SCOOP: Alabama’s top House Democrat gets big money from GOP donors
The donations raise questions about why Anthony Daniels has received support from GOP power brokers for a seat created in response to decades of disenfranchisement from state officials.

👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome back to Once Upon a Hill. Here’s today’s top headlines from Capitol Hill and beyond:
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced he would step down in November as the longest-serving Senate leader in US history. The 82-year-old, whose legacy will be his remaking of the federal judiciary in his conservative image, said he would serve the rest of his term, which expires in 2026.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) commemorated the 30-year anniversary of the Brady Bill going into effect. The bill, which he introduced in 1994 to establish a waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks before the transfer of any firearm, was named for James Brady, former President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary who was shot and seriously wounded in the 1981 Reagan assassination attempt.
Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) announced Annette Watts, the mother of Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman who was charged with a felony following an at-home miscarriage, will be her guest at the State of the Union next week. (Brittany will be Ohio Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty’s guest.)
Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) led a letter to Customs and Border Patrol seeking answers to complaints of delayed processing times for applications to the Global Entry Program.
The Congressional Black Caucus launched a policy series focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on Black Americans.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and New Democrat Coalition sent a letter to Navy Federal Credit Union requesting a response to allegations that it engaged in racially discriminatory lending practices.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, led 15 House Democrats in a letter asking bank regulators to update the merger process following Capital One’s acquisition of Discover last week.
President Biden received his annual physical this morning at Walter Reed Medical Center. (The doctor’s note)
Biden also spoke about the drop in violent crime last year and joined a round table on public safety with police chiefs from cities that have invested federal funds to fight crime.
President Biden signed an executive order to protect your sensitive personal data from exploitation by countries of concern, including China and Russia.
Vice President Kamala Harris had to postpone a scheduled interview with talk show host Sherri Shepherd tomorrow due to inclement weather impacting air operations around New York City.
The Biden campaign announced First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will launch a national organizing program to reach women nationwide to reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris.
Reproductive Freedom for All released its 2023 congressional scorecard as Democrats work to restore the federal right to abortion care and Republicans pursue a nationwide abortion ban.
Gen Z advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow released their 2024 policy platform as it lobbies lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week on the generation’s priorities.
ICYMI: “‘A season of service’: Why Hill Harper left showbiz for a longshot Senate bid” | Tuesday’s evening report
Keep reading for the best of my Wednesday notebook.
All love for life,
TOP AL HOUSE DEM GETS BIG MONEY FROM CONSERVATIVE DONORS
A frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to represent a redrawn Alabama opportunity district has received donations from supporters of far-right conservative politicians, according to documents I obtained and a Once Upon a Hill analysis of campaign finances records.
As recently as last month, Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels has bankrolled his congressional campaign with major contributions from fundraisers hosted by Republican operatives, including a former GOP Senate staffer. In addition to supporting Daniels’s candidacy, these donors have contributed to the campaigns of US Arizona Senate candidate and election denier Kari Lake, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama.
The donations raise questions about why a Democrat in Alabama has received support from Republican power brokers for a seat created in response to decades of disenfranchisement from state and local GOP officials.
Daniels, who could not be reached for comment, raised $217,000 in the most recent quarterly filing, followed by Shomari Figures, a former aide to former President Barack Obama and Justice Department official, who ranked second to Daniels with a $203,000 haul, $25,000 of which he loaned to his campaign. (Recent data shows Figures leading Daniels nine percent to eight, with State Rep. Napoleon Bracy, Jr. in the lead with 15 percent.)
Two other candidates in the crowded field raised six figures: State Sen. Merika Coleman and State Rep. Jeremy Gray.
The Supreme Court last summer, in a surprise 5-4 decision, upheld a lower court’s ruling to strike down an Alabama congressional map because it violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters.
The Alabama legislature approved another map violating the law, but a federal court selected a new map on appeal.
