Sept. 8, 2021: Biden's Senate bias rankles the House

A scoop on the Trump revenge front: Marc Caputo and Alex Isenstadt report that Donald Trump is set to endorse Wyoming attorney Harriet Hageman in her expected primary against GOP Rep. Liz Cheney. the former president’s top target in his attempt to purge the Republican party of his fiercest critics. Caputo and Isenstadt call it “the most important political endorsement yet in Trump’s post-presidency,” while noting that not too long ago Hageman was a staunch supporter of Cheney. As of Tuesday night, Hageman “still had a photo of the two of them together on [her] website.”

And, on Tuesday, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released a major batch of legislation that he wants stuffed in the Dems’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, including proposals on family and medical leave, retirement, child care, trade, elder care, nursing and an expansion of Medicare to include dental, hearing and vision coverage. Progressives cheered.

But in no time, a source close to the negotiations reached out to us to dampen the celebration on the left: “Neither the White House or Senate Dems approved the Ways & Means package released today. Negotiations are ongoing.”

It is the latest example of a frequent complaint from House staffers: that Biden and his White House have a Senate bias.

Raghu Manavalan is the host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the senior producer for POLITICO Audio. 
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.