House-Senate GOP divide emerges again over second Trump indictment
Trump expected to appear in court on Tuesday in Florida
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for June 9, 2023:
Supreme Court ruling could help Dems win back House.
House GOP rebellion still unresolved.
Pence group attacks Trump over January 6.
TRUMP. Republican leaders in the U.S. House rushed last night to the defense of former President Donald Trump, after he announced that he would be indicted next week in Florida over classified documents that he kept after leaving the Oval Office. But while Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his lieutenants expressed their outrage, top Senate Republicans sent their own message - by saying nothing at all.
HOUSE. "Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America," Speaker McCarthy said about Trump's second indictment in two months. "House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable," as McCarthy echoed his declaration that Republicans would hold New York prosecutor 'Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.'
BAYOU STATE. "Let's be clear about what's happening," said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. "Joe Biden is weaponizing his Department of Justice against his own political rival," as Scalise called the latest charges against Trump a 'sham indictment.'
MCCONNELL. While McCarthy and Scalise led the defense for Trump, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said nothing - which is exactly what he did after Trump's indictment in New York earlier this year.
NO DETAILS. News of this second indictment played out just like the New York case - where Congressional Republicans attacked prosecutors even before they saw the details of the charges lodged against Trump. "The American people know that this investigation is a farce," said Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV).
TRUMP. "I'm an innocent man. I'm an innocent person," Trump said in a video recorded at his New Jersey golf course. "Our country is going to hell," Trump continued. "It's a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax.”
CHARGES. The leaks to major news organizations from the Justice Department indicated there are seven counts against Trump. Basically, he took classified national security documents, lied about doing that, and then conspired to obstruct justice to conceal his crimes. It wasn't clear if the details would be released before Trump's court appearance next week.
DEMS. "No President in American history is better at getting indicted than Donald Trump," said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), as Democrats savaged Trump. "The former twice-impeached President is now twice-indicted," added Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). "The former white supremacist-in-chief has been indicted, again," said Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO).
PROCESS. Some Democrats again took the high road, emphasizing that Trump is innocent until proven guilty. "This case should be litigated in the court of law, not the court of public opinion and most definitely not in the halls of Congress," said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).
STILL TO COME. Trump has been indicted in New York. He's now been indicted by the feds in Florida. And in August, he is likely to be indicted again in Georgia - about his effort to overturn the 2020 election. It's even possible he could face federal charges related to the election - and January 6. Trump’s legal troubles are far from over.
VOTING RIGHTS. Up until news broke last night about the latest Trump indictment, the biggest story on Capitol Hill yesterday came from the U.S. Supreme Court, where Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the Court’s three liberal Justices in delivering a ruling which may help Democrats win back control of the U.S. House in 2024.
YELLOWHAMMER. In a surprise 5-4 decision written by the Chief Justice, the High Court ruled that the state of Alabama violated the Voting Rights Act by using the redistricting process to eliminate one majority-Black seat in Congress. "The Court is not persuaded by Alabama’s arguments," Roberts wrote.
RULING. Alabama must now redraw its Congressional map to include two majority-Black districts, not just one. It had Democrats dreaming of new seats in other states, like Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. "This is an important victory for voting rights in the South," said Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC).
REDISTRICTING. Theoretically, this decision could force the creation of as many as four to six new Black majority districts in the South - where Democrats would be favored in 2024. But that's all dependent on various legal challenges and state legislatures drawing new maps.
GEORGIA. It only took a few hours for the ruling to have an impact. A federal judge in Georgia asked parties - in a legal tussle very much like the one in Alabama - to weigh in on how the Supreme Court ruling would impact their case.
SUNSHINE STATE. Florida may get a lot of scrutiny as well. A Congressional map pushed through by Gov. Ron DeSantis did away with two Black-majority districts in the state. Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) said Thursday’s ruling “strikes a fatal blow to Florida’s gerrymandered congressional map.”
REGULAR ORDER. Let me take a quick second to make a sales pitch. If you aren’t a subscriber, think about hiring me as your Capitol Hill eyes and ears. Buy yourself a subscription, give someone the gift of straight news, and support independent journalism in the halls of Congress. Or you can always just buy me a drink. And let’s be honest, I need a few after the last few weeks.
GOP REBELLION. As the week ends, there is still no deal between members of the House Freedom Caucus and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, after 11 GOP rebels blocked most work on the House floor this week. Those conservatives accuse McCarthy of going back on promises that he made earlier this year when those same Republicans finally decided to back him for Speaker.
FREEDOM CAUCUS. "Right now and over this weekend, they're airing their grievances," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said of his GOP colleagues who are at loggerheads with McCarthy. "They're kind of - I wouldn't say renegotiating - they're reclarifying the January deal," Massie said on WVHU Radio.
