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04/02/2018 08:00 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

SENATORS FUME OVER MCCONNELL'S TIGHT GRIP -- The Senate has voted on just six amendments this year -- and senators are peeved. "When Mitch McConnell took over as majority leader in 2015 after years in the minority, he vowed to make good on a central campaign pledge of returning to a more 'free-wheeling' Senate," Burgess reports this morning. "And in the early days of his tenure, he did: McConnell presided over open, raucous floor debate on the Keystone XL Pipeline, winning praise even from some Democrats. But the Senate has reverted to form." And for Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), whose legislative amendments haven't received a single roll call vote, "it sucks."

The upper chamber has taken only 25 roll call votes on non-binding amendments this session -- by this point in the 114th Congress, it had voted on 154 such amendments. "Each year since McConnell took over, the Senate has voted on fewer nonbudget amendments: 140 in 2015, 57 in 2016, 19 in 2017 and six so far this year," Burgess adds. "The number of amendment votes is a key barometer of the amount, if not the quality, of debate in the Senate. And the Senate's increasingly lackluster debate, after McConnell promised the opposite, underscores both the limits to his power as majority leader and the pitfalls of making promises while in the minority of how different things would be if he were in
charge."

The numbers are based on a POLITICO analysis that encompasses amendments proposed by individual senators but exclude repeat votes on individual amendments, as well as amendments to budget resolutions. McConnell's office blames Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for adopting then-Majority Leader Harry "Reid's anti-amendment strategy" of shielding vulnerable senators from tough votes, and Schumer's office accuses McConnell of failing to uphold his pledges to open up the debate process. "Some Republicans are discussing reforms to the Senate that could conceivably ease the gridlock," Burgess notes. "One idea would eliminate one of two available filibuster opportunities on spending
bills. Another would slash the number of hours a nominee can be delayed." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd9b4ea062ddc0b28ee8fe087926fa0f5786fa33d34663d4d40858a94f59e144c72d9e35e70a220012

TRUMP CELEBRATES EASTER WITH ANTI-IMMIGRATION TWEETS -- President Donald Trump seemingly killed any possibility that he would sign legislation to shield so-called Dreamers from deportation, tweeting on Easter Sunday, "NO MORE DACA DEAL!" "Trump thrust the future of millions of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children into peril ... and he directed congressional Republicans to pass tough anti-immigration legislation," The Washington Post's Philip Rucker and David Weigel report. "An hour after he wished Americans a 'HAPPY EASTER,' Trump fired off three tweets in which he vented, sometimes in all caps, about immigration laws he derided as 'ridiculous' and
'dumb' and about border enforcement he deemed dangerously lax."

Trump announced in September the rescission of the Obama-era program with a six-month delay to give Congress time to pass a bill. He tweeted Sunday that Border Patrol agents are unable to do their jobs because of "ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws," renewed his calls for Republicans to do away with the 60-vote legislative filibuster "to pass tough laws" and threatened to pull out of NAFTA. "[H]e appeared to be confused about the rules of the program," they write. "To qualify, immigrants must have lived in the United States since 2007, have arrived in the country before age 16 and have been younger than 31 on June 15, 2012. No one arriving in the country after that date is eligible."

"Trump's Sunday comments may have been mere musings by an impassioned 'Fox & Friends' viewer and may not signal a substantive shift in administration policies," they continue. "Still, White House officials have long said Trump's tweets are official presidential statements, and he has been known to use Twitter to preview formal policy pronouncements." While the tweets baffled some Democrats, "[c]onservative reaction to the tweets was relatively muted, and no Republican member of Congress had a comment or statement Sunday afternoon." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd44d0e2db59eea51510387d3333571c911dc985cd9acbad8bb7df5e681fd9ebc991279e63c649a308

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), however, tweeted late Sunday: "The Presidents DACA announcement couldn't have come at a worst time. Easter is a day for many to rejoice and come together-- not to put more anxiety on young people. It's time for Members on both sides of the aisle to join forces and find a permanent solution for DACA recipients."

The president doubled down in a series of tweets this morning. He called on Mexico to stop large "Caravans" of people from crossing the border, urged Congress to pass border legislation -- using the so-called nuclear option, if necessary -- and claimed "DACA is dead because the Democrats didn't care or act."

