Subject: POLITICO Huddle, presented by Freight Rail Works: HOUSE SET TO REJECT TRUMP’S WALL EMERGENCY -- What to expect when Cohen testifies -- YEMEN RESOLUTION BLOCKED IN SENATE -- Dems investigate Trump contact with Whitaker
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 07:04:57 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

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02/26/2019 08:03 AM EDT
        
By MELANIE ZANONA ([email-masked]; @MZanona)

        
READY TO REBUKE -- The House is expected to easily pass a resolution today to overturn President Donald Trump's national emergency, formally rebuking Trump's effort to bypass Congress and build a border wall. So far, only one Republican - libertarian Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) - has backed the measure, though Democrats are expecting to pick up another five to 10 Republicans on the floor. More from Sarah and yours truly: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c1772740868cdceaff904b639042503efa18deb75705b5988da1c8a40acbd2d82cea8898b57cb8aa199eb3e2 

The goal for GOP leaders is to keep the defections below a dozen, according to multiple sources. While no one expects the chamber to come close to having the 50 GOP votes that would be needed to survive a Trump veto, a significant number of losses in the House could set the tone for Republicans in the Senate. Already, three GOP senators have said they will support the resolution - just one shy of how many Republicans are needed for it to pass. Burgess and Marianne with the dispatch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c177274012112134460607f6da607b50c7295942d86a609e227f0a80525f4a9e7910f34cba6029042f9f6456 

The White House has started doing broad outreach on Capitol Hill, though they will have a more targeted approach once they receive a whip check from Republican leadership. Vice President Mike Pence will also join Senate Republicans for their weekly caucus lunch on Tuesday. And Trump has been doing his own form of outreach: firing off warning shots on Twitter. "I hope our great Republican Senators don't get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security," he wrote. "[D]on't fall into the Democrats 'trap' of Open Borders and Crime!" 

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- There may not be bombshells when Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen testifies in front of Congress this week, but there will be fireworks. Cohen, who will appear before three committees starting with a closed-door session today, plans to testify on Trump's "use of racist language, lies about his wealth and possible criminal conduct," according to The New York Times. And Cohen will give a detailed account of the president's role in hush money payments made to women who allegedly had affairs with Trump - and Cohen is prepared to show documents to back up his claims. Much more from Maggie Haberman: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c17727403d45007785c03e5f6475798454beb0271f93d9eb918b8fc2496a3a381fe5c2f8db800d566dbf446f 

Related: "Drug executives to testify on Capitol Hill about rising drug prices," via CNN's Katie Sullivan and Tami Luhby: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c177274044868b66d33f7d04646bf603d4a2f29e69e4b25670a675f1049c10381b86042268b41251cf2328b9 

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Feb. 26, where your host can't wait to see who Chicagoans give their rose to during today's crowded and unpredictable mayoral primary race.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The report from Axios on Trump's D.C. Circuit Court nominee running into Senate roadblocks was the winner.

** A message from Freight Rail Works: The Department of Transportation expects total freight demand to grow 37% by 2040 - and only one industry is spending billions of dollars annually to build the freight transportation network of the future. Learn how freight rail's private investments are creating a safer, cleaner and cost-effective solution for today and tomorrow. www.aar.org/freight-rails-investments **

DEMS HAVE DIRT -- House investigators believe they have evidence that Trump asked former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to put one of the president's allies in charge of an investigation into Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, reports The Wall Street Journal. The revelation could add to Democrats' potential obstruction of justice case against Trump. And while Whitaker did not act on Trump's request, the House Judiciary Committee is looking into whether he committed perjury during his recent congressional testimony. More from Rebecca Ballhaus and Dustin Volz: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c17727403d58a96197a514a32d424c8b2fd2148021c24f8919525941077fdcef05f522a99f180b1e154ad0ee 

Related read: "Rosenstein: Barr will do the 'right thing' on Mueller report," by Josh Gerstein: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c17727404a14aef73517e045f15863f09de062068e124d86cfe5a5bdcd17440d262ddaf85669d8a95296c16f 

KILL BILL -- It looks like the House GOP's push to add language condemning anti-Semitism to a Yemen War Powers resolution has killed the bill in the Senate. The parliamentarian ruled that the House-passed resolution was no longer germane because of the unrelated anti-Semitism provision, which Republicans attached - and Democrats backed - in an effort to rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) over a controversial tweet. Senators still plan to force a vote on a clean version of the resolution and send it back to the House. But the new twist represents a setback for supporters of the resolution, who were eager to send it to Trump's desk (where it was expected to face a veto.) More from Andrew: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c1772740eaf527bc9658d9a3fccb5e6efefb2611fbf2c540c4c9c4d1fc708a824641cd6e919e73452fe649a1 

