Senate plots escape route

Presented by FICO: An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead
Sep 24, 2024 View in browser
 
POLITICO Inside Congress

By Ursula Perano

Presented by 

With an assist from the POLITICO Congress team

Chuck Schumer speaks and points.

Most senators are fine with the “clean” stopgap bill the House is expected to pass Wednesday evening. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

SENATE LIMBO

The House is widely expected to finish its side of the government funding battle on Wednesday after weeks of turmoil. Now, the question becomes how, and when, the Senate gets out of town.

Most senators are fine with the “clean” stopgap bill the House is expected to pass Wednesday evening. Still, after weeks of waiting for legislation from the other chamber, many of them are hesitant to predict when they’ll finish up, anxious about potential arguments over amendments.

Passing this bill during the work week would likely require a time agreement, which requires all present senators to agree. And, in a rare feat, Republicans appear ready to play along. (Granted, appearances can change quickly.)

“Everybody's conscious of the fact that it's a done deal,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) told Inside Congress after Tuesday’s GOP lunch. “I didn’t hear the normal kind of feistiness for amendments and all that stuff.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a regular objector to time agreements, said he “won't be offering any amendments or getting into any back and forth over the time” because he plans to offer his own budget plan as a privileged motion on Wednesday, rather than an amendment to the stopgap bill itself.

With the House now slated to leave town on Wednesday evening, in part due to an incoming hurricane in the Gulf Coast, any amendments to the bill in the Senate would complicate sending it to the president’s desk. And, as Braun put it, many amendment votes “just burn time and never pass.”

Reminder: The shutdown deadline is Monday. There’s almost no chance a shutdown occurs. In fact, there’s little desire among members to even work through the weekend — after all, it’s a chamber that cherishes Thursday afternoon flights out of town.

We did get some timing estimates: Majority Whip Dick Durbin said he’s “hopeful” for Thursday. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told us she’s “optimistic” for Friday. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) simply replied “fingers crossed” when asked about chances of wrapping this week. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate intends to “move quickly to get the job done.”

Lingering frustration: Senate Democrats are still irritated that the House didn’t move a clean stopgap bill sooner. But some have found solace in hopes that Republicans won't be running the House next year anyway.

“Republicans are going to lose control of the House, in part, because of the disaster they've been for the last year,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). ”I think the voters have noticed. So I don't think we're going to have to deal with with a Republican speaker in four months.”

Ursula Perano, with an assist from Katherine Tully-McManus 

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday Sept. 24, where today’s author would like to discuss viral hippo sensation Moo Deng. Do we think these politicians really know who Moo Deng is? Hit us up with your take.

 

A message from FICO:

MYTH or FACT: Only mortgage lenders use the FICO® Score. MYTH! FICO® Scores are relied on by lenders, but these same scores are essential to mortgage insurers, ratings agencies, regulators, investors, and others — all to provide millions of Americans with homeownership. Test your knowledge.

 

HARRIS AND THE FILIBUSTER 

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday dominated headlines through the Senate by announcing she’d support a filibuster carveout to restore Roe v. Wade. The who’s who of left-leaning filibuster defenders subsequently came out swinging.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who is retiring and stands as one of the staunchest defenders of the filibuster, told Inside Congress he would not endorse Harris over her comments on a carveout for reproductive rights: “My 60-vote threshold has always been there. I’m very strong on that and I believe it’s the bedrock of who we are.” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who’s also retiring and has not endorsed Harris, wrote on X that it was “an absolutely terrible, shortsighted idea.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is running for reelection but hasn’t endorsed Harris either, gave a more nuanced take: He doesn’t want to nix the filibuster altogether, even for abortion, but thinks there should be a “talking filibuster” instead, which would actually require senators to stand on the floor and speak to delay passage.

“Senator Tester will always stand up for the rights of Montana women to make their own healthcare decisions. … He supports a talking filibuster that would still protect the rights of the minority party but force an individual Senator to explain to the American people why they’re holding something up,” a Tester spokesperson wrote in a statement.

