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12/18/2017 07:52 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope) and Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

JINGLE ALL THE WAY (TO DEC. 22) - Welcome to Congress, where lawmakers are expected to pass the biggest tax code rewrite in more than 30 years and keep the government open beyond Friday, all in time to head home for Christmas later this week. The GOP tax bill seems to be on the path to passage in the House and Senate. But lawmakers in both chambers are still battling over a short-term funding bill, with no clear agreement in sight.

Let's start with taxes: House Republicans will huddle tonight to talk about the conference report - which members of the conference committee signed on Friday - before voting on the final bill tomorrow. Assuming it moves through the House on a party-line vote, the bill will then kick over to the Senate, where it's expected to pass via the narrowest of margins after Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) both signaled their support late last week. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), meanwhile, is expected to miss the vote this week. McCain, who is currently battling brain cancer, flew home to Arizona after receiving treatment in D.C. for a viral infection and isn't expected to return to
Capitol Hill until January, according to his office.

So will you be filing your taxes on a postcard? Not quite. The final bill "leaves nearly every large tax break in place. It creates as many new preferences for special interests as it gets rid of. It will keep corporate accountants busy for years to come. And no taxpayer will ever see the postcard-size tax return that President Trump laid a kiss on in November as Republican leaders launched their tax overhaul effort," Jim Tankersley reports for the New York Times.

And while the bill may be on the path to Trump's desk, the plan will likely trigger years of instability in the tax code because the proposal "is advancing without bipartisan support and with expiration dates that guarantee it will be revisited for years," Richard Rubin reports for the Wall Street Journal.

Related: Corker surprised a lot of folks when he suddenly flipped his vote to "yes" on the tax bill last week. But Corker says he had no knowledge of a provision in the final report that could benefit him financially, the Tennessean reports. Michael Collins with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a778e66a2f93b2d5873635f2c5b87a4c5074b420baf40f7c7cefcadd21ed5e85225848dcd3ca8437e14

ALL RIGHT, LET'S TALK SHUTDOWN - Government funding runs out Friday and as of right now GOP leaders in the House and Senate are embracing very different - and competing - strategies. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) he'd support passage of legislation by the end of the year to prop up Obamacare insurance markets in order to secure her vote on tax reform. But House Republicans have outright rejected the idea. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), meanwhile, is planning to send the Senate a stopgap bill later this week that would fund domestic programs into mid-January, while securing a full year of funding for defense programs. House GOP leaders know the
bill will fail in the Senate, where most Democrats have already said they would oppose such a plan.

"Instead of addressing the obvious inconsistencies, GOP leaders have tried to put off the issue and focus on tax reform for now," Rachael, Seung Min and Jen Haberkorn report. "It's going to be a bipartisan [spending] deal; [some House Republicans] are going to be unhappy with that - and you don't want to have the tax issues as the place they decide to retaliate," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.).

And it's not just government funding. Congressional leaders also have to address (or punt) funding for the children's health insurance program, a legislative fix for Dreamers, and hurricane disaster aid. The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77749d9561340b760ea3607394b8c440ba720400b735bf50315db01a54c209d91660b680c976993fdb

OH HEY THERE MONDAY. Thanks for reading Huddle on this Dec. 18, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Key details about what's in and what's out of the new tax bill, via Toby Eckert and Aaron Lorenzo, was the winner.


FRANKEN URGED TO RECONSIDER RESIGNATION - Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he thinks Democratic colleagues rushed to judgment in urging Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to step down a few weeks ago and has asked him to reconsider. "What they did to Al was atrocious, the Democrats," Manchin said in an interview for POLITICO's Off Message podcast to post on Tuesday. "I hope they have enough guts ... and enough conscience and enough heart to say, 'Al, we made a mistake asking prematurely for you to leave,'" Manchin said.

Three other senators, including Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), have reportedly told Franken privately they think he should reconsider or regret rushing to call for his resignation after the last allegation broke. But other key senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), aren't reversing their calls for Franken to step down after seven women accused him of sexual harassment. Franken is currently working with his replacement, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, who is expected to take office in January. Edward-Isaac Dovere: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a7744c3f5dbcb9c642fc712a965f18605df900a6ee1527b30923d824bd4f4c0b4716de190ce936cafe6

THE BIG QUESTION ON CAPITOL HILL: WHO'S NEXT? Lawmakers and staffers on the Hill are gripped with paranoia, worried about who might be implicated in a sexual harassment scandal next. Not helping the mood in the Capitol: a nagging rumor that a major news outlet is preparing to unmask at least 20 lawmakers in both parties for sexual misconduct. The rumor has been floating around since at least mid-November and your Huddle host (along with a lot of other reporters) has been button-holed by lawmakers and aides nearly every day, asking when this supposed expose is being released.

