Playbook PM: Moderate GOP senators ‘pissed’ over Biden infrastructure comments

Jun 25, 2021

By Ryan Lizza, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Presented by

This morning, we reported that Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), one of the 11 Republicans who supported the bipartisan infrastructure framework, was backing out of the deal over President JOE BIDEN'S insistence that he would not sign the bipartisan deal unless a $3-6 trillion reconciliation bill passed first.

That griping has quickly spread throughout the group.

— Sen. BILL CASSIDY (R-La.) said he felt "blindsided" by the linkage.

— "Demanding that we didn't pass the bipartisan deal unless reconciliation was passed first was never part of the deal," said an aide to one of the 11 GOP senators.

— Sen. JERRY MORAN (R-Kan.), another member of the group, now wants to seek assurances from Sens. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) not to support the reconciliation bill in order for him "to stay onboard."

Most of the 11 Republican senators met (virtually) this morning at 11 a.m. to plot their next moves. "There was general displeasure and anger," said a senior GOP aide who listened in.

— Notably, it wasn't just firebrands like Graham who were upset — in fact, we're told he was relatively quiet on the call.

— The core trio of moderates — MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah), ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio) and SUSAN COLLINS (R-Utah) — were particularly incensed about Biden's comment Thursday that "if this [the bipartisan bill] is the only thing that comes to me, I'm not signing it."

— Portman, several sources said, was "pissed and disappointed," and made it clear that while Biden has every right to pursue a reconciliation bill, linking the two pieces of legislation was not part of their deal with the White House.

— The group discussed releasing a joint statement emphasizing that "there were no side deals," but was awaiting how the White House responded to today's developments first. The group of GOP senators is scheduled to talk again this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the White House did not explicitly retract Biden's comments, but in a readout of a call between Biden and Sinema — and at press secretary JEN PSAKI'S briefing — the administration did not repeat Biden's "I'm not signing it" threat.

Asked if infrastructure were "stuck in a pothole," Psaki said, "Absolutely not."

BREAKING — "Trump Organization Could Face Criminal Charges in D.A. Inquiry," by NYT's William Rashbaum, Ben Protess and Jonah Bromwich: "The Manhattan district attorney's office has informed DONALD J. TRUMP'S lawyers that it is considering criminal charges against his family business, the Trump Organization, in connection with fringe benefits the company awarded a top executive …

"If the case moves ahead, the district attorney, CYRUS R. VANCE JR., could announce charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, ALLEN H. WEISSELBERG, as soon as next week."

Happy Friday afternoon.

A message from the American Investment Council:

This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year. Millions of Americans got vaccinated, many of the small businesses we know and love survived the pandemic and are thriving, and the travel sector is rebounding. Learn more at https://www.investmentcouncil.org/summer.

DOJ SUING GEORGIA OVER VOTING RIGHTS — Amid mounting pressure to act on voting rights following the failure of the For the People Act earlier this week, this morning, the Biden administration unveiled its first major executive-branch action on the issue: The Justice Department is suing Georgia over the state's new election laws.

— A.G. MERRICK GARLAND at the DOJ presser: "Our complaint alleges that recent changes to Georgia's election laws were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color, in violation of Section Two of the Voting Rights Act."

— Garland urged Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and said that Georgia's law probably wouldn't have gone into effect had the Supreme Court not struck down part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its Shelby County v. Holder ruling — which happened eight years ago today. Video of Garland's remarks via C-SPAN … Read the DOJ's outline of the lawsuit

— Mother Jones' Ari Berman had the scoop: "The lawsuit is being overseen by KRISTEN CLARKE, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and VANITA GUPTA, the associate attorney general. … Still, litigation against new voter suppression laws faces an uphill battle against a conservative-dominated judiciary."

— DOJ also announced it's launching a task force to tackle the increase in threats against election officials. Read the memo from Deputy A.G. LISA MONACO

HARRIS AT THE BORDER — VP KAMALA HARRIS told reporters in El Paso, Texas, today that she was visiting the U.S.-Mexico border after traveling to Mexico and Guatemala because "the reality of it is that we have to deal with causes, and we have to deal with the effects. … I'm glad to be here. It was always the plan to come here," per pooler Francesca Chambers of McClatchy. Harris also made a stop at a port of entry, which was previously unannounced.

BIDEN'S WEEK AHEAD — Psaki previewed the next week in Biden's schedule, which she said will include remarks on voting rights at some point and continued work on infrastructure and the budget reconciliation process:

— Monday: Biden will welcome Israeli President REUVEN RIVLIN to the White House.

— Tuesday: The president will travel to southwest Wisconsin with Agriculture Secretary TOM VILSACK to talk about agricultural and rural economies.

— Wednesday: Biden will talk drought and wildfires in the Western U.S. with Cabinet members, governors and private-sector leaders. Psaki says the governors will include KATE BROWN (Ore.), GAVIN NEWSOM (Calif.), MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (N.M.), MARK GORDON (Wyo.), JARED POLIS (Colo.), SPENCER COX (Utah) and STEVE SISOLAK (Nev.).

