With a hand from Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu

SEEING DOUBLE ON DEFENSE — It’s the longest day of the year, but the House and Senate Armed Services Committees will barely see the light. Both panels are getting to work tackling their own versions of the mammoth annual defense policy bill that will play host to most of the big – and small – schisms on both policy details and cultural norms.

House Republicans promised that when they took power, they would rid the Defense Department of diversity programs and other policies that they call a “distraction” from warfighting and readiness but which the Pentagon defends as a modernizing force.

“The bad news is there seems to be some attempts by certain members of the majority to utilize the defense act to discuss some of their their kind of right-wing social agenda attacks,” HASC member Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) told Huddle.

We’re hearing that amendments are once again expected to be in the hundreds, with some GOP HASC members ballparking close to 1,000 proposals. Among the handful of HASC Democrats who spoke to Huddle, each has multiple dozens of amendments prepped in their name.

“The good news is that we’ve got electronic voting for the first time which I’ve heard from other committees makes things move quite a bit faster,” Sherrill said.

Abortion access: The Senate panel will take up today, in addition to NDAA, a bill from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would rescind the Defense Department’s policies allowing servicemembers to travel to seek abortion care. Even if the bill advances, it is not expected to motivate Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to lift his blockade of 250 military senior officer promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy.

“It gives everyone an opportunity to vote on that issue,” SASC Chair Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), told reporters Tuesday. When asked whether he believes a vote on Ernst’s bill will have any effect on Tuberville’s block of military nominations, Reed said: “I hope so.”

On the House side, one HASC Republican told Huddle Tuesday night that after checking with chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), they didn’t expect to vote on the abortion travel policy in committee and instead expect it to be addressed on the floor.

“I think that there’s certain things that we want to work on together and we don’t want to get in the way of that bipartisanship that has existed for so long in this committee, and there’s some non-negotiables on the table. And I think for Democrats, reproductive services is one of those non-negotiables,” HASC member Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said.

Diversity divide: Republicans are expected to offer amendments targeting the Pentagon’s programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, which they see as driving out conservative servicemembers and contributing to recruitment struggles. Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) will offer a pair of proposals to defund DOD’s deputy inspector general for diversity and inclusion and extremism and to strip funds for the Pentagon’s anti-extremism task force.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) will be offering amendments on DEI and transgender servicemembers. Asked about the Gaetz amendments, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Huddle that “I’m sure it will be spicy.”

Democrats will be playing defense and trying to protect policies put in place over the last several years aimed at making the military a more welcoming workplace. “We’re just really seeing some discussions in a lot of the recruitment population, about how these issues of diversity and inclusion are important to them,” Sherrill said.

“I think Republicans will see the light at the end of the day … and understand that we need every American on those front lines, and that we can’t discriminate against who defends this country,” Vasquez said.

“These amendments are critical to eliminating the wokeness in our military and the unnecessary extremism working group,” Alford said in a statement. “We should not be wasting man-hours and taxpayer dollars on programs that do nothing to benefit our military but rather hamper recruitment and retention efforts.”

Climate change: Republicans are looking to roll back electric vehicle expansion plans and alternative energy programs at the Pentagon, citing cost savings and a hindrance to military readiness. But once again, Democrats are poised to play defense.

“I’m not on the Armed Services Committee to debate climate change” Sherrill told Huddle, but she will be offering amendments on alternative fuels. She cited recent testimony from the Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps about the difficulties of carrying fuel across the South Pacific. She says the panel needs to look beyond divisive climate change debates and towards “making sure that we are coming up with new ways to power our military in ways that are going to be logistically better.”

Some House Democrats are warning that loading up the NDAA with divisive amendments could threaten the ability to pass the bill.

HASC ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a statement that he’s “made it clear” to Rogers what Democrats’ limits are, but warned some GOP proposals “cross these redlines and could jeopardize final passage of the bill.” Smith urged lawmakers to “weigh the so-called political gains that a few in their ranks are pursuing at the expense of” national security.

“NDAA has always been a bipartisan bill because it always had to be with thin margins,” Mace told us on the eve of her first ever NDAA markup.

Lawmakers want to keep the six-decade-long streak for enacting the sweeping defense policy legislation going. But in the divided Congress and with both parties staking out key issues ahead of next year’s election, reconciling the two bills may be as tough as ever.

