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01/12/2016 07:36 AM EDT


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

CAN OBAMA BREAK THROUGH IN FINAL SOTU? Sarah Wheaton explores the president's struggles in making his message resonate when a host of other things - say, Donald Trump - is fighting for the nation's attention: "He isn't trying to win the night with his message, or even pick a new fight with Congress. The White House promises Obama also will not spend too much time looking back at the past seven years or issue a list of demands for the next one. Instead, he'll deliver a soaring speech about the nation's future and talk about, as White House press secretary Josh Earnest put it, how decisions made today will impact the 'next generation of Americans.'"

--"Even if the political cacophony weren't so loud, drumming up attention for the president's last State of the Union address would be tough. And with viewers increasingly focused on phones and tablets whether or not they watch the speech, aides are trying to come up with novel ways of using secondary media to deliver the message ... Even by the standards of this social media-savvy White House, aides are launching an unprecedented campaign for the attention of the next generation, the millennials. If they do it right, this generation could talk about Obama like boomers talk about Kennedy and Reagan." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd297f2c9520d1cce88d4c40709346380335a9731245f4f9f8bc

--Here is POLITICO's lengthy scorecard on how Obama has done on his dozens and dozens of SOTU promises during his two terms: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd299588c4eca0b0424ca10cb071b309f7a66fa7a252e9c1639b

DEM RIFT OPENS BEFORE OBAMA'S SPEECH - Mike Lillis of The Hill explores the divisions within Hill Dems and the White House on matters of immigration, trade and national security: "For Democrats, the timing is not ideal. Party leaders want to forge a united front in a presidential election year when they're trying to mold an image as the party of shared values fighting for American workers and families in the face of an obstructionist GOP that prioritizes corporations and other well-heeled special interests. Obama has largely done well in reconciling rifts with congressional Democrats, but the growing outcry over his Iran policy, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the deportations of
illegal immigrants highlights how his focus on legacy-building is conflicting at times with his party's priorities."

--"Indeed, a group of House Democrats on Monday held a press conference introducing the State of the Union not with a show of solidarity with their White House ally but by condemning the TPP, a mammoth trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim countries that would encompass as much as 40 percent of the world's economy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29ffae40eec1302d9adfa5c0fad5dc3a089fe6ef15114041fb

SOTU GUEST WATCH -

--Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has invited two members of the Little Sisters of Poor, the order of Catholic nuns who are challenging Obamacare's contraception requirement in court. WaPo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29a22b68562cdc595f3cce640ad6f3646a6ee99bf3805132cd Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) goes local, inviting a fourth-generation coal miner.

-- Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., are inviting Muslim-Americans to show "how the hate and vitriol against Muslim-Americans has no place in our society." Roll Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd296b7dbd76aea233262ac3371751bebd8369bca08b401dd4b3

--Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) is bringing Illinois Senate candidate Andrea Zopp, who is challenging Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in the Democratic primary. Lynn Sweet: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29222eb0943706e5aa3888104d383a71c92fb616ef72672e49

--And Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) will be bringing University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, per Amash's Twitter feed: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29d519efce583d50447798f6a3007aec15060e49910807678c

BIPARTISAN SEATING: WHAT HAPPENED? Paul Singer takes a look back at the mixed-seating State of the Union stunt that fizzled pretty quickly: "Many of those who extended the olive branch quit Congress out of frustration, or saw their districts redesigned to prevent their re-election, or lost in their own party primaries. Hugging the opposition appears to be politically fatal. In 2011, 60 lawmakers signed a letter committing to bipartisan seating arrangements for the State of the Union address, led by Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who lost his re-election bid last year, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, who lost a Democratic primary, won re-election as an independent and then retired in 2012."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29c2e24f166c6a2a399446aae238c5fa2a6a430455afcf8f9d

--Other signers of that letter no longer in Congress: Democratic Reps. Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre; Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Begich of Alaska; and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). The USA Today story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29c2e24f166c6a2a399446aae238c5fa2a6a430455afcf8f9d

FREEDOM CAUCUS MULLS HIRE OF EX-DELAY AIDE - Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Lauren French with the scoop: "The House Freedom Caucus is considering hiring Ed Buckham, a controversial former top aide to Tom DeLay and central figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal ... Buckham, DeLay's former chief of staff, interviewed to be the conservative group's executive director, according to several people involved in the process. Multiple people in the newly powerful caucus said Buckham is a front-runner for the position, though Freedom Caucus officials say they haven't decided who will be chosen."

