IT’S EXTRAORDINARILY EARLY, we don’t know much at the moment, and we all need to be vigilant about everything we say and suppose. But here are some early points to frame your thinking:
1) EVERY MOVE MADE, every word uttered and tweet published by the White House will be under a microscope as the world tries to understand the health of the most powerful man in the world. We will be looking this morning for test results and assurance from @vp and @SpeakerPelosi
@VP@SpeakerPelosi 2) THE WHITE HOUSE does not have the public’s trust, and at a time like this, that’s important.
@VP@SpeakerPelosi 3) THE PRESIDENT will be quarantined for some time, so the 2020 CAMPAIGN as we knew it will be effectively paused in its final stretch. How can they allow TRUMP in a room with the 77-year-old JOE BIDEN? How can TRUMP hold another in-person rally? It seems extremely unlikely.
@VP@SpeakerPelosi THE ENTIRETY of the president’s political message was that he handled the coronavirus pandemic well, the end was in sight, and people should think back to before the onset of the virus when they consider their vote. TRUMP’S diagnosis will make that quite tricky.
4) ONE WOULD IMAGINE the administration and the Congress will do everything they can to preserve the health of the rest of the chain of command.
That means that PENCE, PELOSI and Sen. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) will likely have to take extra precautions. PELOSI is 80 and GRASSLEY is 87. They are No. 2 and No. 3 in the line of succession, after PENCE.
5) BIDEN will certainly be tested. Political and financial markets will be incredibly interested in his results.
6) THE PRESIDENT’S DIAGNOSIS should, theoretically, force Congress to rethink its testing regime. Reminder: Members of Congress are forced to travel to D.C. to vote, but they are not tested. THE HOUSE is going to leave after today.
THE SENATE will be in next week -- as of now. There will be an effort to show government can still operate with the commander in chief sidelined.
TRUMP’S ILLNESS could have long-term political and practical implications, but, as of now, it appears as if the government will continue to operate as normal in the short term. Federal agencies have been operating in a pandemic mode for months.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS swarming Capitol Hill. White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS has been in contact with SCOTUS nominee AMY CONEY BARRETT, Senate Majority Leader MITCH MCCONNELL and a host of other key GOP senators...
. Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN, who typically wears a mask, was at an in-person meeting with PELOSI on Wednesday.
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Electo Analytics is a truly special platform. It tracks and allows collaboration on bills, tracks regulations and has a fulsome directories of the Hill, state and local public officials and aides.
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We do that through our three newsletters -- AM, Midday and PM. We do that through our social and newsmaker events. We do that through our polling of Capitol Hill and K Street.
And we will do that through our acquisition of Electo Analytics, which will be folded into Punchbowl News. We want Punchbowl News to be the place where you get your news -- and where you do your work in Washington. We'll be building this platform out with the Hill/Downtown in mind -- and with everyone's input.
NEWS in @PunchbowlNews AM: Republicans feel VERY good about a deal to lift the debt limit
Rs expect the compromise will come together sometime in the next few days. intense pressure to wrap negotiations up as soon as possible in order to get a bill through in timely fashion.
We anticipate that the debt limit will be extended through 2024 as part of any agreement. And the GOP leadership feels as if they will be able to win the support of the majority of the House Republican Conference for this eventual package.
Every negotiation needs this caveat: it could all fall apart. but we were getting very positive signals from the leadership until late last night