Snack-watch: Sherrill, a Navy veteran, gave Huddle a preview of her snack lineup for the markup that routinely stretches until dawn: “We’re getting bagels, we’re ready with the M&Ms. Evidently, now that we have a southern chairman, we’re getting barbecue.”

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, June 21, where a rainy summer solstice should be illegal. Someone tell Congress.

SECOND TRY AT SHIFTING SCHIFF — The House is set to consider the updated resolution from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) censuring Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — this time with language that wins over Republicans who didn’t support it last week. Democrats are expected to motion to table the resolution Wednesday, but Republicans likely have the votes to override their procedural move and bring it up for a full House vote.

The resolution, which would trigger an ethics investigation into Schiff and formally reprimand him, has been edited to not include a potential $16,000,000 fine if the investigation found he committed transgressions over his leadership of the House Intelligence Committee’s probe into former President Donald Trump. When asked if Republicans have the votes to pass, GOP Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.) said Tuesday night: “We don’t whip resolutions. We leave it to members. We’ll see.”

GOP’S IMPEACHMENT MOVES — The House is about to have its first proxy fight over impeaching President Joe Biden on the floor.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Tuesday night went to the floor to trigger a vote related to her resolution impeaching Biden over handling of the border. Several House Republicans, including Boebert, have filed impeachment articles against Biden since January, but the Colorado Republican is the first GOP lawmaker to use the House’s option of making a privileged motion to force the issue to the floor.

Instead of a straight vote on her impeachment resolution, it is expected to be on tabling her resolution, according to a House Democratic floor notice (the same tactic Republicans used on Rep. Al Green’s (D-Texas) Trump impeachment resolutions). Either way, it will be viewed as a stand-in fight over impeaching Biden and the first time House Republicans have held a vote on impeaching the president since taking over the majority amid growing angst from the party’s base.

The move will get her a vote this week, though GOP leadership hasn’t said which day it will come up. Boebert, in a brief interview after her floor move, said that the exact timing was “still being scheduled with leadership” and could be anytime between Wednesday and Friday. Asked why she thought this week was the right time to force a vote, Boebert said that it was “past time.”

“I hope that Republicans and Democrats alike can recognize the invasion that is taking place at our southern border. And that the laws of our nation are not being faithfully executed. And that we have an opportunity to bring a check and a balance to the invasion that is going on,” Boebert said of her impeachment effort.

Olivia checked in with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.), who has no love lost for Boebert and had her own Biden impeachment measure in the works (which Green noted Boebert declined to co-sponsor). The Georgia lawmaker is floating her own resolution on removing FBI Chief Chris Wray and insisted that hers was in the works “before this weekend.”

When asked about whether the Republicans who called foul on Trump being impeached without a robust enough investigation after Jan. 6 would be hypocrites to support her resolutions, Green said: “Not being hypocrites. They started the process and so maybe turnabout is fair play. So they should have never opened Pandora’s Box.”

HOUSE GOP TO DOJ: PLEASE CLARIFY — House Republicans are vowing to move forward with their own Biden investigations in the wake of this week’s plea deal between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden.

But two key chairmen also want clarity from U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who lead the investigation, on what, exactly, from his investigation remains “ongoing” — a reference to the final line of a statement from his office that “the investigation is ongoing.” The statement came after Hunter Biden’s legal team said that based on their understanding the federal investigation into the president’s son is resolved.

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) were spotted huddling on the floor on Tuesday night as they mull next steps, including which of their committees would call Weiss in to testify publicly.

Afterward, Jordan said that the GOP duo is “still focused on what he means by ongoing investigation” and that they will likely wait until after Hunter Biden appears in court and is arraigned to determine next steps.

“I want to get that clarified first. I think we’ll sort of know that when Mr. Biden has his day in court…. I think we ought to wait until that moment,” Jordan said about asking the U.S. attorney to testify.

Jordan’s confusion over what Weiss’s statement means matches comments from Comer earlier Tuesday that he was “trying to get clarity” on what is ongoing in Weiss’s probe.