--"There's concern within the Freedom Caucus about the wisdom of hiring Buckham, according to conversations with several sources in the group. An ordained minister, Buckham worked as a senior aide to DeLay for many years, and turned his access to the former majority leader into a lucrative career." And another twist: Buckham's son, Matt, is the communications director for the Freedom Caucus. Story here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29993d1f9af174d9840b45851735fd302d4f399c49c8137eeb

SHOT -- @burgessev: Beard update: as reported in December, @SenRonJohnson has shaved.

CHASER -- A little birdie tells Huddle that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) doesn't plan to shave until the Carolina Panthers' season is over.

TRAN$ITIONS - Former Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who lost her reelection bid to Tillis in 2014, has joined Akin Gump as a senior policy consultant focusing on health and financial services. Donald R. Pongrace, head of Akin Gump's public law and policy practice, said: "Her firsthand experience with many crucial, timely policy issues will make her a tremendous asset, both within the firm and for our clients."

HAPPY TUESDAY, Jan. 12, 2016 and welcome to the Huddle, State of the Union edition. Rachael Bade is taking over the newsletter for the rest of the week, so give her a shout at rbade@politico.com and on Twitter @rachaelmbade. I'm at skim@politico.com or on Twitter at @seungminkim.

My new followers include @elainaplott and @CongressEthics.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 10 a.m., with votes from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Votes expected on the STREAM Act, as well as a suspension vote held over from Monday night on North Korea sanctions. The Senate is in at 10 a.m. and will vote on legislation auditing the Federal Reserve at 2:30 p.m.

--Official start time of the State of the Union: 9 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart will lead a post-GOP conference presser at 10 a.m. in HC-8. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer will hold his weekly pen and pad at 10:45 a.m. in H-144. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Peter Welch will hold a press call on prescription drug prices. E-mail sarah.lovenheim@mail.house.gov or miranda.margowsky@mail.house.gov for call-in info.

Hoyer and Reps. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Zoe Lofgren, Luis Gutierrez and others will hold a news conference on immigration raids at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio B. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and committee members will host King Abdullah II of Jordan at 12:30 p.m. in 2172 Rayburn. Reps. John Larson and Sam Johnson will hold a press conference on the Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act at 1 p.m. at B-318 Rayburn. Becerra and Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley will hold a post-caucus avail at 2 p.m. in HVC 210 Alcove. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Keith Ellison will hold a news conference on why they are bringing Muslim-American guests to the State of the Union at 2 p.m. in 234
Cannon.

CONSERVATIVES URGE NO MORE CONFIRMATIONS - Burgess Everett for POLITICO: "On Monday evening, the lobbying outfit Heritage Action called for an end to judicial confirmations during Obama's final year, and on Tuesday it will call for an end to all confirmations except for those necessary to national security. The high-profile conservative group joined previous calls by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other senators to block Obama from filling any further vacancies, most notably, the federal courts, which could decide key parts of his legacy in the years and decades ahead."

