It’s Wednesday — and what a chaotic week it has been on Capitol Hill. Here’s what’s happening today: The bipartisan border deal quickly collapsed, but Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has a Plan B. Basically, when the initial vote on the deal fails, the Senate will remove the border components and test another vote on just the funding for Ukraine and Israel. In a stunning vote, House Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas. It all came down to three Republicans. Republicans are already eager and willing to serve in a potential second Trump administration. Keep reading for the names of those who are interested.
I’m Cate
Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-staging.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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I believe we call this: Throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks: |
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Republicans on Capitol Hill had a chaotic day on Tuesday, first tanking the bipartisan border deal that had been in the works for months — and then failing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas in a controversial vote that lost by one. First, the border bill: Senate Republicans decided on Tuesday to block the border bill that was coupled with funding for Ukraine and Israel. But isn’t that vote still on the docket?: Yes, there will be a procedural vote on that bill today, even though it is expected to fail. Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to still hold that vote so that vulnerable Democrats can vote for it and tell voters they tried to address the crisis at the border. 💻
Watch the 1 p.m. procedural vote
But Schumer has a backup plan!: After that procedural vote fails, Schumer will then yank the border security proposals from the bill and hold a vote on *just* the funding for Ukraine and Israel.
What to expect: That hollowed-out bill is expected to pass — it needs 60 votes to advance.
Specifics of the funding: The bill would fund the war in Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific region and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine and Gaza.
Read more about the Senate’s Plan B, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton
Keep in mind: The House also tried a backup plan on Tuesday. The House held a vote on just the Israel funding, but that measure failed 250-180. |
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➤ WHO GETS CREDIT FOR SINKING THE BORDER DEAL?: |
Former President Trump Senate Republican Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had been advocating for the bipartisan border bill, but Trump told GOP lawmakers to reject any deal that didn’t give them “everything” they wanted. In the end, Trump won this fight. The Hill’s
Alexander Bolton explains “a couple of big factors that explain why it is becoming more difficult for McConnell to steer the GOP in his preferred direction.” For example: Some of McConnell’s longtime allies have retired. (The Hill) |
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Everyone watching C-SPAN last night like 👀:
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House Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, missing the threshold by just one vote.
Why?: Any more than two Republican “no” votes would have tanked the impeachment — and there were three that joined Democrats in voting against the resolution. The three Republicans who voted ‘no’: Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.),
Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Mike Gallagher (Wis.) — Gallagher was the surprise “no.”
Tidbit from the vote: Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who recently had surgery, unexpectedly showed up at the last minute in a wheelchair, wearing scrubs and socks, according to NBC News.
Green said after the vote: “I had to go to the emergency room and I had to have surgery, so it’s not easy to leave a hospital and get back here. So I always intended to show up. Mr. Mayorkas is a good man; that was a bad move. I had to be here.” (NBC News) Why this matters: This vote failed in embarrassing fashion for Republicans. This impeachment vote was political — and controversial among legal experts on the left and the right — but Republicans went full steam ahead regardless. Read more — ‘In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails’ |
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➤ OP-ED FROM ONE OF THE THREE GOP ‘NO’ VOTES: |
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), the surprise Republican “no” vote that tanked Mayorkas’s impeachment, explained his vote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, arguing that it “would have opened Pandora’s box.”
Excerpt: “[Mayorkas’s] performance has been a disgrace. But I disagree with my Republican colleagues who voted on Tuesday to impeach Mr. Mayorkas. Impeachment not only would fail to resolve Mr. Biden’s border crisis but would also set a dangerous new precedent that would be used against future Republican administrations.” ‘Why I Voted Against the Alejandro Mayorkas Impeachment’: The Wall Street Journal |
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➤ TO SUM UP THE DAY FOR REPUBLICANS: |
The New York Times writes how “dysfunction reigns in Congress as [GOP] defeats multiply.”
Specifically: “In a day of chaos in the Capitol, Republicans failed to impeach the homeland security secretary, lost a vote to speed aid to Israel and cheered the demise of a border deal they had demanded.” (The New York Times) |
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When the Season 1 characters want to come back for the reunion season:
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Former
President Trump’s administration was infamous for rapid turnover and tension — many former Trump administration officials are now critical of their former boss — leading to the question of who would work in a potential second Trump administration.
Well, The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports that there is no shortage of Republican officials who are eager to take on these jobs.
Isn’t it too early to be thinking about that?: Nope. “Conservative groups are working well before this November’s election to identify potential staff. Some former Trump Cabinet officials have endorsed him in recent days, and a few of those who challenged Trump for the 2024 nomination appear to be positioning themselves for a spot in the executive branch.” A few names that come to mind: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, former Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and even former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
What is former Vice President Mike Pence up to?: He hasn’t endorsed anyone since dropping out of the presidential race.
What we know about a second potential Trump White House, via The Hill |
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➤ CAMPAIGN TRAIL HEADLINES: |
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‘DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 race. But he’s still acting like he’s running.’: Politico
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‘What the 14th Amendment says about whether Trump can be on the ballot’: The Washington Post
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‘A Legal Outsider, an Offbeat Theory and the Fate of the 2024 Election’: The New York Times
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‘Biden aims to stitch back together his 2020 coalition’: The Hill
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🍝 Celebrate: Today is National Fettuccine Alfredo Day!
🌏 Satellite images of the earth are getting greener: “Humans are literally changing the color of the planet. Scientists are worried.”
Vox explainer 🥘
These photos are making me so hungry: Here is Washingtonian’s list of the “100 very best restaurants” in Washington, D.C. 🍽️ Washingtonian’s list 🏈 Thinking about a last-minute trip to the Super Bowl?: The New York Times estimates that it would cost roughly $9,859 per person. | |
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The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in New York City, and
Vice President Harris is in Leesburg, Va. (all times Eastern) |
- 12:15 p.m.: White House press secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre and national security spokesperson John Kirby speak with reporters aboard Air Force One. 💻 Livestream
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1 p.m.: The Senate holds a vote related to the national security supplemental bill. 🗓️ Today’s agenda
- 2:30 – 7:30 p.m.: Biden participates in campaign receptions in New York City.
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3 p.m.: Harris speaks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference at the Lansdown Resort in Leesburg.
- 9:15 p.m.: Biden returns to the White House.
- Feb. 29: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will testify over his recent cancer diagnosis and subsequent secret hospitalization. 📝 Details and back-story
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