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12/22/2017 07:55 AM EDT


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

THE GOVERNMENT IS FUNDED. NOW WHAT? Congress passed a short-term bill to keep the government open on Thursday, ensuring that operations won't shut down during Christmas and sending lawmakers literally running out of the Capitol to get home for the holidays. But buckle up for January, when lawmakers on both sides will be scrambling to do it all again before the new Jan. 19 deadline. While House Republicans were able to pass the bill without Democratic votes, that likely won't be the case next month if congressional leaders reach a deal to raise the spending caps and put a bill on the floor that funds the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Aside from doing another stopgap, lawmakers punted all other major deadlines to next year too. Congress will have to revisit a raft of issues starting in January, including an $81 billion disaster aid bill that the House passed but the Senate ignored yesterday, bipartisan legislation to stabilize Obamacare, a legislative fix for Dreamers and a permanent reauthorization of certain federal spying powers. Lawmakers will also have to address the children's health insurance program at some point, which Congress only reauthorized through March, and the debt ceiling. Rachael, Bres and Seung Min with the wrap up: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf2c45bf4fe2cecd1370e1ee1ab9f8ae4eef15add4e66c662d623a40eb03c354ac666fa7986cb183564

Related reads: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was angrily confronted by Hispanic lawmakers in a private meeting over Dreamers, from the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe; the far-reaching disaster aid bill is now expected to languish for weeks, Sarah Ferris reports; and children's health funding hangs in the balance as Congress leaves town, from Jen Haberkorn and Rachana Pradhan.

GOP BRACES FOR 2018 RECKONING - Those closest to President Donald Trump are bracing for a possible bloodbath in 2018, worried that his overall unpopularity - particularly with women - will cost Republicans their House and Senate majorities. "In recent weeks, some of the president's advisers have taken it upon themselves to warn him directly about the fast-deteriorating political environment," Alex Isenstadt reports. And RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel even "delivered a two-page memo to White House chief of staff John Kelly outlining the party's collapse with female voters" in the weeks ahead of the Alabama Senate race. Trump ignored the warnings, going all in for Roy Moore. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf2691a6f9ac3cd482375dbed52e0af9ad08d9c10edc6e4b79b3e9e1d22a407ccba767b7e1b2e45ac2e

A Wednesday White House meeting on the midterms "devolved into a heated exchange between his former campaign manager [Corey Lewandowski] and the White House political director [Bill Stepien]," Maggie Haberman reports for the New York Times. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf26a93577be2881b49c67ba38083dd4b1f278117ff086158f93746e054b7557e0618750331e6f9ad4d

Related: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to play a central role in the midterms to defend his fragile Senate majority from Democrats or a Steve Bannon-led takeover, the Washington Examiner reports. "I and my allies will make every effort to make sure we have a nominee on the November ballot who can appeal to a general election audience," McConnell said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf23363f707f173baf360931b840b0414a6af6b044d725823554bcc4aeae9b908ad9e724abbe1cfa724

IT'S ALL IN THE PACKAGING - Republicans are planning a huge marketing campaign to sell their unpopular tax bill to the public in the months leading up to the midterms. "The Koch network will launch a multimillion-dollar push next year to sell the bill, with paid advertising and town halls to educate voters," Kevin Robillard, Nancy Cook and Cristiano Lima report. But that's not all: "A major GOP super PAC is planning to spend $10 million to protect House members. And another group, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, plans to spend the majority of its $1 million annual budget selling the tax plan next year." Most polls show only about one-third of the country supports the tax plan. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf215516b0ddb558f8886303b60fcdd30c0421110fca31d9f6b894a27ba921e19a1aac7ba3c54f3918c

Stay tuned: Trump, who is departing Washington for Palm Beach this morning, is likely to sign the GOP tax bill into law today, the Hill reports. Congress included language in its short-term spending bill that waives automatic cuts to Medicare, which were threatened because of the tax bill's huge deficit increase.

WOOHOO, THE HOLIDAY HOME STRETCH. Thanks for reading the last Huddle of 2017, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Dec. 22. It's been a hectic year to say the least but we're so glad all of our loyal Huddle readers and avid trivia players, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, could join us for this journey. See you next year!

