The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Supreme Court weighs Biden’s student debt forgiveness

by Cate Martel - 02/27/23 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.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Anyone with a student loan:

The Supreme Court will hear challenges on Tuesday to President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt.

The question: Whether the Biden administration is overstepping its authority by relieving the debt.

The Hill’s Lexi Lonas and Zach Schonfeld break down both sides to the argument

LISTEN TO THE ORAL ARGUMENTS:
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Biden v. Nebraska. Livestream

At 11 a.m. on Tuesday: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Department of Education v. Brown. Livestream

AN EXPLAINER ON THE CASES AND WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE SUPREME COURT:
From Vox’s Ian Millhiser

ANOTHER CASE TO WATCH:
“The Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding mechanism.” The gist, via The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld

^ Vox’s Ian Millhiser has an interesting explainer on this case, too: “The Supreme Court will decide if a whole federal agency is unconstitutional”

Happy Monday — I can’t believe tomorrow is the last day of February?!🧣 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.

👴👵 2024

You know the old saying — Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional:

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley ignited a sensitive debate about age after calling for politicians 75 and older to take a mental fitness test to serve in office.

We know this was a dig at Biden: Biden would be 82 years old at the next inauguration.

^ Yes, but: Former President Trump would be 78 years old at that point and nearly 10 percent of Congress is above that threshold, as well.

Would a test at 75 be an effective measure or is it arbitrary?: “Psychiatric and aging experts warn that it would be difficult to create and implement a fair and effective test to measure politicians’ mental competency, and drawing a line in the sand at age 75 to require such a test doesn’t necessarily make sense.”

An example of the pushback — from 81-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): “I think that’s absurd,” Sanders told CBS’s “Face The Nation” last week. “We are fighting racism, we’re fighting sexism, we’re fighting homophobia, I think we should also be fighting ageism.”

^ Haley’s response to Sanders: “Exactly what a career politician and socialist would say.” Read Haley’s full tweet

How Trump reacted — he’s all for the idea, but not just for older politicians: “ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test…” Read Trump’s full post on Truth Social

THESE STATS ARE FASCINATING:
Breakdown of lawmakers’ ages: “In the 118th Congress that started in January, the average age in the Senate is 63.9 years and 57.5 years in the House. Right now, 16 Senators and 36 members of the House are 75 or older.”

Including some key, powerful members: “House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is 81. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is 78. House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) is 80, and the committee’s Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) is 79.”

A timely example: “Several news articles have questioned the mental fitness of 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is not running for reelection in 2024, with reports of memory lapses. Shortly after she announced her retirement, she appeared momentarily confused when a reporter asked her about the decision.”

The Hill’s Emily Brooks dives into the effectiveness, arguments and logistics of a mental fitness test

‘OLDER VOTERS BALK AT NIKKI HALEY’S COMPETENCY TEST’:
And that’s a key voting bloc!

Full story from Politico’s Lisa Kashinsky and Natalie Allison

A NEW POLL ON TRUMP, DeSANTIS:
A new Fox News poll shows former President Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) by 15 points (!)

Keep in mind: DeSantis hasn’t formally announced his 2024 bid but is widely expected to run.

The full Fox News survey

Trump responded to the poll by knocking Fox News for “promoting” DeSantis.Read Trump’s full comment

Meanwhile, in the White House — ‘Looking for a new voice, Biden turns to Obama veteran’:

Last year: “Weeks before Ketanji Brown Jackson was tapped as a Supreme Court nominee last year, the White House knew the confirmation process would be a political fight for the ages … It was then that Biden turned to Ben LaBolt, one of the most respected communications professionals in Democratic circles, to help guide the first Black woman Supreme Court justice to confirmation and lead the messaging wars during one of the biggest fights of his presidency.”

^ And now: “A year later, LaBolt, 41, is returning to the West Wing as Biden’s communications director as the president prepares his battle for reelection.”

Why this is noteworthy: “Democrats say Biden’s selection of LaBolt is particularly noteworthy because the president — who has relied for years on a small, air-tight inner circle — is bringing in a relative outsider for the influential role.”

