The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Biden isolates amid Dems pre-August recess dash

by Cate Martel - 07/21/22 12:30 PM ET

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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.

NEWS THIS MORNING

President Biden got the dreaded positive test:

President Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday morning, the White House announced.

How is he feeling?: “Mild symptoms.”

What are his symptoms?: NBC News’s Peter Alexander tweeted: “Dr. Ashish Jha, the WH COVID coordinator, tells @NBCNews @POTUS is ‘tired’ with a ‘runny nose and dry cough.’ ”

Is he boosted?: Yes, Biden has received two COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

Is he receiving any treatments?: He is taking Paxlovid.

So, now what?: Biden is isolating at the White House. He will work in isolation until he tests negative, the White House said in a statement.

Read the full letter from White House physician Kevin O’Connor

Biden’s now-canceled schedule: Biden had been scheduled to fly to Pennsylvania for a speech on gun violence, followed by a Democratic National Committee fundraiser. Biden was then expected to fly to Delaware.

Photo from Biden’s Massachusetts event on Wednesday: From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny

How is first lady Jill Biden feeling?: She tested negative today, according to MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin. CNN’s Kate Bennett says the first lady will travel to Wilmington, Del., later today to isolate from her husband.

➤ TIMING — DEMOCRATS ARE HOPING TO GET A LOT DONE BEFORE AUGUST RECESS:
HuffPost’s Igor Bobic pointed out, “Relatedly, one might think Senate Dems would start masking again if they want to have all 50 votes available to pass a health care bill anytime soon.”

IT’S A TOASTY THURSDAY IN D.C. — OR, I SHOULD SAY, EVERYWHERE. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

🕰 Happening tonight

Specifically, what was Trump doing during those 187 minutes?:

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 pro-Trump attack on the U.S. Capitol is holding a second prime-time hearing tonight to give a “minute-by-minute” account of former President Trump’s specific actions as the violence unfolded.

Who will testify?: Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews and former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger. Both resigned immediately after the Jan. 6 attack.

Here’s a preview of tonight’s testimony

And here’s a 49-second preview video: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted on Thursday morning, “What was Donald Trump doing while the Capitol was under siege? Take a look.” Watch

How to watch — it begins at 8 p.m. EDT: Here’s the C-SPAN livestream

➤ IS THE INVESTIGATION WINDING DOWN?:
No, according to Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

Kinzinger said on CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation’: “I think the important thing to keep in mind is … this investigation is not winding down. We may be towards the end of this tranche of hearings, we may have more hearings in the future, and the investigation is still ongoing … we’re getting to the bottom of what we need to know.” What we know about timing, from People magazine.

➤ ‘LET’S GO OUT WITH A BANG. BANG! BANG! BANG!’:

Today’s Jan. 6 hearing will likely be the last of the summer. The committee is hoping to go out, for now, with a bang. Read Niall Stanage’s column

The saga continues — the Secret Service turned over a single text message:

“The only text message the Secret Service turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was a plea from then-Capitol Police officer Steven Sund asking for help.”

“Lawmakers on the panel are increasingly confused and irritated by the lack of messages from the Secret Service after it subpoenaed the records following a letter from a government watchdog indicating that messages had been ‘erased’ during a device replacement program.”

From Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.): “I smell a rat. That seems like an awfully strange coincidence for those text messages to be banished into oblivion on two days where there was also the most violent insurrection against the union in our history, after the Civil War.” What happens now

➤ ‘SECRET SERVICE WATCHDOG KNEW IN FEBRUARY THAT TEXTS HAD BEEN PURGED’:
Via The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig and Maria Sacchetti

🌈 In Congress

Three-ish down, seven-ish to go:

The House-passed bill to protect same-sex marriage has moved to the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans are needed to pass the measure.

The gist: “Senate Republicans are keeping their distance from [the] bill to protect same-sex marriage, even though polls show a majority of Republicans support it and the measure passed overwhelmingly in the [House].”

How many Republicans support it so far?: Three. Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Rob Portman (Ohio) support it. Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) said he “probably will” vote “yes.”

Plus, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is a ‘maybe’: She says she supports marriage equality, but wants to look at the bill’s text first.

^ Is there a chance of reaching 10 Republican ‘yes’ votes?: Well, there are another eight to 10 Republicans who could potentially support it.

Here are the key Senate Republican votes

🦠 Latest with COVID

‘What the BA.5 Subvariant Could Mean for the United States’:

The New York Times’s Lauren Leatherby writes, “BA.5 and BA.4, both subvariants of the Omicron variant that swept the world during the winter, are the most capable versions of the virus yet at evading immunity from previous infections and vaccines. Both variants have mutations in their spike proteins that are different enough from earlier versions of the virus that they are able to dodge some antibodies.”

What to know about the subvariants

➤ ‘COVID CASES ARE SKYROCKETING AGAIN. STATES HAVE NO NEW PLANS.’:
Via Politico’s Megan Messerly, Krista Mahr and Adam Cancryn, “Strategies for managing 130,000 new daily Covid cases are largely the same as they were for managing 30,000 new daily cases four months ago.” How states are reacting

➤ THE COVID-19 NUMBERS

Cases to date: 89.6 million

Death toll: 1,020,355

Current hospitalizations: 35,242

Shots administered: 599 million

Fully vaccinated: 67.1 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets

This is a pretty funny:

Jezebel’s Laura Bassett tweeted screenshots of a back-and-forth between Pennsylvania Senate candidates, Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman. The screenshots

Hard to miss this message:

Insider’s Bryan Metzger tweeted, “[Republican Rep.] Nancy Mace with an attention-grabbing sign on her back this morning at House votes.” Photo of the sign on her back

Metzger added: “She says she’ll probably be ‘one of the few Republicans’ to vote yes on this AM’s bill to protect access to contraception. She says emergency contraception should be available in cases of rape and incest … She’s from South Carolina and recently won her primary against Trump-backed challenger Katie Arrington.”

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are in. President Biden was planning to visit Pennsylvania today, but is now isolating at the White House. Vice President Harris is in North Carolina.

9:30 a.m.: Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.
9:45 a.m.: Harris left for Charlotte, N.C.
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.: First and last House votes. Today’s House agenda
11:50 a.m.: Harris toured a community computer lab with people benefiting from the Affordable Connectivity Program.
1:30 p.m.: Harris delivers remarks on affordable, accessible high-speed internet.
2:30 p.m.: Harris holds a roundtable discussion with North Carolina state legislators to discuss reproductive rights.
4:35 p.m.: Harris returns to Washington, D.C.

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

This morning: A Senate hearing on lowering housing prices. Video coverage
8 p.m.: The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack is holding a prime-time hearing. Livestream

🍩 In lighter news

Today is National Junk Food Day.

And to leave you smiling, here’s a dog who really needs to complete in the next season of “Dancing with the Stars.”