Playbook PM: Jan. 6 committee subpoenas McCarthy

From: POLITICO Playbook - Thursday May 12,2022 05:39 pm

May 12, 2022

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The Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday took the extraordinary step of issuing subpoenas to House lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

SIREN — The Jan. 6 select committee issued subpoenas today to five House lawmakers: GOP Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and Reps. SCOTT PERRY (R-Pa.), JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.) and MO BROOKS (R-Ala.). More from Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu … The letter sent to McCarthy

This is a huge escalation by the committee, one it had been debating for months. Among the concerns is the precedent that it sets, and the potential for Republicans to return in kind if, as expected, they take control of the House after the midterms. The committee is also prepping for a slate of primetime hearings that are expected next month.

BREAKING — “Federal prosecutors have begun a grand jury investigation into whether classified White House documents that ended up at former President DONALD J. TRUMP’s Florida home were mishandled,” NYT’s Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt report.

“The intensifying inquiry suggests that the Justice Department is examining the role of Mr. Trump and other officials in his White House in their handling of sensitive materials during the final stages of his administration. … Prosecutors issued a subpoena to the National Archives and Records Administration to obtain the boxes of classified documents, according to the two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. The authorities have also made interview requests to people who worked in the White House in the final days of Mr. Trump’s presidency, according to one of the people.”

PSAKI’S EXIT INTERVIEW — Outgoing White House press secretary JEN PSAKI participated in an on-the-record session with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor as she gets ready for her final briefings. Some of her answers that caught our attention:

The hardest part of the job: “I’ve had threats. I have had nasty letters, texts to me with my personal address, the names of my children. It crosses the line and that’s when it becomes a little scary and that has been the most personally difficult aspect of this job. … People can like me, dislike me; that’s okay. I believe very much in freedom of speech. My kids are 6 and 4. And I worry about their safety.”

The moment she wishes she could do over: Seeming flippant when asked about sending Covid-19 tests to every American: “It was by about the ninth version of the question … [I] just hit my limit. … We’re all human, but it is your job to control that urge and to always provide information, context, all the details. And that was a good lesson for me and a good reminder.”

What she regrets about messaging on Build Back Better: “Looking back, it was necessary to spend a lot of time having meetings in the Oval Office, but that is … not an effective way to communicate. And it allows disagreements between members of Congress — which frankly, the American public does not care at all about — to dominate what we talked about. And hindsight is always 20/20, but I wish we’d spent more time with the president on the trail.”

ON THE HILL — Speaker NANCY PELOSI said at her weekly news conference that the House will bring forward a bill on oil price-gouging next week, and turned her attention to a number of other major issues. Highlights:

On the Senate’s ongoing discussions of a bipartisan abortion-rights bill being worked on by Sens. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) and LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska): “It’s not enough to pass a bill to have a compromise. It’s not a compromise,” Pelosi said. “What’s in the Republican bill would enable states to do very destructive things when it comes to women’s right to choose.”

On Covid aid: “Those discussions continue. We must pass Covid [aid], it is absolutely essential to the health and well being of the American people,” Pelosi said. She said the request will start at $22.5 billion, which matches the White House’s latest ask, and is well over Republicans’ $10 billion figure. “Since the $10 billion was discussed, the threat has increased,” she said.

On the baby formula shortage: “Right now the baby is crying; the baby is hungry. We need to address it right now. I think we have good focus on it. We'll see what the president has to say.”

On her endorsement of Rep. HENRY CUELLAR (D-Texas): “He’s a valued member of our caucus. The FBI has said he is not under investigation,” and it will be up to constituents to decide, she said. Pelosi also noted that Cuellar is the rare elected Dem who is not supportive of abortion rights, but that they “didn’t need him” to pass their abortion rights bill.

MEANWHILE, Dems seem to be a little peeved after a marathon voting day on Wednesday. @sarahnferris: “After a 22-votes-in-a-row day yesterday, lots of process complaints in Dems' whip meeting this morning, attendees tell @nicholaswu12 & me. Frustration has been building over Republicans forcing floor votes on noncontroversial bills. Takes a LOT of floor time.”

Good Thursday afternoon.

A message from PhRMA:

ICYMI: A majority of Americans reject so-called government “negotiation” once they learn it could restrict access and choice and chill the innovation of new treatments and cures. The survey also shows a majority find health care coverage costs unreasonable and a top priority health care issue for policymakers to address today.