Related: "Venting on Immigration, Trump Vows 'No More DACA Deal' and Threatens Nafta," by The New York Times' Katie Rogers: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd80cba5f33b135c8b2b3670bb0570c9846282c73662f293493cef45df6f4d9ed969b9ed48413f4ed3

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, April 2.

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FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Sen. James Lankford's (R-Okla.) joint op-ed with former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) criticizing Congress' "broken" budget and appropriations process was the winner.

PELOSI STARS IN GOP ADS -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has been featured in 34 percent of all GOP broadcast ads aired in congressional races this year, according to data from Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising. "That compares with 9% in all of 2016 and 13% in 2014," USA Today's Craig Gilbert reports. Cory Bliss, director of the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, called Pelosi "the most toxic, unpopular politician in American politics" and vowed to spend millions reminding voters that she's "bad for the country."

But Democrats note that anti-Pelosi ads didn't stop Conor Lamb from winning a Pennsylvania district Trump won by 20 points in 2016. Lamb had said he wouldn't back Pelosi for leadership if he won. Pelosi spokesman Drew Hamill said Republicans "chose to go this route mainly out of a lack of anything else to talk about." "When you're the party in charge and your president is in the White House, the mid-terms will be about the president and his party," Hamill said. "There is no way around that. There is no historical correlation between who wins a mid-term and who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd52761704e98ea919aec2d9f178e2230b003243aeaa2d0ea769c56da8d963052d9af804cbbdf020ec

Related reads: "2018 Campaign: Republicans are running against Hillary Clinton -- again," from NBC News' Rebecca Shabad and Alex Seitz-Wald: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fde44b620b10f469e0e8cae7b661df8881b44e3d9887597296ecaa181f4c6db2d5cbe81cfb32401812 and "Emerging Democratic Party united on liberal policies but divided on how to win," by The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd310f702a6c3831ff218d33e9cd02f39e8f191b16658467973dc27fe00bb8e7bf56383c4432bee5fe

ESTY RESISTS RESIGNATION CALLS -- Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) doesn't believe she should resign over her handling of abuse allegations in her office. "The third-term Democrat has been reaching out to friends and colleagues, gauging their feelings and looking for guidance in dealing with the scandal, which threatens her tenure at a time of rising national sensitivity to workplace abuse," Ken Dixon reports for the Connecticut Post. "During the normally placid Easter and Passover weekend, state Democratic leaders fretted among themselves, asking whether Esty can remain viable, or if she is vulnerable."

"While senior party leaders were stressing the need for Esty to seek guidance from her constituents, others said her failure to stop the alleged wide-ranging abuse of her Washington staff before firing her former chief of staff Tony Baker during the summer of 2016 is unacceptable," Dixon continues. State Senate Pro Tempore Martin Looney and state Sens. Paul Doyle, Mae Flexer and Cathy Osten -- all Democrats -- have called on Esty to resign. "While she easily won re-election by about 38,000 votes in 2016, her popularity could change with the national awareness of workplace harassment and the #MeToo movement," Dixon warns. "She has raised about $1.6 million for her re-election war chest."
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fdb38f1c111efced2090f8f7db766dd8f953ecebf7812395d9aec048d5435f624623ce715b022b4670

Related: "Rep. Esty vows to 'do better' on staff safety after aide's reported threat," via Cristiano Lima: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fde2dc5e7593d259c6807e8635e1381215b880c2f2b75b1c1c2985f3af49b81d914532fc3c753b461f

GOWDY SLAMS CONGRESSIONAL PROBES -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) decried congressional investigations Sunday. Gowdy, who chaired the Benghazi Committee and is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS' "Face the Nation" he's thankful for special counsel Robert Mueller. "Congress has proven itself incapable of conducting serious investigations," Gowdy said. "Congressional investigations, they're terrible. I would be telling you that even if I were staying in Congress, they're just not serious. Serious investigations don't leak. Serious investigations don't make up their mind first and then go in search of the evidence to validate."
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd5900bb8784931651210035280d73b3bc2f45f2708a20449331be02cde6d477e7c1a3438187936455

