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12/13/2017 07:57 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

ALABAMA STUNNER: JONES WINS - Doug Jones defeated Roy Moore Tuesday night, flipping an Alabama Senate seat to Democrats for the first time in 25 years and dealing a decisive blow to President Donald Trump after a brutal campaign. "The Associated Press called the race for Jones, a former U.S. attorney, who had 49.9 percent of the vote to Moore's 48.4 percent with all precincts reporting - a difference of more than 21,000 votes," Daniel Strauss reports. "Moore declined to concede, saying there were still military and other votes that need to be counted. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told CNN it would be 'highly unusual and highly unlikely' for the outstanding ballots to change the
results of the race." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b844df36784af844c09b2589c4b9f5bb7d0bf61dd3030d446bcb8f3e015946b1a8fde74c37cd9245dd

How Jones won: "The abandonment of Mr. Moore by affluent white voters, along with strong support from black voters, proved decisive, allowing Mr. Jones to transcend Alabama's rigid racial polarization and assemble a winning coalition," Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin report for the New York Times. The other key to his victory? Write in votes for third-party candidates. "More than 20,000 voters here cast write-in ballots, which amounted to 1.7 percent of the electorate - about the same as Mr. Jones's overall margin." From Birmingham: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8e733c18312272a25d1a061af021d6ce7d15dafc3e76d55cbc998b707902316d3b79ee1036ada60fd

Republicans' feelings in a nutshell: "You could literally take any name out of a phone book except Roy Moore's and win by double digits. And we managed to get the only guy in Alabama that could lose to a Democrat," Josh Holmes, former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), told the Washington Post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b806da01da0ac27c5b5bc5d68319a143864245d2e1c904b1be0db54766ae8918f007f121b3bba6f776

Jones' victory speech: "This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign -- this campaign has been about the rule of law. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency," Jones told the crowd as he was interrupted by multiple rounds of applause. CNN with his full speech: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b80dae6164199f831cc29c108afa79075a46245ef05924f7764deaf714a76b4398fa9a6a856beab577

What this means for Republicans: Republicans don't have to decide whether to initiate a months or years-long investigation and possible expulsion proceedings for Moore, who has been accused by multiple women of sexually pursuing them as teenagers. Moore's controversial comments also can't be used as a cudgel by Democrats against Republicans on the campaign trail. But Jones' victory does reduce Republicans' already narrow control of the Senate by one, bringing the margin to 51-49.

What this means for Democrats: What just months ago seemed impossible - Democrats taking back control of the Senate in 2018 - is now within reach. Jones' victory is sure to boost Democratic fundraising heading into the critical months ahead of the midterms. And turnout was sky high for the special election, like other races we've seen this year, something that could translate into huge House and Senate victories for Democrats in the midterms if they can keep up the momentum. Democrats also have a little more leverage in the Senate, which could help derail or exert some control over the GOP agenda for the next several months.

Key takeaways: Moore's loss deals a serious blow to Steve Bannon's anti-establishment campaign ... Trump put his political capital on the line and lost ... Soccer moms and African American voters help put Jones over the top ... Gabriel Debenedetti and Alex Isenstadt with much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b87351b31b85074e6763fb8a83e382806cf23dacbbdcf2f69f17130cd6b3122da51c2de07e1945593c

Trump tweets: @realDonaldTrump: "Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!" And read more from Eliana Johnson on how Jones' win is a "big black eye" for Trump: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b82475afb4201fd70bb51e677aee91c9f3e1025b653709b1ad913ae63591d16aa5f818949b95bd2c8f

Who is Doug Jones? Jones "has remained a rare combination: part bourbon-sipping Southerner and part New York Yankees-loving Democrat," Alex Burns and Campbell Robertson report. "He has often called in to discuss legal matters with Paul Finebaum, whose radio talk show is akin to a religious service for college football fans in the Southeast, and he has been a longtime friend of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose 1988 presidential campaign he worked on." The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8ca8f0343ca01a37df928a4bc2663fde34eab4f779d2f7227173735e54cc723e28fc32697f225227a

Data dump: Steve Shepard breaks down the exit polls telling you who voted and for whom in last night's election: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8773b7389f2ac3ffeb23481869cca18ddcc8d53511f9a40147c377038eca519c16d6e47bcae9b1a02 Oops: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) accidentally congratulated "Doug Moore" in a tweet: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b84fea4b1c7b25e56e8fee46fcac9e9194a03fa02782e8e889c84383ca6a8fc42c5c35037b64ef8fea (h/t Scott Bland)

ROLLING RIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: No surprise here - the picture of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) sitting on Santa Claus' lap was the winner by far.

DO WE HAVE A DEAL? Doug Jones' victory isn't expected to have a big impact on the GOP's push to enact major tax cuts before the end of the year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier Tuesday that Republican Sen. Luther Strange was expected to serve through the end of this year. And Republicans were already eyeing a speedy timeline for completing the bill - filing a conference report later this week with votes in the Senate and House early next week, sending it to the president's desk as early as next Wednesday.

