Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden meets with lawmakers amid domestic agenda panic

Presented by Facebook

HAPPENING TODAY

Welcome. Please take your complimentary White House M&M’s and remember, we all <3 each other:

President Biden is meeting with Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.), to discuss his struggling domestic agenda.

Why today is crucial, from CNN’s Phil Mattingly and Lauren Fox: “It will mark the most expansive in-person engagement Biden has undertaken since he took office and underscores just how critical this moment is for his presidency. Officials say he'll also be on the phone with Democrats regularly in the days ahead as well.” https://cnn.it/3ufdID7

On the docket: Keeping the government open, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the debt ceiling and the social spending bill.

TIDBIT — OF COURSE MANCHIN AND SINEMA ARE INVOLVED:

CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted that Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) will be visiting the White House today. https://bit.ly/3krRIkV

Politico’s Heather Caygle and Marianne Levine have a running list of who is attending: https://bit.ly/3o51oE2

MEANWHILE — BIDEN’S APPROVAL RATING DROPS:

President Biden’s approval rating has dropped to a record-low 43 percent, according to a new Gallup poll. https://bit.ly/3hUUlKg

The full poll: https://bit.ly/3nWrKrX

Happy Wednesday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn

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IN CONGRESS

Everyone is playing chicken on the debt limit:

Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Republicans are warning that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) won’t blink as Congress barrels toward dual fiscal debt-shutdown cliffs, with massive economic consequences.” https://bit.ly/3Cw3j8K

How so: “Democrats are seeking to suspend the debt ceiling through 2022, tying it to a short-term government funding bill and disaster relief, in a move aimed at squeezing McConnell and GOP senators by bringing the fight to a head just days before the Oct. 1 deadline for preventing a government shutdown.”

It could get pretty messy: https://bit.ly/3Cw3j8K

SPOTTED LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE THIS MORNING:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Photo of her walking to the car: https://bit.ly/39qeByS

HOW THE DEBT CEILING FIGHT IS PITTING CORPORATE AMERICA AGAINST REPUBLICANS:

Via The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom: https://bit.ly/2ZnUHmr

*Internally screams*:

Debt ceiling filibuster

IN THE GOP

This could easily be a scene out of a teenage sitcom — Well I heard that Lindsey said that Don said something nice about Mitch:

Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has told colleagues that former President Trump has conceded in recent private conversations that Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) ‘helped’ him during his four years in office, even as the former president rails against the Republican leader in public.” https://bit.ly/3zAEXZA

How we know: “Two GOP senators told The Hill about the conversations Graham, who played golf with Trump over the weekend, has had with his GOP colleagues.”

Why this matters — Graham is trying to help Trump and McConnell bury the hatchet: “One GOP senator described Graham as trying to mend fences between the two most powerful Republicans in the country, who have publicly warred throughout 2021.”

‘DEMOCRATS FACE BLEAK OUTLOOK IN FLORIDA’:

Via The Hill’s Max Greenwood: https://bit.ly/2XMNjQY

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Facebook’s Industry-leading investments are stopping bad actors.

We’ve invested $13 billion in teams and technology over the last 5 years to enhance safety.

It's working: In just the past few months, we took down 1.7 billion fake accounts to stop bad actors from doing harm.

But there's more to do. Learn more about how we're working to help you connect safely.

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

Choose your favorite preschool song about sharing:

Via The New York Times’s Stephanie Nolen and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “As President Biden convenes heads of state for a COVID-19 summit on Wednesday, pressure is growing on American drug companies — particularly Moderna, the upstart biotech firm that developed its coronavirus vaccine with billions of dollars in taxpayer money — to share their formulas with manufacturers in nations that desperately need more shots.” https://nyti.ms/3nY7giK

‘U.S. SET TO DONATE 500 MILLION MORE VACCINE DOSES TO THE WORLD’:

The full story, from The Washington Post’s Annabelle Timsit: https://wapo.st/2XGRyOd

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 42,420,384

U.S. death toll: 678,584

Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 387 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 764,423 doses

For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million.

Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH

IN WASHINGTON, DC

Goodbye and good riddance, Dave Thomas Circle Wendy’s!:

The infamous Wendy’s in the dangerous maze that is Dave Thomas Circle closed yesterday.

Why is a Wendy’s so infamous?: Dave Thomas Circle is a wildly confusing and dangerous intersection with a Wendy’s smack-dab in the middle. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the Wendy’s is closing with plans to reconfigure the intersection.

WTOP News pointed out: “The intersection has ranked among the most accident-prone in the District.” https://bit.ly/3u1P7Bj

What to expect: “The District is still working on the minutiae of its final plans for the design of the future intersection, which will add two-way traffic to First Street Northeast and restore two-way traffic on Florida Avenue Northeast.” Plus: Bike lanes, public parks and curbs. https://bit.ly/3u1P7Bj

The reaction from locals: “While some regulars bemoaned the loss of a convenient burger joint and an only-in-Washington oddity, others who live nearby were thrilled.” Full explanation and farewell from The Washington Post’s Luz Lazo: https://wapo.st/2XGsHcH

My favorite reaction: The Washington Post’s Dave Jorgenson tweeted, “this is what you get for making square patties in a circle shaped like a triangle” https://bit.ly/39pbWFM

If you’re not in DC and don’t know this intersection, here’s a photo:

NOTABLE TWEETS:

No other city can do it quite like New York can:

Today in political lawn signs:

ON TAP:

The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.

9:15 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.

12:30 – 3 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3kwUdT7

This afternoon: President Biden meets with members of the House and Senate to discuss the infrastructure bill and the reconciliation bill. Op-ed: https://bit.ly/3lRiYZt

5:15 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris meets with Zambia’s president, Hakainde Hichilema.

WHAT TO WATCH:

11 a.m. EDT: President Biden convened a virtual COVID-19 summit on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3AxuUpJ

1 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/39pdlMy

1:30 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris leads a session at the president’s virtual COVID-19 summit. The topic: Preparing and preventing future pandemics. Livestream: https://bit.ly/39rx126

IN LIGHTER NEWS:

Today is National Ice Cream Cone Day and National White Chocolate Day!

And because you read to the end, here’s a very cautious pup: https://bit.ly/3lNAez5