| CONGRESS: A fury broke loose on Capitol Hill on Thursday as House Republicans erupted at the new directive handed down by the head of the U.S. Capitol Police that officers are to arrest anyone on the House side who refuses to wear a mask. In a Wednesday letter, Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger ordered that officers enforce new mask guidelines across the Capitol complex, headlined by Capitol physician Brian Monahan’s mask mandate on the House side of the Capitol and in all House office buildings. “If a visitor or staff member fails to wear a mask after a request is made to do so, the visitor or staff shall be denied entry to the House Office Buildings or House-side of the U.S. Capitol,” Manger wrote. “Any person who fails to either comply or leave the premises after being asked to do so would be subject to an arrest for Unlawful Entry.” Strict enforcement, however, does not apply to members of Congress. According to Manger, officers are asked to report maskless lawmakers to supervising officers, “who will, in turn, refer the matter to the House Sergeant at Arms.” Nevertheless, if House Republicans were upset by the mask mandate order issued by Monahan, the move by Manger made them irate. A number of GOP lawmakers refused to don masks to vote on Thursday night before lawmakers broke for the August recess (The Hill). “Madam Speaker, your insane power grab is showing. Today I’m not wearing a mask outside of the chamber b/c I follow science — not Pelosi. Come and get me,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tweeted on Thursday evening. However, Pelosi’s staff maintained the Speaker was not responsible for the Capitol Police’s enforcement uptick. Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said that she “does not control the U.S. Capitol Police,” adding that the office was not aware of the new guidance (Politico). Notably, the mask mandate does not apply to the Senate side of the building as Monahan did not order one for the upper chamber. Multiple House GOP lawmakers were seen doing interviews with reporters on the Senate side due to the lack of a mask order (The Hill). 
© Getty Images > Infrastructure: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on Thursday questioned the messaging emanating from the White House on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal reached earlier in the week, saying there is “a lot of spin” coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave on the topic. DeFazio once again questioned the merits of the bipartisan package, arguing that the bill does not do much to address climate change and that House Democratic leaders should make changes to the bill if it passes the Senate. “At this point, it looks anemic at best on climate change,” DeFazio told reporters outside the House chamber. “The White House spun a number last night which is impossible: hundreds of billions for climate change. That totals more than what they're offering. … I mean, there's a lot of spin coming out of the White House” (The Hill). The comments are the latest criticism from the longtime House Democrat of the process in crafting the bipartisan blueprint. Recently, DeFazio issued a warning that there has been a severe lack of input by House Democrats in the current iteration of the bill (It’s also by no means the first time DeFazio has taken on his own party). The Hill: Democrats warn shrinking Biden's spending plan could backfire. Jim Tankersley, The New York Times: How Biden got the infrastructure deal Trump couldn’t. The Washington Post: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is more liked than feared by colleagues, faces a test of whether he can deliver the “big and bold” agenda he’s promised. Axios: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) has a Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) secret. The New York Times: Biden signals support for Democrats’ plan to advance immigration changes unilaterally, via a budget bill. > USCP funding: Both houses of Congress on Thursday passed the $2.1 billion Capitol security bill to provide new funding for the Capitol Police, sending the bill to Biden’s desk as monies were set to expire for the USCP. Senators voted unanimously, 98-0, moving the bill to the House, where it passed 416-11. As The Hill’s Cristina Marcos notes, six Democrats and five Republicans voted against the bill in the lower chamber. The votes took place days after Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Richard Shelby (Ala.), the top GOP member on the panel, struck a deal on the bill after weeks of negotiations behind closed doors. “If we do not act, the Capitol Police will deplete salaries funding in a matter of weeks, and the National Guard will be forced to cancel needed training to carry out their mission at home and abroad. Doing nothing would be a security crisis entirely of our own making,” Leahy said before Thursday’s vote. As The Hill’s Jordain Carney details, the bill includes $521 million to reimburse the National Guard, roughly $100 million for the Capitol Police, $300 million for Capitol security and $42.1 million related to COVID-19 costs in the Capitol. 
© Getty Images > RIP: Former Michigan Sen. Carl Levin (D), who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, died on Thursday at age 87. He had lung cancer (The Washington Post). Levin served in the Senate for 36 years until 2015, including eight years atop the Armed Services Committee. His death was announced by the Levin Center at Wayne State University in Detroit,, calling him "a dearly beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, and life-long public servant.” “For those who were lucky enough to be a part of his early work in Detroit, his decades in the Senate, and beyond, he was an inspirational leader and so much more,” the Levin Center said in a statement. Levin was interviewed in March by Michigan Radio about his memoir, “Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 years in the Senate.” He praised the upper chamber as a deliberative body, adding “it’s fallen a lot short of that recently.” | 
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