Cozen Oconnor Public Strategies - The Beltway Briefing

Explore the pros and cons of an aging federal government, the criminal entanglements of former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden, and the glimmer of hope on the 2028 presidential horizon. Featuring: CPS’ Howard Schweitzer, Patrick Martin, and Rodney Davis.

Media coverage of political extremes and fringe politicos skews the American people’s perception of the federal government. With boomers passing the baton to the next generation, the nation has an opportunity to shift this narrative and select more aspirational leaders for the next chapter. Featuring: CPS’ Rodney Davis, Howard Schweitzer, Patrick Martin and Towner French

With the 2024 elections on the horizon and the August recess encroaching, the CPS team popcorns topics: Is Bidenomics a winning or losing 2024 campaign message? What’s the significance of the NDAA and what happened with the House Freedom Caucus this week? Does the Biden White House have a double standard with cannabis and cocaine? Featuring: CPS’ Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin Interested in learning more? Follow Beltway Briefing and subscribe to our weekly political roundup for the C-suite, Cozen Currents, at rb.gy/8x107.

Public Strategies’ team of strategic advisors and partners share lobbying tips to be successful on Capitol Hill. Being an expert in your field is only part of the formula, understanding the importance of etiquette, finding common ground, and the interacting spheres of influence, will make or break you inside the beltway. Featuring: CPS’ Howard Schweitzer & Rodney Davis Interested in learning more? Follow Beltway Briefing and subscribe to our weekly political roundup for the C-suite, Cozen Currents, at rb.gy/8x107.

From the crowded 2024 Republican presidential field to the influence of media, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (CPS) discusses Trump’s most recent indictment and arraignment, and their impact on a potential 2024 Biden-Trump rematch. Featuring: CPS’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Patrick Martin & Kaitlyn Martin Interested in learning more? Follow Beltway Briefings and subscribe to our weekly political roundup for the C-suite, Cozen Currents.

After weeks of political impasse and tense negotiations, the Senate voted 63-36 to approve bipartisan legislation to raise the nation’s debt limit, sending the compromise bill to the White House ahead of a projected Monday default deadline. The result, at least until January 2025, will allow the Treasury to immediately resume paying bills with borrowed funds and it will impose spending caps on portions of the budget for two years. Public Strategies’ Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, and Towner French discuss this truly bipartisan success and break down the final tallies in both chambers. Also, as former VP Pence is set to launch his presidential campaign on June 7, they also ponder what impact it will have on the growing 2024 Republican primary

President Biden, Speaker McCarthy, and other congressional leaders were scheduled to meet on Friday to talk about a possible deal to increase the borrowing limit and meet the GOP demand of reducing federal spending. But the meeting has been postponed until early next week. On Wednesday, in what was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, CNN hosted a prime-time town hall with Donald Trump, propelling a tsunami of criticism from inside and outside the network. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss the debt-ceiling fight gripping Washington and the renewed questions about how the news media should handle the challenge of covering the Republican Party’s leading candidate going into the 2024 election.

High prices, rising interest rates, stubborn inflation, and banking uncertainty be damned: the U.S. labor market is still chugging along. Employers added 253,000 jobs in April, a higher-than-expected number that suggested the labor market remains strong despite the Fed’s continued campaign to fight inflation. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Rodney Davis, Patrick Martin, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the latest jobs report and its impact on the overall economy. And, ahead of a looming June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling and avoid the first default in U.S. history, they also discuss what the White House and lawmakers are doing to revive the stalled debt-limit negotiations.

What a week it has been: on Wednesday, Public Strategies hosted a reception for Rodney Davis, officially welcoming the former five-term congressman representing Illinois’ 13th District to the firm. On Tuesday, after months of teasing and a lot of built-up anticipation, President Biden announced he will seek a second term in office, joined by Vice President Harris as his running mate. And on Monday, Fox News star host Tucker Carlson was abruptly fired. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin talk about Biden’s announcement and discuss the impact on the conservative media landscape of Carlson’s sudden departure.

Gov. DeSantis made a trip to Washington, DC this week in a bid to rally congressional support, but his trip was overshadowed by a parade of new endorsements of Donald Trump, including those from several Florida House Republicans. DeSantis is widely viewed as Trump’s chief competitor in next year’s GOP presidential primary. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin ponder if this week’s announcements underscore Trump’s enduring strength among Republicans and discuss President Biden’s likely announcement of his 2024 re-election bid next week and the possibility of a Trump-Biden rematch in 2024. And, as the federal government is expected to run out of cash as early as June, they also revisit the status of debt-ceiling negotiations.

Dave McCormick, a former under secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and a well-funded former hedge fund CEO, has released a new book and is launching a new PAC. It's fueling speculation he might run again for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2024, after narrowly losing to Mehmet Oz last year. Meanwhile, there are calls for 89-year old Senator Feinstein (D-CA) to resign because of her prolonged absence from the Senate due to her health. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Kaitlyn Martin ponder whether McCormick may be the GOP’s ticket to a 2024 win in Pennsylvania and discuss how Sen. Feinstein’s temporary replacement or permanent resignation could impact the Senate Democrats.

Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Rodney Davis, and Patrick Martin ponder the legal and political implications of the former President’s arraignment. And, as tensions mount between Washington and Beijing, they also discuss the ramifications of the meeting in California on Wednesday between House Speaker McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai.

With the 2024 presidential election inching closer, the looming potential indictment of the former President dominated the news this week, alongside discussions of a potential TikTok ban. Trump faces scrutiny in four ongoing criminal investigations that are gaining momentum, with the potential to upend the 2024 presidential race, in which Trump has already announced his candidacy. TikTok is under fire following its CEO Chew’s Congressional testimony on Thursday. Public Strategies’ Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin highlight the complexity of the legal calculations being made by prosecutors in New York, Georgia, and DOJ as they examine Trump’s conduct on several fronts, and discuss a Senate bill that would give Commerce Department the ability to review and potentially ban technologies associated with foreign governments, as TikTok faces increased congressional scrutiny.

In what was a textbook case of classic bank runs, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed with astounding speed last weekend. Are these failures the legacies of poor practices specific to these banks, or did aggressive interest-rate hikes and poor bank supervision cause their downfall? Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, and Towner French break it all down and debate the makeup of the Republican presidential field.

With less than two years to go until the 2024 presidential election, reports are swirling about which public figures may throw their hats in the ring for what is already shaping up to be one of the most heated political races in American history. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin debate whether Trump still remains a power center within the Republican electorate or if his influence may be on the decline. They also discuss how the White House is trying to navigate the politically charged issue of crime, including President Biden’s decision not to use his veto power to block a GOP-led effort to repeal changes to the District of Columbia criminal code.

Last Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid by failing to garner enough votes to make a runoff race. It was a stunning fall for a candidate who in 2019 had won all 50 of Chicago wards, becoming the city’s first Black woman mayor as well as its first openly gay mayor. It was also the first time in 40 years that the city didn’t elect a sitting mayor who sought re-election. Paul Vallas, a more moderate Democrat who had won the support of the city’s police union, and Brandon Johnson, a liberal county commissioner and teachers union organizer, secured the two spots to advance to April’s runoff election. Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies’ Chicago team members Pat Carey, John Dunn, and Sydney Holman breakdown the results of the mayoral election and the city’s shifting political dynamics, and discuss what we can expect in the runoff that will elect the 57th mayor of Chicago.

On President’s Day, after a clandestine journey involving a 10-hour train ride from Poland, President Biden made a surprise and historic visit to Ukraine, to show solidarity with a war-torn democratic nation battling for its survival and try to break an impasse as Russia’s invasion enters its second year. It was the first time in modern history a U.S. president entered a war zone where there was not an active U.S. military presence. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin discuss Biden’s trip to Ukraine and the sharp response it drew from Congressional Republicans who have been critical of the U.S funding of the war effort and accused the President of neglecting issues back at home. They also break down the political fallout over the Administration’s response to a toxic train derailment and the resulting environmental disaster in Ohio that had the White House take bipartisan heat.

On Tuesday night, President Biden delivered his second State of the Union address, and his first before a joint session of the newly divided Congress, with Republicans in control of the House after they reclaimed the majority in the 2022 midterms. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered a GOP response, drawing a sharp contrast with Biden. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Patrick Martin, and Towner French discuss the key takeaways from the President’s address, which seemed less about the usual laundry list of policy priorities and more about Biden building the political narrative for his all but certain re-election campaign.

Following a months-long speculation she might throw her hat in the presidential ring, Nikki Haley – a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N and former two-term South Carolina governor, is expected to officially announce a White House bid on Feb. 15. So far, former President Trump is the only high-profile Republican who has formally announced a presidential campaign. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, and Patrick Martin look at several widely floated contenders likely to challenge Trump and discuss the possibility of a crowded GOP presidential primary in 2024. And, as Democrats balk at negotiating on the borrowing limit while GOP pushes spending cuts, they also review the start of debt-ceiling discussion between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy, with the latter expressing cautious optimism they can come to a deal to avoid the first-ever default of the country’s debt.

Since making concessions to his holdouts and winning a protracted Speaker’s race as a result, GOP leader McCarthy has appointed several Freedom Caucus members to the powerful House Rules Committee. Their appointment to the Rules panel gives them significant influence over when legislation is brought to the floor and how it is debated in the 118th Congress. Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Rodney Davis, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the first three weeks of the Rules Committee work. And, now that a split Congress is upon us again, with Republicans looking to deploy their power with a fragile majority in the House and Democrats looking to advance their own policy priorities in the Senate, they discuss the status of inter-party negotiations over several must-pass bills and ponder how the new era of divided government translates into the 2024 presidential politics.