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01/04/2017 07:59 AM EDT


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

With assists from Burgess Everett, Daniel Lippman and Seung Min Kim

WHO WILL WIN THE DAY? Both President Obama and Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be on Capitol Hill this morning trying to be the loudest, most prominent voice on Obamacare. Republicans took the first step of many toward rolling back Obamacare Tuesday, a message they hope drowns out any Democratic push to save the law. Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi will hold a press conference after the bicameral meeting with Obama. Pence, a former House member, will participate in the House GOP leaders' weekly press conference before crossing the Capitol to lunch with Senate Republicans.

Make 'em feel the pain: Democrats know their signature domestic policy achievement is likely doomed but that hasn't stopped them from launching a grassroots campaign they hope "might, possibly, sway a handful of GOP votes in the Senate - and if not, to delay the process for as long as possible and inflict as much political pain on the GOP as they can," Jennifer Haberkorn and Rachana Pradhan report this morning.

Obama's message today: "Obamacare is a winnable fight and he'll urge Democrats to emphasize the dangerous situation in which Republicans are putting their constituents if they repeal the law without a replacement, according to a White House aide." Jen and Rachana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816df39121821dfd8d653a9c7e462fc5fd60458bc0f5ff2cb08

NEW THIS AM: CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM IS BACK- If you thought criminal justice reform died with the 114th Congress, think again. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley told Seung Min he plans to take up a bill tackling sentencing laws and prison reform as soon as his committee finishes with the high-profile cabinet nominees under its jurisdiction. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin approached Grassley after the election about reviving the bill and aides for the two senators, the key architects of last year's proposal, have been discussing how to advance the measure ever since.

A big help: "Three opponents - GOP Sens. David Vitter, Jeff Sessions and David Perdue - are leaving the committee this year, stirring hope that the vote count in favor of the measure could be higher." Still, the bill had a strong committee vote last year but never made it to the floor. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816c5075bb71fee62e199af7bdfb92d8654380fbd45af31b96e

HAPPENING TODAY- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will meet with secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson at 2:30 p.m. McConnell will meet with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Trump's pick to lead the Energy Department, at 4:30 p.m.

NEVER MIND ON #WENEEDNINE- President-elect Donald Trump hasn't announced his Supreme Court pick yet (more on that process here) but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is already taking a hard line stance against the future nominee. "We are not going to settle on a Supreme Court nominee. If they don't appoint someone who's really good, we're gonna oppose him tooth and nail," he said on MSNBC Tuesday. And when asked by host Rachel Maddow whether he would do his best to keep the Scalia vacancy open, Schumer responded without hesitation: "Absolutely," Seung Min reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681628767b1653c1c1045ba71d10eb4d074d64ba82c6d3256416

Speaking of Schumer, he sat down with Playbook's Jake and Anna and attempted to dispel any narrative that he's chummy with the president-elect. Schumer also revealed Democrats new battle cry: "Make America sick again." Get it?? Playbook with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681640f03f030f01c4faabb8dce78ab9721140eeade2a86855bb

WELL THAT WENT AWAY FAST- Facing a deluge of angry calls and emails, a Twitter scolding from the president-elect and unwanted opening day headlines, House Republicans called an emergency meeting Tuesday and quickly reversed a plan to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics. "We shot ourselves in the foot," said Rep. Mike Simpson, calling the ethics debacle an unforced error. But the move to effectively dismantle the OCE, a proposal that caught many by surprise when Republicans considered it during a closed-door meeting Monday, had been in the works for weeks, Rachael, Bres and Kyle report.

Behind the scenes: House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and a group of lawmakers who have been targeted by the OCE "worked in secret for weeks, making sure word didn't leak out to Democrats or the media. Then, just before House Republicans met to approve their rules package for the new Congress, they unveiled their amendment...The gambit caught leadership flatfooted, and Goodlatte's side triumphed in the closed-door GOP meeting, but problems quickly developed." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681651978d71c4bbb92f77a45c23f00c41e657ab415736c91795

ROLLING RIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.


TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Seung Min's story about Schumer's inner circle by far had the most clicks.

