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

WHAT'S THE ENDGAME IN IMMIGRATION FIGHT? The aggressive package that House Republicans passed Wednesday revoking Obama's immigration executive actions won't be the language that ultimately gets signed into law. But what will? Your Huddle author and Jake Sherman: "For the rightward-leaning House Republican Conference, the Department of Homeland Security will get its budget filled only if President Barack Obama's actions on immigration are gutted. But the real outcome will be a lot different. And the House GOP will almost certainly have to bend."

--"[E]veryone knows the Senate cannot pass this version of the bill, and Obama won't sign legislation that undoes his executive actions. What really worries members of both parties is that no one - not even leadership - seems to know what kind of bill could get through Congress in time to avert a funding lapse for DHS after Feb. 27 ... In particular, House Republican leaders don't yet know what kind of package could squeeze through the Senate by the deadline ... Several House Republican aides, previewing the leadership's message for when the bill ultimately gets blocked in the Senate, said it'll be some version of: 'Why couldn't Ted Cruz [R-Texas] get the votes to pass this bill?'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f41dc044c0ac1956b563536421055bbb4279d98dc101d4700
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f41dc044c0ac1956b563536421055bbb4279d98dc101d4700

--Meanwhile, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, the fifth-ranking Senate Republican, is rolling out a new push later today on legislation, called the ENFORCE the Law Act, that would allow Congress to authorize a lawsuit against the executive branch for not carrying out laws - precisely what Republicans say Obama is doing on immigration. "I'll continue to fight President Obama's executive amnesty," Blunt says. "And this bill will help ensure the president cannot continue blatantly disregarding the nation's laws and the Constitution."

LIVE FROM HERSHEY: RETREAT SNEAK PEEK - Jake Sherman and Burgess Everett, who are at the Republican retreat for POLITICO: "Congressional Republicans will hear from veteran Republican message maven Frank Luntz, they'll chat about health care with six Senate and House committee chairs, and they'll strategize about the budget with a former staff director of the Senate Budget Committee. And on Friday, after the Senate leaves town, House Republicans will hold an open mic session to hear from the rank and file.

"The Congress of Tomorrow retreat, being held here from Wednesday evening until Friday morning, is an attempt to bring the Senate and House into closer sync. The full, three-day schedule was kept under wraps, but a final draft was obtained by POLITICO. There are dinners, bible studies, puppet shows and coloring stations for young children and a lounge for teenagers. There is a programming for spouses, a trip to the Hershey museum and "chocolate lab" and a panel about Congressional health services and security."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fd90406e120ca169c5fcac65794e6497d95d1d0767a3cd396
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fd90406e120ca169c5fcac65794e6497d95d1d0767a3cd396

--My colleague Lauren French has the conservative policy wish list for this year's retreat, which includes ending birthright citizenship, creating new voting requirements and supporting Israel's right to attack Iran:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f0e8ab0c5234d323d2b497191eaca001e37518152b684967c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f0e8ab0c5234d323d2b497191eaca001e37518152b684967c

--The New York Times found its way to the Senate Democratic retreat in Baltimore - which is closed off to the press. Reema Dodin, floor director for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), asked the Times: "How did you even find us?"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f7079a68f4dd279fa80d29659b2ca4a805e7a086543bc9af9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f7079a68f4dd279fa80d29659b2ca4a805e7a086543bc9af9

ARREST IN CAPITOL ATTACK PLOT - David S. Joachim for the New York Times: "An Ohio man who had hoped to ally himself with the Islamic State was arrested Wednesday in connection with a planned attack on the United States Capitol ... Christopher Lee Cornell, 20, of Green Township, near Cincinnati, was charged with attempting to kill a federal officer and with possession of a firearm with the intent to commit a violent crime ... In a series of conversations with an F.B.I. informant, Mr. Cornell claimed that he was in contact with terrorist groups overseas, but said he would not wait for authorization before waging an attack, the F.B.I. said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f5655de756f646b3f99dea8458189d72277677754b3da1fb2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f5655de756f646b3f99dea8458189d72277677754b3da1fb2

REID 'LIKELY' TO RETURN NEXT WEEK - The Las Vegas Review Journal's Steve Tetreault: "Sen. Harry Reid is likely to return to the Capitol next week after missing the first two weeks of the Senate while recuperating from injuries suffered in a home accident ... Reid said last week the accident had cost him vision in his right eye. He said doctors were hopeful it would return but full recovery of his vision was 'not anything that is a slam dunk.' 'He is likely to come back next week,' a Senate Democratic aide said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18ff22cadacca45e67501b9b06a4f68219977d0d81bccf65e8d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18ff22cadacca45e67501b9b06a4f68219977d0d81bccf65e8d

--Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski and Humberto Sanchez note that a line has been hooked up in Reid's home while he recuperates so he can listen in on the Senate Dems' retreat meetings in Baltimore:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f534251dd33d1e7b1e8255668eb3bf39815389a848e0dc5e5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f534251dd33d1e7b1e8255668eb3bf39815389a848e0dc5e5

CIA CLEARED IN ALLEGED COMPUTER SNOOPING - NPR: "An 'accountability board' assembled by the CIA has cleared five of the agency's employees of any wrongdoing related to improperly accessing the Senate Intelligence Committee emails and computer network. Sen. Dianne Feinstein says the breach violated the Constitution ... The board said personnel from the CIA general consul's office and IT department had not tampered with any of the panel's 'work product' and were instead 'investigating a potential security breach in the highly classified shared computer network,' said former Sen. Evan Bayh, who led the review."

