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

OBAMA: 'I'M GOING TO PLAY OFFENSE' - POLITICO's Manu Raju goes inside the Senate Dem retreat in Baltimore and sums up the president's message: "President Barack Obama made clear Thursday in a closed-door session with Senate Democrats that he's prepared to veto hostile legislation from the GOP-controlled Congress, including an Iran sanctions package on the front-burner of Capitol Hill. According to several sources at the Thursday summit in Baltimore, Obama vowed to defend his agenda against Republicans in Congress, promised to stand firm against GOP efforts to dismantle his agenda and called on his Democratic colleagues to help sustain his expected vetoes.

--"The president also was explicit over his administration's opposition to an Iran sanctions bill, promising to veto legislation with his administration in the midst of multilateral nuclear negotiations with the Middle Eastern regime. Even though Obama's position on Iran sanctions differs from a number of powerful Democrats, the session, several sources said, was more of a pep rally than confrontation ... 'I'm not going to spend the next two years on defense; I'm going to play offense,' Obama said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab9e857341ad63422ba98f32f9ebf9b1848589d075a02c5c8d
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--Obama sparred with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair, over the Iran sanctions issue, per the New York Times. In pushing lawmakers to stop pursuing sanctions, Obama urged them to avoid making moves for a short-term political gain - when Menendez stood up and said he took "personal offense."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abefeffb96de14c95f65bad075265814a430ff5b82eabd87d6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abefeffb96de14c95f65bad075265814a430ff5b82eabd87d6

GOP MANTRA: BLAME OBAMA - Jake Sherman and Burgess Everett from Hershey: "They say they want to rewrite the Tax Code. They want to use their commanding majorities to expand energy production. And Capitol Hill Republicans think they can fix the beleaguered immigration system and ink trade deals with partners around the world. If you listened to them at their annual retreat on Thursday, only one person could scuttle everything: President Barack Obama."

"It's the Obama excuse. And it could become a mainstay in Washington for the next two years, as the GOP looks for someone to blame for the lack of action in D.C. and divert attention from the deep divides in their own ranks. To the Republicans, the man at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue is simply too hard-headed, too ideological and too out of touch to recognize what the country is crying for ... 'The challenge is getting the president to work with us,' said Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abb7e60c754b89e761561ebe900f6923b52b3ab055235eb08a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abb7e60c754b89e761561ebe900f6923b52b3ab055235eb08a

--In Hershey - dubbed the sweetest place on earth -- Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) quips that he'll take his young children to the "asparagus museum":
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abe75ee385ee2ef95d9722e5aa99559fe500d08bf7a85667e5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abe75ee385ee2ef95d9722e5aa99559fe500d08bf7a85667e5

--Here is CNN's Chris Moody with a five-pound Hershey's chocolate bar:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abc95cf7562bab5cfb48365287d218c2d228de15c205eaf154
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abc95cf7562bab5cfb48365287d218c2d228de15c205eaf154

MAKE 'EM SQUEAL, JONI - Freshman Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has been tapped to give the GOP response at the State of the Union next Tuesday. The Des Moines Register notes that it's a role that's "proved challenging" for other Republicans: "Ernst's speech will provide the GOP's counterpoint to the agenda outlined by the Democratic president in his annual speech to Congress, held Tuesday night. It will be broadcast nationally and almost certainly raises the profile for Ernst as one of last year's breakout political stars. Ernst will be the first, first year Senator to give the address, according to her office."

--"In 2009, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's speech was widely panned. A year later, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell got the assignment. He was later convicted for corruption and is scheduled to report to prison next month. Two years ago, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida surprised viewers by stopping in the middle of his speech to reach for a bottle of water."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab39f18484b6698396dc1c5050163c4ee44f9edb92681abd97
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab39f18484b6698396dc1c5050163c4ee44f9edb92681abd97

--Another congressional freshman is delivering the other official Republican response: Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo will give the GOP rebuttal in Spanish. The Miami Herald:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab3cab5503e31986a8b72287349a4ad6ce9b14d500f71f2676
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab3cab5503e31986a8b72287349a4ad6ce9b14d500f71f2676

--And for the not-so-official Republican SOTU response - Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla.) is delivering one on behalf of the tea party:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abb50a72bc13ddf2a0df9fe763c5ba5cf53e00a43dfb126f7c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abb50a72bc13ddf2a0df9fe763c5ba5cf53e00a43dfb126f7c

--More from the GOP retreat, below the jump.

