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03/10/2016 08:44 AM EDT


By Seung Min Kim (skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

With an assist from Burgess Everett

SCOOP: SENATE GOP POLL SHOWS POLITICAL UPSIDE TO SCOTUS BLOCKADE - From your Huddle author: "Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), according to GOP sources, is quietly circulating a four-page memo throughout the Senate Republican Conference on the public's views on filling the high court's vacancy. The memo, obtained by POLITICO, makes the case that a majority of voters would prefer to keep deceased Justice Antonin Scalia's seat empty - for a year or even longer - rather than allow Obama to nominate a liberal justice that would move the court to the left."

--The poll, conducted by Cornyn pollster Greg Strimple, "found that 54 percent of those surveyed were more concerned about a liberal justice being chosen to replace Scalia, compare to the nearly 41 percent of respondents who were more worried about the seat being open for a year or more. Not surprisingly, Republicans were much more concerned about the potential shift in ideological balance. But Strimple's findings showed that 53 percent of independents said a liberal justice was the bigger concern, compared to 41 percent who said a prolonged vacancy was the larger issue."

--"A majority of those surveyed - 54 percent - said they believed Obama would nominate a liberal justice and that his pick would tip the balance of the Supreme Court. And nearly 56 percent said justices should follow the original intent of the Constitution, in the mold of Scalia." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7820e064f0dbe27655dbe23c163e50c56a2a5cff7c14d238fdb

SNEAK PEEK 1 - Senate Democrats will release this video later Thursday that splices the GOP's current stance on blocking all SCOTUS consideration with their previous comments (some decades old) that nominees to the high court should be carefully considered. It kicks off with a vintage clip of now-Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in 1986, when he argued that the committee has an "obligation to build a record and to conduct the most in-depth inquiry that we can" into a nominee. Take a look at the video, here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782c099fdcc8c1da8c8c46b84a259683bafa10a1e1e900b1386

--The video mirrors the message Senate Dems will push at the Judiciary Committee business meeting later today at 10 a.m.

SNEAK PEEK 2 - The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee what it's calling the first-of-its-kind accountability website centered on Speaker Paul Ryan, which will be a clearinghouse for the campaign arm's statements, commentaries and "reality checks" for his public comments, interviews and news conferences. The link is www.RyanRealityCheck.com, and www.draftspeakerryan.org and www.draftspeakerryan.net also redirect here.

SCOTUS, TRUMP ENGULF HILL - POLITICO's John Bresnahan: "With the possible exception of Donald Trump, the Supreme Court vacancy is the biggest obsession of Capitol Hill these days. That's a bad thing for Senate Republicans. The GOP's refusal to hold hearings or vote on President Barack Obama's nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia has put the party on the defensive in a way that's unlikely to change anytime soon, assuming top Republicans hold their ground."

--"For Democrats, the Supreme Court fight is 'a godsend,' asserted one senior Democratic aide. Senate Democrats aren't talking about the Iran nuclear deal they greenlighted, or the controversial trade agreement they authorized the president to negotiate. The challenges facing the U.S. economy or growing budget deficit? Off the radar." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7822c7a8661f1f2ab12c15d3e0237472664b63d97582d78e044

--CQ Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski reports that the Senate doesn't plan to officially go into recess this year, for fear of Obama using a recess appointment to appoint any judges: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7823c6942a49fb06410e6c403367ca3f79598b3d63e8f8fac12

HUDDLE'S FAVORITE THING TODAY - This short clip (courtesy of NBC's Frank Thorp) of Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) explaining what "hangry" means: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782db283cd371bedb3c9fbb93b3ef4d24c2d9c40169e95564e2

RUBIO'S SENATE SUPPORT SPLINTERS - Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim for POLITICO: "After Marco Rubio spent months building support on Capitol Hill, his network of congressional backing is on the verge of fracturing. In interviews with POLITICO, some of Rubio's endorsers and quiet supporters are openly weighing backing Ted Cruz - who is almost universally loathed within the Republican conference but viewed increasingly as a better option than Donald Trump."

--" 'I could see myself as a Cruz supporter,' said Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who endorsed Rubio after Jeb Bush faltered ... And while his most optimistic supporters spun away Rubio's dreadful Tuesday performance as a tactical choice not to focus on states like Mississippi and Michigan, his backers on Capitol Hill agree: If he doesn't win Florida, his viability officially plummets to zero. 'I think everyone knows that,' said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), another Rubio backer. 'If he does well in Florida, he's back in the game,' said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a third Rubio endorser. 'If he doesn't, it's gonna be very difficult.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782e49fe39552d3c8ba7fb076703ef8f1cf479f343440bb3ce4

TRANSITIONS -- Katie Meyer Simeon, deputy health policy director for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, will begin a new job next week with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) covering health care, trade, education, labor and pension policy. She writes in a farewell note: "My colleagues here in the Senate - Republican, Democrat, and non-partisan - are kind and funny, experts in their fields, committed public servants, and consummate professionals."

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is adding Tess Glancey as communications adviser. Glancey came to the committee from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) office. McCaul also promoted Claire Woolf to director of strategic and digital communication for the committee.


** A message from Managed Funds Association: The hedge fund industry has changed a lot in the 25 years since MFA was founded. Not only have regulations evolved, the investor makeup has changed as well. To learn more, visit www.hedgefundamentals.org. **

HAPPY THURSDAY (or as we like to call it, Senate Friday), March 10, 2016 and welcome to the Huddle, your daily source of all things Capitol Hill. You can always reach me at skim@politico.com and please follow me on Twitter at @seungminkim.

