Senin, 28 November 2016

A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news - Politico

By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com[1] or @heatherscope[2])

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

Story Continued Below

CBC UPSET OVER PROPOSED CHANGES— House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi faces her first real leadership challenge in years when caucus members—many still fuming over Democrats' poor showing on Election Day—vote Wednesday on their leaders for the next Congress. Pelosi is expected to fend off challenger Tim Ryan but not before angering several members who complain she's done little to address their concerns about the stagnation in leadership and her iron grip control of the caucus. "This will be the last go around for the current leadership slate, no matter what happens," a senior Democratic aide predicted to Huddle over the weekend.

The latest example: Rep. Cedric Richmond circulated a memo to the Congressional Black Caucus just before Thanksgiving criticizing lower-level leadership changes Pelosi is pushing, saying she is promoting some ideas that would significantly diminish the power of the CBC while ignoring member suggestions that could make a real impact. For example, Pelosi proposed[3] making the assistant leader role, currently held by Rep. James Clyburn, a position filled by a member who has served fewer than three terms whenever Clyburn leaves the post.

"[T]he original memo proposed that the Assistant Leader position be filled by someone who has served fewer than five terms. Why was this reduced to three terms?" Richmond wrote. "We have a number of members who have been in Congress five or more terms, but have not been able to serve in leadership roles because of stagnation at the top of our leadership structure."

Richmond, who's expected to run for CBC chairman in the group's elections this week (also on Wednesday), said key changes suggested by junior members were overlooked or ignored by Pelosi in her final proposal. For example, members had pushed to make the leaders of the Steering and Policy Committee and DCCC elected positions but those suggestions were not addressed by Pelosi in her letter announcing the changes. "There is a strong desire to make this an elected position," Richmond wrote of the DCCC chairmanship.

Meanwhile, Pelosi on Friday released her slate of nominees, which includes many allies and junior members who have been supportive of her longtime tenure. She picked three members to lead House Democrats' communications arm together: Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright.

Pelosi tapped Rep. Ben Ray Luján to lead the DCCC again, despite Democrats only picking up six seats in the election. And she picked Rep. Eric Swalwell, a staunch ally, to lead the Steering and Policy Committee with current co-chair Rosa DeLauro (another lawmaker who is close to Pelosi). More on her slate: http://politi.co/2gO99g1[4]

WAITING TO EXHALE: Ryan on Sunday defended his thin legislative record during his 14-year tenure in Congress, particularly his work to encourage meditation in schools. "First and foremost, I think that the Capitol could use a little mindfulness," Ryan told Fox News host Chris Wallace when asked about what he considers a major legislative achievement--directing federal education dollars in that direction.

Wallace also challenged Ryan on rumors he was just taking on Pelosi to gain some national name recognition ahead of a 2018 gubernatorial bid and had no real chance of unseating the current minority leader. "Those aren't the numbers we have," Ryan said when Wallace told him he was a long shot. "There is a lot of consternation in our caucus right now and we're making a hell of a run at this thing and I think we have a shot to win." Watch the interview: http://bit.ly/2gNdhwN[5]

Headcount-- So far Ryan has only received endorsements from a handful of his colleagues: Reps. Kathleen Rice, Ed Perlmutter, Marcia Fudge, Kurt Schrader and Jim Cooper.

THE OTHER HOUSE DEM RACE TO WATCH: Reps. Linda Sánchez and Barbara Lee are facing off for caucus vice-chair. "A woman of color will be elected to join House leadership this week for the first time, and she'll be a Democrat from California," reports Sarah D. Wire for the L.A. Times. More: http://lat.ms/2gOfPL5[6]

SENATOR, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION? GOP lawmakers will be rolling back into town tomorrow hoping to project the picture of party unity. But there's a big question they'll have a hard time dodging, all thanks to President-elect Donald Trump: Where do they stand on Trump's latest Tweetstorm erroneously claiming "millions of people" voted illegally (and all in Hillary Clinton's favor, nonetheless)? As of this morning, Trump's comment was retweeted[7] more than 44,000 times.

Related: "Trump's baseless assertions of voter fraud called 'stunning,'" by Andrew Restuccia. http://politi.co/2gOlocu[8]

CAPITOL HILL'S NEW POWER PLAYERS— Once ridiculed by their colleagues for supporting Trump, early backers are now enjoying their newfound sway on Capitol Hill. "The few who were willing to endure the ridicule of other GOP lawmakers by placing their chips on Trump early have been vaulted from backbench obscurity to now arguably rivaling the influence of GOP congressional leaders. They, more than the high-profile pols flocking to Trump since he won, have the ear of the president-elect," Rachael reports.

