Subject: POLITICO Huddle: SENATE DEMS PROMISE SCOTUS SLUGFEST – Tillerson vote on tap today – PELOSI JABS TRUMP: ‘SO INSECURE’ – Gabbard to repay costs for Syria trip – AYOTTE APPOINTED SCOTUS SHERPA
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 01 Feb 2017 07:15:03 -0600
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02/01/2017 08:12 AM EDT

By Heather Caygle ([email-masked] or @heatherscope) 

With assists from Daniel Lippman, Seung Min Kim and Zachary Warmbrodt 

COMING ATTRACTIONS: SENATE SLUGFEST OVER SCOTUS - President Donald Trump tapped federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court Tuesday night in a made-for-TV announcement in keeping with Trump's flashy style. More than a dozen Republicans were on hand for the event, schmoozing with Trump's sons, tweeting out teasers about "the great pick" before Gorsuch was announced and Instagramming the action in real time. But Gorsuch, an Ivy League educated judge who, at 49, would be the court's youngest member, is already drawing the ire of Senate Democrats, a handful of whom immediately promised an all-out war over his nomination. 

Let's get ready to rumble: Just minutes after Trump's announcement, Senate Democrats were promising a battle royale over Gorsuch's nomination, "singling out his legal views toward contraceptives, federal regulations and other issues to paint him as too far out of the mainstream for a seat on the nation's most powerful court," Seung Min reports. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he has "serious doubts" about Gorsuch's ability to prove himself to be "within the legal mainstream." And a handful of progressive senators including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown announced immediate opposition, vowing to fight his nomination after the GOP blocked Merrick Garland for nearly a year. Red-state moderates up for reelection in 2018 like Sen. Joe Manchin struck a more cautious tone. Seung Min with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fafef089301c8bc4e2982ea3ae23b22b6f0449d8c0aab24bf2b564f21375711f2cc6bc61fffd28bf9a 

Gorsuch in a nutshell: Gorsuch graduated from Columbia, Harvard and Oxford, clerked for two Supreme Court justices, had a stint at DOJ and has served on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for a decade. He was a Harvard classmate of President Obama, is a favorite of conservatives and loves the outdoors, Josh Gerstein reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325faad560e4ab38d3f451177e6fbf03537eca0a1041d15c8d8236bca322d0d0007e6cba95800eeacc8f4 

The final robe ceremony: Trump picked Gorsuch after a months-long search that started from a public list of 21 contenders. The president settled on Gorsuch after only one in-person interview earlier this month, Shane Goldmacher, Eliana Johnson and Josh Gerstein report: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa0b74f3e6475adab2fb3804a6058ec505096ff147525c8e0aa85a0685dee6c043d2e3788ea0e4372e 

She's back: Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (who famously disavowed Trump during the campaign and said she wouldn't vote for him) will lead the White House team shepherding Gorsuch around the Senate, Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker report for the Washington Post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fab686920a3d802f391f7c44c21c378eac18602791f36468b395ad65fea650e71ba465f3a6876f4c6a 

WORKING 'ROUND THE CLOCK - Republicans are girding for a fight over Gorsuch, with Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley already calling on GOP leadership to cancel the chamber's planned recesses if necessary to secure Gorsuch's confirmation. Grassley told Seung Min that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "ought to be prepared" to cancel the chamber's two-week Easter recess in April if Gorsuch isn't confirmed by that time. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa5cefaa4ed9ad71cf030ba667caa429f46de2c094a614da3ae447e32e934223e027463035b635e031 

TRUMP CARD STAYS ON THE TABLE - GOP senators, even those who are reluctant to change the Senate's longstanding filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominees, won't rule out the option of "going nuclear" and lowering the vote threshold to get Trump's nominee confirmed. "Interviews this week with nearly 20 key Republicans - from 'old bulls' to party leaders to junior members - show the GOP is reluctant to deploy the so-called nuclear option but deliberately won't rule it out," Burgess, Bres and SMK report. Sen. Pat Roberts likened the technique of changing the rules by a simple majority to a "Hail Mary on fourth down." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa85e8594cfa64b9e4e337e138f878a5c0b919a9c8b09654e86d5098564494c14021e0c0d695113582 

What's the big deal, anyway? If McConnell does deploy the nuclear option, the change will have ramifications long beyond this Supreme Court nominee. The Washington Post's Paul Kane with a must read on what it all means: "It would be about forever changing the nature of the Senate, which the founders set up with the express goal to slow down and cool off the hasty and heated impulses more common in the House." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa145ff5ff338c61022fdf3e25e3a3d20a708abaecfd753757504b64917de1120c3ca5673961667aa7 

DEMS THROW SENATE INTO DISARRAY - Senate Democrats successfully stalled votes on three Cabinet nominees Tuesday, deploying some of the same tactics that Republicans had used against them during the Obama years. Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee didn't show up, preventing confirmation votes for HHS secretary nominee Tom Price and Treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin from taking place. Democrats also successfully delayed a Judiciary Committee vote on attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions. 

