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11/05/2015 07:17 AM EDT


By Lauren French (lfrench@politico.com or @@laurennfrench)

PELOSI'S POWER PLAY. From your Huddle author, "A week ago Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi marshaled the votes to pass a sweeping budget deal that was overwhelmingly opposed by the party actually running the House. Fresh off that win, she hopscotched across the country to rake in $1.5 million for her party at a series of fundraisers. It's been that kind of year for Pelosi - an improbable stretch of prominence that's been perhaps the most surprising twist of her three-decade congressional career... the rise of the House Freedom Caucus, combined with her skill at managing her caucus, has given Pelosi and the 188 House Democrats far more clout than their numbers would dictate.
She's used it to push through legislation that would count as successes if Pelosi were still speaker and to quiet talk of her retirement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9074550244874053b00592ff0e924a4a45db98d9ae29b2488

PELOSI OUTTAKES. There is only so much you can fit into any profile - and good stories, comments and thoughts invariably get left on the cutting room floor. Here are some of the juiciest tidbits that the minority leader told me during two recent interviews:

On the budget: Pelosi said Republicans should have thrown former Speaker John Boehner a bone during the budget vote last month. That bill needed mostly Democratic support to pass. "I do think it would have been nice if his caucus could have given him, Boehner, a majority of the majority for the budget bill. They knew it was going to pass," she said.

On moving to Washington: Thirty years ago Pelosi was just another potential Democratic challenger like any would-be lawmaker. When the California Democrat was first considering the seat she asked her youngest daughter, who was a senior in high school, if Pelosi's move to Washington would ruin her last year. Alexandra Pelosi's answer: "Mom, get a life......What teenager daughter wouldn't want her mother gone three nights a week?" And when she got here, three of her children who were students at Georgetown at the time, told her that neighborhood was off limits for her to live in.

On the speaker being elected by a plurality: Pelosi floated once way to severely limit the power of a motion to vacate - elect a speaker by a plurality of votes, not a majority. "I think if that is made clear to [Ryan's] folks that will be a protection for him. I think that maybe we need that clarity so the speaker doesn't have to play to that.... so that it doesn't hang over every negotiation he has with his caucus."

On messing up Boehner's routine: When Pelosi became speaker she asked Boehner if he was interested in a regularly meeting with her to discuss schedules and priorities. The Ohio Republican's response, according to Pelosi? "I am not interested in a regularly-scheduled meeting." Pelosi at the time was shocked but said years later, "I think it's because George Bush, President Bush, used to have these meetings early in the morning - at like 7 a.m. - and that interfered with John's routine."

REPUBLICANS TARGET THE FILIBUSTER. Seung Min Kim with the story, "Frustrated with Democrats blocking their agenda, a cadre of upstart Republicans is pushing to revamp the Senate's rule book to make it harder for the opposition to keep key legislation from coming to the floor. But the move pits the maverick conservatives against the party's "old bulls" - such as Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain - who argue the changes would erode key rights of the minority and undermine how the Senate was designed to work. Many of the upstarts have never been in the minority, but veteran Republicans are wary of taking bold action now that could haunt them if they ever lose control of the chamber."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9ac540441125547854733b0cf6c4e690a3bb0be74f1f4df3a

MCCONNELL: THANKS OBAMA FOR KENTUCKY. Niels Lesniewski reports for CQ Roll Call, "Democrats might disagree, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks the GOP electoral wave in his home state Tuesday was about President Barack Obama. The Kentucky Republican told CQ Roll Call that he viewed the election returns Tuesday in his home commonwealth as a strike against the Obama administration's agenda - particularly the Affordable Care Act. Term-limited Democratic Gov. Steven L. Beshear championed implementation of the health care law through a state program known as Kynect. The Obama White House on Wednesday deflected criticism about results across the nation that generally favored the
GOP. Obama's health care law was a major issue in the Kentucky governor's race. Republican Matt Bevin vowed to target both the Obama law and Medicaid once in office." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9f04c097fb80a68ce64b4d3d79e51e866c02fa76a74dd3bb7

WELCOME, it is Thursday, November 05, 2015. Thanks for reading Huddle. Happy fly-out day! Enjoy an early happy hour and relax. You can find me at lfrench@politico.com and @laurennfrench on Twitter.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: First votes expected in the House between 10 and 11 a.m. and last votes expected between 12 and 1 p.m. Lawmakers will vote on remaining amendments to the DRIVE Act and whether to send the transportation bill to conference. There is one vote at 11 a.m. in the Senate.

ON THE HILL: Sens. Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee will join POLITICO editor Susan Glasser for an interview on bipartisanship at the Columbus Club. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. - The House Republican Conference will meet at 9 a.m. in HC-5 to discuss the omnibus. -- Rep. Maxine Waters and members of the Tri-Caucus will discuss diversity at financial services agencies in 234 CHOB at 10 a.m.

Reps. Charlie Rangel and Mark Pocan will hold a news conference on the "Restore Honor to Service Members Act" at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. -- Reps. Dan Newhouse and Kurt Schrader will introduce legislation to prevent port disruptions at 10 a.m. in 1300 Longworth. Legislation to Prevent Future Port Disruptions.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will hold her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in Studio A. Speaker Paul Ryan will hold his first press briefing in that new role at 11:30 a.m., also in Studio A.