Whether Harris, should she become president, would have the support to create that filibuster carveout is still murky. And some Democrats have serious hesitations about creating a filibuster carveout on abortion that Republicans could in theory use to enact restrictions down the line.

Asked if the votes would be there to support the filibuster change, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told Inside Congress: “I am confident I and many of our colleagues will do exactly as Vice President Harris said today, which is to make sure that we restore the rights of Roe to every woman in this country.”

Ursula Perano and Anthony Adragna

 

A message from FICO:

Advertisement Image

 

LONG LIVE THE DOG PARADES

Congress is about to embark on six weeks of recess — even longer than the previous August break, if you can believe it. And one of the things that will fall by the wayside thanks to the break this October: Sen. Thom Tillis' (R-N.C.) annual “Bipawtisan Howl-o-ween Dog Parade.”

This is simply a sad fate of scheduling. We at Inside Congress love watching the Capitol’s best-dressed pups strutting their stuff. And it’s rough (or ruff, depending on your pun tolerance) luck for Tillis, who had to miss last year’s parade due to Covid. (Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was the backup emcee.)

But Tillis tells us he has a backup idea: Doggy Gras.

“I’ve proposed Doggy Gras,” the North Carolinian said, making a play on Mardi Gras. “If we can't do [Halloween], I think we ought to do a Mardi Gras makeup. It's all costumes and stuff.”

Mardi Gras — which falls on March 4 next year — is indeed full of costumes, masks and beads galore. We’re sure the Louisiana delegation could get behind it, too. And who wouldn’t love to see Capitol Hill’s canine delegation munching on specialty king cakes?

So far, nothing’s official yet. But pup lovers near and far, watch this space.

Ursula Perano

 

A message from FICO:

MYTH or FACT: FICO® Scores cost less than a slice of pizza. FACT! Mortgage closing costs can be thousands of dollars, but FICO's price is less than a slice of pizza — and the FICO® Score helps provide millions of Americans with homeownership. Test your knowledge.

 
HUDDLE HOTDISH

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre revealed he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s during a congressional hearing on welfare fraud.

The Johnny Cash statue was unveiled — we spotted Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders around the complex for the occasion.

The Senate’s beard caucus is growing.

QUICK LINKS 

Mike Johnson Caved to Democrats on Substance. Now He Has to Cave on Style Too, from Ben T.N. Mause, Riley Rogerson and Katherine Swartz at NOTUS.

PAC targeting Republican for ‘Swamp’ ties leans on DC dark money and billionaire Democrat, from Gabe Kaminsky in The Washington Examiner

Thousands of Capitol Hill staffers’ info spilled across dark web, security firm says, from Ryan Lovelace at the Washington Times.

‘The cactus endures’ — a Ways and Means tradition’s moment in the sun from Jason Dick at Roll Call

Mitt Romney’s Trump problem, from Samuel Benson in The Deseret News

TRANSITIONS 

Send us your transitions at insidecongress@politico.com.

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are in session.

WEDNESDAY AROUND THE HILL

11 a.m. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and House Democrats hold press conference to reintroduce the Child Care Infrastructure Act and the Child Care Workforce Development Act (Studio A)

Noon Rep. Chris Deluzio and Sen. Alex Padilla hold a press conference on the Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act. (House Triangle)

10 a.m. Senate Banking Committee hearing on SEC oversight. SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler testifies. (538 Dirksen) 

 2 p.m. Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee hearing on FAA oversight of Boeing’s “broken” safety culture. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker testifies. (342 Dirksen)

TRIVIA

MONDAY’S ANSWER: Brad Fitch was the first to correctly guess that John Paul Jones was the famous American commander, yesterday in 1779, when asked to surrender by a British officer, answered, “I have not yet begun to fight!”

TODAY’S QUESTION, from Brad: As a former public school teacher, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz joins a small club of former teachers to be on a presidential ticket. Who was the last presidential candidate of a major party who was a former public school teacher (non-college level)?

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

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcast
 

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://login.politico.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to salenamartine360.news1@blogger.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post