The Kraken comes to Capitol Hill
The holiday crunch is on in Congress. And we could have a ‘biblical’ hearing. Here’s your morning update from Capitol Hill for Wednesday, December 15, 2020.
2020 ELECTION FIGHT HITS CAPITOL HILL. After holding show hearings about election fraud around the nation, Republicans on a Senate committee bring that PR effort this morning to Capitol Hill, as supporters of President Trump will get the chance to publicly air some of their election fraud charges - which have gone nowhere in the courts. The witnesses include James Troupis, who just lost a few election cases for the GOP in Wisconsin, Francis X. Ryan, a state GOP lawmaker from Pennsylvania who joined failed court challenges in the Keystone State, and Jessie Binnall, an attorney for the Trump Campaign who lost election challenges in Nevada. The only witness called by Democrats will be Chris Krebs, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief who was fired a few weeks ago by President Trump for disputing charges of election fraud. I wonder if we get some R vs D fireworks during this hearing.
MCCONNELL FINALLY SAYS BIDEN WON. It took 6 weeks, but a day after the vote of the Electoral College, the top Republican on Capitol Hill finally acknowledged the 2020 election results. "The Electoral College has spoken," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor Tuesday. "So today, I want to congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden." The admission came as President Trump was tweeting out more crazy election claims, including one which said the GOP Governor and Secretary of State in Georgia "will soon be going to jail" over the elections. That included a doctored photo showing the two GOP officials wearing matching masks with the emblem of the Chinese flag.
THE CLOCK TICKS ON COVID, OMNIBUS. With Christmas just over a week away, the pace of negotiations picked up Tuesday, stretching until around 10 pm last night at the Capitol, as the top Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate tried to hammer out final deals for 2020. "We're not leaving here without a COVID package," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. But the specifics of an agreement continued to be a bit elusive, with some pressing the idea of dropping money for state and local governments, and getting rid of legal liability protections against COVID lawsuits. At this point, the earliest the House could vote on a giant Omnibus funding bill and/or COVID-19 relief is on Friday.
WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE BILL VETO? Lawmakers are still waiting. Congress officially sent President Trump a major bipartisan defense policy bill on December 11, so he has until December 23 to make his decision (10 days not including Sundays). "He still does plan to veto," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Tuesday, but she gave no timeline. If the President waits until the 23rd, then there might not be any vote to override the veto between Christmas and New Year's, in the waning days of the 116th Congress.
MASKS NOW REQUIRED ON HOUSE FLOOR. With cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the Coronavirus outbreak now at their highest point in the U.S., Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that masks will be required at all times on the House floor - even when lawmakers are speaking. Pelosi said from the Chair, "this is a matter of order and decorum in the chamber," as she cited Clause 2 of Rule I. The move was immediately denounced by Rep.-Elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who labeled it an 'oppressive violation of my rights,' using the Twitter hashtag "#MyBodyMyChoice." Just wait until Greene hears about the effort to ban members from bringing firearms into the Capitol complex.
A VERY SUBDUED COVID CAPITOL. When I was walking through the Capitol on Tuesday, it was oh, so quiet. I sat by myself at 12 noon in the Rotunda, taking in the scene, with just one Senator walking by. No tourists. No staffers. No other reporters. Just me. I know a lot of people aren't working their usual hours because of the virus outbreak, so it will be interesting to see the timeline for Capitol Hill staffers to get one of the virus vaccines, and how quickly Congress can get back to a regular work pace.
25 YEARS AGO - What was I reporting on December 15, 1995? A big budget shutdown, of course. This was the extended shutdown fight between Speaker Newt Gingrich and President Bill Clinton. In my stories that day, I used a quote from the Senate Chaplain’s prayer: "We confess that the Senate has become a combat zone for a wretched war of words as we deal with the issues of a balanced budget."
WEDNESDAY LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
Senate meets at 10 am. And yes, the Senate last night did approve S. Res. 801, which authorizes Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to use the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building for a piano concert. The retiring Tennessee Republican already did an impromptu piano stop in the Russell Senate Office Building earlier this month.
President Trump has no public events, but does have an 11:30 am Cabinet meeting on his schedule. In the past, the President has often brought the press in for questions.
"Conference reports may be brought up at any time. Any further program will be announced later."