| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | With Sarah Ferris, Andrew Desiderio and Anthony Adragna DEMS VOTING DILEMMA: GETTING THE VOTES — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is expected to lay out a plan as soon as this evening on what the Democrats are actually planning to do with voting rights votes and the anticipated filibuster fight, following President Joe Biden's swing through Georgia today. But what are Dems to do, given that their 50-person caucus is not united behind any one path forward on changing the Senate's procedural rules? The holdouts are not just Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is not yet committed to a rules overhaul that would allow elections reform legislation to pass by a simple majority, he told Burgess and Marianne on Monday. Kelly is a centrist and up for reelection in November. He said he has yet to see what, exactly, he would vote on and that the proposals Democrats have discussed change "almost weekly." He is among a handful of Democrats still weighing where they stand on the party's effort to change the rules in order to pass sweeping federal elections legislation. More from our Senate duo: Dems' filibuster conundrum: It's not just Manchin and Sinema RELATED: In pivot to voting rights, Biden risks falling short on a second big goal, by Seung Min Kim at The Washington Post "Different people have various differing ideas about what kind of reform there should be," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Marianne. "We're trying to come to a consensus." For many of the still-deciding Democrats, it comes down to what the rules-change proposal actually looks like. A HARD ROAD AHEAD — Democrats are at an intersection and there's plenty of options for the path forward, but it still isn't clear that any will get them where they're trying to go. Marianne has a must-read roadmap out this morning, with explanations of the options on the table and what it would take for Democrats to lock in enough votes to take action: The fate of the filibuster: Your guide to the changes Dems really want | | | | 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 Tuesday, January 11, where it has come to our attention that there is nail polish named after a book about the mice that live in the Capitol.
PIPELINE OF PRESSURE — Top Biden administration officials arrived on Capitol Hill Monday night with one goal: persuade wavering Senate Democrats to oppose Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) bill to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Democrats are already on track to kill the legislation; but the Biden administration clearly wants as few Democratic defections as possible ahead of the vote. But some moderates aren't yet convinced. (Where have we heard that before?) Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) emerged from Monday night's briefing noncommittal on Cruz's bill, even as they echoed some of the Biden team's key arguments against it. The Russia-to-Germany pipeline, the State Department contends, serves as key leverage for the president as he negotiates with Russia over its threats to invade Ukraine; sanctioning it would undercut Biden and remove it from the diplomatic toolkit, they say. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), an ardent opponent of the Cruz bill and a key ally for the administration on this issue, criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for publicly backing Cruz's legislation this past weekend. Andrew has more: Biden administration hits the Hill to lobby Dems against GOP-backed Russia sanctions PRESENT BY PROXY — More than 90 members of the House — slightly more than a fifth — voted by proxy on Monday evening. They were voting to establish a quorum, meaning all those members voted remotely that there were enough members present to conduct their business, writes Anthony . Case counts continued to tick up Monday with four Republicans announcing positive tests: Reps. Nancy Mace (S.C.), Rick Crawford (Ark.), John Katko (N.Y.) and Ben Cline (Va.). Your Huddle host wishes everyone a speedy recovery. But we are not confident those names will be the last we see this week. (Lawmakers are under no obligation to disclose a positive covid test. It's possible more are sick but just haven't said anything publicly.) Lawmakers must now wear N95 or KN95 masks on the floor, an upgrade from the cloth and surgical masks. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) tweeted some commentary, noting that the masks the House is providing to lawmakers are made in China. Looking ahead: The same mask requirements will apply to the Dems' caucus meeting this morning, where there won't be the usual coffee or breakfast spread to ensure that masks stay on. The meeting will be hybrid, with some members in person and others on a video call, a set-up the caucus settled on in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician. DETAILS ON REID HONOR — Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) arrives one final time to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Following arrival, there will be a tribute open to "a limited number" of members. Reid will then lie in state from 12:30 p.m. until 4 p.m. A departure ceremony will then wrap up the day's events around 5 p.m. Masks required and attendance will be limited throughout the day. FIRST IN HUDDLE: WHIP DOLLARS — House GOP Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) will announce this morning that he hauled in $6.