It’s Wednesday. The buzz on Capitol Hill is all about whether the government will shut down. And my social media feeds have been taken over with Peppa Pig jokes. Keep reading to see some of the posts. ☕️ A few highlights:

• The House and Senate are barreling forward with competing plans to extend government funding. It’s still very unclear how this will end.

• Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife appeared in a Manhattan court today and pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges. 

• The second GOP presidential debate is happening tonight. Former President Trump is skipping it. We’ll look at a few things to watch.

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@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

With just three days left to avoid a government shutdown, the House and the Senate are taking separate approaches. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is working on a partisan, controversial funding bill that includes policy changes at the U.S. border. This almost certainly will not pass in the Senate, so senators have jumped in to take the wheel and work on a less controversial bill to buy more time. 

Here’s a live blog of updates

Senators in both parties have lost confidence in Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ability to pass a short-term funding bill and avert a shutdown this weekend, The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports. So the Senate is jumping in to get the ball rolling with its own funding bill.

The gist of the Senate bill: It will fund the government at current levels until Nov. 17. It also includes $6.15 billion in Ukraine aid and $6 billion in disaster relief. Basically, nothing flashy but buys lawmakers more time — at least six weeks.

The plan: The Senate is hoping to pass it by Thursday or Friday and send it over to the House. The House would have until 11:59 p.m. Saturday to pass it. “Senators are betting that if they jam the House right before the deadline, McCarthy will relent and bring it to the House floor, where it would likely pass in a bipartisan vote.” (The Hill)

Step one ✅: The Senate voted earlier this week on the first step necessary to pass a funding extension. The short-term bill passed 77-19, with all 19 opposition votes coming from Republicans. List of the 19 GOP ‘no’ votes

Instead of advancing a bipartisan bill to keep the government open, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is using the upcoming shutdown deadline to push for red-meat Republican policy priorities. McCarthy is trying to pass a government funding extension with border policy changes — and hoping to reframe the deadline as a choice for President Biden and Democrats.

How McCarthy is framing it: “The president could keep government open by doing something on the border.”

What’s the plan for this bill?: McCarthy will try to send the Republican-only bill to the floor “probably” on Friday. (The Hill)

Thank you for this reporting: Roll Call’s Bill Clark posted that the Cups coffee shop on the Senate side will still be open even if the government shuts down (!)

Hi, Sully!: The Washington Post’s Paul Kane posted a photo of Sully H.W. Bush on Capitol Hill. Sully was George H.W. Bush’s service dog before the late former president died. Photo of “the cutest lobbyist in the Capitol,” a distinction that Sully absolutely deserves. Another photo. And, here’s just one more

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, pleaded not guilty on federal bribery charges this morning in a Manhattan court. (The Hill)

The charges: “[The indictment] alleges Menendez used his ‘power and influence’ as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advantage Egypt and reap benefits for Wael ‘Will’ Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibe. In return, Menendez and his wife were given cash, gold bars, a luxury vehicle and more.” Read the indictment

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2-ranking Senate Democrat, is a notable one. (The Hill)

The New York Times’s Nicholas Fandos writes: “Robert Menendez’s education in political corruption came unusually early. In 1982, he turned against his mentor, Mayor William V. Musto of Union City, N.J., the popular leader of their gritty hometown.”

“Those who have closely followed his career say the years he spent enmeshed in Mr. Musto’s machine also set the tone for another, more sinister undercurrent that now threatens to swallow it — one in which Mr. Menendez became a power broker himself whose own close ties to moneyed interests have repeatedly attracted the scrutiny of federal prosecutors.” (The New York Times)

🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Chocolate Milk Day!

🍗 Why ‘seemingly ranch’ is everywhere: An account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a photo of Taylor Swift at the Kansas City Chiefs game. In the photo, she’s eating chicken fingers with ketchup and “seemingly ranch.” Well, the photo went viral. Even Hidden Valley Ranch changed its X name to “Seemingly Ranch.” (People)

🐷 A post I’m seeing everywhere: @PopCrave posted, “Peppa Pig has a ‘big surprise’ to be announced tomorrow.” X users had some fun speculating on Peppa Pig’s announcement. Here are a few:

• From @hebennigatu: “Peppa Pig has parted ways with longtime manager Scooter Braun.”

• From @sheridannolen: “She made the GOP debate stage.”

• From @MattBellassai: “new ceo of waystar royco”

• From @mattjay: “She’s being acquired by Cisco.”

• @hansmollman pointed out: “Getting ahead of the [rumors], smart”

🌕 Look up, tomorrow night: The last supermoon of 2023 will happen on Thursday night into Friday. You may also see Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury in the sky. (Nexstar)

Seven leading Republican presidential candidates will face off tonight at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

Most notably: Former President Trump will not attend. His absence has taken some attention away from the event, but it will be worth watching whether any candidate has a breakaway moment and leaves tonight with new momentum.

Alternate programming: Instead, Trump is holding a campaign rally tonight in Michigan.

Five things to watch

‘Trump seeks to steal attention from GOP debate’: (The Hill)

How to watch: It will air on Fox Business Network and Univision at 9 p.m. Eastern. Logistics

The price slasher! I look at full prices and laugh in their face. Ha, ha! Now come down and get the best deal of your life. *karate chops price tags*

^ If this journalism thing doesn’t work out, I’m going to open a small discount store and feature myself in all the commercials.

Fox News is offering major discounts to advertisers during the second GOP presidential debate, reports Semafor’s Max Tani.

Semafor reviewed rates provided by a potential ad buyer: “For the first debate, the cost of a single 30-second spot topped $495,000. But the same 30-second spot during Wednesday night’s contest would cost just over $200,000.” (Semafor)

^ Keep in mind that former President Trump debated whether to appear on stage. But for this debate, he has said he would not participate.

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in San Francisco, and Vice President Harris is in Washington, D.C., with no public events scheduled.

(all times Eastern)

• 2:30 p.m.: Biden meets with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). 📺 Livestream

• 4:30 p.m.: First House votes. Last votes are expected around 10:30 p.m. 🗓️ Today’s agenda

• 5:45 p.m.: Biden participates in campaign receptions.

• 9:35 p.m.: Biden leaves for Phoenix.

• 10 a.m. Thursday: The House Oversight Committee is holding its first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden. C-SPAN livestream

“Former President Trump’s violent rhetoric toward Gen. Mark Milley is raising fears he will use a second term in the Oval Office to seek retribution against his enemies.”

Oh, yikes: “Trump suggested Friday that Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is stepping down from his post at the end of the week, deserves the death penalty for allegedly betraying him and committing an act of treason.”

Milley told The Atlantic: “He’ll start throwing people in jail, and I’d be on the top of the list.”

Full read on how Trump’s threats are worrying Milley, via The Hill’s Brad Dress

To leave you with a smile, here are penguins going on a journey.  

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