Choose your own covid policy for House return

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

Jan 07, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus With Sarah Ferris, Elana Schor and Andrew Desiderio. HOUSE GEARS UP FOR RETURN —The House is set to return for the first week of legislative action in the new year, but the growing number of covid cases on Capitol Hill and efforts to slow the spread could have the House side looking more like 2020 than 2022. Pivot! Many Democratic offices are pivoting back to full, or mostly virtual work at least for the next few weeks in an effort to keep their teams healthy. Senior staff have told us they plan to reevaluate in two or three weeks. The House Rules committee set the tone , announcing Thursday that the panel's Monday afternoon meeting will be fully virtual, instead of in their cozy third floor hearing room. House votes are still on, for now, but there will be an effort to minimize time on the floor and close gatherings. The Capitol's Attending Physician, Dr. Brian Monahan, urged member offices and committees to "adopt a maximal telework posture," but there's not a universal definition that offices are using. For some that means all staff remote, for others staffing levels shift depending if the member is on-site and others are continuing a robust in-person presence. "It's just awkward and intense when people don't seem to have the same concerns about public safety," one House Democratic aide told Huddle. "It feels like every office has a different plan, in terms of what their staffing situation looks like." Republicans have advocated a full return to in-person action on the Hill and many offices reflect that stance with full staffing, in-person meetings with off the Hill groups and mask-optional policies. Stay tuned for another weird iteration of Congress during covid (and keep availing yourselves of the privilege of fast and free testing for folks on the Hill.)   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 snowy Friday, January 7. WHO'S MOVING MANCHIN? — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) "is crystal clear that he doesn't want to change the 60-vote threshold required to pass most bills via a unilateral vote, which is currently the only option to gut the filibuster. At the same time, he has a hard time saying no to his pals," writes Burgess, who dug into who the key swing-vote senator is really listening to. Sure, he's had Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and talk-show legend Oprah Winfrey on the phone. But there's something special about the trio of centrists Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine), who previously resisted changes to party rules, but are now trying to nudge Manchin towards flexibility on the issue. Close out the week with some Manchinalysis: Bill Clinton, Oprah and his fellow centrists: Dems go all-out to sway Manchin STAFFERS SAY — The Progressive Staff Association is running a survey for Hill staff, not just those associated with the PSA, with the stated goal of "examining the differences between office handbook policies and staff attitudes about working in Congress." It peaked your Huddle host's interest after years of covering institutional disinvestment, staff pay fights, attrition and diversity issues. The survey speaks to well-known realities for many Hill staffers, especially early career staffers. Here is a small sampling of the questions staffers can answer in the survey: — Do you have the equivalent of one month's rent in your savings, in case of an emergency? — Do you currently have, or have you ever taken out debt to make ends meet, because your income was not enough? — Do you currently or have you ever had a second job/gig to supplement your income? — Are you satisfied with your office's COVID-19 safety policy? — Have you ever faced sexual harassment while working on the hill or in your office? — Do you feel there is a toxic work environment in Congress? WHAT'S THE INTEL? — The House Intelligence Committee's new top Republican wants to turn the page on the panel's chaotic and hyper-partisan Trump era … good luck with that. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) sat down with Olivia and Andrew to talk about his new role and how he'll be different from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the Trump sycophant who left Congress this month to run the former president's media venture. Unlike Nunes, Turner has shown flashes of independence from Trump, though he's still happy to jab at Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the panel's chairman and the GOP's favorite bogeyman on the Hill. REID, REMEMBERED — A roster a Democratic heavy hitters are heading to Las Vegas this weekend to celebrate the life and legacy of Sen. Harry Ried. Former President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy for Reid and other speakers include President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Other speakers will be Reid family members and Elder M. Russell Ballard, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brandon Flowers of The Killers and Carole King, both among Reid's favorite artists, will perform. The former senate majority leader will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 12. WHO INVITED HAMILTON? — Viewers who tuned into a conversation between historians and Librarian of Congress marking the Jan. 6 anniversary were greeted with a puzzling musical number. Introducing the pre-taped song by "Hamilton" cast members, playwright and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda framed the choice for the Jan. 6 anniversary by saying "I believe no challenge is worth abandoning our efforts to unite as Americans." Confusingly, the song delivered was "Dear Theodosia" – an ode to fatherhood as the common bond between foes Hamilton and Burr that includes dark allusions to the deaths of Burr's daughter (in a shipwreck) and Hamilton's son (shot in a duel). It has a title so catchy that it's become a cliché, but one wonders if a more apropos choice might have been "The Room Where it Happens," which recounts the bipartisan backroom deal that made Washington into the nation's capital. (...Or no musical number at all.) HUDDLE HOTDISH Baby watch… Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) wishes he could have joined Rep. Liz Cheney and her father Dick Cheney as GOP representatives at the Jan. 6 commemoration events, tweeted he was there "in spirit." His wife is due to give birth any time now, so he stuck close to home. Caffeine headache… Dunkin fans noticed this week that the Sodexo app "Bite" is now required to order anything at the Longworth coffee staple. But in the app, there does not seem to be an option for ordering from the Longworth Dunkin. At least one customer gave up having Dunkin workers try to troubleshoot the app and just asked to order coffee the old fashioned way: through a mask and plexiglass barrier.   BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.     TRANSITIONS Alex Aronson is now managing director for the Institute of Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law. He previously was chief counsel for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) . … Matthew Bishop is now a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. He most recently was military legislative assistant for Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in session. The Senate convenes at noon, but no roll call votes are expected. AROUND THE HILL Snowy and quiet. TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: Well, there were actually multiple possible answers to yesterday's trivia question on suffragists representing their state in the U.S. Capitol National Statuary Hall. Oops. Check out the Shaping History: Women in Capitol Art podcast, as Huddle Trivia tries again. TODAY'S QUESTION: How many miles of sidewalks on the Capitol campus is the Architect of the Capitol staff responsible for clearing of ice and snow after a storm? 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

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.