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11/09/2017 07:55 AM EDT


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

TAKING TAX REFORM TO THE NEXT LEVEL - The House Ways and Means Committee will vote on the GOP tax plan later today after Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) introduces a manager's amendment, which could make significant changes to the bill aimed at ginning up more GOP votes. Brady's amendment could include a repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate, which congressional scorekeepers said would save about $338 billion over 10 years, money lawmakers could use to offset other tax break goodies they want to include in the bill.

Republicans say this week's election results - a decisive victory for Democrats - makes clear what had already been lingering in their minds: Without tax reform, their majorities in the House and Senate could be toast. "If we face-plant on health care and taxes," said Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), "I don't want to see it." But there's also a creeping fear that vulnerable House Republicans might learn another lesson from Election Day: tying yourself too closely to a Trump-branded tax rewrite that ends many popular tax breaks could be too much of a risk. Kyle and Seung Min report: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf24d9d8269f54ea2f240857ea281bcd625b7ef408491fbd3e2c0da7b678b96cbb1891fe99343d1b8e7

GOP leaders, who plan to bring the bill to the floor next week, have kicked off a furious vote counting operation, using a mix of behind-the-scenes cajoling and stoking fears about losing the majority to unite the caucus. "House Majority Whip Steve Scalise's team has been pulling district-by-district data to prove to skeptical lawmakers from high-tax states that their constituents will see a tax cut under the plan," flipping Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) to a yes, Rachael reports. Go behind the scenes: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2be13d8dcf0a48e0a2d974474306ebc7a796451da1439f0e3929477be966d25804a615062214704cd

NOT TO BE OUTDONE, Senate Republicans plan to unveil their own bill today. The Senate bill is expected to diverge sharply from the House proposal, including by "not fully repealing the estate tax, eliminating the state and local tax deduction and possibly changing a tax cut for unincorporated 'pass-through' companies so it is more palatable to the small business lobby than the House legislation," Brian Faler, Seung Min and Josh Dawsey report. President Donald Trump even told red-state Democrats they'd like the Senate bill better than the House version, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Senate GOP leaders were also whipping members Wednesday to see if there's support for repealing the individual mandate, which CBO says would save money but result in about 13 million more uninsured Americans, Jen Haberkorn reports. Senate Republicans will be briefed on their tax proposal at 11:30 a.m. Bottom line: The House and Senate are still very far apart on a final tax rewrite.

You've got mail: Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) sent a letter to Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in support of repealing the individual mandate, calling it an "affront to freedom" and citing the latest CBO score. Separately, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is introducing a bill today that would suspend Obamacare's employer mandate for 2015. In recent weeks the IRS has sent penalty letters to companies who aren't in compliance with the mandate, dating back to 2015. Read Johnson's bill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2f0a24c78c4af5c75db3edc1a9c6c646f08f16eb43297ba15a110d2ae033b8e42320e8bbb018a6c1a

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T TALK SHUTDOWN - Two words not to be uttered in the Democratic Caucus: government shutdown. Democratic leaders feel emboldened after this week's Election Day romping and think it boosts their negotiating position heading into year-end funding talks. But they're still preaching caution to their members, urging the caucus to hold back from publicly courting a shutdown in an effort to force Republicans to take action on Dreamers. That hasn't stopped the party's left flank from threatening to withhold votes from any must-pass spending bill that doesn't address Dreamers but they are being careful with their language. Yours truly and Elana with much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf222f761adc76c23bc744538cc88a0683522329e4153a49bd3324be49d610c9d2b55d97e146b45d3c7

THURSDAY, GOOD TO SEE YA. Welcome to Nov. 9, and thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Y'all went bonkers for Sen. Angus King's Instagram pic of Senate Democrats getting a surprise call from President Trump.

SENATORS AIM TO STRENGTHEN HARASSMENT PROTECTIONS - Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) is working with Senate Rules Committee leaders Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on a proposal to update the chamber's sexual harassment policies, Elana reports. The resolution would go beyond requiring sexual harassment training, a proposal another group of senators introduced earlier this week, to also address protocols for filing a complaint. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2bda2431a83e4a157cdf9596e331171aee37896c9b7805899c7e85239572b1a7c341c2326b39b0c92

RETIREMENT WATCH - House Republicans are bracing for another round of retirements after the GOP took a walloping at the ballot box this week. "Swing voters in suburban counties outside Washington and Richmond soured on Republicans up and down the Virginia ballot, an ominous sign for dozens of suburban Republicans in Congress, while the progressive base poured out to vote in high numbers. College-educated voters backed Democratic Gov.-elect Ralph Northam with 60 percent of their votes, according to exit polls." Elena Schneider with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf254b8324391d28b6d2df63bd6e1361ea55eb9ee4b51950de979600089f6a32ac6bac67ce9bfe12ca3

Related reads: "GOP faces wrenching call: Running with or away from Trump," Alex Isenstadt reports. And from Scott Bland: "Republicans have a serious suburban problem in 2018."

