Chief Justice declines invite to testify on ethics concerns

GOP leaders make late night changes to debt limit bill

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for April 26, 2023:

• The debt limit plan would raise $550 billion in taxes.

• Trump says he wants no GOP debates.

• GOP irked over trips to - Puerto Rico.

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SUPREME COURT. Chief Justice John Roberts told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he would not testify at a hearing about how to strengthen ethics rules for Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. "I must respectfully decline your invitation," Roberts wrote in a letter, citing concerns over separation of powers. His reply came amid growing calls for action by Democrats in Congress on tougher ethics rules for the Justices.

• ROBERTS. The Chief’s letter offered nothing new on the subject of ethics or whether any changes would be made unilaterally by the Court on how the Justices deal with gifts and travel provided by someone else. "In regard to the Court's approach to ethics matters, I attach a Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices to which all of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe," Roberts wrote.

• GORSUCH. The Chief Justice's letter came hours after a new report raised questions about a $2 million real estate deal involving Justice Neil Gorsuch, which did not seem to be properly reported - obscuring the fact that the head of a big law firm which goes before the Court bought property from Gorsuch.

• CHANGE. Democrats demanded real reforms - approved by Congress. "The repeated drip of deficient disclosures — now about Justice Gorsuch — makes a Code of Ethics more critical than ever to the Supreme Court’s credibility," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) last night.

• REACTION. "I was raised to believe that Supreme meant 'superlative,' said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA). "Sadly, the Chief believes it means 'Above the rest of you.'" “The liberties that justices have taken are egregious,” added Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

• ETHICS. Again - I will state this very calmly and clearly. The ethics rules on gifts, travel, and financial disclosure for Supreme Court Justices are much weaker than anything used for members of Congress or top officials in the Executive Branch. Lawmakers have been asking for changes for over a decade.

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DEBT LIMIT. The House could try to vote on a revised GOP debt limit bill as early as today, after GOP leaders made a series of changes to the plan in the middle of the night, trying to win the support of farm state lawmakers and some conservatives. "This week we will pass a bill on this floor that will lift the debt ceiling, something the Senate has not done," Speaker McCarthy told reporters hours earlier.

• ETHANOL. The first major change to the bill was to keep three different tax breaks which had the support of lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota, and other farm states. The original debt limit plan repealed those tax credits related to biofuels and ethanol production - sparking protests, especially from the Iowa delegation. Sections 225, 227, and 228 were stripped from the bill.

• WORK REQUIREMENTS. A second change made early this morning accelerated the work requirements in the bill for people receiving federal aid programs like Medicaid and food stamps. Instead of starting in 2025, those would begin next year, in 2024. That was a bid to get the vote of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and a few others. The number of hours of work required was left at 20 hours per week.

• TRANSITION RULE. This text was also added: "In the case of a taxpayer who entered into a binding written contract or made other concrete investment action after August 26, 2022, and before April 19, 2023, to engage in an activity for which a credit would otherwise be available if not for the application of sections 229 and 244 of this Act, such sections shall not apply." (This deals with the repeal of the sustainable aviation fuel credit and the repeal of the clean fuel production tax credit.)

• RESCISSIONS. Republicans also moved to claw back unspent money from certain items in the Inflation Reduction Act. It wasn’t immediately clear how much of this money has not been spent. The programs included were these:

  • $1 billion for energy conservation in building codes (§50131).

  • $5 billion for loan guarantees dealing with energy infrastructure reinvestment (§50144).

  • $200 million for deferred maintenance in the National Park Service (§50224).

  • $5 billion for pollution reduction grants (§60114).

  • $3 billion for neighborhood access in communities divided by a highway (§60501).

• VOTES. Will those changes get Speaker McCarthy to 218 votes? It wasn’t clear overnight. There could also be problems with conservatives in the Freedom Caucus who want deeper cuts in spending that what McCarthy is offering. "It just doesn't seem like it does enough," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

• TIMING. The debt limit bill *could* be voted on today - if Republicans have the votes. But this may turn into a day where GOP leaders check and double check to see who is on board with the plan. Stay tuned.

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CBO. The Congressional Budget Office weighed in Monday with its review of the GOP debt limit plan, and found it would save an estimated $4.8 trillion over 10 years. Sounds good, eh? Now let's try to figure out what it means for the deficit.

• RED INK. The CBO estimate is under current law, the U.S. would see $20.2 trillion in deficits over the next ten years. So, if the GOP plan saves $4.8 trillion, that would equal $15.4 trillion in new red ink for Uncle Sam.

• BIDEN. What does the Biden budget do? It envisions just over $17 trillion in new deficits in the next decade. So, the difference between the two is about $1.6 trillion, or $160 billion per year.

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GOP CUTS. I've had some readers ask about the budget cuts being proposed in the debt limit bill. We know that Republicans would roll back discretionary spending to 2022 levels - a cut of about $130 billion. But all we know is the GOP’s overall spending number - we don’t know the details of those cuts.

• SPENDING. For example, if the GOP does not cut defense spending back to 2022 levels, that will mean more domestic spending cuts will be needed to make the numbers work in this Republican plan. In other words, it could easily require close to $200 billion in domestic spending cuts.

• CUTS. The Republican plan does not say what will be left alone in the federal budget. Democrats charge it will result in a 22 percent cut in veterans funding, something GOP lawmakers heatedly deny. "This is a vile lie," said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). But with no budget specifics - it's hard to prove that.

• OUTLINE. If you think it's painful to vote for a budget outline which envisions over $130 billion in cuts, that makes it easier to understand why Republicans haven’t put out their own detailed spending plan.

