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12/05/2017 08:00 AM EDT


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

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES THREATEN REVOLT - The House Freedom Caucus on Monday night threatened to derail a key tax vote in an effort to extract concessions from GOP leaders on a year-end spending bill, just four days before current funding expires. The conservatives eventually relented after Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) stepped outside the chamber to take a call from President Donald Trump. But it's unclear exactly what conservatives were promised by GOP leaders in exchange for their votes on the motion to go to conference on the tax bill. Meadows, who declined to give details of his call with Trump, said after Monday's vote that he "felt very good" about his conversation on the
floor with Speaker Paul Ryan.

Pay attention this morning: "The full GOP conference is expected to settle on its spending plan at a closed-door meeting Tuesday, with a full floor vote expected Wednesday," Bernie Becker, Sarah Ferris and Colin Wilhelm report. Conservatives have balked at GOP leaders' strategy to pass a two-week CR that would expire on Dec. 22, just before Christmas, worried that the plan gives Democrats the upper hand. The Freedom Caucus is pushing for a stopgap bill that goes until Dec. 30. "There is a whole lot more pressure to get home for Christmas than there is for New Year's," Meadows said. The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0991a8275246d83f8d416de41643253acb81535019014f064850d589828f7bd057e9c0cf9a6085707c3

What conservatives are reading: Ryan and his leadership team weighed replacing House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) after he voted against the House GOP tax bill a couple of weeks ago. Rachael and Bres: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f099b1ff057ee98381e3b2b32c3d63bf33c0187c39defe93a426241f770ff26df19724a330a688f04317

Let's try this again: The "Big Four" congressional leaders will meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday to talk year-end funding and Dreamers. The huddle is essentially a do-over of last week's meeting, which Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) boycotted after Trump slammed Democrats in a pre-meeting tweet. "We hope the president will go into this meeting with an open mind, rather than deciding that an agreement can't be reached beforehand," Schumer and Pelosi said in a joint statement.

New hope for Dreamers? "Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) quietly began working with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) several weeks ago in a new 'gang' to craft Dreamer legislation that could pick up 60 votes, according to a Flake spokesman." Jennifer Scholtes, Sarah Ferris and Seung Min with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f099217da9f2acc1004e2629d19cebb20dcc0390d7423ff7de4aa5025ef933b49aa5b56905926205c6ca

CONYERS WON'T SEEK REELECTION - Rep. John Conyers, 88, won't seek reelection next year, according to a relative who plans to run for his seat. Conyers "will make the announcement by calling into a local radio show on Tuesday morning, Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator, said in a phone interview early Tuesday," Yamiche Alcindor reports for the New York Times. "He is not resigning. He is going to retire," the younger Mr. Conyers said. It's unclear if Conyers' move will be enough to appease House Democrats, including Pelosi, who have called on Conyers to resign after several former aides said he sexually harassed them.

Related: Former aide says Conyers groped her while they were in church, the AP reports. More from Corey Williams: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0994952516bdafb8937bec1355d713cf700aa532ae6f0178043119914fa0c4f61d6ec5ab7fdac4608d7


** A message from RetireSafe: When Medicare patients pickup their medicines at the pharmacy, the cost at the register is often higher than the drug's actual price. That's because deep manufacturer-negotiated discounts and rebates end up in the pockets of the middlemen instead of patients. Help fix this problem. Support CMS' new proposed rule. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0999ae76ea4dfcfec959e372534d04493b50649cc4921fe987a862c1a0bdad7d07d3da0e7cea68e203c **


WELCOME TO TUESDAY, DEC. 5 and thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WATCH LIVE at 8 A.M. - WOMEN RULE: 5TH ANNUAL SUMMIT - POLITICO hosts a full day of live conversations with female leaders as we ask: who are the new women shaping our future-and what are their agendas? Where can women find common ground at a time of division? How are women taking their place at the table in the public and private sectors-and what difference can they make there? Featured speakers include: actress Kate Bosworth, "Me Too" movement founder Tarana Burke, Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao, Kellyanne Conway, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and more. Learn more: here. Livestream: here.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Salt Lake Tribune's article on Sen. Orrin Hatch's quest to reduce two national monuments in Utah - which Trump officially announced Monday - was the winner.

