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By Heather Caygle | 01/27/2017 08:02 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

CONGRESS GETS ITS MARCHING ORDERS - As Republicans wrap up their retreat today, lawmakers head back to Washington with a long to-do list from President Trump. "This Congress is going to be the busiest Congress we've had in decades, maybe ever," Trump told a room full of Republicans Thursday. "We're actually gonna sign the stuff you're writing. You're not wasting your time." Trump's ambitious agenda includes everything from quickly filling his Cabinet and confirming his yet-to-be-announced Supreme Court nominee to repealing Obamacare, overhauling the tax code, implementing new trade deals and pushing through a billion-dollar infrastructure program.

But, the Washington newbie is about to get a reality check from Congress. "Each piece of legislation Trump wants to pass will be a major lift on Capitol Hill - and much of it will spark fierce Democratic resistance - meaning it will take weeks or months of negotiation to come together," Burgess, Josh Dawsey and Rachael report.

A whole new world: "'It's a new world when you have 535 people on your board of directors,' said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in an interview. 'Donald Trump is a man of action. He wants things done and done yesterday. We like that about him, but Congress was not set up to act like that.'"

Republicans are also leaving the retreat will little settled on their plans to repeal Obamacare. "Republicans held a special session on Thursday morning to try to figure out an Obamacare strategy, but lawmakers and aides said there was no breakthrough, no specific timeline and no specific proposal to come out of it. Other than, of course, that they want to pass everything by March or April." Read more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d02cb374172765584df8da546fe5ccda9a941a6c12c0834ae3

RINO ALERT? Many of Trump's ideas that Republicans were gleefully applauding Thursday seem to go against core GOP tenets they have preached for years. "Republican lawmakers appear more than ready to open up the coffers for a $12 billion to $15 billion border wall, perhaps without the commensurate spending cuts that they demanded when it came to disaster aid, money to fight the Zika virus or funds for the tainted water system in Flint, Mich," Jennifer Steinhauer writes for the New York Times.

"Once fierce promoters of the separation of powers, Republicans are now embracing Mr. Trump's early governing by executive order, something they loudly decried during Mr. Obama's second term. ...Speaker Paul D. Ryan, whose own website this week still praised the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, now applauds Mr. Trump for putting the final shovel of dirt over the accord." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d0fd5da344d2fdada56bda25ca1806b8f64de2487ae35edaef

MUM'S THE WORD - GOP leaders are on board with Trump's plan to build a massive wall along the U.S. and Mexico border, likely using a supplemental funding bill they hope to enact before Sept. 30. But what they won't say is how they plan to pay for it or if the plan will add to the deficit. House Speaker Paul Ryan dodged a question Thursday about whether Congress would raise taxes or cut spending to pay for the expensive project, Burgess and Seung Min report.

GOP opposition: Some Republicans including Arizona Sen. John McCain and Texas Rep. Will Hurd have already dismissed the border wall plan. Hurd called the wall "the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border." And McCain said the proposal wouldn't work without drones and towers to actually observe the border. "If they aren't going to use all those tools I'm talking about, I'm not inclined to support it," McCain told reporters in an epic 42-minute scrum Thursday. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d060667aaeed5bb4601980489844ae079e0bd7d24e10709f14

NOT SO FAST, SENATE SAYS - The White House also set off a wave of confusion Thursday afternoon after press secretary Sean Spicer announced a 20 percent border tax on some countries including Mexico to help pay for the border project. "House Republicans felt certain the administration was describing a central plank of their own tax plan - so-called border adjustment that taxes imports instead of exports," the AP's Erica Werner reports. "But Senate Republicans, who are not sold on the House GOP tax plan, began to raise questions. Then the White House began to walk the idea back, saying it was simply part of a menu of options." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d02a413bce4627d4bee468c0c23e2147e0091b7070e81bdd86

Senate reaction: @JohnCornyn: Many unanswered questions about proposed "border adjustment" tax

-@LindseyGrahamSC: Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad.

LET'S GO NUCLEAR - President Trump put Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on notice Thursday, saying he would push to kill the filibuster if Senate Democrats try to block his Supreme Court nominee. "McConnell and his deputies have signaled they will do whatever it takes to confirm a Supreme Court nominee after blocking former President Barack Obama from filling the seat for nearly a year," Burgess reports, "though McConnell is a strict protector of the Senate's arcane rules and procedures." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d076799f7a696b6e4265330753f2f3164343f01925d2f8fd42

THREE CHEERS FOR FRIDAY. Welcome to Jan. 27. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rachael's story about House Speaker Paul Ryan's aggressive legislative agenda was the big winner.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets in a 10 a.m. pro forma session. The House meets in a pro forma session at 2 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - March for Life, the annual anti-abortion protest, is happening on the National Mall today. Vice President Mike Pence, Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, Utah GOP Rep. Mia Love, and New Jersey GOP Rep. Chris Smith are scheduled to speak. Elana Schor and Matt Nussbaum with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d0f67be7d30d304c90df8a2451c61725d2e3f4bb1e62682517

WATCH LIVE - PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH PAUL RYAN - Playbook Co-Authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan kick off our newest live Playbook event with a timely conversation around the Congressional Agenda, the new Administration and Washington in the first 100 days and beyond. Livestream begins at 3pm: www.POLITICO.com/live