THE WHITE HOUSE

THE GROWING FORMULA FIGHT — Reuters’ @jeffmason1 : “WH official: @POTUS will speak with retailers and infant formula manufacturers to receive an update on efforts to make infant formula supply more available to American families. Later today the WH will announce new actions the administration is taking to address this issue.”

This issue has emerged as a major point of contention, as Republicans are increasingly pushing the administration on it — a group of House Republicans held a news conference about the issue outside the Capitol earlier today and sent a letter to the Biden administration and FDA to “immediately” address the shortage, Fox News’ Marisa Schultz reports.

Here’s the context: “Baby-formula manufacturers and retailers say they are working to address a long-running shortage in products on store shelves but the hardships facing U.S. families may take months to abate,” WSJ’s Annie Gasparro and Jaewon Kang write.

JUDICIARY SQUARE

THE SCOTUS SHIFT — NYT’s Adam Liptak writes that, increasingly, the “bare-knuckled partisan fights over recent Supreme Court confirmations appear to have followed the justices to their chambers. The disclosure of a draft opinion that would overrule Roe v. Wade, along with related reports of the court’s internal workings, has transformed a decorous and guarded institution into one riven by politics.”

As the court meets today in a private conference, we wonder: will reporters hear about the discussion? (AP’s Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko have more on today’s meeting.)

— Meanwhile, @joshgerstein: “In recent days, court has again quietly pushed back public re-opening, now ’til June. Also the in-person opinion release days that were skedded this month are gone. All subject to change of course.”

— And a heads up, via Bloomberg’s @GregStohr: “Supreme Court says Monday will be an opinion day, starting at 10. (No, I wouldn’t expect the abortion ruling, but a Second Amendment decision isn’t out of the question.) We'll also have the scheduled orders list at 9:30.”

PROTEST PROFILE —The Atlantic’s Elaine Godfrey reports from the protests outside of Justice BRETT KAVANAUGH’s house in Chevy Chase, Md.: “It’s impossible to know what Kavanaugh was thinking while the gaggle of mostly women paced in front of his lush suburban lawn, just across the border from D.C. Maybe he wasn’t even home, or maybe, as some marchers wondered aloud, he was watching them from a small gap in the blinds upstairs. Ultimately, the demonstrators didn’t care all that much how the second-newest Supreme Court justice felt about their presence. They had given up on persuasion, they said. Instead, they viewed their protest as a physical reminder for the justices of the human cost of their decision.”

— But Virginia Gov. GLENN YOUNGKIN and Maryland Gov. LARRY HOGAN are “demanding that Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND enforce a federal law that forbids demonstrations intended to sway judges on pending cases,” WaPo’s Laura Vozzella, Erin Cox and Dan Morse write.

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ALL POLITICS

TURNING THE SCREWS — The sudden rise of KATHY BARNETTE in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate race has former President DONALD TRUMP sweating. As the primary enters its final week, Trump is trying to head off another potential loss for one of his endorsed candidates — this time MEHMET OZ. “For the past five months, he's been told the only threat to Oz is named DAVID MCCORMICK. This is a twist no one saw coming,” a Trump adviser told CNN’s Gabby Orr . “The former President is still determining whether there is anything he can do to give Oz an extra boost in the race, the adviser to Trump said, noting that Trump was already planning to host a tele-rally and to target Republican voters with robocalls before the primary. …

“Inside Trump’s orbit, Barnette’s swift rise from obscurity to a legitimate competitor is seen as a direct result of the mud-slinging contest that has unfolded between Oz and McCormick over the past several months. It’s a classic case of a candidate running up the middle, said allies of the former President, with one likening Barnette to Sen. DEB FISCHER, whose bare-bones campaign defeated two well-funded tea party darlings in the 2012 Nebraska GOP Senate primary.”

CASH DASH — Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.) is continuing to scorch the fundraising trail. “He’ll report raising nearly $5.6 million between April 1 and May 4 in a special federal filing he’s set to submit on Thursday. More than 113,000 donors gave to his campaign, giving the Democrat an average of $37.63 a pop,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports.

CONGRESS

SAVE THE DATE — Former VP MIKE PENCE is planning a visit to the Republican Study Committee on June 21. Our colleague Kyle Cheney notes: “This is in the middle of the public hearing schedule for the Jan. 6 select committee.”

