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02/05/2016 07:55 AM EDT


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

REPUBLICANS BASH OBAMA'S OIL PLAN - POLITICO's Elana Schor: "Republicans and the oil industry teed off on President Obama and his plan announced on Thursday to impose a $10 tax on every barrel of crude oil to pay for green transportation projects ... 'This horrible idea is a waste of time that will never see the light of day,' House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said through a spokeswoman."

--"Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) declared the president's plan 'dead on arrival,' and a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, challenged Democrats to defend the tax plan. 'We look forward to seeing whether or not Senate Democrats will support this massive gas tax on American families, farmers and employers,' McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said by email." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9a7085460e8a60c3a0f2d473cbce80acc02d32c22d920b64b

--Huddle's Stew translation: Expect to see this plan in the form of a budget vote-a-rama vote sometime later this spring.

--Read why Obama is making this controversial proposal, from POLITICO's Michael Grunwald: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c949baa6aa74534b614807ee0f3cc5eb34c4759ecd634159fa

'PHARMA BRO' PLEADS THE FIFTH - The New York Times' Andrew Pollack and Emmarie Huetteman has the recap of the spectacle that was Martin Shkreli's performance before Congress: "Lawmakers excoriated him. He fidgeted, he smirked, he smiled for the cameras. And he refused to answer questions. Mr. Shkreli, the former chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals, who is facing federal securities fraud charges, repeatedly exercised his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination, infuriating members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform."

--"'I don't think I've ever seen the committee treated with such contempt,' Representative John L. Mica, a Florida Republican, said after Mr. Shkreli was excused and left the hearing. Mr. Mica asked if Mr. Shkreli could be held in contempt of Congress. The committee chairman, Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah, said he did not intend to do so." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c928bb778b9df834d73eb882f7f27e4669c3761fb6094fadc6

YIKES -- @MartinShkreli: Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government.

@BresPolitico: I've been covering Capitol Hill for 20 years. Never seen a witness act like Martin Shkreli. I'm stunned, tbh

--Public service journalism, via HuffPo: A video titled "Martin Shkreli's Super Douchey Smirks at Congress" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9d67d2452aa26b0df1d840a3b3090d76c583a1395cdf0caa2

SENATE ENERGY BILL COLLAPSES OVER FLINT - Huffington Post's Laura Barron-Lopez and Arthur Delaney: "Democrats blocked a sweeping energy bill from moving forward Thursday after negotiations stalled over including aid to help with the water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Democrats of Michigan, started pushing the issue last week as the Senate began debate on the energy bill."

--"Their provision would provide $600 million in emergency funding to Flint to replace and fix the city's water supply infrastructure and establish a center dedicated to helping people in Flint recover from lead poisoning. Republicans scolded Democrats for using the crisis to play politics, and argued it is a state and local problem." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c97392dedbdceaa306e70ad542b58fb2cf5c558c0ad63faf78

--Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) argues that Flint wouldn't be waiting so long for government assistance if the residents were white and living in the suburbs, via POLITICO's Lauren French: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9f486f4be49f4b48a333cb359b4a1a0a138e1ca81ab8d753f

--And NBC's Frank Thorp reports that Darnell Earley, the former emergency manager of Flint, has been subpoenaed by Congress: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c91d6603b24abd989595f99783b894faed557b7995f781d057

PORTMAN REJECTS TRADE DEAL - Yep, that's a former U.S. trade representative opposing the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership. Paul Kane and Kelsey Snell have more for WaPo: "The Ohio Republican is facing a difficult re-election campaign against Ted Strickland, an anti-trade former Democratic governor, in a state that has seen a steep decline in manufacturing as a result of companies moving operations overseas."

--"The announcement is a significant but not fatal blow to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which is protected by fast-track rules that ensure it cannot be filibustered in the Senate. 'I cannot support the TPP in its current form because it doesn't provide that level playing field,' Portman said in a statement ... Strickland used Portman's announcement as an opportunity to knock his past support for trade deals. 'The difference between Senator Portman and myself when it comes to trade is clear: he voted for 8 trade deals and I opposed them,' he said in a statement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9a0b4dfa50cdb2a34f971d42c7921c5c0931b9dee5dd05630

TRANSITIONS - Jennifer Kaufmann, counsel for Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), is off to become a lobbyist at Mercury Public Affairs. "After more than a year with Representative Hastings, I leave the Hill with both excitement for the new opportunity that I'm about to embark on, and great sadness to leave such a wonderful group of people," she says in her farewell email. Kaufmann is also an alum of Sen. Ben Cardin's (D-Md.) office.

