The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Dems’ agenda hits major snag 

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–> A midday take on what’s happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.* 

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.

IN CONGRESS

Is that… is that Joe Manchin standing outside the Senate with a boombox over his head playing, ‘Let It Go?’: 

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) latest moves are fueling new doubts that he’ll agree to any sort of legislative package on President Biden’s agenda, deepening Democratic worries about what they’ll be able to deliver to voters by Election Day.” https://bit.ly/3Mz1OLW 

How so — Manchin has been hard to pin down: “A … Democratic senator said efforts to negotiate with Manchin one-on-one, whether led by senior White House officials or Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), aren’t working.”   

How this could play out: https://bit.ly/3Mz1OLW 

^ A PLAN B — LOOK FOR BIPARTISAN SOLUTIONS: 
“With Democrats’ reconciliation path in limbo — though members of the party want it to be revived — they are leaning into talks with Republicans on multiple fronts: Immigration, election reforms and climate.”  

More on the bipartisan efforts, via The Hill’s Jordain Carney: https://bit.ly/3vTA269

Happy Friday of White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner! Here’s a list of parties this weekend. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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Interesting read — the House Freedom Caucus is having a bit of an identity crisis:

Via Politico’s Olivia Beavers, “A group founded with right-leaning policy ambition that later became a Donald Trump defense team is starting to split in important ways, from how to respond to this week’s Kevin McCarthy tapes to — more fundamentally — whether to reorient itself back to its limited-government roots.” https://politi.co/3KAOUvS 

“Interviews with more than 40 Republicans — including 30 lawmakers, 16 of them in the Freedom Caucus — paint a picture of a group that shapeshifted as the GOP itself realigned during Trump’s presidency, becoming more populist and nationalist, but less bound by policy principles.” 

Read the full story —including a spat between Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.): https://politi.co/3KAOUvS 

QUICK CATCH-UP — HERE’S A SHORT VIDEO OF IMPORTANT MOMENTS ON CAPITOL HILL THIS WEEK: 
https://bit.ly/3kqXd2p

IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Another day, another positive COVID-19 case:

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield announced this morning that she has tested positive for COVID-19. 

Was she in close contact with President Biden?: She tweeted, “This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19. I last saw the President Wednesday in a socially-distanced meeting while wearing an N-95 mask, and he is not considered a close contact as defined by the CDC.” https://bit.ly/38xLNY3 

How is she feeling?: She is experiencing “mild symptoms.” Read her full tweets: https://bit.ly/3vVQumm

TIDBIT FROM THE COMMS STAFF: 
White House deputy communications director Pili Tobar is leaving her position to join the private sector, according to The Hill’s Brett Samuels: https://bit.ly/3s12z8W

LATEST WITH THE JAN. 6 INVESTIGATION 

The Harry Potter book series of hearings: 

The House select committee investigation the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021 is planning to hold eight (!) hearings in June. https://bit.ly/3Lta4Nn 

Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told CBC’s Robert Costa: “You know most issues or subjects get one hearing or maybe two hearings. So we looked at essentially the comprehensive story that we have to tell, and we divided it up into chapters that will allow for the unfolding of the narrative, and we hope that it will make sense to people.”  

When the first hearing kicks off: June 9.

LATEST WITH COVID-19 

Happening in June: 

Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan, “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday released tentative June dates for its advisory committee to meet to discuss authorizing COVID-19 vaccines for young children, offering a rough timeline for when authorization could come.” https://bit.ly/3KyD5WF 

Specifically: “The agency said it is setting aside June 8, 21 and 22 for meetings of its advisory committee for vaccines for children under 5 and will provide more details once applications from Pfizer and Moderna are complete.”  

CASE NUMBERS:  

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 81,256,091

U.S. death toll: 993,184

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y 

VACCINATION NUMBERS: 

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 574 million shots have been given. 

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 84,471 doses 

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. 

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

NOTABLE TWEETS: 

Bahaha:

@surasshu tweeted, “ppl like ‘let’s devalue twitter’ and bro, imma be honest, idk how much worse i can post.” https://bit.ly/3OKKupc

Getting traction — this person had way too much time, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the saga: 

Comedian Patrick McDonald tweeted, “yesterday I set up a wildlife camera and made a red carpet for birds and squirrels–here’s who came by on MY BACKYARD’S BIGGEST NIGHT.” Here are the highlights — with pretty detailed context: https://bit.ly/36Znxhd 

^ This tweet has nearly 180,000 likes so far. 

ON TAP: 

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. 

10:15 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 

1 p.m. EDT: President Biden speaks with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador by phone to discuss North American priorities. 

3:15 p.m. EDT: President Biden joins a meeting with inspectors general. 

4:30 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris holds a virtual meeting with leaders of 15 Caribbean nations.  

3 p.m. EDT Monday: The Senate meets next. The Senate’s Monday agenda: https://bit.ly/3LwywNV 

WHAT TO WATCH: 

10:45 a.m. EDT: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/37TWpR9 

2 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3kmNtpY 

Sunday morning: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”  

IN LIGHTER NEWS: 

Today is National Shrimp Scampi Day.  

And tomorrow is a fun combo: It’s National Oatmeal Cookie Day AND National Raisin Day.  

And to get your weekend off to an adorable start, here’s a puppy meeting its new best friend: https://bit.ly/3KwIRIq