with help from Marianne LeVine
DROP IT LIKE IT’S A HOTBED -- Well that was fast. Less than 24 hours after announcing the House will return to Washington next week, Democratic leaders decided to reverse course, citing advice from the Capitol physician who warned lawmakers could be at risk. In addition to several members and aides already contracting coronavirus, a dozen Capitol Police officers and 11 construction workers renovating a congressional office building have also tested positive for the virus. "We had no choice," said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "If the Capitol physician recommends that we not come back, then we have to take that guidance.”
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Of course, health concerns weren’t the only dynamic at play here. The initial decision to reconvene sparked outrage among many lawmakers and top staffers, who said they were blindsided by the move and received no guidance for working safely. Some Democrats complained that there was little on the legislative agenda, suggesting leadership was just trying to avoid bad optics. And while Republicans are now hammering Democrats for the reversal, even some GOP lawmakers and staffers privately worried about coming back — and those frustrations exploded in a fiery email chain between chiefs of staff from both parties. The latest from Sarah, Heather and your Huddle host: https://politi.co/3eZVsoV.
BUT ACROSS THE CAPITOL … it’s a different story. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still plans to bring lawmakers back next week and even told GOP lawmakers on a private conference call that he wants to resume the weekly party lunches, per Burgess. (His office declined to provide more information when asked if the Senate leader consulted with the Capitol physician.) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed for more information about how operations could resume safely, but for the most part, Republicans expressed little concern and overall agreed with McConnell’s decision.
A key difference between the House and Senate? As NYT’S Carl Hulse points out: “One thing the Senate can do that the House can't - confirmations. And Sen McConnell is a big fan of confirmations, particularly of the judicial variety.” To wit … the Senate Judiciary Committee is eyeing a confirmation hearing next week for Justin Walker, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the D.C. Court of Appeals and a McConnell protégé. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to McConnell yesterday urging the GOP to instead focus on issues related to coronavirus and oversight of Congress’ rescue packages. Andrew with the deets: https://politi.co/3aNY7yW.
Related read: “How Nancy Pelosi is staying safe during coronavirus pandemic,” by Tal Kopan of the San Francisco Chronicle: https://bit.ly/2WdTPM6.
VIRTUAL REALITY -- The “Virtual Congress Task Force” held its second meeting yesterday to discuss a bipartisan way that the House can function amid the pandemic. After the meeting — which included nearly thirty participants and was conducted via videoconferencing technology — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter where he sounded optimistic about finding a path forward in the coming weeks. "It is my hope that we will also have at that time bipartisan agreement on a change to House rules to permit both remote voting and remote committee work,” Hoyer said.
SPEED BUMPS AHEAD -- As Congress decides how to move forward on the next relief package, Republicans in Congress are sounding the alarm about the growing deficit and urging caution on any future spending package. "We are challenging the limit of how much we can borrow without serious adverse effects," warned Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) "We now have debt that’s over 100 percent of GDP. We’re running a deficit that’s more than twice as a percentage of our economy.”
But economists across a broad range of the ideological spectrum are encouraging Congress to spend and highlighting that borrowing has never been cheaper, given the current low interest rates. “I’m a fiscal hawk from way back, and all of my heebie-jeebies are going off when I see these numbers,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a Republican who used to head the Congressional Budget Office and is president of American Action Forum. “But then I look at the scale of the problem, and I think, yeah, that’s that. Gotta do it.” More from Victoria Guida and Marianne: https://politi.co/2YkDKGT.
Meanwhile, Democrats are already rejecting McConnell’s push for liability protections for businesses that reopen during the pandemic. Schumer called it “wrong,” while Pelosi called it “sad” and “disgraceful.” "I don’t think at this time, with the coronavirus, that there’s any interest in having any less protection with our workers," Pelosi said. That doesn’t bode well for negotiations on the next relief package, as McConnell has said he would only support aid for state and local governments in exchange for liability protections. More from Burgess and Heather: https://politi.co/2y8fIUT.
Related read: “Scoop: McConnell says he won't support infrastructure in coronavirus bill,” via Jonathan Swan of Axios: https://bit.ly/3eYIKXD.
HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this April 29. If you’re having a bad day, just be thankful you’re not the guy who got caught wearing no pants for a live TV appearance.
TUESDAY’S MOST CLICKED: The winner was WAMU’s report on how 11 construction workers who renovated a Congressional office building tested positive for COVID-19.
