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By Lauren French (
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com & @laurennfrench)

SHUSTER MUSCLED THROUGH AIRLINE BILL. Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan report, "Last year, Rep. Bill Shuster approached fellow Republican Rep. Tom Graves with a request. The powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman wanted to take over Graves' moribund Travel Transparency Act, an industry-friendly bill that would allow airlines to advertise the base price of a ticket without including fees and taxes....The legislation wasn't only a priority for Shuster: It was a top issue for Airlines for America, and for Shuster's girlfriend, Shelley Rubino, the organization's vice president and a top airline lobbyist. Shuster's panel oversees the airline industry, and
Rubino's group spends millions of dollars lobbying Congress on behalf of major U.S. airlines. Rubino herself lobbied for the legislation, according to disclosure forms."

"Shuster's relationship with Rubino was disclosed last week by POLITICO, but at the time the legislation was going through the House, it was being kept secret. His relationship with her - and his dealings with her employer - have raised new questions about Shuster's advocacy on behalf of the airline industry. The ties go beyond Shuster and Rubino: The wife of Shuster's chief of staff is a top executive for Airlines for America, which is known as A4A. And the congressman recently hired an A4A lobbyist to run the committee's aviation panel."
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COTTON PREPARES FOR PATRIOT ACT BATTLE. Manu Raju and Burgess Everett report, "Sen. Tom Cotton is preparing for battle against Sen. Rand Paul and the GOP's libertarian wing over the USA Patriot Act and the power of government to conduct spying operations domestically and abroad...The Arkansas senator, who caused an international firestorm last month with his controversial letter to Iranian leaders, has spent many recent Fridays in Washington at FBI and National Security Agency headquarters, meeting with senior intelligence officials and administration lawyers to build his case for a clean extension of three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. With the support of GOP leaders, he's
serving as an emissary on the issue to GOP freshmen who are weighing whether to extend the controversial law. And he is seeking to sell his views on surveillance to Republicans from libertarian-minded states through classified briefings conducted by senior intelligence officials."
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LYNCH CONFIRMED. Mike DeBonis writes for the Washington Post, "Loretta E. Lynch's long wait to become U.S. attorney general ended Thursday, with the Senate voting 56 to 43 to confirm the veteran New York prosecutor five months after President Obama submitted her nomination to Congress. Lynch is expected to be sworn in as the nation's 83rd attorney general Monday, according to Justice Department officials not authorized to comment publicly... In the end, the confirmation vote margin was wider than expected: Ten Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), joined the Senate's 44 Democrats and two independents in supporting Lynch. Forty-three senators, all Republicans, were
opposed."
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FEINSTEIN WORKED TO KEEP DRONE PROGRAM UNDER CIA. Bryan Bender reports, "Nearly two years ago, President Barack Obama called for moving the drone war from the CIA to the Defense Department to give the controversial counterterrorism program greater oversight. But it hasn't happened. Then-Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein expressed concerns, and intelligence sources say she inserted a classified amendment in a spending bill last year requiring that the administration certify that giving the Pentagon a greater role would not have negative impacts on the war on terrorism."
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GOWDY ASKS CLINTON FOR TWO HEARINGS. From your Huddle author, "The House Committee investigating Benghazi is asking Hillary Clinton to appear for two public hearings on the 2012 terrorist attacks and her email use, according to a letter sent to her lawyer on Thursday. This is a departure from what Benghazi Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy originally requested from the former secretary of state. The South Carolina Republican wanted a private, transcribed interview on Clinton's email use and a public hearing on the terrorist attacks."
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GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill. Did you rub elbows with members at Rock the Vote last night? Well buckle up and get ready because WHCD weekend is just starting. And let me know what's going on at
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com or at @laurennfrench on Twitter. Seung Min Kim will take over Huddle next week. Make sure you drop her a note at
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com .

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Nada

AROUND THE HILL - People sneaking out of work early to get ready for WHCD parties.

REPUBLICANS CONFIDENT ON TRADE WHIP COUNT. Adam Behsudi reports, "Republicans says votes are there for fast track. Republicans in both chambers are increasingly confident that they have the votes to pass the linchpin legislation President Barack Obama needs to enact his trade agenda... The latest indication of the GOP's dominance on the issue: Rep. Paul Ryan snubbed Sander Levin's alternative to his "fast-track" trade bill during the Ways and Means Committee markup of the legislation Thursday... While its possible amendments could muddy the path of the legislation, all signs are now pointing to passage. When Ryan, who chairs the committee, decided not to vote on the ranking Democrat's
substitute proposal, he rejected not only Levin's measure, but also the potential backing of Pelosi and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, who strongly support the alternative."
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FUNCTIONAL? CONGRESS GETTING CREDIT FOR SEEMINGLY RETURNING TO NORMAL. Ron Elving reports for NPR,"Loretta Lynch's confirmation as Attorney General was not the only sign of a spring thaw in the Senate this week: Senators also voted for a crackdown on human trafficking, while green shoots of compromise seemed to sprout on other contentious issues, both foreign and domestic....Some of the tension of recent years may be subsiding. The Democrats presided but did not truly rule in recent sessions of the Senate; they were at best an embattled majority."

MARYLAND LAWMAKERS PUSHED OBAMA FOR WEINSTEIN ACTION. CNN's Jeremy Diamond, "When Warren Weinstein was taken hostage by al Qaeda in the summer of 2011, his family in Maryland was initially reluctant to take their case to Congress....But the family switched course and went to their representatives in Congress in late 2013 after a video of Weinstein -- frail and apparently in declining health -- surfaced in which he said he felt 'totally abandoned and forgotten' by his country... [Sen. Ben] Cardin's staff set up meetings for the senator and Weinstein's family with everyone from the U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Pakistani Ambassador in Washington."
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ROGERS: STAY AWAY FROM 'CHIMP' FUNDS. Rachael Bade reports, "Just as negotiators are pressing to finalize a Republican budget, several top House appropriators waded into the debate Thursday and warned budget writers to stay away from a vital funding stream - lest they tank the entire appropriations process. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said an obscure budget provision backed by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Senate Budget Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) would make his panel trim another $20 billion beyond what's already required by the 2011 deficit-reduction law that first reduced, then froze spending for the past few years."
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MILLER FLOATS BILL TO FIRE CORRUPT VA EMPLOYEES. The Washington Post's Emily Wax-Thibodeaux reports, "One year after the largest scandal in the Department of Veterans Affairs history, a congressman says he will introduce the VA Accountability Act, which would give the new VA secretary sweeping authority to fire corrupt or incompetent employees. Rep. Jeff Miller's (R-Fla.) bill comes in response to increasing frustration from lawmakers and veterans service organizations over the slow pace of reform in holding VA employees accountable for a litany of problems, from patient wait times to delays in benefits. Miller says that the VA has only attempted to discipline eight people for manipulating
patient wait times and has not fired any employees at all for data manipulation."
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THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Aaron Thiele was the first to correctly answer that presidential inaugurations were original held on March 4th because it was the anniversary of day that the Constitution went into effect.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Aaron has today's question. The Russell Senate office building was opened in 1909 but wasn't named after Sen. Richard Russell until 1972. What were the two names the building was called prior to being named after Sen. Russell? Be the first to email
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lfrench@politico.com with the correct answer and get a mention in Monday's Huddle.

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