WASHINGTON — If it’s Thursday … President Biden holds a joint press conference with French President Macron after which hosts a state dinner for him within the evening. … The House passes laws to avert potential railroad strike. … Former President Barack Obama campaigns with Sen. Raphael Warnock on the ultimate day of early voting in Georgia Senate runoff. … Obama also stars in Warnock’s closing runoff ad… And Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., files paperwork for 2024 gubernatorial bid.
But first: For the primary time in nearly 20 years, House Democrats have a recent generation of leaders.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., can be minority leader (he’s 52 years old and the primary Black lawmaker to steer a caucus in either chamber); Katherine Clark, D-Mass., can be whip (she’s 59); and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., can be caucus chair (he’s 43).
It’s definitely a generational sea change from the trio of Nancy Pelosi (82), Steny Hoyer (83) and Jim Clyburn (82), who’re all remaining in Congress — and Clyburn is facing a challenge for the No. 4 position in House Democratic leadership.
Democratic young guns have pined for a shot in leadership, and now they’ve it.
Yet it stays an awfully coastal group of leaders, provided that this recent generation represents Latest York, Massachusetts and California — at a time when the party has had its struggles in Midwest and Sun Belt.
The truth is, if you mix each the Democrats’ House and Senate leadership teams, each leaders (Jeffries and Chuck Schumer) are Brooklynites, while the one Midwesterner is Dick Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 leader.
Chart of the day: Explaining those China protests
NBC News: These five graphics help explain the zero-Covid protests in China
Data Download: The variety of the day is … 290
That’s what number of members of the House voted to pass a bill on Wednesday averting a looming rail strike, with 79 Republicans joining all but eight Democrats to support the measure, per the NBC News Capitol Hill team. The bill imposes a labor agreement that the White House negotiated in September ahead of a Dec. 9 strike deadline, although some unions opposed the agreement. The House also passed one other bill adding seven days of paid sick leave to the deal by a much closer margin of 221 to 207. Each measures now head to the Senate.
The White Home is warning that a rail strike could upend the economy, NBC News’ Shannon Pettypiece reports. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told NBC News’ Peter Alexander that a rail strike is “principally similar to the economy shutting down,” later adding, “There’s really no a part of our economy that might be untouched” and calling on the Senate to approve the labor deal.
“It’s our greatest likelihood to get a bill through, to get results through, that prevent that type of shutdown. We just can’t afford that type of shutdown for our economy,” Buttigieg said.
Other numbers to know:
21 years: The age gap between the Democratic caucus’ Assistant Leader, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, and Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, who announced he would challenge Clyburn for the position in a closed door vote on Thursday.
$37.7 billion: The quantity that Senate leaders from each parties consider Congress can allocate to supporting Ukraine in the following federal spending package.
500 hours: That’s how much time a court ordered two right-wing operatives to spend registering voters after they were convicted of telecommunications fraud.
6,252: The variety of identities of migrants in search of protection within the U.S. that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement unintentionally posted to their website.
7: The variety of GOP senators threatening to delay a sweeping military authorization bill unless the Senate can vote on the military’s Covid vaccine mandate, per NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin and Zoë Richards.
Greater than $10 million: How much the Senate runoff could cost Georgia taxpayers, the Atlanta Journal Structure reports.
2.9%: The GDP growth within the third quarter, per an updated estimate from the Bureau of Economic Evaluation.
Runoff watch: Barack Obama is back
Lower than every week before the Georgia Senate runoff, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is getting some help from former President Barack Obama, who heads to the state today to rally with the incumbent senator. Obama — who joined Warnock on the trail ahead of his November election too — also appears in a recent ad Warnock’s campaign is running. And his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, recorded robocalls for the Warnock campaign too.
Warnock’s rival, Republican Herschel Walker, will campaign today with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a part of his “Evict Warnock Bus Tour.” But because the Latest York Times reports, some Republicans are apprehensive that Walker hasn’t been on the campaign trail enough down the stretch. And Politico reports that Walker’s strategy appears to be “avoid any more controversy” and “let trusted Republican voices do a lot of the talking.”
Democrats still proceed to pump money into the race — one top Democratic group, Georgia Honor (which is affiliated with the Senate Majority PAC), dropped one other $5.83 million on Wednesday. And a partnership between Majority Forward and the America Votes Coalition said it’s spending greater than $11 million on field organizing and mobilization. While the efforts are a part of the growing Democratic spending advantage within the runoff, the National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a memo on Wednesday where it argued that “Herschel Walker is on target to win and the Democrats comprehend it.”
Eyes on 2024: Biden takes his victory lap
NBC News’ Mike Memoli and Carol E. Lee report that President Joe Biden is planning post-midterm travel to places like Arizona, and an event touting Biden’s work on marriage equality as a warm up for his 2024 re-election bid.
Midwestern nice: Politico reports that the chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer Labor-Party is lobbying the Democratic National Committee not to maneuver Michigan into the early presidential nominating window. The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee is about to debate the nominating calendar at a gathering this weekend, but the AP reports that President Biden hasn’t yet weighed in on whether to knock Iowa from the highest spot.
Hogan the hero?: Outgoing Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan told supporters Wednesday he’ll sit down along with his family “next 12 months” to determine his political future as many expect him to mount a presidential bid.
Florida men write books: Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio are each writing recent books ahead of the 2024 cycle, as each men are seen as possible presidential candidates.
Braun says goodbye to the Senate: Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun has filed initial paperwork to run for governor.
ICYMI: What else is occurring on the earth
Former President Donald Trump’s tax records have been turned over to House Democrats after a lengthy court battle.
President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation plan stays in limbo after a federal appeals court refused to lift a holdput in place by a lower court.
The January 6 committee plans to release transcripts of its interviews with witnesses ahead of the ultimate report, which must be out by Christmas.
The Department of Homeland Security raised concerns about threats to LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities in a recent terrorism advisory bulletin.
