Congress returns amid Democratic tumult

Biden: "Dark Brandon is coming back"

Jul 08, 2024

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for July 8, 2024:

Amid questions, Biden to host NATO summit.
Private concerns but public silence.
House to vote on budget for Congress.

THIS WEEK. Congress is back for one week - before taking next week off. All eyes are on Democrats amid uncertainty inside the party over Joe Biden’s future in 2024.

DIVIDE. Democrats return to Capitol Hill today continuing to wrestle with the future of their party and the candidacy of President Joe Biden in 2024. Still reeling from his subpar debate at the end of June, a number of Democrats in the House and Senate seemingly want Biden to step aside in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, but only a few have called for that publicly. Will that change starting today?

CAMPAIGN. Biden was showing no signs of hanging up his cleats on Sunday, as the President did a full day of campaign events in Pennsylvania. "Dark Brandon is coming back," Biden said as supporters cheered. "We've been drawing big crowds," the President added.
SUPPORT. On hand with Biden were various Pennsylvania Democrats, led by Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has been among the most vocal of Biden's supporters since his debate debacle. "There is only one guy that has ever beaten Trump and he is going to do it twice," Fetterman said.
BERNIE. On the Sunday shows, maybe the strongest public show of support came from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who made clear on CBS's 'Face the Nation' that he stands with Biden. But Sanders acknowledged that the debate presents Democrats with some problems in the fall campaign.

I understand. Biden had a terrible debate performance. I think he's done better since, he's got to do better again. And I know that that is a legitimate concern. But I think most importantly, now, this is not a beauty contest, it's not a Grammy Award contest. It is a contest of who stands with the vast majority of the people in this country, the elderly, the children, working class, the poor. And that candidate is obviously Joe Biden.

WORRIES. The biggest concern for Democrats is obvious. While most want to stick with Biden, they worry about formally nominating him - and then having a repeat debate debacle, where Biden seems lost and not a winning candidate.

CHANGE. But let’s face it - if there's going to be a rebellion, someone has to lead it in Congress. A bunch of people who are 'worried' are not going to topple President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
SURVIVAL. Remember what I told you late last month. Democrats in Congress will most likely stick with Biden - unless they think that he's going to take them down the drain in November. Clearly, a number of them remain freaked out, but they haven’t exactly organized a revolt.
SCHIFFED. "Ultimately, this is a decision President Biden is going to have to make and President Biden alone," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' While Schiff called Biden an 'extraordinary President,' the veteran Democrat gave Biden a wide berth with these comments:

"The performance on the debate stage, I think, rightfully raised questions among the American people about whether the President has the vigor to defeat Donald Trump. And this is an existential race. Given Joe Biden's incredible record, given Donald Trump's terrible record, he should be mopping the floor with Donald Trump. Joe Biden's running against a criminal. It should not be even close. And there's only one reason it is close, and that's the President's age."

MURPH. Some Democrats keep talking about wanting Biden to do more live events, like somehow that will clear up all the questions about him. "This can't be a business as usual week," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on CNN. "I think the focus has to be on the President using this week to do the things necessary in an unscripted way in order to answer the questions that voters have."

TUESDAY. It looks like Democrats won't hold their first meetings where this subject could come up until Tuesday. House Democrats have a regular weekly meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning; Senate Democrats have their usual lunch meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
HALLWAYS. As a reporter, all I can tell you is that it’s going to be NUTS in the Capitol this evening as lawmakers return. The Senate has a vote at 5:30. The House has votes at 6:30. That will be the first chance for reporters to catch lawmakers here since the debate took place.
SILENCE. Most Democrats in the House and Senate have said almost nothing about Biden. And without much guidance right now from their leaders on Capitol Hill - many Democratic lawmakers may not be ready to face reporters.

CALL. House Democrats voiced some concerns about Biden in a private conference call on Sunday - which of course was leaked to the press immediately. It featured senior Democrats expressing worries about Biden and the fall campaign - and whether he’s really the best option for the party in November.

WILD CARD. The leaks quickly flushed out Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA). “In a confidential conversation with other members of House Democratic leadership, I expressed the same concerns that Americans across the country are grappling with, about President Biden’s electability at the top of the ticket,” Wild said.
RANKING. Along with Wild, other voices who raised questions about Biden included Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY), Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). Most of you will look at that list and shrug your shoulders, as the only recognizable name for many voters will be Nadler.
LIST. But why is this list more than just a few names? Each one is the top Democrat (the ranking member) on a House committee. These are people with seniority, power, and influence within the House Democratic Caucus. It doesn’t mean they will carry the day - but it was notable.

