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03/02/2016 08:25 AM EDT


By Rachael Bade (rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

A NEW ORDER FOR THE GOP - "Super Trump Day," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "Donald Trump supercharged his hostile takeover of the Republican Party on Super Tuesday, scoring big wins in at least seven states as he threatened to break away from his GOP rivals in the delegate chase. Ted Cruz kept hold of his home state of Texas and won neighboring Oklahoma as well as Alaska. And Marco Rubio saved his campaign from a dispiriting disaster, as he carried Minnesota's caucuses for his first win on an otherwise brutal night. But the story of the day - and of 2016 - was Trump, as the Manhattan mogul sidestepped charges of racism after he failed to immediately denounce the Ku Klux Klan in a
television interview over the weekend. He steamrolled across the country, winning states as diverse and distant as Alabama, Virginia and Massachusetts. He's now won in the South. He's won in the West. He's won in the Northeast." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb5ae62eb91af9909150c00673dba2ea1e68378e17ce5e1fc2c

A GOP ESTABLISHMENT SHELLACKING - "Rubio gasping after Super Tuesday," Anna Palmer on how the GOP establishment's candidate of choice faired last night (umm, poorly): "Donald Trump pummeled Sen. Marco Rubio on Super Tuesday, leaving the Florida Republican with a nearly impossible path to the GOP nomination. Rubio won just a single state on the biggest night yet of the 2016 contest - bringing his overall win tally to one with Minnesota - and it's still unclear whether he will climb over the 20 percent threshold in several of the primaries to secure enough delegates to make a credible case for staying in the race." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb5f8b5df1d349d1eb41413e5313c792ce2234e1a215da22b92

WISHFUL THINKING? "Cruz pins his hopes on two-man race." Our Katie Glueck reports from Stafford, Texas on Cruz's rally cry for the GOP to unite behind him: "It wasn't the Super Tuesday result that Ted Cruz might have envisioned a month ago, but his victories in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska gave him a rationale to continue his campaign - and to attempt to seize the title of Trump alternative, as he looks to build momentum in the series of states that vote ahead of March 15... 'After tonight, we have seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump,' he said, going on to argue that it is time to 'unite' behind one Trump alternative. The
Cruz campaign was quick to argue that his three wins on Tuesday, on top of his victory in the Iowa caucuses, prove that he is the only candidate capable of beating Trump. They got a boost from an unlikely source - South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a frequent Cruz critic who nonetheless suggested it may be close to the time for anti-Trump voters to rally around the Texas senator." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba7018dc9943188e2d71594d350611dd211da55b6fbf3a3f5de

REACT FROM THE HILL - "Ryan and McConnell's plan for Donald Trump." Jake, Anna and Bres on GOP leaders coming to terms - or not? - with the man they despise but who could be the new leader of their party: "In the era of Donald Trump, they see themselves as the steadfast guardians of the Republican creed. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have an almost impossible political task as the real estate mogul steamrolls to the nomination: strategically distancing themselves from the Republican standard-bearer, keeping a close watch on their party's brand - all the while trying to keep Congress in GOP hands in November."

"The rules of engagement have been blurry from the start. Ryan and McConnell mostly held their fire after Trump hurled insults at television personalities, the handicapped, popular statewide officials and war heroes. But with their congressional majorities on the line, the GOP leaders' election-season role is becoming clearer: They feel compelled to speak up when they believe the New York billionaire is perverting what it means to be a Republican." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba7b6f91674c166f8ea986a15198e1a4e8049a64d3d715a9ff9

--Trump threatens Speaker Ryan: play along or else. Nick Gass with this pretty incredible quote that foreshadows rocky relationships to come: "Asked about comments by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticizing the mogul for equivocation when he was asked about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan...'Look, I don't want to waste a lot of time,' Trump said. 'I'm going to get along great with Congress, OK? Paul Ryan, I don't know him well, but I'm sure I'm going to get along great with him, and if I don't? He's gonna have to pay a big price, OK?"

