Delegation for 1.8.19 — Insights from the Beltway to the Sunshine State

Shutdown showdown

The government shutdown is now in its third week with no backing down from either side. Democrats feel confident President Donald Trump and Republicans will give in to pressure from stories of government workers feeling the pinch of not receiving a paycheck.

There is a track record bolstering Democrats expectation of GOP tolerance for bad press even though the government could open tomorrow if Congress would provide the $5.7 billion for a wall or border security.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi displayed her contempt for Trump by offering $1 for the wall. In the meantime, Republicans like Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine now call for reopening the government without the funding.

“On the shutdown, we’re going to have to reach a bipartisan agreement,” GOP Rep Michael Waltz said in an interview with the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “I think there’s a compromise to be had there.”

At the same time, he is in full agreement with his party’s position on the border.

“Even if we came to an agreement on the legal side today, whether that’s visas or a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, we’re going to be in the same place if we don’t secure the border,” added the freshman from Florida’s 6th Congressional District. 

Rep. Al Lawson is all-in on laying the blame on Trump, which the President offered during the December Oval Office meeting with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“As the government shutdown enters its third week, President Trump’s attempt to hold the federal government hostage in exchange for an expensive border wall is alarming,” said the second-term Democrat from Tallahassee. “Now is not the time to deny these hardworking citizens what they have earned. We must come to a resolution that will meet the needs of the American people and respect our workers.”

The latest White House position calls for a “steel barrier” instead of a concrete border wall, along with detailed accounting where the $5.7 billion would be directed. Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons called that a “minor but important” step and the new approach as “progress.”

To help highlight his position, the White House announced Trump would be heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Pelosi indicated the House would vote on more bills to fund the government without the border security funding sought by Trump.

Rubio bill to ban oil drilling

The issue of drilling for oil and gas off the Florida coast was a hot-button issue even before the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 with the Florida delegation speaking in near unison against the idea. With a new Congress, new legislation to prevent it was sure to be filed and Sen. Marco Rubio was the first one out of the gate.

Shortly after the new Congress was sworn in, Rubio filed the Florida Shores Protection and Fairness Act. He filed a similar bill in 2017.

The legislation would extend a current moratorium on coastal drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico through 2027. Also, a provision calls for Florida to receive a share of oil and gas leasing revenues from other areas of the Gulf.

“This would give Florida a new source of funding and recognize that as long as our shores shoulder some of the risk, it’s only fair that Floridians share in some of the benefit,” he said.

Nearly 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion which killed 11 workers.

Scott to finally take Senate oath 

Rick Scott will be the 100th Senator to be sworn in when he takes the oath of office on Wednesday. Wanting to finish every day of his term as governor, Scott received permission from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to assume office almost one week after colleagues took the oath Thursday.

He took advantage of the opportunity to make dozens of gubernatorial appointments before his successor, fellow Republican and newly installed Governor Ron DeSantis, had the chance. When he does get to Washington, Scott will find he has far less influence than he has enjoyed before.

USA Today pointed out five areas where the freshman Senator is at least somewhat unique.

First, he will be the wealthiest Senator in Washington with a combined household wealth of nearly $500 million. Scott also has the ear of Trump, which means several trips to the White House for private sessions in the Oval Office.

His “make America work” campaign slogan includes term limits, a concept where he is already in sync with Rubio. He will have a say on space policy and military operations through his committee memberships on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Armed Services, respectively.

After spending almost his entire career as a CEO, Scott is about to become one of a hundred with half of the membership opposing nearly everything he tries to do. Even before he takes the oath, some are questioning at what point will become frustrated with the job.

Fox News: Gaetz not a ‘co-host’

The Fox News Channel apparently did not like Rep. Matt Gaetz’s description of his appearance on one of the daytime talk programs. Gaetz spent an hour recently on the noontime program “Outnumbered” where four female commentators flank one male guest dubbed “One Lucky Guy.”

In a statement previewing the appearance, Gaetz announced he would “co-host” the program along with the female commentators and pundits. He made the trip to Fox headquarters in New York.

“I’ve done almost every show on your network, but this couch has been my white whale,” said Gaetz shortly after his introduction by regular co-host Harris Faulkner. “The chance to be here with you, this caps a career.”

Fox went to the trouble to dispute the use of the co-host term. In a statement, the network characterized his appearance differently.