SASSY. "I have no animosity toward the people who have decided they're aggrieved and have taken down everything on the floor right now," Massie said of the Freedom Caucus rebels. "But there's a lot of raw nerves right now," the Kentucky Republican added.
SCHEDULE. In what might be seen as a peace offering, Republicans announced on Thursday that the House would vote next week on a plan from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) to repeal a new ATF rule regulating 'pistol braces.' Clyde had claimed the bill was put on hold because he voted against the debt limit deal.
VOTES. But other Republicans tell a different story - that the pistol brace repeal was delayed because it didn't have enough votes to pass the House. "They literally are shutting down Congress until they can arm more people," Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said of the pistol brace dustup.
THIS WEEK. Really, it was a pretty good week on Capitol Hill for Democrats. They celebrated the debt limit deal. The redistricting ruling from the Supreme Court is a very big deal. And House Republicans basically spent the week pouring gasoline over each other while the Freedom Caucus wonders whether to light a match - or not.
MESSAGING. Democrats were more than happy to watch the GOP infighting. "House Republicans are going to have to decide whether they're going to be responsible public policy makers," said Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who labeled the House GOP, "Team Chaos, Team Dysfunction, and Team Extreme."
DEMS. Rank and file Democrats were also skewering the GOP at every turn. "The right wing won’t even let Speaker McCarthy schedule votes," said Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). "House Republicans continue to show an inability to govern and the result is paralysis," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).
SOCIAL MEDIA. One of the most interesting things over the past 72 hours is how nearly every House Republican is acting like this impasse isn't even happening. Go check the Twitter account of your average GOP lawmaker - this isn’t a preferred subject to say the least.
PENCE. A day after Mike Pence explicitly attacked Donald Trump for his actions on Jan. 6, allies of Pence unveiled their first ad in support of Pence's bid for the GOP nomination - zeroing in on that exact issue. "A weak man appeases a mob. A man of courage and character stands up to them," the ad says from the group Committed to America.
JANUARY 6. I'm going to say this again - I can't believe that Pence is hitting Trump over January 6. Why? Pence wouldn't testify about what happened that day before Congress. He resisted subpoenas. He has shied away from publicly criticizing Trump. And yet - it's been a big part of his campaign rollout.
TAPES. Speaking of January 6, many Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) repeatedly called for the public release of internal Capitol security tapes - saying it would reveal the truth of what happened that day. Now, Greene doesn't want to release the tapes to the public. Why? Because it might bring more arrests. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU. Two House Democrats have called for the resignation of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security, after he admitted before Congress this week that he routinely deleted text messages from his government-issued cell phone. "You are unfit to lead an agency responsible for preventing and detecting fraud," lawmakers told IG Joseph Cuffari.
SECRET SERVICE. Cuffari has been in hot water for months, after he failed to notify Congress about how the Secret Service deleted text messages just before and after the Jan. 6 attack - and even blocked efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to recover those electronic messages.
LETTER. In a Thursday letter to Cuffari, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) told Cuffari to 'resign immediately.' "We must restore credibility to the OIG in order to have independent oversight," they wrote. "Your resignation is the necessary first step."
HEARING. At a hearing this week, Cuffari showed no worries when he admitted deleting his own text messages, saying he deleted messages on his government phone that had nothing to do with official business, but said he didn't use the phone for anything but official business.
VIVA DE LA SANTOS. Lawyers for Rep. George Santos (R-NY) have until 12 noon today to appeal a ruling from earlier this week, in which a federal judge plans to reveal the names of the people who put up Santos' $500,000 bond after he was indicted on federal fraud charges.
MUSE OF HISTORY. June 9, 1964. With the Senate nearing final action on a civil rights bill, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) spoke all night against the plan. "I believe it is unconstitutional," Byrd said, as he spent time detailing assaults by Black men against white women in Washington, D.C. At one point, Byrd was helped along by Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC). "Does the Senator from West Virginia feel that when a woman of one race is required to give a massage to a woman of another race against her wishes, it is involuntary servitude?" Thurmond asked.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House will next have votes on Monday.
The Senate meets next on Monday.
President Biden’s daily schedule link.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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Instead of asking the IG to resign they should be calling for President Biden to fire him. What the heck?
Hilarious. The clown show of the GQP House can’t even get a rule passed, let alone garbage bills…. Which are doomed in the dem Senate and White House anyway.
Incompetent, useless, treasonous… and now they want to protect their fuhrer from a duly empaneled Grand Jury.
Such patriots.