GOP lawmakers go silent on Trump search warrant
House expected to give major victory today to Biden
Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for August 12, 2022:
Republicans say little about an attack on the FBI.
Liz Cheney blasts Donald Trump in new video.
Virginia cop gets over 7 years in Jan. 6 case.
TRUMP. After expressing outrage for several days following the FBI seizure of documents from Donald Trump's home in Florida, GOP lawmakers in Congress said little on Thursday after the Justice Department asked a federal judge to release the court-approved search warrant in Trump's case, as well as the list of items seized by FBI agents.
SEARCH. Lawyers for Trump have until 3 pm EDT to officially say whether he supports the DOJ motion to release the search warrant along with details about the seized materials. Late last night, Trump called for the ‘immediate release of those documents,’ denouncing the probe against him.
GOP. Saying nothing about the search warrant, Republicans turned their fire on Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said he had personally approved the FBI raid. "This is nothing short of a coup," said Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO). "Garland should be impeached," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA).
DEMS. "We need more facts. We need to see the warrant," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), as Democrats waited for more details. "If it’s really nuclear secrets at the highest level of classification that is not routine, excusable, or explainable," added Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).
TODAY. Led by ranking member Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee will hold a morning news conference today at the U.S. Capitol about the seizure of documents from Mar-a-Lago.
CINCINNATI ATTACK. Possibly inspired to violence by this week's FBI raid on Trump's home in Florida, an armed man wearing body armor tried to get past security at the FBI field office in Cincinnati on Thursday, sparking a shootout, a police chase, and a six hour standoff. The suspect was later shot and killed.
BUCKEYE STATE. "The brave men and women who serve our nation at the FBI work hard every day to keep us safe and the threats against them are unacceptable," said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who is running for U.S. Senate in Ohio.
BACK THE BLUE. The reaction from Ohio Republicans was silence - as GOP officials from the Governor through Congress said nothing about the incident. You can draw your own conclusions as to why Republicans would stay quiet about what was basically an incident of domestic terrorism.
SUSPECT. It wasn't hard to find social media posts under the same name as the shooter - many of which expressed support for Donald Trump, and contempt for the feds. "Kill FBI on sight," one post stated. "Be ready for war tomorrow."
CELL PHONE. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) returns to Capitol Hill today for the first time since FBI agents seized his cell phone at an airport earlier this week. "In a discussion with the DOJ, my attorneys were informed that I'm not a target of its investigation," Perry said on Thursday.
PERRY. In a written statement, Perry said his lawyers were working with the feds. "I've directed them to cooperate with the Justice Department in order to ensure that it gets the information to which it's entitled.
SEIZURE. While Perry is talking about cooperation, he did not shed light on why the feds would have seized his phone - a move which would indicate a lack of cooperation. The Pennsylvania Republican has already defied a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
RECONCILIATION. The U.S. House is expected today to deliver a giant legislative victory to Democrats and President Biden, by approving a health care, tax, and climate change package. “This bill makes a tremendous difference at the kitchen table of America’s families,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter to Democrats.
HEALTH CARE. The main details in this bill on health care focus on two areas. One would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices with drug makers, saving the feds close to $300 billion. The bill also extends for two years extra subsidies to purchase insurance under the Obama health law.
TAXES. Corporations will now face a minimum 15 percent corporate tax rate, which raises $222 billion over 10 years. Stock buybacks after the end of 2022 will face a 1 percent excise tax - that raises $73 billion. And the bill extends loss limits for pass-through businesses, which raises $52 billion.
CLIMATE. The $369 billion climate change section is nowhere near what many progressives wanted. But it’s the best deal they could get. It includes a mix of new tax credits and tax incentives for clean fuel projects, as well as billions in grants and other spending plans.
DEFICIT. Total it all up, and you get a package which would reduce the deficit by approximately $300 billion over ten years.
GOP. Just to be clear, there will be no Republicans voting for this package.
DEBATE. The House convenes at 9 am EDT. There will be one hour of debate on the rule for proceedings. There will be three hours of debate on the bill. That means you might expect a final vote by around 3 pm. But if GOP lawmakers call procedural votes - that time might be delayed.
PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. I told you yesterday that the official name of this health care, tax, and climate change bill from Democrats was no longer the 'Inflation Reduction Act.' I figured there had to be some kind of story behind this change - and yes there is. It was political payback by the GOP.