--That comes after Ryan said this yesterday at a news conference, per Lauren French: "Speaker Paul Ryan offered a rebuke of Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying that any candidate hoping to be the GOP's presidential nominee needs to 'reject' bigotry. The comments came after Trump failed to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and an endorsement by former KKK leader David Duke during a CNN interview this week.... Ryan, who didn't mention Trump by name, told reporters that 'no evasions and no games' could be used by anyone seeking the Republican nomination when it comes to hateful comments and racism." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba76bc659cb364998058dda0e64d3839b88bb188e5cd8c5d453

SOME REPUBLICANS SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL - "New spin from some GOP Senators: Maybe Trump's not so bad." Burgess and Anna with the read that will pop later today: "Senate Republicans have a new pitch when it comes to Donald Trump: He might not be so bad for their chances of keeping their tenuous majority, after all. While the GOP establishment confronts an existential crisis for what Trump at the top of the ticket could mean for the future of the party, several Republican senators have been signaling behind the scenes to donors and supporters that the real estate magnate could actually help them in November. Several Republican lawmakers have told lobbyists and donors that a Trump ticket
would boost turnout and that it would be easier to create distance from Trump on policy than from their Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) or Marco Rubio (Fla.). They reason that Hillary Clinton has just as many negatives as Trump, if not more." To post later today at this link: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba78ce094fb8d2831a149c5c4fe27c31968cf3e6a89dcd7ab18

WHAT A NIGHT! It's March 2, 2016. Thanks for reading Huddle, your daily wrap of all things Congress-where the difference between the relationships the two parties have with their frontrunners is still just blowing my mind: Dems unite; GOP fractures. Email thoughts and election predictions here!: rbade@politico.com or @rachaelmbade

TODAY IN CONGRESS: House votes between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Senate returns at 9:30 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL. At noon, at the House Triangle Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Rep. Jim McGovern, and other House Democrats call for bipartisan action to address poverty. At 3 p.m., in Statuary Hall, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Jill Biden honor women vest for Women's History Month.

WHILE GOP SPLINTERS, DEMS UNITE AROUND HILLARY - "Clinton's new problem: How to let Bernie down easy," Annie Karni for POLITICO in Miami: "Fresh off a commanding Super Tuesday performance, Hillary Clinton now faces her newest problem: How to win over Bernie Sanders while he refuses to give up.The results of the 11 states that voted March 1 widened Clinton's delegate lead and made Sanders' task of catching up to Clinton even more daunting - and implausible. While Sanders held his own in a handful of states - he won Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont - the former secretary of state carried Massachusetts and steamrolled him in the South with decisive wins in Georgia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia, where she won black voters by landslide margins, according to exit polls." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb58017e95674cd7466fe769b370831ace4e62f5e670af8fa0c

HILL PRIMARY ROUNDUP - "Congressional incumbents survive as Trump, Cruz thrive," our Campaign Pro reporters Kevin Robillard, Theodoric Meyer and Elena Schneider have a round-up of how Hill members faired yesterday: "Donald Trump's outsider campaign may be ripping the Republican Party apart. Further down the ballot, though, Republicans incumbents are doing just fine. In dozens of races Super Tuesday, House and Senate incumbent Republicans largely won easily - from five-term Sen. Richard Shelby in Alabama to House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and dozens of other members in Texas, Arkansas and Alabama - showing that Trump's insurgent, populist presidential campaign has yet to infect
state and local races as Republicans had feared. A combination of loyalty to local officeholders, increased vigilance (and paranoia) since Eric Cantor's surprise primary loss in 2014, and a lack of oxygen for all down-ballot candidates helped protect incumbents in a primary season defined so far by voters' overwhelming anger at government and the political class." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb5a9dc5a010b353f68f2614c317ea54c8352a493fe77f051c2 Full House and Senate results.

