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01/14/2019 08:15 AM EDT

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


TRUMP SEARCHES FOR PLAN C ON WALL -- The partial government shutdown officially became the longest in U.S. history on Saturday, with a deal to end the stalemate looking less likely today than it did before the weekend. President Donald Trump backed off a plan to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress for border wall money after facing pushback from members of his own party. The latest idea being championed by some Republicans is tapping asset forfeiture funds to build the wall, but that move is strongly opposed by the Justice Department and could also face swift legal challenges.

GOP lawmakers are starting to grow restless as the impacts of the shutdown are becoming more and more painful. On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged Trump to temporarily reopen the government while they try to strike a deal. And Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, a senior GOP appropriator, said he's begun talking with House Democratic leaders about putting a slate of pre-negotiated funding bills on the floor, which could pick up more Republican votes. Leadership could also add a disaster aid package (which will be considered this week) to any spending legislation as a way to attract more support. But without a stamp of approval from Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) has warned that those bills will go nowhere in the Senate.

GOP LOSING THE MESSAGING WAR -- Republicans are losing the battle for public opinion, which could ramp up pressure on Trump and the GOP to find a way out of the stalemate. The president, through tweets and an interview on Fox News, spent the weekend at the White House trying to shift the shutdown blame on Democrats. "Instead, the majority of Americans think Trump and Republicans are at fault for the shutdown, according to two new polls. A Washington Post-ABC News found that 53 percent of respondents blamed Trump and Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 29 percent blamed Democrats," report Marianne and Bres. "Yet in what could be a troubling omen for any deal to end the stalemate,
Trump's message on the wall is growing more popular with Republicans, according to both polls." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec2f7f099625a6e2773ef0fe548415ee8eea0171701c7092d9b3958538f7a8927a0e4e5667a4d6d892

WHITE HOUSE SENDS MIXED SIGNALS ON DACA -- Trump claimed on Sunday that Democrats aren't interested in including a deal to protect so-called "Dreamers", who were brought to the country illegally as children, in the spending talks. But Vice President Mike Pence told senators last week that it was Trump who wasn't interested in a wall-for-DACA deal. It's just the latest example of the president contradicting and undermining his own officials, which is why negotiators have found it so difficult to reach an agreement. The Associated Press has more on what they describe as "Pence's Pickle": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec06a0268e06277777524f98eeb59a5dc3311e625cbd74db6ed8310c558f8e843893bfb453f463839f

Related reads: "Pressure on Senate Republicans to break shutdown impasse grows," via Felicia Sonmez and Cat Zakrzewski at The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ecd0488dfd5e872f6297dcb6f80c2419eef206e3a0e95e4e270c0137aa3abca6dbd21862311bd52999 "Forget Mexico: Democrats turn focus to porous Canadian border," from our Lauren Gardner: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec1daddb6ee24f7dbd7e60c2267494f1eb8f7e744d56c2ca5d0c5e4d41cb6015b6552e6fc7746e7438 and "Trump dressed down Mulvaney in front of congressional leaders," by Jonathan Swan at Axios: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec2b2f3e9c23a603490e18cdc55f9c6925da0001bc6813f999a9a2e3607d5ba2af29e52100befb25c5

GOOD MONDAY MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Jan. 14, where the partial government shutdown and D.C. snow day have collided to form what is being dubbed as the SNURLOUGH.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rachael and Heather's report on how House Democrats are trying to rein in liberal firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was by far the winner.

NEW HUDDLE HOST -- I'm officially in the Huddle driver's seat starting today! In addition to dishing on all things Congress, you can expect me to serve Bachelor and Bravo references, Chicago sports complaints and adorable dog pics. I hope you'll sign up for the newsletter if you haven't already, and be sure to follow me along on Twitter: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec037af85be096f532f8d1c73da340c98727b385e7dd3926ea6b7573c6bd1b35e920b3abb94f582225

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DEMS VOW RESPONSE TO TRUMP-RUSSIA REPORTS -- Welcome to the new reality on Capitol Hill. A pair of Russia-related bombshells is providing fresh fodder for the newly empowered House Democrats who are itching to investigate Trump, likely teeing up a clash between Congress and the White House this year. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) is vowing to hold hearings after the Washington Post reported that the president went to great lengths to conceal his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, including taking the notes from his interpreter. House Democrats may try to subpoena the interpreter to testify or get their hands on the meeting notes, though it's still an open
legal question whether they can do so.

Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler is promising to look into a separate report from The New York Times that the FBI opened up an inquiry into whether Trump was working on behalf of Russia after he fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017. "There is no reason to doubt the seriousness or professionalism of the FBI, as the President did in reaction to this story," the New York Democrat said in a statement. "In the coming weeks, the Judiciary Committee will take steps to better understand both the President's actions and the FBI's response to that behavior, and to make certain that these career investigators are protected from President Trump's increasingly unhinged attacks."

