Magnificent News: Power Up: Senate Democrats to reckon with intraparty dissent on key issues in June

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Washington, Fast.

By Jacqueline Alemany
with Tobi Raji

Good Tuesday morning. Tips, comments, recipes? You know the drill. It's June and this is the Power Up newsletter.

On the Hill

REALITY CHECK: Last Friday, for the first time this session of Congress, Republicans used the filibuster on a piece of legislation, killing the proposal to form a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

A number of Democrats believe that if Republicans were willing to use the procedure to kill what once was considered an uncontroversial bipartisan idea, they won't hesitate to use it on more contentious parts of President Biden's agenda.

Yet Democrats are now amid their own political storm, unable to muster unanimity to repeal the filibuster, and feuding among themselves about whether they should make a more determined effort to do so before the midterm elections arrive in 18 months — and their control of Congress could slip, along with the ambitious policies they have proposed, Michael Kranish, Mike DeBonis and I report.

A Democratic Senate aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said there is a misconception that Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are mainly responsible for holding on to the filibuster. In reality, the aide said, there are at least 10 Democratic senators who disagree with key parts of the bills that Republicans are filibustering, but "they just don't need to say anything crazy because Joe Manchin is out there taking all the arrows for them."

Going beyond GOP obstruction: The month of June might reveal some of the major cracks on the left as Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised to put the For the People Act on the floor this month — a sprawling overhaul of federal elections, ethics and campaign finance law that would reverse many of the restrictions that have been pursued by Republican-controlled legislatures in the wake of the 2020 election.

But Manchin has yet to sign on the bill, preferring an alternative that would restore provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down eight years ago. But even that bill is opposed by the vast majority of Republicans, and Manchin has flatly rejected the notion of killing the filibuster to pass it.

A U.S. Capitol police officers guard the Constitution Avenue entrance to the Capitol grounds after legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 failed. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

The internal tensions emerged in a Democratic caucus meeting on Wednesday afternoon during which the voting legislation was discussed, according to multiple senators who attended. It was the second time this month the subject had been broached with the group of senators meeting in person. The first time, Manchin wasn't present — he opted instead to attend an appearance by first lady Jill Biden in his home state.

This time, Manchin came and sat in silence inside the Capitol Hill conference room as a prominent Democratic elections lawyer, Marc Elias, catalogued the threats to voting rights being waged in states across the country. Then, several of Manchin's colleagues rose and made impassioned cases for action.
None mentioned Manchin by name, but those present knew whom they had to persuade. And the words of one particular senator — Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who also has a track record of winning in a Republican state — made a particular impression, the senators present said.
"This country is a great country. It didn't happen by accident — it happened by a lot of people working towards where we are today," Tester said after the meeting, describing his message, which he said he did not direct at any particular colleague. "And if we're not careful, we'll lose it."

In his letter to colleagues sent last week, Schumer said the Senate might also consider "gun safety and LGBTQ equality legislation during the June work period" as well. "We must pass comprehensive jobs and infrastructure legislation this summer," Schumer added, "with or without the support of Republican senators."

On several issues like immigration, gun control, and policing reform, Democratic senators have asked Schumer for some time and space to negotiate with Republicans, according to a Democrat familiar with the conversations. Schumer has indicated that he'd give them time to hash things out but would not wait forever.

"Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday time is running short for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, indicating that President Joe Biden will look to act without Republican support if there is no consensus when Congress returns from its Memorial Day break," the Associated Press's Hope Yen reports.

"Biden plans to meet with lead Republican negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, this coming week and says he remains open to hearing from other GOP senators who are working on different proposals. But Biden has been eying the dwindling timeline for a deal, with an early June hearing scheduled on a House transportation bill that is widely seen as a building block for the big package he favors."
Where things stand: "The two sides remain far apart. Republican senators last week outlined a $928 billion infrastructure proposal as a counteroffer to Biden's $1.7 trillion proposal, and they said they would not go along with his plans to raise the corporate tax from 21% to 28% to pay for new spending."

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At the White House

HAPPENING TODAY: "President Biden plans to unveil a set of policies intended to narrow the wealth gap between Black and White Americans in a speech he's set to deliver [today] in Tulsa, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the massacre there that ravaged a once-prosperous Black business district and neighborhood," our Post colleague Annie Linskey reports. "The president will offer a raft of policies intended to bolster homeownership and help minority small businesses and entrepreneurs."

"They include using federal purchasing power to pump more money into minority-owned businesses and setting aside $10 billion in infrastructure funds to rebuild disadvantaged neighborhoods across the country."
"The policies are intended to show that the president is providing some action, rather than mere commemoration, to support the Black community in Tulsa. The policies will impact affect the entire country, but they are designed to boost communities like Tulsa, administration officials said."
"In addition to giving his address, Biden will also meet with living survivors of the massacre at the Greenwood Cultural Center. Biden's aides said this will mark the first time a sitting U.S. president has gone to a Tulsa to commemorate the events."

A woman walks by a mural depicting the Tulsa Race Massacre during its centennial. (John Locher/AP Photo)

But can Biden do more? "Biden's proposals drew immediate criticism from the nation's most prominent civil rights group, the NAACP, whose leader said that the president's plan omitted canceling student debt, one of the most effective ways to shrink the wealth gap, according to some researchers."

