The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Scott changes tune on Social Security, Medicare after internal pushback

by Cate Martel - 02/17/23 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.

TALK OF THE MORNING

OK, OK, OK — you’ve worn me down:

Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) plan to sunset Social Security and Medicare in five years has received relentless criticism from President Biden, Democrats and even Republicans.

^ So: Scott amended his proposal to exclude those federal programs.

Scott wrote in a Washington Examiner op-ed: “I have never supported cutting Social Security or Medicare, ever. To say otherwise is a disingenuous Democrat lie from a very confused president. And Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also well aware of that. It’s shallow gotcha politics, which is what Washington does.” Read Scott’s new op-ed

How this started: Biden called out Scott’s plan during his State of the Union address. Scott then doubled down on his plan but has received a lot of criticism, including from McConnell. More on the saga — and where this debate goes from here

BY THE WAY — TRUMP WAS NOT ON RICK SCOTT’S SIDE BEFORE HE CHANGED HIS TUNE:
Former President Trump warned Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) earlier this week that he does not support cuts to the programs.

Trump posted on Truth Social: “Be careful, Rick, and most importantly, fight for Social Security and Medicare. THERE WILL BE NO CUTS!” That’s just an excerpt — here’s Trump’s full post

Happy Friday! 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.

🏥 In Congress

Colleagues laud Fetterman’s action:

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to be treated for clinical depression.

Read the statement from his office

Fetterman’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, tweeted: “After what he’s been through in the past year, there’s probably no one who wanted to talk about his own health less than John. I’m so proud of him for asking for help and getting the care he needs … This is a difficult time for our family, so please respect our privacy. For us, the kids come first. Take care of yourselves. Hold your loved ones close, you are not alone.❤️”

FETTERMAN’S COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE:
Here are some of the reactions from Senate Democrats, compiled by The Hill’s Al Weaver

‘JOHN FETTERMAN IS OPENLY DISCUSSING HIS TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION. FEW POLITICIANS DO.’

Vox’s Li Zhou writes that “by doing so, he’s normalizing a conversation around mental health.” The full read

Slow it dowwwwn, Linds:

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is coming under pressure from conservatives on his panel and outside Congress to slow down consideration of President Biden’s judicial nominees.”

Why now?: “Graham has voted for more of Biden’s nominees than any other Republican on the Judiciary Committee, something that is coming under scrutiny from conservatives after Democrats this week celebrated the 100th successful confirmation of a Biden judicial nominee.”

Is this unusual?: Well, Senate Democrats are about three months ahead of Republicans’ pace when they controlled the Senate last. “Senate Republicans didn’t confirm the 100th judge appointed by Trump until May of 2019 — about three months later than when Biden hit the milestone.”

🚂 In Ohio

What an absolute mess:

A train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in Ohio, leaving residents to wonder about the health impacts to the community.

The biggest chemical worry: “Residents temporarily evacuated because of the release of a carcinogen called vinyl chloride, but on Feb. 8, officials determined they could return, citing air quality monitoring that showed ‘readings at points below safety screening levels for contaminants of concern.’”

But the worries are not just vinyl chloride. Here’s a quick explainer on the health concerns for that community, via The Hill’s Rachel Frazin and Sharon Udasin

“‘CHERNOBYL 2.0’? OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT SPURS WILD SPECULATION.”:
From The New York Times’s Stuart A. Thompson

UGH — THOUSANDS OF DEAD FISH WERE FOUND AFTER THE TRAIN DERAILMENT:
This is leading residents to question water safety. Details from CNN

THE WASHINGTON POST WITH A TOTALLY SERIOUS OP-ED, WHICH IS ~ NOT MEANT ~ TO BE TAKEN AS SATIRE:
The Post’s Alexandra Petri writes, “Why are you so mad about the free chemicals?”

Excerpt: “We know what you’re going to say: ‘We did not ask for these chemicals! These are not good chemicals that we want; these are toxic chemicals that we do not want!’ Picky, picky. Well, now we know: You hate surprises.” Read the full piece

🗳 Getting traction

What Fox News hosts said about 2020 behind closed doors:

The New York Times’s Jeremy W. Peters and Katie Robertson report that “Newly disclosed messages and testimony from some of the biggest stars and most senior executives at Fox News revealed that they privately expressed disbelief about President Donald J. Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even though the network continued to promote many of those lies on the air.”

The gist: “The hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, as well as others at the company, repeatedly insulted and mocked Trump advisers, including Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani, in text messages with each other in the weeks after the election, according to a legal filing on Thursday by Dominion Voting Systems.”

How we know this: Dominion is suing Fox News for defamation.

Read the texts

‘MEET THE JUDGE DECIDING THE $1.6 BILLION DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST FOX NEWS’:
From NPR’s Karl Baker and David Folkenflik

🦠 The COVID-19 numbers

Cases to date: 102.9 million

Death toll: 1,113,254

Current hospitalizations: 21,700

Shots administered: 670 million

Fully vaccinated: 69.2 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🧀Notable tweets

I have some good intel for anyone who works on Capitol Hill:

Axios’s Victoria Knight tweeted, “Today’s Cap Hill value food find: A side of mac and cheese for $2 from the Senate carry out! honestly very creamy and it’s a pretty big portion – and so rich that I almost couldn’t finish it.” Photo of this beautifully cheesy lunch

🍻 On tap

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

10:15 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing.
10:15 a.m.: Harris met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
11 a.m.: Harris met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
12:05 p.m.: Harris hosts a reception with members of the U.S. Congressional Delegations and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Saturday: Harris is expected to speak at the Munich Security Conference. Details from The Washington Post
Monday: Presidents’ Day

All times Eastern.

👀 What to watch

1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. Livestream

☕️ In lighter news

Today is National Cafe’ Au Lait Day. And I know this is early, but I just thought you should know that Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day. 🙃

*covers eyes and shrivels away*:

Politico Magazine writes, “Never Say ‘Nice to Meet You’ and 27 Other Rules for Surviving in D.C.: We’re not here to make friends. We’re here to get a job.”

Another example: “Learn the magic of asking enthusiastically, ‘Where are you now?’”

The list of 27 ‘rules’

Zetus Lapetus!:

^ My millennial readers will understand this reference. 😉

The rotating restaurant in Crystal City, Skydome, has reopened after three years (!) Details from WTOP

And to leave you on a happy note, here is one eager beaver!