The Hill’s 12:30 Report — Norfolk Southern CEO gets grilled on Capitol Hill

by Lauren Sforza - 03/09/23 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

Republicans and Democrats agree on something … :

Both Senate Democrats and Republicans on Thursday grilled Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw over the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which sparked widespread environmental and public health concerns among residents.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told reporters on Wednesday that the Shaw’s testimony is meant to “restore trust.” He opened the hearing on Thursday, accusing the company of a lack of transparency and a lack of communication to East Palestine Residents.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) criticized some Republicans’ opposition to holding Norfolk Southern accountable. He said in the hearing that some GOP members “think that any public safety enhancements for the rail industry is somehow a violation of the free market.”

Here are the full details of what the senators said, via The Washington Post.

Shaw says he is ‘deeply sorry’ for the derailment:

In his first remarks to the committee, Shaw reiterated that he is “deeply sorry” for the train derailment and offered a “personal commitment” to resolve the crisis in East Palestine. He vowed that he will “see this through”and make it right to the residents of the town.

Here are his opening remarks, from CBS News’ Melissa Quinn.

What to watch for in Shaw’s testimony, via The Hill’s Zach Budryk: Bipartisan railroad safety reforms are likely to be at the center of this hearing, as politicians from both sides of the aisle have underscored the need for reforms.

It’s (kind of) almost the weekend! It’s Thursday, and I’m Lauren Sforza, filling in for Cate today, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.

In Congress

Senate Republican Leader hospitalized:

Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was hospitalized Wednesday night after tripping and falling at a dinner.

CNN’s Morgan Rimmer reported that he fell at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., before being admitted to the hospital to receive treatment.

McConnell’s fall comes after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was just released from the hospital after being out of the Senate with shingles and is now recovering at home, as well as Sen. John Fetterman‘s (D-Pa.) hospitalization last month after feeling lightheaded during a Senate Democratic retreat. He later checked himself into Walter Reed Hospital to be treated for clinical depression.

Read what The Hill’s Julia Mueller had this morning on McConnell.

Democrats still divided over D.C. crime bill:

The Senate voted to block D.C.’s crime bill on Wednesday night, showing divisions within the Democratic party as its members split over whether to vote for it. Thirty-three Senate Democrats sided with their Republican colleagues on the Senate vote after Biden announced last week that he would not veto the resolution to block the controversial bill.

Read more about Democrats upcoming challenges by The Hill’s Al Weaver: Democrats face uphill climb on crime despite nixing DC bill.

The vote gripped local attention in D.C. as protesters flocked to the streets to protest Congress’s vote to overturn the bill.Read WTOP’s coverage of yesterday’s protests here, by Alejandro Alvarez.

As the issue crime grabbed national attention this week with the D.C. crime bill, five shootings in D.C. underscored a need for a discussion about the city’s public safety. Get the details from the Washington Post’s Peter Hermann and Steve Thompson: A violent night in D.C. as Senate votes to nix crime bill

Not your typical field trip:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is trying to organize a trip for members of Congress to visit the Washington, D.C., jail where defenders of Jan. 6 are being held. This is not the Congresswoman’s first visit to the jail, where she and other Republicans have criticized the condition of the facility.

More on why Greene wants to visit the D.C. jail here by The Hill’s Mychael Schnell and Emily Brooks.

The aftereffects of the attacks on Jan. 6 are still making headlines, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson sparking discussion by broadcasting footage of the attacks given to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Carlson has also come under fire for his text messages about Trump during the 2020 election and Jan. 6.

Read The New York Times’ wrap of late-night television coverage on Carlson’s text messages here.

💸 In the White House

Biden is ready to talk budget in a swing state:

President Biden left for Philadelphia this morning to unveil his long-awaited budget proposal in a speech where he is expected to call out Republicans for wanting to cut programs that Americans overwhelmingly support.

His proposed budget will aim to secure the future of Medicare and reduce the deficit by $2 trillion over 10 years. Among other things, this plan will include a 20 percent tax on the income and unrealized capital gains of households worth more than $100 million and a 5 percent Medicare surtax on earned and unearned income over $400,000.

