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Tom Rice says Trump 'not the future of the Republican Party' as voters head to polls

Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday while voters were heading to the polls for South Carolina’s primary that former President Trump is “not the future of the Republican Party.” 

During an interview, NBC News correspondent Vaughn Hillyard asked the South Carolina Republican — one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump — why he has “held the line” on the former president despite the fact that it might not be politically advantageous to him.

“Oh, I think it’s advantageous to me politically. I think I’m just telling the truth,” Rice countered. “You know, the truth will set you free. And I think that Donald Trump is not the future of the Republican Party. I think, you know, he was a consequential president, and we accomplished things that lifted all people up while he was president.”

“But I think he is the past, and we need to move on.”

Rice argued that his vote to impeach Trump was the “conservative vote,” saying conservatives’ “first job” was protecting the Constitution.

The House Republican’s remarks come as voters will decide Tuesday whether or not to oust him in the GOP primary. His seat is 26 points more Republican-leaning than the nation as a whole, according to political statistics site 538, meaning that whoever wins the primary is very likely to win in the November midterms. 

Rice drew Trump’s ire after he voted in favor of impeaching the former president after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and tried to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.

Since then, Trump has endorsed South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry (R) in his bid for Rice’s seat.

Rice, however, has said that he would consider endorsing Trump again if he apologized for what happened on Jan. 6, 2021.

“If he came out and said I’m sorry, that I made a huge mistake on January 6th, then I might consider it,” Rice said in an interview aired on ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday. 

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House passes expanded security for Supreme Court justices' families, 27 Democrats vote ‘no’

The House passed a bill on Tuesday that would provide security protections to family members of Supreme Court justices, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for final approval.

The legislation, dubbed the Supreme Court Police Parity Act, cleared the House in a 396-27 vote, with only Democrats objecting to the measure.

Passage in the lower chamber comes more than a month after the Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent — meaning all 100 lawmakers signed off on the measure, allowing it to clear without having to go through a formal vote.

The bill offers “around-the-clock security protection” to family members of Supreme Court justices and “any officer” of the bench if the Court Marshall deems it necessary, protections similar to those received by some executive and congressional officials.

Supreme Court justices already have federal protection.

The month-long delay was the result of a standoff between the House and Senate: Democrats in the lower chamber wanted to pass an expanded bill that also offered protections to Supreme Court staff, including judicial clerks, if the Court Marshall deemed it necessary.

Senate Republicans, however, were refusing to pass that bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Monday that the House version “is not going to pass the Senate.”

“The security issue is related to Supreme Court justices, not nameless staff that no one knows,” he added.

On Tuesday night, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) revealed that the House would vote on the Senate bill, sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del).

Asked why Democrats had decided to accept the Senate version as written, Hoyer said “I can’t really give you an explanation, because adding more employees doesn’t seem like a very controversial thing to do.”

Hoyer added he was “surprised” by the Senate pushback to the expanded proposal. “But it is what it is. And we’re going to move the bill,” he added.

The Senate introduced the security bill days after Politico sent shockwaves throughout the country by publishing a draft majority opinion that showed the bench prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old Supreme Court decision that safeguards the right to abortion on the federal level.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the draft opinion that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” adding that “a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history.”

Protests broke out across the country following the leak, and abortion rights activists, the Biden administration and Democrats countrywide are reportedly preparing a range of actions should Roe be overturned.

A final ruling in the case — involving a Mississippi law that outlaws nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — is expected by the end of the month.

Republicans upped the pressure to pass the bill last week, after an armed man who said he wanted to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested near the justice’s home and charged with attempted murder.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made three requests to pass the bill by unanimous consent over the past week, all of which failed.

In remarks from the House floor Tuesday, McCarthy said he was “glad” Democratic leadership brought the Senate bill up for a vote, but questioned why it took so long.

“The House Democrats have delayed it for more than a month. The question the American public asks is why? Why would you delay it?” McCarthy said.

“We have all known that additional security has been necessary since the Dobbs opinion was leaked last month,” he added, citing the Supreme Court leak before pointing to the assassination attempt of Kavanaugh.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), during debate of the bill on the House floor Tuesday, said “in the interest of protecting the justices’ families we can no longer delay in passing the only version of the bill [Republicans] would apparently agree to.”

He called the Senate bill “the best we can get,” adding in a separate comment “I hope we will move swiftly another bill to extend protection to families of employees as well.”

