With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

FRONTLINERS ON BIDEN’S AGE: AND?

The recent special counsel report depicting President Joe Biden as suffering from memory lapses sparked a new flurry of concerns about his age and his fitness for reelection — but not among the president’s Democratic allies in the House, many of whom will have to share a ballot with Biden in key swing districts later this year.

Rather, they have been forcefully pushing back against special counsel Robert Hur’s unflattering report by deflecting the health questions and defending his record.

Some have angrily accused Hur, a Republican former U.S. attorney who declined to charge the president over his handling of classified documents, of political motivations in raising questions about Biden’s acuity.

“The report is total bullshit. A political hack job,” said purple-district Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who defended the president’s record and said he’d welcome him to visit his district.

Trump-district Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), meanwhile, responded to questions about Biden’s age by claiming that voters’ larger concern was about “the homogeneity of Congress.”

“That lack of diversity is what I think is at the heart of a lot of this frustration,” she said.

Privately, House Democrats acknowledge Biden’s age is a question that likely will continue to come up as November inches closer. But two Democrats told Inside Congress they believe they can point to Republican dysfunction in the House as a way to win back the majority and keep their seats — separating the battle for the House majority from the presidential race.

Publicly, many Democrats have leaned on their own personal experiences dealing with Biden — and their willingness to overlook his occasional public stumbles.

“Everybody knows the president’s age, but when I’ve talked to him, he is incredibly lucid,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), who represents a safe blue district. “I can also tell you that I get up in the morning, and I might have an event at 8:30 a.m. By 4 in the afternoon, I have completely forgotten that I had that event. It doesn’t mean that I am not mentally stable. It means I’ve got a lot going on.”

Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who’s vacating a swing district to run for Senate, briefly floated age limits for politicians during a recent Senate debate, though she told us that the presidency involves a different set of considerations.

“It’s different because the president is term-limited to two terms,” she said. “We would have to really talk about this and think about this and connect with the public and ask ourselves how we can keep our democracy vibrant, and how we can create multigenerational leadership.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates ascribed the age concerns to partisanship, noting a divergence between Republicans’ public and private pronouncements about the president’s mental fitness.

“When you take stock of the unprecedented results President Biden’s experienced leadership has delivered ever since Republican officials began crying about his age in early 2019 … it’s hard not to conclude that the right wing’s public whining is anything but a good luck charm,” Bates said.

One House Democrat, of course, can’t stop talking about Biden’s age: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who launched a quixotic primary challenge to the incumbent on the premise that he is not up to the job of beating likely Republican nominee Donald Trump. But most of Phillips’ colleagues have kept his longshot bid at arm’s length; some have made it a punchline as they’ve broadly signaled they’re still ridin’ with Biden.

— Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Feb. 22, where we feel like this pug during this week of recess.

ANOTHER DISCHARGE PETITION IN THE WORKS

House Democrats appear to be quietly plotting a Plan B if Speaker Mike Johnson decides against putting the Senate-passed supplemental funding package on the House floor,

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the top Rules Committee Democrat, filed a resolution last week that could be used as a vehicle for Ukraine aid, one allowing for the consideration of a bill “to advance responsible policies.”

The maneuver bears resemblance to what Democrats attempted last year amid an impasse over raising the federal debt limit. A petition that would discharge a shell measure “advanc[ing] commonsense policy priorities” picked up signatures from 213 Democrats.

It’s not clear why McGovern is starting fresh with a new petition. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

But remember: No matter how many Democrats sign on to force a floor vote if Johnson declines to take up the Ukraine aid package, at least a handful of Republicans would have to join them.

While Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled Wednesday that at least two Republicans are open to helping efforts to pass Ukraine aid — citing conversations with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Mike Turner (Ohio) at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference — convincing members to cross their party leadership remains a tall order.

A discharge petition isn’t the only option under consideration: A pro-Ukraine majority could also vote to defeat the previous question on an upcoming rule vote. But that faces the same obstacle: finding enough Republicans willing to buck their party. If you know of any, do let us know.

A potential hiccup: Keep an eye on progressive lawmakers, who have raised concerns about supporting the supplemental funding package based on the inclusion of billions of dollars of unconditioned aid to Israel. That means Democrats could need even more Republican support to make up for defections on their side.

And remember the weight of history here: Only twice in the past two decades has a discharge petition garnered the necessary 218 signatures.

— Daniella Diaz and Nicholas Wu

HUDDLE HOTDISH

The National Zoo is in talks with the China Wildlife Conservation Association to bring pandas back to Washington.

QUICK LINKS

How Tim Scott Went From ‘Faith in America’ to Leading Role in Trumpworld, from Eliza Collins at The Wall Street Journal

Kevin McCarthy made a chaotic exit from Congress. The race to replace him is just as messy, from Shira Stein at the San Francisco Chronicle

Opinion: An absolute waste of time, from Jamie Dupree for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House is in at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The Senate is in at 3 p.m. for a pro forma session.

FRIDAY AROUND THE HILL

Quiet.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S ANSWER: Ben Howard correctly answered that in addition to establishing the Bureau of the Budget, the 1921 Budget and Accounting Act established the General Accounting Office, which has now become the Government Accountability Office.

TODAY’S QUESTION from Ben: Which former president operated a whiskey distillery after leaving office?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to [email protected].

GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.

Follow Daniella on X at @DaniellaMicaela.