Gun makers asked to testify on mass shootings
IRS chief in hot water over audits of Trump enemies
Inside today’s edition of “Regular Order” for July 8, 2022:
Democrats still trying to forge reconciliation deal.
Trump grumbles as ex-White House Counsel testifies.
Lots of lawmakers on the move in Europe.
GUNS. The House Oversight Committee has asked CEO's of three top American gun manufacturers to testify at a July 20 hearing on gun violence. "I am deeply troubled that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war," said panel chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
SHOOTINGS. Noting the mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Illinois, Maloney channeled much of the anger and frustration building among Capitol Hill Democrats about gun violence. She sent letters to Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson, and Sturm, Ruger asking for testimony.
MALONEY. "Gun manufacturers are not innocent bystanders,” Maloney said on Thursday. “They sell the weapons of choice used by mass shooters and it’s time they answer for it.”
ASSAULT RIFLES. Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised a vote on banning assault weapons - it’s not clear if that’s going to happen or not. But clearly, rank and file Democrats want to vote on that and more. “It’s long past time to reinstate the assault weapons ban,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
AUDITS. The Internal Revenue Service chief has asked Treasury Department investigators to review why two top FBI officials - both frequent targets of Donald Trump's attacks - were subjected to tax audits during the Trump Administration. "The I.R.S. has referred the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for review," the tax agency said on Thursday.
COINKY DINK. Democrats found the revelation that former FBI Director James Comey and his top deputy Andrew McCabe were selected for audits hard to swallow. The New York Times estimated the odds at 1 in 950 million. "This is very strange," said former U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi.
BIDEN. At the White House, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not exactly give IRS chief Charles Rettig a vote of confidence. "As you know about the IRS Commissioner, his term is up in November," Jean-Pierre said. No evidence has surfaced that Rettig knew anything about the audits.
NOTE. I must make an observation about almost the total silence from Republicans in Congress about this issue. The Capitol Dome might have tipped over if the audit subjects were Trump allies.
TODAY. The White House will be watching closely as the new jobless numbers are released by the Labor Department at 8:30 am. The economy is clearly one of the biggest issues for voters in November - as consumers deal with inflation concerns, high food prices, and high gas prices.
ABORTION. President Biden has an 11:30 am event at the White House where he will 'deliver remarks on protecting access to reproductive health care services.' Many Democrats are still looking for Biden to do 'something' in response to the Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade decision.
RECONCILIATION. Senate Democrats on Thursday continued to float out details of a possible budget reconciliation deal, saying they would move to increase taxes on so-called business 'pass throughs' as a way to pay for the plan. The move would slap a 3.8 percent tax on pass-through income for individuals making more than $400,000 per year, and couples making more than $500,000.
MEDICARE. Earlier this week, Democrats released a plan which would let Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices with drug makers. That has drawn sharp opposition from Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. The plan could be approved without any Republican votes in the Senate.
PRESS GALLERY CURMUDGEON. Way back on September 23, 2021, top Democrats said they had a deal on the tax portion of reconciliation. But they didn't. That was more of an effort to make it appear like there was momentum. There wasn’t. Is this more of the same? Stay tuned.
CIPOLLONE. We won't see it on our TV screens, but former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone will take questions today from the January 6 committee, as panel members try to get more insight into what was going on at the White House in the days before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
TESTIMONY. Cipollone has figured prominently in testimony by other Trump administration officials. One said Cipollone called an effort to use the Justice Department to undermine election results a 'murder-suicide pact.'
CAPITOL. Ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified last week that Cipollone was dead-set against Trump's desire to go to the Capitol on January 6 as Congress counted the electoral votes. "We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable," she quoted Cipollone as warning.
TRUMP. Members of the Jan. 6 committee have publicly said that no witness probably causes more heartburn for Donald Trump than Pat Cipollone. And Trump was clearly not pleased to hear the news that his former White House Counsel was testifying in this investigation.
HEARINGS. There will be two Jan. 6 hearings next week on Capitol Hill. Tuesday will start at 10 am. The Thursday hearing may be in prime time.
BRING HOME THE BACON. The Biden Administration continues to hand out goodies from the infrastructure law. This week it was $1 billion in airport improvement grants going to 85 airports around the nation. It was an easy opportunity for Democrats to tout the investments to voters, readily amplified by local news outlets.
