The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Altria — McCarthy backs Biden impeachment inquiry

View Online  12:30 REPORT PRESENTED BY © AP It's Tuesday. The House is officially back in Washington, D.C., and it's really feeling like back-to-school season on Capitol Hill. Here are some highlights for today's 12:30 Report:  Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) formally called for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.  The U.S. vs. Google monopoly antitrust trial showdown starts today.  Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone this afternoon. There's lots of speculation over whether the charging ports will change to USB-C.   A spectacular double rainbow appeared over New York City yesterday on the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.    I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.   🧐 News this morning  McCarthy is going full steam ahead: ©  GIPHY/US National Archives  Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) just announced that he will seek a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden.    From McCarthy: "Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden's conduct—a culture of corruption." Read McCarthy's announcement and watch his press conference.    Who will lead the investigation: House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.). ➤  FIVE PRESSING QUESTIONS FOR MCCARTHY:  Including whether he can avert a shutdown and whether he will consider funding for Ukraine. (The Hill)  OK, but how seriously should we take the Biden impeachment talks?: At this point, not very. Democrats are not unsurprisingly on board, but even more telling is where Senate Republicans stand. The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports that Republicans in the upper chamber argue there isn't enough evidence to impeach President Biden.    And if House Republicans try: Senate Republicans are not on board. "Republican senators are highly skeptical that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) could even muster enough votes in the House to pass an article of impeachment and warn it would be quickly dismissed if it ever got to the Senate, possibly without going to a full trial."     GOP senators' message to the House GOP: Republican senators argue the party will have an advantage on the economy and other issues, and don't want to distract with a likely fruitless impeachment effort. Read Bolton's full reporting  ➤  TIDBIT — A STAFFER'S ACCIDENTIAL REPLY-ALL AND SENATE EMAIL MELTDOWN:  During an emergency email drill on Friday, a Senate staffer accidentally replied all — including senators, staff and the committees — and it slowed down the entire email system. Washingtonian's Sylvie McNamara spoke to the staffer, Mairéad Lynn, communications director for Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), about the incident.    From Lynn: "Well, I literally screamed in front of all of my coworkers. Because I knew that [our email] would melt down. I was also worried I was going to look like a rube." Her full interview is very funny. (Washingtonian)  ➤  'THE 25 STAFFERS WHO MAKE CAPITOL HILL RUN': The Hill compiled a list of the 25 most influential Capitol Hill staffers.    Plus: Here's an interesting read of *how* staffers make Capitol Hill run. (The Hill)  Content from our sponsor: Altria 🎲 Starting today  USA vs. Google — who would win in a fight?:   ©  AP The biggest monopoly case in decades is beginning today between two of the most powerful entities in the world, the U.S. and Google.     The case: Whether Google's search engine is a monopoly — The New York Times has a helpful explainer on the accusations, but here's the gist:    The U.S. argument: The Justice Department (DOJ) alleges that Google used illegal partnerships with phone companies and browsers to make its search engine the default. The DOJ claims it has stifled the success of others.    Google's argument: Google argues that their business partnerships are legal — and that its product is superior. The tech giant has also claimed that it does have competitors, including Amazon and TikTok where users go for information.    Basically, this is Google ⬇️: ©  GIPHY/ The Bachelor Who are Google's search engine rivals?: Bing and DuckDuckGo are two examples.     How much does Google pay Apple to be the default search engine?: "The exact amounts of those default search agreements have been redacted for this trial, but estimates put it at as much as $20 billion a year to Apple alone." (Vox)    Google does control most of the market: "Google, which is worth $1.7 trillion, controls around 90% of the U.S. search engine market. It's put together a massive legal team and brought on outside law firms to help fight its case." (NPR)    The last major monopoly case: This is the first major monopoly case since the U.S. sued Microsoft in 1998. Here's how the cases are similar, via The New York Times   ➤  THE MAIN CHARACTERS:  Here's a guide to who will be presiding and testifying in the trial. (The New York Times)  { } 🗓 On The Agenda The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. Neither have public events scheduled.  2:15 p.m.: Two Senate votes — a judicial confirmation and a cloture vote. 🗓️ Today's agenda  2:30 p.m.: A Senate Judiciary subcommittee holds a hearing on regulating artificial intelligence. 📺 Livestream  5 p.m.: First lady Jill Biden hosts an event to celebrate the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Laureate. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also delivers remarks. 📺 Livestream  6:30 p.m.: First and last House votes. 🗓️  Today's agenda  6:30 p.m.: Lester Holt interviews Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on "NBC Nightly News" from Tehran, Iran. Preview   All times Eastern.  Content from our sponsor: Altria 🗳 On The Campaign Trail A race! It's a race! I hope I win:  ^ IYKYK    Politico and election analysis publication Split Ticket created a game to see if you can win an election as a campaign manager. Play the game  ➤  BTW — THIS COULD BE A WILDLY EXPENSIVE CAMPAIGN:  Political ad spending is expected to break the record and reach $10 billion (!)    Details from NBC News's Ben Kamisar  📱Happening at 1 p.m.  🎶 'Tis the season for pricey new iPhones, fa la la la la 🎶 :   Apple is holding its annual September event to unveil its new products.     What to expect: Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 15, new Apple Watches and iOS 17, according to CNET.     The biggest hype: Whether the new iPhones will move away from the Lightning charging ports and switch to USB-C, as is mandated in the European Union. (Politico)    CNET's reporting on what we know about the potential charger change    How to watch: The event will stream at 1 p.m. EDT. 📺 Livestream  THE HILL JOBS Interested in exploring a new career? Visit The Hill Jobs Board to discover millions of roles worldwide, including:   Voice Engineer III/IV (Microsoft Teams) — Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna, Va. Apply   Cyber Security Engineer — NYS Unified Court System, Albany, N.Y. Apply   Financial Policy Writer — Office of The Chief Financial Officer, Washington, D.C. Apply   Sr. Federal Financial Analyst (DHS) — Significance Inc, Washington, D.C. Apply   Click here to get your job mentioned 🐝 Internet Buzz 🥤 Celebrate: Today is National Chocolate Milkshake Day!     📏 You have my full attention, Subway: Subway is selling footlong Cinnabon churros at some locations. (NBC's 'Today')    🏆 Yessssss: For the first time, every Sunday show will be moderated or co-moderated by a woman. NBC News's Andrea Mitchell wrote a great op-ed on the milestone. (The Washington Post)    🌈 What's dominating my social media feeds: A stunning double rainbow appeared over New York City yesterday on the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Video TikTok video with 1.5 million likes  And to leave you with a smile, here's a giggly dolphin looking for chin scratches.   Stay Engaged Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.   View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time! 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.