JUST CAN'T LET IT GO - Trump didn't stay for a Q&A session with Republicans after his speech Thursday, citing scheduling issues. But Vice President Mike Pence hung around and boy, did he get an earful from Republicans anxious to air old grievances. "A handful of the House's most conservative lawmakers peppered Pence with questions on topics ranging from the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack to the 2013 IRS tea party-targeting scandal," Rachael reports. Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks "also applauded President Donald Trump's insistence that widespread voter fraud occurred during the 2016 election, offering up congressional help in any investigation." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d03b9c1cfdaf71accdd6ff56961185b63b74a8a4f502201590

Write me a letter, why dontcha: In related news, at least 50 GOP lawmakers have signed a letter calling on President Trump to demand IRS Commissioner John Koskinen's resignation. Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker is leading the effort. The Washington Examiner's Philip Wegmann: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6c4930140c47e5d0539cf5a4622d6f7951babe1da3d1dbfb8bedfcc97373a20a

GABBARD'S SYRIA TRIP MAY HAVE DARK TIES - After Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's office on Wednesday finally disclosed who sponsored her secret trip to Syria - Arab American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (AACCESS-Ohio) - many folks were scratching their heads about the unknown group. But Daily Beast reporters did some digging, uncovering that other members of the delegation to Syria may have dark ties, including "two men who are affiliated with an anti-Semitic political party accused of using female suicide bombers; of beating up Western and Arab journalists; helping U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah and the U.S.-sanctioned Syrian regime wage war in the Levant." Much
more from Alex Rowell, Tim Mak and Michael Weiss: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bd31be86da32e80b519013e1e42cc9dc466acc4f1d39512bb646bf4aaa0ab41

WELCOME TO PHILLY - Around 3,000 protesters greeted President Trump 's arrival in Philadelphia during a march against GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare. The rally was one of several planned protests during the GOP retreat, according to the Intelligencer. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bd31be86da32e80ecaee14dfc5c157722973a4c619dfb55e83d3e052d1ff9bd

DEMS WARN TRUMP AGAINST CENSORING FEDERAL WORKERS - House Oversight Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings and Rep. Frank Pallone, top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, have fired off a letter to the White House, warning against recent administrative memos they say is an attempt to gag federal employees. Cummings and Pallone say an HHS memo sent on Inauguration Day instructing employees not to talk to members of Congress along with other memos sent in recent days "'appear to violate multiple federal laws,' including one that protects federal whistleblowers," report Tom Hamburger and Amy Goldstein. More from the Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bd31be86da32e8095b0b91b5d5b7fb87a9b78eed26b0798ee780aa3f4c1059c

WHITE HOUSE HIRES FORMER CRUZ CHIEF - The White House is bringing on Paul Teller, former chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, as Trump's conservative liaison, reports the Daily Caller's Russ Read. House Republicans demanded Teller's firing back in 2011 after Teller, then executive director for the RSC, was caught sending emails to conservative groups asking them to pressure lawmakers to oppose a GOP leadership debt package. "[M]embers started chanting 'Fire him, fire him!' while Teller stood silently at a closed-door meetings of House Republicans," Bres and Jake reported at the time.

RETREAT TWEET DU JOUR - Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls): That time I had to run to the motorcade bc I was talking selfies with congressional wives in the ladies' room. #GOPretreat. Love you girls!

SIREN ALERT: GOP VOTERS PICK HUNTSMAN OVER HATCH - Nearly 60 percent of Utahns polled think Sen. Orrin Hatch should "definitely not" seek another term, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune survey. And 62 percent of people surveyed said they would back former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman over Hatch in a 2018 race. Among just Republicans, 49 percent picked Huntsman while 35 percent backed Hatch. The long-time GOP senator had said he planned to retire after his term is up in 2018 but has been openly rethinking that idea in recent months. The Salt Lake Tribune's Thomas Burr with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bd31be86da32e801a895e2324f0a8566486d6b6ed4e32f9e8d5fbb52e19ca10

JEFFRIES SAYS NYC MAYORAL BID UNLIKELY - "Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday night that he still has not ruled out a run for New York City mayor in 2017, though he sees a campaign as unlikely," Addy Baird reports. "My focus and my strong inclination remains to stay the course in Washington, to continue to be part of the resistance movement as it relates to Donald Trump and to work with my colleagues in government to stop him from doing some of the terrible things he wants to visit on the American people," he told POLITICO New York. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4bd31be86da32e80a261117007871e1624ed3437300ea58dfa574a6dd93f0927

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Thomas Doheny has joined CSRA as director of media relations. Most recently, he worked as communications director for GOP Sen. Deb Fischer.

Meredith Jones, communications director for Rep. Alex Mooney, starts Monday as press secretary for freshman GOP Sen. John Kennedy. Jones is an alum of Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's office and Sen. Jeff Sessions' office.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jimmy Atkinson correctly guessed that President Franklin D. Roosevelt by far issued the most executive orders of any president to date, 3,721 in total.

SCOTUS Chatbot: POLITICO launches Facebook Messenger chatbot in anticipation of President Trump's Supreme Court nominee reveal next week. Get access to breaking news alerts on the Supreme Court nominee process and interactive profiles of top picks.Try it out here or message us on our Facebook Page.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Jimmy with today's question: How many current Republican House members have served under a GOP administration? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out Monday. Send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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