DEMS. "Great news," tweeted Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). "$15 million is headed to our Austin airport." "The Bipartisan Infrastructure law continues to deliver for North Texas," said Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), touting $35 million for a new zero-carbon power plant at Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
TRAP. The money for various airports was also a trap set for Republicans - and one GOP lawmaker quickly stumbled into it. "I am thrilled for @DFWAirport to receive this important funding," said Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) - as the Texas Republican did not mention how she voted against the infrastructure law.
2022 SENATE. While Republicans are the very heavy favorites to take control of the U.S. House in November, there is much more uncertainty about the Senate. That might surprise many of you - given the 50/50 divide in the Senate right now. But the weakness of some GOP nominees for Senate has given Democrats some hope.
GEORGIA. The campaign of Herschel Walker was rocked again on Thursday by a story about Walker’s children. The Daily Beast reported that Walker had lied to his campaign staff about how many kids he had - four, not just one - and that his staffers are investigating other anonymous allegations of other kids.
KEYSTONE. In Pennsylvania, GOP nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz has been off the air, while Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman - and outside groups - are hitting Oz hard with all sorts of ads. Oz spent well over $12 million on ads for the Pennsylvania Primary - but since then has been quiet.
MISSING DEMOCRAT. On the flip side, it's been almost two months since Fetterman suffered a stroke - and he’s still not doing public events. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday that Fetterman will reportedly be back 'on the campaign trail soon' - as Republicans are starting to make it into a campaign issue.
PARK POLICE. The Interior Department has found the U.S. Park Police did not realize its communications system was not being fully recorded - until after police violently cleared out demonstrators near the White House on June 1, 2020. That allowed President Donald Trump to walk through Lafayette Park for a photo op at a nearby church.
REPORT. In a 19-page report issued this week, investigators said the Park Police failed to properly record its communications for more than two years. The discovery - soon after the events of June 2020 - prompted worries inside the police agency, which is responsible for security at National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C.
TRAVEL UPDATES. Two U.S. Senators met on Thursday in Kyiv with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) gave Zelenskyy a framed copy of a resolution they are pressing to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
DETTA ÄR SVERIGE. Meanwhile in Stockholm, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has been attending a meeting of the Helsinki Commission. The group includes Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), and Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX).
BAZA RZESZÓW. Nestled on the Polish-Ukraine border in eastern Poland is an air base now called home by a number of U.S. troops. It’s been a frequent stop off for lawmakers who are visiting Ukraine and the region. The military makes sure to find home-state soldiers for those visits.
YELLOWSTONE. Montana's two U.S. Senators went to visit Yellowstone National Park on Thursday - but it wasn’t for vacation - as they reviewed major damage from recent severe floods. Today, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland will get her own tour as she meets with park officials at Old Faithful.
CLOSURES. Most of Yellowstone has reopened to tourists, but the north entrance road will have to be completely rebuilt after heavy flooding. You can see more from Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and from Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT).
NIMBY. In recent weeks, the Pentagon and VA have backed off efforts to close certain facilities around the country - after an outcry from lawmakers in Congress. It's a reminder of how lawmakers like the idea of budget cuts - as long as they don't hit in their backyard. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
REGULAR ORDER. We welcome our weekly readers today. Please think about upgrading to a daily subscription - or give the gift of straight news to someone you know, and support my independent reporting from Capitol Hill.
MUSE OF HISTORY. July 8, 1986. On this date, President Reagan signed into law an expansion of Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Instead of moving clocks forward on the last Sunday in April, lawmakers voted to advance that to the first Sunday in April, as the House dropped a push to keep DST for an extra week into November. "I think this bill is a big change over present law and I accept the compromise," said Rep. Carlos Moorhead (R-CA). In 2005, the Congress would change that date again, moving the start of DST up to the second Sunday in March, and adding that extra week in November.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House next has votes on July 12.
The Senate meets next on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
Thanks Jamie! The run-down of what's happening with the players in DC along with some context from your experience helps me to quickly stay connected with what our supposed representatives are up to. If I want to go deeper on an issue you brought to my attention, I can find plenty of op-eds elsewhere.
Jamie, your article about budget cuts and NIMBY remind me of your comments on term limits. People want term limits for everyone but their representative. I had the opportunity to use that this week. Thanks!