Winning Edge Content Beltway Briefing Podcast

Since winning a Long Island congressional seat last year, a flood of recent reporting has exposed George Santos as an alleged serial liar who embellished or fabricated a shockingly large part of his life story during his election campaign.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the impact of the Santos controversy, which has drawn a divide within the House GOP conference, with some Republicans coming out against the freshman and others backing his continued service. And, as the U.S. government hit the statutory debt ceiling on Thursday, prompting the Treasury to institute extraordinary measures to allow the government to pay its obligations until early June, they also break down the status of debt-ceiling negotiations and ponder the economic damage a first-ever default on U.S. debt would cause around the world.

In this episode, Public Strategies introduces Rodney Davis, a former five-term congressman representing Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, who has joined the firm as a Managing Director. Rodney will leverage his substantial experience in public affairs to provide strategic counsel to the firm’s government relations clients.

Rodney and regular co-hosts Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the measures taken up to advance the GOP’s agenda during the first full week of the new Congress, with a House speaker finally elected, members sworn in, and the rules for the 118th Congress adopted. They also discuss why President Biden, who began the year with a surge of political momentum, propelled by better-than-expected midterm election results and Republican disarray, suddenly confronts a ballooning political problem, albeit not necessarily a legal one, resulting from revelations that classified documents dating from his vice presidency were found at his home and private office.

After a chaotic week of harsh rhetoric, backstage maneuvering, and brinkmanship politics, Rep. Kevin McCarthy became the 55th speaker of the House on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot early Saturday, finally breaking the impasse and overcoming a fierce challenge to his leadership by hard-right defectors that led him to make steep concessions. For better or worse, this exercise represented the most thorough review of House rules and processes since the chamber’s reorganization efforts in the mid-1970s.

On a somber two-year anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the stalemate not seen on the House floor since 1923 that laid bare the divisions among House Republicans and tested McCarthy’s and the new GOP majority’s ability to effectively govern in the 118th Congress.

NOTE TO LISTENERS: this episode was recorded at 9 a.m. on Friday, after the House had just finished its 11th Speaker vote.

Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin wrap up this year’s Beltway Briefing podcast series as they reflect on key political and legislative battles of 2022 and – as the 118th United States Congress gets ready to convene, look ahead to events in Washington and beyond in 2023.

And, as it’s now a tradition, our podcast co-hosts sing and recite their own Christmas carols.

Wishing you all a very merry holiday season and a happy and prosperous New Year,

–Your Beltway Briefing podcast team

On November 8, voters across the country cast their ballots for governor, U.S. Senate, the House, and several down-ballot seats. Americans in 37 states also voted on 132 statewide ballot measures,including cannabis legalization, guns, abortion rights, voting policy, and sports betting. The results were consequential for both the states and the nation as a whole.

Public Strategies’ Jim Davis, Katie Schwab, Matt Glavin, John Reich, and Julia Hammond provide a state-by-state breakdown of the results of the midterm races in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, and Virginia. They also offer an overview of the nationwide midterm election results and their impact from the perspective of their respective state politics.

On Thursday night, the White House hosted the first state dinner of Biden’s presidency in honor of France, a key American ally. Joining President Biden and French President Macron were more than 350 guests, including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, whose quest to secure the 218 votes he needs to be elected Speaker of the House in January looms over lame-duck legislative debates.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, and Towner French share their thoughts on the first post-Covid state dinner. They also break down end-of-the-year partisan maneuvering over key government appropriations bills, including the National Defense Authorization Act and the shutdown deadline-facing 2023 Omnibus spending package, before current funding expires on December 16.

Democrats’ strongest showing in a presidential midterm in the last two decades enabled them to retain control of the Senate. After more than a week of vote counting, Republicans secured a slender majority in the House on Wednesday, a delayed yet consequential finish to the 2022 midterm elections that will reorder the balance of power in Washington and is certain to complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to enact parts of the President’s legislative agenda for the next two years. After leading the House Democrats since 2003, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will step down next year from her spot at the top of the party, leading to a seismic change on Capitol Hill.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin reflect on Speaker Pelosi’s momentous leadership and ponder how a coming shift in power dynamic, which in January will end two years of unified Democratic control, will transform the workings of Washington.

The midterms were poised to usher in a “red wave” in the House and potentially the Senate, teeing up a heavily Republican U.S. legislature in 2023, based on the disapproval of President Biden, record inflation, and traditional losses for the party that holds the White House. But on election night, the results painted a different picture for the future Congress. Democrats appeared to defy historical odds, as the Republican landslide political pundits had been predicting for months failed to materialize.

The 2022 election remains in the balance, as the battles for both chambers are still too close to call, with Republicans favored to win what increasingly looks like a narrow majority in the House and Democrats moving closer to retaining their Senate majority. As the votes continue to be counted, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the results of key midterm races and offer some early election takeaways.

On November 8, New Yorkers cast their ballots for governor, U.S. Senate, the House, and several down-ballot seats. The results were consequential for both the state and the nation.

New York Public Strategies’ Katie Schwab, Stuart Shorenstein, Rose Christ, and Jamie Ansorge break down the results of the midterm elections in New York and provide an overview of the nationwide midterm election results from the perspective of New York politics.

The 2022 midterm elections could be the most consequential in years. Every seat in the House of Representatives is up for grabs, as are 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Several more down-ballot races for secretary of state, attorney general, or control of state legislatures could have wide-ranging effects on the 2024 presidential elections and hot-button issues like abortion rights, health care, and climate change.
Public Strategies’ Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss what’s at stake on November 8, and break down the top House and Senate races to watch on Election Day and how they could alter the balance of power in Washington.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer and Mark Alderman discuss Israeli business and politics directly from Tel Aviv, Israel.

The 2022 midterms are around the corner, and there may not be a more consequential election than this one. From inflation to a possible recession, tax policy, gun control, abortion law, immigration reform, and more, American voters have a plethora of issues to consider on November 8. All 435 House seats are up for election, and a shift of only five seats would transfer control of the chamber to Republicans. In the Senate, a total of 35 seats are up for election, with a net change of one seat in either direction altering the balance.

As Republicans and Democrats battle it out with just weeks of campaigning left before election day, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the electoral map and discuss the impact of the last January 6 Committee hearing.