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12/22/2016 07:55 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

DEMS PUMP BRAKES ON RUSSIAN PROBE- Turns out it is not just Republicans who are resisting calls to launch a select committee to investigate Russian cyber warfare during the election. Several Senate Democrats, particularly those on the Intelligence Committee, are noncommittal about setting up a separate panel, Burgess reports this morning. "Intelligence Committee members have little to gain right now by breaking with [committee chairman Richard] Burr, because they already have access to intelligence briefings that other members are hoping to get access to as part of a broader special panel."

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer along with Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Jack Reed are still pushing the select committee, which would look at Russia but also other cybersecurity issues more broadly. But Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the incoming top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, isn't currently calling for a separate committee, although he left the door open to do so if the Intelligence investigation stalls.

The panel's other Democratic members are also not in lockstep on the issue. Independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Dems, and Sen. Joe Machin, a new member on the panel, aren't calling for a select committee. But Sens. Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich support the idea. Burgess with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8ce813f542ae970abdba98bac454655f2951872ad9523a84d

And don't miss: "The White House opposed a Republican-led push earlier this year to create an executive-branch task force to battle Russia's covert information operations, according to a document obtained by POLITICO." Austin with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8c9e01a449e0d27e5057a8a0b2e259fab6f7c9b61f2229419

TIME KEEPS ON SLIPPIN'- Moving some of President-elect Donald Trump's uber-wealthy Cabinet nominees through the financial vetting process has been "unusually slow," prompting worries from Democrats that Republicans will green light confirmations to move ahead "without the ethics safeguards that have been in place for decades," Jennifer Steinhauer reports for the New York Times. "Several of Mr. Trump's cabinet picks would be among the wealthiest public servants in modern history. That alone presents a significant financial-vetting challenge to Senate Republicans, who hope to begin confirmation hearings in a few weeks." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff82c4b28565005ece59345b8124d8091f476b6bac6bf66a313

New this morning: Top Democrats on 16 Senate committees will issue a joint statement later this morning demanding that nominations only go forward if certain conditions are met. Democrats are calling on nominees to first clear an FBI background check, complete financial disclosure forms, sign an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics and satisfy "reasonable requests for additional information and members have time to review that material."

RENACCI EYES TOP JOB IN BUCKEYE STATE- Ohio Rep. Jim Renacci has started calling GOP donors about a potential 2018 gubernatorial bid, Alex Isenstadt reports. (Current Gov. John Kasich is term-limited.) A Renacci aide said "it's become increasingly very likely that he will strongly consider a statewide run this cycle." The Ways and Means member, who just won a fourth term, is likely looking at a crowded field if he jumps in the race. Other potential contenders include Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and state Attorney General Mike DeWine. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8bf0f2f203f9b4b904649310e9ef3642fadafe8da4f6a0d28

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- House Democrats are already preparing "to fight vigorously" in the new Congress, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wrote to her colleagues Wednesday evening. House Democrats will hold a conference call Dec. 29 to plan for the next year, particularly how to combat Republican attempts to repeal Obamacare and overhaul Medicare. Pelosi is also calling on members to plan press events related to those issues for Jan. 7 and participate in a "national day of action" with senators and governors on Jan. 14 to "continue the drumbeat." "We will return to Washington, refreshed and ready to demonstrate that, from day one, Democrats are ready to fight," she wrote.

WELCOME TO THE LAST HUDDLE OF THE YEAR. It's Thursday, December 22. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

Programming note: Huddle will be taking a holiday break from Friday, Dec. 23 through Monday, Jan. 2. We'll be back to chronicle all things new Congress Jan. 3.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED- Everybody loved Rachael's story about Republicans being scared of going against Trump.

TODAY IN CONGRESS- Next vote: Jan. 3.

AROUND THE HILL- Staffers trying to console themselves once they realize Huddle won't be back until Jan. 3. Don't worry y'all, time will fly. Now here's a shout out to the best holiday movie OF ALL TIME: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff89ce20a584b578aa363a21b94fa88f63fbe3cd30da142713c And the award for this year's best Christmas song mashup has to go to this little ditty: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8f069867c3bd78a745dccef6f1f24d8537f77ff3342ca6680

OFF THE HILL- Sen. Patty Murray and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will hold a 4 p.m. press call on Andrew Puzder, Trump's nominee to lead the Labor Department. Reporters can email Jeff Sanchez to RSVP.

MUCHO $$ FOR INFRASTRUCTURE? SOUNDS GOOD TO SCHUMER- Don't expect new Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to trash Trump's plan to pour $1 trillion into infrastructure just because it comes from a Republican. "He's mentioned a trillion dollars. I told him that sounded good to me," Schumer, an advocate of big infrastructure spending, said on ABC's "Powerhouse Politics" podcast Wednesday. "We're not going to oppose something simply because it has the name Trump on it, but we will certainly not sacrifice our principles just to get something done," he added. Nolan McCaskill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8b0c5e3a5e1860d632aec9b156a73bddd4f91b344fa29a4ac

DON'T MISS: WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE RIGHT? Incoming Politico Magazine national political reporter Tim Alberta wrote one last piece on conservatism in the age of Trump for the National Review and it is quite the opus. Alberta's deep dive has lots of can't-miss goodies about currently simmering tensions within the Republican conference and the House Freedom Caucus.

