Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Goldman Sachs — Pelosi says GOP ‘antics’ won’t stop Jan. 6 probe | House tensions erupt over investigating Jan. 6 | Pelosi rejects Trump allies on select committee | McCarthy removes all Republicans in retaliation | Dems behind on infrastructure goals | Jill Biden in Tokyo for the Olympics

Presented by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices

IN CONGRESS

It’s getting preeeetty ugly:

Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong, “Smoldering tensions over the Jan. 6 Capitol attack exploded Wednesday in a partisan battle over who should sit on the special committee investigating the deadly siege — a clash of wills that spurred Republicans to end their participation in the investigation before it began.” https://bit.ly/3zqjHGg

What happened yesterday: “The fight started just after noon when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she would reject two of the five Republican nominees to the panel, Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio). Both are among the most staunch defenders of former President Trump and deny his role in instigating the attack, and Pelosi — fueled by objections from within her caucus — accused the pair of threatening ‘the integrity’ of the coming investigation.”

As you would guess, Republicans did not respond well to that: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called a private meeting with all five of his nominees for the select committee, emerging shortly after with an ultimatum to Pelosi: Keep Banks and Jordan on board, or all of the Republican picks would walk away.”

^ The outcome: “Pelosi didn’t budge, prompting McCarthy to yank the other three Republicans from the panel.”

THIS MORNING FROM PELOSI — FULL STEAM AHEAD:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this morning that she “will not let” Republicans’ “antics” get in the way of the investigation over Jan. 6. https://bit.ly/3eLr4QO

Pelosi told reporters: “It's my responsibility as Speaker of the House to make sure we get to the truth on this, and we will not let their antics stand in the way of that.”

Happy Thursday! 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.

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IN THE WHITE HOUSE

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano reported this most important news of the morning:

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano tweeted, “I think I just saw Mr. Big from Sex and the City outside the White House but might have not been him? Anyone have insight on Chris Noth’s whereabouts today??” https://bit.ly/2WaXqhx

Alex later followed up: “I was right!!!! Chris Noth spotting outside the White House! He was talking to security, sounded like he was asking how tours work!” https://bit.ly/3eJHUj9

LATEST WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEGOTIATIONS

Dems: This will be a fun year for us, they said. So productive, they said.:

Senate Democrats are behind on their goal to pass a bipartisan infrastructure package and a budget resolution before the August recess. https://bit.ly/2Tufnqn

Yesterday’s highly anticipated vote to start debate: Republicans voted in unison to block the motion to start debate.

What happens now?: Negotiators are continuing to iron out the disagreements in the bipartisan bill and will likely hold a repeat vote next week.

That’s only a matter of a few days — what would change next week?: Well, a group of centrist Republicans will probably vote in favor of starting debate next week, once there is text of the bill. If all Democrats vote “yes,” just 10 Republicans are needed to start debate.

The skepticism on whether this bill will ever pass: “With a final deal elusive, there are growing doubts about whether a rump group of mostly rank-and-file senators can negotiate the biggest infrastructure deal in the nation’s history on their own.”

More on what happens now: https://bit.ly/2Tufnqn

LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS

Because we all have drawer or bag filled with all of the masks we’ve used at different stages of the pandemic:

^ There’s that April 2020 mask that didn’t fit very well, but we wore anything we could get our hands on. Then, there were the August 2020 masks — LOTS of them — that were cute and matched every outfit. Then there were the January 2021 masks that we constantly replaced because our noses ran in the winter. And now, I always find a disposable mask in every bag, pocket and purse I have. Can anyone else relate?

Via The Washington Post’s Annie Linskey, Dan Diamond, Tyler Pager and Lena H. Sun, “Top White House aides and Biden administration officials are debating whether they should urge vaccinated Americans to wear masks in more settings as the delta variant causes spikes in coronavirus infections across the country, according to six people familiar with the discussions.” https://wapo.st/36UnAXW

What to expect — there are a few outcomes here: https://wapo.st/36UnAXW

WHAT WILL UNVACCINATED KIDS DO AT SCHOOL THIS YEAR?:

President Biden said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would likely advise children who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to wear masks while at school. https://bit.ly/3hZ8iHQ

CASE NUMBERS:

Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 34,231,127

U.S. death toll: 609,879

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

VACCINATION NUMBERS:

Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 339 million shots have been given.

Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 518,965 doses

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

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

IN TOKYO

Rare footage at me testing out any hotel bed I’ve ever stayed in:

But actually, that’s impressive for the cardboard beds in the Olympic village!

Watch: https://bit.ly/3kOCXcv

Back story: The beds in the Olympic village in Tokyo are made of recyclable cardboard and have caused quite the stir. https://nyti.ms/3kyBZB7

TIDBIT — WHEN TO WATCH TOMORROW’S OPENING CEREMONY:

The Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony will air live at 7 a.m. EDT tomorrow on NBC. It will re-air on NBC at 7:30 p.m. EDT, as well!

Details: https://bit.ly/3BnAz2e

What a first solo international trip to take as first lady:

Via The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Morgan Chalfant, “First lady Jill Biden is heading to the closely watched 2021 Olympic Summer Games where she will lead the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony, despite COVID-19 concerns in Tokyo.” https://bit.ly/3xTgoqR

What Jill Biden will be up to while she’s in Tokyo: https://bit.ly/3xTgoqR

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:

Wow Jill Biden’s dress perfectly matches the stairs: Photo of Jill Biden walking off Air Force One: https://bit.ly/2V4FrZs

I love the slippers: “Jill Biden poses for a photo (in slippers) before dining with Japanese Prime Minister Suga and his wife Mariko at Akasaka Palace.” Photo from The Daily Mail’s Nikki Schwab: https://bit.ly/36Vz4dz

From a CNN reporter traveling with the first lady:

Throwback: Via C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman, “Tipper Gore led the U.S. Presidential Delegation at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. She wore this coat (‘It's very nice. It's really well designed’)” Video from 1998 — now that’s a warm coat!: https://bit.ly/36UIiXK

NOTABLE TWEETS:

HAHA — this is scarily accurate:

The replies to this tweet are very funny. They are worth checking out: https://bit.ly/36TVtIw

Oh GOOD. Just as people are starting to wear masks again over delta worries…:

Lol: Politico’s Burgess Everett tweeted, “I need my safari hat to block the sun as I finish this legislation” https://bit.ly/3wWTayR

ON TAP:

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

10:30 a.m. EDT: President Biden and Vice President Harris received the President’s Daily Brief.

10:30 a.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3kGnk6Y

12:15 p.m. EDT: Vice President Harris meets with DACA recipients, Dreamers without DACA and immigrant rights leaders.

1:15 p.m. EDT: President Biden receives a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

1:30 p.m. EDT: The Senate holds a confirmation vote on Jill Hruby to be the Department of Energy’s Under Secretary for Nuclear Security. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/2UFFISJ

4 p.m. EDT: President Biden and Vice President Harris meet with union and business leaders to discuss the infrastructure proposals.

WHAT TO WATCH:

11 a.m. EDT: The White House COVID Response Team held a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3xXptih

12:15 p.m. EDT: White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo hold a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3x20t8d

2:15 p.m. EDT: President Biden delivers remarks and signs the “VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021.” Vice President Harris also attends. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3wXZQwv

IN LIGHTER NEWS:

Today is National Mango Day and National Penuche Fudge Day.

Oooh, a Netflix is moving is being filmed in Eastern Market:

Popville posted a submission from a reader: “Filming at/near Eastern Market for a movie … I asked if there were any notable actors in it and [a crew member] kind of giggled and said ‘unfortunately, this is only b-roll footage.’ I googled the title and I can see why she laughed – it’s Adam McKay’s latest and has an outrageous cast (Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill)” Photos in Popville: https://bit.ly/3kLpJx2

And to make you smile, let’s play a guessing game — where does this dog like to stay?: https://bit.ly/2V1s5gA

^ Make sure you have your sound on!