MANCHIN FOR PRESIDENT — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is toying with the idea of a third party run for president in 2024. Yet even as many doubt he’ll go through with a White House bid, Democrats also fear it could hand the GOP both the Senate and the White House if he does. The filing deadline for West Virginia’s Senate race is not until January, giving Manchin roughly six months’ time to decide. More from Burgess here.

A TALE OF TWO COMMITTEES — Special Counsel John Durham’s back-to-back appearances on Capitol Hill this week is reviving (one of) Jordain’s favorite congressional rivalries: The Judiciary vs. the Intelligence committees.

Durham appeared behind closed doors with the Intelligence Committee on Tuesday night, in what the panel’s leaders described as a bipartisan confab to discuss and probe potential changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). A portion of the law that is known as Section 702 is up for reauthorization at the end of the year, but House lawmakers have been discussing broader FISA changes that could ride on any bill.

Durham will now appear before the House Judiciary Committee today in what is expected to be a much more partisan, rancorous appearance given the makeup of the panel. And it didn’t escape the notice of Intelligence Committee leaders that they got their turn first with the special counsel.

“I’m glad that we went first,” said Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio). “I think ….[it] allowed him to be very forthcoming and very sharing of his thoughts and ideas. Certainly tomorrow will have a different purpose.”

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the panel’s top Democrat, added that “the world is different when the cameras are running.”

Plaskett sets the record straight… After conservative media outlets called out Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) for accidentally saying – and then immediately correcting – that Donald Trump needs to be “shot,” she put out a statement Tuesday making her stance clear: “It is unfortunate that conservative media has taken an instance where I misspoke and misrepresented it as though I advocate for violence--I unequivocally do not.”

It’s raining amens… Senate Chaplain Barry Black held a double feature Tuesday, offering the opening prayer in both chambers, first the House and then the Senate.

Not only Capito… Your Huddle hosts would like to make clear we are all a big fan of Beth.

QUICK LINKS

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court, from Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan, Alex Mierjeski at ProPublica (Plus, Alito’s pre-buttal opinion piece: Justice Samuel Alito: ProPublica Misleads Its Readers, in The Wall Street Journal)

Vermont’s Becca Balint on Countering Transphobia in Congressional Hearings, from Lexi McMenamin at Teen Vogue

Rigging The System: The Martin Kao Case Offers An Inside View Of Pay-To-Play Politics, from Nick Grube at Honolulu Civil Beat

‘Aren’t we a little more grown up than that?’: Ex-lawmaker rips Congress for ‘dog ate my homework’ excuses, from Alexandria Jacobson at Raw Story

TRANSITIONS

Seven Letter has added Blair Taylor as a managing director. Taylor previously was comms director for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and is a Senate Appropriations Committee alum.

Cara Camacho is now chief of staff for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn). She previously was an SVP at the Bank Policy Institute and is an Obama Treasury, DOD and NSC alum.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. First votes are expected at 1:15 p.m. and last votes are expected at 5 p.m.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. to consider President Joe Biden’s veto of a rollback of heavy duty truck emissions rules and will have a vote on that and on cloture for Natasha C. Merle’s nomination to be a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York at 11:30 a.m. The Senate will vote at 2:15 p.m. on Merle’s nomination, followed by a cloture vote on the Tax Convention with Chile.

AROUND THE HILL

9 a.m. House Judiciary Committee hearing on “The Report of Special Counsel John Durham,” with testimony from Durham. (2141 Rayburn)

9:30 a.m. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will have a press conference with Democratic women senators ahead of the anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. (S-325)

10:15 a.m. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) and Vice Chair Ted Lieu (Calif.) will speak to reporters after a closed Democratic Caucus meeting. (Studio A)

10:30 a.m. House Appropriations Committee markup of the fiscal year 2024 Homeland Security and Legislative Branch appropriations bills. (2359 Rayburn)

2 p.m. Senate Democratic and GOP leaders hold separate press conferences following closed door caucus lunches. (Ohio Clock Corridor)

4 p.m. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will host a stamp unveiling ceremony in honor of Congressman John Lewis. (Statuary Hall)

TUESDAY’S WINNER: Albert Wolf correctly answered that Elihu Root was the first Senator to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

TODAY’S QUESTION: Which senator most recently crossed the 10,000 votes threshold?

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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