Where things stand right now: "Republicans are considering a 37 percent top individual tax rate and a 21 percent corporate rate as they start putting the final touches on a sweeping compromise tax overhaul," Seung Min Kim, Bernie Becker and Nancy Cook report.

Republicans meet today in what's likely to be the first and only public meeting of the tax conference committee. As Seung Min points out, the real negotiations are happening behind the scenes and today's public huddle is "little more than a box to be checked." Trump is hosting conferees for lunch at the White House today before giving a speech on taxes at the White House later in the afternoon. SMK with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b893d5a7448bae0f04228c0f8081d5a18643806d08bd5eb232a3534a65212e766389ef35aa44b1d8fd

Something to look forward to: "American taxpayers may get a jolt on New Year's Day when new tax rules - including some sudden tax increases - take effect just days after Republicans hope to pass their overhaul and have it signed into law," Brian Faler reports. More on what to expect Jan. 1: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8477828f32e6d46eed1350356f550e4b300e5b54dc1124d6c18977204df5bb59b71ee004785e86767

COMING ATTRACTIONS: FUNDING SHOWDOWN? House Republicans are scheduled to meet today at 3 p.m. to talk year-end funding. Republicans have been mulling a plan that would pair a full fiscal year of Pentagon funding with a short-term proposal to keep domestic programs running likely sometime into January. But Senate Democrats are strongly opposed to the idea, with 44 of the chamber's 48 Democrats sending a letter Tuesday warning Republican leaders against pursuing such a plan. Remember, current government funding runs out Dec. 22 and McConnell will need at least eight Democrats on board to move anything in the upper chamber. Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b85fd29b8e97409fa85c562b3381e3dc6d90a26d1261247bd2a1e07611659cc6b81591c97280d1f987

DEMS BACK AWAY FROM BRINK ON DREAMERS - Democratic leaders aren't going to shut down the government to save Dreamers in December. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi haven't stopped fighting to deliver something on immigration by the end of the month. But they've subtly shifted their rhetoric in recent days and aren't insisting that deportation relief be paired with a government funding bill this year. While a deal still could come together, it's looking more likely that Congress will address the issue early next year, much to the furor of progressive activists and liberal lawmakers, who had been counting on a solution by the end of this month. Your
Huddle host and Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8b1f4a9973e426b5908e73ba1ab395209826a945d671afc3bb5ea87027c485bdf58360dfb709641c4

DAYTON TO NAME FRANKEN REPLACEMENT - Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to appoint Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to replace Sen. Al Franken in a press conference this morning. Franken announced he was resigning last week after multiple sexual harassment allegations. Smith, a close confidant of Dayton, is expected to run for the seat in a 2018 special election. "The race for Franken's seat, which will cost the two sides tens of millions of dollars, will make 2018 one of the most pivotal Minnesota elections in years," J. Patrick Coolican reports for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "In addition to two Senate races - one to fill the Franken seat plus Sen. Amy Klobuchar's re-election campaign - there
will be as many as five competitive U.S. House races in Minnesota." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b87a43258a9f9993a45f9fc7ba2f4aa3a807c904fbf9bd95d053aabecd8fc6a09421472f03834379dd

ROSENSTEIN TESTIFIES TODAY - Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies before the House Judiciary Committee today. He's expected to be hit with a "barrage of questions about what [Republicans] say is an anti-Trump bias at the FBI and Justice Department, in an attack aimed at undermining Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation," Bloomberg's Chris Strohm and Billy House report. Rosenstein's appearance comes on the heels of a POLITICO report that two FBI agents assigned to the Russia probe called Trump an "idiot" in an August 2015 text message exchange. Josh Gerstein with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b869a3c3f26b1304183a529c19201ae4064b5fd4c039a93dede86650509d60799217173a47d8c5b227

Tune in: Today's hearing starts at 10 a.m. You can watch here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b887c4b796029f4752635644f6442938ba4fbc30813da6bd6c67a7350841168ea6e98597adc87309e4


TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes at 2:30 p.m. and last votes at 4:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ab56ec6ec09512b8db09dd74c37aaaa4e375feb9a0ce8b80cd34eae79520a6e2396d994a0db355df47161181f21d5877 The Senate gavels in at 12 p.m. with votes related to judicial nominees possible this afternoon.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Vice Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) take questions from reporters at 10:15 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) hold a press conference on pension benefits for miners and Teamsters at 10:30 a.m. in SVC 208.

Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) hold a press conference on judicial nominee Don Willett at 11 a.m. in SVC 202. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) hold a press call at 11:15 a.m. on veterans priorities in year-end funding talks.

Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee host a forum on the GOP tax bill at 12 p.m. in HVC-215. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) hold a press conference on funding for children's health insurance and community health centers at 1:15 p.m. in SVC-215.

Pelosi and Schumer hold a press availability at 1:30 p.m. at the center steps stakeout ahead of the meeting of House and Senate conferees on the GOP's tax bill. Hoyer and Blue Dog co-chairs Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) hold a press conference on fiscal discipline at 1:45 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Nicholas Reindl was first to guess that George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama are the two presidents to win elections since 1976 with more Washington experience than their challengers.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Dawson Hobbs with today's question: Who was the last president born as a British subject and how long did he serve? 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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