--"The report stems from a very public disagreement between the CIA and members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that was sparked by the panel's exhaustive review of the CIA's interrogation techniques, renditions, and other activities."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fa5b34a295fc40217359c22b6cfa7436b3cdba238cb7f1020
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fa5b34a295fc40217359c22b6cfa7436b3cdba238cb7f1020

DIANE BLACK'S CO-SPONSORSHIP OOPS - CQ Roll Call has the back story on how Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) - a backer of abortion rights - mistakenly got signed up to co-sponsor legislation from Rep. Diane Black's (R-Tenn.) that would ban certain funds for abortion clinics: "He said it happened to him this week after Black accidentally mixed him up with a Nebraska Republican by a similar name. 'I am Adam Smith,' the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services panel clarified. 'Regrettably, there's an - well not, regrettably, he's a nice man - but there's an Adrian Smith.' Black thought she was signing Adrian Smith, R-Neb., onto the bill."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fcfdce30a85452d7db9f28dcf0f2aa9d9be4e5111059b728f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fcfdce30a85452d7db9f28dcf0f2aa9d9be4e5111059b728f

--Huddle's fave quote of the day, from Smith accidentally becoming a co-sponsor of this bill: "Actually, the way it came to our attention is a pro-life group sent me a thank-you letter. So, I'm like, 'Nooooo.'"

**Healthier people mean a healthier society. When people are at their healthiest, they can achieve more, do more. Abbott welcomes the 114th Congress and looks forward to working together to build healthier communities. Get inspired:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fb7e5031d2c751ec0ed7c47a08f279ad2109552fe9fb18ed4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fb7e5031d2c751ec0ed7c47a08f279ad2109552fe9fb18ed4 **

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, JAN. 15, 2015 and welcome to The Huddle, where your author kind of slightly wishes she were at the GOP retreat - but only for the unlimited Hershey's Kisses. Please send your tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, and corrections to
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com and please follow along on Twitter at @seungminkim.

My new followers include @RepWalberg and @JillFilipovic.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Quiet. Everyone is in Hershey, Baltimore or back home in their districts. President Barack Obama is joining Senate Dems on their retreat later today.

AROUND THE HILL - Americans for Prosperity has a press conference at 9:30 a.m. at the Zenger Room at the National Press Club to "unveil significant strategic initiatives and focus for 2015."

OBAMACARE'S LITTLE SECRET - POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn on the most important person you don't know in the health-care debate: "Elizabeth MacDonough holds no elected office. Few people outside of Capitol Hill even know her name. And forget about knowing her political leanings or loyalties. But she may very well be the most powerful person in Washington in determining how far Republicans can go in trying to repeal Obamacare. As the Senate parliamentarian, MacDonough will make the decisions on which pieces of the law qualify to be repealed using a complicated budget procedure called reconciliation."

"Her decisions would allow Senate Republicans to vote to kill major provisions of the health care law under a simple 51-vote majority without giving Democrats a chance to filibuster. Republicans have not yet decided whether to use reconciliation - and whether to use it for Obamacare or tax reform. MacDonough would have a pivotal role in either scenario."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f895a76b608dcbde4fdf11a7ff3da2c04ce4ce27cecb4caac
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f895a76b608dcbde4fdf11a7ff3da2c04ce4ce27cecb4caac

HOUSE LOOSENS DODD-FRANK, AGAIN - Andrew Ackerman and Michael Crittenden for the Wall Street Journal: "The House Wednesday passed a bill to ease nearly a dozen Wall Street regulations, the latest legislative effort to roll back provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. The House voted 271-154 to pass the measure, which included a controversial delay to a provision stemming from Dodd-Frank requiring banks to sell stakes in certain complex securities. The bill marks ongoing clashes between the two parties over government regulation of financial markets ... Wednesday's vote was held a week after Republicans failed to secure enough Democratic support to advance the bill under a fast-track process
in which the normal rules of debate are suspended."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f00b668d95234354be97b005905f551a4545d58700ba03ecf
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f00b668d95234354be97b005905f551a4545d58700ba03ecf