--"Beyond the four already slated for votes, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the nominee pipeline isn't quite entirely closed. 'There is a point at which, traditionally, no additional judicial nominees are considered until the election,' Cornyn said. 'There's no formal rule or plan to my knowledge' to begin a cutoff now." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29d72c6016747b7b0685a09cc9f494e7fafd6de80a0a899f8b

SENATE HINTS AT NORTH KOREA ACTION - The Hill's Jordain Carney: "Senators suggested Monday evening that they expect the Senate will pass new sanctions legislation after North Korea said earlier this month that it tested a hydrogen bomb. 'We have members on our side, and the other side, that have bills here, so we're going to go through it methodically,' Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) added, separately, that two separate proposals have been introduced in the Senate-one from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and another from Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)-and that he's already had 'some conversations with [with Corker] to make sure we
have one bill.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd2934f69ae58058ad73d940432509d615f6027fa92b89ca1c1d

HOUSE DEMS PUSH OBAMA ON RAIDS - From your Huddle author: "Dozens of House Democrats are rebuking the Obama administration over immigration raids targeting Central American immigrants in a letter to be released later this week, calling on the president to 'immediately' halt the controversial operations. The missive ...takes President Barack Obama to task for welcoming refugees from other parts of the world but treating the immigrants from Central America differently. The Democrats argue that the administration should give them protected status, rather than deporting them - although they are immigrants who have already been ordered deported."

--From the letter: "The DHS operation has generated widespread fear and panic in immigrant communities and has far-reaching impacts beyond the alleged targets for removal ... [W]e believe that this operation should be immediately suspended until we can ensure no mother or child will be sent back to a country where they would face persecution, torture or death." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd29c014166f68b3e7606a888178f033b207899e74323e07ba15

RUBIO SKIPS CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR THE HILL - And not the other way around. From the Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: "Marco Rubio's absence from Washington has caught up with him. Monday afternoon, he made a remarkable last-minute decision to leave Florida in order to make a Foreign Relations Committee hearing on North Korea. He missed most of the meeting and left without talking to reporters, who hovered in the Capitol in hopes of talking with the presidential candidate. Rubio's staff did not explain the decision but it was clearly improvised, and likely out of concern about adding to growing criticism from rivals - and some voters - about his disregard for his day job."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd297d0ccb2ed5cc5751eb8d98894e911d268a9f6895d0687ca7

HOUSE PASSES FOIA REFORMS - Josh Gerstein with the recap for POLITICO: "A bill aimed at speeding and broadening the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act passed the House Monday afternoon on a voice vote. The FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act is similar to but more expansive than a FOIA reform bill that passed the House in 2014, but died after the Senate passed a non-identical version of the bill and the House failed to act on it before that Congress ended. The measure seeks to buttress the presumption of disclosure that agencies and federal court sometimes impose when handling FOIA requests." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd294d5c3568ea2c3768b8fe0c84a741b03f88e3aa5fa05e037d

BRADY VOWS 2017 TAX REFORM - Richard Rubin for the Wall Street Journal: "Congress is in "the last two miles of that marathon" of revamping the tax code for the first time in 30 years, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R., Texas) said Monday. Mr. Brady said he is planning to use 2016 to build up toward a more comprehensive push in 2017 ... In the meantime, Mr. Brady intends to move an international tax bill through his committee this year ... Ideally, Mr. Brady said at a Monday event sponsored by Politico, any one-time revenue would be used to lower rates as opposed to deciding 'where to spend the money.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd296b58881214b5e74a3513ecefdb7b1513d9c952d7e0922f57

--Join NFL Network and POLITICO for a screening of NFL Film's production of "America's Game and the Iran Hostage Crisis." The screening will be followed by a panel conversation featuring Tate Donovan, director and executive producer; Alex Paen, the American reporter in Iran during the hostage crisis; and Rocky Sickmann, the U.S. marine held hostage in Iran during the crisis. Join us Thursday, Jan. 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Newseum. RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d2ff318b44e3fd2960010db67623d604d0f62d2bd1d8a0e4fe11c0ab753e2a49

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Karl Haddeland was the first person to correctly answer that "Advise and Consent" was the last film to be made on the Capitol grounds using actual Capitol buildings.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Karl has today's question: In 1983, Interior Secretary James Watt indirectly banned the Beach Boys from participating in Fourth of July festivities on the National Mall after announcing that all rock bands "attracted the wrong element." Who was the more "wholesome" entertainer, in Watt's words, that was selected as a replacement? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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