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With Anthony Adragna, Sarah Ferris, Nick Wu and Myah Ward.

THE FULL FORCE OF BIDEN — As Democrats dive into messy internal debates over key pieces of the party’s agenda, head off GOP opposition and face down critical deadlines, President Joe Biden is ramping up his involvement in Congress’ chaotic fall session.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that Biden, “more than anyone,” maintains sway over his caucus’s 50 members: “There is no comparable political force to a president, and specifically Joe Biden at this moment.”

He’s already met this week with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), two key Democratic holdouts on his domestic spending agenda. Those meetings are part of a broader sustained campaign to keep the duo on board with his legislative program.

All that wrangling is within his own party. Biden also has to contend with Republicans on Capitol Hill as they threaten to block a debt limit hike after many of them supported a suspension or increase three times under former President Donald Trump.

Burgess and Laura Barrón-López dig into Biden’s approach to corralling Democrats and facing down Republicans on Capitol Hill as high stakes deadlines approach: https://politi.co/3zmamPC

QUESTION TIME ON RECONCILIATION — All House Dem committee chairs have successfully met Pelosi's deadline of finishing up their sections of the bill by Sept. 15, clearing the way for leadership-level negotiations on the toughest aspects of the bill. Think: Medicare expansion, Medicaid spending, SALT, drug pricing.

Eleven (!) House chairs will brief Dems on their portions of the multi-trillion-dollar social spending bill on Friday. They come as House members prepare to return from August recess next week and enter a furious legislative push.

Three chairs in particular are juggling internal strife and questions about the reconciliation push:

— Energy and Commerce’s Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) is sure to face questions about the path forward for his party’s health care agenda given divisions within the caucus and outlook in the Senate. Centrist Democrats also may nudge him over climate provisions.

— Education and Labor’s Bobby Scott (D-Va.) may face questions on how he'll negotiate with Senate Democratic centrists, who’ve chafed at boosted child care benefits.

— Judiciary’s Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) will face questions on how he’s structured the Democrats’ move to provide a pathway for legal residency for millions of immigrants in the bill. He may also get asked about something he can’t control: how the Senate parliamentarian will rule on the issue.

Notably absent from the briefings: Ways and Means Chair Richie Neal (D-Mass.) who must respectively raise revenue for the bill and assemble it into a finished product.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, September 15. To readers observing Yom Kippur, wishing you an easy fast and meaningful reflection.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The letter from housing advocates on funding in the reconciliations bill for first generation home buyers took the top slot.

AND THAT'S A WRAP .. FOR NOW — Two of the House's most powerful panels — both Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means — finished their marathon markups on Wednesday, but not without some last-minute drama.

Speaking of drug pricing...Democratic Reps. Scott Peters of California, Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Kathleen Rice of New York voted against a measure enabling Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs at E&C, preventing it from advancing when the panel deadlocked in a 29-29 tie. But just a bit later, the same language cleared W&M, keeping it part of the House package for now. https://politi.co/3kd3oYL

There's still a long way to go until there's a final House bill, let alone a negotiated bicameral version. Many members and staff will be off Thursday for Yom Kippur, but will reconvene Friday for a day-long briefing by committee chairs on where the bill stands. And of course, the full House comes back Monday.

FIRST IN HUDDLE: CONTINUITY OF CONGRESS — In the shadow of the Jan. 6 attack and the anniversary of 9/11, nearly 50 former members of Congress and organizations are calling for the creation of a new body tasked with addressing modern threats against the government and continuity of all three federal branches. Recommendations from the post-9/11 Continuity of Government Commission have gone largely unaddressed, they say.

“In a closely contested Congress — as we currently have in both chambers — a single assassin could alter the makeup and balance of power of the body. As unpleasant as it may be to imagine, these vulnerabilities are invitations to future attacks," warn the signatories, which include former Rep. Brian Baird and Issue One. Read the letter: https://bit.ly/3hDt8vv

Earlier this summer, Modernization Committee Chairman Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) told Huddle that ModCom plans to dive into continuity of Congress issues near the end of this year, but that it could slip into 2022. The panel has heard from Baird before on the topic, which your Huddle host covered.

ROSE WANTS TO BE A COMEBACK KID — Max Rose, a 34-year old Army veteran and Staten Islander, is preparing to launch a rematch against GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, bolstered by favorable redistricting. He was one of 13 House Democrats who fell to GOP challengers in the 2020 election. But in addition to the GOP incumbent, Rose will have to fight off Brittany Ramos DeBarros, a progressive activist already in the race.

Olivia and Ally Mutnick explore what the new district lines mean for the race and what each candidate will lean on in coming months: https://politi.co/3nzZprn

FIRST IN HUDDLE: COVID ORIGINS — Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) is sending a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines today, requesting all raw intelligence reports, meeting notes and emails the intelligence community used in writing its 90-day Covid origins report ordered by President Joe Biden. Comer, the top Republican on House Oversight, called for all of the documents by no later than Sept. 29, according to the letter obtained by POLITICO: https://politi.co/3kgmoWe

TESTING THE BLOCKADE — Supporters of Dilawar Syed, President Biden's nominee to serve as Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, are trying to bolster the nominee with letters and a "day of action" ahead of a confirmation hearing scheduled for Sept. 21. Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) sent a letter to the Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), top lawmakers on the Small Business panel, calling for a swift confirmation of Syed and condemning what they say are “false accusations” and “anti-Muslim sentiment.”

Consideration of Syed’s nomination has been delayed multiple times due to objections from GOP senators who criticize what they say is the veteran businessman’s association with an “anti-Israel” Muslim-American group. Read the CAPAC letter here: https://bit.ly/3hzcbT2 Background from Nicholas back in August: https://politi.co/3iDkQ7N

ON GUARD — The Capitol Police confirmed Wednesday they’d asked the Pentagon for the ability to receive National Guard support ahead of the Saturday rally on the Hill defending some rioters arrested during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Although the department’s statement was light on details, it’s still a show of transparency from the often-opaque force, which has already released statements about its preparation for the attack and briefed congressional leaders.

Some National Guardsmen were called up before the Jan. 6 attack, though most were assigned to traffic control and logistical support. The force’s delay in responding to the insurrection has prompted much controversy in the months since the attack.

QUICK LINKS

— ‘It’s Always Going to Haunt Me’: How the Capitol Riot Changed Lives, by Emily Cochrane, Luke Broadwater and Ellen Barry at the New York Times.

— Rep. Susan Wild faced trauma. It transformed her priorities in Congress, From Amanda Becker at The 19th News

— They have a vision for a happier Congress: More golf, from Jim Saksa at Roll Call

— Democrat Jay Carey says Rep. Madison Cawthorn brought weapon to school board meeting, from the Asheville Citizen-Times

— Dennis Hastert settles with accuser in lawsuit over hush-money payments, from the Chicago Sun-Times

TRANSITIONS

Let us know who is making moves.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is not in session.

The Senate is not in session.

AROUND THE HILL

Just the fence.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Bruce Brown correctly answered that the 23 relief portraits over the gallery doors of the House Chamber are made of Vermont marble.

TODAY’S QUESTION from Tuesday’s winner Aria: Who ran for president in the 1920s from a federal prison? Bonus points for naming the prison, how many times this socialist candidate ran, and what act put him in prison.

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected]

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Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus