Debt limit developments

{beacon} Evening Report Tuesday, May 2 © AP Debt limit: Deadline, discussion and discharge It's only Tuesday, but it's already been a busy week in debt ceiling developments. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. may need to raise the debt ceiling by as early as June 1 to avoid default, kicking off...

May 3, 2023 - 00:00

{beacon}

Evening Report

Tuesday, May 2

Debt limit: Deadline, discussion and discharge

It's only Tuesday, but it's already been a busy week in debt ceiling developments.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. may need to raise the debt ceiling by as early as June 1 to avoid default, kicking off a renewed scramble among decionmakers.

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed to meet on the topic next week. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) floated a cumbersome maneuver to force a vote in the chamber.

Biden and McCarthy agreed to meet on May 9 to discuss the debt limit. The two camps have so far been at an impasse over whether raising the debt ceiling will be tied to spending cuts, as many House Republicans — including McCarthy — have demanded. Jeffries and the Senate leaders were also invited.

Jeffries said in a Dear Colleague letter Tuesday that Democrats had put in motion an option to force a vote on raising the debt limit via a discharge petition. He said Democrats could use a legislative vehicle introduced in January and a "special rule" that Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, introduced Tuesday.

"The discharge petition — an obscure mechanism empowering 218 lawmakers to pass bills the Speaker refuses to consider — is almost never successful, because it requires members of the ruling party to defy their own leadership," The Hill's Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell wrote.

Democrats need five House Republicans to get on board to reach 218.

More from Lillis and Schnell: "The next step in the process is filing a discharge petition, which will start the signature-gathering process. The petition, however, cannot be filed for seven legislative days after the special rule is introduced, meaning the earliest signatures can begin to be collected is on May 16."

Learn more about the discharge process here

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Amee LaTour, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

With Title 42 ending next week, the Biden administration plans to send 1,500 troops to the border for 90 days to assist with monitoring, data entry and other non-law enforcement work, according to a U.S. official.
Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao, the last of four former officers facing state charges for George Floyd's death, was convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Former President Trump's participation in a CNN town hall next week "comes as the former president and his team are hoping to rebuild his relationships with mainstream outlets after demonizing them for years," The Hill's Brett Samuels and Dominick Mastrangelo report. Read more here

NEW THIS AFTERNOON

Judiciary panel holds hearing on SCOTUS ethics

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform Tuesday, following ProPublica reports that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas didn't disclose luxury trips or a property sale.

Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said, "The highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards. That reality is driving a crisis in public confidence in the Supreme Court. The status quo must change."

Durbin requested testimony from Chief Justice John Roberts, who declined the invitation and sent the court's "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices" to the committee last week, which Durbin called "a defense of the status quo."

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the ranking Republican on the committee, argued that there is "a concentrated effort by the left to delegitimize this court and to cherry-pick examples to make a point."

Read more about the hearing here

ECONOMY

Job numbers down, in line with expectations

New Labor Department data shows a decrease from 9.9 million jobs in February to 9.6 million in March, the lowest number since April 2021. The ratio of jobs to job seekers remained unchanged at around 1.6 to 1.

"The highest number of job openings in March were in education and health services, professional and business services, as well as health care and social assistance, which can include jobs like social workers and nursing home attendants," The Hill's Tobias Burns wrote.

What to watch for: Another interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve is expected Wednesday.

IN OTHER NEWS

Sen. Joe Manchin: Possible third-party presidential candidate?

From his criticisms of President Biden to his association with No Labels to his 2024 Senate challenge from Gov. Jim Justice (R), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is seen as a possible third-party presidential contender. Read more here

Hollywood writers on strike

The Writers Guild of America voted to strike starting Tuesday, which could impact late-night shows, sitcoms and major movies. The Hill's Judy Kurtz has more details here.

Heritage Foundation's midlife transformation

The Hill's Emily Brooks digs into the midlife transformation of the Heritage Foundation, which "is turning back the dial on its once-hawkish foreign policy and entertaining ideas that challenge strict adherence to free-market economics, putting itself at the forefront of crafting a standard of right-wing thought and style that echoes 'New Right' post-Trump populism."

PUNDIT CORNER

"Biden’s half-hearted nuclear deterrence plan" — John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Trump, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and author of "The Room Where It Happened." (Read here)

"With debt standoff, libertarianism hits the ceiling" — Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University and author of "Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed." (Read here)