Programming Note: Huddle will be taking some time off for the holidays from Dec. 25-Jan. 1. We'll be back in your inbox ready to go Tuesday, Jan. 2. Don't forget to cheer on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl against Clemson on Jan. 1. Kickoff at 8:45 p.m. Roll Tide!

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rachael and Bres' story detailing the latest on government funding negotiations was the winner.

HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE EXPANDS PROBES - The House Ethics Committee is expanding its investigation into sexual harassment claims against Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), the panel said in a statement Thursday afternoon. The committee will now also investigate allegations he "improperly used official resources for campaign activities, as well as lying to the panel," Bres reports. "Thursday's announcement, however, means the stakes have gone up dramatically for the Texas Republican, as misuse of official resources is a potential violation of both House rules and federal law." The Ethics panel also announced it was forming an investigative subcommittee to look into sexual harassment accusations
facing Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.).

Both Farenthold and Kihuen have said they won't run for reelection next year but plan to remain in Congress until that time. Bres: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f5c7030ef6f36cf2af1f44557583bae2c22e62188711851b0767fdb8ffa8eb2e2effe3d886959231ccb81528b072be52

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2018 - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is going to try something new in 2018: bipartisanship. "This has not been a very bipartisan year," McConnell told NPR's Kelsey Snell and Susan Davis. "I hope in the new year, we're going to pivot here and become more cooperative." He predicted the GOP will "move on" from efforts to repeal Obamacare, particularly with Alabama Sen.-elect Doug Jones narrowing the Republican majority to 51-49.

And breaking with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), McConnell said he has no interest in a partisan push to reform entitlement programs just months before the election. "I think entitlement changes, to be sustained, almost always have to be bipartisan," McConnell said.

Warning shots fired: "To those who believe - including Senate Republican leadership - that in 2018 there will not be another effort to Repeal and Replace Obamacare -- well you are sadly mistaken," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tweeted in response.


SENATE RELEASES DATA ON MISCONDUCT CLAIMS - The Senate released data Thursday on the number of misconduct claims that have been settled in the upper chamber over the last two decades, after coming under pressure to publicly reveal the information. "At least $600,000 in public money has been spent over the past 20 years to settle 13 workplace misconduct claims against senators' offices, including $14,260 for a single settlement alleging sex discrimination, according to data released late Thursday," Elana reports. The data does not include any details on which offices the payments correspond to and doesn't include potential settlements made through members' offices directly, as was the case
with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dbca919e8fb309d7e7d7a3c9b99b3c0d512e5dcdc5a56b45c1ebfed6869c07205e98467bf2e35e64dd8a15f694aaa889

House delays anti-harassment bill: "Bipartisan House negotiators on Thursday delayed the release of a plan to overhaul Capitol Hill's workplace harassment policy, but the move appeared to signal momentum for action when Congress returns to Washington in 2018," Elana reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dbca919e8fb309d790366a3e2c884557b3815248d88339164cf557b1c4790fd1f19d12b499df65cc5299e8d1853df5d7

IS IMPEACHMENT ON THE AGENDA? Democrats sent a signal by overwhelmingly picking Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) over Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) to lead the House Judiciary Committee, Paul Kane writes. Picking Nadler, a pro in constitutional law, over Lofgren, an immigration expert, "was the clearest sign yet of how seriously House Democrats consider the possibility of a full-blown constitutional showdown with Trump. ... Nadler won a secret ballot 118 to 72, demonstrating that this caucus wants to be ready to clash with Trump if it vaults into the majority after next year's midterm elections." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dbca919e8fb309d7d9c8c5005e698df61a19c86a774929ddc1e3c568b76c5ed4b7f61cfd41746d7a4fb52a2df3b3772c

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

AROUND THE HILL - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will hold his year-end press conference at 10:30 a.m. in the Senate radio/TV gallery.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jacqueline Emanuel was first to guess that two national forests have provided the Capitol Christmas tree three times each: Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont (1980, 1994 and 2007) and Ottawa National Forest in Michigan (1975, 1985 and 2001).

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Congress once had a day-after-Christmas session to welcome this foreign head of state for a joint meeting. The session, which would normally be held in the House of Representatives, was in the Senate chamber to ensure seats were filled given many members were out of town. Who is the foreign head of state and what was the focus of the address? 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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