• TAX HIKE. One ironic part of the GOP plan is that it would increase taxes - by almost $550 billion - by repealing tax breaks for a variety of clean energy projects.

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BIDEN. President Biden made it official on Tuesday, announcing that he would run for reelection in 2024, even as a variety of polls show a majority of voters don't really want that. "Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for democracy," Biden said, without saying Donald Trump’s name. "That's why I'm running for reelection."

• CONGRESS. Democrats on Capitol Hill readily embraced the Biden-Harris announcement. "We have accomplished so much in two years," said Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO). "I’m fired up and ready to do it all again," added Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). Even Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was on board.

• EMPIRE. "We're with you Mr. President" said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY). "But we need you to do much more on racial justice, climate, immigration, corporate greed, and labor rights," said the New York Democrat.

• TV ADS. Groups which track political advertising reported last night that the Biden campaign is already putting reelection ads on the air - starting today - in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. The 2024 race is definitely underway.

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GOP DEBATES. Former President Donald Trump says he doesn't think there should be any primary debates in the 2024 GOP race for President. "I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them," Trump said on Tuesday.

• TRUMP. It won't surprise me one bit for Trump to blow off any scheduled debates. He missed debates in 2016 and it didn't hurt him. Why would it hurt him now? "When you're leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers," Trump wrote on his fake Twitter site, "why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?"

• DEMS. Trump's declaration was at odds with complaints from some Republicans about how Democrats are running their race, as the party will not hold primary debates in deference to President Joe Biden running for reelection.

• GOP. "This is not what the founders intended," said Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). "They should just go ahead and call themselves the Democrat Communist Party," said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

• 2020. But Greene and Hunt forgot about 2020, when Republicans not only made sure there would be no primary debates involving Trump - but also actively moved to cancel some primaries, so that no one could challenge Trump.

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PUERTO RICO. House Republicans want answers about a series of trips taken to Puerto Rico by Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. "The frequency and duration of these trips raise concerns regarding your attention to other duties," wrote Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).

• VISITS. This has not been a case where Granholm has secretly gone to the island for a break on the government dime. Her press office has repeatedly detailed her visits to spur new initiatives in renewable energy, along with work to repair Puerto Rico's terrible power grid.

• GRANHOLM. Last December, President Biden put Granholm in charge of a $1 billion 'Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund' dealing with the island's energy infrastructure. "For far too long, Puerto Ricans have lived with an unreliable electric system," Granholm said in a tweet on January 23.

• SCANDAL. Conservative media immediately cast Granholm's trips as 'junkets' - as Republicans demanded to see the Secretary's receipts for her trips. If you check Granholm's Twitter feed, it is chock full of her meetings and visits - most with photos - in various small towns in Puerto Rico.

• DEFENSE. Democrats said what Granholm was doing was making sure that taxpayer dollars were being properly spent - especially when $12 billion was approved for the electrical grid. "The Secretary should visit to oversee those efforts," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), who was born in Puerto Rico.

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COMMITTEES. While the wrangling over the debt limit will soak up most of the news oxygen on Capitol Hill today, there are a series of interesting committee meetings in both the House and Senate which should be noted.

• IMMIGRATION. The House Homeland Security Committee meets today to debate and vote on a brand new GOP border security bill. "More immigrants have entered our country illegally under this President than any other time in our history," said Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK), one of the Republicans on the panel.

• ATF. Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are certain to give an earful to the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Last week the House voted to repeal an ATF rule regulating 'pistol braces.'

• UKRAINE. The head of U.S. military forces in Europe testifies today before the House Armed Services Committee, as lawmakers seem likely to question Gen. Christopher Cavoli about the situation in Ukraine.

• COVID. Look for GOP tempers to boil over in a House hearing today with the head of the largest teacher's union in the U.S., as Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers testifies before a special COVID panel.

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NOMINATIONS. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) again on Tuesday blocked action by the Senate on nearly 200 top military promotions, refusing to yield in a protest over a new Pentagon policy that allows female servicemembers to take leave and travel in order to obtain abortion-related services. "I'm not going to budge," said Tuberville.

• WAR EAGLE. Tuberville again dared Senate Democrats to start voting on each individual nominee - knowing full well that would take months to complete. "This is about a tyrannical executive branch walking all over the United States Senate," Tuberville said on the Senate floor.

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JANUARY 6. A day after Fox News fired host Tucker Carlson, his name popped up at a Senate hearing with the head of the U.S. Capitol Police. Chief Tom Manger again criticized how Carlson had tried to use internal security tapes - provided by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy - to say January 6 was not a violent attack by supporters of Donald Trump.

• CHIEF. "I think what was fortunate is that the narrative that Mr. Carlson tried to put out, had no legs," Manger told a Senate spending panel. "Despite his best efforts, the American public understood exactly what happened on that day," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

• RAP SHEET. A Maryland man was sentenced to 40 months in prison yesterday for his actions on Jan. 6. Jacob Therres was convicted of assaulting multiple officers, first by showering them in chemical irritants, and throwing wooden planks that hit one officer in the head.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  April 26, 1979.  On this date, President Carter sent Congress a plan for the creation of a windfall profits tax on oil.  Carter said the money would go to provide energy aid to low-income Americans, increased funding for mass transit, and to create alternative fuels to oil.  It would take nearly a year for the Congress to get the bill to the White House.  Most of the drama was in the Senate, where three times the bill was halted by a filibuster and failed cloture votes.

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets at 10 am.

The Senate convenes at 10 am.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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