— Friday: Biden will speak about the jobs report.

SCOTUS ROUNDUP — "Supreme Court Pares Back Class-Action Suit," WSJ … "U.S. Supreme Court backs refineries in biofuel waiver dispute," Reuters … "Supreme Court sides with Alaskan Natives in dispute over coronavirus aid," NYT

COMING THIS AFTERNOON — "Former officer Derek Chauvin faces sentencing Friday afternoon," Minneapolis Star Tribune

INFLATION WATCH — "U.S. Personal Spending Stagnated in May as Prices Increased," Bloomberg: "Purchases of goods and services were unchanged following an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in April, Commerce Department figures showed Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price gauge, which the Federal Reserve officially uses for its inflation target, rose 0.4%."

WHAT AMERICANS REALLY THINK — "A survey finds support for halting federal unemployment benefits," by NYT's Ben Casselman: "Republican arguments seem to be resonating with the public. Just over half of Americans — 52 percent — want the extra benefits to end immediately, according to a survey of 2,600 adults conducted this month for The New York Times by the online research firm Momentive, which was previously known as SurveyMonkey. Another 30 percent want the benefits to end in September as planned. Only 16 percent want the additional benefits to continue indefinitely." The poll

— "AP-NORC poll: Most say restrict abortion after 1st trimester," by David Crary and Hannah Fingerhut: "61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester, and 80% said that about the third trimester. … Americans are closely divided over whether a pregnant woman should be able to obtain a legal abortion if she wants one for any reason, 49% yes to 50% no."

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NO CONGRESS FOR OLD MEN — "'You don't have to die in your seat': Democrats stress over aging members," by Marc Caputo: "Rep. ALCEE HASTINGS was 84 years old and battling pancreatic cancer. He was nearing his third decade in Congress. But he just couldn't quit his House seat. … His death created a vacancy that made House Democrats' already slim majority even smaller — and now his seat will remain vacant until January, thanks to Republican Gov. RON DESANTIS …

"The entire episode has brought into sharp focus an awkward conversation that Democrats have been having for a while: at a time of deep polarization and narrow congressional majorities, do older or infirm members have a responsibility to step down to ensure the party has enough votes to advance its agenda?"

2024 WATCH — "The Case for (and Against) Larry Hogan 2024," by Washingtonian's Luke Mullins: "How does a commercial real-estate broker turned pol trample high-priority items for progressives and the left, yet win their vote? Even veteran observers of Maryland politics have found themselves baffled by the alchemy of Hogan's continued appeal in a deep-blue state. Part of it is rooted in [Maryland Gov. LARRY] HOGAN'S refusal to engage in the culture wars. … The Hogan Way, in short, has fueled a virtuous cycle in image-making …

"Hogan has been fielding phone calls to gauge his interest in challenging Democratic incumbent [Sen.] CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, according to a person familiar with the discussions. 'The minority leader [MITCH MCCONNELL ] has pretty aggressively reached out to him,' says the source. … But Hogan says he isn't interested in an office in which he would wield far less authority than he does as governor. … Hogan says he won't enter the race if he doesn't see a credible path to victory: 'I'm not going to go on some suicide mission.'"

THE NEXT BENGHAZI? — "How Republicans are salivating over going after Hunter Biden if they win the majority in 2022," by Insider's Nicole Gaudiano and Elvina Nawaguna: "[Congressional Republicans are] itching to investigate [HUNTER BIDEN'S] international business dealings again, in hopes of uncovering evidence of wrongdoing that they can link back to his father, President Joe Biden, ahead of the next presidential election. … GOP lawmakers told Insider that they had lots of unanswered questions and were ready to flex their oversight power if voters put them in a position to lead investigations again. …

"The playbook is well worn for Republicans. … Democrats say that Republicans are chasing conspiracy theories and that reporters and fact-checkers have already found no wrongdoing by the president. No evidence has suggested that Hunter Biden's work influenced policy decisions while his father was the vice president."

THE NEW SECTARIANISM — "GOP Rep. Compares Democrats to Nazis, Says They Want to 'Destroy the Country,'" by Vice's Cameron Joseph: "'They are not the loyal opposition. They are the opposition to everything you love and believe in,' Pennsylvania Republican Rep. SCOTT PERRY said of Democrats as he concluded a speech to the conservative Pennsylvania Leadership Conference on June 11. 'Go fight them.'" With video

BEHIND THE INSURRECTION — "New Details Suggest Senior Trump Aides Knew Jan. 6 Rally Could Get Chaotic," by ProPublica's Joshua Kaplan and Joaquin Sapien: "ProPublica has obtained new details about the Trump White House's knowledge of the gathering storm, after interviewing more than 50 people involved in the events of Jan. 6 and reviewing months of private correspondence.

"Taken together, these accounts suggest that senior Trump aides had been warned the Jan. 6 events could turn chaotic, with tens of thousands of people potentially overwhelming ill-prepared law enforcement officials. Rather than trying to halt the march, Trump and his allies accommodated its leaders, according to text messages and interviews with Republican operatives and officials."