TODAY IN CONGRESS- The Senate convenes at 12 p.m. with party lunches from 12:30 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. The House convenes at 10 a.m. with first and last votes around 4:30 p.m. Today's House agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816d7e6a6d648cc3d3d773aae1345e6d44dc02da1f68dc6fbb6

AROUND THE HILL- House Speaker Paul Ryan, VP-elect Mike Pence and Republican leaders will hold a 10 a.m. press avail after the GOP conference meeting in HC-8. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will hold a post-Obama press conference at 10:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein will meet with Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions with a photo opportunity at at 11 a.m. in Hart 331. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer holds his weekly pen and pad at 12:15 p.m. in H-144 (rescheduled from yesterday). Pelosi will hold a photo-op with female Democratic lawmakers on the House front steps at 1:30 p.m.

Sen. Chris Coons will meet with secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson in the afternoon. There will be a photo opportunity at 3:15 p.m. in Coons' office (Russell 127A) and the senator will take questions after the meeting, around 3:45 p.m. Reps. Mark Walker, Phil Roe and Bill Flores hold a 3:45 p.m. press conference on the RSC plan to repeal and replace Obamacare in HVC Studio A.

WORKING 'ROUND THE CLOCK- Senate Democrats may try to drag their feet on confirming Trump's cabinet nominees but Republican leaders say they're undeterred, planning to give the minority a little tough love if needed. Republicans are "preparing to keep the chamber running around the clock if that's what it takes to speedily confirm Trump's Cabinet. It's the kind of retaliatory strategy that would bring all-night sessions, 3 a.m. votes and a long slog through the first months of Trump's presidency that could sap some of the GOP's legislative momentum," Burgess and Seung Min report.

We've been here before: "After Senate Democrats changed the chamber's rules to allow majority confirmations of most nominations in 2013, Republicans retaliated by objecting to Democratic attempts to schedule votes during normal working hours. After a couple of all-nighters, the marathon sessions ended as both parties quickly ran out of steam." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c8168164a7cddd447424955e6bc6e943cc5c4c1e9cfd202a7981c66

WOMP WOMP- GOP Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are backing off their push for a select committee to investigate Russian tampering with the election after the idea failed to gain traction within the Republican conference. The two had teamed up with Schumer and Sen. Jack Reed to make the bipartisan push last month. "We're just going to move with the individual committees and see how that works. If it doesn't work, we'll regroup," Graham told Burgess. McCain's Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the hacking issue tomorrow. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681634e4df3bf7f1fbc2290648705ea2be0e98048a495b79c4c0

Mark your calendars: McCain will meet with secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson this week, he told Burgess. McCain, Graham and Sen. Marco Rubio have all expressed concerns about the ExxonMobil CEO's ties to Russia. "The Arizona Republican said he had 'no sense' of his stance toward Tillerson's confirmation until he meets with him." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816f50c38ffb592ca9175a09633564d2b363286e108c6682b82

Related: Tillerson, Exxon reach conflict-of-interest agreement, from Anthony Adragna: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816c3e1e8c28c27b11eb7e50e7b764b93253ec3d330ce81c529

THE JOE SHOW'S LAST GO- If anyone missed the awesomeness that is Vice President Joe Biden swearing-in senators for the last time (a highlight of every new Congress for the last several years), we've got the video with some of the VP's best moments: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681688b01434f79d89b43a525bf3990da769b23337282aa94af9 BuzzFeed's Emma Loop and Lissandra Villa also have a great write up on Tuesday's shenanigans: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c81681669362ae94405f8b82ff1b818531d049957a275dd5796c22a And Roll Call photographer extraordinaire Tom Williams snapped some classic Biden-being-Biden pics: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816baffb719df77369011396576465cb255bc7a97b73bf2d33e

A HAREBRAINED 'OVERREACH'? Rep. Duncan Hunter, currently under an ethics investigation over questionable expenses, spent $600 in campaign funds to fly his family's pet rabbit across the country. Hunter's spokesman cited the charge, listed in a yet-to-be released ethics report, as an example of overreach by the Office of Congressional Ethics that underscores the need to reform the independent watchdog. "This was nothing more than an oversight. In fact, it's such an obvious example of a mistake being made but (the office) wants to view it through a lens of possible intent. The same goes for many other expenditures," Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper said. More from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c8168160a1dfde02cfaee65236980d6e0e970ba64c7ba81bbefe05f

BAD BREAK- Sen. Susan Collins was in the Capitol as usual Tuesday, if a bit worse for wear after a recess fall back in Bangor in December. Collins said she has eight screws in her leg and will be wearing a boot for eight weeks, but said she would not in a wheelchair for that entire time. It's the second bad spill she's taken in as many years; but she helpfully noted that it was her OTHER leg that she injured two years ago back in Maine.