AND NOW MY WATCHDOG BEGINS -- Senate Republicans who are longtime advocates for whistleblowers are trying to convince Trump that watchdogs aren’t the enemy. Andrew with the story: “Trump’s recent hostility toward independent federal watchdogs has jolted the very Senate Republicans who are among his most outspoken defenders. Two months after acquitting Trump on charges of obstructing Congress, GOP senators are sounding subtle but unmistakable alarms about Trump’s efforts to brush back lawmakers’ oversight of the government’s behemoth, $3 trillion response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“And their warnings have grown more urgent as Trump mounts a concerted campaign against inspectors general, one of the last functional checks on his administration’s performance. … That [Sen. James Lankford] and other GOP senators like Chuck Grassley of Iowa have felt compelled to speak out publicly underscores the degree to which Trump has undermined routine congressional oversight — including the very mechanisms that Republicans themselves have crafted to rein in a rogue executive.” The dispatch: https://politi.co/3f1iVGr.
In other oversight news … Several inspectors general briefed the House Oversight Committee on the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic — including how the small business loans program is being implemented. The IGs have started conducting audits and also vowed to release “flash reports” to the public as any issues arise.
Related: “House investigators grill companies marketing questionable coronavirus antibody tests,” via Kyle: https://politi.co/2KMX33u.
STAND BY YOUR MAN -- Top Democrats are sticking by former Vice President Joe Biden since a sexual assault allegation against him surfaced. Per the WSJ: “Prominent Democrats, including some women thought to be on Joe Biden’s running-mate shortlist, have lined up behind the former vice president in the month since Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, made public an allegation he sexually assaulted her once in the 1990s. Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kamala Harris of California and former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams all have said that they respect women making such allegations and take them seriously. But they haven’t wavered in their support for Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, whose campaign has strongly denied the allegations.
“For the most part, Democrats haven’t voiced their opinions on the accuracy of Ms. Reade’s claims. Instead, they have attested to the longtime lawmaker’s character and policy efforts. California Rep. Ro Khanna, a co-chairman of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, said President Obama had assessed his former No. 2, and ‘for me, that’s the ultimate vetting.’ Mr. Sanders endorsed Mr. Biden on April 13, after suspending his campaign a week earlier.” The story from Julie Bykowicz: https://on.wsj.com/3aOOPmj.
Related: “Democrats Will Have To Answer Questions About Tara Reade. The Biden Campaign Is Advising Them To Say Her Story ‘Did Not Happen,’” via BuzzFeed News’ Ruby Cramer and Rosie Gray: https://bit.ly/2yT984C.
NOT CHEERING OVER CHINA -- The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is calling for a bipartisan investigation into how the World Health Organization and China responded to the coronavirus early on. More from the Washington Times: “Frustration on Capitol Hill has been mounting over reports that China could have withheld information regarding the outbreak, which began in the Wuhan Province last November, and the WHO’s management of the pandemic, which has been criticized as slow and delayed. ‘It is appropriate and necessary for the House Foreign Affairs Committee to investigate the actions by the Chinese Communist Party and the WHO under the leadership of Director-General Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus], especially in the early days of the pandemic,’ Rep. Michael McCaul … said in a statement Tuesday.
“His comments come weeks after President Trump announced he would be freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual payments to the United Nations-backed agency while U.S. officials review its role in ‘mismanaging’ the coronavirus crisis. Global leaders and U.N. officials slammed the move at the time, but many countries said they were not ready to follow Washington’s lead in the middle of a pandemic that has now infected more than 3 million people globally — 1 million in the U.S. alone — and killed over 215,000 around the world.” The deets from Lauren Meier: https://bit.ly/2VKRzgb.
Related: "Tom Cotton targets China as 2024 maneuvering begins," by Burgess: https://politi.co/35e0UjP.
CAMPAIGN CORNER -- Last night we got results from several congressional primary races — and a development in the bid for the White House as well. Here are some key highlights:
—“Mfume headed back to House as Cummings’ successor,” via Roll Call’s Stephanie Akin and Jessica Wehrman: https://bit.ly/3aMkk08.
—“Incumbent Democrat Joyce Beatty wins Ohio primary against liberal Morgan Harper,” from Kanishka Singh of Reuters: https://reut.rs/2SiaTiG.
—“Rep. Justin Amash to seek Libertarian Party nomination for president,” by WaPo’s Dave Weigel: https://wapo.st/2KM1WK8.
TRANSITIONS
Nothing today.
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House and Senate are out.
AROUND THE HILL
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, will hold a press call to discuss “Trump’s testing failures during the coronavirus crisis” at 11:30 a.m.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus will hold a remote congressional hearing to examine “bold solutions to the coronavirus crisis” at 2 p.m.
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) will host a briefing via conference call to discuss “measures urgently needed to protect voters and elections this November” at 4 p.m.
TRIVIA
TUESDAY’S WINNER: Jon Deuser was the first person to guess that John Quincy Adams was the first President (either before or after their presidency) to argue a case before the Supreme Court.
TODAY’S QUESTION: From Jon: Which member of Congress from Utah donated a kidney to one of his children? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to [email protected].
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