Biden backs dropping filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade
McConnell threatens to scuttle bipartisan competitiveness bill
Inside today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 1, 2022:
A surprise threat from the Senate’s top Republican.
Split decisions from the Supreme Court.
A broken hip for a senior Senator.
FILIBUSTER. With few options to achieve anything legislatively after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, President Biden on Thursday endorsed the idea of something he’s long resisted - punching more holes in the Senate filibuster.
ABORTION. “We have to codify Roe v. Wade into law,” Biden said at a news conference after a NATO meeting in Spain. “If the filibuster gets in the way, then we need to make an exception to get it done.” As a veteran Senator, Biden has long resisted such changes to the filibuster.
DEMOCRATS. While Biden now says he's for changing the rules on the filibuster, nothing has changed for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) or Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) - both of them remain opposed to any tinkering with that tool of legislative delay.
NUCLEAR. The call to use the ‘nuclear option’ has certainly become a rallying cry for many Democrats. "We cannot wait a generation or two for justice," said Tom Nelson, who is running for Senate in Wisconsin. "We must abolish the filibuster, enact term limits for the justices, and expand the Court."
CHANGE. “President Biden is absolutely right,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “ If you allow the broken rules of the Senate to stand in the way of guaranteeing basic rights for our people, you don’t really stand for those rights.”
BOTTOM LINE. Sooner or later, the filibuster will be history in the U.S. Senate. But it’s probably not going to happen in 2022.
SHOTS FIRED. For a quiet summer day in Congress, there was some major news Thursday, as Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell threatened to sink a bipartisan competitiveness bill, warning Democrats against acting on an unrelated reconciliation measure - which can be passed with only Democratic Party votes.
MCCONNELL. "Let me be perfectly clear," McConnell tweeted out of the blue on Thursday afternoon, "there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill."
RECONCILIATION. The blunt warning came as news reports indicated progress in talks between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) on an effort to revive a reconciliation bill which stalled out months ago.
RX DRUGS. Democrats immediately accused McConnell of trying to block a prescription drug reform package that Manchin has been developing as part of those negotiations.
CHIPS BILL. The bipartisan competitiveness bill - which features $52 billion to spur domestic production of semiconductor chips - has been stuck in House-Senate negotiations, despite broad support in both parties. It would be a big deal if that went down the drain.
HOSTAGE. The White House blasted McConnell. "The Republican Senate leader is holding hostage a bipartisan package to strengthen American competitiveness versus China," said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. "Why? To protect the ability of big pharmaceutical companies to price gouge."
SUPREME COURT. It was a split decision for the White House on the final day of the 2021-22 Supreme Court term. The Justices dealt a setback to EPA efforts to regulate emissions related to climate change, but they gave the White House a win on efforts to get rid of a Trump Administration immigration policy.
CLIMATE CHANGE. The court ruled that Congress did not specifically authorize the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions as a way to deal with climate change. "The agency instead must point to “clear congressional authorization” for the power it claims," the court's majority ruled.
REGULATIONS. In the current political climate, there is no way that the Congress could pass legislation giving EPA the specific power to regulate such emissions. It raises the question as to whether there are other policies which could be upended for the same lack of specific Congressional authority.
EPA. The head of the EPA labeled the ruling a 'setback.' "We will move forward using our Clean Air Act authority, consistent with the law, to set greenhouse gas standards for power plants," said Administrator Michael Regan.
LEGISLATIVE NERD NOTE. But it should be noted that the last big amendments to the Clean Air Act passed by the Congress came in 1990. Thirty-two years later, it’s hard to imagine lawmakers approving tighter regulations to make sure you are breathing clean air.
REMAIN IN MEXICO. On immigration, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden Administration, refusing to leave in place a Trump-era policy which required some migrants to wait in Mexico after applying for asylum in the U.S.
LINEUP. The usual lines were broken in this case, as Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh joined with the court's three more liberal members to provide the majority. The outcome was definitely a curveball on the term's final day.
REMANDED. The legal fight over the immigration policy changes sought by President Biden is not quite over. The Justices sent the case back down to lower courts to consider the specific changes sought by the Department of Homeland Security.
APA. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, as long as the changes in federal policy are backed up - and are not considered ‘arbitrary and capricious’ - the Biden Administration should be able to move forward with the changes.
CONGRESS. The reaction in Congress was what you would expect. Democrats praised the immigration decision and denounced the EPA ruling - with Republicans doing the exact opposite.
KETANJI. After those cases were ruled upon, the court welcomed the newest Justice to the bench, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in. Jackson is just the fifth Justice put on the High Court by a Democratic President since 1967. Donald Trump named three Justices in four years. Democrats have five in 55 years.
ABORTION. The two parties skirmished over abortion on Thursday in a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee, as the panel worked on government funding bills. Republicans tried to add language known as the 'Hyde Amendment' - which bans federal funding for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
HYDE. Named for former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the provision had been routinely included in the Labor-HHS bill since 1976. House Democrats dropped it last year - but the provision made it into the final Omnibus funding bill. The same thing will probably happen for 2023 as well.
PROTESTS. In Thursday's newsletter, I told you how quiet things had been out in front of the Supreme Court this week. A few hours later, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and well over 180 other demonstrators were arrested after blocking Constitution Avenue, just a block down from the Court.