THE ECONOMY

INFLATION NATION — Biden’s American Rescue Plan was intended to put money back in the pockets of Americans. “But did it contribute to the country’s current inflationary mess?” Vox’s Andrew Prokop writes. Economists seem to think so — but the question is to what degree.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PICTURE — “The number of Americans applying for jobless aid ticked up slightly last week but the total number of Americans collecting benefits remained at its lowest level in more than five decades,” AP’s Matt Ott writes. “The four-week average for claims, which evens out some of the weekly ups and downs, rose 4,250 from the previous week to 192,750.”

THE PANDEMIC

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT — U.S. and global leaders announced $3.1 billion in new funding for the global Covid fight at the White House’s Covid summit today, Erin Banco, Carmen Paun and Daniel Payne report. The new pot of aid comes as Congress failed to approve a round of $5 billion in aid.

— In remarks delivered at the opening of the summit, Biden told world leaders: “Now is the time for us to act. All of us together. We all must do more. We must honor those we have lost by doing everything we can to prevent as many deaths as possible.” Earlier today, Biden ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the 1 million Covid deaths. NYT has more

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BEYOND THE BELTWAY

GOING IT ALONE — Absent any action from congressional Democrats on their campaign promises to working parents, state legislatures are taking matters into their own hands on a number of key agenda items. “From Connecticut to New Mexico, progressive elected officials in recent months have moved to defray the high cost of child care, create paid leave programs for new parents or those caring for loved ones, and salvage other parts of the Democratic agenda at risk of dying from inaction in Congress as November’s midterm elections get closer,” Nick Niedzwiadek writes.

WAR IN UKRAINE

— “Finland’s leaders announced on Thursday that their country should ‘apply for NATO membership without delay,’ while Swedish leaders are expected to do the same within days. It is a remarkable shift by two nations on Russia’s doorstep that had long remained nonaligned militarily — but where public opinion has lurched strongly toward joining the alliance in the 11 weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine,” NYT’s Shashank Bengali, Steven Erlanger and Ivan Nechepurenko report. (Pentagon spox JOHN KIRBY praised the “historic” move, per Quint Forgey.)

But Russia was quick to respond, warning Finland of potential retaliation if it goes through with the decision, per CNN.

— Video investigation, via WSJ: “Dozens of Ukrainian civilians were killed on one four-mile stretch of road outside Kyiv during the month of March. A WSJ analysis of videos, photos and social media posts reveals how Russian forces positioned themselves around the road to fire on and kidnap fleeing civilians.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

FOR YOUR RADAR — The families of four U.S. citizens who are imprisoned in Iran are pleading with the Biden administration to step in and secure a safe return home, WSJ’s Stephen Kalin reports . The four Americans were detained on espionage charges, and the increased pressure on Biden to act comes “as nuclear talks with Tehran that were expected to include their release have stalled.”

PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — The March of Dimes Gala on Wednesday evening at the National Building Museum featured several dozen members of Congress competing as celebrity chefs in a cook-off of appetizers, desserts and drinks. The event raised more than $1.3 million for the March of Dimes. There was a surprise visit from Paris Hilton, who stopped by Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) booth, where he’d made sausage stuffed mushrooms. Pic of Hilton with Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) … Paul and sausage-stuffed mushrooms

The winners … Judge’s Choice: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) for his sausage poppers with dill dip … People’s Choice: Sen. Angus King (I-Vt.) for his lobster stew … Healthiest Recipe: Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) for his shrimp ceviche … Hometown Hero: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for his Italian cream cake … Best Presentation: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) for her campechana de mariscos seafood cocktail … Easiest Preparation: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for his crispy, no-fry potato pancake poppers with garlic aioli dip.

— Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei hosted the annual Media for Liberty award reception Wednesday evening at District Winery. USA Today’s Susan Page received the honor, which goes to journalists who “shine a light on untold or misunderstood stories.” She donated her $50,000 award to the emergency fund of the International Women’s Media Foundation. SPOTTED: Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Robin Hickenlooper, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Elaine Chao, Andrea Mitchell, Major Garrett, Paul Beckett and Heather Timmons.

— Democratic/progressive digital ad firm DSPolitical celebrated its 10th anniversary (a couple of Covid years delayed) with a big party for about 200 people Wednesday night at Calico in Blagden Alley. SPOTTED: Mark Jablonowski, Eli Kaplan, Michael Bassik and Eloise Lepesqueur.

A message from PhRMA:

ICYMI: Majority of Americans reject so-called government “negotiation” once they learn it could restrict access and choice and chill the innovation of new treatments and cures.