The Hill's Morning Report — Biden, McCarthy to meet amid 2024 backdrop
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Read MoreManchin sees himself as shuttle diplomat from Democrats to McCarthy
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is seeking to carve out a new role for himself now that he's no longer the power broker that he was in last year's 50-50 Senate. Manchin now envisions himself as a shuttle diplomat working to bridge the partisan divide between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), whom Manchin describes as a friend. “I’ve always had a good, friendly relationship with Kevin, and he’s in a position now where if we try to work together we can do a lot of good for our country,” Manchin said. Manc
Read MoreBiden gets to know new partner in House in Hakeem Jeffries
President Biden this week marked the beginning of his working relationship with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who he’ll have to rely on when it comes to Republican threats of spending cuts and a showdown over the country’s debt ceiling. The new Democratic leader’s role is also a generational shift after 20 years of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) reign. But Jeffries, who is the first Black person to lead either party in Congress in U.S. history, is no complete stranger to Biden world having been a campaign surrogate in 2020. Jeffries this
Read MoreWhat three hard-line conservatives plan to do with their seats on the Rules Committee
The addition of Republican Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (S.C.), and Thomas Massie (Ky.) to the House Rules Committee — one of the concessions from Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) that helped him secure the gavel — means that the frequent antagonists of leadership have the opportunity to create significant barriers to getting legislation to the House floor. But the three say that if they use their leverage, it will be to enforce the kind of open-process demands that fueled resistance to McCarthy in the drawn-out Speakership battle. “We just need to make su
Read MoreMcConnell, Senate GOP happy to sit out debt limit talks — for now
Senate Republicans say they’re happy to sit out the fight over raising the debt ceiling and cede the negotiations to their colleagues in the House — at least for now. After a bruising year-end battle to pass the omnibus government spending package; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) using up a large chunk of political capital to help Democrats raise the debt ceiling in 2021; and Republicans taking control of the House, McConnell and members of the Senate GOP caucus neither need nor want to lead the current talks. And they believe that House Republicans a
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