SENATE SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION -- The Senate on Monday failed to pass an anti-abortion bill - but passage wasn't the point. GOP leaders were looking to squeeze Democrats ahead of 2020 by forcing everyone to go on record over the legislation, which would require babies who survive attempted abortions to receive medical care. Republicans have been trying to keep the spotlight on "late-term abortions," an issue that they think fires up their base while dividing Democrats. And adding to the political theater on Monday, a group of House Republicans marched over to the Senate to join their GOP colleagues during the floor vote. More from Alice Miranda Ollstein: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c17727406edfab52938e42de9bb73d0b7b5182b0b0d36e83c8932f61daa7e13a0bc2075c323f638db7883990 

LAY OFF ME -- The Trump Organization is demanding that the House Judiciary Committee stop investigating the company, arguing in a letter to the panel that one of its legal consultants has a conflict of interest. The committee, which will oversee a sweeping set of investigations into Trump, recently hired Barry Berke to serve as a legal adviser. Berke's firm has long represented the Trump Organization, and he also co-authored several legal articles laying out the argument for an obstruction of justice case against Trump. More from Andrew: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c1772740c4434697dd17d1e8af02f3cea9666e6901f4b97f9e96371d198c6a89a866fdb94f2a92f95877998d

A GREEN NEW PRICE TAG -- The progressives' Green New Deal resolution could cost as much as $93 trillion over 10 years, according to a new analysis from the right-leaning American Action Forum. The eye-popping price tag includes $8.3 trillion to $12.3 trillion for eliminating carbon emissions from the power and transportation sectors and $42.8 trillion to $80.6 trillion for providing jobs and health care - two core pillars of the plan. But supporters of the sweeping proposal, who argue inaction would be even more costly, maintain their resolution is just a blueprint to get a conversation started, not a concrete policy proposal that is ready to be scored. More from Bloomberg's Ari Natter: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c17727407e9c5725a769aa17fdcb2649b1c77733268ac6287cf0177b3f57deffc70ac7d7d4c78fae3974d8ee 

Related: "Climate protesters storm McConnell's office," from Anthony Adragna: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c1772740df554147f0cb056cebb173adaabaed1a0acbf4500c96e97dec65230060e157eb18b5c1ca2d4a9c07 
          TRANSITIONS         
Michael Hamilton Brady started this week as press secretary in Rep. Anna Eshoo's (D-Calif.) office. He previously was on Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-Mo.) communications team. 

Matt Atwood started on Monday as press secretary for Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.). He previously was the communications manager for the Heritage Foundation's Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Freedom.

Cory Fritz has joined FTI Consulting's public affairs team from the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he was the deputy staff director under Ed Royce (R-Calif.). He's also a John Boehner alum. 

Hamlin Wade, former senior adviser on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joins DISH's government relations team in Denver.
          TODAY IN CONGRESS         
The House gavels in at 10 a.m., with first votes expected around 2:15 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=838d50d4c1772740569915e306e38f6e549d7e12d2893f39c639a385b3e868f1be31345148d827430162129dd6ab0e15 The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of Eric D. Miller's nomination to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit.
          AROUND THE HILL         
The House Democratic Caucus holds a closed-door meeting at 9 a.m. in HC-5.

The House GOP caucus meets behind closed doors at 9 a.m. in HVC-215.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and GOP leaders hold a press conference at 10 a.m. in HVC Studio A. 

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Vice Chair Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) hold a weekly press conference at 10:15 a.m. in HC-8.

Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) hold a press conference on anti-abortion legislation at 10:30 a.m. on the House Triangle.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds a pen and pad briefing with reporters at 11:00 a.m. in his Capitol office, H-107.

Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) hold a press conference on comprehensive child care legislation at 11:15 a.m. in SVC-203.

Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) hold a press conference on a universal background check bill at 11:30 a.m. on the House Triangle.

The Senate will recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus luncheons. Both parties will hold a media availability at the Ohio Clock Corridor following the lunches.

GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Republican members hold a press conference on the Democratic-backed gun control measures at 12:30 p.m. on the House Triangle.

Pelosi, Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and House Democrats hold a press conference on a voting rights act measure at 12:30 p.m. in H-207.
          TRIVIA         
MONDAY'S WINNER -- Chris Armstrong was the first to guess that Rep. Robert Drinan (D-Mass.) was the first lawmaker to introduce an impeachment resolution against Richard Nixon while Tip O'Neill was majority leader. Drinan was a Jesuit priest who taught for more than two decades at Georgetown University Law Center after leaving the House.

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From Chris: During the early 19th Century, the members of the U.S. Congress were involved in numerous duels. What famous congressman shot a former U.S. General in a duel, and what major American city bears his name? 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 Freight Rail Works: America's freight railroads spend an average of $25 billion a year on infrastructure, equipment and innovation - all at no cost to taxpayers. What does America get out of it? A cleaner environment, a cost-effective solution to get American goods to market nationally and beyond, and a boost in economic activity that amounted to $220 billion in 2017 alone. Learn how the future of freight transportation is working for America today. www.aar.org/freight-rails-investments **
    
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