The day's events thrilled the Democratic base but angered Republicans, who had harsh words for their colleagues, Elana reports. "It's just an old-fashioned hissy fit," Majority Whip John Cornyn told reporters. The generally mild-mannered Sen. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNN the Democrats were acting like "idiots."

What to watch today: The Judiciary Committee picks up where it left off yesterday with a 10:30 a.m. vote on Sessions. The Senate Budget Committee will vote on Rep. Mick Mulvaney's nomination to lead OMB at 10:10 a.m. And the EPW Committee will vote on EPA administrator nominee Scott Pruitt at 10:45 a.m. Hatch promised the Finance Committee will reconvene today to vote Price and Mnuchin but so far nothing has been announced. 

What's up Chuck? On Tuesday night, "thousands of angry demonstrators gathered outside Sen. Chuck Schumer's luxury Brooklyn apartment building - holding up signs and chanting 'What the f-k, Chuck?!' - to protest his lukewarm stance on President Trump's cabinet picks," reports the New York Post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa0c43d902c2772f3e3ccdbe8623803a3e14b9d5d7411ca07151dd086ca2c6b9d38869b3fea627e7a2

WE'RE ROLLING RIGHT INTO FEBRUARY. Welcome to Wednesday, Feb. 1. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. 

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: My story about DHS Secretary John Kelly coming to Capitol Hill was the winner. 

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with votes at 1:30 p.m. and last votes around 4:30 p.m. Today's House agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fac9cc94f93baf7dd30f5842e30f2a28eeac853f18cab84d7edea6c264e777ca51d9b6e2aa46c829f9 The Senate meets at 12 p.m. with a vote on Rex Tillerson's secretary of State nomination at 2:30 p.m. 

AROUND THE HILL - Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu and Reps. Grace Meng and Pramila Jayapal hold a press conference on Trump's executive refugee ban at 10 a.m. in the House triangle. Rep. Marcy Kaptur introduces a bill targeting Wall Street at 10 a.m. in 421 Cannon. Sen. Chris Coons holds a pen and pad on Trump's SCOTUS pick at 10 a.m. in S-316. 

Reps. Keith Ellison, Joe Crowley and Andre Carson hold a press conference with the ACLU and Khizr Khan on Jeff Sessions' attorney general nomination and Trump's refugee ban starting at 2 p.m. in the House triangle. Reps. Joe Wilson and Steve King hold a press conference of their "right to work" legislation at 2:30 p.m. in 2261 Rayburn. 

PELOSI'S ALL-TRUMP TOWNHALL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took several jabs at Trump during a CNN town hall Tuesday night that was dominated by questions about the president's recent controversial actions on refugees, undocumented immigrants and his debunked claims of widespread voter fraud. "You're the president of the United States and you're so insecure. This isn't even true, it's like the size of your inauguration," Pelosi said to Jake Tapper, recounting her thoughts when Trump told congressional leaders he was robbed of the popular vote. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa6402d874f52d9e4d0db5b1f2033136b407fdba90f8877d8179a02f9ae1a81ed7d4518cf42d5d3864 

HILL RATTLED AFTER JUDICIARY STAFFERS SECRET WORK - News that GOP Judiciary staffers secretly worked on Trump's refugee ban has shaken up Capitol Hill. "Democrats denounced the arrangement, the GOP panel stonewalled and an outside ethics group requested an investigation. And the man most on the hot seat over the unusual arrangement, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, was in full-on cleanup mode," Rachael reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fabd6ab40579a53df274dcbcfdce7bd69ee7fd789fe4251f85cae023419146fba8a01a8293011e1d5c 

LAWMAKERS PEPPER KELLY ON REFUGEE BAN - Senate and House lawmakers left a Tuesday meeting with DHS Secretary John Kelly with few additional answers on Trump's refugee ban. But both Democrats and Republicans said any congressional action to clean up the executive order's messy rollout is unlikely. "I have directed departmental leadership to implement the president's executive orders professionally, humanely, and in accordance with the law," Kelly said at a press conference earlier in the day. Kyle Cheney, Louis Nelson and Madeline Conway: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa32db9247751303bd3dc4596f384762198e21fcc80776ee1ba3b3b68a9809a7a292baaa57d99e5fb9 

Trump tweets: @realDonaldTrump: Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!