The California Democrat blamed Republicans for delaying the vote, condemning his colleagues across the aisle for not getting on board with the expanded measure that also offered protection to families of employees.

“Let me tell you why it took us a few weeks rather than just one week to pass this legislation. It’s because Republicans refuse to protect the families of Supreme Court employees who are at risk,” Lieu said. “Shame on you for not doing that.”

Congressman Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) accused Democrats of holding up the security bill as a way to protect the individual who leaked the draft majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

The leaker is not known to the public, and the underlying motivation remains unclear. Chief Justice John Roberts ordered an investigation into the leak, though no details have been provided since.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on the House floor said the bill “should’ve passed a darn long time ago,” adding “better late than never.”

Mike Lillis contributed.

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Warren endorses Nadler in primary against Maloney

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday endorsed Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) in his contentious upcoming reelection effort in New York.

“I’m proud to endorse @JerryNadler for re-election in #NY12,” Warren said in a tweet on Tuesday. 

“When Manhattanites need a champion—someone to defend their reproductive rights, fight back against Republican bullies in Washington, and protect our kids from gun violence—they know that they can depend on Jerry,” Warren added.

“Well, New Yorkers, today is an exciting day,” Nadler tweeted in response to the endorsement. 

“I’m thrilled to have the endorsement of @ewarren—a true champion for working families. From Roosevelt Island to Chelsea and everywhere in between, I’m committed to fighting for you in #NY12. So proud to have Senator Warren on my team,” he also said.

Nadler will challenge Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to serve New York’s 12th Congressional District in a contentious member vs. member primary.

Both Nadler and Maloney are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. But Nadler has previously taken a jab at Maloney, characterizing himself as the only progressive in the race.

“As the only true principled progressive and the best candidate in the race for the new NY-12, I’m honored to have the support of the WFP,” he tweeted after he was endorsed by the progressive New York Working Families Party.

After a third party redrew New York’s district maps, Nadler and Maloney were both lumped into the 12th Congressional District. The members have served alongside each other in Congress for roughly 30 years.

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Campaign Report — Trump's South Carolina test

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to November’s election. 

Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com), Tal Axelrod (taxelrod@thehill.com), Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com) and Monique Beals (mbeals@thehill.com).  Someone forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here. 

South Carolina, Nevada host key primaries

Primaries in four states and a special election in Texas are on the docket today, including several key races that pose the latest test of former President Trump’s endorsement. 

In South Carolina, Trump has backed challengers to Reps. Nancy Mace (R) and Tom Rice (R) after Mace criticized the former president following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and Rice voted to impeach him. 

Though Mace did not vote in favor of impeaching the former president, she also did not vote against certifying President Biden’s 2020 election win as Rice had done. Rice told Politico in an interview late last year he regretted that decision.  

“In retrospect I should have voted to certify,” Rice told Politico. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.” 

Those votes and statements drew the ire of Trump, who backed former state Rep. Katie Arrington (R), who is running against Mace, and state Rep. Russell Fry (R), who is running against Rice. Both Trump-backed challengers have depicted themselves as being more loyal to the former president.  

That’s led some high-profile Republicans to wade into both races. Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney have endorsed Mace, while former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has campaigned for Rice. 

Voters will ultimately decide whether Trump’s rejection of Mace and Rice will be enough to sway their opinions. Rice won his last reelection by more than 20 points while Mace flipped her House seat red again in 2020, though by just over one percentage point. 

Trump has also waded into several Nevada races, including its gubernatorial race and the GOP primary to decide who will challenge Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D).    

Back in April, the former president endorsed Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo in the Nevada governor’s race. Lombardo, who’s touted his Army and law enforcement credentials, is up against several other candidates, including former Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.). Heller received Trump’s endorsement in 2018 during his Senate reelection bid but ultimately lost his seat to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).  

A Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights poll out on Friday has Lombardo leading the pack of Republican gubernatorial candidates among likely GOP primary voters, maintaining a 13 percent lead against Reno attorney Joey Gilbert, who finished second in the poll.  

Another key primary to watch for in the Silver State is the Senate GOP race. Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt has already notched endorsements from Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and polling shows him outpacing Army combat veteran Sam Brown, his closest political rival. 

Trump isn’t the only one weighing in on Nevada’s primaries. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) last week endorsed a challenger to Rep. Dina Titus (D-N.V.), Amy Vilela, who was a national surrogate to Sanders’ last presidential campaign.  

All three races will be closely watched as Cook Political Report rates all of them as “toss ups” in the general election. 

