The Hill's Evening Report — McCarthy and Biden's big meeting

View Online  Evening Report Wednesday, February 1 ©  AP McCarthy, Biden talk debt — but no deal yet President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met for more than an hour Wednesday afternoon to discuss the ongoing standoff between House Republicans and the White House over lifting the debt limit.   Both sides are facing pressure to come to an agreement on the debt ceiling as the federal government inches toward what would be a historic default in June that could wreck the economy.   "We have different perspectives, but we both laid out some of our visions of where we want to get to, and I believe after laying it out, I can see where we can find common ground," McCarthy told reporters after the meeting. "I respect the conversation we had together and that we will continue to have."   The White House agreed in a readout after the meeting that the two sides will continue talks.   "The president welcomes a separate discussion with congressional leaders about how to reduce the deficit and control the national debt while continuing to grow the economy," the White House message said. "This conversation should build on the President's leadership in delivering a record $1.7 trillion in deficit reduction in his first two years in office."   White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said ahead of the meeting that Biden wasn't interested in negotiating on the debt issue, as Biden has said for weeks.   She told reporters the president wants to know more about the House Republicans' plans. They have called for "structural" budget changes in exchange for addressing the debt level. "He wants to hear from the Speaker," she said. "He has a caucus that has put forth some pretty extreme ideas — that's what he's dealing with."    Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has urged Biden to avoid negotiations with McCarthy unless House Republicans first successfully pass a package of proposed spending caps through their narrow GOP majority.   Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) accused Schumer of being a hypocrite, pointing to comments the Democratic leader made in 2017 when he called the debt ceiling "leverage" in spending negotiations with then-President Trump.     "It is right, appropriate, and entirely normal that our need to raise the debt limit would be paired with negotiations regarding Democrats' runaway printing and spending," McConnell said on the Senate floor in a nod to spending bills Democrats passed without Republican votes in the last term.  Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Elizabeth Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. CATCH UP QUICK House Republicans are moving forward with an effort to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the Foreign Affairs Committee, sending the measure to the floor for debate. Republican senators are rallying to defend Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from attacks lobbed against him by former President Trump. The pair are seen as top rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. The Washington Wizards game against the Detroit Pistons has been postponed because bad weather in Texas has left the Pistons stranded. NEW THIS AFTERNOON 📄  FBI finds no classified documents at Biden's Rehoboth Beach home Federal investigators found no classified documents when they searched President Biden's Rehoboth Beach, Del., home during a search Wednesday.   "No documents with classified markings were found," the president's private attorney Bob Bauer said. "Consistent with the process in Wilmington, the DOJ took for further review some materials and handwritten notes that appear to relate to his time as Vice President."   The search was conducted as part of a Justice Department investigation into how classified materials from Biden's time as vice president ended up at his home in Wilmington, Del., and a Washington office he used after the Obama administration.   The broad search for misplaced classified documents among the nation's top leaders started with the discovery that former President Trump was holding several boxes of documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and had not handed them over to the National Archives.    Classified documents also have been discovered at former Vice President Pence's home in Indiana.   Attorney General Merrick Garland has directed separate special counsels to investigate Biden and Trump's handling of sensitive materials. ECONOMY 📈  Fed raises interest rates in smallest hike since March 2022 The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates again in its battle against alarming inflation, but Wednesday's increase marked the smallest since the central banking system began a series of aggressive rate hikes last year.   The Fed's 0.25 percentage point increase this week is its eighth straight rate hike since last March.   It will lift the federal funds rate to a range of 4.5 to 4.75 percent as the Fed pushes toward a projected target rate of 5.1 percent.   "The job is not fully done," Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told reporters. "While recent developments are encouraging we will need substantially more evidence to be confident that inflation is on a sustained downward path." CONGRESS 🐘  House Republicans hold first hearings to kick off probes House Republicans have officially kicked off their investigations into the Biden administration with hours-long hearings on border issues and pandemic spending this week, giving a preview of the next two years of a GOP-controlled House.   Democrats, who have vowed to push back on the GOP, have accused the Republicans of setting their sights on hurting President Biden and Democrats ahead of the 2024 elections.   The Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), opened with a hearing dubbed "The Biden Border Crisis: Part I," while the Oversight and Accountability Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), held a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse in federal pandemic spending.   Republicans won a slim majority in the midterm elections, setting up the first time that Democrats don't control both chambers since Biden took office.  IN OTHER NEWS ©  AP ⛪ Tyre Nichols' funeral becomes celebration of life, call for action Several weeks after Tyre Nichols was brutally beaten to death by police during a traffic stop, family and friends gathered in Memphis for a funeral that his family called a "celebration of life" for the slain 29-year-old.   Vice President Harris was among several high-profile figures who attended the service and called for police reform.   "When we look at this situation, this is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and the feet of people who have been charged with keeping them safe," she said.   Five Memphis Police Department officers were fired and charged with second-degree murder. Several others on the scene that night have been put on leave and are under review. 📚  Panel revises African American studies course after DeSantis criticism The College Board has revised its Advanced Placement African American studies course after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) drew attention to the program when he refused to allow it in his state's schools.    But leaders of the independent testing group say the changes aren't politically motivated.    "At the College Board, we can't look to statements of political leaders," David Coleman, the head of the College Board, told The New York Times. He said the changes came from "the input of professors" and "longstanding A.P. principles."   Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory and sections on the Black queer experience and Black feminism, have been scrubbed in the new framework, which was reviewed by The Hill.    Other topics, like Black Lives Matter, are now optional, and the Board added "Black conservatism" as a potential research topic.    DeSantis's administration has claimed credit for the changes after it blocked Florida schools from offering the advanced high school program, claiming "the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value."   The decision to alter the program has drawn backlash from some scholars and advocates for minorities. 🚨  One dead, three injured in DC Metro shooting A Metro employee was fatally shot and three other people were injured in what authorities are calling a "series of individual events" in the Potomac Avenue and 14th Street area of Southeast D.C. on Wednesday.   The worker, who has not been named publicly, was trying to stop the shooter when he was killed at the Potomac Avenue Metro station, authorities said. PUNDIT CORNER "Trump's tall tale of the tape" — James D. Zirin, former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. (Read here)   "Social Security can be fixed — here's how" — Gene Marks, founder of small-business consulting firm The Marks Group. (Read here) ⏲️  COUNTDOWN 1 day until the Democratic National Committee's winter convention. 2 days until President Biden and Vice President Harris speak at the DNC. 6 days until Biden's State of the Union address. 36 days until Biden unveils his proposal for the next fiscal year. 643 days until the 2024 presidential election. 🗓  ON TAP TOMORROW It's Groundhog Day! (Though it sometimes feels like Groundhog Day is every day around here, this time it's for real.)   8 a.m. / The National Prayer Breakfast: President Biden and Vice President Harris are both scheduled to attend.   9:30 a.m. / House convenes.   10 a.m. / Senate convenes.   In the afternoon, Biden and Harris will also mark the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act during an event at the White House. UNDER THE RADAR There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: ecrisp@thehill.com Stay Engaged You're all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow. Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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