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02/03/2017 07:54 AM EDT


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

With assistance from Burgess Everett and Daniel Lippman

BLACK LAWMAKERS CHAFE AT EXPANDING MEMBERSHIP - Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are at odds over whether to allow freshman New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat to join their ranks. Espaillat, the first Dominican-American elected to Congress, describes himself as a "Latino of African descent" and has already joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The CBC has a long-standing policy of limiting its membership to African-Americans and some members think Espaillat wanting to join the caucus, especially since he's already a member of the CHC, is politically motivated given the history of his Harlem district.

"Now [in Congress], we've been different in that you were either in the black caucus or you were in the Hispanic caucus. And so the question is what happens in this scenario. And I guess he's the first Dominican to [apply] and we're just trying to figure it out," New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, who supports Espaillat, told Huddle about the ongoing dispute in his caucus.

But that's not all: Espaillat represents Harlem and Washington Heights, the New York City district held by Rep. Charlie Rangel, a founding CBC member and African-American icon, for 46 years. Espaillat ran two bitter campaigns against Rangel in 2012 and 2014 and some CBC members say the bad feelings still run deep. But now Espaillat has nothing but kind words for his former foe: "Charlie Rangel was a founding member of the CBC and that's a great organization that I respect and hope to work very closely with," he told Huddle. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758fc9180a8e316f069bc1539c6335eebee53399dff784cd2482933caf7f56f6385a4899447c854badec

TROUBLE ON THE NUCLEAR FRONT? Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was already skeptical about changing the Senate rules to jam through a Supreme Court nominee if Democrats block Judge Neil Gorsuch. And now she's got company. In an interview, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) doused such a rules change with cold water. "Don't mess with it. I don't think we should mess with it."

Even if Democrats block him? "I just don't think we should mess with it," Murkowski added. If Republicans lose three votes, they would be unable to go nuclear and change the Senate rules unilaterally. And Democrats could be emboldened to reject Gorsuch if Republicans' whip count on a rules change looks shaky.

THIS MEANS WAR - The ink is barely dry on Gorsuch's nomination but allies of the conservative justice have already started hammering Democrats for what they say is a refusal to meet with the new SCOTUS nominee. The meetings are normally just photo ops and courtesy visits but "this latest kerfuffle shows how every incremental development in the contentious Gorsuch fight will be amplified, as Republicans and the broader conservative world launch an all-out offensive to get Gorsuch confirmed," Seung Min reports.

Just wait a minute: A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he needs a little more time to digest Gorsuch's judicial record before sitting down with him. And let's not forget about Merrick Garland, Democrats say. "After how the Senate Republicans treated Judge Garland, the irony of Republicans criticizing Democrats for not meeting with a Supreme Court nominee two days after he has been nominated is jaw-dropping," Schumer spokesman Matt House said.

'A real hero': In the meantime, Gorsuch has met with several Republicans this week and at least one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin. A lot of times, the chit chat veers far away from the seriousness of the court: "Shortly before sitting down with Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee senator noted that he invited Peyton Manning to a dinner at the GOP retreat in Philadelphia last week, when his Republican colleagues fled to the ex-Colts quarterback and 'I was kind of left standing by myself.' 'Peyton Manning's a little different than all of us,' Gorsuch remarked. 'A real hero.'"

For your radar: Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, will meet with Gorsuch Monday, Seung Min reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f50a87695d8b825597d3af2a1e28f02f8b45dcd93c080bece534c585e1b1cc20d534ff92aca8f43a8

HOUSE STAFFERS UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION - Five House staffers are under criminal investigation amid allegations that they stole equipment from more than 20 member offices and accessed House IT systems without lawmakers' knowledge. A senior House official said while the staffers in question committed serious, potentially illegal, violations of House IT policies, this is not a network hacking issue. So far no arrests have been made but the U.S. Capital Police confirmed the investigation. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f1d61f1661133f2b29f00d89f7b84f32250480dd03722b1f57a1c6d568156c22fe8e46b1792f924b5

WAKEY, WAKEY, EGGS AND BAKEY - Senate Republicans, frustrated by a week of Democrats' delay tactics, are playing a little hardball of their own today, forcing senators to come in super early to cast a procedural vote on Education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos. "By voting at 6:30 a.m., Republicans have a chance of confirming DeVos by late Monday but if Democrats drag out the post-cloture debate for the full 30 hours, it could lag into Tuesday," the Hill's Alex Bolton reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f994d70e52407d32b5fd1c8c5685ae5d7c4c44072d73e8b6421ffc0a6b9a7afd894640872ea4d615f

Fun fact: This is the earliest the Senate has convened since it came into session at 6:45 a.m. on Christmas Eve 2009, Capitol Hill's resident historian Chad Pergram tweeted this morning.

WHAT TIME IS HAPPY HOUR? The answer is any time. Welcome to Friday, Feb. 3. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Alex Guillen's tweet about Sen. John McCain reacting to his epic Manu photobomb.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate convened at 6:30 a.m. to hold two roll call votes. The House meets at 9 a.m. with first and last votes at 10 a.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f600f8f520e89701365df93f08988c6fdaa50caab20608efa539fbbfb1ccd46f643f2df1ce294fe8f

AROUND THE HILL - Sleepy Senate staffers making that Cups run earlier than normal today. Happy Friday in the Senate, y'all.