The original Trump Caucus: Rep. Chris Collins, who was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump, along with Reps. Lou Barletta, Tom Marino, Duncan Hunter and Marsha Blackburn. "Mr. Trump, I have come to find out, very much values loyalty," Collins said. "To know these people and have them on your speed dial is awesome, humbling." Don't miss Rachael's story: http://politi.co/2gO5a2W[9]

WE'RE ROLLING RIGHT INTO MONDAY, NOV. 28. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. I hope you all had a sleepy holiday week full of turkey and stuffing. Oh yeah, and a little football. ICYMI, the Crimson Tide is headed to the SEC championship game this weekend after rolling over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED— The Hill's roundup[10] of House members being considered for cabinet posts.

TODAY IN CONGRESS— The Senate gavels in at 3 p.m. today but will not hold a roll call vote until Tuesday. The House is out.

AROUND THE HILL— The Capitol Christmas tree arrives at 10 a.m. with a photo-op on First St. NW. Sen. James Lankford rolls out his government waste report titled "Federal fumbles: 100 ways the government dropped the ball" at an 11 a.m. press conference in S-325.

PLAYING CATCH UP— In case you missed it, my colleagues were churning out some good stories over the Thanksgiving weekend. "Five senators essential to Trump's success—or failure," by Elana: http://politi.co/2gOk1uv[11]; and "Trump douses White House hopes for Cruz, Rubio and others," by Burgess: http://politi.co/2gOi8Oi[12]

ROLLING BACK CUBA RELATIONS? Following the death of Fidel Castro over the weekend, Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio say it's time to revisit President Obama's attempts to strengthen diplomatic ties with the island country. "What the Obama administration has done has strengthened Raul Castro," Cruz, a Cuban American, said Sunday on ABC.

More from Rebecca Morin: "Rubio, who, like Cruz, is of Cuban descent, said he believes Trump will demand more of Cuba to bring concessions on human rights issues. 'He has made very clear that he felt that the moves President Obama has made toward Cuba were wrong and that he would examine them and change the ones that needed to be changed,'" Rubio said on CNN. More: http://politi.co/2gOaZNL[13]

UH, LET ME GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT— While Rubio seems pretty certain Trump will take action on Cuba, he's not so bullish on whether the president-elect should be trusted with the nuclear codes. Rubio dodged a direct question from CNN's Dana Bash Sunday after saying during the campaign voters shouldn't give "the nuclear codes of the United States to an erratic individual," reports Matthew Nussbaum. Rubio on Sunday deflecting the question: "I feel comfortable that the voters have chosen him to be the commander in chief." More: http://politi.co/2gOeBzC[14]

THIS WEEK IN THE HOUSE— The 21st Century Cures Act, a top lame duck priority for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will be considered in the House this week. More from the Hill's Cristina Marcos and Jordain Carney: "House staffers have been trying to hammer out a final deal, which is expected to include mental health, opioids and the cancer moonshot initiative, putting in extra hours around the Thanksgiving holiday. … but the proposal has stalled over funding for the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration." More: http://bit.ly/2gOd5gN[15]

DEEP DIVE: SESSIONS LAST CONFIRMATION HEARING— Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's attorney general nominee, already knows what it's like to be grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Washington Post takes a deep dive into the last time he faced his now-colleagues, during his confirmation hearing for a federal judgeship in 1986. "Senators grilled Sessions over charges of racial insensitivity and prejudice, and heard testimony from 21 witnesses over 19 hours. The Republican-controlled committee blocked Sessions's nomination on a 10-to-8 vote." More about the case that kept Sessions off the bench from Michelle Ye Hee Lee: http://wapo.st/2gOifJO[16]

ARRIVAL LOUNGE— Kristin Shapiro is leaving her associates job at Williams & Connolly for a new gig as assistant general counsel in the House starting Dec. 1. Shannon Kellman starts today as the assistant director for Washington External Affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations. She was previously the foreign policy LA for Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER— Bill Anderson correctly guessed that the first documented Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1598 in San Elizario, Texas, near El Paso. Juan de Onate was the explorer who hosted the feast, which was noted in a release from Sen. John Cornyn's office last week.

And thanks to Bill, who pointed out that the origins of Thanksgiving are actually in dispute and can even be traced back to Francisco Vázquez de Coronado in 1541.

TODAY'S TRIVIA— I'll take today's question: According to the Washington Post, Sessions was only the second federal judicial nominee to be blocked by the Senate in nearly 50 years. Who was the other blocked nominee and when? The first person to correctly guess the answer to today's question gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle.

Have your own Congress or D.C.-themed trivia questions you'd like to see in Huddle? Send them my way: hcaygle@politico.com[17]

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