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01/26/2018 07:55 AM EDT


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

WHITE HOUSE PROPOSES PATH TO CITIZENSHIP \u2015 Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller briefed surrogates and Hill staffers Thursday on a one-page immigration framework the president is expected to introduce Monday. The plan proposes a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children but also calls for restrictions on immigration and $25 billion for border security. Miller pitched the document as a "compromise" that will lead to passage in both chambers, but it "could complicate negotiations between a bipartisan group of senators who have been meeting frequently to discuss their own accord on immigration," Rachael, Burgess and Lorraine
Woellert report.

The plan would establish a $25 billion trust fund for a border defense system, including the president's long-promised border wall. Funds would also go toward technology and security at the Canadian border, and the proposal would eliminate the visa lottery and limit migration by extended families. While Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), an immigration hardliner, supported the plan, one conservative staffer in the House called it "the beginning of the end of the GOP majority in the" chamber. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf44f761b45733039e8b40616fa2d08a426c1ced2ed81b776680b927cf434bd8ac43fe102205b28dd53

A bipartisan group of senators is working on a narrower plan they hope can clear the chamber by a wide enough margin to pressure the House into voting on it, according to The New York Times. But the White House hopes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will bring a bill based on the framework to the floor the week after Trump's State of the Union, The Washington Post reports. Government funding runs dry Feb. 8.

TWEET DU JOUR: @RepGutierrez (D-Ill.): "It would be far cheaper to erect a 50-foot concrete statue of a middle finger and point it towards Latin America. Both a wall and the statue would be equally offensive and equally ineffective and both would express Trump's deeply held suspicion of Latinos."

Related reads: "What should Dreamers do?" via Ted Hesson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf4081596789c5f7107124aee9e6b0b53ffe85334938bd9a209435d868c5d1f306b2f6a912c055adc02 and "Rubio rejects bipartisan immigration gang," from Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf43c3f79f881f054d364bf15952b384620ce79befbb02e38d69ea07bd5d24549afd6652638293c8ffb

GOP QUIET ON REPORTS TRUMP ORDERED MUELLER'S FIRING \u2015 While some Democrats were quick to criticize Trump after The New York Times revealed last night that the president had ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to be fired last summer, few Republicans were willing to say anything in the immediate aftermath. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, reiterated that "firing the Special Counsel is a red line that the President cannot cross." And, calling it "[s]tunning" and "deeply scary," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the report underscores Congress' need to pass legislation to protect Mueller.

Trump called for Mueller's termination last June \u2015 Mueller was appointed as special counsel last May, the same month the president fired then-FBI Director James Comey \u2015 but White House counsel Don McGahn not only refused to carry out the order but threatened to resign, prompting Trump to relent. Trump's ire, per The Post, reached a level so high that then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and then-chief of staff Reince Priebus were "incredibly concerned" the president would oust Mueller and talked about how to stop him.

Sen. Orrin Hatch's (R-Utah) office tweeted a months-old story quoting the Senate Finance Committee chairman telling reporters that Mueller needs "time and support ... to get to the bottom of things." And Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) warned that "[a]ny effort to undermine the Special Counsel's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere with our elections is unacceptable." Most GOP lawmakers have been silent so far, but the president defended himself in Davos, Switzerland, downplaying reports as "fake news."

CONGRESS MOVES TO ADDRESS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN SPORTS \u2015 The House will take up a bill Monday aimed at protecting amateur athletes, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Thursday. The move comes in the wake of Larry Nassar's 175-year sentencing. The former doctor for the USA gymnastics team was sentenced this week for sexually abusing scores of young girls. McCarthy said the bill "will improve mandatory training, increase requirements for reporting abuse, and reform a broken system that has failed victims in the past." "By advancing this bill next week," added House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), "we are taking action to protect our nation's young
athletes and future Olympians."

Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) had similar bills passed in their respective chambers last year. Feinstein plans to hold a news conference next week calling on the House to vote on her bill. "Other senators want more information about actions by USA Gymnastics and other sports organizations in the Nassar case," Elizabeth Castillo reports. Lawmakers have also called for congressional hearings and investigations, as well as the formation of a select committee to probe the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA gymnastics. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf4cf1a5f786bb95e999bc3acca9e4da41bbfdb9d55253d5a2c6ade87fa03bbdb468e2885dca6894f9d

THE STATE OF THE UNION IS NEXT WEEK! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Jan. 26.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: HuffPost's story on John Kennedy (R-La.), the Senate's quote machine, was the big winner.

JOE KENNEDY TO GIVE DEM SOTU RESPONSE \u2015 Democratic leaders have tapped Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), a rising star in the party, to give the official response to Trump's State of the Union. The 37-year-old "is a closely watched member of the House Democratic Caucus, not only because of his famous last name, but for his future ambitions," Heather and Seung Min report. "Many Democrats expect Kennedy to follow in the footsteps of his elders and run for Senate when a seat opens in Massachusetts."

"The job will put him on national television as the face of the Democratic Party and the voice of chief Trump critic at an extraordinary moment in the country's politics," The Boston Globe's Victoria McGrane and Annie Linskey write, noting, "For many Americans, it will be their first introduction to the latest Kennedy on the political scene." Though he has seemingly shied away from the spotlight in the past, he has sometimes gone viral: A Facebook video of him criticizing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) during the party's Obamacare repeal push has gotten more than 10 million views. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf4f0c58c4714fdd65838b04c7b7dfdedc1fcd849fa78a0c2b40521d13420316be5b1e9025db1887e05

Several Senate Democrats and more than two dozen House Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), plan to fill the balcony with Dreamers and other immigrants during the State of the Union.

Also at the State of the Union, according to Nahal Toosi and Andrew Restuccia, Trump could announce his plans to sign an executive order to keep the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, open.

ELLISON EYES STATE AG RUN \u2015 Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who also serves as deputy DNC chair, is exploring a run for Minnesota attorney general. State Attorney General Lori Swanson, a Democrat, is expected to run for governor. "With his active organizing and fundraising base - amplified through his close alliance with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) - Ellison would likely scramble a field of lesser known candidates that's begun to take shape," Edward Isaac Dovere reports this morning. Sources tell Isaac "Ellison has grown listless and bored in the House," and he has occasionally clashed with DNC Chair Tom Perez.

The AG post "could give Ellison a prominent spot alongside other state attorneys general who've taken the lead in fighting the Trump administration - efforts that many Minnesota Democrats wanted Swanson to be more active in," Isaac writes. Ellison has had conversations about running for the better part of a year but signaled to people close to him in recent days he's less likely to run, though he finds the opportunity enticing. He also wanted to run for Senate and was irked when party leaders nudged former Sen. Al Franken's (D-Minn.) appointed replacement, Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), to seek reelection for the remainder of the term. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf44d853a3f9fff7a76c2eb6650ea944855c8bbce303fb63f89bc07e4d5cf4cb1872b821aafad77b13d

MEEHAN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT \u2015 Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) will not seek reelection, making him the sixth lawmaker to retire or resign following sexual misconduct allegations. "It comes five days after the accusation and his secret settlement payout were first made public, and two days after interviews in which the congressman seemed to worsen the situation by attempting to defend his actions," Jonathan Tamari reports for Philly.com. "His decision opens a major opportunity for Democrats as they seek to recapture the House this fall. ... Until this week he was widely seen as strongly positioned to withstand what may be shaping up as a Democratic wave." Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf41048e4be57858866b5e4765237461be7139bb6af9888095e5f09241576f8de8894225def7640e90c

GOP POISED TO DEFY DOJ ON RUSSIA MEMO \u2015 Nearly every Republican on the House Intelligence Committee supports making public a classified memo the Justice Department has warned would be an "extraordinarily reckless" move. "A vote by the committee - expected as soon as Wednesday - to release the controversial document would put its fate into the hands of President Donald Trump, who has not taken a clear position on its public disclosure," Kyle reports. Ignoring DOJ's warning would highlight Republicans' "determination to shift attention from Russian election influence onto alleged anti-Trump bias among federal Russia investigators," Kyle adds. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf495361c8a6aade13b2601ab5e1786307e7fdbbd77fa23486b346fb131ace40d7ae790902d75dc61d2

