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12/09/2015 08:00 AM EDT


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

With assists from Burgess Everett and Lauren French

GOP HITS PANIC BUTTON OVER TRUMP - It's not just the top of the ticket that has Republican officials worried. POLITICO's Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer report that top GOP lawmakers are openly chewing their fingernails over presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and whether he'll jeopardize the Republican majorities on Capitol Hill: "Senate Republicans are clinging to a four-seat majority as they defend 24 seats versus just 10 for Democrats. And House Republicans are expecting to lose roughly a dozen seats in 2016. Trump's rhetoric, they fear, could cause those losses to grow substantially."

--" 'This is not what we're about as a party, and this is not what we're about as a country, and we cannot yield to this,' said Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is charged with electing Republicans to the House, said Tuesday. 'It puts, certainly, competitive seats in jeopardy. We'll have a much more difficult time.' ... Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the NRCC's deputy chairman in charge of helping reelect embattled GOP incumbents, was more blunt. 'It would be devastating to our attempts to grow our majority and would cost us seats,' Stivers said in an interview." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f6e40f2f4d55a9d285da2d31f20ba88260bdd3d77ff3a53f3

--Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), one of two Muslim members of Congress, says he got a death threat Monday after Trump announced his proposal to ban Muslims from traveling to the United States. Talking Points Memo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f0d8885fd7dfaf8651b8b8effb84ab07898c75cd6109b4b37

--Both Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - two men who usually veer away from commenting on the crazy ups-and-downs of the 2016 race - both condemned Trump's plan on Tuesday. Mike DeBonis for the Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f208976e345e23740b5c70c414e0bed6884c3d76da0dadde9

--Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) gave a blistering indictment of Washington's inability to deal with the terrorist threats facing the United States on Tuesday evening, arguing that lack of focus has led to support for "demagoguing" candidates that have said "dreadful" things this week. Clearly he was talking about Donald Trump, yet Sasse never said the name of the GOP front-runner. The reason for not saying Trump's name, per his spokesman: "because he doesn't deserve it."

DEMS FRET OVER WHITE HOUSE ISIS STRATEGY - The New York Times' Jennifer Steinhauer and Michael Shear: "The concerns began to surface last month, when senior administration officials went to Capitol Hill to urge Democrats to reject a bill to curb a Syrian refugee program and were rebuffed. That hostility grew with their increasingly uncomfortable efforts to defend Mr. Obama's strategies in the Middle East after the attacks in Paris and California. And Mr. Obama's address to the nation Sunday - which several congressional Democrats said was an idea they pushed - left them wanting more.

--" 'When you interrupt the nation with an urgent and unscheduled statement from the Oval Office, or the White House, there's I think an expectation that the address will contain a new approach or a new element,' said Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f1cb4f6e0ca8a43a1b797765af766404a2254608843a1235d

STAT OF THE DAY comes from this Washington Post story on the diversity of congressional staffers: "People of color make up 36 percent of the U.S. public and 28 percent of those old enough and eligible to vote in the United States, but they are included in just 7.1 percent of all senior-level Senate staff." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f947a2e5d9988f3005555a1c0ff2ad29216a6049823565bba

HOUSE TIGHTENS VISA WAIVERS - USA Today's Bart Jansen: "The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require more information sharing among 38 countries where travelers don't need visas to visit the U.S., and to scrutinize those travelers more closely if they have recently traveled to Iraq, Iran, Syria or Sudan. The House voted 407-19 to approve the bill tightening security with so-called visa-waiver countries including most of Europe. The Senate already has a companion measure and the White House has offered support, although European officials and civil libertarians have voiced concerns."

--"Under the bill, if a traveler from visa-waiver country has visited one of the 'high-risk' countries since March 2011 or has dual-citizenship, an interview would be required at an overseas consulate. Visas from other countries already require an interview. The bill also would require visa-waiver countries to adopt passports with electronic chips to confirm the traveler's identity by April 1, in an effort to reduce fraud." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f26c6d4722e99705e11589e3bfbb86588ab0e219c70796125

--I report that - in contrast to Syrian refugees and visa waivers - lawmakers have been reluctant to clamp down on so-called fiancé visas so far (how the female shooter in the San Bernardino attacks entered the United States). One of the reasons why comes in this quote of the day from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa): "They don't want to cross Cupid." Read the story here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44fa89d8bfae319cc38301fb7861676feca0593af28bac04f9d

WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9, 2015 and you're reading the Huddle, where we're wondering if any senator dared to gift a lump of goal during Al Franken's fifth annual Senate Secret Santa (https://goo.gl/Q5gr2F). Maybe someone would have, if we're here long after Friday. I'm at skim@politico.com, or on Twitter at @seungminkim

My new followers include @benjaminshull and @EHanichak.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 10 a.m. and will hold votes at 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lawmakers are working on the Red River Private Property Protection Act. The Senate is in at 10 a.m. and will vote at 10:45 a.m. to adopt the conference report for the No Child Left Behind rewrite.

