Debt talks continue as Senate goes on break

Feinstein medical ailments were more extensive

Also in today’s “Regular Order” for May 19, 2023:

• Santos now waits for his trial.

• Does ‘white supremacist’ = the N-word?

• A warm reception for the next Moon visitors.

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DEBT LIMIT. Amid some optimistic comments, talks between White House officials and House Republicans are expected to continue today on a compromise budget and debt limit plan - but there is no agreement yet on an outline, let alone the details. "It would be important to try to have the agreement - especially in principle - by sometime this weekend," Speaker McCarthy said Thursday.

• SENATE BREAK. Scheduled to take next week off, Senators were told as they left Capitol Hill on Thursday to be ready to come back next week if action is needed on a debt limit deal. "The negotiations are currently making progress," Majority Leader Charles Schumer said Thursday afternoon.

• OPTIMISM. "I don't think anything at this point is a given, but there is optimism in the air," said Sen. John Thune (R-SD), as he left the Capitol on Thursday. "Everybody's still talking," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told reporters. "That's all that matters."

• GRUMBLING. There was one sign that I thought was a good indicator over the past 48 hours - grumbling from liberal Democrats and from conservative Republicans. Maybe that indicates that there is quiet momentum to get some kind of deal wrapped up.

• CONSERVATIVES. The House Freedom Caucus yesterday warned against major changes in a House-passed debt limit bill. "No more discussion on watering it down," the group said.

• LIBERALS. Meanwhile, progressives were alarmed by talks on new work requirements for recipients of federal aid. "I say hell no," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

• DEADLINE. The deadline right now for when the feds can’t pay all their bills is June 1. Lawmakers love deadlines. That means the Congress will probably take until at least May 31, which is two days after Memorial Day.

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FEINSTEIN. The office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) acknowledged on Thursday that the California Democrat had suffered more than just a case of shingles during her extended absence from the Senate. A spokesman confirmed reports that Feinstein also had encephalitis, and continues to deal with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which can cause facial paralysis.

• STATEMENT. “While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome," a Feinstein spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

• DEMS. I've seen a number of Democrats not want to address questions about Feinstein's health. "I'm going to leave that to the medics," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said when asked about the outlook for his colleague.

• REPORTERS. Feinstein's few exchanges with reporters did not ease concerns about her. "I haven't been gone," she told reporters for the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. On Thursday, she told a CNN reporter that she had a 'really bad flu.'

• VOTE. When Feinstein voted on Thursday, she did not mingle with any other Senators or speak with anyone on the Senate floor. The 89-year-old Senator walked slowly on and off the floor, slightly hunched over, with an aide at her side.

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OOF. The New York Times was first to report that Feinstein had been hit by encephalitis. Their story also contained this absolutely brutal nugget about the California Democrat: “People close to her joke privately that perhaps when Ms. Feinstein is dead, she will start to consider resigning."

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WEAPONIZATION. A Thursday hearing with three FBI whistleblowers further cemented a dramatic shift within the Republican Party, as GOP lawmakers repeatedly attacked the FBI - mainly angered by the agency's investigation of Donald Trump and those involved in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

• GOP. "The corrupt FBI leadership is on trial in the court of public opinion," said Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA). "The FBI has sown more evil than they have rooted out," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL),. "Congress must cut off their federal funding and make significant organizational changes," Gaetz added.

• REPORT. In a new report released yesterday, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee said the FBI wrongly investigated scores of people who were in Washington on Jan. 6 - charging that it was done mainly to highlight the threat of domestic violent extremists. You can read the 80-page report at this link.

• WHISTLEBLOWERS. That set the stage for a hearing with three FBI whistleblowers who argued they suffered retaliation for questioning the use of FBI resources to investigate and arrest Jan. 6 suspects. One said the FBI is a ‘feckless and garbage institution.’ Another said he questioned the ‘official narrative’ about the Capitol Attack.

• JANUARY 6. Democrats said it was all about defending Donald Trump. "Make no mistake, this hearing is a vehicle to legitimize the events of January 6, and the people who perpetrated it," said Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA).

TESTIMONY. At times, the hearing took on the sound of an H.R. dispute involving recalcitrant employees, as the agents charged they had suffered unfair retaliation at the hands of FBI leadership. One seemingly violated Florida law by recording conversations with superiors, without their permission.

• FOOD FIGHT. Most of the hearing was Congress at its worst. Republicans wouldn't share evidence with Democrats. Raised voices. Verbal jabs. Legislative catcalls. Everyone talking over everyone else. A very large dose of politics. And little talk about how to reform the system.

• ONE MOMENT. Only Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) tried to get at whether current whistleblower laws need updating at the FBI. "The shouting back and forth has done little to illustrate or provide information," Garamendi said. He looked like a tired dad who wanted his kids to shut up.

• PREVIEW. You’re going to hear a lot more about January 6 and defunding the FBI from the GOP - not only in Congress, but also in the 2024 race for President. “The FBI needs to be completely shut down,” former Trump National Security Adviser Mike Flynn said this week.