Marty Irby, communications director for Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), is leaving Capitol Hill. "I feel very fortunate to have served the people of the First District of Kentucky and deeply honored to have served such a caring, kind, compassionate, and genuine man in Congressman Ed Whitfield," he writes to colleagues. Robert Hankins will now handle communications for Whitfield.

IT'S FRIDAY, Feb. 5, 2016 and welcome to The Huddle, where we are rooting for House staffer Willie Blount, who'll appear on "Shark Tank" tonight to pitch his brand of specialty gloves (http://goo.gl/zIeugB). You can always reach me with tips about other Hill aides on reality shows - or just general congressional news -- at skim@politico.com, and please follow me on Twitter @seungminkim.

My new followers include @SenJohnThune and @SenThomTillis.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - It's Friday. Gotta get down.

AROUND THE HILL - Nada.

GOODLATTE, GRASSLEY MEET WITH OBAMA - Zach Carter of HuffPo has the scoop: "President Barack Obama recently held a private meeting on criminal justice reform with two key Republicans -- a sign that efforts to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill are likely intensifying. Obama met with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chair the judiciary committees in each chamber."

--"While reducing some severe sentencing for nonviolent offenders has bipartisan support in both chambers, Goodlatte and Grassley have major differences over a policy known as 'mens rea' reform ... The White House has never met with these two GOP leaders in private on criminal justice reform. The meeting was not posted on the president's public schedule." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c97144015ad1c1e8aaa07348d5bdcd12c1f13cb2b44fa33667

--Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) tells reporters that the House will take up the chamber's criminal justice reform bills. Exactly when? Unclear. Cristina Marcos for The Hill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9fc0d31e71632a45e92e46ae9b7c85d3c31bc7ef217a16d42

--And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pushed on criminal justice reform by civil rights and religious leaders in Kentucky. The Courier-Journal: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9f3ea92e1fec91ff00ce50ac195e5c6fdcbf42aab853741ae

NUMBER OF THE DAY: ZERO - As in the number of lawmakers reprimanded by the Senate Ethics Committee in the last nine years. Paul Singer and Jenny Ung explain for USA Today: "Since 2007, the committee has received 613 allegations of wrongdoing and has summarily dismissed over 90% of them. Only 75 have even had even a preliminary investigation. The total of the committee's discipline during the nine-year period is a half-dozen letters the committee has written to senators saying, basically, 'you should not have done that.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9190a0b86410b9fa65ff42281d9dcde8fa064c86558dc9771

RYAN, MCCARTHY TO CHAFFETZ: PLEASE DON'T - The speaker and House majority leader meet with Jason Chaffetz privately to dissuade him from an investigation that could snarl Hillary Clinton. Jake Sherman and Rachael Bade for POLITICO: "[O]n Wednesday evening, Speaker Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy summoned Chaffetz (R-Utah) to the Capitol to let him know that he is not permitted to launch an investigation that involves Clinton in any way. On Thursday, Chaffetz said he had no comment. Ryan and McCarthy have been clear from the beginning: They believe the FBI and Justice Department should handle the investigation into Clinton's use of personal email for government business,
and that congressional involvement could disrupt the criminal probe and give the appearance of a GOP witch hunt." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9756fdaf8ad062cf033e29aabb0f9cf929d1614517716017f

LINDA SANCHEZ SUED OVER ETHICS ALLEGATIONS - POLITICO's John Bresnahan: "A former aide to California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez has sued the lawmaker in federal court, claiming that Sanchez and some top staffers improperly used official resources for campaign and personal uses and then retaliated by firing the aide following her complaints about the alleged improper practices."

--"Kara Medrano, who was reportedly fired in Feb. 2015 after allegedly contacting the Ethics Committee, is seeking $2.5 million in damages and her job back. Sanchez is the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee ... Sanchez, through a spokesman, said Medrano's claims were 'baseless allegations.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b64a3f1c181260c9df0c5638bd52ea49dc81a2631af6706cac98b63ba118f8b4

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Ross Kapilian was the first person to correctly answer that Bill Clinton (in 1992) was the first person since 1952 to win the presidency without first winning the New Hampshire primary.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Ross has today's question: Who was the only person to win the New Hampshire primary as a write-in candidate, and in what year? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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