Another GOP spending bill goes poof

From: POLITICO Playbook PM - Thursday Nov 09,2023 06:29 pm

Nov 09, 2023

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Mike Johnson, flanked by reporters and aides, walks to his office.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, flanked by reporters and aides, walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 6, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Governing just isn’t getting any easier for new House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON.

The House GOP’s plan to pass a host of conservative, budget-slashing spending bills hit yet another pothole this morning, with leaders officially shelving the second of two appropriations bills that they had hoped to pass this week.

The Financial Services bill, which funds the Treasury Department and IRS as well as the D.C. city government, ran aground after a group of moderate Republicans vowed to vote against it due to language overruling a D.C. law dealing with women’s reproductive rights, Jennifer Scholtes, Caitlin Emma and Jordain Carney write.

But, they add, the bill also had pushback on the right from members trying to block the construction of a new FBI headquarters. Others, Olivia Beavers reports, were simply “upset some of their amendments didn’t pass.”

The upshot: Congress is just eight days out from a potential federal shutdown, and Republicans’ plans to force a confrontation with Democrats over government spending by passing all 12 fiscal 2024 spending bills is going nowhere fast. Johnson now has to settle on a strategy for passing a shutdown-averting stopgap without dividing his conference further.

What’s next: The House has adjourned until next Monday for Veterans Day weekend, leaving lawmakers with just five days to get their proverbial ducks in a row. At least for now, leaders say they are sticking with their bill-by-bill strategy as they craft a CR.

“Nothing is in trouble,” said Majority Whip TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) after the bill was pulled. “There are concerns that have to be addressed and as they're being addressed, the bills are actually getting better.”

A dissenting view: Said Rep. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-Ill.) as he left the House floor this morning: “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” (h/t HuffPo’s Arthur Delaney)

More fuel for the fire: Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) filed a privileged

resolution to impeach Homeland Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS over “high crimes and misdemeanors” in his handling of the southern border. The procedural move forces action on the measure early next week, handing GOP leadership another headache to deal with just days before a potential shutdown.

DRAMA IN DIRKSEN — The Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly adjourned without taking action on subpoenas issued to activist LEONARD LEO and billionaire HARLAN CROW, which were scheduled for votes this morning, Katherine Tully-McManus and Burgess Everett report. The subpoenas are a part of the Committee's ongoing investigation into multiple allegations of ethics violations by Supreme Court justices.

Committee Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) blamed the abrupt change on his GOP colleagues, who filed dozens of amendments that would have to be debated and disposed of. The panel “we ran out of time,” Durbin said, while insisting the subpoena motion would come back up again soon.

Some of the new amendments included a subpoena for the GPS and cellphone location data for HUNTER BIDEN and President JOE BIDEN from Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) and a subpoena for ProPublica, which broke several major SCOTUS ethics stories, from Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.). More from NBC News’ Frank Thorp

“I think they saw they are in for a fight,” Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) said of Democrats after the adjournment.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Messina Group, led by former Obama campaign adviser JIM MESSINA, is out with a new deck looking at five key lessons from Tuesday’s election results dealing with abortion, the economy, democracy, turnout and more. The topline: “Joe Biden and Democrats nationwide should feel confident after this week’s election.”

Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line: birvine@politico.com.

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AFTERNOON LISTEN — Greek PM KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS has said his country would consider participating in a sea corridor of humanitarian aid to Gaza if ships could operate with “full protection.” Speaking to POLITICO’s “Power Play” podcast, Mitsotakis said he would discuss all available humanitarian aid options with French President EMMANUEL MACRON and Arab leaders at a high-level summit in Paris today. The Greek PM told host Anne McElvoy his nation would be well-placed to participate in a maritime corridor to help aid shipments to Gaza. Listen here

LATEST IN THE MIDDLE EAST — National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY announced this morning that Israel agreed to implement daily “four-hour pauses” in the fighting areas of northern Gaza strip to allow civilians to flee the war-torn area. Israel also agreed to open two corridors to allow civilian passage from north to south Gaza, AP’s Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Josh Boak report.

The announcement comes after the White House has repeatedly urged the Israeli government to exercise caution as they continue their ground assault on the Gaza strip in response to the Oct. 7 attacks from Hamas.

Following the announcement, Biden said that there was “‘no possibility’ of a formal cease-fire to end the conflict at the moment, and it had ‘taken a little longer’ than he hoped for Israel to agree to the humanitarian pauses.” He added that he’s asked the Israeli government for a longer pause — of three days or more — as the U.S. works to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.

2024 WATCH

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — The fourth GOP presidential debate will be aired live on NewsNation and the CW network on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The debate will be moderated by Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas and Eliana Johnson. More from NewsNation’s Devan Markham

DEMS STILL ROCKIN’ THE SUBURBS — Although Republicans hoped that after 2022, the nation's suburbs would return to favor the GOP, suburbs in Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio swung back to the Democrats on Tuesday — with abortion issues dominating the conversation, NYT’s Jonathan Weisman reports.

The context: “‘Suburban America left the G.O.P. in 2016 when they didn’t like [former president DONALD] TRUMP’s behavior,’ said FRANK LUNTZ, a Republican pollster and message adviser. ‘They began to come back in 2022 when they rejected Joe Biden’s economic policies, but they will leave again if the conversation is about abortion and social policy.’”