The decision paved the way for Alabama to add an additional majority-Black district for most of Montgomery County. It empowered plaintiffs in the over 30 redistricting lawsuits across 10 states to continue challenging racist maps under Section 2. (Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell is the only other Black member of Alabama’s seven-person congressional delegation.) Once it’s all said and done, these challenges could net Democrats the seats they need to flip the House from the current Republican majority in November.
The Alabama Democratic primary is on March 5, Super Tuesday. Alabama’s second is represented by Rep. Barry Moore, a conservative Republican now facing a member-on-member primary against Rep. Jerry Carl in the state’s 1st congressional district.
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS REACH DEAL TO AVOID WEEKEND SHUTDOWN
Just before press time, the four congressional leaders and top House and Senate appropriators announced an agreement to vote on a short-term extension to fund federal agencies through March 8 and 22 to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.
The agreement follows weeks of negotiations between the four corners. It will enable the House and Senate Appropriations Committee to fine-tune legislative text for the 12 funding bills, receive a score from the Congressional Budget Office and provide members 72 hours to review the legislation.
It was announced in a joint statement released by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Leaders Schumer and McConnell, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), along with Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
If Congress passes a short-term extension this week, it would be the fourth such measure since the end of the fiscal year late last September. (Read yesterday’s post for a complete timeline of the funding fits and starts.)
You can expect hardline conservative Republicans to oppose the stopgap measure—formally known as a continuing resolution or “CR”—but some Democrats were exasperated by the prospect of kicking the can down the road once again.
“Look, there is no reason this shouldn’t couldn’t have been done at the end of September, okay?” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), a senior appropriator who’s up for reelection in a state Trump won by more than 16 points four years ago. “And they’re talking about another week or two extension. The question I have is, what changes? We could have had conversations a week ago to get on the same line, but there are people in the House who don’t want to do a damn thing. And that’s the problem.”
The new agreement divides the dozen funding bills into two buckets. The first six include four that were set to expire on Saturday morning, covering Agriculture, Transportation, Energy and Water, and veterans’ programs. The deal added the bills that run the Interior Department and Departments of Commerce and Justice. This package must be signed into law by the first March 8 deadline to prevent a shutdown.
The remaining six bills—covering Defense, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Labor and Health and Human Services, the Legislative Branch, and the State Department—must be passed and enacted two weeks later.
AUSTIN TO FACE HASC GRILLING
The House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony tomorrow morning from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about his absence last month to receive emergency care for complications from surgery to treat prostate cancer.
The House wasn’t in for votes by my deadline, so I walked across the Capitol to hear what Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, thought of tomorrow’s hearing as he headed into lunch.
“The Secretary will do what I think he always does and that’s answer honestly and responsibly,” Reed told me. “Given what I've seen in the House where even routine committee meetings turn into a Hollywood extravaganza, I’m confident Secretary Austin will present himself as he always does as a responsible and thoughtful person.”
Austin was hospitalized on New Year’s Day at Walter Reed due to a urinary tract infection following surgical treatment of his cancer 10 days earlier. The secretary spent several days in the intensive care unit and passed off his duties to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, who was in Puerto Rico on vacation at the time.
The Defense Department failed to disclose the hospitalization to President Biden, top department officials, senior staff of the National Security Agency or members of Congress.
Austin’s doctors said his prognosis is excellent. The White House updated its internal processes for cabinet officials who go on leave due to medical procedures.
“I want to be very clear: We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon earlier this month. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”
Austin was confirmed by the Senate in January 2022 by a 93–2 vote. He is the first Black Defense Secretary in US history.
WHAT I’M WATCHING: THU, FEB 29
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) will hold a press conference tomorrow on the situation in Gaza. Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, was a prominent voice in the campaign to vote “uncommitted” during the Michigan Democratic primary election on Tuesday in protest of President Biden’s Israel policy.
Senate Democrats and civil rights groups will reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
House Democratic women will hold a press conference on IVF.