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SANTOS. A day after Republicans avoided a direct expulsion vote on Rep. George Santos (R-NY), Democrats kept up the pressure by calling for swift action against the New York Republican in the House Ethics Committee. "Extreme MAGA Republicans continue to protect, defend and coddle George Santos," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

• DEMS. "Now that the entire Republican Caucus voted to save George Santos, we demand a public timeline from Speaker McCarthy on when he’s going to take action against him in the Ethics Committee," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA).

• GOP. Republicans tried to make it seem like sending the expulsion resolution to the Ethics Committee was standard procedure - even though it’s not. "If he is convicted as a result of his indictment," said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), "there's no doubt in my mind he should resign."

• TIMELINE. It’s not clear when a trial will begin for Santos. His case has a June 30 status conference in a New York federal court. No one expects the House Ethics Committee to do anything until Santos gets his day in court. In other words, he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

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MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. It was a busy week for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who on Thursday again introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden (she did the same in the last Congress). "Biden has blatantly violated his constitutional duty, and he is a direct threat to our national security," Greene told reporters.

• MORE. Greene also filed impeachment resolutions against Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Matthew Graves - the federal prosecutor for D.C.

• VOTES. Other than the effort to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary, I doubt that any of these will get a vote in committee - let alone on the floor of the House. But their introduction lets Greene say she's fulfilled a campaign promise.

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CAPITOL STEPS. Greene also fueled more controversy yesterday by criticizing Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), after the two had a verbal duel on the House steps. Greene said she felt 'threatened.' "Calling me a white supremacist - which I take great offense to - that is like calling a person of color the N-word," Greene said Thursday.

• REPLY. Bowman did not back down, denying he acted aggressively in any way towards Greene (the video certainly doesn't show it), as he called Greene's words "reckless and dangerous.' "She's not even using a dog whistle. She's using a bullhorn to put a target on my back," Bowman said.

• AOC. As the Greene-Bowman faceoff was ending on Wednesday - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) came up to Bowman and said, "She ain't worth it, bro.”

• SHOW TIME. The House steps in the last few years have turned into a large media gathering point. Unfortunately, I think we are edging closer to some kind of spectacle happening out there.

• HIGGINS. We almost had something happen near there on Wednesday, when a demonstrator interrupted a GOP news conference outside the Capitol, and Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) forcibly pushed the man away.

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REGULAR ORDER. Help me spread the word about my Congressional newsletter. Buy yourself a subscription, give someone the gift of straight news, and support independent journalism in the halls of Congress! The other option to show your support is you can just always buy me a drink.

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AM RADIO. A bipartisan group of lawmakers this week tried to put public pressure on automakers not to get rid of AM radios in new electric vehicles. "Carmakers shouldn’t tune out AM radio," said Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). "Automakers have no right to suddenly drop access to such an essential service," added Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE).

• STATIC. What's the problem? Electric vehicles generate static which interferes with AM radio reception. Instead of figuring out how to fix that, some auto companies simply want to scrap AM radio in new vehicles. Over 100 House members wrote letters to Ford and other car companies, asking them to keep AM in the future.

• AM TO AI. The varying concerns of Congress were on full display this week over issues that might be neighbors in the alphabet, but couldn’t be further away from each other in terms of technology. AM radio and AI - artificial intelligence - both topped the agenda. More in my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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NASA. The astronauts who will head to the Moon by 2024 were making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week, generating the kind of bipartisanship that's often lacking in Congress. "You should have seen how the crew has been received here in the last couple of days," said NASA chief and former Senator Bill Nelson. "It's been extraordinary."

• KELLY. Nelson was joined by a former astronaut - current Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who quietly made the case for NASA funding. "NASA is one of the great values for the U.S. taxpayer because as a country, we get a great return on that investment," said Kelly, who commanded the final space shuttle flight.

• MONEY. But once a debt limit deal is reached, every agency like NASA will be scrambling to protect its budget. And you could hear the concerns about that weighing on the NASA chief. "The space program is a unifying force," said Nelson. "It's also a job producing force."

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QUOTE OF THE DAY. "I'm going to keep my remarks fairly brief," Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) told a news conference outside the Capitol on Thursday. "Nobody believes a Baptist preacher when he says that,” Warnock acknowledged to chuckles. The Georgia Democrat then spoke for nine minutes.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  May 19, 1948.  The Red Scare was in full bloom on Capitol Hill, as the House voted 319-58 for a bill to crack down on Communist groups in the U.S.  "We must take steps to protect the innocent and expose the guilty," said Rep. Richard Nixon (R-CA), who had made headlines on the House Un-American Activities Committee.  The floor debate was chippy at times.  "No Jew is a Communist," said Rep. Abraham Multer (D-NY).  "Oh yes, there are," shot back Rep. John Rankin (D-MS).  "75 percent of the members of the Communist Party in this country are Yiddish."

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back on Monday.

The Senate next has votes after Memorial Day.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

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

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