TARIFFS. Most of the time from Congress we hear pleas from both parties for the White House to get rid of tariffs slapped on a variety of imports by the Trump Administration. But not everyone is on the same page. One Minnesota Congressman wants to keep tariffs on steel from China.
STAUBER. In a letter to President Biden, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) says repealing the tariffs on Chinese steel imports would have a 'devastating' impact on his state. "Keeping the steel tariffs would support Minnesota workers & families by protecting our taconite industry," Stauber said.
INFLATION. What's one reason to get rid of tariffs? They contribute to inflation, by raising the prices that consumers have to pay. Donald Trump always wrongly claimed China would pay the tariffs - when they are actually paid by American importers, and then passed on to consumers.
BIDEN. It’s not clear what Biden will do on steel and other import duties. I’m not so sure repealing tariffs will have a giant impact on inflation. How much do you think the U.S. gets in tariffs each month? (Jeopardy theme. Jeopardy theme. Jeopardy theme.) The answer is about $8 billion a month.
JANUARY 6. Originally, the Jan. 6 committee was going to be dark this week, taking a two week break along with the rest of Congress. Instead, the panel brought out former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who publicly opened up a series of new lines of inquiry about President Trump's actions related to the Capitol attack. Here’s one to think about.
PHONE. At Donald Trump's rally on Jan. 6, as soon as Trump said he was going with the crowd to the Capitol, Hutchinson's cell phone rang. It was House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy. "You told me the whole week you aren't coming up here," Hutchinson quoted McCarthy as saying. "Why would you lie to me?"
CALLS. Not only does this show that Hutchinson and McCarthy certainly knew each other, but it also indicates that they had clearly spoken in the days before Jan. 6. And what McCarthy said shows that the House GOP Leader was obviously worried about what might happen if Trump came to the Capitol.
MCCARTHY. It would be easy enough for the House Minority Leader to explain what was going through his mind at that point - and what he was worried about in the days before Jan. 6. But McCarthy has refused to cooperate with the committee.
JULY. The panel is expected to hold at least two more hearings in July - and it won't surprise me if that number grows, especially as the committee goes through more video evidence from the White House - before and after Jan. 6.
LEAHY. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) underwent surgery on Thursday for a broken hip after a fall at his home in suburban Washington, D.C. "His doctors determined that the best course of action would be to have surgery to repair his hip as soon as possible," Leahy's office said in a statement.
EYES. That statement revealed something that I did not know about Leahy - that he was born blind in one eye. "He has taken some remarkable dingers over the years," a statement said, "but this one finally caught up with him."
AGE. Leahy's injury was also a reminder that a number of Senators are just plain old. Leahy is 82, and is one of seven Senators age 80 or older (Feinstein, Grassley, Shelby, Inhofe, Leahy, McConnell, and Sanders.) Another 26 Senators are over age 70.
WHITE HOUSE. A group of White House reporters have sent a letter to President Biden's Press Secretary complaining about restrictions on the press in familiar White House venues. "We appreciate that COVID-19 social distancing guidance played a role at first," the letter states, noting there has been no 'explanation as to why the areas that have traditionally been opened to all press remain restricted.'
POOL. What's happened at the White House is that instead of an event in the East Room being open to anyone there with the proper press pass - access to those events is being limited. "A reporter's ability to question the most powerful man in our government shouldn't be discretionary," the group wrote.
NAMES. The signatories on this letter aren't a bunch of cranks. Steven Portnoy of CBS, the head of the White House Correspondents' Association. Lynn Sweet, D.C. Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times. Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News. George Condon of the National Journal. And many more.
CONGRESS. This dustup is also a reminder that the best beat in town for a reporter is not the White House. It is the Congress. We have stupid rules at times as well in the hallways of the Capitol. But it's so much better than being locked in the press room at the White House.
CAPITOL HILL. Some lawmakers come to Capitol Hill and try to get a lot of attention. Others melt into the woodwork. Both can work for different reasons. For Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia, staying below the radar - and bringing home the bacon - is job number one. And he continues to excel at that. That’s my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Give it a click.
JULY FOURTH. Celebrate Independence Day by supporting my independent reporting on Capitol Hill - and give the gift of straight news to someone you know!
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 1, 1862. The Revenue Act of 1862 is known mainly for levying the first federal income tax, as a way to pay for the costs of the Civil War. But what President Lincoln signed on this date included much more. It also required licenses - with fees - for a host of businesses. Bankers, auctioneers, liquor dealers, pawnbrokers, hotels, restaurants, brokers, theaters and more. "Circuses shall pay fifty dollars for each license," the law stated. "Jugglers shall pay for each license twenty dollars." Read through the list and imagine the outrage this would have generated today.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on July 12.
The Senate is back for votes the week of July 11.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
Great regular order today Jamie! Keep up the goos work.
I am all for stricter controls on CO2 emissions. I would love to see laws requiring solar panels on the roofs of every big box store in sunny states. But if we allow regulatory agencies to stray from the authority actually given to them, that's a huge danger to the republic. Imagine what Donald Trump could have done with that wiggle room given another four years and a few more brain cells. Scary.