Biden starts to target Trump with Jan. 6 speech

Two weeks to the first shutdown deadline

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for January 5, 2024:

• FBI still looking for the Jan. 6 pipe bomber.

• Don’t speak ill of Donald Trump.

• More lawmakers head for the exits.

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JANUARY 6. In his first campaign speech of 2024, President Biden goes today to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where he will take aim at former President Donald Trump by invoking the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Biden's speech - near where George Washington rallied his troops during the Revolutionary War - will basically warn that Trump and many of his supporters are a threat to the Republic.

• BIDEN. "I've made the preservation of American democracy the central issue of my presidency," Biden says in his first TV ad of 2024, which includes images of Trump supporters laying siege to the Capitol on Jan. 6. "There's an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy," Biden intones.

• BRIEFING ROOM. The White House this week has joined in amplifying the President's campaign message. "What happened on January the 6th was unprecedented," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. "What we saw was an attack on our rule of law, an attack on our Constitution."

• TIMING. Some of you will accurately point out that today is Jan. 5 - and not Jan. 6. Biden's speech was originally scheduled for Saturday on Jan. 6 - but because of the threat of winter weather in the region, it was moved up a day.

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HISTORY. In the three years since Jan. 6, the political debate over that day has been much like the nation's reaction to the caning of Sen. Charles Sumner in 1856. Just as Rep. Preston Brooks was hailed as a hero in the South for attacking Sumner on the Senate floor, the Jan. 6 defendants have become a cause célèbre for many in the GOP - with Trump vowing to pardon them if he's elected.

• BLAME. Still running interference for Trump, some Republicans continue to claim - without offering any evidence - that the feds were to blame for Jan. 6. At a November hearing with the FBI Director, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) floated a new conspiracy theory involving what he called them 'ghost buses' - supposedly filled with FBI informants.

• SCENE. It's led to a situation where Republicans in Congress routinely downplay the violence, while Democrats see the attack as an ominous warning about the future. "We’ve all seen the videos, yet extremist Republicans still want to erase the facts of that violent day," said Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA).

• TAPES. Speaking of the videos from the Capitol that day, despite their promises, House Republicans have only released a small amount of the over 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 security footage. The tapes made public so far have all been from cameras perched high up on the Capitol and the Capitol Dome.

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TRIAL. Biden's campaign focus on Trump also comes as the former President's lawyers are trying to delay his federal trial on charges of election interference dealing with the 2020 vote count - and Jan. 6. That trial is supposed to start on March 4, the day before Super Tuesday.

• COVERAGE. Normally, reporters would only be covering Trump at rallies on the campaign trail - like in Iowa and New Hampshire over the next two weeks. But this year, the best place to keep tabs on Donald Trump may be in various courtrooms, especially at the U.S. Supreme Court. That's my column this week in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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PIPE BOMBS. One of the unsolved mysteries from Jan. 6 is who left pipe bombs the night before the Jan. 6 attack near the national party headquarters of Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. The FBI on Thursday said it was still offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

• FBI. "The tips we have received have helped us advance the investigation," said the FBI's David Sundberg, "and we urge anyone who may have previously hesitated to come forward to contact us."

• SUSPECT. The feds still aren't sure whether it was a man or a woman who planted those devices. And it’s not clear whether it was part of some kind of planned diversion - away from the Capitol - for Jan. 6.

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TWO WEEKS. Congress now has two weeks to avoid a partial government shutdown, as this week again brought no agreement on the framework of government funding for 2024. It raises the distinct question of whether the House and Senate might be sliding into an election year shutdown fight.

• FOUR BILLS. Four of the twelve government funding bills would lapse on Jan. 19, covering Agriculture and the FDA, military construction, veterans programs, energy and water projects, plus foreign aid and the State Department.

• TOPLINE. There is still no deal between the House and Senate on *how much* money should be spent in 2024, but there has been some public optimism. "We are working hard to get the appropriations bills done," Speaker Mike Johnson said this week. "Negotiations are still ongoing.”

• SHUTDOWN. "I'm hopeful that we can get a budget agreement soon," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. "I'm hopeful that we could avoid a shutdown," Schumer added. "That is certainly not out of the question as some have said it would be."