TRUMP TAXES. If you go back to 2017, when Republicans were trying to use reconciliation to pass a big tax cut package backed by President Trump, you will see the original name of the bill was the "Tax Cut and Jobs Act." But when you look at what was signed into law, the name had changed.
TITLE. The final title from 2017 sounds much like what happened to the plan from Democrats this year: "To provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018."
PAYBACK. The name change was forced on December 19, 2017 by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who used a point of order to strike out several sections of the "Tax Cut and Jobs Act," including the name of the bill. The 2022 point of order made by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) against the "Inflation Reduction Act" did the exact same thing.
TITLE GATE. And now you know the rest of the story.
PROXY VOTING. As the Centers for Disease Control eased its recommendations for how people deal with the Coronavirus, Republicans said it was time for the House to end remote voting - even though the rule has been upheld by the federal courts. "Americans deserve leaders who show up to debate policies affecting them," said Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL).
HOUSE RULES. Speaker Pelosi recently extended special Coronavirus rules through late September, and it's very unlikely she would change that just because of yesterday's CDC announcement. Even though many Republicans condemn remote voting - a number of GOP lawmakers will use it today.
BIPARTISANSHIP. While today’s House vote will be a partisan slugfest, President Biden and Democrats can also celebrate three major bipartisan victories this summer. It’s also vindication for Biden, who was mocked by his own party about his belief in negotiation with the other party. That’s my column today for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
REGULAR ORDER. We welcome back our weekly readers today. Please think about upgrading to a daily subscription - or give the gift of straight news to someone you know. You can support my independent reporting from Capitol Hill, and help send the three Dupree kids to college.
CHENEY. With less than a week to her primary in Wyoming, Rep. Liz Cheney R-WY blasted Donald Trump - and her primary critics in the Equality State - for spreading 'poisonous lies' about false claims of election fraud. "America cannot remain free if we abandon the truth," Cheney said in a new video.
POLL. A new poll released Thursday by the University of Wyoming shows Harriet Hageman leading Cheney by nearly 30 points. Among Republican voters, Hageman was leading Cheney by 68-15 percent in the poll. Democrats planning to vote in the GOP primary were breaking 98-2 percent for Cheney.
FRAUD. The poll also asked Wyoming voters about the 2020 election. They split 43-43 percent on whether there was 'solid evidence' of fraud in 2020. But 59 percent of those surveyed said they were confident that Wyoming's votes will be counted properly in 2022.
RAP SHEET. A police officer from Virginia drew an over 7-year prison term on Thursday for joining the mob of rioters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Thomas Robertson had been found guilty in April of six charges, including five felony offenses from that day.
ROBERTSON. In photos posted to social media at the time - which he shared with fellow police officers - Robertson had said he had 'attacked the government' and 'took the fucking Capitol.'
NEW MEMBER. Just declared the winner of a special election on Wednesday morning, Republican Brad Finstad of Minnesota will be sworn in to office this morning on Capitol Hill. That means Finstad will be able to vote on the budget reconciliation package from Democrats. His arrival will trim the edge for Democrats to 9 seats in the House.
WALORSKI FUNERAL. Lawmakers in Congress gathered in South Bend, Indiana on Thursday to pay their final respects to Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN), who died in a car accident last week, along with two of her staffers. "I was honored to call Jackie a friend and colleague," said Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH).
MUSE OF HISTORY. August 12, 1805. On this date, a very special package arrived at the White House. It was sent off in April on a boat down the Missouri River by the Lewis and Clark expedition, containing plant and animal specimens, journals, and various Native American items. Ironically, the day this shipment was delivered to President Jefferson, Lewis was crossing the Continental Divide in Idaho on his way west to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis told the President he would see him soon. "You may therefore expect me to meet you at Montachello (sic) in September 1806," Lewis wrote. He wasn't far off. Lewis and Clark made it back to St. Louis on September 23, 1806.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House convenes at 9 am.
The Senate next has votes on September 6.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
Lots of terrific updates today. It certainly doesn’t read like a typical August day on Capitol Hill. And here I bet Mr. Dupree thought after the weekend long Senate vote, he might squeeze in some golf this week.
Btw, “Title Gate” is a brilliant example of just how petty lawmakers can be — on both sides of the aisle. It often feels like we have nap-deprived toddlers representing us.
The title thing. We are ruled by children.