Related Russia reads: "Even Republicans Have Used the 'I' Word, but Would Firing Mueller Get Trump Impeached?" by The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd35c0acc844e7af3d4a9058a3fab465b36370e5da2480beb9481b495480ebc4132a54622ca1bf4fcd and "Corruption, Not Russia, Is Trump's Greatest Political Liability," from New York Mag's Jonathan Chait: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fdb97148629c0a95482f6909ad8c64bb3e9d5351285dd467959867511c1cf0a38704a7dad187c17638

BABY MAMA DRAMA -- An allegation filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics last month charges that Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) used his position as a member of Congress to get his domestic partner's son out of a heroin arrest on Staten Island. "Donovan, while serving in Congress and as a former District Attorney, visited the 122 Precinct and used his position to illegally request that officers issue [Serena Stonic's son Timothy] O'Connell and [the friend] a 'desk appearance ticket' instead of proceeding with normal arrest protocols," the allegation says. "This intervention allowed the detained to be immediately released from custody, as well as the records to be sealed."

"A desk appearance ticket lets an arrested person show up in court at a later date to answer a summons and avoid being sent to central booking, jailed or arraigned," Anna Sanders reports for the New York Post. "Police confirmed O'Connell and the woman, both 19 at the time, were arrested on Dec. 3, 2015, in the 122nd Precinct, but no other information was available because the cases were sealed. Donovan denied the charge and characterized it as a political hit." A Donovan spokesman called the allegations "100 percent false" and "a disgusting, vicious and false attack on a young man's struggle with addiction to score political points two months before an election." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd9218f98b72a180dc2d5c528d8a143c7924494b19ba5f356af8f84f1dea9843d7309e9683bc259c98

HAWLEY TREADS LIGHTLY ON TRUMP -- Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley, Missouri's attorney general, is one of the GOP's most-prized recruits. But he won't say whether he believes Trump is a role model and dodged questions about the president's behavior toward women. "Hawley's cautious answers underscore a delicate political reality on the ground in Missouri, one that also is challenging other Republican candidates across the country ahead of the midterm elections," The Associated Press' Summer Ballentine and Steve Peoples report. "Seven months before Election Day, many are still struggling to craft a political playbook to win over Trump's most passionate supporters without repelling
everyone else."

Hawley is challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). "Yet even in Missouri, which Trump carried by 18 points less than two years ago, a GOP Senate candidate faces risks by fully embracing the president," they write. "The stakes are high. The national GOP eyes Missouri as perhaps its best pickup opportunity in the nation." Hawley accepts the president's support, though many of his senior aides have worked for outspoken GOP Trump critics. "The candidate's allies recommend that he focus more on Trump's policies -- particularly on taxes, government regulation and his Supreme Court picks -- than on his behavior," they continue. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fdf9c07135ff4ad8e158bc9598bc152b66f9c09a9331315bd7f76eb888f029f4e819536248dd8c8868

Related: "How to make it as a maverick from Trump country," via McClatchy's Katie Glueck: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd7665fe94aedf8f4aef6cd90e38c5f9e23294da5d61b5a361940fe25e6ec5a63d7be07d5bcd3ee0c9

'CAMPAIGN-LESS' -- "Clueless" star Stacey Dash has abandoned her congressional bid for a Los Angeles seat. She tweeted that she's "withdrawing" because "the overall bitterness surrounding our political process, participating in the rigors of campaigning, and holding elected office would be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of my family." But she will still appear on the June 5 primary ballot. "Dash had a rough road to get out of the primary in the race to represent a Los Angeles district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 61% to 10%," the LA Times reports. "She was aiming to oust Freshman Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-San Pedro)." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b464aabe491af7fd7fef97e9974ef2ee332ba9d88cf29a2c7802f498efc703876da6787c5927b5a89b227314b118fe3a

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House and Senate are out.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- James Atkinson was first to correctly guess that Al Gore was the future vice president and presidential candidate whose speech was broadcast by C-SPAN when it launched in March 1979.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- On April 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill banning certain ads from airing on TV and radio. What product did the law ban? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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