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| By Katherine Tully-McManus
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Presented by the Network |
With help from Olivia Beavers and Sarah Ferris FIRST THINGS FIRST — Abortion bills are first on the agenda in the House, now that Republicans are finally in the driver's seat for the first time since the June 24 Supreme Court decision on abortion access that marked a landmark win for the anti-abortion movement.
Republicans are coming in hot on an issue that remains key to their base and has support of the full GOP conference, but that produced mixed results (at best) in the midterm elections. While the GOP narrowly secured control of the House, abortion was not a broadly successful electoral message for Republicans during the midterms in which abortion rights supporters swept six state-level ballot measures to preserve access to the procedure.
"We learned nothing from the midterms if this is how we're going to operate in the first week. Millions of women across the board were angry over overturning Roe v. Wade," Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Tuesday. But abortion is still a key issue for the Republican base and action on these measures were promises made by Republican leaders and many in the GOP conference while on the campaign trail last year, both before and after the overturning of Roe.
“I am proud that Republicans are following through on the promises that we made to the American people. All life is sacred and must be protected,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a statement.
On the floor today is legislation sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) aimed at GOP concerns about infants who survive an attempted abortion. It would require health care providers to care for a child who survived an attempted abortion, a situation that is exceedingly rare. Medical providers could face up to five years in prison under the bill. The protection is already codified by a 2002 bipartisan law that solidified that infants have the rights of a full human.
The measure has 166 GOP cosponsors and has previously passed the House, including in 2018. But the bill has no chance in the Democratic controlled Senate. The other measure is a nonbinding “sense of Congress” resolution condemning attacks on anti-abortion facilities, groups, and churches. Mace took aim at these bills being the first on the agenda for the Republican-led House, even though she is signed on as a cosponsor to the “born alive” measure.
"Trying to find a balance between protecting women's rights and the right to life is gonna be very important. What we're doing this week is paying lip service to life," said Mace
. "Nothing that we're doing this week on protecting life is ever going to make it through the Senate." She was glad that the plan to bring up a third measure this week to make the Hyde Amendment permanent, prohibiting federal funding for abortion and insurance plans that cover abortion, was scrapped. She said at least the two bills on the floor today "are things that we everybody can agree on, even Republican or Democrat." (We don’t expect many Democratic votes for the “born alive” measure.)
RELATED READS: America’s abortion access divide is reshaping blue-state border towns
, by Shia Kapos: “New or expanded health care clinics are starting to bring more people into small towns after the fall of Roe v. Wade.” ‘We want people to be uncomfortable’: The conservative plan to target pharmacies that dispense abortion pills
, by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Lauren Gardner: “The emerging strategy could further limit the Biden administration’s already limited policy.”
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GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, Jan. 11, where we’re thinking of Blake Houndshell’s family and friends today. More on that below. WHO NEEDS A TAX CODE, ANYWAYS?
— Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) told Sarah on Tuesday
that his “Fair Tax Act” bill will get its first-ever floor vote this year, a concession he negotiated as part of the negotiations over the votes for McCarthy’s speakership. It was a demand from the 20 holdouts. The bill would be a bombshell – eliminating the IRS and killing income, payroll, gift, corporate and death taxes to replace them with a nationwide consumption tax on services and goods. But the proposal has no chance of becoming law. It's also a Georgia tradition:
Reps. Carter and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) have pushed for it in this Congress, but before him, it was former Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), and before that former Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.). (Woodall had been Linder's chief of staff.) Advocates aren’t sure that it will hit the floor before Tax Day, but they are confident it will come for a vote this year. Show me the score: If the Joint Committee on Taxation scores the bill, stay tuned. It might send shivers down some lawmakers’ spines.
MIKE’S A MILLION — If you can’t remember who chairs which committee in the House, it's a safe bet that they are named Michael.
- Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) heads Armed Services
- Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) heads Foreign Affairs
- Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) heads Veterans’ Affairs
- Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) heads Intelligence
- Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) heads the Select Committee on China
- Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) is acting head for Ethics
If you’re wondering, the two women who chair House committees this congress are Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) on Appropriations and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) on Energy and Commerce. C-SPAN’S BIANNUAL ASK —
C-SPAN has officially asked Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a letter Tuesday
to allow C-SPAN to cover the House floor with its own cameras. Speakers from both parties have denied that same request
. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is proposing an amendment to the House rules to allow C-SPAN cameras on the chamber floor during normal proceedings. That followed an announcement from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) that he would also be proposing a measure to allow C-SPAN access to the chamber. Will we see Gaetz and Pocan team up? TBD. Pocan’s team told Huddle he’s willing to work with anyone on the issue. GRASSLEY SLOWED DOWN —
Prolific runner Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) may be forced to slow down for a while. The 89-year-old Iowa Republican hurt his hip, according to his office, and will have surgery this week. “He is otherwise in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery,” statement says.
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GOODBYE, BLAKE —
The POLITICO newsroom was stunned and saddened by the death of Blake Hounshell, who brought your Huddle host to POLITICO and was a brilliant advocate for this newsletter. We are thinking of Blake’s beloved family and all who knew him and worked with him.