BLACKBALLED AND BABYSITTING - Lauren Greene settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with her former boss Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) in 2014. Since then, the former communications director says her life has been turned upside down as she has been unable to find a steady job and relies on temp work, her family and babysitting gigs to support herself. "I was told right away that I would be, quote-unquote, 'blackballed' if I came forward ... That's exactly what happened," Greene told Rachael in her first interview since she made the accusations several years ago. "What's going on right now, I think that it's a reckoning and we're talking about ... a prevalent problem that has been going on for
a really long time." Don't miss this must-read story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f099fb1ea3a5106feb570af6aaa36ddd049bab123c02ddc2e26f5f9f269450bea720f6d6bc4d0515051f

Greene also sat down with Anderson Cooper after talking to Rachael. The CNN interview is worth a watch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f099df94fb7a6b33f8740cd63ccbf79efa23988f3ecd91dfa0d0284038c9628783c8c53ece791fe377b6

Farenthold will repay $84,000 in taxpayer funds he used to settle the claim with Greene in 2014. "Farenthold told a Corpus Christi television station Monday that he plans to take out a personal loan to repay the government," Kevin Diaz reports for the Houston Chronicle. As Bres and Rachael reported Friday, Speaker Ryan has no plans to call on Farenthold to resign despite calling on Rep. John Conyers to resign.

MOORE MONEY, MOORE PROBLEMS - The Republican National Committee is jumping back in to support Roy Moore after Trump gave the controversial Senate candidate his full-throated endorsement on Monday. Trump will be holding a rally later this week just over the state line in Pensacola, Fla., and some Alabamians have received robocalls urging them to travel to the campaign event, Daniel Strauss and Louis Nelson report. The RNC had initially pulled its support of Moore last month after multiple women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances or pursuing them as teenagers. In recent weeks, Moore has taken to denying he ever knew any of the women at campaign events, despite evidence to the
contrary.

'My braces were off': Debbie Gibson, who last month revealed she dated Moore when she was 17 and he was 34, found a note from him in a high school scrapbook recently while unpacking Christmas decorations. "The scrapbook also contained a photo of Gibson as a high school senior, and when she saw it, she said, she thought to herself, 'That's the age I was when I dated Roy Moore, because my braces were off,'" reports Stephanie McCrummen. Gibson said she was hesitant to go public again after receiving threats when she shared her initial story. But then she heard what Moore has been saying on the campaign trail. "Roy Moore made an egregious mistake to attack that one thing - my integrity." The
Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0991752dfbf9692a40fe892a518c3f6e27a6c999bcba20efb2e8c2869cca03bdc3e314a6d78b2f7b2af

COMMITMENT ISSUES - Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say they think their Republicans counterparts are intentionally slowing the pace of the panel's Russia probe in an attempt to undermine the investigation. "I think there's an effort, subtle, not to go deeply," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committee's top Democrat, said of Chairman Chuck Grassley's decision not to sign onto her latest round of letters seeking more information from Trump campaign officials. "And I hadn't realized it before, but I realize it now," she continued. "And we're going to have to find a way to deal with it." Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0997f99eaaae42772afd1ebe85a3ca8243d9804573746d0f86f292b4c749abc53685171007d9e3ebafd

Related Russia news: "McFarland's testimony about Russia contacts is questioned," via Michael Schmidt and Sharon LaFraniere for the New York Times; Can the president obstruct justice? Republicans sure thought so during the Clinton era, reports Kyle Cheney; and "Mueller subpoenas Trump's Deutsche Bank records," via Steven Arons for Bloomberg.