"Components of the plan are encouraging, but it fails to address the student loan debt crisis that disproportionately affects African Americans," Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP, told our colleague. "You cannot begin to address the racial wealth gap without addressing the student loan debt crisis."
"During his campaign, Biden said that he supported erasing $10,000 per person in federal student debt, but he has done little publicly to move forward on that agenda item in the early phase of his presidency."

At the Pentagon

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BIPARTISAN KIND: "UFOs — also known as Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, or UAPs, in official parlance — are having their moment in politics, and a bipartisan one at that," our colleague Ashley Parker reports.

"Next month, Biden's director of national intelligence will release a report containing everything unclassified that the U.S. government knows about UAPs as part of a provision contained in former president Donald Trump's pandemic relief package."
"When the report lands, as early as Tuesday, it will do so in a moment of rare agreement across the ideological spectrum that UAPs are worthy of further study."
"An increasing number of Democrats and Republicans — from former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former Democratic Senate leader Harry M. Reid to Fox News host Tucker Carlson — have expressed an openness to UAPs, urging the nation's leaders to investigate the phenomenon."

The campaign

THE CONGRESSIONAL BATTLE FOR NEW MEXICO: "New Mexico voters will elect a new member of Congress Tuesday, filling a vacant Albuquerque seat after a race that tested a Republican strategy to reverse the party's losses in suburbs with a focus on crime," our colleague David Weigel reports.

"The contest pits Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury against Republican state Sen. Mark Moores. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland created the vacancy by joining Biden's Cabinet, and she has endorsed Stansbury, as have other Democratic leaders."
"Stansbury, 42, was the favorite to win the seat as soon as she secured the party's nomination at an online convention in March. Ninety percent of the district's vote comes from Albuquerque's Bernalillo County, which has moved away from Republicans in the last decade."
But "Moores, 51, worked to disrupt the Democrats's advantage with a focus on rising crime in Albuquerque. In debates and ads, he's labeled Stansbury as a 'radical' who would dismantle policing and federal prisons."

State Rep. Melanie Stansbury at a news conference in April. (Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo)

ALL EYES ON THE LONE STAR STATE: "Texas Democrats who defeated a Republican effort to pass a suite of new voting restrictions with a dramatic late-night walkout from the state House chamber on Sunday have a message for Biden and his allies in Congress: If we can protect voting rights, you can, too," our colleague Amy Gardner reports.

"The surprise move by roughly 60 Democratic lawmakers headed off the expected passage of S.B. 7, a voting measure that would have been one of the most stringent in the nation, by denying Republicans a required quorum and forcing them to abruptly adjourn without taking a vote."
"The coordinated walkout jolted the national debate on voting rights, putting the spotlight on Democratic-backed federal legislation that has been stalled in the Senate all spring, even as state Republicans move to enact new voting rules."

"After taking their stand, the state Democrats said they want allies elsewhere to seize the moment and show the same kind of resolve — particularly in Washington, where Democrats control the presidency and both chambers of Congress yet are struggling to pave the way for two major pieces of voting legislation: the For the People Act, a sprawling overhaul of federal elections, ethics and campaign finance law; and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would reauthorize the seminal 1965 Voting Rights Act by giving the federal government fresh power to police jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting administration."

Texas state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D):

Global power

SUPPORTERS OF A TOUGHER LINE ON ISRAEL SPLIT OVER TACTICS: "The Democrats and activists who successfully pressured party leaders to be tougher on Israel during its recent conflict with Hamas are now fracturing over how to move forward, with sharp disagreements over demands and tone that could threaten their ability to keep shaping the debate," our colleague Sean Sullivan reports.

"Some favor restricting aid to Israel or blocking arms sales, while others favor more controversial steps such as boycotts and sanctions. Many embrace a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestinian territories as separate countries, but the sole Palestinian American in Congress is partial to a single state."
Happening today: Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), a leading advocate of a harder U.S. line against Israel, "and other liberal House members will meet over Zoom with State Department officials for a discussion of the Middle East. Assistant secretaries will brief the Democrats on the administration's long-term objectives in Israel and update them on the cease-fire and on relief efforts."

U.S. CRITICIZED FOR SPYING ON ALLIES: "French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday declared that wiretapping 'is not acceptable between allies' and asked the United States for clarity after new claims emerged about National Security Agency efforts to spy on European leaders between 2012 and 2014," our colleagues Rick Noack and Ellen Nakashima report.

"Denmark's public broadcaster reported over the weekend that the Danish foreign intelligence service had helped the NSA gain access to underwater Internet cables, allowing officials to track calls, messages, chats and browsing histories of select targets in an operation code-named Dunhammer."
"The NSA's wiretapping of friendly foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was first revealed in documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden in 2013. According to the latest reports, the Danish agency also helped the NSA to monitor officials and high-profile politicians in France, Norway and Sweden."
"'There is no room for suspicion between' the United States and its European allies," Macron said Monday, speaking after a Franco-German video summit. "We requested that our Danish and American partners provide all the information on these revelations and on these past facts. We are awaiting these answers."