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

DEMOCRATIC PARTY DEBATES ITS SOUL - POLITICO's David Rogers: "[W]ith the loss of the Senate and President Barack Obama reduced to lame-duck status, Democrats in Congress seem torn between two choices: Dig in, or head to the hills and try to rebuild a guerrilla army. For sure, Republicans still have their own problems ... But it's the splits among Democrats that are the fresh news since November. And like the fading winter light outside the Capitol, these four days in December became their own reality check on what lies ahead for the party: less power over already limited government resources."

--"In the case of the spending bill, Obama and Appropriations Committee Democrats chose the route of compromise even when it meant helping their past tormentor, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). At the same time, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, a former speaker and appropriator herself, chose greater confrontation, abandoning old friends for an alliance with a new one, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). It was a vote for stability vs. a vote for spunk, a contest less about principle in the end than price, and to a striking degree, one dominated by four powerful women."

--"Pelosi and Warren were matched against the two top Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations committees, Rep. Nita Lowey of New York and Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. How each pair handled a controversial regulatory carve-out for banks engaged in swaps trading was telling. Pelosi and Warren saw the carve-out as a powerful symbol, even a bugle call, for Democrats to help the party reconnect with struggling families who aren't enjoying the same recovery as the Wall Street banks already bailed out by Washington and now seeking concessions ... By contrast, Lowey and Mikulski saw the same bank language as an irritant but also leverage with which to gain money to strengthen the
very same regulators-the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission-charged with implementing Dodd-Frank."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c981f37a1c3ab8e02b68d92ed265cbe4cd1baf946c2ed240ea
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c981f37a1c3ab8e02b68d92ed265cbe4cd1baf946c2ed240ea

--The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty and Sean Sullivan write that Democrats are divided on their path to 2016:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c965ec6e189636c8ff33580ce4caeaaf495b83fc8b83fa52d4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c965ec6e189636c8ff33580ce4caeaaf495b83fc8b83fa52d4

TED CRUZ DOES IT AGAIN - The Texas firebrand stands his ground while infuriating his Republican colleagues. Manu Raju, Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan: "On Saturday, GOP senator after GOP senator teed off on Cruz, arguing that his strategy had blindsided the caucus, forced them to return to Washington and even strengthened Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's ability to exploit the Senate rules and push through 24 of Obama's stalled nominees. Several senators had to abruptly change plans, including [New Hampshire Sen. Kelly] Ayotte, who had to race back to Washington and missed the ballet with her daughter, and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who had to cancel his official trip to Iraq and
Turkey this weekend."

--"On the floor, angry GOP senators pressed Cruz over whether he was fundraising off of his tactics, sources said, and Maine Sen. Susan Collins ripped him in a private conversation .. The frustration was abundantly clear in the hallways of the Capitol. Asked if he thought the Cruz-Lee plan was effective, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said: 'The answer is no.' 'I don't see how conservative ends are achieved,' said Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a fiscal hardliner."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c947b2dbc66d1f486b2d0725a9dae4d50f5f8165d0cba50e2f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c947b2dbc66d1f486b2d0725a9dae4d50f5f8165d0cba50e2f

--ICYMI, how all of Saturday's funding drama in the Senate unfolded:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c933f652c9f9d35d806b9174391f850bc48363becf4589aff8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c933f652c9f9d35d806b9174391f850bc48363becf4589aff8

--Must-see 'gram: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) snaps this shot of senators gathered around a piano during Saturday's vote-a-rama, singing Christmas carols. Who knew Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) was quite the piano player? And Huddle would like to hear Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sing.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9099cc17887cec8a66e84316251e80002d2e96b9f38121ee4
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NICE JOB, FOLKS - Gallup has a new analysis out this morning that shows throughout 2014, about 15 percent of Americans approved of Congress' job performance. That's pretty darn close to the year-end average from last year - 14 percent, which was a record low.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c91cac4563b1755e47ef7ed06ba2bfaca341cd899f4e8df045
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c91cac4563b1755e47ef7ed06ba2bfaca341cd899f4e8df045

COLVIN VOTE WITHDRAWN - The Baltimore Sun's John Fritze with the scoop: "Hours after they passed a $1 trillion government spending bill, Senate Democratic leaders withdrew a scheduled vote this week on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Social Security Administration -- a move that appeared to derail her chances for confirmation.

--"Carolyn W. Colvin ... had faced late opposition from Republicans over a faulty, $300 million computer system. Colvin has served as acting commissioner since early 2013. Despite concerns about an ongoing inspector general investigation into the system, Democrats scheduled a vote on Monday for Colvin along with several other long-stalled Obama nominees. Without comment, the Senate removed Colvin from the queue late Saturday."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9030a249fc73bdead33e4b69d0cdd9a629c07975331ff4221
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9030a249fc73bdead33e4b69d0cdd9a629c07975331ff4221

CHENEY: 'I'D DO IT AGAIN IN A MINUTE' - POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: "Former Vice President Dick Cheney unapologetically pressed his defense of the CIA's use of harsh interrogation techniques Sunday, insisting that waterboarding and other such tactics did not amount to torture and that the spy agency's actions paled in comparison to those of terrorists targeting Americans. 'Torture, to me ... is an American citizen on his cellphone making a last call to his four young daughters shortly before he burns to death in the upper levels of the Trade Center in New York on 9/11,' Cheney said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.'"