GABBARD TO PAY BACK SYRIA COSTS - Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard says she will "personally reimburse" the costs of her recent secret trip to Syria after the group that supposedly funded the trip came under intense scrutiny for possible links to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "What those costs amount to is not being disclosed, either by Gabbard or the pro-Syrian activist, Bassam Khawam, who now says he is the one who helped pay for the visit," reports Chad Blair for the Honolulu Civil Beat. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa451271210e3b7db7167230209929b4006076a332b8eec4b4610c7ddca65411c42090331a43fe6ddf 

TROUBLE ON THE FLOOR? The Senate HELP Committee approved Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos along party lines Tuesday. But GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who supported her in committee, said they still haven't made up their mind about whether to back her confirmation on the floor. With a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate, Republicans have little wiggle room on defections if most or all Democrats vote against DeVos. More from the Wall Street Journal's Josh Mitchell: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fadbb3ae10859bbd7d34134a89da9cb4f71afb18d9052cf53a5d813f6ea9364548094ed813aab0c20b 

DeVos is facing plagiarism allegations after several of her written responses to senators were found to be almost identical to other sources without any attribution, report Mike DeBonis and Emma Brown for the Washington Post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa36ea476aa4e1435f2d4979c029a1af0d903643836e84bdbbb3776d9fee08528882fb208ceb1f3953 

REPUBLICAN RESCUES ROVER - Rep. Ralph Abraham put his professional skills to use as he rushed to tend to Rep. Mark Meadows injured poodle Jolie Tuesday morning. "She has a slight concussion but I expect her to make a full recovery," Abraham, a veterinarian and medical doctor by trade, told the News Star. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fafc334c6ef9f7b11084f589612caf346d44b1e143d8dd88ff239f3d16e99dce8300db01c0ce6f3683 

MR. RYAN, PAY FOR THAT WALL - GOP hardliners put House Speaker Paul Ryan on notice Tuesday, saying they want any border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to be offset. GOP leaders haven't said how (or if) they'll pay for the border wall, which is estimated to cost around $15 billion or $120 per household. "We will need to find funding for that wall and that will have to come from offsets," House Freedom Caucus member Raul Labrador said. Roll Call's Lindsey McPherson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa9e230a0bb8c00a4bbd8f3ef70bfa532f226491c276998ac64cd3b78d514269c31bf8347384b2f75e 

TOP MCCARTHY AIDE TO THE WHITE HOUSE - Ben Howard, who ran the House floor for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), has gone to work for President Donald Trump's legislative affairs office. This is not only big for Howard, but also for McCarthy, whose stature continues to grow in Trump World. "I can't begin to express my gratitude for all Ben has done not only for me and my team, but the entire Republican Conference," McCarthy emailed Playbook.

GOP RETREAT INTRUDER IDENTIFIED - Officials have identified the woman who snuck into the GOP retreat last week pretending to be a lawmaker's spouse, but aren't releasing the name of the impostor, according to the Hill. The woman recorded private GOP meetings on sensitive topics like Obamacare and anonymously sent the audio to several news outlets. More from Scott Wong: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa457759866962d334878c20569d0e5432e01bb00c1c22673126b51a4821f7a6c8fe6308553d633412 

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Victoria Glynn, former deputy press secretary at the Veterans Affairs Department, has joined Rep. Henry Cuellar's (D-Texas) office as communications director. Becky Beland McNaught started working yesterday for the DPCC as Policy Advisor and Counsel; she was previously counsel for Sen. Barbara Boxer.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Doug Calidas, legislative counsel for Sen. Joe Manchin III and Wharton and Duke Law alum, and Katie Calidas, a designer for an advertising agency and Parsons alum, on Sunday at 12:05 a.m. welcomed William Kristopher Calidas, 7 pounds, 11 ounces, 21 inches. "Mother and baby are doing great and came home from the hospital Monday." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ec43d7c85aa325fa2b3e5388936467dad2a6e72ad1ad7088ad7adaacedd22dc0459f002ebe977498f75f43976c301374

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Cory Bisbee was the first to guess that $500 in prize money was divided between five architects in 1850 who offered plans to expand the Capitol. Thomas Walter was picked to complete the task.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, was tapped by President George W. Bush to serve on the 10th Circuit in 2006. How many current GOP senators attended his nomination hearing and who are they? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out tomorrow. Send suggestions for trivia questions my way: [email-masked] 

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