TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, January 14, where we'll be off this Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. QUESTION TIME — Move over Boris, the POLITICO Congress team is taking questions to close out the week. DM us your queries about how the Hill really works, procedural moves that still stump you or other congressional conundrums. We'll be answering questions over on Congress Minutes. BLOCKED PIPELINE — Senate Democrats blocked the Republican effort to impose sanctions on a Russian natural-gas pipeline to Germany while talks with Moscow over its military buildup along Ukraine's eastern border turn sour. The final tally was 55-44, with six Democrats — many of them vulnerable to GOP challengers in November — and all Republicans but one backing the legislation. But it still fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance. Andrew has more on the Nord Stream pipeline drama and what is ahead here. PLATITUDES APLENTY ON SPENDING — "A worthwhile discussion," said Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). "Constructive talks," was Sen. Richard Shelby's (R-Ala.) assessment. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called it "constructive." Those were the platitudes offered Thursday after the top four spending leaders on Capitol Hill met amicably for the first time in months. Senior lawmakers still have not set totals for their two main buckets of money — military cash and spending for non-defense programs, more than three months into the fiscal year, write Jennifer Schotles and Marianne. They face another shutdown deadline come Feb. 18 and are still at odds over dozens of controversial policy restrictions — known as "riders," that Republicans want agreement on before they'll move ahead. Catch up on the latest update on prospects for fiscal 2022 here. RELATED: Former top Shelby aide to lead GOP appropriations staff, from Paul M. Krawzak and Jennifer Shutt at CQ Roll Call. SUPPORT STAFF, HONORED — The Senate adopted by voice vote a resolution from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) honoring Capitol workers who keep Congress running behind the scenes: custodial, janitorial, and maintenance staff and food service contractors. He introduced a resolution to recognize their work during and in the wake of the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the Capitol and the resolution calls for "higher pay, collective bargaining rights, paid sick and vacation leave, and comprehensive health insurance with mental health resources" for the workers. "They have shown up for work during this pandemic, for nearly two years. And those workers were here on January 6th doing their jobs when insurrectionists stormed this building. I ask my colleagues to join me in a resolution honoring the Capitol janitorial and maintenance staff for their bravery and their service to our country on January 6th." said Brown on the Senate floor last week. CANDIDATES, BORDER BOUND — Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla) are heading to the Southern border this weekend, with a handful of 2022 GOP House candidates in tow. "Republicans are investing time -- not just money -- in our candidates. Because of trips like these, candidates will be more educated and prepared to find serious solutions than their Democratic opponents," Gonzales told Huddle in a statement. Candidates touring the border with Gonzales and Mullin include Wesley Hunt in Texas-38, Bruce Poliquin in Maine-02, Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin-03 and Tom Kean in New Jersey-07. KEYSTONE STATE DEMS KEYED UP — Anxiety is running high among Pennsylvania Democrats this week after a surprising court decision. Plot twist: the state's new congressional map could now be drawn by the same judge who gave Trump a rare victory in his doomed bid to overturn his 2020 loss. Democrats in the Pennsylvania delegation met Thursday night to debrief. While the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could still intervene, it's not guaranteed. And that uncertainty is a huge problem for a battleground state with a half-dozen key races. Behind the scenes, several House Democrats are pointing fingers at the national party's legal strategy, led by star lawyer Marc Elias, saying it wasn't discussed with members themselves, report Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick . Pennsylvania Democratic Reps. Chrissy Houlalan and Madeleine Dean even brought up the redistricting issue this week on an unrelated call with former Attorney General Eric Holder, who's now leading the party's redistricting efforts. Democrats' legal experts, including the Holder/Elias groups, say there's no step they could've taken to avoid this. More on the tangled situation: Pennsylvania Dems fume over redistricting court case BIG YIKES — Capitol Police arrested a Michigan woman, Kery Lynn McAttee, outside of Capitol Police headquarters with multiple weapons in her car: an unloaded Remington Nylon 66 .22 caliber rifle, an unloaded Connecticut Valley Arms .50 caliber muzzleloader, a loaded Mossberg .410 caliber shotgun and a gamo pellet gun. "At this time, there is no evidence the 58-year-old suspect was coming here to do anything, except speak with our officers," the department said. McAttee told officers she had information about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol when an officer spotted a long gun and a gun case in her car. More on the arrest and charges here, from Nicholas.
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