BECERRA MULLS CALIFORNIA SENATE RUN - Sean Sullivan for The Washington Post has the details on the latest Democrat to consider a run. Becerra is term-limited out as House Democratic Caucus chairman after next year: "Rep. Xavier Becerra said Wednesday that he is considering running for the seat of retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, a fellow California Democrat. 'I'm going to take a very close look at it,' he told reporters. 'Obviously, I need to have the process move with due speed.' Becerra said he hopes to zero in on a decision in the 'next few weeks.' There are four votes he must win, he explained. 'I've got to get my wife and three daughters to say, 'We're there,'' the
congressman said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f7696a47af496f72f4aeff983a45d2dd7f0c48a1bf7380bf0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f7696a47af496f72f4aeff983a45d2dd7f0c48a1bf7380bf0

TEXANS BACK FLORES IN RSC BREAK - The Dallas Morning News: "Amid reports of a rival group splintering off from the influential Republican Study Committee, chairman Bill Flores of Bryan insisted the RSC will remain the most powerful conservative bloc. But he said he sees room for more than one conservative caucus in the House. 'We're all on the same page, we all have the same north star," Flores said ... Other Texans are rallying behind Flores. 'At this moment, the RSC is poised to have some real input into the agenda. And this is not the right time to be splitting up,' said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington ... Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, called for colleagues to 'work together, be a team.'
He said that other members of the Texas delegation would be quick to support Flores."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f1e1d619f156544d062a224a2dc585fe9e73eb43cbb530992
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f1e1d619f156544d062a224a2dc585fe9e73eb43cbb530992

GUN-CONTROL PUSH ON BOEHNER PLOT - Ben Kamisar for The Hill: "A prominent gun-control group is using a plot to poison Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) to urge the GOP leader to back increased background checks. 'Hopefully, the Republican Congress will heed this indictment of the Speaker's would-be assassin as a wake-up call to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, including felons, fugitives, domestic abusers, and the severely mentally ill," Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said ... Police found a loaded automatic handgun at [former Boehner bartender Michael] Hoyt's house, along with various ammunition boxes."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f1c11733c07062b0d00f04f4f56b1a4f56bbd44b03452c0d8
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f1c11733c07062b0d00f04f4f56b1a4f56bbd44b03452c0d8

HUELSKAMP TAKES OVER TEA PARTY CAUCUS - Billy House for Bloomberg News: "Michele Bachmann is retired and gone from the U.S. House of Representatives, but her once-prominent House Tea Party Caucus is about to tea-off again under new management. 'I'm going to be chairman of the Tea Party Caucus. We're taking that over. We are going to reinvigorate that,' said Representative Tim Huelskamp of Kansas ... Huelskamp would not say how many other House members will to be listed on the group's inaugural roster."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f59cd12d9e54ce92f56c95b44cffe41756834dd02d05ba68e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f59cd12d9e54ce92f56c95b44cffe41756834dd02d05ba68e

GOODLATTE: NOT 'NECESSARY' TO RESTORE VRA PROVISION - HuffPo's Jen Bendery: "The Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that Section 4 of the landmark 1965 law, which required certain parts of the country with a history of minority voter suppression to clear changes to their voting laws with the federal government, was invalid ... 'There are still very, very strong protections in the Voting Rights Act in the area that the Supreme Court ruled on ...' Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. 'To this point, we have not seen a process forward that is necessary because we believe the Voting Rights Act provided substantial
protection in this area,' he said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f2190162d58cab46b89b426bd9e59e612635db6494d1403f6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f2190162d58cab46b89b426bd9e59e612635db6494d1403f6

--More from the Monitor breakfast, from me: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) on Wednesday defended a pending rules change that would give him broader subpoena powers, calling it an 'important tool' for oversight of powerful agencies such as the Justice Department."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f19d2afee2c2e344adf4985ba4fdae9ea2564998dfdbe489a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18f19d2afee2c2e344adf4985ba4fdae9ea2564998dfdbe489a

--And Goodlatte encourages lawmakers to take Obama to court over immigration. The Monitor:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fa2f9a8dc6b2fa9b2ab3e9f4772ef6bf0a87e5c7ebcbd379f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fa2f9a8dc6b2fa9b2ab3e9f4772ef6bf0a87e5c7ebcbd379f

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Amiee Aloi was the first person to correctly answer that former Rep. Jay Kim (R-Calif.) was the first Korean-American elected to Congress.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Amiee has today's question: "What was Congress's lowest and highest approval ratings, per Gallup? And in what years? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says 'Sign Up.'
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**Healthier people mean a healthier society. When people are at their healthiest, they can achieve more, do more. Abbott welcomes the 114th Congress and looks forward to working together to build healthier communities. Get inspired:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fb7e5031d2c751ec0ed7c47a08f279ad2109552fe9fb18ed4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8e597dbbab49f18fb7e5031d2c751ec0ed7c47a08f279ad2109552fe9fb18ed4 **

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