Related: "House chairmen warn Trump against interfering with congressional oversight," by Quint Forgey: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec86f405d9721be822f0bf193085f2bff7e719e8fc1c20c49b18a134370961390eafd5609cc538141f

SENATORS PREP FOR BATTLE OVER BARR -- Trump's attorney general nominee William Barr is facing a combative confirmation hearing on Tuesday from the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he is expected to face tough questioning over presidential power, the special counsel Robert Mueller's probe and the latest Trump-Russia reports. Looming over the high-stakes hearing is last year's bitter confirmation battle over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which nearly tore the panel apart. "The committee has a new chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), whose fiery denunciation of Democrats during Kavanaugh's hearing on sexual assault allegations cemented his turn as one of President Donald Trump's
most aggressive allies in Congress. It has three Democrats mulling a presidential run in 2020, all of whom played central roles in cross-examining Kavanaugh," report Burgess and Marianne. "It will be up to Graham to set the tone. And he's not making any promises." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec83864f0f7cf364e6365dcb02091d0bc5256d6518258a9a9554ac0065279b14c12acc16c02f1ec838

Related: "Democrats Push to Block Sanctions Relief for Russian Oligarch's Companies," by Kenneth P. Vogel and Alan Rappeport for The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ecd4b620cfdb45c8c5a7c7fb752edce2b3546d8c03744b8fa5c1412ccc5a2c4d9a6a61864d01bb28ff

CONSEQUENCES FOR KING? -- Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) could face serious repercussions for defending white nationalism in an interview with The New York Times last week. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed to take "action" against the conservative lawmaker and told CBS's "Face The Nation" that he plans to meet with King today to discuss "his future and role in this Republican Party." The Congressional Black Caucus is urging GOP leaders to strip King of his committee assignments. Jeb Bush has called on Republicans to back King's primary challenger. And support is building in the House for a censure resolution to formally condemn King's racist remarks. More from Quint Forgey:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec0de7fd14ccb56ecf76ee9f70f700d68b841caf09eedfec7b389a4eb5ab87d96a3f08c76ef7a3e04c

THEY'RE RUNNING -- Two more Democrats have officially thrown their hats into the ring for 2020. On Friday, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 37-year old combat veteran, announced on CNN that she would be making a formal announcement in the coming days. The American Samoa-native has been hailed as a champion for progressives, but she hasn't always fit the typical mold of her party. Gabbard took heat for a controversial meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad and for meeting with President Trump before he took office. And she also once touted working for her father's anti-gay organization, CNN reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec9b6fc174d2fc4ba0a4d3bde35bf7f5c6286bbbf55481af1ab8eb2516c038ae0c77cec9b4d1f80e9f

Julián Castro, 44, officially jumped into the race on Saturday, launching his presidential bid from San Antonio, where he served as mayor. "The former Housing and Urban Development secretary's bid is a play for the Obama coalition, the amalgamation of diverse constituencies - young, African-American, Latino, Asian - that the party sees as its future in a demographically changing America," reports Nolan McCaskill from on the ground. "As a Mexican-American and one of the youngest candidates in the crowded Democratic field, Castro's potential appeal to the voters who elected Barack Obama to two terms is obvious, even if his path to victory is harder to envision." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec6f707128d259bb671ed7f2725aafdca88b98bb3e0992a3b6dc4d2504a6e57d70238534df1b859180

Related read: "In A Private Meeting, Kirsten Gillibrand Signaled She Will Run For President," via Buzzfeed's Darren Sands: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec2ae09e444c022968a44cc151bd12626d8c0d2ef178d7b9fe2b67ca717c2679ec196c8a445209d19e

MEET THE NEW FRESHMAN CLASS: Some of the newly-elected House members boast impressive resumes with deep roots in science, including past job titles like ocean engineer, nuclear scientist and biochemist. There are "at least 11 freshman representatives with a background in science, medicine or technology," according to The New York Times. "Eight of them are Democrats, and they are some of the first victors of a trend that began soon after President Trump was elected: Alarmed by inaction on climate change and the administration's marginalization of experts, many more scientists have been entering politics." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ec1f3994a48c44715b1450cbd9ce3969469bc2549578680803ca651eeda2d2875bba532c282879d30c

Meanwhile, freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is writing a memoir called "This is What America Looks Like" that will be published by Dey Street Books, POLITICO Playbook reports. The book is about her life from fleeing Somalia amid war as a child to becoming a refugee and later becoming the first woman of color lawmaker to represent Minnesota.

Related: "Ocasio-Cortez Pushes Democrats to the Left, Whether They Like It or Not," from Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ecd49dcc9c0b190ec2173d6f0d0b9184330753956a4439a0433dc887db9846f858aa43e79ff72e54c6
TRANSITIONS
Frederick Hill, communications director for the Senate Commerce Committee under former Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), will join FTI Consulting's strategic communications practice as a managing director.

Julia Albertson is moving to Rep. Ro Khanna's (D-Calif.) office as digital press secretary. She previously worked for Reps. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif).

Tim Wilbur, communications director for Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), will start today as the director of public affairs at PhRMA.

Michael Lukso is joining the American Investment Council as director of government affairs. He comes from the office of Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), where he was a legislative director.
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House gavels in at noon, with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2b0fbcecda6713ece00479886dedf571fa72f9a5c41256e3006faa053293ac7255037af8bb60a1b2f1f6916b1f315255 The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of S.1. At 5:30 p.m., senators will take a procedural vote on the motion to proceed.
AROUND THE HILL
Federal offices in the D.C.-area are closed due to inclement weather, per OPM.
TRIVIA
FRIDAY'S WINNER -- Casey Burgat was the first to correctly guess that Thomas Jefferson's grandson, James Madison Randolph, was the first baby born in the White House in 1805. (The first baby born to a First Lady in the White House, however, was Esther Cleveland in 1893.)

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From Casey: Prior to Trump, there has been a long tradition of pets living with the First Family in the White House. Which U.S. president sent advisors running after four creatures were accidentally let loose in the Oval Office? (Bonus points if you can name the animals that caused all the commotion!) The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: mzanona@politico.com.

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