Subject: POLITICO Huddle: SHUTDOWN STRETCHES INTO WORKWEEK — Trump goes quiet — CONGRESS DRESSES DOWN FOR WEEKEND SESSION — How will the shutdown reshape midterms?
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2018 06:50:49 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_7312514.xt.local>

01/22/2018 07:49 AM EDT

By Nolan D. McCaskill ([email-masked] or @NolanDMcCaskill) 
 
SHUTDOWN ENTERS DAY THREE - A failed procedural vote in the Senate late Friday plunged the federal government into the early hours of a shutdown. And despite lawmakers spending their weekend inside the Capitol trying to reach a deal, we're now on Day Three. The Senate is expected to hold another procedural vote at noon on a bill to fund the government through Feb. 8, but it's not clear the outcome will be any different. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met Sunday, as did a bipartisan group of centrists who presented a proposal to party leaders.
 
McConnell committed to pursuing a DACA-border security bill if the immigration impasse isn't resolved by Feb. 8, "assuming that the government remains open," he said Sunday. That means a bipartisan group of lawmakers would have to reach a resolution before then - or Democrats would have to back another short-term spending bill for McConnell to keep his pledge. That apparently wasn't enough for Democrats. "Talks will continue," Schumer said, "but we have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward that would be acceptable for both sides."
 
"Some Democrats said they need to know the House would take action on an immigration bill, too," Burgess, Heather and Elana report. "Democrats insist that any funding legislation extend Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, while Republicans have said they won't negotiate on immigration until the government reopens." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d362b55a75042e83e1c7d80c248d21762c25c7888525af9f18d8b43ba438e14872697dabc10f61c0fb1 
 
TRUMP LIES LOW DURING SHUTDOWN - President Donald Trump was uncharacteristically quiet over the weekend, which drew no complaints from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who suggested negotiations were better off without the president's involvement. "Mr. Trump spent the weekend at the White House unusually disengaged, except for some phone calls," Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman report for The New York Times. Trump wanted to get involved, but aides have urged him not to. The president, after all, has proven to be "either unwilling or unable to articulate the immigration policy he [wants], much less understand the nuances of what it would involve."
 
"Instead of negotiating his own way out of the quagmire, Trump seemed content to watch lawmakers and his staff haggle from his third-floor perch at the White House," CNN's Kevin Liptak reports. Trump watched nonstop TV coverage over the weekend, according to Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker of The Washington Post, bouncing "from grousing to aides that he will be blamed for the shutdown, to asking aloud if he should try to end it, to saying Republicans are in a better spot than Democrats and citing polls that show as much." 
 
For his part, Trump did continue tweeting. He most notably re-upped his call for Republican Senate leaders to do away with the legislative filibuster, if necessary, so the party can pass legislation with a simple majority instead of 60 votes. The GOP conference, however, remains opposed to such a rule change.
 
Related reads: "Shutdown throws Trump's Davos trip into doubt," via Ben White: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d36a30489fd76bba2ed6afe1b20bbc87438bb2324b9a578604607e556a1da66c3f17fef65ace44cc021 and "Shutdown politics weigh on State of the Union preparations," from Andrew Restuccia: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d3606c42c6916823ab9a15d731bd66d6c11f0648d2e8f50e09c3b008570ac5307cb0052e18c6faab202 
 
WHAT THIS SHUTDOWN MEANS FOR THE REST OF AMERICA - The weekend effects of the shutdown were muted. Trash wasn't picked up on National Park Service property, military reservists' drill plans were canceled and some government employees' cellphones were turned off. "But the shutdown continuing into Monday, the start of the workweek, means that hundreds of thousands of workers will stay home and key federal agencies will be affected," according to The Washington Post. "Passport and visa applications will go unprocessed, federal contractors will see payments delayed, and the Internal Revenue Service will slow its preparations for the coming tax season."
 
More than 1,000 White House staff are among the hundreds of thousands of workers who will be furloughed. "The military is considered essential and will still report for duty. However, the troops -- including those in combat -- will potentially not be paid during a shutdown," Daniella Diaz and Kevin Liptak report for CNN. "If the shutdown goes on for weeks, about 1.3 million active-duty military will be expected to work potentially without pay. The military is currently paid through February 1." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d36d322be8058afa3b2968a5bf9c3e0de0153b42950314160d9025082e706d34757af7df74945957a85 
 
Related: "Troops caught in shutdown crossfire," by Gregory Hellman and Connor O'Brien: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d3659744ac442f0caaf30f5b71be6ac8533456804aa4fe1898b0ef60985b9aed6300b28f98e86f245fe 
 
WELCOME BACK. IT WAS A LONG WEEKEND IN WASHINGTON. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Jan. 22. 
 
FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: CNN's whip count on where lawmakers stood ahead of Friday's failed vote was the big winner.
 
HOUSE REPUBLICANS RALLY AROUND RYAN - House Republicans commend House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for holding the line: The Wisconsin Republican is willing to hold a vote on a short-term spending bill through Feb. 8 but hasn't acceded to Senate Democrats' request to take up a Dreamer bill and is unwilling to negotiate on immigration while the government remains shut down. "Conservatives say he's stayed true to the conference in refusing to commit the House to voting on a bipartisan Senate immigration deal that might divide their own ranks," Rachael reports. 
 