**A message from the American Bankers Association: More chip cards have been issued in the U.S. than in any other country in the world, but only 27 percent of retailers are equipped to accept them. Now is the time for all businesses to upgrade their card terminals - and turn them on. Learn more at letsinnovatenotmandate.com. **

HOW RYAN HELPED ELECT BRADY. Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer with the scoop, Paul Ryan had his poker face on the past week. As the new speaker heard Ohio Rep. Pat Tiberi and Texas Rep. Kevin Brady explain why each thought he was the best man to succeed the Wisconsin Republican as Ways and Means chairman, Ryan gave away little. But when decision time came, the new GOP leader went all in for his pick - and in doing so, offered an early glimpse of how he intends to exercise power. He also showed that fundraising considerations - a critical metric in Congress and politics in general - would not dictate his thinking." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9abb3ec8093224b6b0831c77a8a440bf8ea78a67acfa532c4

LAWMAKERS MOURN COBLE. Elise Viebeck for the Washington Post, "Former Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) died late Tuesday night at the age of 84. By Wednesday morning, the remembrances were pouring in from Capitol Hill on social media. Coble, who was first elected to Congress in 1984, became North Carolina's longest-serving Republican representative in 2008. He was known on Capitol Hill for his gentility and his collection of madras blazers." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a913f6b9ceb0e4a2ff708aabd2c06e5a35e196ac4d20e141d5

WHITE HOUSE PREPARES FOR TRADE FIGHT. David Nakamura and Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post, "The Obama administration released the full text of a 12-nation Pacific Rim free-trade accord on Thursday, launching what is expected to be a long and bruising fight to win final ratification in Congress for one of the president's top priorities. A month after trade ministers reached agreement on the deal in Atlanta, the public will get its first look at the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an expansive pact that spans 30 chapters and hundreds of pages. After the text's release, Obama administration officials said, the president will notify lawmakers of his intent to sign the trade
accord. Obama must then wait 90 days before he can apply his signature and send the agreement to Capitol Hill, under the terms of "fast-track" trade legislation approved by Congress in the spring." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a95e5398dde079cd406905b77b22149f8c2b7fe1ec63fcffae

SENATE GOP PLANNING EPA, DODD-FRANK VOTES. Burgess Everett and Seung Min report, "Republicans are threatening to jam Democrats with controversial policy riders in December on everything from Dodd-Frank rollbacks to curbs on the Environmental Protection Agency's powers, hoping to get revenge on a minority that's spent the past week gloating over a bipartisan budget deal. With Congress facing a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a year-end spending bill, the drama will focus on GOP attempts to slip significant policy changes into the omnibus package at the eleventh hour and force congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama to swallow them. Republicans are looking past deal-breakers like
defunding Planned Parenthood or blocking Obama's immigration actions, shifting instead to more granular policies they think Democrats could be forced to accept." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9ffeb91ecd26d00f73a00cea4ea32b77dac59f7c231a92f9f

LANKFORD PREPARES FOR WASTE BOOK RELEASE. Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford will release his version of the "waste book" - made famous by former Sen. Tom Coburn - in the next few weeks, but lovers of the report that details the worst spending in Washington are in luck. Huddle has an early preview of what will be in Lankford's addition that will include examples of wasteful or duplicative spending, a list of regulations found to be burdensome, along with policy solutions to the problems. Check out the video set to be released today by Lankford: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a959b9f9aa5f26b23c63d55bdbfb193aa9a571c68f3a651efa

RYAN STAFFS UP. Jake Sherman reports, "Speaker Paul Ryan is tapping two loyal insiders to run his newly bulked up political operation, which he is calling "Team Ryan." Kevin Seifert, a longtime Ryan aide and Wisconsin native, will be its executive director. Seifert, most recently Ryan's Washington chief of staff, will be a critical figure in Ryan's orbit, managing the massive political side of the speaker's job, and working with the GOP infrastructure to strategically deploy him across the country for Republicans." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a9fff67d3e5d9e4466f69ebe29d0b41073c30a9ff6f43ac978

TOOLS YOU CAN USE: POLITICO PRO CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY - Not Mr. Smith's 1930s Rolodex. Did you know that POLITICO Pro subscribers have full access to Pro's Congressional Directory as part of their subscriptions? From staffer issue areas, to work and education history, party, committee affiliations and/or caucuses - Pro users have all the details they need to build strategic relationships in one, easy-to-use tool. Interested in becoming a Pro and having full access to the Congressional Directory? Schedule your demo today.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER: Greg Smith was the first to name Milwaukee as Alice Cooper's favorite American city that was established by French missionaries, is an Algonquin term meaning "the good land" and has elected three Socialist mayors.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Former Sen. Fred Thompson, who died this week, was perhaps one of the tallest senators in recent history. The "Law and Order" actor was bested, however, by two other senators from the last 50 years. At 6'5" what other former senators were taller? And how tall were they? Email lfrench@politico.com with the correct answer.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says 'Sign Up.' http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=49a371d8c6d088a922bc01a73da2b15c77dda09a90797513cd890bcb3319defb

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