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02/04/2019 07:57 AM EDT

By MELANIE ZANONA (mzanona@politico.com; @MZanona)


With an assist from Andrew Desiderio

CRUNCH TIME FOR BORDER TALKS -- Border security negotiations will pick back up this week, and deal-makers are determined to plow ahead with their work even as President Donald Trump trashes the conference committee and raises doubts about the likelihood of a deal. Lawmakers are aiming to unveil a proposal by this Friday in order to allow enough time for both chambers to vote on the measure next week. In the meantime, a bipartisan group of members is visiting the southern border, while others want to hear from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials before they finalize the package.

There's a sense on Capitol Hill, however, that Trump isn't going to be satisfied with whatever they come up with, given his "wall or nothing" approach. The president is also hinting that he may declare a national emergency during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. So what is the point of the conference committee? Well, negotiators are hoping to at least find a plan to fund the government past Feb. 15 that can pass Congress, even if Trump goes the emergency declaration route for the wall. "I believe that we've got a chance this week to move things. Will we? We don't know," Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. More
from Sarah and Heather: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef802f8b42fd0d2bbec1c84fb8697b8bf3a55a75f9b9f86727183afce78e844fccc4517e18b64ea4b2f

Related read: "McConnell privately cautions Trump about emergency declaration on border wall," by Sean Sullivan, Erica Werner and Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef84f1dcece45616bffc1ecbc450f819f983754cfa6fd8ff009379c5c14d09ffd1a643e4c600ada6400

NORTHAM FALLOUT CONTINUES -- Embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is facing intense and growing pressure in the Democratic party to resign after a photo in his medical school yearbook surfaced showing a man dressed in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klansman robe. After initially apologizing for the racist photo, a defiant Northam is now denying he was in the picture and resisting calls to step aside, though he admitted to once darkening his skin for a dance contest. But the reversal, which came during a bizarre press conference on Saturday, did little to quell the outrage among Democrats.

Among those who have urged Northam to resign: 2020 presidential contenders, including Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.); leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus; Democratic members of Virginia's congressional delegation, including Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and congressional dean Rep. Bobby Scott; and L. Douglas Wilder, the only elected African-American governor in Virginia's history. Northam huddled with senior staff Sunday night for an emergency meeting, according to The Washington Post, but has not yet reached a decision about whether to step down. Much more from Gregory S. Schneider, Laura Vozzella and Jenna Portnoy:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef8cbf99dd9946f48b6bff20bff4bb4c50010d32f569aff8e124f9d1ac25c7e03dcde1897716446171d

HAPPY MONDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Feb. 4., where the Washington Post's first Super Bowl commercial - narrated by Tom Hanks - is still giving us all the feels.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Daily Beast's report on progressive Democrats insisting on no new funding for the Department of Homeland Security was the winner.


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WEEKLY OVERSIGHT WATCH -- Starting today, Huddle will give you the lay of the land each Monday on what to expect for the week ahead on the oversight and investigations front. Now that House committees have officially completed their organizational duties (with the notable exception of the Intelligence Committee), this week they're getting to work after the State of the Union. It'll be a busy one, so bear with us...

The House FOREIGN AFFAIRS Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday about U.S. policy in the Arabian Peninsula. Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) told us last week that a key focus will be U.S. support for the civil war in Yemen, which lawmakers are aiming to cut off via a War Powers resolution. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the lead sponsor, tells us he expects the House to vote on it sometime this month. If both chambers pass the resolution, it would be the first time in history that both chambers of Congress used the War Powers Resolution to scale back the president's authority to go to war.

The House ENERGY AND COMMERCE panel's subcommittee on oversight and investigations is convening a hearing on Thursday about the Trump administration's family separation policy. Multiple committees are expected to probe the controversial policy, which has become something of a rallying cry for 2020 Democrats.

ALSO ON THURSDAY ... the House Ways and Means' subcommittee on oversight will examine "legislative proposals and tax law related to presidential and vice-presidential tax returns." Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) has defended his go-it-slow approach to getting his hands on President Trump's tax returns, but progressives are getting antsy.