AS PREDICTED - "GOP Senate Leaders Tell Obama They Won't Consider His Supreme Court Pick," by Carol E. Lee and Siobhan Hughes for the W.S.J.: "President Barack Obama and Republican leaders on Tuesday remained deadlocked after a face-to-face meeting over when to fill a Supreme Court opening, making it unlikely a nominee could be approved until at least after the election. 'Senator Grassley and I made it clear that we don't intend to take up the nominee or to have a hearing. And it was a good opportunity to reiterate our view that this appointment should be made by the next president,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said after the meeting, referring to Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R., Iowa), who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee. 'This vacancy will not be filled this year.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba79f617185af4b76810ee5d988b14ca9522f7f7b18bafb539b

FBI'S IPHONE FIGHT HITS STATIC ON THE HILL. Tony Romm for Pro Tech: "The U.S. government's attempts to compel Apple to unlock iPhones tied to key federal investigations failed to win much support Tuesday from Capitol Hill, where many lawmakers - and the tech giant itself - blasted FBI Director James Comey for circumventing Congress and jeopardizing Americans' privacy. Comey arrived at a closely watched House Judiciary Committee hearing with a plea: He told panel members that the agency needs greater access to digital communications in order to investigate sexual predators, child abductors and terrorist groups like the Islamic State. ...But...The committee's Democrats and Republicans alike
seemed deeply skeptical about the FBI's tactics - and sympathetic to Apple's complaints." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba71cf315eee8958b7cad97a18793239d5cf27ceca9a45ccbb2

DEMS SURRENDER ON OPIOID BILL - PART I: "Whitehouse won't block opioid bill over funding." Brett Norman for Pro Health: "The lead Democratic sponsor of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act said he would fight for an amendment to fund the bill but will support the legislation whether that's ultimately included or not...Some Democrats led by Chuck Schumer had threatened to pull support if an amendment from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to provide $600 million in emergency funding wasn't added to the bill (S. 524). The legislation redirects already appropriated money to opioid abuse prevention and treatment programs. Many Republicans oppose additional emergency spending and say the funding issue
should be addressed through the regular appropriations process. Whitehouse's comments suggest Democrats won't turn against the bill over the issue." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba7098a79f3c64d7f4ee030be2ec7b3e33d177ed9b62095746f

Part II: "Durbin: Democrats will likely vote for opioid bill without funding amendment." Morning Consult's Mary Ellen McIntire. "Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, said he would vote for S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, without an amendment that would provide funding for federal programs, and that most Democrats likely would as well." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=298169fec580fba7bb8ab412f0faa2abc9e682a95d145ac4aae7720ac5aa9e9a

HOUSE MOVES TO FILE SUPREME COURT BRIEF IN OBAMA IMMIGRATION CASE. Jake and Lauren: "Speaker Paul Ryan announced Tuesday that the House will vote on a resolution to allow the chamber to file a brief in a Supreme Court case that tests the validity of President Barack Obama's immigration executive order. Ryan (R-Wis.) told a closed meeting of House Republicans that the chamber will attempt to file a brief in U.S. v. Texas, which tests whether Obama's plan to defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants is legal. A lower court halted the program. Ryan cautioned that this is an 'extraordinary circumstance,' according to a source in the room, and lawmakers should not expect that the
House will intervene in every Supreme Court case." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb57bd8555f0ff120fec1c96d255a4d0bb13ee03be8ecb0d1ff

WELCOME BACK-Corker's coms director returns from Rubioland, per Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski: "Micah Johnson, a Tennessee native and graduate of the flagship university here, returns to the Foreign Relations chairman's personal office next week after a brief stint working as a regional spokeswoman for Rubio, a Republican from Florida. Johnson had left the Senate in January." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3866a15cb0dd1fb5040abcc80fe45120d2d825f9d7c4052e35c49828c7d12ffe

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER: Andrew Smith was the first to answer that John Y. Brown Jr., the 55th governor of Kentucky, led the group that bought KFC from Colonel Sanders and began franchising the restaurant. "I'm so honored to beat Mitch McConnell to that one ;)," he wrote back when notified of his victory.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Comes from our winner: "March is here, so that means March Madness is right around the corner. As a junior in 1973, this Maryland star basketball player led his team to the Regional Final. He would later go on to become the tallest ever member of Congress. Name him and give his height." Email me at rbade@politico.com

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