| Barely back to work this week, Senate Democrats are scrambling to maintain some legislative momentum while over in the House, the Jan. 6 committee is steaming ahead with an investigation that has turned up damning evidence about former President Trump’s efforts to hold onto power. With much of President Biden’s agenda on ice for the time being, Democrats are turning their attention to the looming battle to confirm Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement on the Supreme Court. However, uncertainty clouded that possibility earlier in the week when news emerged that Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke late last week, sidelining him for the foreseeable future and jeopardizing the Senate’s majority lineup to confirm some nominees. The party received good news on Wednesday, though, as Luján’s office told reporters that the New Mexico Democrat is expected to return to Washington in four to six weeks (The Hill). No Supreme Court nominee is expected to be named until the end of February, giving Democrats breathing room as they await Luján’s return. “Sen. Lujan's absence is not expected to affect the Senate’s timeline for moving a SCOTUS nominee,” a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement (Fox News). Carl Hulse, The New York Times: One illness reminds Democrats they have no votes to spare. How quickly to proceed with the Supreme Court confirmation process has already emerged as a source of tension among Democrats. The Hill: Democrats hit limits with Luján's absence. CNN: How Schumer explains his Senate dilemma. The Hill: Schumer brushes off talk of possible primary threats to challenge Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). The ongoing Supreme Court discussions are also reverberating across the Capitol as House members worry that the process to replace Breyer could help Manchin and allow him to run out the clock on a second iteration of the Build Back Better package, which some lawmakers continue to clamor for. As The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports, lawmakers are citing a host of reasons for their call for increased urgency, including the midterm elections and wanting to deliver Biden a big legislative boost. “There are great dangers involved in dragging it out, including all kinds of intersecting battles,” said Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I, and most members who have been involved in this, who have a stake in it, we have a sense of urgency. … It’s certainly not an impossible situation. But it’s gone on too long; there’s been too much focus on our internal [disagreements].” 
© Associated Press/Evan Vucci Meanwhile, House Democrats have enough to keep them occupied as the work of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol motors on after Trump discussed plans to give pardons to Capitol rioters if he runs and wins the White House again in 2024. As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch notes, Trump’s latest round of comments — including his false claim that former Vice President Mike Pence could have “overturned” the 2020 election — undercut months of messaging from GOP members pegging the panel as a witch hunt against the former president with no legislative purpose — a key feature for committees with subpoena power. “I'm not very surprised at this point by what the former president says,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), a member of the committee. “Clearly he said the quiet part out loud on what his intentions were for Jan. 6.” Politico: Trump considered blanket pardons for Jan. 6 rioters before he left office. The New York Times: Memos show roots of Trump’s focus on Jan. 6 and alternate electors. The committee also finds itself in another battle after Kelli Ward (pictured below), the Arizona Republican Party chairwoman, and her husband, Michael Ward, filed suit to block the panel from gaining access to their phone records. The couple signed documents falsely claiming to be presidential electors in 2020, leading the committee to seek the records. As Politico notes, District Judge Susan Brnovich — the wife of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a candidate for Senate in the state and an ally of the ex-president, was initially assigned the lawsuit. However, she quickly recused herself from the case. The Hill: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) defends his opposition to Jan 6 pardons after Trump calls him a “RINO.” CNN: Former Justice official Jeffrey Clark appears before the panel. 
© Associated Press/Ross D. Franklin > Nominations: Sarah Bloom Raskin faces a lively Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing today to be the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, a powerful regulatory role with sway over the nation’s biggest banks and financial institutions. Republicans believe her openness to considering economic risks from climate change exceeds the Fed’s mandate, while Democrats, including Senate Banking Committee member Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), interviewed by Bloomberg TV and radio on Wednesday, said she’s confident the nominee can explain an outlook about climate risks similar to that expressed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Raskin’s private sector work after leaving the Obama administration also is in the spotlight among opponents, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. The Wall Street Journal: Raskin faces Senate questions this morning over views on climate change, regulations. The Hill: Manchin facing pushback over Interior nominee second hearing. The Hill: Business interests take aim at China competitiveness bill. | 
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