It’s a dreary Tuesday in the District. ☔️ Capitol Hill is a bit chaotic at the moment with lawmakers scrambling to keep the government open — and making contingency plans for a possible shutdown. Here’s what’s happening today:
The Supreme Court rejected Alabama’s proposed congressional map that would only include one majority-Black district. A few moderate Republicans are considering helping Democrats to force a government funding vote. That would be a big deal.
Biden’s campaign team is strategizing how to prevent the president from having any more public tripping incidents, ranging from physical therapy to comfortable shoes.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-stage.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called on his fellow New Jersey senator, Bob Menendez (D), to step down following his federal bribery indictment.
From Booker’s lengthy statement: “Senator Menendez is again facing a federal indictment, one that contains shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing. I’ve found the allegations hard to reconcile with the person I know.”
Booker also said: “The details of the allegations against Senator Menendez are of such a nature that the faith and trust of New Jerseyans as well as those he must work with in order to be effective have been shaken to the core.” More from Booker |
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➤ SOME VULNERABLE SENATORS WLL DONATE MENENDEZ’S CONTRIBUTIONS:
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Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who are up for reelection in 2024, are donating the $10,000 they accepted from Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) political action committee. (The Hill) |
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➤ HOW MANY SENATORS HAVE CALLED ON MENENDEZ TO RESIGN?:
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More than 10 senators have called for Menendez to resign, according to The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes. The list
A number of lawmakers in the House have also called for Menendez to resign (The Hill) |
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All right, now we’re getting somewhere:
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The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Senate leaders are preparing to introduce a no-frills, short-term government funding bill, hoping to find a path forward to avoid a shutdown this weekend.
What I mean by ‘no frills’: It doesn’t include any of the more controversial proposals that have fueled talks of a shutdown. For example: No significant Ukraine funding or disaster relief.
Politically: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both do not want a shutdown. The dynamics are a bit trickier in the House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is under intense pressure from hard-line Republicans. How this could play out in the Senate: “The continuing resolution will pass the Senate later in the week but any senator could drag out the proceeding until Saturday or Sunday by refusing to waive procedural hurdles.” What to know about this clean, no-frills funding bill
The challenge with the Senate strategy: From Punchbowl News’s Jake Sherman: “The Senate is looking to jam the House by sending it a mostly clean stopgap for 45 days, lining up a deadline on the doorstep of thanksgiving. [The White House] wants Ukraine funding and disaster. [McCarthy], who has said [Republicans] should use stopgap for border/spending cuts is going to have a very hard time putting this on the floor.”
How to follow the updates: Here’s a live blog of the developments in the government funding drama. |
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5 Republicans could cause some chaos:
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A group of moderate House Republicans are toying with the idea of joining Democrats to fund the government past Sept. 30. How it would work: If enough Republicans join Democrats in signing a discharge petition, they could force a vote against the wishes of the Speaker. How many Republicans are on board?: “Five Republicans would need to join their party’s leaders in order to force action with Democrats.” So far, at least three Republicans seem open to the option.
This would be *big deal*: “Signing an opposing party’s discharge petition would be an act of political mutiny, so the increased public conversation — and support — surrounding the break-the-glass option underscores the pressure lawmakers are under as they race to prevent an end-of-month shutdown after the House GOP flailed on multiple spending fronts last week.” How this plan could play out, via The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks |
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➤ THIS IS A DEFINING MOMENT FOR MCCARTHY:
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has had a tough time wrangling his party to prevent a shutdown. “A handful of holdouts have opposed any kind of short-term funding measure, preventing the Speaker from passing a GOP-only stopgap before negotiating with Democrats.” (The Hill) More from The Hill: Democrats sharpen shutdown attacks on McCarthy, GOP |
Not to taunt the lawmakers who are stressed this week, but …:
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The Washington Post’s Jesús Rodríguez checked in with a few retired lawmakers to see how they’re doing. (The Washington Post)
From former Sen. Barbara Boxer: “There is life after the Senate. And it’s good.”
From former Sen. Olympia Snowe: “’What do I do in my free time? Well …’ A sheepish laugh. ‘Well, I — Yeeeah, I like to go to the movies. Play some golf. I describe that loosely.’”
When I grow up, I want to be a former senator: Check out the photos of these former lawmakers living their best lives. |
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The Supreme Court said NOPE:
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“The Supreme Court refused to reinstate Alabama’s Republican-drawn congressional map, enabling a court-appointed official to draw the lines for the 2024 election instead.”
Details: “The justices in June struck down Alabama’s previous map for likely diluting the power of Black voters, and the current dispute concerned a new version that still did not add a second majority-Black district.”
This is a big win for voting rights advocates and a group of Black America voters who had sued. (The Hill)
More from The Hill: All eyes on ethics as Supreme Court justices return to Washington |
Hunter Biden is suing Rudy Giuliani and his former attorney, accusing them of “hacking into” and “manipulating” data related to his devices.
From the civil suit filed: “For the past many months and even years, Defendants have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and energy toward looking for, hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over data that they were given that was taken or stolen from Plaintiff’s devices or storage platforms, including what Defendants claim to have obtained from Plaintiff’s alleged ‘laptop’ computer.’” (The Hill)
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I’m just thinking out loud, but what if he doesn’t … trip and fall?:
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Axios’s Alex Thompson reports that “President Biden and his campaign are working on a critical project for his re-election bid: Make sure he doesn’t trip.”
How Biden’s team is trying to prevent Biden from falling: Biden has been working on balance exercises with a physical therapist and wearing tennis shoes. (Axios)
Behind the scenes: “Some senior Democrats privately have been frustrated with Biden’s advance team for months, citing the sandbag incident and noting that the president often appears not to know which direction to go after he speaks at a podium.” Video of the sandbag incident in June |
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➤ REACTION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE:
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White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Move over, tan suit! Can confirm: @POTUS is one of the millions of Americans with sneakers. Notice that when others do the same, the media’s tone is different?”
White House communications director Ben LaBolt posted: “The single greatest scandal in presidential history (since President Obama wore a tan suit).” Some context to those reactions, including the tan suit reference |
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President Biden is in Michigan to join autoworkers on the picket line. (The New York Times)
What’s notable: Former President Trump will be visiting Michigan tomorrow. *Cough* swing state *cough* |
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🥧 Celebrate: Today is National Key Lime Pie Day! *said with a southern twang*
📬 Now this is a useful read: The Washington Post’s Michael J. Coren has some tips for “how to keep junk snail mail out of your mailbox forever.” (The Washington Post) 🕯️I just thought you should know: There’s a six-foot wax candle of Abraham Lincoln at a Washington, D.C., elementary school. It is covered in wicks. (Popville)
☕️ Because Tatte is taking over: Washingtonian’s Mimi Montgomery came up with a nickname for all of the Tatte cafes in Washington, D.C. (Washingtonian) |
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🎤 JUST ANNOUNCED — The same debate stage minus one: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not qualify this time around. (The Hill) 🐎 ‘GOP concerns grow over Trump presence in House races’: (The Hill) |
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Michigan and is heading to California this afternoon. Vice President Harris is in Georgia. (all times Eastern) |
1:20 p.m.: Harris and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speak at Morehouse College. 📺 Livestream
3 p.m.: The Senate meets. A cloture vote is scheduled around 5:30 p.m. Today’s agenda
3:15 p.m.: Harris speaks at a campaign reception in Atlanta. 6:30 p.m.: First House votes of the day. Last votes are scheduled around 10:30 p.m. Today’s agenda
9:30 p.m.: Biden participates in a campaign reception in Atherton, Calif. He then heads to San Francisco.
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