| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With a helping hand from Marianne LeVine
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Are those committee rosters in that folder, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell? | Francis Chung/POLITICO | SENATE PLAYS CATCH UP — Just a few weeks ago the Senate sped through their opening day action and breezed away for an extended recess while the House spent agonizing days selecting a speaker. Have the tables turned? House Republicans are now cruising toward committee action, with organizing meetings all week and hearings on the southern border, Covid spending and the Farm Bill tee’d up for Wednesday and Thursday. But Senate Committees lay dormant. Senate Republicans have yet to release their committee rosters. Senate Republicans voted down a bid last week from freshman Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) to get a waiver to serve on the Judiciary Committee alongside fellow Missourian Josh Hawley, which would have booted either Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) or Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) from the coveted panel. But with that resolved, the Senate is still waiting. "I expect that by the end of this week, we will have the full slate of all the committees fully locked in, enabling us to move forward on the important work we have before us." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday. Senate Democrats locked in their rosters last week, a somewhat easier lift since they have fewer freshmen to shuffle around and find spots for. The wait might not be too much longer: The Senate is expected to approve resolutions organizing committees as early as Wednesday. And a Senate GOP aide tells Huddle that Republicans are expected to vote to finalize ranking members this week. ANOTHER KIND OF ROSTER — J.D. Vance and Eric Schmitt might not have their committee assignments yet, but both are already on the short but growing roster of Senate Republicans backing former President Donald Trump’s 2024 run for the White House. The two Republican freshmen join Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), but that four man team is much, much smaller than the support Trump had this time four years ago as an incumbent. Others aren’t rushing in. Burgess and Marianne break down some Trump ambivalence in the chamber and who’s calling for new blood.
| | A message from Humana: 30 million people choose Medicare Advantage. With Medicare Advantage, members can see better health outcomes at lower costs. That’s one of the reasons why nearly half of the total Medicare population chooses Medicare Advantage. Learn more. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Jan. 31, where freshmen members are eagerly awaiting that first paycheck. ROSTER REMOVAL? — The House is not expected to take action on Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) plan to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Republican sources told Olivia and Sarah last night after the GOP Whip meeting that while there was fairly unified support for a resolution to oust Omar, there are too many members absent this week, along with a few in opposition, for the vote to go the way McCarthy and others want. Discussion in Monday’s closed door whip meeting included a review of Omar’s statements, her votes in favor of removing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committees in the last Congress. Removing Omar will take a floor vote and Republicans’ are navigating slim margins. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), have said they will not support a resolution removing Omar from the committee. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said on Newsmax last night that he is undecided but voiced some skepticism on the resolution. McCarthy has already blocked Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from being re-appointed to the Intelligence Committee, which he could do unilaterally as speaker because Intel is a select committee, not a standing committee. Our friends at Playbook scooped that Omar will be launching a new U.S.-Africa policy working group today, centered on bipartisan briefings from administration officials, experts and NGOs on infrastructure, governance, climate change and agriculture. THE BRITISH ARE COMING — South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson told The Washington Examiner that he will host former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the The Capitol Hill Club today, a popular GOP watering hole.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | FLORALS AND FEINSTEIN FOR SPRING? — Groundbreaking. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) expects to announce her future plans in the spring. “You’ll be hearing, soon,” Feinstein told Bloomberg News on Monday night. “In the spring sometime. Not in the winter. I don’t announce in the winter.” Just last week she told Matt Laslo at Raw Story that she wouldn’t announce anything until next year A WEST VIRGINIA TEASE — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice says he’s not teasing a Senate run, but he kind of is. The Republican governor (who was a Democrat as recently as 2017) has expressed interest in running for the seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin. In a video Monday afternoon, Justice said he’s still weighing his options. “I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’m still very, very, very, very seriously considering it,” Justice said of a Senate campaign in the video. “In fact I’m probably leaning that way and you’ll hear an announcement real soon. I’m not one to tease people and mess around with it.” STEUBE’S SMALL WORLD SAVIOR — Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) won’t be back in Washington in time for the State of the Union address as he recovers from his major accident, but his official guest will be there. Darrell Woodie, a part time field representative for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who witnessed Steube’s accident while delivering packages as part of his other employment. “Mr. Woodie called 911 after witnessing my accident and is the epitome of a Good Samaritan!” Steube tweeted.
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House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) lends a hand to Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.). | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Rule of laughter…House Rules Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) had trouble getting his microphone working at the first House Rules Committee meeting of the new congress. “We can trade places if you want,” said ranking member and former chair Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), to laughter. Take me to IKEA… Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) invited the world along to outfit her new apartment in D.C. QUICK LINKS Senators aim to revive police reform talks but face major hurdles, from Sahil Kapur and Scott Wong at NBC Kevin McCarthy and House GOP weigh debt ceiling demands ahead of Biden meeting, from Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona and Lauren Fox at CNN House gets younger, Senate gets older: A look at the age and generation of lawmakers in the 118th Congress, from Carrie Blazina and Drew DeSilver at Pew Research $5.4 billion in covid aid may have gone to firms using suspect Social Security numbers, from Tony Romm at The Washington Post Opinion: I'm a Dem's Chief of Staff and Live With GOP Leadership Staffers. Bipartisanship Is All Around Us, by Geo Saba in Newsweek TRANSITIONS Grant Lawlor is now Digital Director for the House Rules Committee. He previously served in the office of Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA). Caroline Donlon is now the clerk for the House Rules Committee. She previously served as scheduler for Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.). Sarah Flaim starts Wednesday as communications director and senior advisor to House Budget Committee Chair Rep. Jody Arrington (R-Texas). She was previously with House Appropriations Republicans. Alex Attebery will be communications director for House Appropriations. Katy Nystrom is now communications director for Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.). She was most recently communications director for Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.)
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for morning hour debate and noon for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. and will recess from 12:30pm to 2:15pm for the GOP caucus meeting. (Democrats will have their caucus meeting on Wednesday.) No roll call votes are expected. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. HouseMajority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), House Republican Leadership press conference. (HC-8) 10 a.m. House Judiciary Committee business meeting to organize for the 118th Congress. (Rayburn 2141) 10 a.m. House Ways and Means Committee business meeting to organize for the 118th Congress. (Longworth 1100) 10:30 a.m. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Madeline Dean (D-Pa.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) join Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and others for a press conference on a resolution to affirm ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. (House Triangle) 10:45 a.m. Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats hold a press conference after the Dem Caucus meeting. (Studio A) 11 a.m. McCarthy meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan. (H-232) 11 a.m. House Oversight Committee business meeting to organize for the 118th Congress. (Rayburn 2154) Noon Co-chairs of Congressional Ukraine Caucus hold a press conference on the war in Ukraine. (House Triangle) 2 p.m. Senate GOP leaders hold a press conference following their closed-door caucus lunch meeting. (Ohio Clock Corridor) 2 p.m. House Education Committee business meeting to organize for the 118th Congress. (Rayburn 2175) 2 p.m. House Rules Committee business meeting to consider a resolution that would “denounce the horrors of socialism.” (H-313)
| | | MONDAY’S WINNER: Joan Kleinman correctly answered that the Select Committee on Rules was the first select committee ever created by the House on April 7, 1789. It did not become a permanent standing body until 1880. TODAY’S QUESTION: This person, elected to serve in Congress, has a four year term. The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLEemailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus
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