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12/15/2017 07:56 AM EDT


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

THAT WAS ALMOST TOO EASY... House and Senate tax writers meet today to sign the conference report with bill text expected to be released sometime this afternoon or early evening. But while the GOP's tax bill seemed to be on a glide path to passage just yesterday, things are a little rockier now. In a surprise move Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he'd vote against the tax bill unless negotiators expand the child tax credit, something he and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) had been trying to get for weeks.

"Rubio has been simmering since earlier this month when he offered an amendment during the Senate's consideration of its tax legislation," Seung Min, Brian Faler and Colin Wilhelm report. The amendment would have bumped up the corporate tax rate slightly to pay for an expanded child tax credit, something other Republicans opposed, saying they were determined to keep the corporate tax rate at 20 percent. "But since then, Republicans have backpedaled, settling for a 21 percent corporate rate to free up money for other things."

Do you have the votes? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can lose two members and still pass the tax bill next week. In addition to Rubio's current opposition, current wildcards include Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) have both been out due to medical issues this week, although Cochran's office said he can be back next week to vote on the tax bill. Republicans are rushing to get their plan passed and delivered to President Donald Trump's desk next week. SMK, Brian and Colin with the latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3220a83d1e10777e90137391246e0f49c43fef5eead439f43ad88fa93d68d36854c328d776990f6eb

Playbook reports this morning that text of the tax bill was finalized last night and it "has moved in Rubio's direction." Anna, Jake and Daniel with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3b5e526f06a165c451d8377c254bd3b0be1a0cc9c3e47906ee751c1b91af1f1ca6ec7416fe49a450b

Just in case: Vice President Mike Pence is delaying his trip to Israel next week in case he's needed to help pass the tax bill. "While the vice president's office framed the change of plans as a desire to be present for a 'historic' vote, Pence may be called in to break a tie in the Senate and get the legislation through at all," Matt Nussbaum and Seung Min report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3089ab061c487bb4b2c9c87a62376b4dab134aa6e15931a959e260c8b75b5f1c9fe89c490fc9f5314

POLITICO graphic: Current tax law vs. the new GOP plan, via Toby Eckert: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c331a88e8e3b181284cf07502f93231d50f2ab103fde205cadb4c95a8dfccf6f20eed38b2793ebf3f7

HOW LONG WILL SPEAKER RYAN BE AROUND? Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has made it known to some of his closest friends that he expects this to be his last term as speaker. But when Ryan decides to make his exit - rumors are swirling that he'll leave anywhere from next month to the end of next year - is still up in the air. "In recent interviews with three dozen people who know the speaker-fellow lawmakers, congressional and administration aides, conservative intellectuals and Republican lobbyists-not a single person believed Ryan will stay in Congress past 2018," Tim Alberta and Rachael Bade write in a POLITICO Magazine profile of Ryan.

Word of Ryan's impending departure has set off a scramble among other GOP leaders, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). "Both believed Ryan would leave late next year and were therefore planning their next steps at an appropriately deliberate pace. This has abruptly changed: According to multiple GOP sources, both McCarthy and Scalise have taken recent meetings with members loyal to them who have been eager to strategize about life after Ryan." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c349486e2aa74f4b86c7c67ddefc935d9c37696d452216fead5abb6e8de8606ded71b03c5c97cf8341

Trump weighed in after Alberta and Bade's report: President Trump called Ryan Thursday and told him he would be "very unhappy" if Ryan leaves after the 2018 election. Nolan McCaskill with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3e66a989cde1f8355506c2e6e0f395a54ceea68f5c13d27321ccb9f5f49d95605469acb60df31a9d4

OH YEAH, IT'S REALLY FRIDAY. Thanks for reading Huddle on this Dec. 15, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Matt Fuller's story about all the speculation on Capitol Hill about when Speaker Paul Ryan will step down won the day.

HARASSMENT BILLS GAIN MOMENTUM - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) unveiled a bill Thursday backed by eight Republicans that would overhaul current Capitol Hill harassment policies. The proposal, which has the support of Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) among others, would make harassment settlements public unless the victim requests otherwise, Elana scoops. On the House side, Administration Committee Chairman Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) will unveil a bill next week that would make key changes to the current system for reporting and settling complaints. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3a87323cdc472edb0cadb60607204d15ad582f63be5f1dbdc83bed4fb064689a97b3d51a088175f99

