Freedom Caucus chair waits for more votes

30 Senators hit the road early

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for June 21, 2024:

• Supreme Court back again today for more rulings.

• Trump-Biden debate countdown.

• House calls for Omar’s censure vanish.

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VIRGINIA. We might get some clues as early as today on the election fate of Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), as 12 noon is the deadline for any mail-in ballots to arrive in order to be counted in this week’s primary in Virginia. Opposed by former President Donald Trump (and a number of his own GOP colleagues), Good trails state Rep. John McGuire by just over 300 votes.

• GOOD. "Everyone should want a fair and accurate count of every legal vote that reflects the intent of the legitimate participating voters of the 5th District," Good said on Thursday. "We are fighting to ensure that is true." But Good was also raising questions about the vote, much like Trump supporters did in 2020.

• QUESTIONS. "We had 3 “fires” on election day in 3 precincts, all requiring the precincts to be evacuated for 20 minutes. Albemarle County, Hanover County, and Lynchburg City," Good tweeted on Thursday. "What is the probability? Does anyone recall even 1 fire at a precinct on election day?"

• LEGAL. Making his case to wait for all the votes to be counted, Good took his message to the 'War Room' podcast of Trump aide Steve Bannon on Thursday. "It's time for all hands on deck," Good said. "This is a practice run on November," said Bannon.

• RECOUNT. It’s not clear how many outstanding ballots might be in the mail; there also are some provisional ballots to count in various counties. And since McGuire’s lead over Good is so small - the race could face an automatic recount, which would delay any final result for weeks.

ELECTIONS. Good is absolutely right. We should have a 'fair and accurate' count. We had that in 2020, but Good didn't agree with the outcome. He was one of the over 100 House Republicans who voted not to certify the final results from Arizona and Pennsylvania - even after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.

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SUPREME COURT. No big decisions were handed down on Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court as the Justices issued four more rulings - cutting their remaining cases for this term down to 19. The Court will convene again at 10 am today to deliver more decisions in the 2023-24 term, which normally would be over by late next week.

• INSIDE THE COURT. The odd part about this time of year for reporters is that you have no idea what decisions will come down from the Court on any given day. The Court's press office will tell you how many 'boxes' there are holding the decisions - but that's it. (On Thursday it was two boxes, which produced four rulings.)

• SCHEDULE. After today, next Wednesday is the only day where the Court has scheduled opinions. Yes - the Justices could cram everything into the last three days of next week - but that’s also a tall order.

• TIMING. There are major rulings still to be issued on Trump and immunity, guns, abortion, and much more - and I still wonder if the term might slip into the first week of July. Stay tuned.

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AUDIO. One of the greatest things about the U.S. Supreme Court has been the decision - spurred initially by the Coronavirus outbreak - to offer live audio of arguments before the Court. Even though arguments have routinely been recorded by the Supreme Court, the audio was only released for big cases before COVID-19.

• LIVE. But there is still one area where the Court does not let us listen - and that is on these days when rulings are being handed down. Think about the Trump immunity case - it would be nice to hear the voice of the Justices when delivering the majority and minority opinions.

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ABSENTEES. I told you earlier this week that we should watch the tote board on Thursday to see how many Senators simply went home early - after the work week was interrupted by a rare Wednesday federal holiday for Juneteenth. The answer was pretty clear - a lot of Senators decided to skip town.

• BED CHECK. The Senate held two votes on Thursday: 29 Senators missed the first vote, and 30 Senators skipped out on the second. Of those missing the final vote: 22 were Republicans. 5 were Democrats. 3 were Independents.

• MISSING THIRTY: Barrasso (R-WY), Braun (R-IN), Britt (R-AL), Budd (R-NC), Cramer (R-ND), Crapo (R-ID). Daines (R-MT), Fetterman (D-PA), Hagerty (R-TN), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Johnson (R-WI), Manchin (I-WV), Marshall (R-KS), Menendez (D-NJ), Moran (R-KS), Murkowski (R-AK), Murray (D-WA), Ricketts (R-NE), Risch (R-ID), Romney (R-UT), Rubio (R-FL), Sanders (I-VT), Scott (R-FL), Sinema (I-AZ), Sullivan (R-AK), Tillis (R-NC), Tuberville (R-AL), Vance (R-OH), and Warnock (D-GA).

• RECESS. It wasn't just that those 30 Senators beat it out of town early for a long weekend. They aren't due back until July 8, as the Senate takes the next two weeks off.

