Pennsylvania’s Senate race has taken a new turn, with GOP nominee Mehmet Oz attacking his Democratic rival John Fetterman‘s personal health several months after Fetterman suffered a stroke that sidelined him from in-person campaigning.
Oz — who has mostly played defense the past few months amid a slew of online jabs aimed at the former celebrity doctor, including mockery for calling a vegetable tray a crudité — went on the offensive this week while citing the Democrat’s health.
“If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,” Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications adviser, said in a statement.
The Trump-backed candidate quickly drew backlash over his team’s remark.
“I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could *never* imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges,” Fetterman tweeted.
“The problem for Oz is that voters might very well be concerned about the health and fitness of a candidate after a major stroke, but putting out an attack on that rightly makes you look like a ghoul,” Lakshya Jain, a partner at elections website Split Ticket, told NotedDC.
Some have defended the move.
Chris Pack, a GOP strategist, said Fetterman needs to “man up” and answer questions surrounding his stroke if he is going to “dish it out” to Oz online, a strategy that he argues falls flat with most voters in Pennsylvania.
“It’s background noise from staffers,” another GOP consultant said of the attack line from Oz’s camp. “But I do think it is fair [point] to make. It’s a basic tenant of the job.”
In recent weeks, some Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have alluded to their doubts of keeping retiring Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-Pa.) seat, along with others in Georgia and Ohio, because of “candidate quality.”
The Cook Political Report shifted the Keystone State race from a “toss up” to “leaning Democrat” last week.
Read more from The Hill’s campaign team about escalating Senate feud.
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Biden makes his move on student loan forgiveness
President Biden rolled out his highly anticipated student loan debt forgiveness plan Wednesday, offering the promise of relief for millions of borrowers.
The package will cancel $10,000 for federal student loan borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year. Pell Grant recipients will qualify for up to $20,000.
Biden also extended the pandemic-prompted pause on loan repayments through Dec. 31 but signaled that payments would resume at the start of 2023 after being on hold for more than two years.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano has more from the White House about the plan, which was part of Biden’s campaign platform.
And The Hill’s Shirin Ali and Adam Barnes have the full breakdown of what’s all in the package.
GOP RIPS RELIEF PLAN
Republicans quickly condemned Biden’s move, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) likening it to a “debt transfer scam” and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling it “a Hail Mary before midterms.”
“Democrats’ student loan socialism is a slap in the face to working Americans who sacrificed to pay their debt or made different career choices to avoid debt. A wildly unfair redistribution of wealth toward higher-earning people,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.
Other Republicans invoked class divides in blasting the relief plan.
“[W]elders, plumbers, laborers, & other Mississippians (black, white, Hispanic, etc.) will be forced to pay off the debts of Harvard doctorate degree gender studies majors living in California. Why does the Democrat Party hate working people so much?” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said.
Democrats, including progressives who have pressured the White House for months to take action on the issue, hailed the move as an historic effort to address burgeoning debt for millions of Americans.
“President Biden’s action to cancel student debt is life-changing for millions of working people. This is transformative relief for the middle class,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
“President Biden is canceling up to $20,000 of federal student loan debt. This will undoubtedly transform lives,” stated Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). “Grateful for the organizers, activists, and advocates who never let up in the push for student debt cancellation. This victory is because of you.”
Democrats scramble for top Oversight position
Democrats are racing to throw their names into the ring to succeed Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee after she lost her primary on Tuesday to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), currently fourth in line behind Maloney on the committee, was the first to offer up his name as a possible successor Wednesday. Our colleague Mike Lillis reports that Connolly says his long experience on the panel protecting federal employees makes him the best fit.
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), who ranks above Connolly, also put his bid in on Wednesday to succeed Maloney, per a letter to his colleagues. He currently serves as chair of the committee’s subpanel on national security.
Another top Democrat on the panel, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), said she is instead aiming to replace Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) as the top member on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Democrats typically value seniority when picking committee leadership, though it’s not a guarantee. The party will likely want to replace Maloney with a prominent fighter should they be in the minority in the new Congress, as Republicans are threatening to use the committee to investigate the Department of Justice and put a stop to the probes of former President Trump if they take back the House in November.
Read more from our colleague Mike Lillis on the unfolding contest.
Goldman’s star rises
The attorney who served as the lead counsel in the first impeachment trial against then-President Trump is poised to make his way back to Washington in January — but this time as a congressman.
Dan Goldman beat out over a dozen candidates, including incumbent Rep. Mondaire Jones (D), in New York’s newly-created 10th District, centering his campaign platform on how he would be able to use his prosecutorial and investigative experience to take on GOP members.
As heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, he poured more than $4 million into his own campaign, giving him a significant boost against his opponents.
What we’re watching: Goldman told Axios that he wants to join committees focused on oversight and investigations. If Democrats keep control of the House, their probes into former President Trump and his allies will almost certainly continue, making Goldman a member with key experience.
Read about Goldman’s victory from our colleague Caroline Vakil.
THE COUNTDOWN:
75
Number of days until the November election.
The Hill on the ground in Ukraine
The Hill’s foreign policy correspondent Laura Kelly is in Ukraine as it celebrates its national Independence Day in the shadows of the six-month mark of Russia’s invasion.
In Kyiv on Wednesday, Kelly reported that Ukraine celebrated the holiday with a parade of Russian military vehicles that the Ukrainian military destroyed and took off the battlefield.
“For the majority of the country, it’s this very strong will to push Russia out of all the occupied territories…and that is what Ukrainian officials say their end goal is,” Kelly reported on The Hill TV’s “Rising.”
To mark the occasion, President Biden announced a nearly $3 billion security assistance package to bolster Kyiv, which comes from the $40 billion package Congress approved in the spring, our colleague Morgan Chalfant reports.
“The fate of Europe rests on 25 HIMARS, and 200 extra Howitzers,” Oleksii Arestovych, an adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an interview with The Hill in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Watch the rest of Kelly’s on-the-ground footage here.
WASHINGTON MOVES
The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom has a weekly roundup of where people are moving in the lobbying world (and you can send us your professional updates, too!). Here are some highlights:
- Antonia Ferrier joined the International Republican Institute as vice president for external affairs, previously serving as staff director for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
- Blake Peterson will join Meta’s content policy regulation team, previously serving as acting coordinator of the State Department’s digital freedom unit.
- Ashleigh Wilson joined steel producer Nucor Corp. as federal government affairs manager and counsel, most recently serving as legislative director and counsel to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).
- Allin Hedge will join Intel Corp. as chief of staff for international government affairs, previously serving as chief of staff and senior adviser to the assistant secretary for global markets at the Commerce Department.
- Patrick Finnegan will join Micron Technology as director of government affairs, most recently serving as federal government affairs director at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
One more thing: Rebounding COVID
First lady Jill Biden tested positive again for COVID-19 on Wednesday, one day after she received her first negative test after contracting the virus.
President Biden also had a “rebound” case when he caught the virus, testing positive a few days after he tested out of quarantine.
The president came back to Washington from Delaware on Wednesday, but the first lady will stay there until she tests negative again, our colleague Brett Samuels writes.
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