MENENDEZ TO DOJ: 'BRING IT ON' - Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) will move next month to force DOJ to decide whether it wants to retry him on federal corruption charges. "If prosecutors don't make a decision by mid-January, 'we would have the ability to present a motion to say "prosecute or dismiss." And if you want to prosecute, bring it on,'" Menendez told reporters. "If charges are dropped, Menendez said Thursday, he also expects to reclaim his perch as top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," Ed O'Keefe reports. Menendez wouldn't say if he plans to run for reelection next year. The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3dfb35dc6c556bdee7f04d3e6530b03fe04a35bb14167ecec903a61d7504906e46c821d32260bc5b5

FARENTHOLD ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT - Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) won't run for reelection after accusations of sexual harassment and claims he oversaw a workplace that was dominated by frat house behavior. "In a video posted on his Facebook page, the Texas Republican acknowledged that his office 'accommodated destructive gossip, off-hand comments, off-color jokes and behavior, in general, that was less than professional,'" Elena Schneider reports. Farenthold settled a sexual harassment claim with a former aide in 2014 using $84,000 in taxpayer funds.

Ryan's take: "Asked at a news conference Thursday whether Farenthold should resign immediately, Speaker Ryan demurred. 'I think he's making the right decision to retire,' Ryan told reporters." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3b25a2681d318be04961c0e0637c36ab39a5089ccc2b051bee570d89345238ce042f2de641286146a

And now lawmakers and government watchdogs are questioning why a secretive House office, the Office of Employment Counsel, used taxpayer funds to investigate sexual harassment complaints against Farenthold's office last year and then failed to make the results public. "The office appears to serve House members and their offices -- not necessarily the employees -- and makes no public accounting of its determinations or its expenditures," Maggie Severns and Marianne Levine report this morning. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3259e05aee4ed7d82e99350fbda4fb1da3d50e18eb5f5149bade9a2f9401a940370a3bf4e6196d5c6

WE WANT ANSWERS - Both Republicans and Democrats want answers about anti-Trump texts exchanged between two FBI officials, including one who was involved in the Russia probe. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wants to know when DOJ officials first became aware of the texts, including one message calling Trump an "idiot," which were sent in 2015 and 2016. "In recent public testimony, DOJ officials, including Rosenstein, have declined to divulge more context or details about the significance of the texts, deferring to an ongoing inspector general investigation," Kyle reports.


House Democrats, meanwhile, want to know why the 375 texts were publicly released by DOJ officials, Darren Samuelsohn reports. "The Democratic lawmakers called Justice's decision an 'unusual move' after the texts were given to Congress and a select group of reporters earlier this week."

ETHICS CHIEF SUED OVER ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS - "A top congressional ethics official who oversees investigations into misconduct by lawmakers is accused in a federal lawsuit of verbally abusing and physically assaulting women and using his federal position to influence local law enforcement," Jana Winter reports for Foreign Policy. "The ongoing lawsuit against Omar Ashmawy, staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, stems from his involvement in a late-night brawl in 2015 in Milford, Pennsylvania, and includes a range of allegations relating to his behavior that evening and in the following two-and-half years." Ashmawy denies the allegations. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c33b495e90a38d1cdc4fa8f92ae6081b9e00616563305bbee1ad35d343508b3e9f7550ecd447d84296

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMM.... Freedom Caucus leader Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) headlined a fundraiser for Rep. Lee Zeldin in New York last night, Rachael reports. Jordan's attendance was a last-minute addition that came after Speaker Paul Ryan backed out of an earlier Zeldin re-election event over the New York Republican's opposition to the tax bill. "I don't think that's appropriate - what leadership did," Jordan said. "All I know is I like Lee. I think he's a good member, a very smart member. And he asked if I could come and I worked on our schedules. And said 'Okay, I'll do, I'm happy to do it.'" Zeldin is one of Democrats' top targets next year.

ON THE MOVE - A super secret Ways and Means tradition has come to light with Rep. Pat Tiberi's impending retirement. There's a cactus named after the late Rep. Don Pease (D-Ohio) that has been passed around from seven past and present committee members since 1992, including then-Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). "The owner has to be on the committee, has to have a name that starts with a P, has to agree to love the cactus until he or she retires and has to hand it off to a member of the other party when that time comes," Alex Gangitano reports for Roll Call. Cue Tiberi (R-Ohio), who handed the cactus off to Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) earlier this week. "[Owners] serve as guardians of this prickly
but prized plant - that describes the Ways and Means Committee, doesn't it?" Pascrell said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6a73438139d11c3ba4599ed591aa9c9613092407003d672f8b564f194979ee6f13da62cd47c736e75546ab2b5901ddf

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out until next week.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jon Deuser was first to guess that former Sen. Howell Heflin, a Democrat, was the last former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice to be elected to the Senate from that state.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Stephan Kline with today's question: Before Merrick Garland, who was the last unsuccessful nomination to the Supreme Court and why? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: hcaygle@politico.com.

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