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By Seung Min Kim (
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

TOP REPUBLICANS: GET READY TO DEAL - POLITICO's Jake Sherman and Manu Raju: "House Speaker John Boehner's allies are quietly telling members he wants to be a 'responsible leader.' Incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed little willingness to use the debt ceiling as leverage for spending cuts. And top Republicans in both chambers have even showed a new eagerness to cut deals with the White House and allow Democratic proposals to come before the Senate."

--"Emboldened by sweeping midterm election victories, Republican leaders are vowing not to repeat the errors of past years, when messy fiscal fights eroded public confidence in Washington and became the hallmark of the GOP-controlled House. 'There will be no government shutdown, and there will be no national default,' said McConnell, speaking here at a news conference at the University of Louisville."

--"Still, it's not clear what, beyond enacting new trade deals, the GOP leaders and Obama can agree upon. In a phone call on Wednesday, McConnell and Obama discussed reforming the Tax Code, a tremendous undertaking and one that would require significant compromises. The White House has long insisted raising tax revenues, but that is off limits for virtually all House and Senate Republicans."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848e7b3bf1eaa4dfc0aac5cbba6113e871699ebc7afff93877
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848e7b3bf1eaa4dfc0aac5cbba6113e871699ebc7afff93877

--Boehner and McConnell pen a joint op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, "Now We Can Get Congress Going." An excerpt: "Looking ahead to the next Congress, we will honor the voters' trust by focusing, first, on jobs and the economy. Among other things, that means a renewed effort to debate and vote on the many bills that passed the Republican-led House in recent years with bipartisan support, but were never even brought to a vote by the Democratic Senate majority. It also means renewing our commitment to repeal ObamaCare, which is hurting the job market along with Americans' health care."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff847bb1256ad3873b2fbe258e9f3cd6f28496b918264b83fe77
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff847bb1256ad3873b2fbe258e9f3cd6f28496b918264b83fe77

@AJentleson: Conspicuously absent from Senator McConnell's vision for the next Congress: the word 'compromise.'

THE OBAMA-MCCONNELL HISTORY - The Wall Street Journal's Patrick O'Connor: "The Kentucky Republican once famously told an interviewer that his top goal was to make Mr. Obama a "one-term president." Mr. McConnell also made his opposition to the president a defining theme of his re-election campaign, constantly telling Kentuckians that a vote for his Democratic opponent amounted to a vote in support of the president."

--"At the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in 2013, Mr. Obama poked fun at questions about his reluctance to socialize with members of Congress. " 'Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell?' they ask. Really? Why don't you get a drink with Mitch McConnell." (The Kentucky senator responded by posting a photo of himself with a beer opposite an empty bar stool.) The president and Mr. McConnell are the latest in a long line of bipartisan odd couples to dictate the legislative agenda in Washington."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84bb97fba55d4a35bbc75bc16837c91eb2aab600bb7b63350b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84bb97fba55d4a35bbc75bc16837c91eb2aab600bb7b63350b

QUOTE OF THE DAY - Brought to you from The Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe, from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) re: election results: 'This is a real ass-whuppin."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff844197a0e37806d8e9e67666affd6eb779c615e4e78966d4f9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff844197a0e37806d8e9e67666affd6eb779c615e4e78966d4f9

SENATE DEMS STAND BY REID - Burgess Everett surveys the caucus: "In interviews with more than a half-dozen surviving Democratic senators and several top aides on Wednesday, many agreed that Americans booted some of their colleagues at least in part because of the perception that Reid's Senate was getting little done ... But most Democrats have Reid's back, prepared to stand by him as minority leader through a tumultuous two years as he simultaneously runs for reelection in Nevada."

