Subject: POLITICO Huddle, presented by the Association of American Medical Colleges: CAN WASHINGTON AVOID A SHUTDOWN? — Flake will preempt 'Fake News Awards' — ROMNEY SAYS PRIVATELY HE'S RUNNING — Trump and McCarthy: Two Starbursts in a pack
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2018 07:01:06 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_7303632.xt.local>

01/16/2018 07:59 AM EDT

By Nolan D. McCaskill ([email-masked] or @NolanDMcCaskill) 
 
CONGRESS RETURNS AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS - Lawmakers return to Capitol Hill today facing a Friday deadline to keep the government running but no long-term deal in place on budget caps or Dreamers. That means Republicans are inching toward another short-term spending deal - this time through mid-February - as their best option to avoid a shutdown.
 
Republicans will hold a series of meetings in the coming days to discuss the path forward with the rank and file on a budget deal as well as to continue negotiations with Democrats. But, as The Washington Post notes, there is "no guarantee that House GOP leaders will be able to rally a majority of their members to support a short-term spending measure," given defense hawks' opposition. Republicans, however, are considering using a long-term renewal of the Children's Health Insurance Program to woo Democrats.
 
The Senate would need Democratic support to pass a continuing resolution. And while there is a faction of potential 2020 White House hopefuls who don't want to back a deal without protections for Dreamers, there are 10 Democrats up for reelection in states President Donald Trump won in 2016, many of whom fear a government shutdown over immigration could harm their campaigns. "If they side with Senate Republicans, Congress could pass yet another short-term spending bill by Friday that would end the shutdown threat for now as negotiations continue," according to The New York Times.
 
What actually happens is anyone's guess. Trump has said DACA is "probably dead" and blamed Democrats for that potential outcome. But it's likely Republicans who risk being blamed for the first government shutdown since 2013, given that they control the White House and both chambers of Congress. 
 
TRUMP'S RHETORIC COULD DOOM DACA - Last week's explosive immigration meeting at the White House during which Trump reportedly referred to Haiti and African nations as "shithole countries" has threatened to upend talks. "The blowup has derailed those negotiations yet again and increased the possibility of a government shutdown over the fate of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants known as 'dreamers,'" Josh Dawsey, Robert Costa and Ashley Parker report for The Washington Post.
 
"The fight has left congressional leaders unsure of whether they will eventually come to an agreement," they write. "Some remain optimistic that Trump can be walked back to the political center and will cut a deal that expands border security while protecting those under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump has ordered ended." Lawmakers have since faced questions over whether the president is racist and given differing accounts over whether the president called the countries "shitholes." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327890681913322f2a2dcd8bebd90b0d72734374eec24cd1492a2bc683fafc14a72af26fe7a4d6e4618 
 
TWEET DU JOUR: The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey over the weekend: "White House official told me tonight there is debate internally on whether Trump said 'shithole' or 'shithouse.' Perdue and Cotton seem to have heard latter, this person said, and are using to deny."
 
CONSERVATIVES SEEK FLOOR VOTE ON DACA - House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is facing internal pressure from House Republicans to put a partisan immigration bill on the floor for a vote. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte's (R-Va.) bill "goes well beyond what the White House has said should be in a deal codifying the Obama-era" DACA program and is unlikely to win a single Democratic vote, Rachael reports. Republican leaders worry the bill could undermine bipartisan negotiations and aren't sure the measure could get 218 GOP votes in the chamber. But Ryan risks facing "a backlash from conservatives if he doesn't put it forward for a vote," Rachael warns. "House Republicans drove
 out ex-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in part over immigration." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327f89e78d3a68a8236e460ef34ca0386c44475a941ba3fae337ce65faf21133bff929205cace8cbfdb 
 
Related: "Feds resume accepting renewals from Dreamers," via Josh Gerstein: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327f995f8e42242efa6f4184e8a1bfb64fa182e255680c3aca8c09ae6791d1433b33687aa517c126db5 
 
WELCOME BACK! HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR WEEKEND. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Jan. 16. 
 