"Washington is also gripped by uncertainty over whether the nationwide awakening to workplace misconduct might be manipulated into a political weapon," Elana and Rachael report. "Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went to law enforcement after being targeted last week by a forged harassment complaint against him, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) last month parried a false accusation of misconduct posted on Twitter." The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a7786166543a87bf53763efdbec4e31755f478f85be9d5b867adb0cf1fa08db90276d9f0776d88356e6

The wave of sexual harassment allegations roiling Capitol Hill is also reshaping the 2018 midterm map, Elena Schneider reports this morning. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77687c280995f6454cdcca8671517652c5af49a567235e01c13511244c31b87cb1706e7135c9b261a2

KIHUEN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT - Facing a growing number of sexual harassment allegations, Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) announced Saturday that he will complete his term but won't seek reelection, calling claims against him a would-be "distraction" from the issues in a reelection bid. Kihuen denies all allegations, two of which stem from his last campaign and his time as a state legislator. More from Elena Schneider: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77783af895ebde42c515904b5379fc779a4f3ee5355b5d05ea16ba73296f225fa58f575d19b925e347

Over the weekend, another woman accused the freshman lawmaker of kissing her and asking unduly personal questions of her this fall, including why she didn't have a boyfriend and if she lives alone. The latest allegation, the first to have reportedly occurred since he was elected, calls into question whether the Nevada Democrat can survive another year in Congress without resigning. The House Ethics Committee is opening an investigation into Kihuen's alleged misconduct. The Nevada Independent: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a777dd9c9b0100aee95b5a569f4a7547a8d92bdf7cb2ff8924c3745e4369006071efb3e3c7f808484b0

COMING ATTRACTIONS: The House Intelligence Committee will interview two key people related to its Russia probe today: music publicist Rob Goldstone, who helped set up the meeting in 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, and former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). The DNC paid a law firm that obtained the services of Fusion GPS, the company behind the infamous Trump dossier. Wasserman Schultz has denied having any knowledge of the dossier. The committee plans to interview Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and hold sessions in New York with Russian-American businessman Felix Sater and former Trump assistant Rhona Graff later this week. More from Jeremy Herb and Manu
Raju: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a7727a8a35a8e93f55c8b758465355e72ebcecce7502c2677e60c185cd47ee7a39a006576c23a8147d3

DEMS FEAR MUELLER FIRING - Congressional Democrats fear that rhetoric from Republican lawmakers, the White House and conservative media figures is a messaging campaign aimed at forcing out special counsel Robert Mueller, Kyle reports. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has called the FBI a "crime family," the network itself wondered in a banner whether Mueller's Russia probe amounted to "A Coup in America?" and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) has called on the former FBI chief to "clean house of partisans." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77c5bf23db56442551a66ad843b5e2da349e5e6e7b47780f957c4958d5ce85dda78f287474670c8f3c

While Trump says he has no plans to fire Mueller, he is contemplating other personnel changes, the Washington Post reports: "Advisers who have spoken recently with Trump about the Russia investigation said the president was sharply critical of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as well as Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller operation." Philip Rucker, Josh Dawsey and Sari Horwitz with more:http://wapo.st/2kJmTYK

JONES SIDES WITH WHITE HOUSE - Sen.-elect Doug Jones (D-Ala.) suggested Sunday that "we move on and not get distracted by" the sexual harassment allegations that surfaced against Trump in the 2016 campaign. Eight senators have called on Trump to resign over claims of sexual misconduct. Jones, however, told CNN's Jake Tapper that "I don't think that the president ought to resign at this point," and he echoed a White House talking point, arguing that Trump was elected president "with those allegations front and center." CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77f82fdd717b4641fe5deecc8b584c661e59bf6f6f0956260c4c48064b4fd8aa188226a816caf65a16

Related: Jones said Sunday he is willing to work with Republicans. "I have resisted trying to put labels on myself. People are going to do that left and right," he said on Fox News. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77b52b5e467965bfc4d81df4384a329aa4d0f2d0353fb76693ab33a4232862f0018b6d8afc5ffd0226

QUOTE DU JOUR: "If I can run three miles four times a week, I'll be running for reelection," said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on a bid for reelection in 2022, when he will be 89. "I ran just two miles this morning, but don't read too much into that. Because it's the same day I packed my suitcase to go home, and I needed a little extra time." The Washington Post's Paul Kane on the oldest Senate ever: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77841f40aea66d9ef0d27a900e5d1b430fe73b1b74b5953020a7f7b9e2461883477160bae18d4c9e68

TRUMP TO HIT THE TRAIL IN 2018 - Despite historically low approval ratings, Trump plans to play an active role in the 2018 midterms elections. His political team has met with 116 candidates, and Trump himself could begin meeting with potential candidates in the next month before getting involved in House, Senate and gubernatorial races - potentially including contested GOP primaries. "The president has told advisers that he wants to travel extensively and hold rallies and that he is looking forward to spending much of 2018 campaigning," Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer report in The Washington Post.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House gavels in at 12 p.m. with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f51317674eb1a77b69fe71a81ec7701e4c2f1a63d17cadd30deea41f38111831c94e7d3c335003b169a0bd7976e241f The Senate meets at 3 p.m. with a 5:30 p.m. vote on the nominations of Owen West to be assistant secretary of Defense and J. Paul Compton to serve as general counsel for HUD.

AROUND THE HILL - It's a fly-in day so things are pretty quiet until this evening.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Stewart Verdery was first to guess that Harriet Miers was the last unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee before Merrick Garland. Miers, a George W. Bush nominee, withdrew after several senators questioned her qualifications to serve on the high court.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Nolan with today's question: With eight octogenarians, the Senate is the oldest it's ever been. How many current senators are among the 15 members who have been in the Senate the longest, who are they, how old are they and how many years have they served? 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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