NotedDC — Hurricane Ian brings DeSantis, Biden together

by Elizabeth Crisp - 09/29/22 7:40 PM ET

President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are putting aside their rocky relationship to aid the millions of people affected by Hurricane Ian’s devastation after it made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday afternoon.

Images of flattened buildings, flooded homes and drivers caught in head-tall waters in the wake of the storm have dominated media attention the past two days, with the president painting a bleak outlook of the storm’s toll after being briefed on Thursday.

In an appearance at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., the president dismissed a reporter’s question about his personal differences with DeSantis, whose profile has risen amid various conflicts with Biden over the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation related to treatment of people in the LGBTQ community and the handling of migrants.

The pair, who could ultimately face each other in the 2024 presidential election, have spoken repeatedly over the past week as Florida seeks additional federal support to respond to Hurricane Ian, the worst storm to hit the area in decades.

“I’ve talked to him four, five times already, and it’s not a matter of my disagreements with him on other items,” Biden said. “He complimented me. He thanked me for the immediate response we had. He told me how much he appreciated it. He said he was extremely happy with what’s going on.

“We’re gonna pull together as one team — as one America,” he added.

The coordination comes just days after Democrats and administration officials called out DeSantis for flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in protest of the federal government’s handling of border enforcement, with officials accusing the governor of using migrants as political props.

For now, the duo — and their reputations as executives — are tied up together as they respond to a significant natural disaster just weeks before a major election.

Read more on the pair’s handling of the storm here.

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💰 Crisis averted

The Senate on Thursday advanced a bill to keep the federal government funded through Dec. 16, moving quickly to send it to the House ahead of a Friday deadline.

“This legislation avoids a very bad thing — shutting down the government — and does a lot of good things: Money for the people of Ukraine, funding for communities reeling from natural disasters, aid to families with their heating bills, just to name a few,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “Millions and millions of people can breathe easy knowing that we have done this in a timely way and the money to continue the government will be there.”
The move paves the way for the legislation to be enacted before the end of the month. The House is expected to pass it on Friday and send it to President Biden for a signature.

What’s next: Shortly after the Senate passed the spending plan, Schumer announced that there will be no more votes until after the midterms. However, lawmakers are expecting to be busy during the lame-duck session that follows.

“Members should be prepared for an extremely — underline extremely — busy agenda in the last two months of this Congress,” Schumer said.

📹 Ginni Thomas speaks to Jan. 6 committee

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, gave a voluntary interview on Thursday to the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The interview caps a monthslong effort by the select committee to speak with the conservative activist about her efforts following the 2020 election and leading up to Jan. 6.
Thomas reportedly exchanged emails with several key Trump allies including John Eastman — the lawyer who drafted memos for the Trump campaign outlining how then-Vice President Mike Pence could keep Trump in power.

Jan. 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters that during the interview Thomas reiterated her belief that the 2020 election was stolen, despite there being no evidence of widespread election fraud.

ELECTION 2022: PENNSYLVANIA SENATE OUTLOOK

Republicans’ hopes of keeping retiring Sen. Pat Toomey‘s (R) Pennsylvania Senate seat rose slightly this week after a poll showed the race to succeed him tightening.

Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz (R) is within 4 points of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) in a Fox News survey released Wednesday, with Fetterman at 45 percent and Oz at 41 percent.
Democrats have viewed the Keystone State race as one of their best chances at flipping a Senate seat this year, and Fetterman has kept a lead in most polls.
The bitter battle has seen the pair exchange barbs over crudités, the candidates’ homes and even clothing choices.

The Hill’s Julia Mueller has more on the race here.

LOBBYING WORLD

Karl Evers-Hillstrom of The Hill has a weekly roundup of news from the lobbying world (and you can send NotedDC your professional updates too!).

Here are some highlights from this week:

Cole Rojewski has joined RBW Group as a partner. Rojewski previously was chief of staff to House Appropriations ranking member Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas).

Alison Graab joined the Alpine Group as a senior vice president after a stint as GOP clerk and staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee’s transportation subcommittee.

Michael O’Mara has been tapped to be the first president and chief operating officer of the Clyde Group. O’Mara previously was a top executive at IMRE.

🕯 Long-awaited Truman statue joins Statuary Hall

President Truman is back at the Capitol — or at least a statue of him is.

The bronze statue of the nation’s 33rd president was unveiled Thursday, making it the newest piece in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
Truman died in 1972 at the age of 88.

The statue’s pedestal is engraved with the words “The buck stops here” — Truman’s often-used motto.

Remember: Every state gets to place two statues in the Capitol, as typically decided by state lawmakers. Truman, a Missouri native who represented the Show Me State in the Senate before becoming vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, replaces a statue of Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri senator who died in 1858. Truman’s statue is one of only 10 presidential statues in the rotunda.

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“We’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” – President Biden after getting a FEMA briefing Thursday, warning Hurricane Ian could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida’s history.

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