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02/23/2016 06:18 AM EDT


By Lauren French (lfrench@politico.com or @laurennfrench)

DEMOCRATS ARE RESISTING SENATE SHUTDOWN OVER SCOTUS - FOR NOW. Burgess Everett with the story. "It would be easy enough for Democrats to shut down the Senate in retaliation against Mitch McConnell's refusal to move on a Supreme Court nomination the rest of the year. But they aren't going there - yet. For now, Democratic senators and activists are limiting their response to an aggressive - and potentially fruitless - public relations campaign to pressure McConnell to take up a nominee. While the minority party could bring the chamber to a halt with an arsenal of procedural stall tactics, Democrats are wary of overreaching and being seen equally as obstructive as Republicans. Thwarting
unrelated legislation, some Democrats say, would be a tone-deaf response to McConnell." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fec335c0baf884bb273589765ca907fc94dea0569bfd7e65238

ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS WAKE UP TO TRUMP NIGHTMARE. By Alex Isenstadt, "Establishment Republicans are reckoning with something they thought would never happen: That it might soon be too late to stop Donald Trump. With the controversial businessman the clear front-runner heading into Nevada and next week's Super Tuesday contests, there's an emerging consensus that the odds of dislodging him are growing longer by the day. Whispered fears that Trump could become the Republican nominee have given way to a din of resigned conventional wisdom - with top party officials and strategists openly wondering what the path to defeating him will be." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fec45424359b7aa4e2656a5f9452a198bc53ecc4fdba37645a9

GOP RELIES ON 'BIDEN RULES' WHEN MESSAGING ON SCOTUS. Manu Raju, Deirdre Walsh, Ted Barrett and Tom LoBianco for CNN report, "A pair of moderate Republican senators broke ranks with their party leaders Monday and said President Barack Obama's potential Supreme Court nomination should receive a hearing. The No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn, flatly disagreed with them, however, siding with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and GOP leaders have seized on a Joe Biden speech from 1992 to make their case... Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley delivered an emphatic argument against holding hearings, citing not his own reasoning, but instead a lengthy floor speech then-Sen.
Joe Biden delivered in 1992. Biden's remarks excoriate the prospect of a president submitting a nomination in an election year." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fecb261846b3d95520a758a612bd7b98a4dd3fd05e3d5fa5c71

CUMMINGS: SNYDER IGNORING DOCUMENT REQUESTS. Matthew Daly with the AP write, "The senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee says Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has not responded to his request for documents related to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland says the Republican governor has ignored a Jan. 29 request Cummings made with Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Michigan. Cummings calls that inconsistent with Snyder's public claims of accountability for the Flint crisis. Cummings urged Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the oversight panel, to demand documents from Snyder on behalf of the full committee."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fecff75fc7d56d3da41f4a31f345fab549b54c5bf862df38fc2

HAPPY Tuesday, February 23, 2016 and welcome to the Huddle. We're back to the grind with both houses in session but all eyes will be on Nevada as Republicans hold their primary there this evening. You can find me at lfrench@politico.com and @laurennfrench on Twitter.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: The Senate will convene at 10 a.m. to consider the nomination of Robert McKinnon Califf to be Commissioner of Food and Drugs in the Department of Health and Human Services. The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. for the weekly caucus luncheons. The House will return for votes at 6:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - The 2016 Champion of Public Broadcasting Awards will be presented to Sens. Robert P. Casey and Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Tom Cole by the Association of Public Television Stations during a breakfast ceremony at 8:45 a.m. at the Library of Congress. -- Sen. Chris Coons holds an on-the-record pen and pad at 10 a.m. on the Supreme Court vacancy. This will occur in the Senate Press Gallery. - Minority Whip Steny Hoyer will hold his weekly pen and pad at 11 a.m.