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, bringing his 2021 year-to-date total to $28.1 million. His team says he transferred $12.4 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee and $1.5 million directly to other members and candidates. Some other GOP fundraising tallies, from our friends at Morning Score: Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) raised $809,000 in the fourth quarter for her reelection bid in IA-02, KCRG reported . Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) raised $538,000 in the fourth quarter and had $1.9 million in cash on hand. | | | House mouse… A mouse was ready to vote present in last night's quorum call in the House. Once Olivia tweeted her mouse encounter, the horror stories from Hill staff started coming. New year, same old mousecapades. Beautiful predator… that House mouse better watch out because there is a stunning snowy owl making itself at home at Union Station. Your Huddle host will spare you blurry pics from the evening commute, but WaPo and The AP have you covered. No seat in sight… All the chairs are gone from the Longworth Cafeteria and Dunkin in order to prevent gathering. Wargames … Nicholas, acting as Huddle nuclear war correspondent, had to make a decision — Russia had fired hundreds of missiles at the United States, and he had only minutes to respond. Sirens blared as his presidential advisers laid out a series of options to retaliate to the Russian strike with America's own nuclear forces. But it was all just part of a simulation making the rounds on the Hill this week — a VR experiment called the "Nuclear Biscuit," after the president's launch codes for authorizing a nuclear strike. "We're trying to understand how U.S. nuclear strategy and force will constrain decision making in a nuclear crisis," American University Professor Sharon Weiner, one of its designers, told Nick. "Preliminary findings suggest that people get confused and overwhelmed and end up escalating when they didn't intend to." (Nicholas confirms.) The project was designed by Weiner and Professor Moritz Kütt of the University of Hamburg along with Global Zero and Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security. You can sign up for the VR simulation here and watch a trailer here. Election games… The Washington Post has a new redistricting game, where you can "play mini golf to see how politicians tilt elections using maps." | | | | 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. | | | | | QUICK LINKS More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation, from The Washington Post Congress launches bipartisan Abraham Accords Caucus, from Jewish Insider TRANSITIONS Katie Grant Drew, a longtime communications staffer for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), has joined Monument Advocacy 's public affairs practice. Drew won't register to lobby, but will offer strategic advice to the firm's clients. Kirsten West, previously deputy chief of staff for Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), joins Cornerstone Public Affairs as a principal. She is a Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and former Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) alum. Erika Calderon is now a professional staff member on consumer issues for the Senate Banking Committee. She previously was a legislative assistant for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). John Zwaanstra has been promoted to be Legislative Director for Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). He most recently was legislative assistant for Lesko. Nicole Reeves has been promoted to be deputy press secretary for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). She most recently was deputy scheduler/assistant to the chief of staff for Hawley. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 11 a.m. with a vote at 2:20 p.m. and a mid-day recess for caucus lunches. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee virtual hearing on the security of the Capitol campus since the Jan. 6 attack. U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger testifies. 10 a.m. Senate Banking Committee hearing on the nomination of Jerome Powell to be the Federal Reserve chair (106 Dirksen). 10 a.m . Scalise, Reps. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), and Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) hold a press conference following the GOP Conference meeting (HVC 117). 10:30 a.m. House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Vice Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) hold a news conference after the Democratic caucus meeting (HVC 117). Noon Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and other Senate Republicans hold a press conference to discuss the Democrats' elections bill and the filibuster (Russell Rotunda/SR-325). 2 p.m. Senate Republican and Senate Democratic leaders will hold separate media availabilities after caucus lunches. Dem lunch will be held virtually.
|  | TRIVIA | | MONDAY'S WINNER: Kirtan Mehta correctly answered that 42 sitting senators are published authors. You can find a roundup of titles and authors here. TODAY'S QUESTION from Kirtan: On this day in history, what major announcement did the Surgeon General make to the public? And in what year? 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
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