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PRO FORMA. In order to set up the schedule properly for the next two weeks, the Senate will hold a 'pro forma' session today to tap the gavel, and then quickly adjourn. The Senators who are required to be in town for those quick sessions get the opportunity to set the time - so it's most convenient for their own schedule.

• ZERO SIX THIRTY. Today, the Senate will convene - and immediately adjourn - at 6:30 am. That sounds like a Senator who wants to get to the airport quickly. Before most of you read this newsletter, the Senate will have tapped the gavel and gone home for the weekend.

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SCHEDULE. After taking this week off, the House will be back next Tuesday. The House has four work weeks scheduled between now and Labor Day. The Senate has only three weeks of legislative business on the calendar, as lawmakers also juggle two national political conventions. That’s not very much time to get a lot of work done.

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DEBATE. A week from today, we will all be chewing on the video highlights of the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta. There's no telling what might happen that night on stage, but there will certainly be a lot of chatter leading up to it. One thing I find interesting is how Republicans are going after Biden.

• SENILE. The chorus of GOP voices keeps getting louder in claiming that Biden is suffering so badly from old age that he can barely talk, let alone string together cogent thoughts. "Biden can’t keep anything straight when he’s in public," said Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), who has repeatedly called for Biden to be drug tested before the debate.

• FEAR AND LOATHING. So let's just assume that Biden puts forward a credible debate performance. What happens then for Republicans? They've been convincing their voters for months that Biden needs a drool cup. Is the only GOP answer then that Biden was hopped up on drugs or something?

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SATURDAY. Trump will be on the campaign trail in Washington, D.C. this weekend, as he addresses the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s 2024 Road to Majority Conference tomorrow. “We are honored to welcome President Trump back to the largest gathering of conservative Christian activists in the nation,” said Ralph Reed, head of the group.

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TOPICS. There's been sudden interest in tips, tariffs, and taxes in recent weeks which might come up in next week's debate. While the ideas might not go anywhere, Congress is already thinking about what to do when the Trump tax cuts expire in 2025. More in my column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

• TCJA. I was asked yesterday why do the individual tax changes under the Trump tax cuts expire at the end of 2025? We've seen that situation before, when the Bush tax cuts were made temporary and expired in 2010 and again in 2012.

• BYRD RULE. What's that all about? Partly, it's about restrictive budget rules in the Senate. But part of it also has to do with the cost of making tax cuts permanent. For example, it's estimated that making the Trump tax cuts permanent would cost about $4.6 trillion over 10 years.

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OMAR. I saw Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in the Capitol the other day, and it reminded me that Republicans had filed several censure resolutions against her earlier this year - to a lot of fanfare and social media attacks - and yet, those measures were never brought to a vote.

• ISRAEL. For example, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) wanted to censure Omar for “hateful comments and history of antisemitism.” This had to do with remarks that Omar made about anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, when she referred to Jewish students as, 'pro-genocide.'

• MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. Back in February, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) moved to censure Omar, accusing her of being a 'foreign agent' of her native Somalia, and making 'treasonous statements.'

• DELAYED. "I wish I had the votes to expel and deport her," Greene said of a fellow U.S. citizen. Greene’s resolution to censure Omar was actually on the House schedule for the week of February 5 - but it disappeared.

• NEXT MONTH. It won’t surprise me to see some of this come back in July when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress. Just about any critical statement from Democrats about Netanyahu will draw GOP ire.

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BEHIND THE SCENES. Now that the weather has warmed up, it's gotten a little toasty at one of our favorite spots to hang out and wait for Senators. Known as the 'Lamppost Site' for obvious reasons, reporters and TV cameras often wait here when there are votes in hopes of getting a comment or two from Senators.

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RAP SHEET. A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to three months in prison and five months of home detention for his actions on Jan. 6. Anthony Nolf helped other rioters remove bicycle rack barricades as they overran police lines. Later, he joined Trump supporters in trying to break through officers defending the Lower West Terrace Tunnel.

• COURT FILINGS.  One thing is very clear when you go through various Jan. 6 cases - a number of defendants have seen their lives get torn apart because of their actions.  And it's pushed some people over the edge.  Just read this filing from an Ohio man, who claims the government has no jurisdiction over him. 

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  June 21, 1943.  On this date in the midst of World War II, the House voted 344-0 to approve a $71 billion military funding bill.  "We are engaged in global warfare," said Rep. J. Buell Snyder of Pennsylvania, as he rattled off the various flashpoints around the globe.  "I think you would agree that this bill should have your immediate and unanimous approval."

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on Tuesday.

The Senate next has votes on July 8.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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