And don’t forget about the Republican primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, between former Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine), who once held the spot before Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) unseated him, and small business owner Liz Caruso.  

Also rated by Cook Political Report as a “toss up,” Golden recently voted against a major gun package that the lower chamber passed last week, and he was the only Democrat in the House to vote against Build Back Better last fall.  

Here’s more on five things we’ll be watching for tonight. 

Turning the political tables 

Politically speaking, 2022 isn’t looking good for Democrats. President Biden’s approval rating is stuck underwater, inflation remains at its highest point in decades and gas prices hit a record over the weekend, rising to $5 a gallon on average. 

 
So it’s no wonder Democrats are eyeing the ongoing hearings on the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol as a way to turn the political tables.  

 
The party is hoping to use the six hearings to recast the 2022 midterms as a way to hold to account Republicans and Trump, who has continued to falsely claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.  

 
So far, the hearings have contained some embarrassing revelations for Trump. Former Attorney General Bill Barr said in a recorded deposition that he worried the former president was “detached from reality.” The committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot accused Trump’s campaign of willfully lying to supporters about election fraud to raise money. Jason Miller, a former adviser to Trump’s campaign, told the Jan. 6 panel that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) was “definitely intoxicated” on Election Night when he urged Trump to declare victory. 

 
Here’s the problem: While such revelations would almost certainly prove damaging in any other political environment, recent polling suggests that voters are focused on other things: rising gas prices and inflation, crime and fears of a coming economic recession.  

 
At the same time, the shock and outrage that immediately followed the Jan. 6 riot have largely faded into the background for many voters after more than a year.  

 
But the hearings aren’t over yet, and there’s still time for Democrats to make their case that handing Republicans control of the House and Senate in November would amount to rewarding the party that aligned itself with a former president intent on eroding American democracy and who is weighing a return to the White House in 2024.

If you missed yesterday’s hearing, catch up here and here.

ON THE TRAIL 

Expanding the map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is adding 11 more candidates to its “Red to Blue” program as it looks to broaden its pick-up opportunities ahead of November.

The program typically focuses on top-tier candidates vying against vulnerable Republican incumbents, but the list also includes candidates running in open Democratic seats that have become more competitive due to redistricting.

Here are the latest additions: 

• AZ-01: Jevin Hodge, who’s challenging Rep. Dave Schweikert (R-Ariz.). 
• FL-27: Annette Taddeo, who’s challenging Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). 
• NC-01: Don Davis, who’s running for an open seat against Republican Sandy Smith. 
• NC-13: Wiley Nickel, who’s running for an open seat against Republican Bo Hines. 
• NC-14: Jeff Jackson, who’s running against Republican Pat Harrigan in the new 14th District.  
• NY-01: Bridget Fleming, who’s running for an open seat currently held by a Republican. 
• NY-22: Francis Conole, who’s running for an open seat.  
• OR-04: Val Hoyle, who’s running for the open seat currently held by retiring Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). 
• OR-05: Jamie McLeod Skinner, who defeated Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) in a primary last month and will now face Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the general election. 
• OR-06: Andrea Salinas, who’s running for the state’s new 6th District and is up against Republican Mike Erickson. 
• PA-17: Chris Deluzio, who’s running for the open seat currently held by Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.).  

Incumbent protection: The DCCC also added four more House Democrats to its “Frontline” incumbent protection program. Each of the lawmakers – Reps. Reps. David Trone (D-Md.), Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) and Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.) – was made more vulnerable by redistricting this year. 

AD WATCH 

First on the air: Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) unveiled the first TV ad of her campaign against Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Monday, highlighting her 27-year career in law enforcement and time as Orlando’s police chief. It’s not only Demings’ first television spot since launching her Senate campaign, but the first statewide media buy from a Florida Senate candidate this cycle. You can check out the ad here.   

• Rubio’s response? “Congresswoman Val Demings’ first ad conveniently ignores her record of voting with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time and being a champion for Biden’s disastrous policies, which have led to record high gas prices and skyrocketing inflation,” Elizabeth Gregory, Rubio’s communications director, said in a statement.  

Jobs, jobs, jobs: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is out with the latest ad of his reelection bid. The 30-second spot – part of a $3.5 million statewide broadcast and cable buy – talks up the governor’s push to fund skills-training and apprenticeship programs as part of an effort to fill high-demand jobs in the state. Check out the ad here. 

