Mediaboss Marketing

With Nicholas Wu.

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are linchpins for Democrats ability to move their reconciliation spending package but aren't on board with the $3.5 trillion price tag and some key policies their party wants to champion, from climate provisions to child tax credits. But other Democrats aren't ready to roast their holdout colleagues. The political reality is that they need both votes and criticizing them doesn't help Democrats move forward with the bill.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) declared: I cant respond to everything Joe Manchin says, thats not my job.

Zinger: Asked if he was aligned with Manchin on reconciliation, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) told Burgess and Marianne: Are you crazy? Are you trying to get me shot? Id never, ever want to be aligned with Joe Manchin. My wife would divorce me.

More on the Democrats dilemma with Manchin and Sinema from Burgess and Marianne: https://politi.co/2XrDpEd

ACCOUNTABILITY ON AFGHANISTAN Secretary of State Antony Blinken is gearing up for a second day of being hammered by lawmaker questions on the fall of Kabul and the American evacuation effort.

Blinken is a careful and calculated witness, offering lawmakers the deference they like along with a vigorous defense of the Biden administration. His style can be attributed to his time on Capitol Hill, serving as then-Sen. Joe Bidens staff when the Delawarean chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Read up on Blinkens appearance before House Foreign Affairs Monday from Andrew Desiderio before this morning's hearing at Senate Foreign Relations.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, September 14, where some folks are googling What is the Met Gala?

MONDAYS MOST CLICKED: House Democrats plan 26.5 percent corporate rate as part of multitrillion tax hike

SENATE FRIDAY? The Senate could hit the road as soon as today, cutting what was already slated to be a short week due to Yom Kippur starting Wednesday, even shorter. Theres a chance that after the Senate takes up to six votes Tuesday on nominees to the Department of Education and district judges, they could hit the road after a cloture vote on the nomination of Veronica Rossman to the tenth circuit.

Another signal: The Senate Armed Services Committee briefing on Afghanistan scheduled for Wednesday has been moved up to Tuesday. Could those be jet fumes already?

A message from AT&T:

Accessible, affordable broadband helps communities reach their American Dream. Thats why were making a $2 billion, 3-year commitment toward helping close the digital divide, so more low-income families have the ability to succeed. Learn more.

CONFIRMATION CALCULATION Centrists in the Senate Democratic caucus are calling on President Joe Biden to nominate a new director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after his initial pick, David Chipman, was yanked from consideration amid hesitation from some lawmakers.

It's a controversial position. The last ATF nominee confirmed by the Senate was B. Todd Jones back in 2013 and the agency hasn't had a confirmed director since 2015. With the 2022 midterms set to heat up in the coming months, Democrats want to see someone confirmed quickly who wont risk becoming a political liability for the party. More on the ATF nomination calculation from Marianne and Burgess here: https://politi.co/3htOBqK

THREADING THE GOP NEEDLE ON JAN 6 The rally planned for Saturday to support imprisoned pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 is putting Republican leaders in a squeeze: They dont want to be seen as backing the insurrectionists, but theres a significant slice of the GOP base that justifies and supports the violent attack on the Captiol. Dont miss Olivias dive into these dynamics and more: https://politi.co/3hvVJTB

WHATEVER MAY HAPPEN Congressional leaders are expressing confidence in the Capitol Police ahead of this weekends rally after a briefing from security leaders Monday. But their comments also belied the dissatisfaction with how Jan. 6 played out.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the the plans laid out by Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger and House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker seems much better. I dont have anything to compare it to because we werent briefed before.

"Much better prepared than before Jan. 6. I think they're ready for whatever might happen," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said after the briefing.

Manger said the fence around the Capitol will go up Friday and if everything goes well, it will come down very soon after.

PAGING: SENATE PAGES The civic-minded teens clad in blue polyester are BACK, baby! A sign that more and more normalcy is inching back to Capitol Hill. They were spotted Monday, eyes wide and mouths masked, getting acquainted with the maze of the Senate basement.

The last class of Senate pages had a flash in the pan experience: in the spotlight delivering messages, water, milk and more during the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump and then sent home weeks later as a mysterious illness spread across the country.

Your Huddle host welcomes the return of youthful exuberance, the teen awkwardness and earnest interest in government! Heres to hoping the fall page class makes it through the semester (and that theyre all vaccinated.)

POLITICS AT THE FASHION FUNCTION Face it, Washington is not known for high fashion. But Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) made a splash Monday night at the return of the Met Gala, leaning into the theme of In America: A Lexicon of American Fashion.

Ocasio-Cortez took a central idea of the Democrats reconciliation package to the Met, sporting a white dress with Tax the Rich splashed down the back. "We really started having a conversation about what it means to be working-class women of color at the Met," said Ocasio-Cortez in a red carpet interview with Vogue. While the Met is known for its spectacle, we should have a conversation about it."

Maloney wore a dress calling for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sex. Maloney's gown included several cascading sashes reading "Equal rights for women," and she carried a green purse that read "ERA YES," mimicking iconic signage held by amendment supporters. The white, green and purple were a nod to the suffragist movement

In 2019 Maloney stunned the high-glam event by showing up in a New York Fire Department jacket, an effort to promote a bill that would for decades authorize the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

QUICK LINKS

Shes One Of Congresss Leading Progressives Just Not In Her Own Office, Staffers Say, from BuzzFeed

Obamas, Bushes and Clintons teaming up in effort to aid Afghan refugees, from CNN

The Expanded Child Tax Credit Was a Godsend to Struggling Families. Will Democrats Save It? from Grace Segers at The New Republic

TRANSITIONS

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has appointed Judith Conklin as the chief information officer of the Library of Congress and John Rutledge the deputy chief information officer.

Sarah Shapiro was promoted to legislative director for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). She most recently was Swalwells policy advisor.

Jeremy Crane was promoted to be press secretary for Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.). He most recently was deputy press secretary for Rosendale.

Alejandra (Allie) Rodriguez is now scheduler and legislative correspondent for Rep. Mara Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). She most recently was a legislative correspondent for Salazar.

Adam Farris has joined Sen. Tim Scotts (R-S.C.) legislative team handling tax and trade. He most recently was legislative director for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at 11 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes scheduled for 11:30 a.m., 2:20 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL

10 a.m. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

1 p.m. Civil rights leaders including Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III and others, including members of congress, hold a rally calling on the Senate to act on voting rights legislation.

2 p.m. Senate Democrats and Republicans hold their separate post-policy lunch press conferences.

TRIVIA

MONDAYS WINNER: Casey Burgat correctly answered that Madisons failed 12th amendment limited the size of congressional districts so that each one could contain no more than 50,000 citizens.

TODAYS QUESTION from Casey: At 607, Abraham Lincoln has more U.S. public schools named after him than any other president. To fill out the Mount Rushmore of this category, name the next three presidents with the most schools named in their honor.

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [emailprotected]

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus

A message from AT&T:

Brooke Drydens daughter was diagnosed with learning disabilities at an early age. She requires an individualized education plan and weekly therapy with speech specialists. However, rural Colorado does not have the kind of specialists she needs. With the help of accessible and affordable broadband, Brooke is able to ensure that she receives regular virtual therapy and never falls behind. Brookes dream is to see her daughter not just survive but thrive in the world. Thats why AT&T is dedicated to helping close the digital divide with a $2 billion, 3-year commitment, so more low-income families like Brooke's can achieve their American Dream. Learn more.

The rest is here:
Dems bite their tongues on Manchin and Sinema - Politico