AROUND THE HILL - Reps. Walter Jones and Thomas Massie are holding a news conference on a bill to de-authorize the post-speaker office (hmmm ...) at 9 a.m. at House Triangle. Speaker Paul Ryan, President Barack Obama, and Hill leaders are holding an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment at 11 a.m. in Emancipation Hall. Rep. Chris Smith is holding a news conference on Liu Xiaobo at 11:30 a.m. in 2255 Rayburn. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and other members of the Congressional Women's Working Group on Immigration Reform will hold a news conference on ending family detention at noon in 2103 Rayburn. Reps. Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren, John Delaney and
Alan Lowenthal will host a conversation with Syrian refugees at 4 p.m. in 210 Cannon.

WHY MILLENNIALS MATTER: EVENT TODAY -- Solving for Y: Exploring Opportunities for the Next Generation Conversations explores millennials as voters and critical voices in 2016. Speakers include Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Rep. Will Hurd, Rand Paul's national youth director Cliff Maloney and Bernie Sanders' national press secretary Symone Sanders. Wednesday, 8 a.m. Livestream: www.politico.com/live

--3rd Annual Women Rule Summit: Join us for conversations with women who are leading change in policy, politics, and their communities. How are women candidates and strategists changing the presidential race? What is the missing discussion around women and criminal justice reform? What are the untold stories of women innovators? Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Learn more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f30ac60fb3d0a5a774b80408a90789d493ec9fae91f987c03 Livestream: www.politico.com/live

RYAN BRINGS HOLIDAY CHEER -- The new House speaker is putting on the ritz for colleagues in the Hispanic and black caucuses. A Huddle tipster says Ryan held a holiday party for the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday and plans to throw a similar soiree for Hispanic lawmakers next week, both in the reception room in the Capitol. Our tipster says it's all part of Ryan's plan to reach out to lawmakers in his new role - and frankly, who doesn't want to get to know the Wisconsin Republican over some Christmas cheer?

SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL ON TAP? Kelsey Snell wraps up the latest for the Post: "House Republicans are considering passing a short-term extension of government funding this week to buy more time for negotiations over a year-end omnibus spending bill as a deal with Democrats proves elusive and a Friday deadline for avoiding a shutdown nears. GOP leaders are discussing a stop-gap bill that would cover a few days, but some conservatives are pushing for a longer extension that would go into next year as they seek to add policy provisions to the must-pass legislation." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44fba3495da271f13b383b4899b501c8cd022b3a0ca21df0bf7

--Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) warns "all hell will break loose" if abortion riders trip up the omnibus, per Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f97c9fbd75c57ddbf3ca48d558bedadbcb1943a963d73100b

HILL FOOD WORKERS: CRUZ A 'GRINCH' - Roll Call's Bridget Bowman: "Dozens of Capitol food workers went on strike Tuesday, demanding to negotiate higher wages with their management and taking their message to other Senate workspace, specifically calling on Sen. Ted Cruz, who sits on the committee that oversees their contract, to support their push for better pay and union representation. The workers flooded the Texas Republican's office, and the hallway outside, to award Cruz the 'Golden Grinch' award, and bring attention to their effort for a $15 an hour wage and collective bargaining rights." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f7a9a3c523dc8c642b1604308a93b289bb3861c4a1db145e1

EDUCATION BILL ONE STEP AWAY FROM OBAMA - Congress is on the cusp of sending a major overhaul of the controversial "No Child Left Behind" law to the White House, marking off another legislative win under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the GOP-led Capitol. Jennifer Kerr for the AP has more: "The way the nation's public schools are evaluated - teachers, students and the schools themselves - is in store for a major makeover ... The bill would keep a key feature of No Child: the federally mandated statewide reading and math exams in grades three to eight and one such test in high school. But it would encourage states to set caps on the time students spend on testing and it would
diminish the high stakes associated with these exams for underperforming schools." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51a65ded299bb44f03b0a75bfeb6af9e3d4fef93e3f322b33b870e32696ac490

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Nicholas Reindl was the first person to correctly answer that the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, and July 2014 was the date of the violation notification. I crowned him the winner before Deborah Weigel chimed in with the more precise answer: July 28, 2014.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Here is today's question: Which university conducted the so-called "shrimp fight club" study that was the target of Sen. Jeff Flake's ire in his "Wastebook" released Tuesday? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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