What to Know in Washington: Senate Consensus Isolates McCarthy

Senate Republicans lined up with Democrats yesterday to move forward a federal spending package, isolating Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in an impending government shutdown fight.

Thirty-seven Republicans joined with Democrats to expedite the measure, part of a plan to provide $100 billion more in annual government funding than House Republicans are seeking. The plan doesn’t include the border security, anti-abortion, and other provisions House conservatives are demanding to keep the government open beyond Sept. 30.

Photographer: Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The US Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The vote is the latest sign of a breach among Republicans over the shutdown strategy, a sharp contrast to the debt limit battle earlier this year when Senate and House Republicans united to force President Joe Biden to agree to spending cuts in exchange for avoiding the nation’s first default.

“If there is a shutdown, it is all on the House side,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). “The Senate has been very responsible throughout this process.”

The vote is the first step toward a week of debate on annual funding for the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Affairs.

Read the BGOV Bill Summary: H.R. 4366, Senate Three-Bill Spending Package.

After passing those bills, the Senate is planning to pass a stopgap bill to avoid an Oct. 1 government shutdown and pairing that with $24 billion in aid to Ukraine as well as $16 billion in disaster aid. Read the full story from Erik Wasson.

BIDEN’S AGENDA

• The president and First Lady Jill Biden meet with Biden’s Cancer Cabinet at 2:30 p.m.
• Biden heads to a campaign reception in McLean, Va. shortly before 7 p.m.
• Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Jared Bernstein hold a press briefing at 1 p.m.

CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE

• The House is back at noon to take up a defense spending bill.
• Senators return at noon to burn time on a government funding package.
• For the full agenda read BGOV’s Congress Tracker.

Happening on Capitol Hill

McCarthy to Detail Stopgap Government Funding Plan

McCarthy plans to unveil a short-term plan to fund the government at this morning’s House Republican conference meeting, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) said.

Tuberville Demands Senate Vote on Pentagon Abortion Policy

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) says he’ll continue to block military promotions unless the Biden administration abolishes its new abortion policy and the Senate votes on the issue because “we are not a Communist country.”

AI Leaders Head to Capitol Hill

More than 20 tech and civil society leaders, including the executives of five of the 10 biggest US companies, are set to appear at a closed-door Senate meeting today to shape how AI is regulated.

• Senators including Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill that would ban the use of deceptive AI-generated content falsely depicting federal candidates in political ads. Read more.
• A bipartisan plan to regulate AI is “a very strong and positive step in the right direction,” Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told a Senate Judiciary panel yesterday. Read more.
• AI’s ability to generate deepfake content that easily fools humans poses a genuine threat to financial markets, SEC Chair Gary Gensler warned yesterday during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. Read more.

Schumer Planning Trip to China, Japan, and South Korea

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is planning a bipartisan trip to China, Japan, and South Korea, an aide confirmed. It was not clear when the trip would take place.

Sinema Pushes Back on Labor Board’s Joint Employer Rule

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) teased a potential vote to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s planned move to alter the joint-employer standard under federal labor law.

Joint Committee on Taxation Staffer Sees ‘Blue Book’ This Fall

Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation is hoping for a fall issuance of its much-anticipated “blue book” on the Inflation Reduction Act and other major tax legislation from the 117th Congress, an official said.

Politics, Probes, and Power

Biden Hits New York’s Broadway as Fall Fundraising Blitz Begins

Biden’s reelection team is escalating its fundraising efforts, salting away cash as Republicans battle over whether Donald Trump should be their standard-bearer next year.

First Cases From Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Reach SCOTUS

Two men want the Supreme Court to nix Capitol breach obstruction charges against them in the first Jan. 6 cases to reach the justices.

Trump Federal Cases Won’t Be on TV

Trump’s two federal trials won’t be on TV next year after a key judicial body didn’t take action to change the rules.

Airline Lobby Seeks Extension of NY, DC Flying Slot Waivers

Airlines for America, the chief lobbying group for large US carriers, has asked federal regulators to extend a waiver that allows reduced airline flight schedules into the New York City-area’s congested airports to help limit gridlock.

What Else We’re Watching

Pharma Cries Procedural Foul in Next Front of Drug Price War

The pharmaceutical industry is expanding its attack on Biden’s plan to lower Medicare drug prices into allegations that the administration violated procedural norms in implementing the program, a tactic legal experts say will run into roadblocks but that could ultimately prevail.

Covid Boosters Are Coming

Covid-19 booster should become available in the US within days after the CDC signed off on their rollout yesterday.

Yellen Heads to UN

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will head to the UN General Assembly in New York next week on a trip focusing on efforts to address global challenges including climate change.

Kim, Putin Meet for Possible Arms Deal

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin met for their first summit in four years, which the US said could focus on weapons deals that help the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine.

US Aims to Increase Mine Permitting Efficiency on Public Lands

The Interior Department will try to improve the efficiency of mine permitting on federal lands without updating mining regulations and without Congressional action, agency officials said yesterday.

To contact the reporters on this story: Giuseppe Macri in Washington at gmacri@bgov.com; Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com