MCCASKILL ANNOUNCES BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS. Via Reuters, "Senator Claire McCaskill will be absent from Congress for the next three weeks as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer, the Missouri Democrat wrote in a blog post on Monday. McCaskill, who leads the Senate Special Committee on Aging, said she will post online how she would have voted on any matters that come up during her absence and will submit questions in writing for any missed hearings." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fec50316d239459ea5938d4478b2e7d6ce679280320ba1203c3

DRUG EXPERTS ACCUSE SCHUMER OF POLITICIZING HEROIN. From the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim and Jason Cherkis, "Senate Democrats and drug policy groups pushing for a strong response to the heroin epidemic are growing increasingly concerned that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is dangerously politicizing the issue, risking what has been steady, if slow, bipartisan progress. The good news for those suffering under the weight of the nation's heroin problem is that politicians are finally paying attention. The bad news is that some of the states that are in the most desperate need of help also happen to be home to some of the Republican senators Democrats would most like to knock off in 2016. And if
the Democrats pick up enough seats, Schumer is poised to become Senate majority leader." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fec525c6c7c99b2920442e5d2b516040c3076f14f05d326057e

MAJORITY BACK HEARINGS FOR SCOTUS NOMINEE. Eliza Collins reports, "A majority of Americans say the Senate should hold hearings on President Barack Obama's choice to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, 56 percent of Americans believe the Senate should hold hearings and vote on the president's designated successor, while 38 percent say the Senate should wait until the next president. The results break down along party lines, with 66 percent of Republicans saying the Senate should not hold hearings and 79 percent of Democrats saying the Senate should." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fecff328e59164ce1b62d84fe47f9cb3ceb282006f75a203ad5

GITMO CLOSURE PLANS SENT TO CONGRESS. Via Reuters, "The Pentagon is expected to submit to Congress on Tuesday President Barack Obama's long-awaited plan for closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, setting up a battle with lawmakers who oppose his efforts. Obama, whose pledge to shut the facility at the U.S. naval base in Cuba dates back to the start of his presidency in 2009, is seeking to make good on his promise before he leaves office next January. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the administration intended to meet Tuesday's deadline to present its detailed proposal for closing the facility. There are still 91 prisoners detained there."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4545eb73d80e6fec889fdb00bfa57db4d4a25f868132eab0758e6f50cd7c2d53

MAKING MOVES - The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Congressional Staff Association will announce today its new board of directors for 2016. They include: Mitchell Rivard of Rep. Dan Kildee's office serving as the organization's president; Todd Sloves, a legislative assistant for Rep. Joe Crowley, serving as vice president; Ross Arnett, a legislative assistant for Rep. Raul Ruiz, serving as communications director; Robert Edmonson, a chief of staff for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, serving a professional development director; Raghib Allie-Brennan, a legislative aide for Rep. Alma Adams, serving as social events director; Yesenia Chavez, a legislative assistant for Rep. Raúl
Grijalva, serving as membership director; and Michael Wong, a legislative assistant for Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Megan Crouch, a legislative correspondent for Ruiz, both serving as at-large directors.

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BULLISH ECONOMIC REPORT SENT TO CONGRESS FROM WHITE HOUSE. Gregory Korte with USA Today reports, "President Obama delivered an annual economic report to Congress Monday that was bullish on growth and employment projections but also cautioned that structural changes in the economy will continue to put pressure on the middle class. The report predicts the economy to grow 2.7% in 2016 and 2.5% in 2017, with an unemployment rate of 4.7% in 2016 and 4.5% in 2017." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=deea883f776a3047d2aff2563b9050b46f481698e7609723e0b0a3f8bdcc4f41

WHITE HOUSE ASKS FOR MONEY TO COMBAT ZIKA. Brady Dennis with the Washington Post, "President Obama on Monday asked Congress to set aside $1.9 billion to respond to the Zika virus abroad and to prepare for it in the United States, saying the funds are necessary to halt the spread of the disease and "protect the health and safety of Americans." The White House had detailed the outlines of the request earlier this month, arguing that new resources are needed to help ramp up surveillance efforts, control the mosquitoes spreading Zika, accelerate research into new vaccines and diagnostic tests, and help countries already battling the virus." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=deea883f776a3047fbe8c5b182050a3900ccc65b39227f587946c7acfc36eebe

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Michael Toulouza was the first to correctly name justices John Marshall and Salmon Chase as the only to appear on U.S. currency. Marshall was on the $500 and Chase the $10,000 bill.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -Keeping with the Supreme Court theme. Who was the first SCOTUS appointee to take his Constitutional Oath at the White House and in what year did this occur? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail lfrench@politico.com

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