--"'There's this notion that there's moral equivalence between what the terrorists did and what we do, and that's absolutely not true. We were very careful to stop short of torture.' Cheney also disputed the notion that any American taken prisoner overseas by terrorists was now at greater risk of being subjected to techniques like those used by the CIA."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9e305cda33e19d3a38e3f3e64edb66a8308ac4da8bd837b2a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9e305cda33e19d3a38e3f3e64edb66a8308ac4da8bd837b2a

SUNDAY SHOW WRAP-UP (besides Cheney) -

--Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) tells NBC that he is preparing legislation in the new year meant to end harsh interrogation techniques. For instance, "if torture is used in the future, there would be a basis to prosecute," Wyden says. The Hill:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c937d274919f7dca790823170358e67806e20fb0adf8fdef77
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c937d274919f7dca790823170358e67806e20fb0adf8fdef77

--Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) says on CBS that he sees no need for CIA Director John Brennan to resign, but that future CIA directors should come from outside the agency. POLITICO:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9cca63ee04cdc395d7aad32df3f506b1a0fbf62bf182e28ca
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9cca63ee04cdc395d7aad32df3f506b1a0fbf62bf182e28ca

--Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is betting on Hillary Clinton running in 2016. He tells CNN: "Hillary hasn't told me, and I haven't dared ask her. But I'll bet she's running, I'll bet she'll be a great candidate, I'll bet she'll win by a large majority." New York Daily News:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c91004a4b261819d4faa928e00a2eaefd8c64d917d7efc2b80
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c91004a4b261819d4faa928e00a2eaefd8c64d917d7efc2b80

TRANSITIONS - Zachary Schechter-Steinberg, legislative assistant for retiring Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin (and most importantly, like your Huddle author, a graduate of Iowa City West High School - Go Trojans!) is joining Better Markets, a nonprofit that pushes for tougher regulation of financial markets, as their external affairs specialist.

Lara Driscoe, the financial services counsel for Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), is switching offices to become legislative director for incoming Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.). She writes to colleagues: "It has been a privilege to work for Congresswoman Wagner and the great crew in the Wagner office."

And Cybele Bjorklund, the Democratic staff director for the House Ways and Means health subcommittee, is stepping down early next year after more than a decade to assume various positions at Georgetown University. Bjorklund has worked under former Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Amy Hall will succeed Bjorklund on the subcommittee.

HAPPY MONDAY, DEC. 15, 2014 and welcome to The Huddle, where we're wishing fellow Huddler and congressional reporter extraordinaire Lauren French a very, very happy birthday. Please send 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 @JDSalant and @ngaudiano.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out drinking eggnog and wrapping presents. Meanwhile, the Senate is pushing through: it convenes at 10 a.m. and proceed into executive session for a series of nominations. There will be up to four roll call votes at 5:30 p.m.: cloture vote on confirmation of Vivek Murthy for surgeon general, then final confirmation for Murthy, cloture on the nomination of Daniel Santos to become a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and cloture on the nomination of Frank Rose for assistant Secretary of State

AROUND THE HILL - Quiet until votes.

MUST-SEE TV - POLITICO's Manu Raju and John Bresnahan - the men, the myths, the legends - in an hour-long C-Span chat about incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Check it out here:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c981d97f4f8da2fc18f76d74187968d78644ec29faebd968ce
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c981d97f4f8da2fc18f76d74187968d78644ec29faebd968ce

SENATORS: THEY'RE JUST LIKE US - ... And have brief brain hiccups on what happened on the Senate floor. @JohnCornyn tweets on Saturday: "Glad to see three Texas federal district judges with bipartisan support confirmed in tonight's vote in the United States Senate." Then several hours later: @JohnCornyn: "Correction: Texas judges will be confirmed Monday evening"

MOVEON HOSTING 'DRAFT WARREN' RALLY IN IOWA - The Wall Street Journal: "Hoping to draw Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren into the 2016 presidential race, MoveOn.org will host a rally in Iowa on Wednesday aimed at demonstrating she enjoys grassroots support that would make her a viable candidate. The event is set for 5:30 p.m. CST at a coffee shop in Des Moines, capital of the state that holds the nation's first presidential nominating contest ... MoveOn, a liberal advocacy group, plans to sink $1 million into Iowa and New Hampshire, hiring campaign organizers to begin rallying support for a Warren candidacy."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9de181b8a8f4a504d437ab0bbcf82d1e63b6e04acfcb43da5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9de181b8a8f4a504d437ab0bbcf82d1e63b6e04acfcb43da5