The proposed budget was just released.

Here is more of what to look out for in Biden’s speech via The Hill’s Aris Folley: Here’s what to watch for in Biden’s budget

Why Pennsylvania? Biden’s choice to release his budget in the swing state of Pennsylvania is not going unnoticed. Read more about the significance of his choice of setting via Reuters and the Associated Press.

What happened to those budget talks with McCarthy?:

With Biden rolling out his budget proposal, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing more pressure to roll out the Republicans’ plan. After meeting with Biden in early February, McCarthy says Biden has not reached back out to resume budget talks.

“I believe eventually he will, but that’s a month wasted,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “That’s a month that brings more doubt financially. That’s a month that hurts Americans. The sooner we get together, the better off all America will be.”

More on McCarthy’s take here, by The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Aris Folley.

🏃 2024

DeSantis is planning his first trip to Iowa:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be traveling to Iowa to meet with Republican state officials amid a potential bid for the presidency on Friday — just three days ahead of former President Trump’s visit to the state. Read more on his visit to the key GOP state via Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs and John Harney here: DeSantis will meet GOP lawmakers in Iowa, a Crucial 2024 State.

Although DeSantis has yet to make an official bid for the White House, he is ramping up a national tour to promote his new book, “The Courage to Be Free.” His book hit #1 on both The New York Times and Amazon’s bestseller lists this week.

Who is backing DeSantis? Read about former Trump official Ken Cuccinelli launching a PAC on Thursday to urge DeSantis to run instead of Trump, from The Hill’s Stephan Neukam.

A flurry of potential Republican candidates for the GOP nomination have already made trips to the state or are planning to. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is also traveling to Iowa on Friday but had previously held events in the state in February.

Trump is headed to the state on Monday to give an address on education policy, and former Vice President Mike Pence and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will both be attending a foreign policy forum on March 18. The Des Moines Register is tracking of when and where presidential candidates are headed to Iowa. Read more here.

Why this matters: Iowa Republicans are planning their traditional GOP presidential caucuses for early 2024, which will mark the kickoff of the presidential primary season. Trump carried the state in both 2016 and 2020 — making it a must-travel state for those seeking the White House.

Biden is finalizing his 2024 campaign team:

Although he has yet to make a bid for reelection, Biden has zeroed in on final candidates for his 2024 team.

Sources told The Hill this week that Jenn Ridder, who served as national states director for Biden’s 2020 election, is a leading contender for the top campaign job. Other candidates include Sam Cornale, the executive director of the Democratic National Committee, and Addisu Demissie, who ran Sen. Cory Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign.

The Hill’s Amie Parnes has the scoop: Biden zeroing in on candidates to be his 2024 campaign manager

🗓 In other news

Here’s the latest in Ukraine:

Overnight Russian attacks in Ukraine killed at least nine people and knocked out power across multiple regions. This is the largest missile attack launched by Russia in weeks as the country reups a new offensive.Here are the latest developments of the overnight attacks, via The New York Times.

This attack comes just a day after Russian leaders declared that they took Bakhmut, a key Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said Ukraine will continue to defend the city as the United Nations warned the city may fall in the coming days. Read more in Reuters.

What to know about the sabotaged pipelines by a pro-Ukraine group, from The New York Times’ Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman

🌙 Notable tweets

Okaaaay, DC. We see you.:

@Conthescene tweeted a photo of the insanely bright moon over Washington, D.C., last night. Photo

⏱On tap

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Philadelphia. Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C., with no public events scheduled.

All times Eastern.

📺What to watch

Biden unveils his 2024 budget request in Philadelphia. Livestream

🍝 In lighter news

Today is National Meatball Day!

I mean, he IS wearing the dad uniform:
CBS News posted a video of a dad running into an entire family who happens to be wearing the same outfit as him. Watch

And because you made it this far, watch how a duck and a puppy become friends.