--"Vilified by Republicans' 'Fire Reid campaign,' the Nevada senator is being praised for taking arrows for the party - and seen as Democrats' best hope to counter the Republican agenda in 2015 that seems likely to provoke the same partisan fights that occurred under Democratic rule. 'Harry's a fighter. Right now we need fighters in leadership positions because it doesn't look like Republicans are going to lay down and start an era of harmony,' said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). 'He's been much criticized but underrated as a leader, and sometimes underappreciated,' added Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.)."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848d74f46408f3915a427708201b29ff0999e09d9e05cd9886
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848d74f46408f3915a427708201b29ff0999e09d9e05cd9886

--Still, WaPo finds a few Senate Dems - Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and independent Angus King of Maine - who wouldn't commit on the record to backing Reid:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84fb249730cf190f616b911123332e10d18aee368c5f2c610c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84fb249730cf190f616b911123332e10d18aee368c5f2c610c

LONGREADS - Edward-Isaac Dovere, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan on how Democrats lost the Senate:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff847d4c262f391bdbabfb8e4e2cf9e9caea8d15f2b3566fefd6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff847d4c262f391bdbabfb8e4e2cf9e9caea8d15f2b3566fefd6

OBAMA'S IMMIGRATION GAMBLE BACKFIRES - Moi: "President Barack Obama took a major gamble when he punted executive action on immigration earlier this fall to try to save red-state Senate Democrats - and it didn't pay off. Vulnerable Senate Democrats who publicly opposed executive action, from Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina to Mark Pryor in Arkansas, weren't spared from defeat by the delay. Instead, it may have well have hurt Democratic Sen. Mark Udall in purple Colorado ... With steep Democratic losses, Obama is left with a Republican-controlled Senate, whose leaders are already warning Obama that life will become much more difficult if he goes ahead with promised executive action halting
deportations for undocumented immigrants."

--"Meanwhile, the president faces an even more infuriated community of Latinos and immigrant-rights activists who see no political upside to the executive action delay. 'You repress the vote in the Latino community and what did you come up with?' an angry Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) asked during a news conference in Chicago Wednesday. 'You lost Arkansas anyway. You lost [North Carolina] anyway. You lost the Senate anyway.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84db7a3a97a47a262e86de624fb7ceda84de05dc61dedd057b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84db7a3a97a47a262e86de624fb7ceda84de05dc61dedd057b

@davidaxelrod: Immigration bill won a huge bipartisan majority in the Senate.POTUS should agree to shelve exec order for up or down vote in House.

ANGUS KING STAYS WITH DEMS - The Maine senator, as expected, says he'll continue caucusing with Senate Democrats. Portland Press-Herald: "King, an independent, acknowledged that caucusing with the majority party has perks. But King argued Maine is better served by him caucusing with the Democrats, especially with Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins seated on the other side of the aisle and a Democrat in the White House. 'I think it is in Maine's interest to have a senator in each camp,' King said in a news conference outside his Brunswick home."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d6f2e535ec0cedd579b37255a9e402818c3072abfbc251a9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d6f2e535ec0cedd579b37255a9e402818c3072abfbc251a9

LATEST IN LEADERSHIP RACES -

--Speaker John Boehner is moving swiftly behind the scenes to lock up support to remain as speaker, per POLITICO's Jake Sherman. His pitch, per Jake: "Congress is close to notching major achievements for the American people, and Republicans need to work as a team to take advantage of the large GOP majority on Capitol Hill."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84cde4cc88a16b466c4aef0474f0dafca48cdc84739297fe13
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84cde4cc88a16b466c4aef0474f0dafca48cdc84739297fe13

--And Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), long a potential Boehner adversary for the speakership, won't challenge him:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff841ecf90438c3741403d92fd4857e8f3d4cbc085b05f5bc6f7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff841ecf90438c3741403d92fd4857e8f3d4cbc085b05f5bc6f7

--After two cycles as House Dems' campaign chief, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) is moving on. He tells Newsday that while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asked him to stay for a third round, he turned her down - and is talking to her about another role in House Dem leadership:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84e3778ccd60fafd9f381ea2763be5226ee2bb534a755739de
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84e3778ccd60fafd9f381ea2763be5226ee2bb534a755739de

--As expected, Pelosi and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) tell their members they want to stick around in leadership. The Wall Street Journal:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84a75835bed663e1e2d33cfa02f857e3e84a2d8a42c65ae4a1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84a75835bed663e1e2d33cfa02f857e3e84a2d8a42c65ae4a1

--Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are vying to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Las Vegas Review-Journal:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84437388767d585de6cd7ccab7ee05dbc7026b646a50c69535
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84437388767d585de6cd7ccab7ee05dbc7026b646a50c69535

--As for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Burgess Everett scoops that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) - whose name has been floated for chair -- isn't interested:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84b59f2ff5187e0eff560932cc3fc352cc4fe109983db85ce3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84b59f2ff5187e0eff560932cc3fc352cc4fe109983db85ce3

