| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | With help from Sarah Ferris and Andrew Desiderio SCHUMER HAS A PLAN — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled a roadmap Wednesday to move forward on both elections reform legislation and rules changes. And as of late last night, it is already in motion. But as the ball gets rolling, Senate Democrats still don't have enough votes to weaken the filibuster. Here's how it will work: The House is on track to pass a bill today containing two major pieces of legislation: 1) The Freedom to Vote Act which would create new federal mandates for early voting, ballot drop boxes, vote-by-mail and other provisions aimed at countering GOP-led state laws enacted in response to false claims by former President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was stolen. 2) The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore federal oversight provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court. Both have been inserted into an unrelated NASA bill. House Democratic leadership held a rare late-night policy briefing with a group of senior staffers Wednesday night to go over the voting reform bill coming to the floor Thursday. A key message stressed: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is fully on board with the bill itself, per people listening. But that only gets them halfway. Manchin is not fully on board with changing the Senate rules in order to get the bill passed. He told reporters multiple times this week that he is willing to change the filibuster rules only with bipartisan support, not on party lines. That double-barrel bill will be sent to the Senate as a "message" from the House, which means it will not be subject to an initial filibuster by Republicans and will be debated on the floor. But ending debate will be harder than starting it. Sixty votes will still be required for cloture. Republicans, of course, have blocked four previous attempts to bring up the elections and voting rights measures, using the filibuster each time. More: Schumer reveals endgame for clash over filibuster and voting reform President Joe Biden is heading back to the Capitol Thursday to join Senate Democrats for a special caucus meeting (we're loath to call it a lunch since there will not be food) to discuss the path forward for election reform legislation and the battle to change the Senate's own rules. "There's a real risk that Thursday will end with Biden and his party replaying disastrous visits he made to Capitol Hill last year," write Burgess Everett and Laura Barrón-López. | | | | 
From left, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Senate Chaplain Barry Black, talk before a ceremony for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol as Reid lies in state, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, in Washington. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP) | Tom Williams/Pool via AP | | | | | DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, January 13, where we asked for a plan and Chuck answered. FOUR CORNERS SPENDING TALKS — The chairs and ranking members of both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees meet today to talk about trying to strike a spending deal. Federal agencies are currently being funded under a continuing resolution that runs out Feb. 18. RUSSIA RESET — The Senate will vote today on Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) bill to sanction the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that runs from Russia to Germany. A few things of note on this vote that was scheduled back in December: It gives Republicans the chance to hammer Russia in a way they hesitated to do while former President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory posture toward Russia. The vote is also a chance to squeeze centrists and vulnerable Democrats who are eager to show they're being tough on Russia while troops and tanks amass at Ukraine's border. The White House's intense lobbying campaign against Cruz's legislation has animated Republicans even further — along with Democrats' legislative alternative, introduced by Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Foreign Relations panel, lamented that the White House "just spent an enormous amount of political capital holding all their people together who do not want to be in that position" of opposing sanctions. And Cruz crowed about how Democrats "spent five years with Donald Trump as president screaming 'Russia Russia Russia.'" But, as Andrew explains, it's not that simple — and Democrats are pushing back strongly on the idea that their alternative proposal is an effort at political cover: GOP seeks a Russia reboot with Senate sanctions vote JAN. 6 PANEL SEEKS MCCARTHY COOPERATION — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the Capitol wants to hear testimony from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about his interactions with then-president Donald Trump as a mob laid siege to the Capitol. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said the panel wants to know about the details of Trump's phone call with McCarthy on the day of the attack — the one where Trump said "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are." McCarthy said in a statement Wednesday night that he would not cooperate with the request. "It is with neither regret nor satisfaction that I have concluded to not participate with this select committee's abuse of power that stains this institution today and will harm it going forward," he said. Asked whether the panel would subpoena him to ensure his compliance, Thompson told reporters, "We will consider it." Kyle and Nick have more.
RELATED: Jan. 6 committee rebuts challenges to its legitimacy, citing Katrina and Benghazi probes, from Kyle HONORING RETIREES — Prolegis hosts an event tonight for members and staff tonight honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the retiring members of the Congressional Black Caucus: Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.). TASK FORCE MEETS — The 165-member Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force holds its first meeting of 2022 today, which is set to include a briefing from 97Percent and Beacon Research on new polling of more than 1,000 gun owners, including the finding that gun owners underestimate support for gun safety policies among their peers.
| | | Reid alums… come get your guy. Everyone grieves differently, but trying to get a date by dropping that your former boss is lying in state is… a lot. Sign of the times…. Farewell via Facetime spotted at the Reid lying in state. Simply transcendent… The House Well-Being center is launching a new roster of "resilience-based programs" including one for resilient leadership about using transcendental meditation to "reduce stress and anxiety, build resilience, and improve sleep." There's also one on breathing techniques and one on "mind-body skills to reduce stress and the impacts of trauma." Attn: Intern wranglers…ehem, coordinators: the Modernization Staff Association is holding a virtual intern coordinator roundtable from 3:30-4:30 p.m. tonight to share best practices and discuss what additional support could help "develop and manage sustainable, productive programs." RSVP here.
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The Mood in the Capitol Was Already Dark. Then Came Omicron, from The New York Times The E-word is poised for a Capitol Hill comeback, from Paul Kane at The Washington Post Lawmakers ask 5 agencies for update on meeting customer service legislation's goals, from Jory Heckman at Federal News Network Harry Reid: From Capitol Cop to Powerhouse Senate Majority Leader , from Carl Hulse at The New York Times Fortenberry Formally Announces Re-election Bid Amidst Legal Troubles, from KIOS Omaha Public Radio GOP House candidate Monica De La Cruz will be allowed to return to her Texas home in April amid legal fight with her estranged husband, from The Washington Post TRANSITIONS Caleb Randall-Bodman is now the communications director for House Armed Services Committee Democrats, having previously been the deputy. Christopher Estep has assumed the role of press secretary and digital director for the majority. Amy Pellegrino is now a director on Johnson & Johnson's federal affairs pharmaceutical team, overseeing part of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals portfolio. She most recently was health policy director for Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Heather K. Sager is now deputy chief of staff for communications for Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.). She was previously Bustos's communications director. Leighton Huch is now deputy chief of staff, policy and operations for Bustos. She was previously Legislative Director. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with a vote around 2:45 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. Senate HELP Committee business meeting on eight nominations, including Robert Califf's nomination to lead the FDA and three Labor Department nominations (S-211). 10:45 a.m. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference (Studio A). 11:30 a.m. McCarthy holds his weekly press conference (Studio A). 1 p.m. The president will meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus at the Capitol to discuss voting rights legislation (Kennedy Caucus Room). | | | WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Steve Owens correctly answered that Kathleen Sebelius, former HHS Secretary and Kansas Governor, is the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John "Jack" Gilligan. TODAY'S QUESTION: What event on this date in 1982 shook Washington? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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