RIDING SOLO: Good morning, Huddle readers. For the past few weeks I've been riding shotgun and test-driving Huddle alongside Heather, but now I'm on my own. I came to POLITICO a little more than three years ago as a POLITICO fellow, moved over to the breaking news team during the 2016 campaign and briefly joined the White House beat before finding a new home as your Huddle host. I'm a Florida A&M University alumnus who originally majored in graphic design (sometimes I'm still not sure how I ended up here). I look forward to greeting you in your inboxes daily and getting to know many of you around the Hill, in Washington and beyond. Say hi, send tips, pitch trivia questions and more at
 [email-masked]. 
 
FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Hill's report that retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) may run for Congress in a neighboring district was the big winner.
 
TRUMP'S NEW DEADLINE ON THE IRAN DEAL - Trump is threatening to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal unless Congress and European allies agree to strengthen it, despite extending it last week. "The statement implicitly sets a mid-May deadline for the deal's fate," Michael Crowley reports. "That is when Trump must again choose, as he did Friday, whether to waive economic sanctions on Tehran, which come up for renewal every 120 days." The statement sets specific criteria for Congress, such as a provision requiring "immediate" access to Iranian facilities by international inspectors and that all new congressional provisions have no expiration date. More: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e083274a01f6da02eb1d9c2bc0b9c58f8017c7ef76b3405adffe392e89585b5f7d342ddf9cfc48702664ea 
 
FLAKE TO DEFEND PRESS BEFORE FAKE NEWS AWARDS - Retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will deliver a speech tomorrow condemning Trump's declaration of the press as "the enemy of the American people" - likely before the president holds his so-called "Fake News Awards." According to excerpts released by Flake's office, the Arizona Republican will compare Trump's media criticism with rhetoric from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who called his adversaries enemies of the people. 
 
"This alone should be a source of great shame for us in this body, especially for those of us in the president's party. For they are shameful, repulsive statements," Flake will say. He will add that "despotism is the enemy of the people" and the free press is the enemy of the despot, "which makes the free press the guardian of democracy. When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him 'fake news,' it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e0832790978c620e825c0429f4a5e3f621dc74feb31361482e48f0fbe4b7e361777d56f1aca7c5f6fe71b9 
 
ROMNEY SAYS PRIVATELY: 'I'M RUNNING' - Kem Gardner, a business leader and close friend of Mitt Romney, phoned Utah Gov. Gary Herbert this month to share a message from the former Massachusetts governor: "I'm running." The conversation occurred days after Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced his retirement. "The political resurrection of Mr. Romney appears unstoppable in a state where he was not raised and where he has not lived for most of his adult life," Jonathan Martin reports for The New York Times. 
 
"His yet-to-be-declared candidacy is already highlighting the enduring fractures over President Trump in this heavily Mormon state, where voters have long been uneasy with Mr. Trump's conduct," Martin writes. But Romney, an occasionally outspoken Trump critic who was considered to be his secretary of state, will face a dilemma over how he should serve if he enters the Senate. "At issue is whether Mr. Romney ... should be an overt check on the president, and even use a Senate platform to mount his won White House comeback, or act as an ally and retain access to Mr. Trump the way Mr. Hatch has done." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327d102d92e8917fe00a0ec44a4a1683715392f1751fc51fb23279dcb9f37fffef560315cf001ce44fa 
 
CHELSEA MANNING FILES FOR MARYLAND SENATE RUN - Chelsea Manning filed paperwork over the weekend for a Maryland Senate run. Manning, a transgender woman, was convicted in 2013 of leaking thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. Former President Barack Obama, however, commuted her 35-year prison sentence during his final days in office. Manning remains "an outspoken activist on intelligence and transgender-rights issues. Her case remains deeply controversial, particularly among conservatives, who criticized Obama's decision," Brent D. Griffiths reports. "Manning would be a primary challenger to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."
 More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327e1845e21c61e2e89f86cfd21af44112a66470974bd88b881ad60bb60ceb971db88c36937a77cb668 
 
WHITE HOUSE AIDE EXPECTED TO MEET WITH HOUSE INTEL - White House communications director Hope Hicks could meet with the House Intelligence Committee as early as Friday as the panel continues probing Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, CNN reports. Hicks will likely face questions about possible campaign contacts between Trump associates and the Kremlin, as well as the White House's role in drafting a misleading statement in response to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer.
 