QUICK CLICKS - National Journal and CQ Roll Call have rolled out their new member guides. Here's NJ:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848b54a82ebb4708fef5fa4e36e73c032ef3c1cad85bfce852
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff848b54a82ebb4708fef5fa4e36e73c032ef3c1cad85bfce852 And CQ Roll Call:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff846499f372cadf9dea43b33882a0752592e5e077764f12da3d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff846499f372cadf9dea43b33882a0752592e5e077764f12da3d

--And the AP writes about how the Senate will get a bit younger with the incoming class of freshmen: "With several races still to be called, the 11 newly-minted senators set to take office in January are, on average, 16 years younger than the lawmakers they are replacing. Each incoming senator is younger than the departing senator - some by decades. Four of the new senators are under 50, boosting a small contingent of Generation X members in the upper chamber."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8463c34338bf4711ddac2be2f11baa21ad4c623921a5135079
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8463c34338bf4711ddac2be2f11baa21ad4c623921a5135079

BOURBON SUMMIT? During Wednesday's news conference, Obama mentioned he would 'enjoy having some Kentucky bourbon" with incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. So the Washington Post offers some bourbon suggestions:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d28371c1f53011198b03b7fbc2935f8cdd024208207b80fa
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d28371c1f53011198b03b7fbc2935f8cdd024208207b80fa

HAPPY THURSDAY, NOV. 6, 2014 and welcome to The Huddle, where we're eagerly waiting Congress's return next week (really!). Please continue sending your tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, and corrections to
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com . If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @seungminkim.

My new followers include @AlCardenasFL_DC and @Taxeconomist.

AROUND THE HILL - Finally something to put here! Speaker John Boehner will hold a news conference at 1:15 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

THE ROGERS REPORT - Our approps guru David Rogers runs through the White House's new $6 billion funding request to combat Ebola: "About $4.64 billion is designed to meet immediate needs while the remaining $1.54 billion would be held as a contingency fund - a structure used before by Congress in addressing health crises. The two single largest items are $2.43 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services and $2.1 billion for State and international aid programs."

--"The HHS component includes $1.83 billion for CDC, primarily to shore up health defense in the US but also to try to control the epidemic in the hardest hit countries in Africa. Another $238 million is provided for the National Institutes of Health to support advanced clinical trial s to evaluate new vaccines and medicines to fight the disease. Within the State and foreign aid arena, the U.S. Agency for International Development or USAID would receive $1.98 billion, including $1.4 billion in disaster assistance."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8422edfb9aa3804ca423d357de31764edcb402dad76fec2641
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8422edfb9aa3804ca423d357de31764edcb402dad76fec2641

CONSERVATIVES: DON'T REVIVE FILIBUSTER - A letter from several key conservative groups calls on the coming Republican-led Senate to keep the simply majority rule to confirm most nominations. An excerpt: "The decision by Senator Reid and his Democratic colleagues to deploy the so-called 'nuclear option' was transparently designed to facilitate the confirmation of judicial nominees who would insulate Obamacare and other aspects of President Obama's agenda from meaningful judicial review. Regardless of their motives, we see very little upside - and significant downside - in reviving the judicial filibuster." The letter:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84027d8110e5e715acaafb8bbec3ae8ecb2e1a052c838b7e7e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84027d8110e5e715acaafb8bbec3ae8ecb2e1a052c838b7e7e

OBAMA TO SEEK HILL APPROVAL ON ISIL - The New York Times: "President Obama said on Wednesday that he would seek specific authorization from Congress for the military campaign against the Islamic State, opening the door to a lengthy, potentially contentious debate over the nature and extent of American engagement in Iraq and Syria ... Administration officials said Mr. Obama still believed he had that authority, but with the elections over, he concluded that the time was right to petition Congress for more explicit authority."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff842dd496653b8513169ba5a2da434b7f7d00f494ac84fbb61f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff842dd496653b8513169ba5a2da434b7f7d00f494ac84fbb61f