Exhibit A: Outspoken Freedom Caucus member Mick Mulvaney went from promising over the summer to hold Trump's feet to the fire if he were elected- "We actually welcome that opportunity," he said at the time- to enthusiastically joining the administration last week as Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget. "The week before he was chosen, I asked Mulvaney whether he stood by his promises about congressional Republicans' holding Trump accountable. He declined to comment, because he was waiting to hear back from New York about the OMB post," Alberta wrote. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff86e6452276c73a4bf2a2d4a90bd0f8116affb17fc109ac7b0

THE MODERN-DAY MACHIAVELLI? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been called a lot of things during his long political career. But above all else, he's comparable to a character in Niccolò Machiavelli's famous Renaissance-era writings, the Huffington Post's Jen Bendery writes. "The Republican senator from Kentucky pulled off some of the shrewdest political feats of the year by making bold bets aimed at benefiting himself and his party. His biggest coup was preventing President Barack Obama from filling a Supreme Court vacancy and reshaping the judiciary for a generation. ... McConnell's skills as a politician are immense. Often, they're evident in the decisions he makes about
whether to get involved in the political fray at all."

Where's your holiday spirit man? And then there's this quote from Jim Manley, former aide to Sen. Harry Reid: "I think Machiavelli had at least a little bit of heart," he said. "I don't think McConnell does." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff871a818c4f59fee7620e01889597ad38280f64ab57f9982c6

MYERS LANDS TOP DSCC GIG- Mindy Myers has been picked as executive director for Senate Democrats' campaign arm in what's going to be a brutal 2018 cycle for the party. Myers ran the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's independent-expenditure arm and is the first woman to serve as DSCC executive director. Her impressive resume includes stints as campaign manager for Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal, chief of staff to Warren and Whitehouse and New Hampshire director for now-President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008. Kevin with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff80f0870fdcf24feae7341788d5da54324ce88453d784df1bb

Outgoing DSCC Executive Director Tom Lopach circulated an email Wednesday announcing he was "off to find my next challenge and opportunity." "We know much more work remains ahead of us, and I am confident we will find ways to work together," Lopach wrote.

REID STAFFER HEADED TO VAN HOLLEN'S OFFICE- Bill Dauster, deputy chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, is moving over to Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen's office as director of policy. Dauster is a big get for Van Hollen given his decades of experience on Capitol Hill. "Nobody on Capitol Hill better understands policy on legislation than Bill," Reid said about Dauster last year. "Anytime legislative staff - not just mine, anyone's staff in the Senate - has an issue with legislation, they know that Bill will be available."

The senator-elect (and incoming DSCC chairman) also announced Karen Robb will stay on as his chief of staff and hired Yvette Lewis as his director of community outreach.

SCHOCK'S LAWYERS PUSH FOR DELAY- Former Rep. Aaron Schock is pushing to have his federal corruption trial delayed until July, according to a court filing Wednesday. Schock's attorneys argue they need more time than the current Feb. 7 start date allows to review the massive amount of documents related to the case. During Schock's arraignment earlier this month the defense originally suggested kicking the trial until August but federal prosecutors pushed back, saying that was too much of a delay. Jake with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff8dc01536504954da1f21bb9765d59078fd57d65a34726a9c7

'THAT CONGRESSWOMAN FROM FLORIDA'- Retiring Sen. Harry Reid continued his "telling it like it is" tour this week, trashing the Democratic National Committee to NPR and either forgetting or not caring enough to acknowledge former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz by name. "[T]he DNC, has been worthless. They do nothing to help state parties," Reid said in an interview. "So, I would hope that they would choose a chair of the Democratic Party who is a full-time person. Not someone like we had with that congresswoman from Florida, who was a full-time congresswoman and a part time chair of the DNC." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff849a2a456835f3bc9498e780e4ec4ed0331cf28e2166044bd

ARIZONA REP. GALLEGO DIVORCING- Rising political power couple Rep. Ruben Gallego and his wife, Phoenix Vice Mayor Kate Gallego, are divorcing, they announced on Facebook Wednesday. The couple, married since 2010, is expecting their first child soon. "I will focus every ounce of energy I have preparing for the birth of our son in January and being the best possible mother I can for him," Kate said in a Facebook post announcing the news. The Arizona Republic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4ad876a4f873ff86d86f0770b8d03604faee5fbf14e3fb38ef6e9cd882c5f6b

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES- Rep.-elect Josh Gottheimer has tapped Tricia Russell to serve as his chief of staff. The incoming New Jersey lawmaker also announced Chris Tully will serve as his district director and chief of community engagement. Gottheimer will be a member of both the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition.

Todd Poole, outgoing chief of staff for Rep. Richard Hudson, has a new gig, serving as district director for Rep.-elect Ted Budd. The job takes Poole back to North Carolina, where he tells Huddle he's ready for less traffic down in the Tar Heel State.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER- Ari Mittleman, former staffer for Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, was the first to correctly guess that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Rand Paul all hail from Pittsburgh.

TODAY'S TRIVIA- Ari with the last trivia question of the year: With lots of talk about the president-elect's nominee to serve as ambassador to Israel, name President Truman's pick who served as the first US Ambassador there.

And for all my trivia devotees, an extra credit question: Who was Truman's long-time Missouri friend and Jewish business partner often credited for his pivotal backchannel diplomatic role in 1948?

The first person to correctly guess the answer to today's question gets a mention in next year's Huddle. Get the joke, guys? I'll see myself out. Until we meet again, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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