) was working out. Crucially, Norman painted the entire exchange as more lighthearted than the Good-McGuire animosity might suggest. “Everything was pretty quick. And it was really — Trump was laughing about it,” Norman said, adding: “The back and forth with Good really just wasn't that much.” Trump endorsed McGuire less than two weeks later. The Trump campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on the May 16 back-and-forth. — Olivia Beavers and Ally Mutnick GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, June 17, where several of us admit to being excited about Talking Heads frontman David Byrne’s scheduled visit to the Senate tomorrow. (NOT) BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE A broad swath of Democrats are scheduled to go to the White House tomorrow for an event that’s expected to include the announcement of new policies protecting some undocumented immigrants from deportation. Some of those invited Democrats include Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), as well as Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), according to people familiar with the guest list. It’s a stark difference from the smaller crowd of Democrats who showed up weeks ago when President Joe Biden unveiled actions that would strengthen asylum restrictions — to criticism from his left flank. Prepare for tomorrow’s actions to be much better received by his Democratic colleagues. The policies, which will be rolled out around an event commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Obama-era program that shielded so-called Dreamers from deportation, will shield some undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation. Those spouses would also be allowed to work legally while they pursue a path to citizenship. The expected action was the Hispanic Caucus’ top request of the president, a move they had pushed the Biden administration for as a counterweight to its recent restrictions on migration. — Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu GOP INVESTIGATIONS UPDATE House Republicans are out of town this week, but there are signs of movement on multiple investigative fronts (though, as we frequently remind readers, they don’t have the votes to impeach President Joe Biden). On the GOP’s long-running impeachment inquiry, which has largely focused on the business deals of Biden’s family members, House GOP leadership and committee chairs sent a letter on Monday to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel requesting a briefing on its handling of claims of retaliation made by two whistleblowers. Those whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, both previously worked on the Hunter Biden investigation. And in the latest example of Republicans trying to undercut the work of the now-disbanded Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee, Speaker Mike Johnson is under growing pressure from his right flank to weigh into the legal battles of Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. Both Trump allies were sentenced to jail time after refusing to comply with subpoenas from the previous panel. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has called for Johnson and other House GOP leaders to use a vote of the BLAG — the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which articulates the House's legal positions — to signal that the current House views the previous subpoenas as invalid. Gaetz has even hinted that he believes GOP leaders are considering his pitch, and Bannon’s attorney made a similar one recently. Meanwhile, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) is also planning to introduce a resolution to “rescind the subpoenas” issued by the Jan. 6 committee for Bannon, Navarro, Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino “and withdraw the recommendations finding them in contempt of Congress.” – Jordain Carney
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