RAND: 11 MILLION 'DON'T NEED TO BE SENT HOME' - Here is what the Kentucky senator and all-but-official 2016 presidential GOP candidate told Bloomberg's Dave Weigel when asked whether he would act to overturn Obama's executive actions on immigration: "'I've always been of the opinion that we should do things the proper way ... I am in favor of doing immigration reform, but it should be done in the proper fashion.' He cited the need to tighten border security before attempting anything else, but added that 'the 11 million, I think, are never going home, don't need to be sent home, and I would incorporate them into our society by giving them work visas and making them taxpayers.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abe958eab3778f2182bed96bb3831bd4023c71bfbbb3cb8abe
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abe958eab3778f2182bed96bb3831bd4023c71bfbbb3cb8abe

CHAFFETZ STASHES AWAY ISSA PORTRAIT - Scott Wong for The Hill with the scoop: "It appears new House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) really doesn't want to sit in the shadow of his predecessor and fellow Republican, Darrell Issa (Calif.). At least, that's what his critics are saying. One of the Utah Republican's first acts since taking over the Oversight panel gavel: removing portraits of Issa and other past chairmen from the walls of the Oversight Committee hearing room ... A Chaffetz aide said it's much ado about nothing. But Issa allies see the move as a slap in the face to the last chairman, who tapped Chaffetz in 2011 as chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on
National Security. Issa's likeness, they note, had only been hanging in Rayburn 2154 for two months."

--"'Only someone with a massive inferiority complex would go to the extreme and somewhat unprecedented step of having every former chairman's portrait removed - especially when the obvious intent is to avoid having Chairman Issa's portrait hanging over his shoulder for the next few years,' said one former committee staffer."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abced712e50bd5ed46216f96cd0e7f60baa3654899731bbafc
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abced712e50bd5ed46216f96cd0e7f60baa3654899731bbafc

--Chaffetz tells Jake that he plans to hang photos of postal workers and other everyday Americans, because he wants to be "inspired by the people we serve, not former committee chairmen."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abdab68e3406439bd49d5328c11329913c8925386858e73592
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BOEHNER PRAISES SURVEILLANCE IN TERROR PLOT - CNN's Deirdre Walsh from Hershey: "House Speaker John Boehner credited a federal surveillance program for helping to uncover a plot from an Ohio man to blow up bombs at the U.S. Capitol. 'The first thing that strikes me is that we would have never known about this had it not been for the FISA program and our ability to collect information on people who pose an imminent threat,' Boehner said. Boehner's comment painted a different picture from what the criminal complaint against Christopher Lee Cornell, a 20-year-old man from Cincinnati, revealed about how law enforcement came to apprehend Cornell."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab442206f1b028dc69645f0bfc3b7fffd25a2e8eed81de2684
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab442206f1b028dc69645f0bfc3b7fffd25a2e8eed81de2684

--The House Sergeant-at-Arms sent an email to House staff yesterday on the foiled terror plot against the Capitol, stressing that law enforcement was "diligent from the onset." The message continued: "The public, and in particular the Congressional community, was never in danger during the investigation. The United States Capitol Police (USCP) remains in close coordination with the FBI and my office continues to monitor the situation. We will keep you informed of any important developments that may arise."

--At that same presser, Boehner also declined to say whether he agrees that humans contribute to climate change. His quote, per Talking Points Memo: 'Certainly we've had changes in our climate. I'll let the scientists debate the sources in their opinion of that change. But I think the real question is that every proposal we see out of the administration with regard to climate change means killing American jobs."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abc95c5f4d16f5ac94e335bdc2c171a1f6bb6bdf37918314a7
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LEAHY LEADS CUBA CODEL THIS WEEKEND - Per release out this morning, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) notes that this is the first congressional mission to Havana since Obama announced the major shift in Cuba policy last month. Leahy: "We are going this time to discuss our expectations, and the Cubans' expectations, for the normalization of relations. We want to explore opportunities for greater cooperation, and to encourage Cuban officials to address issues of real concern to the American people and to their representatives in Congress.'

--On the trip: Leahy, as well as Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Democratic Reps. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Peter Welch of Vermont.

**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=1441ba82880e67ab1a50d99ca4b7c215eac683314ab73d924302ed12c1273571
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab1a50d99ca4b7c215eac683314ab73d924302ed12c1273571 **

THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY, JAN. 16, 2015 and welcome to The Huddle, where we'll be taking a break Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We'll be back at it Tuesday with my buddy Burgess Everett, so please send your tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, and corrections to
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@politico.com and
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com and please follow along on Twitter at @burgessev and @seungminkim.

My new followers include @mattdizwhitlock and @dmccabe.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out. The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and will resume consideration of Keystone legislation, but no votes will be held until Tuesday.

AROUND THE HILL - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member on the Budget Committee, will hold a news conference on priorities for the budget at 10:30 a.m. in Senate Studio.

TRANSITIONS -- Mitchell Rivard is moving on up in Rep. Dan Kildee's (D-Mich.) office with his promotion to deputy chief of staff. Rivard has been Kildee's communications director for two years, and has previously worked for the Justice Department, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Charles Yi, staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Banking Committee under former chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), is now the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's general counsel. He has also served as deputy assistant secretary for banking and finance at Treasury and as counsel for the House Financial Services Committee.