My new followers include @brikeilarcnn and @PaulTOwen.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out. The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and will resume work on the opioid addiction bill. Final passage vote is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Then Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is expected to make his move forcing a vote on legislation blocking the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. Jeremy Herb and I explained how that works here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782053c55b57feec168ceb0201667484ff42f79c3989d7fbc39

AROUND THE HILL - Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) will hold a news conference following the passage of the opioid bill (vote at 11:30 a.m.) at S-325. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will hold a photo op with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 4 p.m. in H-207.

Just off the Hill, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) will deliver the keynote at the National Association of Hispanic Publishers and National Newspaper Publisher Association legislative conference, held at the National Press Club First Amendment Room, at 12:20 p.m.

SCOOPLET: CORNERSTONE EVENT RAKES IN $300K FOR DSCC - Per a little birdie: Cornerstone Government Affairs and Avenue Solutions hosted 14 Senate Dems - nearly one-third of the caucus -- at an event Wednesday night that raised more than $300,000 for the DSCC. Revelers included Sens. Jon Tester, Chuck Schumer, Patty Murray, Debbie Stabenow, Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, Michael Bennet, Al Franken, Chris Coons, Joe Donnelly, Chris Murphy, Heidi Heitkamp, Cory Booker, and Gary Peters. Hosts included Cornerstone's Mike Smith, Avenue's Tracy Spicer and Amy Tejral, and officials from more than a dozen groups around town.

GIT-MOMENTUM - A group of 14 GOP senators, led by Steve Daines of Montana, will introduce a sense of the Senate resolution this morning demanding that captured leaders of the Islamic State -- like the recently detained chemical weapons head - be put in the prison at Guantanamo Bay. "Last week when I was at Guantanamo Bay I saw plenty of vacant cells," Daines will say in a forthcoming release announcing the resolution later today. His co-sponsors include Sens. Jerry Moran, Cory Gardner, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Mark Kirk, Ted Cruz, Orrin Hatch, Joni Ernst, Johnny Isakson, John Boozman, Pat Roberts, Jim Inhofe, David Vitter and Tim Scott.

BILL NELSON NOW BLOCKING FLINT BILL - HuffPo's Laura Barron-Lopez and Arthur Delaney with the latest: "Nelson doesn't have a problem with the underlying bill, which makes money available to cities like Flint coping with decaying water infrastructure, or with a separate piece of energy legislation tied to the Flint bill. But he is wary of an offshore drilling amendment that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) wants to attach to the energy bill. The measure would increase revenue sharing for states that allow offshore oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7828e47ec64a6f2dab6eca3cf49318caa61587d632a33e23668

--Still, there was some progress toward a Flint deal, via @AriNatter: Breaking: @SenStabenow says she has reached a "conceptual agreement" with @SenMikeLee on fixing the #Flint payfor. CBO is reviewing.

SENATE PANEL CLEARS ED PICK - The AP: "A Senate committee on Wednesday approved President Barack Obama's nomination of John B. King Jr. to be education secretary. The 16-6 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee sent the nomination of the acting secretary to the full Senate ... [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren said she would vote to approve King's nomination in committee but that she would not support him in the full Senate until she gets more 'direct answers' to her concerns. 'I still have questions about how he plans to change the culture at the department,' she said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782749cda184568f1bd2ff830949eba6da05bbbb7a3237577dd

MCCARTHY, MCHENRY'S START-UP PUSH - Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson: "House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.) are meeting with a trio of Silicon Valley companies Wednesday as part of a new House push to reduce regulations on start-ups. At a time when the presidential election and a bitter partisan fight over the Supreme Court vacancy are dominating Capitol Hill, the two House GOP leaders are working to pull together a largely bipartisan package of bills to shepherd through the chamber over the next couple of months."

--" 'A lot of these issues you can find bipartisanship [cooperation] on,' Mr. McCarthy said in an interview Wednesday ... The House is expected to vote next week on the first bill connected to the effort: legislation from Rep. Greg Walden (R., Ore.) that would ease some regulations for smaller Internet service providers under the Federal Communications Commission's net-neutrality rule." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7824f6c0a3595b923d59d3834c9ffe258331db36352b3a802ce

MCCAIN VS. SHELBY, ROUND GAZILLION - Huddle's favorite feud (stemming from a provision over Russian rocket engine in last year's omnibus) just keeps going. McCain took to the floor again Wednesday to rip Shelby over including the provision, and Morning Consult's Will Dobbs-Allsopp asks McCain: Why bring this up again?

--Here's more: "In an interview after his speech, McCain said that he is calling on Republican senators to publicly support him in a crusade against earmarks to prevent similar provisions from suddenly appearing in future spending legislation ... McCain had particularly harsh words about Shelby. 'I'm not trying to stop [Shelby]. There's no way you're going to get him,' McCain said. 'I want to get the freshmen and I want to get the majority of the conference to prevent him from doing it. If he wants to operate solo, that's fine. I need to isolate him.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c782ca654343812347acbc802d2119cad78d1ebade64a4703106

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WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Crazy! No one even tried to guess. See below.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Guam is in the next slate of states and territories to cast their primary ballots this Saturday. In 2012, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul combined for how many of the territory's 215 votes cast at caucus? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b25efb85eaf4c7821feca535cbb70f1352c19838dd2b28fcc24270ab41a85a8e

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www.hedgefundamentals.org. **

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