“Multiple politicians and pundits on both sides of the aisle have appeared as the ‘One Lucky Guy’ on Outnumbered as the show is formatted to have a rotating guest,” said Alan Komissaroff, vice president of news for the network. “Rep. Gaetz appeared in this capacity and did not co-host the show despite the factually inaccurate news release issued by his office.”

While some might think it a little odd the network would go to such lengths over the terminology, Gaetz got what he wanted before heading back to Washington and a divided and malfunctioning government.

Dunn’s new office comes with history

When freshmen began eligible to play college sports in the 1970s, the late NCAA championship-winning basketball coach at Marquette University, Al Maguire, was not a fan of the switch. He was noted for saying “the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.”

Like college athletes, first-term members of Congress nearly always move on to a second term. After picking last for office spaces, earning a second term means a better office.

Many, such as Republican Rep. Neal Dunn of Panama City, either shouted or tweeted their joy at moving into new digs. Upon becoming a legislative sophomore, Dunn is moving to 316 in the Cannon Office Building.

Dunn points out this office has a bit of history, as it was once held by former President Gerald Ford while he served in the House of Representatives.

Vacating the office and moving to the Rayburn Building is Texas Rep. Brian Babin, who presented Dunn with photos of Ford while in the office. It has a special significance for Dunn.

“My father worked for President Ford and I have fond memories of his time serving the 38th President of the United States,” Dunn said. “These photos have been passed down from member to member for years and I am honored to be the newest occupant of 316 Cannon.

Babin is moving on as he enters his third term and if Dunn is fortunate enough to be re-elected in 2020, he will possibly have the opportunity to continue the tradition of presenting the photos to the newest occupant.

Waltz scoops up newly available staff talent

For freshman Republicans, there is good news and there is bad news about losing 40 seats in the midterm elections. There is the obvious reality of losing the majority, but that also means there is extra experienced staff talent available to them.

Waltz is among those who took full advantage of an expanded talent pool in staffing up his Washington and district offices. Waltz recently hired Walker Barrett as Legislative Director and Deborah Hansen as a scheduler.

Barrett held a similar role for defeated California Rep. Jeff Denham while Hansen was the scheduler for former Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis, who also lost his seat.

“Fortunately for me, unfortunately for the GOP, there’s a lot of staff talent out there,” Waltz said. “It’s a good problem for me to have.”

Waltz had previously hired Micah Ketchel, who most recently worked at Data Targeting Inc., a Florida-based political research and polling firm, as his chief of staff. Waltz, a former Army special operations officer, tapped someone he would have saluted as the new head of district operations.

Retired Army Brigadier General Ernie Audino served his country through a 32-year military career, as well as serving as a senior adviser and government relations director to the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria and as SVP of military market development at defense contractor Raydon Corp.

Audio holds a law degree from Vermont Law School and a master’s degree from the National War College.

Webster touts strong December jobs report

On Friday the Labor Department released strong economic numbers that included an increase in 312,000 workers and a wage increase that was the highest in 9 years. The calendar year 2018 saw an increase of 2.4 million jobs.

Republicans were quick to tout their policies of cutting taxes and regulations. Rep. Daniel Webster of Clermont spoke for many within the GOP.

“(Friday’s) jobs and private-sector earnings report exceeded expectations,” the Clermont Republican said in a statement. “One year after the passage of the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, America’s job and wage market continues to prosper.”

Even the potential bad news was good news. While the unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent, this was the result of a large increase in the number of individuals re-entering the labor force.

“There is more work to be done,” Webster continued. “I remain committed to advocating for and supporting policies that level the playing field for small business owners and hardworking Americans and empower them to pursue success.”

Hastings urges protection for special counsel

The shutdown has pushed the Mueller investigation into Russian interference to the back burner for now, but some are convinced Trump may still fire the special counsel. Among those is Rep. Alcee Hastings, who joined with more than 100 colleagues to refile the Special Counsel Independence and Security Act

The bill is similar to legislation filed in the previous Congress but expired at the end of the last term. It provides that a special counsel may be removed only for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other good cause.

“It’s time for Congress to act swiftly to protect the independence of Special counsel Mueller’s investigation and uphold the rule of law,” the Miramar Democrat said.

The concept of protecting Mueller prompted former Sen. Jeff Flake to withhold support of judicial nominees during December unless the Mueller protection bill passed. In the end, it failed, prompting the reaction from House Democrats.

The bill originated with Democratic leadership in the House Judiciary Committee.