LOOK BACK. When was the last time we saw members of Congress recoil at their own nominee and raise questions about his future? The answer would be early October 2016, right after the release of Donald Trump's 'grab them by the pussy,' tape, which generated alarm among Republicans. "Trump huddles with aides amid GOP panic," was one of my headlines that week.

LEADERSHIP. I really think Joe Biden's future boils down to only two Democrats in the Congress: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. If they were to jointly give Biden a thumbs down - and call on him to get out of the race - many fellow Democrats in Congress would follow. So far, both men have said little about the post-debate situation.

NATO SUMMIT. How can the President ‘prove’ that he’s up to the task? One opportunity could come as Biden hosts a NATO summit in Washington, D.C. this week. I can easily imagine that producing all sorts of story lines about Biden - good and bad - but it could also produce an ocean of leaks from foreign sources, and many of those leaks might not be flattering.

ALLIES. Along with the leaders of NATO allies, the President will be meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "The Washington Summit will send a strong signal to Putin that if he thinks he can outlast the coalition of countries supporting Ukraine, he’s dead wrong," said a senior administration official.
NEWSER. President Biden will cap the week with a solo news conference on Thursday - two weeks after his debate. I'm sure most of the questions won't be about NATO, but rather about his own personal health and the November campaign.
BAT SIGNAL. Think about the week ahead. While Biden is meeting with world leaders and hosting a NATO summit, do you really think that Democrats in Congress will have the guts to undercut him - and publicly ask that he step aside for November? Count me as skeptical. But I’ll be in the hallways watching.
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CONGRESS. Hard as it may be to believe, there is legislative work on the schedule this week as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill. The House is expected to debate a bill which funds the operations of Congress and the Legislative Branch in 2025, plus the GOP will also bring a few messaging bills to the House floor.

SPENDING. House Republicans want to get all 12 government funding bills passed for 2025 before an extended summer break begins on August 1. Four bills have been approved so far - the Legislative Branch bill would make it five of twelve.
RULES. The House Rules Committee this afternoon will sort through amendments for that Congressional funding bill. One from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) would allow a scheduled cost of living adjustment (pay raise) to go into effect for lawmakers. I would be surprised if that gets a vote on the House floor.
VIVA DE LA SANTOS. Another amendment - which has bipartisan support - would block any funds from being used to allow former members of Congress the privileges of the House floor, if that person has been expelled. (That's pretty much only ex-Rep. George Santos of New York.)
SCHEDULE. The House is out next week for the Republican National Convention. That will give the House two weeks at the end of July to finish six other funding bills. (The Senate has not taken up any of those bills yet - since the modern Senate pretty much no longer works on legislation.)

APPLIANCE WEEK. Remember a few months ago when the GOP had a full set of bills scheduled on the House floor dealing with appliances? Two of them are on the schedule this week, the 'Refrigerator Freedom Act' and the 'Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act.'

LEFT OUT. Not on the House schedule are three other similar GOP measures, the Laundry in Liberty Act, the Affordable Air Conditioning Act, and the Clothes Dying Reliability Act. Republicans have had them listed for months, but they haven’t made the cut yet. Maybe closer to Election Day!

TRUMP. The next few days might not be just about Joe Biden. One week from today, the Republican National Convention starts in Milwaukee, and Donald Trump has not yet announced his pick for Vice President. Maybe he wants to hold it as a surprise for next week - or maybe he would like to reveal the news before the convention begins.

SCHEDULE. Trump has a rally set in Florida on Tuesday and one in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Could one of those be the launch point for his running mate? Stay tuned.

RAP SHEET. A Proud Boy from Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 100 days in prison for his actions on Jan. 6. Brian Healion joined other members of the militia group in probing and attacking police lines outside the Capitol. He later entered the Capitol and took pictures in a Senator's office.

MUSE OF HISTORY. July 8, 1974. Today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most historic arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, as the Justices considered whether President Nixon should be forced to hand over certain Oval Office tapes about Watergate. "Up to this point he says that he and he alone is the proper one to interpret the Constitution," special prosecutor Leon Jaworski said of Nixon. The Court would take just 16 days to rule against Nixon.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets at 12 noon.

The Senate convenes at 3 pm.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

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