IN THEIR OPINION

• Democrats could be on pace for a historic rout in November
• Guns, insurrection and the persistence of Trumpism in Republican identity
• The Jan. 6 hearings are exposing just how divided America has become 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you on Thursday. 

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Ford recalls 49,000 electric Mustangs, says battery may overheat

(NEXSTAR) – Ford has filed a recall notice with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, directing dealers to stop delivering nearly 49,000 Mustang Mach-E electric cars as they fix an issue with a battery component that could cause it to overheat.

Dealers can still sell the Mach-E to customers, Ford spokesperson Said Deep said, but they are pausing delivery of the new cars as the issue is addressed.

The issue is with the electric cars’ “Direct Current” fast charging, Deep explained. There’s a chance part of the battery could overheat, which “may lead to arcing and deformation of the electrical contact surfaces.”

That could lead the car to lose power while driving, posing an accident risk.

The recall affects 48,924 cars in the U.S., Deep said.

The issue will be fixed remotely by a “Over-The-Air (OTA) deployment” of a software update starting next month, Deep said. Mach-E owners can also take their cars to a dealer for the update.

The affected cars include both 2021 and 2022 Mach-E models, CNBC reported. According a notice sent to dealers that was obtained by CNBC, the recalled cars were built between May 2020 and May 2022 at a plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

The NHTSA lists five other recalls associated with the Mustang Mach-E dating back to March 2021. The issues range from loose bolts to windshields that could detach in a crash.

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The five state economies with the most racial equality: report

Alaska’s state economy is the most racially equal in the nation, according to a new report from Wallet Hub.  

“Alaska’s economy has the most racial equality for several reasons, including the fact that there is almost no difference in the unemployment rate for Black people and white people, which suggests that there is less racial bias in hiring,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said in a news release. 

“Alaska also does not have a significantly higher poverty rate for Black people than it does for white people,” Gonzalez added. 

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across eight key metrics, including annual income, unemployment rate, and homeownership rate, to determine which state economies have the most racial equality.  

New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii followed Alaska to round out the top five, while Washington, D.C. came in last on Wallet Hub’s list. Gonzalez noted D.C. finished last because it holds the highest gap between the percentage of white and Black company executives in the country and the highest unemployment-rate gap.  

The District of Columbia also finished in the bottom five regarding the labor-force participation gap and the gap in the homelessness rate.  

Yet experts interviewed by Wallet Hub, including Spencer Piston, an associate professor of Political Science at Boston University, said there are steps policymakers can take to close the wealth gap.  

“Among others, the return of land to Indigenous Peoples; immediate and direct wealth transfers as reparations for racial injustices to Black, Brown, and Red people alike; the banning of many kinds of predatory profiteering, including but not limited to the criminal justice system,” Piston said.  

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. 

The wealth gap between white and Black Americans has only grown since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic due partly to the consolidation of wealth at the top, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

“The top 0.01% of households now own 36.1% of private wealth,” researchers wrote. “Given that there are so few Black households at the top of the wealth distribution, faster growth in wealth at the top will lead to further increases in racial wealth inequality.”   

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Faith Hill, Tim McGraw eyed taking Capitol tour

SPOTTED: D.C. going country, as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill toured the Capitol on Tuesday with Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.)

The country music power couple’s daughter, Maggie, works as a staff assistant and legislative correspondent in Cooper’s office. 

“Breathe” singer Hill was eyed sporting a scarf in her hair as she shook the hand of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and chatted with him. McGraw was also seen keeping it casual for the Capitol visit, in a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and light-colored jeans.

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Biden’s Indo-Pacific framework reflects new attitudes on free trade

Under President Trump, America witnessed four years of skepticism and a general disdain for multilateral agreements and free trade deals. Biden campaigned successfully promising the exact opposite. He assured the American people that America would reenter agreements that Trump withdrew from and not be an isolationist on the world stage if he was elected to the Oval Office.  

Over the past two years, he has partly fulfilled those campaign promises by rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and the World Health Organization and by committing to support Ukraine in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. However, his mantra of “America is back” does not seem to apply to trade deals. A case in point is Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).  

In May, Biden made his first trip to Asia as president. Stopping in Tokyo, at the backdrop of the Quad summit, he emphatically launched the IPEF, which covers the U.S. and 12 partner nations in the Indo-Pacific region. Is this America’s reentry into the Asia trade architecture? Not quite.  

