CONNECT FOUR… OR NOT? The coronavirus pandemic has routinely caused lawmakers to shed their ideological leanings as they work to save the U.S. economy from an all-out depression; but one thing they can’t seem to rid themselves of is their personality feuds that have defined Capitol Hill under Donald Trump. That became clearer than ever on Thursday when, despite the depletion of a key loan fund for small businesses, congressional leaders were unable to agree on a funding boost for the critical program. Trump himself blasted Pelosi on Twitter, calling her “totally incompetent” and “a weak and pathetic puppet.”
Yes, “Phase 3” sailed through both chambers easily — but not without several long days and nights of seemingly endless negotiations and, of course, the usual partisan sniping among the “Big Four.” And despite the unprecedented nature of the crisis and the havoc it continues to wreak on Americans, the “multi-faceted, personal and stubborn” feuds only seem to be getting worse, the Heather-Burgess-Melanie trio writes, and they’re only undermining real relief efforts.
As Democrats continue to block a funding boost for the small-business program, Republicans are painting them as hostage-takers; Democrats harangued McConnell over what they say is a go-it-alone approach, and they’re demanding additional money for hospitals and state governments, too.
The stark reality of the “Big Four” relationships: “For Pelosi and McConnell, there are still hard feelings over how the last round of coronavirus negotiations played out. Pelosi and McCarthy have a limited working relationship, while Schumer and McConnell are standoffish at the best of times. … While party leaders bicker, critical funds for small businesses, hospitals and state and local governments are running out.” More from Heather, Burgess and Melanie: https://politi.co/2VAD4Kx. And read Zachary Warmbrodt, Burgess and Heather on the exhaustion of the small business rescue fund: https://politi.co/2VcGdRQ
GAETZ’S REAL ESTATE DEAL — SCOOP from Jake and Bres… “Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has spent nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, adviser, campaign donor and legal client. Both men said in separate interviews Gaetz paid below market rent for the space — although Gaetz later shifted, saying the rent was ‘at or below market rate.’ House rules explicitly state such arrangements are not allowed.”
“The agreement between Gaetz and Collier Merrill, a Pensacola real estate developer and restaurateur, highlights how a decades-long relationship can become intertwined with a lawmaker’s congressional duties. On top of being Merrill’s tenant, Gaetz attended fundraisers at Merrill’s restaurants, sought his counsel on policy matters and tapped him as a validator for his work in Washington. … The rental agreement was approved by the House’s Administrative Counsel. Gaetz, through a spokesman, said that he did not feel he needed to disclose his long relationship with Merrill to the House.” Jake and Bres have the story on the arrangement, and more on the longtime friendship between Gaetz and Merrill: https://politi.co/2RIqsQA
YOU GET A CAR, YOU GET A CAR — President Donald Trump’s newest coronavirus “task force” centers on developing a plan to re-open the U.S. economy. If you just read the press releases yesterday, you’d think it was a pretty exclusive club of hand-picked lawmakers. In reality, every Republican senator was named to the advisory group — except Mitt Romney, who of course voted to remove the president from office in the impeachment trial.
Several Democratic senators, and House members from both parties, were also chosen. Trump appeared on Thursday to temper his push for the economy to re-open swiftly in early May, instead deferring to governors on when to get back to business as usual. But that wasn’t enough for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called the guidelines “vague and inconsistent” and said it fails to deliver on the country’s biggest need: testing. The latest from Marianne, Sarah and Melanie: https://politi.co/2VBEm7X
RELATED READS: “Trump tosses coronavirus shutdowns back to the states,” by Gabby Orr, Jeremy B. White and Nancy Cook: https://politi.co/2XHw3tX; “Trump Creates ‘Everybody But Mitt Romney’ Coronavirus Committee,” by NYMag’s Jonathan Chait: https://nym.ag/2ylQBh4
VOTE BY PROXY — Congressional leaders continue to largely oppose establishing a system allowing lawmakers to vote on legislation without having to travel to Washington. But on Thursday, House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) proposed allowing members to vote remotely “by proxy.”
As Heather and Sarah note, “modifying the House rules to permit some form of remote voting would be monumental, upending hundreds of years of rules and tradition that have mandated lawmakers cast their vote from the chamber only, even during times of crisis.” But McGovern’s proposal is narrowly tailored, likely temporary and only applying to legislation related to the coronavirus. More on the proposed change: https://politi.co/2Vg4Mxe
HAPPY FRIDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this April 17. Andrew Desiderio here filling in for Melanie, who is enjoying a well-deserved day off. Have a great weekend and STAY SAFE!
THURSDAY’S MOST CLICKED: Bharat Ramamurti’s New York Times op-ed on his appointment to the Congressional Oversight Commission was the big winner.
OUT-CAST — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has taken an enormous amount of flak from lawmakers of all stripes over his career. The hardline libertarian’s effort to secure a roll-call vote on the “Phase 3” coronavirus package — a move that required hundreds of lawmakers to fly back to Washington amid the pandemic — even caused Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to join forces and block Massie’s power play. And now, the House Republican Conference chairwoman, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, is supporting Massie’s primary challenger, Todd McMurtry.
It’s highly unusual for party leaders to boost candidates challenging their fellow incumbents. But Cheney’s leadership PAC donated $2,500 to McMurtry’s campaign at the end of the first quarter — and Rep. Mike Turner’s (R-Ohio) leadership PAC did the same. Here’s how Massie responded: “I guess #neocons really do hate coming to work, while expecting nurses and truckers and soldiers to keep doing their jobs. Who knew?” Greg Giroux of Bloomberg Government has more: https://bit.ly/3epsHlo
‘PHASE 3’ GETS A SCORE — The massive $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package will add $1.8 trillion to the federal deficit over a 10-year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO score is slightly lower than the bill’s price tag because some of the aid takes the form of loan guarantees. As Caitlin Emma explains, “[the] most expensive chunks of the bill include about $377 billion in small business grants and loans, $293 billion in direct payments to Americans and $268 billion in expanded unemployment benefits.” The bill, known as the CARES Act, was the largest-ever federal stimulus package. Additional details on the CBO score: https://politi.co/3adEj7S
FROM THE CAPITOL TO THE FRONT LINES — Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) just wrapped up a brief deployment with the National Guard, helping to set up an emergency hospital on Staten Island, where he represents. Rose told BuzzFeed News that he agrees with Trump’s characterization of the fight against coronavirus as a “war,” adding: “Nothing would make me happier than to see this president as the commander in chief that he is, win this war — and if that means that he wins the election as well — so be it, so be it! You can’t think about politics right now.” Kadia Goba of BuzzFeed News has more: https://bit.ly/2wKrJ24
RELATED READ: “Lawmakers struggle to balance day job with raising kids at home: ‘It’s been surprisingly hard,’” by CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty: https://cnn.it/3ab0Ge0
Nothing today.
The House and Senate are out.
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) will hold a press call at 11 a.m. to highlight the need for Congress to include critical health care provisions in the next coronavirus response package.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), along with Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will hold a press call at 2:30 p.m. with the “Paid Leave for All” campaign to advocate for expanded paid leave provisions in the next coronavirus relief package.
THURSDAY’S WINNER: Joe Bookman was the first person to guess that 44 senators have been depicted on a postage stamp.
TODAY’S QUESTION: From Joe: Who is the only rodeo announcer to serve in Congress while announcing rodeos? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to [email protected].
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- Melanie Zanona @MZanona
Leadership feuds undercut pandemic relief
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