MOVIN' ON UP- House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is promoting his deputy chief of staff Barrett Karr to the top job, he'll announce today. Karr takes the place of McCarthy's outgoing chief of staff, Tim Berry, who left the Hill Tuesday. Rachael has more on Karr, a Texas native and longtime House staffer who once described herself as a "Hill rat:" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816e9a34e0dca1f4ac10d2b23a1e3c63e69b58ffb6408a1ea85

DOWN ON DABBING- Speaker Ryan has to draw the line somewhere. The Wisconsin Republican on Tuesday nixed Rep. Roger Marshall's son's plan to "dab" during the ceremonial swearing-in photo members and their families take with the House speaker. Ryan, who at first seem confused by the move-he thought the kid had to sneeze-later tweeted he still had no idea what dabbing is. "Just so you know @SpeakerRyan: He's grounded," Marshall later tweeted. More form the Hill (with video): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816606fff5ff55eced8fd4d3cd17b903d44f67142b2f11eba2e

STAYING IN THE FIGHT: Faiz Shakir, a longtime adviser and rapid response guru for Harry Reid, is heading to the ACLU to become its political director.

HOUSE RULES PACKAGE- After taking out that pesky proposal to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics, Republicans easily approved a rules package for the new Congress Tuesday. The package, opposed by Democrats, includes a rule fining members up to $2,500 for broadcasting from the House floor. Democrats slammed the change-the GOP's response to Dems' gun-control sit-in last summer-and mounted a mini-protest before the vote. "I'm not afraid. I've been fined before," Rep. John Lewis said in a fiery floor speech. "We cannot and will not be silenced." My story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816bef2afde6a66e3d8c2f95fb82fcd2b22d9c7bf9d965aee61

Also included in the rules package: "A little-noticed provision approved Tuesday by the U.S. House dramatically expands the powers of committee staff to haul private citizens and government officials to Capitol Hill to be questioned under oath -- without any lawmakers present, in some cases," Bloomberg's Billy House reports. The story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c8168160056a83ede46c261b92d4a8a53150260675f2d16ee8ff7c3

HOUSE BUDGET GETS A NEW LEADER- Speaker Ryan has tapped Rep. Diane Black to temporarily lead the House Budget Committee while current chairman Tom Price, Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, goes through the confirmation process. The committee will play a key role in Republicans' push to repeal Obamacare. Black is expected to seek the post permanently after Price is confirmed. Ben and Rachael with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=002fcb4d6c816816b9c4599d56bf1188b2be14280c48fea3250ef98f048e319a

ARRIVAL LOUNGE- Ven Nerella has started as deputy chief of staff for Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). Nerella previously worked at USAID, USDA and for Reps. Barbara Lee and Peter DeFazio.

-Sen. Kamala Harris has tapped Rohini Kosoglu as her deputy chief of staff. Kosoglu has worked in the Senate for 10 years, most recently as policy director for Sen. Michael Bennett.

-Caitlin Dorman is Sen. Daines' new director of scheduling; she previously was scheduler and office manager for Rep. Doug LaMalfa and is Romney alum.

-Sen. Todd Young announced John Connell, his chief of staff in the House for six years, will serve in the same role in the Hoosier's Senate office. Deb Johannes will work as Young's state director, Jay Kenworthy will handle Indiana communications, Cassie Smedile has been tapped as his communications director and Adam Hechavarria will be Young's legislative director.

CORRECTION: Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) tapped James Braid to be his deputy chief of staff; we incorrectly said chief of staff yesterday. Andrew Bell was previously announced as Budd's chief of staff.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER-Jon Deuser was the first to guess that the first law passed by Congress was an act regulating "the time and manner of certain oaths."

TODAY'S TRIVIA- Jon with today's question: Name the four individuals who have voted on articles of impeachment against a president in both the House and in the Senate. The first person to correctly guess the answer to today's question gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle. Send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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