It is certainly an entry into the “Indo” part of the Indo-Pacific strategy. The IPEF is not an agreement nor a free trade deal, but a framework. It sets standards for cooperation on supply chain resiliency,  environmental concerns, labor laws and corruption. It does not offer market access nor does it have stringent requirements that were once part of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). With this level of flexibility in the framework, coupled with the most enticing part of any trade arrangement — access to the American market — missing, the IPEF is clearly designed to accommodate partners who have historically been hesitant to sign on to deals that involved trade and tariff liberalization, such as India.  

On multiple occasions, Biden has referred to the relationship with India as the most important one for the United States. He did so again in Tokyo.  

While the IPEF is a product of the times — i.e. a response to the populist backlash against globalization and the neoliberal model of trade and development practiced since China’s ascent to the World Trade Organization — it is also designed to win the approval and support of new partners and allies such as India to address various challenges. These challenges range from China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region to global challenges such as climate change. Through the Quad security grouping, the U.S. is leveraging India’s capabilities to manufacture and deliver over 1 billion vaccines to countries in South East Asia. Similarly, this initiative has the potential to leverage India’s position in the region to address supply chain and environmental issues.   

Nevertheless, the framework does not deliver on one major front to have a coherent Indo-Pacific strategy — enticing countries in South East Asia to choose the U.S. over China. Nations in South East Asia, East Asia and Oceania are signatories to one of the largest trade blocs in the world — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — which includes China. Similarly, the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) marches on without the U.S. Given that there are already two major trade blocs in the region, countries may not be as excited about the IPEF, which offers no market access nor addresses tariff barriers. Furthermore, next to China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for infrastructure, Biden’s $50 billion infrastructure assistance plan with the Quad doesn’t stand to make a dent.

Through two consecutive presidential elections in 2016 and 2020, it has become abundantly perspicuous that the midwestern states are a strong deciding factor in who gets to the oval office. Based on Biden’s agenda of advancing a “foreign policy for the middle class” and the IPEF, it seems his administration has become patently aware of the risks associated with continuing the trade policy of the Obama, Bush or Clinton eras.   

As witnessed over the past two months with the midterm election campaigns of candidates in the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, China is a prominent feature amongst both Democrats and Republicans. They tried to outcompete one another in taking swipes at China. However, the discussions were in the context of China eating America’s lunch as opposed to any form of security challenges coming from Asia.  

These domestic pressures have forced Biden’s hand into making amends for the trade policy pitfalls of his predecessors over strengthening alliances in Asia by reentering trade deals such as CPTPP. Consequently, this development has given birth to frameworks such as IPEF, that can get the buy-in from hesitant partners in the region but do not offer old allies much in substance.  

With IPEF, it is clear that Obama/Bush/Clinton-era free trade is becoming a thing of the past and the forms of trade cooperation that populist leaders propose in the future will put their nation’s workers first.

Akhil Ramesh is a fellow with the Pacific Forum. He has worked with governments, risk consulting firms and think tanks in the United States and India. Follow him on Twitter: Akhil_oldsoul.

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Biden's Pennsylvania campaign chief joins Fetterman's team

Brendan McPhillips, the Pennsylvania state director for then-candidate Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, is joining Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s (D) team as campaign manager, Fetterman’s campaign announced.

It is McPhillips’s second run managing a Fetterman Senate campaign. During Fetterman’s 2016 bid to unseat Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), McPhillips also served as his campaign manager.

Fetterman’s campaign noted that the Senate hopeful’s current campaign manager, Bobby Maggio, would be taking on the role of senior adviser. 

“Bobby has been with me every step of the way and as the campaign kicks into high gear, he will be there again for advice out on the road,” Fetterman said in a statement. “Brendan knows Pennsylvania, he knows our team, and he knows how to win. We are building the infrastructure to win this race in November.”

“These moves put us in an even stronger position to win the general election. I look forward to having Brendan officially join and to continue to have Bobby by my side as we enter these critical final months,” he added.

McPhillips wrote in a post on Twitter that they were “putting the band back together.”

The development comes roughly five months ahead of the November midterms. Fetterman will be taking on Senate candidate Mehmet Oz after rival David McCormick conceded to the celebrity doctor in the GOP primary race. 

Fetterman has been recovering from a stroke and has had a pacemaker implanted. 

Biden said on Tuesday that he had spoken with Fetterman the day before.

“If you’re in a foxhole, you want John with you, man,” the president said during an AFL-CIO labor union convention. “I know he can’t wait to get back on the trail. He’s looking good. There’s no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John. Certainly no bigger one, for that matter.”

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