More on the significance of Biden bringing in an ‘Obama guy,’ via The Hill’s Amie Parnes

🦠 COVID-19

So, how did this pandemic start?:

The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the Energy Department has decided with “low confidence” that the COVID-19 virus came from a leak at a Chinese lab.

From WSJ: “The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office.”

Read the Wall Street Journal report

Yes, but The New York Times, who also reported the findings, reports: “Some officials briefed on the intelligence said that it was relatively weak and that the Energy Department’s conclusion was made with ‘low confidence,’ suggesting its level of certainty was not high. While the department shared the information with other agencies, none of them changed their conclusions, officials said.”

Read the New York Times’s reporting

HELPFUL EXPLAINER ON THIS NEW REPORT:
“What we know about Energy Department’s COVID lab leak conclusion”

RAND PAUL WOULD LIKE FOR THOSE DOCUMENTS TO BE DECLASSIFIED:
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, tweeted the Wall Street Journal article, adding: “Classified documents leaked (they should be declassified!) showing scientists at DOE believe COVID leaked from Wuhan Lab.”

HOW CHINA IS REACTING TO THE REPORT — I THROW MY HANDS UP IN THE AIR SOMETIMES:

China is dismissing the new Department of Energy report.

From Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning: “Certain parties should stop rehashing the ‘lab leak’ narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing origins-tracing.” More on how China is handling the report

THE LATEST NUMBERS IN THE U.S.:

Cases to date: 103.2 million

Death toll: 1,115,637

Current hospitalizations: 19,913

Shots administered: 671 million

Fully vaccinated: 69.3 percent of Americans

CDC data here.

🐥Notable tweets

Bahaha, this is *chef’s kiss*:

Actresses Aubrey Plaza of HBO’s “The White Lotus” and Jenna Ortega of Netflix’s “Wednesday” presented an award together at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. “I don’t know why they paired us up together,” Plaza began.

BuzzFeed’s Spencer Althouse tweeted the 28-second clip. It’s very funny. Watch

Tidbit — just your average Monday morning commute:

President Biden returned to the White House this morning after spending the weekend in Delaware.

USA Today’s Joey Garrison tweeted a photo of Marine One landing on the South Lawn.

Reuters’s Nandita Bose tweeted a photo of Biden walking into the White House.

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris is in South Carolina to deliver remarks.

8:55 a.m.: Biden returned to the White House from his weekend in Delaware.
9:45 a.m.: Harris left for South Carolina.
11:15 a.m.: Biden received his daily briefing.
3 p.m.: The Senate meets.
3:30 p.m.: Harris returned to Washington, D.C.
5:30 p.m.: A Senate cloture vote on a nomination. Today’s Senate agenda
6:30 p.m.: The House votes. Today’s House agenda
This week: The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), right outside of Washington, D.C. How Trump and Nikki Haley are fighting for the spotlight at CPAC

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

12:45 p.m.: Harris delivers remarks on expanding affordable high-speed internet. Livestream
2:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing. Livestream
5 p.m.: Biden and Harris deliver remarks at a Black History Month reception in the White House. Livestream

🍓 In lighter news

Today is National Strawberry Day and National Kahlua Day!

Judy Blume’s secret weapon Wordle words:

Amy Weiss-Meyer spoke with author Judy Blume for a feature story in The Atlantic.

My favorite tidbit: “Judy Blume plays Wordle every day and always starts with the same two words: TOILE and SAUCY,” Weiss-Meyer tweeted.

^ Eh, but this pie is a close second: “Blume is now 85, and lives in Key West. During my visit there, we walked on the beach, rode in her convertible, and ate enormous slices of key lime pie as she reflected on her long career and the forthcoming @margaretmovie.” Photo of the pie — Weiss-Meyer is not exaggerating about the size

Read the full story in The Atlantic

And if you have a spare moment, do you think you could help this dog who is trapped? This is quite the sticky situation.