From our Editor-in-Chief Matt Kaminski: “Blake spent nearly a decade at POLITICO, leaving us in late 2021, and there were few people in the history of our publication who have left a more lasting mark. Blake was a mentor to countless great journalists here, many of whom he recruited and edited. He championed unusual talents and quirky ideas. He hated conventionality. In so many ways, Blake personified the essential journalistic values of this publication." In Remembrance of a Beloved and Very Online Journalist
, from Garrett M. Graff. Our friends at Playbook had an incredible tribute to Blake in this morning’s edition
. Anyone in crisis or looking to help someone else can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (veterans can press 1 for veteran-specific care) or text SAVE to 741741 for free and confidential support.
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Now we’re cooking with gas… If you thought “COME AND TAKE IT!!!” rhetoric was only for guns, you were wrong. Republicans are ready to defend their gas stoves. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) said “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands,” in a Tuesday tweet
. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) already has a logo cooking
. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission floated a possible ban on gas stoves amid rising concern about harmful indoor air pollutants, but there’s no consensus. Sock it to me… Things you learn in the halls of Congress: Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) – the famed sock enthusiast
– has taken in recent years to giving away socks from his extensive collection to colleagues, a habit he picked up while mayor of Provo, Utah
. He makes a point to send them to fellow members for their birthdays. We learned that Curtis's January batch went out on Tuesday – 20 pairs in all. And for those wondering, Curtis’ socks during his conversation with POLITICO were brain-themed. QUICK LINKS N.Y. Lawmakers Request House Ethics Investigation of George Santos
, from Michael Gold at The New York Times How a speaker of the House can be ousted with a 'motion to vacate'
, from Kyle Stewart at NBC News Lauren Boebert Was a Loser in the House Speaker Fight, But You’d Never Know It From How She’s Acting
, from Daniel Strauss at The New Republic TRANSITIONS Mike Marinella is now press secretary for Rep. Dan Newhouse’s (R-Wash.) personal office. He was previously press secretary for Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) re-election campaign.
Claire Nance is now communications director for Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.). She was previously communications director for Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). Marissa Davis will be press secretary and digital director for Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.). She previously was press assistant at the Democratic National Committee.
The Congressional Hispanic Staffers Association is celebrating new jobs for nearly 20 members
. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.) is adding Shannon Geison as chief of staff, Kelly Nickel as legislative director and Teddy Lake
as comms director. Geison previously worked on Salinas’ campaign and is a Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) alum. Nickel previously was legislative director for Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.). Lake most recently was deputy press secretary for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Omar Hossino is now a senior professional policy staff member for the House Republican Study Committee. He previously was legislative director and counsel to Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
Theresa W. Reed, most recently communications director for Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), has joined Hance Scarborough Law Firm as counsel in the federal affairs practice. Mollie Timmons is now comms director for Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.). She previously was press secretary for Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and is a Justice Department alum.
Sen. Bill Hagerty’s (R-Tenn.) team: Betsy Van Dam is now Hagerty’s deputy chief of staff and confidential assistant after two years as his director of scheduling. Walton Stivender has been named director of scheduling and comes from Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.) office, where she served as scheduler and assistant to the chief of staff. Michael Manucy has been named legislative correspondent and was previously a staff assistant for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
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2022 brought in a new class of mayors leading “majority minority” cities, reshaping who is at the nation’s power tables and what their priorities are. Join POLITICO to hear from local leaders on how they’re responding to being tested by unequal Covid-19 outcomes, upticks in hate crimes, homelessness, lack of affordable housing, inflation and a potential recession. REGISTER HERE.
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TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business.
The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and others hold a press conference on H.J. Res. 8, the “Keep the Nine” constitutional amendment. (Studio A)
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TUESDAY’S WINNER: Matt Weibel correctly answered that during John Adams’ presidency, Tennessee Sen. William Blount was impeached for conspiring with the British over Spanish-controlled Louisiana and Florida. TODAY’S QUESTION from Matt:
Which two private citizens faced trial by the House for attempted bribery of Congress in 1796? Bonus: What Supreme Court decision affirmed the right of the House to arrest and try citizens for contempt of Congress? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to k...@politico.com.
GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone
each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus
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| A message from the Network: Help Wanted: Bold Leaders, Big Ideas!
Across the country, voters rejected political extremes on both sides of the aisle in favor of leaders who touted bipartisan, common-sense solutions. But the incentives in politics often push lawmakers into their corners and divide them from what their constituents want and need. To transform this broken system, a group of advocates who helped pass the most significant federal bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation in a generation created the Network – an effort dedicated to encouraging lawmakers from all political backgrounds to work together on data-driven legislative solutions.
Through high-profile events, investments in lawmakers’ districts, strategic giving and promoting evidence-based policy, the Network is putting people over partisanship.
Learn more about our bipartisan network solving America’s greatest challenges at jointhenetwork.us
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