RUBIO, ROS-LEHTINEN BANNED FROM NICARAGUA - The Tampa Bay Times: "Nicaragua's president says he is banning U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from traveling to the Central American country in protest of the Venezuela sanctions the Republican lawmakers helped pass Wednesday in Congress ... 'Just like they (U.S. officials) have their lists, we can make our own lists in Latin America of those who shouldn't enter our country,' Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega told The Tico Times, a Costa Rican newspaper."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9f16d2f136ad9a2b0038a6fd2a4eae3062ce3d288136a515f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9f16d2f136ad9a2b0038a6fd2a4eae3062ce3d288136a515f

@marcorubio: Oh no! My summer vacation plans are ruined!

THUNE NOT RULING OUT 2016 - The third-ranking Senate Republican passed on a 2012 run, but he's keeping his options open for 2016 - although he sounds definitely leaning against. The Hill: "Republicans have an enormous field of potential candidates who are already making moves ahead of 2016. But Thune told The Hill he hasn't been focused on building the kind of national infrastructure that other candidates are busy putting together."

--"He also declined to take the option off the table. 'The things I need to be doing right now I'm not doing and a lot of other people are,' he said. 'But you never close the door on anything, you never know what's going to happen. But as of right now, no.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c956977b9a4f919a40d55ba97e505b9b2a7240514c5925f65a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c956977b9a4f919a40d55ba97e505b9b2a7240514c5925f65a

HOUSE FRESHMEN RAKE IN PAC CASH - USA Today: "Contributions from political committees to new House lawmakers jumped during the final days of the midterm campaign and in the weeks after Election Day as a growing number of special interests began investing in Congress' new crop of political winners. All but four of 55 incoming House freshmen saw an increase in the percentage of contributions they received from political committees, a USA TODAY analysis of post-election reports shows."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9244aa0d3a46cb27e1cf7594544e8d1cd56364cada3b6f49d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9244aa0d3a46cb27e1cf7594544e8d1cd56364cada3b6f49d

JOHN DINGELL HOSPITALIZED - The Detroit Free-Press: "Dingell, 88, was hospitalized in Washington on Friday morning, the day after casting what was the last vote in a record-setting 59-year career. The Dearborn Democrat's office said at the time the hospitalization was taken as a precaution ... Dingell's wife, Debbie, posted on Facebook that her husband, who suffered a fall last week, has a hairline hip fracture 'which he walked around on for a couple of days before it was discovered.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9ade4c94c37af4740f1f95bb1246dccfda5bc789786733b4c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9ade4c94c37af4740f1f95bb1246dccfda5bc789786733b4c

CONGRESS PASSES RUSSIA SANCTIONS - News you may have missed, courtesy of Bloomberg: "The U.S. Congress has sent President Barack Obama legislation setting out tougher sanctions to punish Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, while giving him leeway in applying most of the provisions. The Senate gave final approval by unanimous consent late [Saturday] to the measure that authorizes -- but doesn't require -- providing lethal assistance to Ukraine's military as well as sweeping sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Those steps go beyond what the White House and European Union have been willing to do so far."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9e7a1ccff53cb9fa64f45f97c2f4c9b99e1782596bdd8c5a0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c9e7a1ccff53cb9fa64f45f97c2f4c9b99e1782596bdd8c5a0

IN MEMORIAM: THE 'VIVACIOUS' ROSE COCHRAN - The Clarion-Ledger with the obituary of Rose Cochran, the wife of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.): "Connie Cochran [Rose Cochran's sister-in-law] said Rose was 'vivacious' and fun loving, but that she did not like the spotlight that followed her husband. 'She did not like being in the public eye,' Connie Cochran said. 'As fun and vivacious as she was, she just shied away from that.' ... Former Sen. Trent Lott said he and Rose Cochran became friends as students at Ole Miss before he met Thad Cochran. Rose was president of sororities council and Lott was president of the fraternities council. Later, Lott and Cochran went to Congress at the same time, in
1973. 'I'm going to always remember Rose the way I knew her at Ole Miss,' Lott said. 'She was just as cute as could be, a bubbly personality.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c99f2d855465912c8fb835e16f7b452bdff95fcf9305ba02fa
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=66b53d1f5245c4c99f2d855465912c8fb835e16f7b452bdff95fcf9305ba02fa

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Wilfred Codrington was the first person to correctly answer that the Pennsylvania Society began during the late 19th century, and Vice President Joe Biden is the most senior currently elected official who has been formally honored by the society.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Wilfred has today's question: In light of Loretta Lynch's nomination to become the U.S. attorney general: Only two presidents who have served at least two full terms have had a single attorney general throughout the tenure of their presidencies. Who are they, and who are the attorneys general? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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