— "House GOP leader to meet with Capitol officer hurt on Jan. 6," by AP's Mary Claire Jalonick, Nomaan Merchant and Michael Balsamo: "Officer MICHAEL FANONE has said for weeks that he wanted to meet with [KEVIN] MCCARTHY … Fanone is expected to be joined by Capitol Police Officer HARRY DUNN , who was also among the officers who responded to the rioting, and GLADYS SICKNICK, the mother of Capitol Police Officer BRIAN SICKNICK."

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ANTITRUST THE PROCESS — "California lawmakers back the 'goose that lays the golden eggs' in antitrust fight," by Emily Birnbaum: "A group of lawmakers from California is emerging as a major obstacle to passing a historic package of antitrust bills aimed at clawing back the power of Apple, Google and Facebook — three of the most powerful companies in the Golden State. …

"The group has employed a range of tactics and arguments to stave off the toughest regulations and show no sign of relenting. … Many in the group of California detractors have another thing in common: large donations from tech companies that would be hurt by the bills. … But House Speaker NANCY PELOSI on Thursday publicly split with these fellow Californians, saying she supports the overhaul and won't cut it off."

FEEL-BAD FRIDAY READ — "We're Not Ready for Another Pandemic," by The Atlantic's Olga Khazan: "Experts generally agree that America learned from the past year, and that the next public-health crisis won't be quite as bewildering. But America's pandemic preparedness still has major gaps, some of which are too big for any one administration to fix.

"In recent weeks, I've called back many of the experts I interviewed over the past 18 months about masks, testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and more. I asked them, 'Are we ready for another one?' The short answer is 'Not quite.' The long answer is that being truly 'ready' will be harder than anyone realizes."

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE — "Trump laughed at Rudy for falling asleep on planes and 'spitting during meetings' and would tell him he 'sucked' and was 'pathetic' after TV appearances, new book claims," Daily Mail … Michael Bender's new book

WAY BEYOND THE BELTWAY — "Discovery of 'Dragon Man' Skull in China May Add Species to Human Family Tree," by NYT's Carl Zimmer: "Scientists on Friday announced that a massive fossilized skull that is at least 140,000 years old is a new species of ancient human. … The researchers named the new species Homo longi and gave it the nickname 'Dragon Man,' for the Dragon River region of northeast China where the skull was discovered. The team said that Homo longi, and not the Neanderthals, was the extinct human species mostly closely related to our own.

"If confirmed, that could significantly change our view of how — and even where — our species, Homo sapiens, evolved. A number of experts questioned this conclusion, published in three papers that provided the first detailed look at the fossil. But many still thought that the find could help scientists reconstruct the human family tree."

TWITTER THREAD OF THE DAY: Principal deputy WH press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE celebrates Pride Month by recounting the story of her coming out and the journey to self- and family acceptance.

STAFFING UP — "President Joe Biden to name Jessica Stern special envoy for LGBTQ rights," by CNN's Donald Judd and Kate Sullivan: "[JESSICA] STERN currently serves as Executive Director of OutRight Action International … She's the second person to be named to the role — her predecessor, RANDY BERRY, served in the then-new role from its inception in 2015 until 2017, at which point the position was left vacant by former President Donald Trump."

IN MEMORIAM — "Richard J. Meislin, Times Editor and Web Journalism Pioneer, Dies at 68," by NYT's David Dunlap: "Mr. Meislin retired in 2015 as The Times's internet publishing consultant after a 40-year career in which he held a number of posts including associate managing editor for internet publishing; editor in chief of New York Times Digital, which included nytimes.com; and Mexico City bureau chief."

SPOTTED Thursday night at Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin's garden chalet soiree for Kiki and Tim Burger visiting from LA: Craig Gordon, Ron Bonjean, David Corn and Welmoed Laanstra, Steve Clemons and Andy Oros, Jayne Sandman and Jeff Dufour, Josh Rogin, Don and Shannon McGahn, Daniel Lippman, Josh Meyer and Michael Chandler, Bryan Greene, Doug Heye, Nikki Schwab, Neil Grace, Nihal Krishan, Indira Lakshmanan, Bay Fang, Pasi Rajala, Kasper Zeuthen, Jen Jose, Lee Brenner and Pascaline Clerc, Nick Massella, Mary Kathryn Steel, Amber Allman, James Meek and Christine Delargy.

MEDIA MOVES — Ryan Mac will join the NYT to cover tech accountability. He currently is a senior technology reporter at BuzzFeed. Announcement

— Martin Matishak will be a senior cybersecurity reporter at The Record. He currently is a cybersecurity reporter at POLITICO.

TRANSITIONS — Roberta Jacobson has rejoined Albright Stonebridge Group as a senior adviser after a stint as special assistant to the president and coordinator for the Southwest border on the NSC. … Sabeen Malik is now head of government affairs at Thumbtack. She most recently was a senior policy adviser at Google and is a State Department alum.

A message from the American Investment Council:

This summer looks a lot better because of private equity's investments over the past year. Learn more about private equity's investments at https://www.investmentcouncil.org/summer.