"Hicks' testimony would mark at least the third high-level Trump associate to appear before the panel this week," Manu Raju, Dana Bash and Jeremy Herb report. "On Tuesday, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is expected to meet with the panel, while Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is expected to testify this week before the committee as well. But sitting White House officials rarely appear before the congressional panels investigating Russia meddling, making Hicks' appearance even more significant -- especially given her ties to the President." More from CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e083276cf758fc0ff0fab0b47535d808289ccda1fe86641e28fe412af3244cd03be75589b0619927e7f817 
 
PARTIES EYE DETENTE OVER RUSSIA PROBES - Senior members of the House Intelligence and Senate Judiciary committees hope to ease tensions amid the panels' Russia probes, which have grown increasingly partisan. "But despite hopeful signals from lawmakers and aides of both parties about a return to cooperation, any bipartisan spirit will be sorely tested in the coming weeks - particularly as Democrats raise the volume on concerns that Congress has not taken action to prevent new Russian meddling in the 2018 midterm elections," Elana and Kyle report. "Still, some key members of Congress seem determined to pull back from the brink of all-out partisan warfare over Russia." Much more: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e083278c1eafbbfa554d9013d17d8b210d6f040758a5e596e8a33b274dd9ca86b5cfb54a0ad76a2892c6d7 
 
VAN HOLLEN, RUBIO INTRODUCE BILL TO PREVENT ELECTION MEDDLING - Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) plan to introduce a bipartisan bill to defend U.S. elections from foreign actors. The lawmakers acknowledge Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and anticipate the threat of election interference will grow as time passes. "We cannot be a country where foreign intelligence agencies attempt to influence our political process without consequences," Rubio said in a statement. "This bill will help to ensure the integrity of our electoral process by using key national security tools to dissuade foreign powers from meddling in our elections." The lawmakers also
 published a joint op-ed in The Washington Post this morning. 
 
TRUMP AND MCCARTHY'S STARBURST STATUS - An observant Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the House majority leader, noticed last fall that Trump ate only two flavors of Starbursts: cherry and strawberry. "Those are the president's favorites," McCarthy said an aide told him. "Days later, the No. 2 Republican in the House - known for his relentless cultivation of political alliances - bought a plentiful supply of Starbursts and asked a staffer to sort through the pile, placing only those two flavors in a jar," Josh Dawsey and Robert Costa report for The Washington Post. More on how McCarthy positioned himself as "Trump's indispensable man in Congress": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e84aac5bc0e08327d4200912e7ec958f5d189f0508a983d7e212eba7bb1fd64baca520f34cc15cb07ee7048f7b8bb37c 
 
** A message from the Association of American Medical Colleges: The 340B program allows safety net hospitals to purchase drugs at discounts from pharmaceutical companies -- helping teaching hospitals strengthen care for low-income, rural, and other underserved Americans. At less than 3% of the U.S. drug market, it's a bargain for the country and a lifeline for hospitals and communities. aamc.org/340B **
 
TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House gavels in at 12 p.m. with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. The Senate meets at 4:30 p.m. to resume consideration of a bill renewing expiring federal spy powers that cleared the House last week. The chamber will hold a procedural vote on the bill at 5:30 p.m. 
 
AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will hold his weekly pen and pad briefing at 1:30 p.m. in H-144.
 
FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Thomas Patrick O'Shaughnessy was first to correctly guess that "Advise and Consent" was the last film that was actually shot inside the Capitol. Filming was done inside the Capitol and the Russell Senate Office Building.
 
TODAY'S TRIVIA - George Washington and John Adams delivered their State of the Union addresses in public speeches, but Thomas Jefferson submitted his in writing. Who was the first president to resume delivering oral State of the Union addresses and in what year did he do it? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: [email-masked].
 
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** A message from the Association of American Medical Colleges: The 340B Program allows safety net hospitals to purchase drugs at discounts from pharmaceutical companies -- helping teaching hospitals strengthen care for low-income, rural, and other underserved Americans. Best of all? 340B doesn't cost taxpayers a dime. At less than 3% of the total U.S. drug market, 340B is a bargain for our country and a lifeline for hospitals and communities. Congress should protect the 340B Program. Pass H.R. 4392. Learn more: aamc.org/340B **
 
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