CAMPAIGN STAFFERS RESIGN AFTER DIGITAL BREAK-IN - Two fundraising staffers who worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee have resigned after Politico reported they broke into the computer servers of the House GOP campaign arm. The two aides previously worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee. Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider first reported last week that the Senate campaign aides used their old NRCC passwords to collect information on more than 200,000 donors. The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0992ccc25cce8ac5f780de4ef408d717e5c174d88ee3b762e9beb4e10e5e50b7526b2adcc23b1c13700

BATTLE OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RAP STARS? Have you ever found yourself wondering who would win in a rap battle between Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)? If so, you're in luck because Carson has answered the burning question, saying it would be no contest. "I grew up with hazel eyes and freckles so I was a target of those who underestimated me. I had to get very skillful with my wordplay and my metaphors and my similes," Carson said. "So I think I'd crush Rubio ... I'm rusty but I've got bars." More from the Indianapolis Star: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0993735128851fae003a8f79d455b5eeea6182f7bf09a02d1fadb736fce3f07a925291351b6126f7cc2

BROWN SENTENCED TO PRISON - Former Florida Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for "fraud and tax crimes that include raising about $800,000 for a sham charity, a remarkable defrocking of the once-powerful and garrulous Jacksonville Democrat," the Florida Times-Union reports. "Brown's longtime chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, and the fake charity's founder, One Door for Education President Carla Wiley, was sentenced to 21 months." Brown has to report to prison by Jan. 8. Christopher Hong Steve Patterson and Nate Monroe: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f09926eb5dc116e0dce39b7261d60d6a58d907711c1b9cb2407a1296a028a975afd8847b2b62f96f5a8b

JOIN POLITICO PLAYBOOK - LIVE: Join Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a live taping of POLITICO Playbook. Featured guests include: Michael Barbaro, host of the New York Times' "The Daily" Podcast, DCCC Executive Director Dan Sena and NRCC Executive Director John Rogers, and Rachael Bade, Seung Min Kim, and Annie Karni. Sixth and I - Dec 7 - Doors open 6:00 p.m. Get tickets: here.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of Homeland Security Secretary nominee Kirstjen Nielsen. The chamber will recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. for weekly caucus lunches. The House meets at 10 a.m. with first and last votes for the day around 1:15 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and other House GOP leaders take questions from reporters at 10 a.m. in HC-8.

Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) hold a press conference on Russian aggression toward the U.S. at 10:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will hold his weekly pen and pad at 11 a.m. in H-144.

House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Reps. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) hold a pen and pad on Trump's decision to reduce two national monuments in Utah at 11 a.m. with a location still to be determined.

Reps. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) will hold a call on the Republican Main Street Caucus' letter to Speaker Ryan calling for a Dreamer fix by the end of the year. The call starts at 11. Email Danielle@RMSP.org for dial-in information.

President Trump will host some Republican senators for lunch at the White House at 12:30 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence will be joining the Senate GOP's weekly lunch on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) holds a press conference on Asian American and Pacific Islander Dream Act Action Day at 1 p.m. in the House triangle. Senate Republican and Democratic leaders take questions from reporters after their weekly caucus lunches around 2 p.m. in the Ohio Clock Corridor.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Sandy Maisel was first to guess that Sen. Robert Taft, son of former President William Howard Taft, sponsored an unsuccessful resolution in 1945 calling on the U.N. to prohibit certain weapons, including atomic bombs.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Ryan Naismith with today's question: Boston has had its fair share of colorful politicians both past and present. This three-term congressman from Boston served two prison sentences, one prior to his first congressional win. Who was he and what was he convicted of? 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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** A message from RetireSafe: When Medicare patients pickup their medicines at the pharmacy, the cost at the register is often higher than the drug's actual price. That's because deep manufacturer-negotiated discounts and rebates end up in the pockets of the middlemen and not the patients. CMS' new proposed rule for Medicare Part D is trying to fix this problem. Help Medicare patients pay less for their medicines and support the proposed rule. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b6f8f016aba3f0999ae76ea4dfcfec959e372534d04493b50649cc4921fe987a862c1a0bdad7d07d3da0e7cea68e203c **

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