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01/20/2016 07:22 AM EDT


By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or beverett@politico.com)

Featuring Seung Min Kim

TODAY'S MAIN EVENT - The Senate will take a vote today on whether to advance a House-passed bill that subjects refugees to stricter scrutiny before they can enter the country -- and Democrats still haven't decided whether they will help deliver the 60 votes needed to proceed. If they do, it will be merely to get to the next battle in the Amendment Wars, where Democrats will push Trump and immigration proposals and Republicans will push Kate's Law. This will be one of those times that the minority party makes its final decision at today's party lunch; typically Democrats have frowned at advancing proposals that they oppose. "We don't know yet. We're still working on the position," said
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "I wouldn't call them Trump amendments, but there are a variety of amendments ... we need to talk it over." Meanwhile Democrat Joe Manchin could support the bill regardless, while Republican Jeff Flake isn't feeling it. SMK and I have the preview: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a5126309788feba88870b0ab1fdc7b00be60d735b343c87b21527d

Presidential attendance: On the Republican side, it will be spotless. After missing the Audit the Fed vote last week, Ted Cruz cancelled a couple events today to allow him to make the vote. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul will also attend. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a512637afc57a522a46b069b2f024ea840cd2558bfd1947f2c5dee

McConnell urges restraint in debate: "This debate should be driven by facts and common sense, not fearmongering about targeting 'widows and orphans' or other strawman arguments from the White House that demean a serious conversation," McConnell said Tuesday afternoon. AP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a5126386cf045018115794f235e82c2a4ca9fbc346aa7587908896

THIS YEAR'S MAIN EVENT: Criminal Justice Reform will be the wildcard all year, but things are already feeling urgent. With differences in ambition between the House and Senate, backers want to begin moving the effort as soon as possible to finish it before the election ruins everything. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still hasn't given a final verdict -- even as his whip John Cornyn does everything but beg in the press for a chance on the floor. "The goal is not to get unanimous support. The goal would be to get enough bipartisan consensus so that we could do something important and something the president wants to do, something that Republicans and Democrats want to do," Cornyn said
in a recent interview. "I don't know why, if that's actually the case, why we can't actually do it." There's actually 54 reasons: McConnell wants to protect his majority more than anything else this year, and splitting his caucus over law and order issues might not be the best way to do it. SMK has it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a512633b68da767989f51e435ab75f0c2c6b49ccc828eb4753cda1

KEEPING PELOSI ON: Top House Democratic leaders haven't budged for years and the caucus's rules and traditions make it tough for more junior members to gain influence, setting them up to bolt for the Senate or for writing more books. Yet top Democrats want to keep Nancy Pelosi around through 2018, arguing she's the only one who can bring the caucus together and bring in the money Democrats need. "A year after House Democrats found themselves deeper in the minority than the party has been in decades, there is 'growing support,' [Rep. Mike] Thompson said, for Pelosi to stay on until 2018. 'There is a consensus," he said. He held a dinner with a half-dozen lawmakers in early January that was
designed to be a forum for members to share their support of Pelosi. But that topic came up only briefly as Pelosi turned the focus to 2016." Lauren's got it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a512636d7b56606015145a1e4f583bd5400c9904ecf716eef78e92

$peaking of fundrai$ing: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy pulled in $11 million last year, distributing about $5 million to individual House members and the NRCC. It's a notch below House Speaker Paul Ryan and former House Speaker John Boehner, who Jake and Anna reported last week is still raising money for the House GOP. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a51263ab80ae6a6c9b84e8a103e88b065cdb83edf8615255adf1f7

Huh: Pro's Scott Bland writes this morning that Majority Whip Steve Scalise is launching an ad campaign next week.

NO PAIN FOR MCCAIN ON 'ANYONE-BUT-MCCAIN'- The Maricopa County Republican Party became the latest entity in Arizona to dump on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) when it passed a so-called "Anyone-but-McCain" resolution vowing to support anyone but the incumbent senator in the GOP Senate primary. But in a brief interview Monday with Huddle, McCain brushed off the rebuke and whether it will influence his reelection bid. "Well, I certainly regret that they did that but I'm confident that I will win. There have been other resolutions similar to that." McCain's drawn a primary challenger in the form of State Sen. Kelli Ward, and is likely to face Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) in the general election.
He was censured by the state party in 2014.