PELOSI ON SECRET JUDICIARY WORK: 'NOT APPROPRIATE' - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blasted reports that GOP House Judiciary staffers signed nondisclosure agreements to secretly work on Trump's refugee ban, saying the unprecedented secrecy raises "serious separation of power issues." Pelosi met with House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers on the issue earlier this week. "I don't think it is appropriate at all," she told reporters Thursday. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f0903c6aa0158574dba340b45e025060ac01725d8666b0fd802f5f7ceff4c1a18b29e1bfdd99460bc

Conyers and other Democrats on the committee fired off a letter to Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte Thursday demanding more answers about the confidentiality agreements. Democrats want to know if Goodlatte approved the nondisclosure agreements or allowed his staff to work on Trump's executive order during committee time. Goodlatte has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the issue. Rachael: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f2b25744273a26325ad0cdfdc848dd0fa030f22425301cda859557b612c9e731118da5529962b369e

JOHN McCAIN: DIPLOMAT-IN-CHIEF - Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain went out of his way Thursday to reassure Australia that the U.S. still has its back. His call to Australia's U.S. ambassador came after news broke that President Trump, reportedly angry about an Obama-era refugee deal, hung up on the country's prime minister in a heated call over the weekend. Austin with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f636eae977a99c7f87e6e82f7735bbf8e3482701c8b16e0a39ea233b102c9ba1ed4a2a83b45f78bc7

WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN - The House Rules Committee will soon begin a series of hearings looking at whether the chamber should restore earmarks. The hearings come after House Speaker Paul Ryan shut down a rank-and-file push to lift the earmark ban during a closed-door meeting in November. "Rules Chairman Pete Sessions said members are frustrated by the House's lack of control over spending priorities because of the earmark ban, noting that it's approximately $18 billion of appropriated funds that the administration gets to decide how to spend instead of Congress," Roll Call's Lindsey McPherson reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f501efe8ac4b62594eaa8c1a02f7947e2282ba3ffac5cda09ad0d0a264696b6b298e764a1b058f9b1

HOUSE REPEALS BACKGROUND CHECK RULE - The House voted Thursday to repeal "an Obama-era regulation that required the Social Security Administration to disclose to the national gun background check system information about people with mental illness," Ted Barrett reports for CNN. "The rule sought to limit the ability of those with mental illness to purchase guns but drew criticism for casting too wide a net and not providing the opportunity for due process." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f84361e2ba1ec2970de3cc3bfbc873042051daf9c49bb04a3cba8e2aa9be678c87f01c70ce66fe466

The Senate is also getting into the regulation rollback action: "The Senate on Thursday voted to strike down limits on water pollution from coal mining, a favorite target of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that can be axed without the threat of a filibuster," Elana reports. "Senate GOP leaders hope to call up several more rifle-shot repeals of Obama regulations as they come over from the House - giving the chamber the appearance of progress even amid the confirmations standstill." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758fbcf7f3ce49a98663b51850b74218cfa63771cce6f103f096426b405ba53ae1a1281a1d33fb3cbff5

WASHINGTON OUTSIDER BECOMES AN INSIDER - Former Louisiana Sen. David Vitter has joined one of Washington's largest lobbying shops, Mercury LLC, Theo Meyer reports. Mercury had been working to recruit Vitter since he lost the Louisiana governor's race in 2015 and announced he'd retire from the Senate in 2016. Vitter can't lobby his colleagues for two years due to the "cooling off period" but can work immediately to influence the administration. "'It's interesting to live the two-year ban that I promoted and helped pass,' he said, chuckling, but said that he didn't regret his vote." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758fccc8755e44bd10e3b2d0fbc31e27f57741fd8bc7013e336833eb114f06272d45ca5f2b2a3fccd90d

GET MONEY - House Speaker Paul Ryan transferred $3.4 million to House Republicans' fundraising arm last month, kicking off the year with a better fundraising haul then he had in January 2016, when there was an election on the horizon, Rachael reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f5fd95968a744a8a9f0308cbcdb0e0f943ac452fd0a361ead30c375bb3f58796be7cfc7beffe460e3

COMING TO A TV (OR COMPUTER) NEAR YOU - The Judicial Crisis Network is launching a new pro-Gorsuch ad today that will air in Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Colorado and D.C. The conservative group's new ad is part of a $2 million buy that kicked off Tuesday night. "I worked for the Obama administration. I have to say I'm 100 percent comfortable with Judge Gorsuch becoming the next Supreme Court justice," Jane Nitze, a former Gorsuch clerk says directly to the camera. The group plans to spend $10 million overall in support of Gorsuch's confirmation. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758f1e3900a6948766ad5e1872110af7cfbbf6631201b040e29c519e55b01950be4ef0d3aaad6e53994d

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Travis Hall, comms director at the Republican Study Committee, and Gretchen Hall, reentry advocate at Disability Rights DC at University Legal Services, welcomed Thomas Michael Hall last Friday at 1:14 a.m. "Thomas couldn't wait another month and joined the world in his 36th week. Mom is doing well. Thomas's condition continues to improve, and he is on target to be a reliable reliever for the Nats." Pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bdb17e4a49da758fc7be01bd1c648b7d9d8301b72250155dba8496db9d1e231ee754433ec44855a05430dbd39bf0bf4a

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Patrick Boland, communications director for Rep. Adam Schiff, was the first to guess that Sen. Jesse Helms was the only GOP senator to vote against the confirmation of Peter J. Brennan, President Nixon's Labor secretary.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Paul Kane with today's question: The last time the Senate rejected, in a floor vote, a nominee to the Supreme Court came in 1987 when Robert Bork lost his confirmation vote, 42 to 58. How many senators who voted then are still serving today? The first person to guess correctly gets a shout-out Monday. Send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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