A Virginia case study: “‘We let the Democrats drive the message and make it all about abortion,’ said JOHN WHITBECK, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia … “The reality is Virginia has some districts that vote blue. In a year where Roe v. Wade is driving intensity, there’s no way for us to win those districts.’”

AD WARS — Ohio Senate candidate BERNIE MORENO out with the first broadcast ad for the Ohio senate race, as part of “roughly $2 milli[on]” ad buy, NYT’s Maggie Haberman reports. The 30-second spot describes Moreno as “just like Trump” as a “a businessman and a political outsider.” Moreno is set to face off against Ohio Secretary of State FRANK LaROSE and State Sen. MATT DOLAN for the GOP nomination in an effort to oust vulnerable Democratic Sen. SHERROD BROWN.

THE WHITE HOUSE

EYEBROW RAISE — WaPo’s Michael Kranish is up with a look at the “untold story” behind a short-lived FBI inquiry into then-senator Joe Biden’s membership at an exclusive Delaware golf club: “A firm controlled by [club founder LISA DEAN] MOSLEY had given Biden entrance to the club without the usual upfront partnership fee … As a result, for about one month in 2007, the FBI investigated whether Biden, then a senator, had received a monetary benefit — and whether he should have disclosed that.”

CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

HAPPENING TODAY — The federal trial of DAVID DePAPE, the man who is charged in the 2022 break-in and attack of PAUL PELOSI, opens today in San Francisco. Though the case centers around DePape, it also “spotlights the online disinformation cycle that has been fed by conspiracy theorists, conservative activists, elected officials and media outlets,” NYT’s Tim Arango and Holly Secon report.

HAPPENING TODAY PART DEUX — “Appeals court set to consider Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction,” by CBS News’ Robert Legare

WAR IN UKRAINE

WAR AND PEACE — Ukraine’s latest effort to bring together world leaders for a global peace summit is losing steam as tensions as the unrest in the Middle East has caused “fresh rifts among the U.S., other Western countries and some leading Arab and developing-world powers that Ukraine had hoped to bring onto its side,” WSJ’s Laurence Norman scoops.

The gist: “After gatherings in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Malta this year, Ukrainian and European officials had been hoping to convene a leaders summit before the end of the year. That now seems unlikely.”

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AMERICA AND THE WORLD

DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN meets Chinese Vice Premier HE LIFENG today, kicking off the first of two days of high-level meetings focused on improving communication between both nation’s economies, WSJ’s Andrew Duehren reports.

The big picture: “Over the two days of talks in San Francisco this week, the American and Chinese teams are likely to be more focused on their macroeconomic fortunes, officials and analysts say. Beijing is concerned that high U.S. interest rates are battering its currency, while the Biden administration worries that China’s slowdown could spur a rush of cheap exports that hurt U.S. businesses.”

Yellen's meetings come just ahead of a meeting between Biden and Chinese President XI JINPING in San Francisco next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. In advance of the summit, House Republicans on the Select Committee on China are pushing Biden in a new letter to "challenge Beijing" to show it wants a better relationship with the U.S., NBC News’ Kyle Stewart scoops.

“Committee Chair Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER, R-Wis., who led the letter, outlined demands that Biden should make to Xi, which include stemming the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl, releasing Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner JIMMY LAI and others held by China, as well as ending near-collisions between Chinese and U.S. warships.”

Related read: “U.S. plans to build a $553 million terminal at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port in rivalry with China,” by AP’s Bharatha Mallawarachi and Didi Tang

MEDIAWATCH

BIG BUMMER — “G/O Media Shuts Down Jezebel as Layoffs Hit Company,” by The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Cartwright and Corbin Bolies: “The layoffs will affect 23 people, CEO JIM SPANFELLER confirmed in a memo to staff on Thursday, and G/O Media editorial director MERRILL BROWN has also exited the company.”

MISCELLANY

PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. winter forecast: Most snow in 5 years and boosted big storm chances,” by WaPo’s Matt Ross and Jason Samenow

GET READY FOR POLITICO’S DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/14: Russia’s war on Ukraine … China’s threats to Taiwan … a war in Gaza. The U.S. is under increasing pressure to deter, defend and fight in more ways — but not everyone agrees how. Join POLITICO's 3rd Annual Defense Summit on November 14 for exclusive interviews and expert discussions on global security and the U.S.'s race to bolster alliances and stay ahead of adversaries. Explore critical topics, including international conflicts, advanced technology, spending priorities and political dynamics shaping global defense strategies. Don’t miss these timely and important discussions. REGISTER HERE.

PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED last night at the Swiss ambassador’s residence for the inaugural D.C. event of the intellectual community World.Minds, where Anne Neuberger, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Gerry Petrella, Christopher Mason and Alexandra Reeve Givens were interviewed by Christoph Keese: Rolf Dobelli, Corinna Hoyer, Neera Tanden, Dan Koh, John Allen, Wendy Anderson, Alex Conant, Mo Elleithee, Evelyn Farkas, David Bohigian, DJ Nordquist, Danielle Burr, Peter Cherukuri, Bruce Andrews, Mark Ein, Jonathan Silver Drew Maloney and Steve Clemons.

— SPOTTED yesterday evening at the 2023 Zero Emission Transportation Association EV Awards at Union Station, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered a video message: Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Al Gore, Albert Gore III, Joe Britton, Gabe Klein, Bryce Crocker and Robert Lee.

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