TUESDAY'S CHATTER FROM THE SENATE HALLS: Sen. Chris Coons calling Sen. Tom Carper "TC," Sen. Roger Wicker rebuffing Sen. Martin Heinrich's entreaties as an invitation to hang out a desert island.

Good Wednesday. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where the Washington Cartel is hard at working hyping this snow storm. Please send tips to beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

Lauren French will be picking up the rest of the week for me (I'll be back for a cameo next week) -- hit her up at lfrench@politico.com.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out this week. The Senate will vote on the refugee bill at 2:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Sen. Johnny Isakson will lead a big press call at 9:15 a.m. today regarding the 35th Anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis. Email Amanda_Maddox@isakson.senate.gov for more info.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: House Republicans Happy For Once, by yours truly and Jake.

36: That's the number of votes AGAINST Wilhelmina Marie Wright, of Minnesota, to be U.S. District Judge yesterday after Heritage Action said they would score the vote. That's the most opposition a judge has faced this Congress -- most are totally non controversial.

LOBBY HOBBY: Did you retire from Congress in 2014 or were you defeated in your reelect campaign? Congrats. You can lobby your former colleagues now that the year-long cooling off period is over. The Hill: "Former Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Lee Terry (R-Neb.), Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Dave Camp (R-Mich.) are among the lawmakers who have passed the cooling-off period for lobbying. Some of the former lawmakers are now at boutique law and lobby firms. Waxman joined his son's firm, Waxman Strategies, while McKeon formed his own shop, the McKeon Group. Others landed at larger organizations, with Moran going to the law firm McDermott Will & Emery and Camp joining
-PricewaterhouseCoopers. Waxman, McKeon, Terry and Moran each told The Hill that they plan to register to lobby for clients. Camp said through a company spokesman that he 'has no immediate plans to begin lobbying.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a51263912711be2f27cb3c17915b42f28f74079cf135cd52e8e458

OBAMA LEGACY WATCH: The Supreme Court will review his unilateral actions to shield millions from deportations, giving President Obama one last big referendum from the high court on his legacy. Politically, you can expect a ton of outrage from the right if the White House wins this and probably another call for an attempt to block the actions via spending riders or standalone legislation. Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a51263246797f550a805d65ec3e9438f42975c92fb958a1af5fa47

View from GOP leaders: "Most of the president's so-called legacy may not outlast his presidency, since most of his supposed achievements have never been enacted into law," writes Sen. John Thune at National Review. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a51263e3bdfa746530a1e1c61c601626a68700d823331e6e80b13a

THE REAL FULL GRASSLEY -- Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley quietly set a really cool record last night for longest stretch of time without missing a vote: 22 years, six months and six days. Grassley last missed a vote in 1993 when he was back home inspecting flood damage with President Bill Clinton. He's still got a way to go to catch up to William Proxmire's lifetime voting total, though. Roll Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3014267022a512631343c438fdb0a9edc594980a5957ec529a57ceea57e08c5c

MOVES ON TOP OF MOVES ON TOP OF MOVES -- Collins: Annie Clark has been promoted to communications director while Christopher Knight -- a Standish native -- is the press secretary for the moderate Mainer.

Feinstein: David Grannis, the minority staff director for the Senate Intel Committee, is off to DHS to become the principal deputy undersecretary for intelligence and analysis, which sounds like a more important version of being Assistant TO the Regional Manager. Grannis served on Intel for more than a decade.

Gillibrand: Whitney Mitchell, who's also worked in House Dem circles, has left Third Way for the job of press secretary for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

Buckeye State: Dan Hoogstraten is making moves from Rep. Frank Pallone's office, joining the Ohio Democratic Party to talk a whole lot of trash about Sen. Rob Portman. He's been with the West Virginia Democratic Party and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton before.

Downtown Locust Street: Allison Schneider has left Rep. Jason Smith for Locust Street, where she will be the communications director.

OOPS -- We got our Kildees crossed yesterday. It was Dan, not Dale.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Anthony Coley was the first to answer that Ed Schafer was confirmed unanimously in 2008 as Ag secretary.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Anthony has today's question: Keeping the agriculture theme, this U.S. representative was the first African American woman to represent North Carolina in Congress and served for five terms, including on the Ag committee. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at beverett@politico.com

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