"Immigration has been the biggest wedge issue in Republican politics, and how Ryan navigates it during the shutdown could determine how long he heads the conservative GOP conference," she adds. So far, he's kept his word to his caucus that he won't force a vote on an immigration bill that doesn't have the support of a majority of House Republicans. And he told members Sunday that Republicans were winning the shutdown battle. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d36c801acf4e0ae67689da7ee7d6efbe0bee4c825d00b1234e0b72b64ab51f8da1f0a5ad4583b4ce496
 
CONGRESS SHUTS DOWN DRESS CODE - One of the first casualties of the government shutdown was the congressional dress code. The Capitol over the weekend saw "an outbreak of casual attire," Byron Tau and Kristina Peterson report for The Wall Street Journal. Lawmakers in the House "generally wandered in and out of votes and meetings sporting clothes more common for a supermarket than a legislature," they write. On the Senate side, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) wore a fleece vest, while Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) briefed reporters in a T-shirt, windbreaker and baseball cap. "Oh, sh-t, I have my hat on," Graham remembered as he walked toward the Senate floor. More: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d362c2f0179730ad00346cb7abb7f8bdd2c6bdf35c31af963a367877e6ca642630c3b9685f5ff6e0517 
 
SHUTDOWN COULD RESHAPE 2018 ELECTION - Republicans are fearful that the government shutdown will hurt them in the midterms, and GOP strategists are worried the shutdown distracts Americans from the success of the massive tax cuts the party passed late last year. The impact of a shutdown, however, "can be hard to predict," Alex Isenstadt and Gabriel Debenedetti note. "It was widely expected that Republicans would face serious political repercussions when the government last shut down in 2013. Instead, they went on to seize control of the Senate and win the largest House majority since the Herbert Hoover presidency." The shutdown could hurt Senate Democrats seeking reelection in states Trump
 won in 2016.
 
TWEET DU JOUR: Trump seemed to suggest that women's marches that occurred over the weekend were "to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation" of the first year of his administration. A snarky House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) quoted the tweet, asking, "Who wants to tell him?" 
 
MEEHAN SETTLED SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLAIM - Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) used taxpayer funds to settle a sexual misconduct complaint with a former aide, Katie Rogers and Kenneth P. Vogel report for The New York Times. The 62-year-old expressed interest in the decades-younger aide's personal life. "But after the woman became involved in a serious relationship with someone outside the office last year, Mr. Meehan professed his romantic desires for her - first in person, and then in a handwritten letter - and he grew hostile when she did not reciprocate," they write. "Life in the office became untenable, so she initiated the complaint process, started working from home and ultimately left the job."
 
Meehan denied the allegations through a spokesman, who said the congressman "has always treated his colleagues, male and female, with the utmost respect and professionalism." He called on the woman to waive the confidentiality agreement, a move her lawyer called "a desperate effort to preserve his career." Meehan was yanked from the House Ethics Committee, where he helped probe sexual misconduct claims. The panel will now investigate allegations against him, and Ryan, the House speaker, has told him he should repay the taxpayer funds. Rogers and Vogel with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d36dd188f9198fb060d0e3433135eaab67fb986960d6e8cefd0319d4f7a4c4f1a923214b46ec2d5e0b9 
 
DOJ EYES MENENDEZ RETRIAL - The Justice Department intends to retry Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and co-defendant Salomon Melgen, it announced Friday, two months after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the federal corruption case. Menendez is up for reelection this year. His office said it regrets DOJ "has decided to double down on an unjust prosecution," but "Senator Menendez fully intends to be vindicated - again." DOJ didn't indicate whether it plans to retry Menendez on all 12 counts against him - one was for filing false reports and 11 were for bribery.
 
"Menendez and Melgen's first trial took place more than two years after they were indicted in 2015," Matt Friedman reports. "Federal authorities allege Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor, provided Menendez with private jet flights, lavish vacations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions. In exchange, Menendez allegedly went to bat for Melgen with federal officials to help his financial interests in a $9 million Medicare billing dispute and a port security contract in the Dominican Republic." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=139d0187890d0d364721c57b6592b0ec8dd430a845ca9d95002c54a2e9daf24dcd6b888dd45648d893058ae450f610dd 
 
VANCE PASSES ON OHIO SENATE RUN - "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance will not challenge Rep. Jim Renacci in the Ohio Senate Republican primary. "Vance said Friday he wanted to focus on his family, his work with a new venture capital fund focused on boosting Midwest companies and a nonprofit he set up to help to tackle the state's opioid crisis," Kevin Robillard reports. "Vance's decision came hours after Ohio's GOP congressional delegation unanimously endorsed Renacci, a sign of how the congressman ... is gathering GOP support." At the White House's urging, Renacci left the governor's race to replace Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who abruptly ended his campaign, citing his wife's health
 issues. 
 
"Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons had been in the race for months, but his campaign didn't thrill the National Republican Senate Committee," Jessie Balmert writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Don Elijah Eckhart, of Galloway, and Marysville business owner Melissa Ackison are also running in the GOP primary." The winner of the May 8 primary faces incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in the general election.
 
TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House gavels in at 12 p.m. Members are advised to remain in or near Washington, as votes are possible today. The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of a motion to concur. The chamber will hold a procedural vote at 12 p.m. on a continuing resolution to fund the government through Feb. 8 and the Children's Health Insurance Program for six more years. 
 
FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Arman Ramnath was first to correctly guess that John Seymour was the last ex-mayor to be appointed to the Senate but lose an election for the remainder of the term. It was a California Senate seat, and Seymour had served as mayor of Anaheim.
 
TODAY'S TRIVIA - Arman with today's question: Two senior White House staffers during the past two government shutdowns held the same position and a degree from the same university. Who are they, what position did they serve in and what university did they both attend? 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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