The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Biden’s agenda on life support

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

TALK OF THE MORNING 

Hindsight for 2021 is 20/20: 

After months and months of failed negotiations with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Democrats are openly questioning their strategy for passing President Biden’s legislative agenda. 

A quick refresher: Biden’s infrastructure initiatives were separated from his climate and social spending bill as part of negotiations with Manchin. It was a risk for Democrats to separate the two as they would lose their bargaining chips.  

The plan at the time: “The plan was to pass a traditional infrastructure bill with Republican votes to score a bipartisan accomplishment for Biden and then follow it up with a budget reconciliation measure passed with only Democratic votes including more controversial elements of the president’s agenda.”  

But now it’s looking like the social and climate proposals are crumbling. 

What Dems are now saying about the strategy, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton 

➤  ‘DEMOCRATS WANT BIDEN TO GO SCORCHED-EARTH ON GOP’: 
From The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Hanna Trudo 

IT’S WEDNESDAY. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🌡 The heat 

Meanwhile in Europe … :

Vox’s Neel Dhanesha and Benji Jones write, “It’s so hot in Europe that roads are literally buckling: The world wasn’t built for this heat.”  

Why the buildings can’t handle the heat: “Part of the problem is that many buildings, highways, and other infrastructure in Europe are old and built with outdated temperature extremes in mind, said Mikhail Chester, an associate professor of engineering at Arizona State University. They simply can’t tolerate the new normal, he said. Hence things like railway fires in London.” What this could mean for Europe 

➤ ‘BRUTAL HEAT DOME MOVES EAST, WITH CENTRAL EUROPE SET TO SWELTER’: 

From The Washington Post’s Rachel Pannett and Jennifer Hassan 

➤ ‘HERE ARE SOME US CITIES THAT SET RECORDS TUESDAY AS TEMPERATURES SOARED TO AS HIGH AS 115 DEGREES’:
From CNN’s Robert Shackelford 

➤ OP-ED: 
‘Record heat has terrifying impacts’

💬 Jan. 6 

Tuesday came — and Tuesday went: 

The Secret Service missed Tuesday’s deadline to turn over erased text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021, to the committee investigating the pro-Trump mob attacking the U.S. Capitol. 

Why?: The agency says it did not find any new text messages. 

What the committee did receive — Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) told MSNBC: “We received a letter today that did provide us with a lot of documents and some data. However, we did not receive the additional text messages that we were looking for.”  

What we know, via The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Mike Lillis 

➤ ‘THE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE SHOWS WHAT BIPARTISANSHIP IS — AND WHAT IT ISN’T’: 
Read the Washington Post op-ed from Jennifer Rubin 

Interesting! Mike Pence was applauded by House Republicans for Jan. 6: 

Via The Hill’s Emily Brooks, “House Republican lawmakers applauded former Vice President Mike Pence for his actions on Jan. 6, giving him a warm reception as he spoke to members of the conservative Republican Study Committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.”  

Why this is worth mentioning: “On Jan. 6, 147 lawmakers voted object to electoral results, including many members of the Republican Study Committee and its chair, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).” More on today’s significance
 

🌈 In Congress 

The politics of this vote should be pretty fascinating:

The House voted on Tuesday to protect same-sex marriage rights after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called it into question.  

The vote: 267-157. All Democrats voted “yes,” 157 Republicans voted “no,” 47 Republicans voted with Democrats and seven Republicans did not vote.  

What the bill would do: Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which says marriage is between one man and one woman. It would also require legal marriages in one state to be recognized in others.  

What now?: It heads to the Senate, where it could face a questionable vote. 

Here’s a list of the 47 Republicans who voted “yes” to codify same-sex marriage rights:  

➤ TIDBIT — REMEMBER THAT DEMS WOULD NEED 10+ REPUBLICANS TO PASS THE BILL: 
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton tweeted, “Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) says he’s looking at the House-passed same-sex marriage bill and ‘probably will’ vote for it.”

🚶 Getting traction 

How world leaders make each other uncomfortable: 

Russian President Vladimir Putin walked out to a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan but stood there awkwardly for roughly 40 seconds until Erdoğan arrived.

The National’s Joyce Karam gave some context to the move: “It’s also a sweet payback for Erdogan who in 2020 was humiliated by Putin as he made him wait 2 minutes in a power game play in Russia. 2022 in Iran, many tables have turned.”

Putin has also done this to other world leaders: Business Insider writes, “Putin may be unused to such treatment, but he is no stranger to doling it out: In previous years, he has kept leaders like former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waiting for hours when they were in power, Radio Free Europe reported.” Read the full Business Insider story on the interaction

💐 Happening today 

Rest in peace, Ivana Trump:
 
Ivana Trump, the mother of Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka Trump and ex-wife of former President Trump, will be put to rest on Wednesday in New York City. 

Where her funeral will take place, according to ABC News: At St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side 

➤ TIDBIT — TRUMP REMEMBERS IVANA AS ‘BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT’: 
Former President Trump called longtime friend and New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams to chat about Ivana Trump. 

Trump said, according to Adams: “She was outstanding. Beautiful inside and out. We began all of it, our lives together, with such a great relationship.” More from The Hill’s Judy Kurtz

🦠 Latest with COVID 

➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS 

Cases to date: 89.4 million 

Death toll: 1,019,596 

Current hospitalizations: 33,333 

Shots administered: 599 million 

Fully vaccinated: 67.1 percent of Americans 

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets 

Bahahaha:

The Baltimore Banner tweeted, “What you said: Order pizza for 40,” followed by, “What I heard: Order 40 pizzas.” Photo of the 40 pizzas ordered

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Massachusetts. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C., with no public events scheduled.

• 9:30 a.m.: Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 
• 11:45 a.m.: Biden left for Massachusetts. 
• 1 – 2:30 p.m.: First and last votes in the House. The House’s agenda today 
• 3:30 p.m.: Biden returns to Washington, D.C. 

 All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

• 12:40 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream 
• 1 p.m.: The Hill is hosting a virtual Latina Leaders’ Summit. Livestream 
• 2:45 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks on the climate crisis and clean energy. Livestream

🍭🌭 In lighter news 

Today is National Lollipop Day and National Hot Dog Day. 

We’ve gone too far: 

Washingtonian’s Andrew Beaujon tweeted, “D.C. is finally getting Velveeta-infused martinis.”  

Because this sounds like a troll — here’s proof that it’s real: ” ‘The Veltini’ is available at BLT Steak in DC and home-delivery cocktail kits.” Photos and the full story

And because you’ve made it this far, here’s a standard, normal FaceTime call.