GROUNDHOG DAY. Funding for the rest of the federal government would continue until Feb. 2. At that point, money would run out for the military, the Justice Department, border security, Congress, and many other federal departments and agencies. An election year shutdown? Nothing would surprise me.

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REGULAR ORDER. Here is my elevator pitch. This year is going to be absolutely nuts politically - in Congress, in the courts, and on the campaign trail. Hire me as your on-the-scene reporter. If you missed this week's example of how I check the traps on Capitol Hill, it's a good time to consider a subscription to Regular Order.

REMINDER. As we swing into the fourth full year of this newsletter, a number of you may have your yearly subscription renewal approaching. You can check your payment information at https://jamiedupree.substack.com/account. Thanks again to all of you for your support of 'Regular Order!’

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ENDORSEMENTS. On Thursday I wrote about how Republicans - who have been publicly belittled and abused by Donald Trump - continue to endorse him for President. Now we have an example of what happens when you mildly criticize Trump, from a key district for Republicans in northwestern Ohio.

• DON'T SPEAK ILL. Former state Rep. Craig Riedel had lined up some big endorsements, and raised nearly $750,000 for the GOP primary race in OH-9. But in an audio tape, Riedel was heard calling Trump 'arrogant.' "I don't like the way he calls people names," Riedel said. That was too much for one prominent House Republican.

• ELISE. "I informed Craig Riedel that I will be withdrawing my endorsement," Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) tweeted on Thursday. "I was very disappointed in his inappropriate comments regarding President Trump."

• CANDIDATE QUALITY. Riedel had been the GOP Establishment choice in OH-9, after J.R. Majewski - who melted down two years ago when it was shown that he had lied about his military record - decided to run again. If Majewski wins the primary, he is unlikely to defeat Rep. Marcy Kaptur (R-OH). What a GOP mess.

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CASUALTY LIST. Two House Republicans announced this week that they would not be running for reelection in November. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) unexpectedly joined the race for U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Mitt Romney. And Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) announced on Thursday that he would not run for a ninth term in the House.

• NUMBERS. For those scoring at home, that means 35 sitting House members now won't be back for the next Congress, along with 7 Senators. The last four presidential election years saw an average of 62 new House members and 9 new Senators. Those numbers would not surprise me this November.

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BEHIND THE SCENES. This week, reporters spent a lot of time waiting outside the office of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who was hosting ongoing border security negotiations with key Senators and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Let’s give you a little behind the scenes peek.

• DEPARTURE. The first day back from the holiday break, we had to learn a hard lesson at our stakeout, as Mayorkas used a back exit to give us the slip. It led to news organizations stationing people on different floors to keep an eye out for Senators leaving the talks.

• STAKEOUT. On the left side of the below photo, you can see reporters waiting in the hallway of the Hart Senate Office Building by Sinema’s office. NBC producer Frank Thorp was stationed one floor up (circled in yellow) just in case Senators tried to escape that way. CNN's Manu Raju (circled in orange) was doing a live shot as well.

  

VIRTUAL. No one was patrolling the hallways on Thursday, because the talks had gone virtual again. "I can confirm meetings will be remote," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) helpfully tweeted, "so no need for reporters to stakeout our Hart offices.”

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SELFIE. Here’s another example of how you find news by just walking around. During the holiday break, there was a guy doing a selfie video on the Capitol plaza. My kids and I could hear him talking about getting elected. It took a few internet searches to figure out it was Republican John Teichert, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland. (The video took a couple of takes.)

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RAP SHEET. A Florida man who cut off his ankle bracelet and went on the lam to avoid being sent to jail for his Jan. 6 crimes, was given a ten year prison sentence on Thursday. Christopher Worrell - a member of the Proud Boys - sprayed police with chemicals, and then lied about doing so at his trial.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  January 5, 1861.  Just weeks before he left the Senate to join the Confederacy, Sen. Thomas Slidell of Louisiana was on the warpath - against the press.  Angered by a dispatch which he said was false, Slidell asked the Senate to boot out a series of reporters.  "I offered a resolution that the reporters of the Associated Press, or any reporter connected with it, should be expelled from the gallery of the Senate."  The plan was not adopted.

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets for votes next Tuesday.

The Senate has votes on Monday.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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