DEMS COURT BREDESEN IN SENATE RACE - Democrats are working overtime to woo former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen to run for Senate seat next year after Sen. Bob Corker retires. "Bredesen has been courted personally by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, as well as several former governors who now serve in the Senate, including Mark Warner of Virginia," Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin report for the New York Times. Senate Democrats' campaign arm has even commissioned a poll aimed at getting Bredesen, who is in Washington this week for meetings, in the race. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2cad29903d7db1e873eb739fbea7262ba02c8af63934be6d6a36a6390f9906446190517192e5dbdd5

McCAIN OPPOSES NOMINEES WHO BACK TORTURE - Sen. John McCain is vowing to oppose any Trump nominees who support torture techniques, something the Arizona Republican has already warned the president against reviving. McCain, tortured as a POW in Vietnam, "was the sole GOP senator to vote against confirming Steven Engel to lead DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel this week, citing his role in the controversial torture memos under the George W. Bush administration," Seung Min reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf230b835ecdc03c27a14b2e7a5cf3f61815af419c84371a8fbaab3fdb5c549900fd9d8b42f3dc05452

STOPGAP SEEMS THE WAY TO GO - As Republicans dig in on taxes, discussions about topline funding levels have fallen weeks behind schedule and negotiators on both sides now think they'll need a stopgap extension in December. Republicans close to the spending process are eyeing a months-long extension, possibly into February, but Democrats have said they'll agree to a one-week stopgap after the Dec. 8 deadline at most. Defense hawks, both in Congress and the administration, have strongly warned against any short-term spending bill that goes past December, which they say would be detrimental for military operations planning. Sarah Ferris has more for Pros:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf25ff50d262380cbc7e9ee1d84764909ad988df991ef737df40b8b3470c5e692d796e45ae6f95bc6bf

GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES - The best thing about Wednesday was this video of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise challenging Rep. Sam Johnson, age 87, to a scooter race around the Capitol. Johnson, who donned a black bike helmet for safety, seemed to really enjoy zipping around the Capitol rotunda. Scalise, still recovering from a gunshot wound, uses a scooter decked out in LSU-gear to get around the Capitol easier. Don't miss the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf27e8e2230a9501440623d97e54c580583bc57ed795c6135e77656c201802c8a10afaf4e1f6fa73be9

FROM MEGA-DONOR TO OPPONENT - Foster Friess, a well-known GOP megadonor in Wyoming, is now considering challenging Sen. John Barrasso after being courted by former White House strategist Steve Bannon. BuzzFeed's Tarini Parti has the inside story: "I get this call, 'Foster would you consider running against [Wyoming Sen. John] Barrasso?' And I said, 'What's your name?' 'Steve Bannon?' Because we're pretty much strangers, it kind of struck me as how did he even get my name or my number?" Friess recalled. Now Friess is on a "listening tour" to determine whether he should challenge Barrasso, whom he calls a "friend" and "hero." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2fb12e3abbfe823da555594eeaf7243cd1b98eef56411f772110ef45815f183884852a9c8f0ad55b9

POCAN RECOVERING AFTER HEART SURGERY - Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan will be out for several weeks after undergoing triple bypass heart surgery Wednesday in Wisconsin. Pocan, co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had the surgery as a preemptive measure aimed at staving off future cardiac issues, his office said. "The surgery went well and Mark is looking forward to a speedy recovery so he can return to Washington soon to continue fighting for the people of Wisconsin," spokesman Ron Boehmer said in a statement.


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TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. with votes on nominees at 11:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf2e840e9cf6b98071aa323aa4bd2ec412330abcff306e6450e3626e33f038c209471b1d6803719f24b The House gavels in at 9 a.m. with last votes for the week at 10:30 a.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=caeba2b97bc1aaf28795dd38e5f50e0135a61f842e384a00c9fb9141ab3d7e850bd4b028ccecf41997898b9e88a036d3

AROUND THE HILL - Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), Joe Barton (R-Texas), Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Peter King (R-N.Y.), Ryan Costello (R-Pa.), Scott Taylor (R-Va.) and Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) will hold a press conference on DACA at 9:20 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Congressional leaders will participate in a medal of honor ceremony for the five U.S. Capitol and Alexandria police officers who saved lawmakers during the congressional baseball practice shooting in June. The ceremony starts at 10 a.m. in the CVC auditorium.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) holds a press conference on legislation to regulate online political ads at 10:30 a.m. in the Senate swamp.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) hold a press conference on Dreamers in the military at 11:30 a.m. in S-115.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly presser conference at 12:15 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will hold a press conference on the child tax credit at 12:30 p.m. in the Senate radio/TV gallery.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Dan Cohen was first to guess that the 1848 election of Zachary Taylor was the first presidential contest that was held on the same day in every state.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - This room in the Capitol, named after a controversial member of Congress, has been reconstructed multiple times, first into a three-story room after a devastating fire in the Capitol before eventually being divided again into a single-story room that remains today. What's the name of the room and room number? Send your best guess my way: hcaygle@politico.com.

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