PRIMARY CHANGES IN KENTUCKY? Manu Raju writes from Louisville: "Sen. Rand Paul and Kentucky Republicans are exploring the possibility of turning the state's presidential primary into a caucus instead - a move that could allow him to run for both his Senate seat and president in 2016 ... The law, as currently stated, says 'no candidate's name shall appear on any voting machine or absentee ballot more than once,' with the exception of certain special election scenarios So as a likely presidential candidate who also wants to run for a second Senate term, Paul is now exploring how to get around that restriction."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84a2d0ffffb31ef4cb93cfbac27b624b6a9827f0c80767f17e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84a2d0ffffb31ef4cb93cfbac27b624b6a9827f0c80767f17e

HOW GILLESPIE ALMOST SLAYED WARNER - James Hohmann explores how Republican Ed Gillespie got so close to taking down Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). The AP has yet to call the race: "Gillespie digital director Eric Wilson said the mainstream media was not paying attention as Gillespie attracted huge crowds for rallies, grew social media followers and built an impressive ground game ... The Gillespie team believes that the race closed late because of their early decision to husband resources."

--"During the summer, there was extensive back-and-forth among Gillespie's top advisers about when to spend their money ... One school of thought inside the campaign was to spend money early in the summer to tighten up the polls and get outside groups interested. The other side warned that going up early was too risky because it might not move the numbers and then the money would dry up in October. Gillespie elected to hold his fire, even pushing back his first ad buy a week later in August than originally planned."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84f546c0676c3c1915f501bf26aba02952b2c67dedec9e555e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84f546c0676c3c1915f501bf26aba02952b2c67dedec9e555e

--The Richmond Times-Dispatch on how the Warner-Gillespie race took Virginia pollsters by surprise:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d72951e288aec5f768c8e0aa317c24553d7899d3e9a18aca
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff84d72951e288aec5f768c8e0aa317c24553d7899d3e9a18aca

--Related: POLITICO's Steve Shepard on how pollsters - with some exceptions - were also a loser on Election Night:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8459a5a1923e368031ee01b9fdf6919967deac360b41688ba0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff8459a5a1923e368031ee01b9fdf6919967deac360b41688ba0

BLUE DOGS' BARK GOES QUIET - Cristina Marcos for The Hill: "The already dwindling Blue Dog Coalition of centrist House Democrats will shrink to even fewer members thanks to the 2014 midterm elections. In two of the biggest upsets of the night, Blue Dog Reps. John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) lost reelection. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas) also lost, while Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) was trailing in a race still too close to call on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) was tied in his race against retired Air Force Col. Martha McSally (R)."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff845934cc87ee8043e5272f6764331b0c26b6d3d6ccc2090195
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff845934cc87ee8043e5272f6764331b0c26b6d3d6ccc2090195

MIKE ROGERS PREVIEWS RADIO SHOW - The outgoing lawmaker and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee chats with POLITICO's Dylan Byers about his upcoming radio show: "'Something To Think About with Mike Rogers' will air three times daily on radio stations nationwide beginning January 5. In the segments, the former Army officer and FBI agent will provide commentary on national security and international affairs, among other topics. 'This is a huge opportunity to talk to the country about American exceptionalism and national security in a way that's interesting and different,' the Michigan Republican said in an interview. 'There won't be anything canned about these segments.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff840cd19f74082c9cc170acacdabd933695701efff8cff73c4c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff840cd19f74082c9cc170acacdabd933695701efff8cff73c4c

MCCONNELL'S PHOTOBOMBER, FOUND - The Louisville Courier-Journal tracks down the Kentucky voter whose thumbs-down as McConnell voted went viral: "Joee Conroy doesn't hesitate to throw a thumbs up. It's a gesture of excitement, a quick answer to a question, a reminder of time spent watching Siskel and Ebert. It's a natural move for the 58-year-old Louisville native, and one that rarely gets flipped. Except on Election Day. 'I can't remember the last time I gave something the thumbs down,' Conroy said Wednesday. 'I'm not a cynical person, I'm just kind of stupid.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff844d5b9045d901a89b11160f185fbf1617ff8bc529fca0d746
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea0be2b339bdff844d5b9045d901a89b11160f185fbf1617ff8bc529fca0d746

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - David Heymsfeld was the first person to correctly answer that Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was the country's first female governor, and she assumed office in 1925.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Heymsfeld has today's question: Name two present or former members of Congress who were placed in Japanese-American internment camps when they were children. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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