--Hundreds, including a slew of current and former House chiefs of staff, gathered last night for drinks and appetizers at the Rayburn meeting room to welcome the 57 new chiefs for the 114th Congress. The festive gathering on a slow day at the Capitol - when lawmakers were out of town - attracted a large crowd in the Rayburn foyer, and John Weinfurter, the vice president of government relations at Witt | O'Brien's, billed it as one of the best bipartisan gatherings around town. The event was hosted by the House Chiefs of Staff Alumni Association and the U.S. House of Representatives Chiefs of Staff Association.

GOP STUCK ON DHS FUNDING - Burgess has the latest on how Republicans will try to fund Homeland Security while trying to gut Obama's immigration actions: "Republicans at the party's retreat in Hershey struggled Thursday to describe a resolution to their impasse on the House-approved spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security ... Needing at least six Democratic votes to pass the House's confrontational bill, Senate Republicans sense the legislation will fail if their leaders put it on the floor. But some would still like to see the Senate vote on the House $40 billion proposal to prove it can't pass the chamber, rather than prematurely admit defeat on Obama's unilateral moves to
shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation."

--"But what then? One option is for the Senate to pass a 'clean' Homeland Security funding bill that lacks the immigration riders. But that won't fly in the House, said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who predicted: 'There won't be a clean bill. We have to absolutely confront the president.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abcc0c9157ad0eeca1003495bfd9a096d88e18e5f9e95d377b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abcc0c9157ad0eeca1003495bfd9a096d88e18e5f9e95d377b

-- Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) stresses that a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is "off the table." The Hill:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab2690417ca3cab7e0dab81e7b1c69b51e2c9db3fc274d4512
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab2690417ca3cab7e0dab81e7b1c69b51e2c9db3fc274d4512

--In a new report Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office says roughly 2 million to 2.5 million immigrants without legal status will have been approved for deferred action by 2017 - that's a combination of those green-lighted under the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an expansion of DACA announced in November, and a new program for immigrants here illegally but who have children who are U.S. citizens or green-card holders. The report:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab740eda8ae0d96fad4a829bc8eb3e3ffbbadde7209208860d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab740eda8ae0d96fad4a829bc8eb3e3ffbbadde7209208860d

CROWLEY SLAMS 'HARMFUL' ATTACKS ON CARSON - Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) circulates a letter on the attacks Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) has gotten ever since Carson, a Muslim, was appointed to the House Intel: Crowley "wrote to Republican and Democratic lawmakers Thursday expressing his disgust at the slurs that online commenters are levying against Carson because of his Islamic faith. 'It has ... come to my attention that there have been a shocking amount of comments made in conservative publications and on social media to the effect that Rep. Carson's integrity is somehow in question as a result of his religion,' Crowley wrote. 'These comments deeply offend me, as I'm sure they offend all of
you, which is why I hope all of us will take every opportunity to renounce these kinds of comments and discourage this kind of harmful talk.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abc6a26649a4c53fe7f9f987329189d8ac0320536cd7891e90
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67abc6a26649a4c53fe7f9f987329189d8ac0320536cd7891e90

GOP LEADERS TO RANK-AND-FILE: BE PATIENT - More from inside the Republican retreat, from Jake and Burgess: "Speaker John Boehner reminded a large meeting of Republicans on Thursday morning that the Senate cannot act on legislation as quickly as the House, addressing an emerging gripe in congressional GOP circles. For example, Boehner's House has passed a change to Obamacare and legislation to jump-start the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, yet neither measure has seen action in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's chamber. Some lawmakers have even suggested the House prioritize which bills it passes to make it appear the chambers are more in sync."

--"McConnell (R-Ky.) and Boehner appeared on stage together here Thursday morning at a rare joint legislative retreat being held at the Hershey Lodge hotel. McConnell explained to House members that people should not expect the Senate to be able to approve everything the House passes."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab7ea384ce4ac6b0571f65225c156eacf4415dd15eb9859ac3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab7ea384ce4ac6b0571f65225c156eacf4415dd15eb9859ac3

--House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says the top priority for the GOP-led Capitol in its 100 days is to do a budget by April, per Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab18720e74b7cd757609a3538a7abc8f00485d11fb53db23cf
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab18720e74b7cd757609a3538a7abc8f00485d11fb53db23cf

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Shelby Boxenbaum was the first person to correctly answer that Congress's lowest and highest approval ratings, per Gallup, were 9 percent in 2013 and 84 percent in 2001.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Shelby has today's question, and it's a two-parter: How many Supreme Court nominations have been explicitly rejected by a vote? And how old must a person be to serve on the Supreme Court? The first person to correctly answer BOTH parts gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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skim@politico.com .

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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=1441ba82880e67ab1a50d99ca4b7c215eac683314ab73d924302ed12c1273571
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1441ba82880e67ab1a50d99ca4b7c215eac683314ab73d924302ed12c1273571 **

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