A big day for the RUSSIA investigation on Friday -- Acting Attorney General MATTHEW WHITAKER will face the House Judiciary Committee in public, where he'll be asked a host of questions about the Mueller investigation and his involvement in overseeing it since November. Separately on Friday, former Trump attorney and fixer MICHAEL COHEN will testify behind closed doors to the House Intelligence Committee.

2020 DEMS SEEK THE FRESHMAN VOTE -- Democratic presidential candidates are courting a new constituency that they hope can give their campaigns a boost and lend them a little midterm magic: House freshmen who hail from early caucus and primary states. The wooing, which started back in 2018, has gotten unusually intense as the burgeoning field of candidates scrambles to differentiate themselves from the pack and get a leg up on their competitors in any way they can. "They're all calling me," said Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa). More from Elena Schneider, reporting from on the ground in Des Moines: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef8d59709a3f96a6782a5d3c1b167469cbeab9c5b7faa3f2753af4e21a2a851d02b3467809c0ea280a9

Related read: "Medicare for All Emerges as Early Policy Test for 2020 Democrats," via Jonathan Martin and Abby Goodnough of The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef83d6daf019fdeee8d5ae9db2ec05ca4c0f84b2edfd784859ea182c671d9422115c9fe213e79f9d28b

HE'S NOT RUNNING -- Trump told CBS's "Face the Nation" that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is "absolutely" not leaving to run for a Kansas Senate seat. "I asked him the question the other day, he says he's absolutely not leaving," Trump said. "I don't think he'd do that. And he doesn't want to be a lame duck. And he's doing a fantastic job as our secretary of State." The Washington Post reported last month that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had personally asked Pompeo to consider a Senate bid in Pompeo's home state of Kansas. More from David Beavers: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef843fce407691e07d306483fb5a6c9e151c894687f919fe3070a3066e5d58e4f7cd23281cfe9fe5e24

TOP SCHUMER AIDE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT -- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) longtime communications director Matt House was pushed out of his job last fall because of "inappropriate sexual encounters with junior staffers," reports The Huffington Post. House's surprising job move was initially thought to be voluntary. Schumer's office confirmed the report in a statement. "Upon learning that he had inappropriate encounters within the office and that it was making some staff uncomfortable, he was asked to leave," an aide said. More from Yashar Ali: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=464b082d0b257ef89ba665bcf100178d463ca41bad47623244a28eb52de61fc2729f20612917a0e3f02c76e3cf49e214

MEET THE NEW FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN -- He's an old-school Democrat from a bygone era of bipartisanship. But now, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) is taking on the partisan role of "Trump investigator" as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Among the issues Engel plans to probe: Trump's ties to Russia, his policy toward North Korea and his response to the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Engel is grabbing the gavel at a time when members of Trump's own party have been increasingly willing to buck the president on foreign policy issues. Nahal Toosi and Marianne with the dispatch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d8474c1e5c17ce53664d8bb633bc2cf7a6de1c7733ca93f066437c1dcd14a3e6c2fc3a6db8923ce8750ea32de0c226e

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- Here's some news you can use (or eat): the grand opening of &pizza in the Rayburn House Office Building is set for this Wednesday at 10 a.m. And in honor of this highly-anticipated event, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and a few other speakers will be on hand to deliver some remarks and hand out some yummy samples.
TRANSITIONS
Julia Ager, chief digital officer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2018 midterms, is launching Sapphire Strategies.
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House is out until Tuesday. The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of S. 1, with a vote scheduled at 5:30 p.m.
AROUND THE HILL
Not a whole lot.
TRIVIA
FRIDAY'S WINNER -- Jon Deuser was the first to correctly guess that Lenny Skutnik, who dove into the Potomac to save a woman after an airplane crash, was the first State of the Union guest.

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From me: It has become a tradition for title-winning teams to be celebrated at the White House. Who were the first Super Bowl champions to be feted at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: mzanona@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

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