Rooney picks up mantle for term limits

An idea Republicans have long supported is the concept of term limits. Despite the long odds, Rep. Francis Rooney has taken the lead in trying to make that happen.

The Naples Republican has joined with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to introduce a constitutional amendment that looks to end the concept of career politicians in Washington. The proposal would apply to all members in both the House and Senate.

If the amendment were to be ratified, Representatives in the House would only be allowed to serve three two-year terms and Senators would be limited to two 6-year terms. Those in the House elected to fill a vacancy of greater than one year, would find that counting as the first of their three terms.

Republicans have called for term limits for decades, but the concept has faded coinciding with the GOP holding a majority in the House for most of the last quarter century.

“The American people support term limits by an overwhelming margin,” the Naples Republican said in a news release. “I believe that as lawmakers, we should follow the example of our Founding Fathers, Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who refused to consider public service as a career.”

Rubio was among the Senate co-sponsors.

For term limits to become part of the constitution, the legislation must receive a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. It must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

Deutch co-sponsors major reforms

The first bill of a new Congress is thought to contain the highest priorities of leadership and the majority members. H.R. 1 in the new Democratic-led House of Representatives links a number of desired reforms into one large reform Bill.

Rep. Ted Deutch, representing Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, joined Pelosi and other House Democrats to introduce the For the People Act. H.R. 1 includes making elections more accessible, bringing transparency and oversight to campaign finance, along with reforming and enforcing ethics laws over the federal government.

“I’m proud that House Democrats chose, as one of our first acts in the majority, to introduce these badly-needed reforms to strengthen our democracy and hold the executive branch and Congress to a higher ethical standard,” Deutch said.

The For the People Act also includes legislation previously introduced by Deutch and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whiteside from Rhode Island. It would require high-ranking government officials to disclose work they have done to raise money for political purposes that may raise conflicts of interest in their new government role.

The Conflicts from Political Fundraising Act was included with other anti-corruption reforms that will empower the Office of Government Ethics to ensure that public servants are putting the will of the American people above wealthy special interests.

Deutch’s busy week wasn’t yet finished. He also proposed a permanent limit on money in politics.

“It is within this spirit that I also reintroduced my Democracy For All constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision and end the limitless spending in our elections,” he added. “Voters elected Democrats to restore power back to the American people and with this bill, we are following our promises with actions.”

Shalala continues tradition on Rules

The area represented by the current 27th Congressional District has played a role on the House Rules Committee for decades and that role will continue. Newly sworn-in Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala of Coral Gables was assigned to the committee, taking the seat of her predecessor, former Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Shalala joins Hastings on the committee. She also joins three other new Democratic members (and three new Republicans) on the powerful committee. representing both parties.

The Rules committee plays an important role in determining what bills come to the floor and what happens when they do. The new chairman welcomed his fellow Democrats.

“I congratulate Representatives Raskin, Scanlon, Morelle, and Shalala on their appointments today,” said committee chairman Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat. “This is an extraordinary group of lawmakers whose unique backgrounds will be invaluable to this committee.”

The committee is in charge of setting the parameters after a bill gets out of a committee, but before it goes to a final vote. The panel also decides how long a bill can be debated, how and whether amendments can be offered, and other important sticking points regarding the passage of legislation.

In addition to Ros-Lehtinen’s service on the committee, her predecessor, the late Rep. Claude Pepper, was serving as chairman until the time of his death in 1989. The districts were numbered differently in Pepper’s day, but all three members have served, or are serving, residents of Miami-Dade County.

On this day in the headlines

January 8, 1959 — On a day when 15 officers of the ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista were executed, the United States recognized the revolutionary government established by Fidel Castro. A letter delivered by U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Earl T. Smith said: “The government of the United States is pleased to recognize the government” established by Castro and his subordinates.

The executions signaled the start of widespread trials by revolutionary courts of Cubans accused of crimes against the state. Castro assumed power after overthrowing Batista in a yearslong coup that culminated on one week ago.

January 8, 1999 — In a hushed chamber under heavy security, Chief Justice William Rehnquist opened the first impeachment trial in 131 years, swearing in Senators to “do impartial justice” in judging whether President Bill Clinton should be removed from office for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Republican Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and leader of the prosecution team known as “managers,” stood at the lectern as charges were read into the record. Among the 13 prosecutors are Lakeland Republican Charles Canady and Orlando Republican Bill McCollum.