2020 WATCH \u2015 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) met last week with his top political advisers regarding a potential presidential run. "The top-line message the Vermont senator received from the operatives gathered during the government shutdown was a more formal version of the one they've been giving him regularly for months: You would be one of the front-runners for the Democratic nomination. And if you want to run, it's time to start seriously planning accordingly," Gabriel Debenedetti reports. Democrats say Sanders hasn't decided but thinks defeating Trump is the most important thing for America and wants to be ready, should he decide to run. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf438c2d54881ca8fc0d2670116edcdce35630d5e5c1bd2429e182babdd56f3486f6fff7296d6b5faad

ROMNEY TO ANNOUNCE SENATE RUN NEXT WEEK \u2015 Mitt Romney is expected to finally announce next week what we all know: that he will run for Senate in Utah. "Romney will gather the 28,000 required signatures from registered GOP voters to ensure he gets on the late-June Republican Party primary ballot, assuming other Republicans will file to run for the office being vacated by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah," Bob Bernick reports for Utah Policy. "Romney is taking the signature route for one clear reason: The possibility (although remote) that he could be eliminated in the state GOP convention if he only went the caucus/delegate/convention route - like the late-Sen. Bob Bennett was in 2010. Utah GOP
state delegates are notoriously more conservative [than] rank-and-file GOP voters." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf415131e07a879fec4d73d333da3129afd8e8a052498a92465730c52531bdde2abb26d4683fece18ec

HE SAID WHAT? \u2015 GOP Missouri Senate candidate Courtland Sykes published a transcript of a September interview on Facebook this week in which he said his fiancee has ordered him to favor women's rights. But his obedience "comes with a small price that she loves to pay anyway," he said. "I want to come home to a home cooked dinner at six every night, one that she fixes and one that I expect one day to have daughters learn to fix after they become traditional homemakers and family wives."

Sykes is seeking the GOP nomination to face incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in November. He also said he doesn't "buy into radical feminism's crazed definition of modern womanhood" and wants daughters to "live in homes shared with good husbands" and not "grow up into career obsessed banshees who forego home life and children and the happiness of family to become nail-biting manophobic hell-bent feminist she devils who shriek from the tops of a thousand buildings." A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Josh Hawley, the front-runner to face McCaskill, said of Sykes, "Bless his heart." Much, much more from The Kansas City Star: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf4410e34a6c85202b27bf314bba9c0fc97db42e1a390cb1e043ac865bffac9c9724d1e1cdeef087920

WHOSE SEAT IS IT ANYWAY? \u2015 Brace yourself: Former Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) will run for his old seat, which he lost in 2014 to Cresent Hardy (R-Nev.), who is also running for the seat after losing it in 2016 to Rep. Ruben Kiheun (D-Nev.), who isn't seeking reelection following sexual misconduct allegations. "Horsford entered the race for Nevada's 4th Congressional District seat on Thursday as a favorite, although several other viable candidates have jumped into the fray as Kihuen faces sexual harassment allegations and an ethics investigation," Michelle Rindels writes for The Nevada Independent. "Horsford has been out of public office since losing the seat in 2014 after one term."
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=26ce9ea60e503bf41367b7bb5929f2577474add55d1707c9e1296e28deb56351e31fc28e547b7465aeba7f1fb8f14089

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE LOUNGE - Sunshine State News reporter Allison Nielsen is moving to Washington to serve as communications director for Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). Jimmy Milstead, communications director for Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), is moving back to North Carolina to serve as communications director for state House Majority Leader John Bell.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jim Brewer was first to correctly guess that Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and former Rep. Katherine Gudger Langley (R-Ky.) are the two women who succeeded their living husbands in Congress.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Former Secretary of State George Shultz testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday at age 97. Who is the oldest person to testify before Congress, and how old was he or she at the time? 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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