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By Seung Min Kim (
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OBAMA'S AF1 CHARM OFFENSIVE TAKES OFF - POLITICO's Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan: "Since his party took brutal losses in the November elections, President Barack Obama has invited nearly 20 members of Congress to fly with him on Air Force One to state visits in India and Saudi Arabia, to Tennessee for the announcement of his free community college initiative, and to Nevada to promote his latest sweeping moves on immigration. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander used last month's flight to his home state of Tennessee to bend the president's ear on changes to No Child Left Behind. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was flying on Air Force One to Saudi Arabia when she cajoled Obama into
killing his plan to tax college savings plans."

--"While lawmakers have flown on the president's Boeing 747 throughout his presidency, the White House says the focus on the flights has increased since the midterms. The directive came from Obama himself, a White House official said ... 'I'm not one of those kind of guys needing to shoot the breeze, or needing to be felt important,' said Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who joined Obama for the recent trip with Alexander. 'That's not something that is necessary, but when it's appropriate we can have a conversation on a trip like that.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab15343a5430ceeb906ed26c136d4ffc5a978c07e0426d65b2c7683
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BUDGET WARS LOOM - INSIDE GOP - The Wall Street Journal's Nick Timiraos and Kristina Peterson: "[W]hile Republicans' top budget-writers have committed to eliminating the annual federal budget deficit over 10 years, doing so is expected to require deep cuts in entitlement programs, particularly if tax increases are off the table. That means the GOP will face a challenge negotiating a budget conservative enough to pass the House without proposing politically unpopular cuts that could cause heartburn for Senate Republicans, whose states often represent a broader political spectrum."

--" Among those pushing policy to the right will be the new House Freedom Caucus, a group of the most conservative lawmakers that is discussing the idea of writing its own budget, said Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R., S.C.). On the other side are many of the two dozen Senate Republicans up for re-election next cycle who could face heat, for example, if they support changes to Medicare that Democrats would portray as punishing to the elderly. 'We would want to make sure that we can actually honor our commitments to seniors' in a budget, said Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), who is up for re-election in 2016."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab15343a5afcfd1b9ec76a3cc78b56dc2136df0157d7bd1dc9877e8
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ALAN NUNNELEE DIES AT 56 - The Jackson Clarion-Ledger: "Rep. Alan Nunnelee, a Mississippi Republican and part of the historic 2010 GOP wave election that gave the party control of the House, died Friday, the family confirmed ... Nunnelee, who was serving his third term, underwent brain surgery last June and had been in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers the past year."

--"After first arriving in Congress, Nunnelee drew a decidedly unlucky number in the lottery for House office suites: No. 84 out of 85. 'That's why I stay away from the casinos,' he joked at the time. But he said he didn't care where his office was, 'as long as the front door says 'Member of Congress.' Nunnelee was known as an amiable congressman who often talked publicly about his faith."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab1534373578b74f006e6525d6be4b3675dd03eaf572414334f580c
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Politicians pay tribute to Nunnelee -

--President Barack Obama: "A proud son of Tupelo, Alan never wavered in his determination to serve the men and women who placed their trust in him, even as he bravely battled the illness that ultimately took his life."

--Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio): "He was the rare calming presence in the cauldron of politics. He never let cancer get the best of him. We know this because, at the end of his life, all Alan asked of us was whether he made a difference. Indeed he did, very much so."

--Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.): "Alan overcame a lot of adversity, including blindness and physical illness. I fully expected him to overcome this one, too. He was my close ... friend and confidant for 33 years. Gayle and I will truly miss him."

FACT-CHECKING A DHS SHUTDOWN -- The AP's Erica Werner and Alicia Caldwell dig into what exactly would happen if funding for the Department of Homeland Security were to lapse: "To hear Democrats and many Republicans tell it, the result would be unacceptable risks to U.S. security at a time of grave threats worldwide. In reality, though, most people will see little change if the department's money flow is halted, and some of the warnings of doom are as exaggerated as they are striking."

--"Even in a shutdown, most workers across agencies, including the Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and Customs and Border Protection, would continue to report to work. Airport security checkpoints would remain staffed, the Secret Service would continue to protect the president and other dignitaries, the Coast Guard would stay on patrol, immigration agents would still be on the job ... Most workers would not get paid until the shutdown ends."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab15343fe23168a44e548710a9c12f569ad5bcc2b54a198871b6f97
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AARON SCHOCK: MODEL OR CONGRESSMAN? A slideshow:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab153430f38462e0498df04f8c9a77c4552177c43e197dbc0a61c81
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab153430f38462e0498df04f8c9a77c4552177c43e197dbc0a61c81

SUNDAY SHOW WRAP-UP -

--Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warns that 30,000 of his workers will be furloughed if Congress doesn't agree to DHS funding beyond Feb. 27. His department employs about 230,000 people. HuffPost:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab1534391f6b6e401604cf8768fc87df8293486ced983def2c84af7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab1534391f6b6e401604cf8768fc87df8293486ced983def2c84af7

--Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) say the United States should give weapons to the Kurdish army fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq. CNN:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab153430561855988c7248f0e6e3d1adab58c22720766c56d237d9c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=110fcd8e9ab153430561855988c7248f0e6e3d1adab58c22720766c56d237d9c

--Cruz adds, however, that he would send U.S. ground troops to fight the Islamic State if necessary to "accomplish the mission." He would first arm fighters already on the ground and increase severity of air strikes. ABC:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1fcb03ffae499b9731bb7d3e7b8a6821063ba1019f19e9822
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1fcb03ffae499b9731bb7d3e7b8a6821063ba1019f19e9822

***Auto manufacturers drive America forward: fueling job growth, sparking new tech and innovation, and powering the economy. View new data produced by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and learn how cars move America.
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HAPPY MONDAY, FEB. 9, 2015, and welcome to The Huddle, where your host just returned from a long weekend in Napa and is now drawing up a pitch for a Napa Valley bureau chief at POLITICO. 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.

If you see Manu Raju lurking around the Hill today, wish him a happy birthday.

My new followers include @BenSasse and @AlexiaCampbell.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 1 p.m. for a pro forma session, and no votes are expected. The Senate is in at 3 p.m. and will vote at 5:30 p.m. on the nomination of Michael Botticelli to be director of the National Drug Control Policy.

AROUND THE HILL - Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is hosting a day-long conference on school choice, called "Choosing Excellence," featuring Senate HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige and Rep. Luke Messer (R-Ind.), who chairs the Congressional School Choice Caucus. The conference begins at 9:45 a.m. and runs all day in Hart 902.

COULD THIS WORD SAVE D.C. MARIJUANA LAW? The New York Times's Jennifer Steinhauer reports on how one word in the so-called "cromnibus" legislation could be a loophole that could stop Congress from blocking the District's marijuana law: "The marijuana law, lawyers here argue, had already been enacted and certified by the Board of Elections before Congress passed the spending bill, so there was no 'enacting' for the House to prevent. 'The issue becomes: What does enactment mean?' said David Zvenyach the city's general counsel. Like other officials here, he believes that the city got ahead of Congress in enacting its law, which it intends to start carrying out this spring."
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THE GOP 2016 WAR PRIMARY - POLITICO's Manu Raju: "Sen. Lindsey Graham wants Congress to give President Barack Obama unequivocal authority to fight Islamic State militants. Yet Sen. Ted Cruz says lawmakers should be wary of handing the commander in chief a 'blanket authorization' to wage war. Sen. Marco Rubio is open to sending ground troops into the region if that's what it takes to win. But Sen. Rand Paul says he's 'not eager' to send troops back to the Middle East, and he's demanding that Congress set a one-year timeline for a war authorization to expire."

--"As Congress prepares to dive into its most politically charged debate in years over war and peace, the four Republican senators considering 2016 presidential bids are staking out diverging positions on how much power to give Obama ... The GOP presidential field consists of roughly two dozen potential candidates, but these are the only four who can help shape the proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force and will have to vote on it."
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PROFESSOR RUBIO -- Marc Caputo in his debut for POLITICO writes about Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's side gig teaching at Florida International University: "Beyond the face value of the twice-weekly talks, Rubio's political-science classes ... double as a focus group for the campaign themes and rhetorical flourishes he might use in a 2016 White House campaign. In the fluorescent-lit classrooms of this sprawling suburban commuter school, Rubio frets about what demographic shifts mean for his party and explains how conservatives need to address the struggles of average workers."

--"There's no sniping at rivals, Democratic or Republican, and Rubio is as likely to discuss Bill Clinton's accomplishments as those of Ronald Reagan, whom the senator grew up idolizing. 'Very few people are even describing the problem this way,' Rubio tells his students at one point while discussing the problem of middle-class workers whose quality of life is deteriorating. 'Who's got ideas that work?' Rubio continues. 'Who's going to campaign on it and make it happen?' Rubio doesn't say his own name. But everyone knows of whom he speaks."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a17a2ee76d2cb8ef8ce21762d558058311fbf5525646fdf3fb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a17a2ee76d2cb8ef8ce21762d558058311fbf5525646fdf3fb

BIDEN WON'T ATTEND NETANYAHU SPEECH - The VP will be traveling abroad, but his office has yet to confirm where Biden will be for the March 3 address to Congress. The Los Angeles Times: "As president of the Senate, Biden is typically on hand to greet and listen in when any foreign leader addresses a joint session of Congress. He's missed just one other such speech, the White House says ... 'We are not ready to announce details of his trip yet, and normally our office wouldn't announce this early, but the planning process has been underway for a while,' a spokesman said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1921c8de5d1a352f376754396494340b3cf9f744ffb140906
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1921c8de5d1a352f376754396494340b3cf9f744ffb140906

--At least three House Dems plan to skip Netanyahu's speech: John Lewis of Georgia, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. The AP:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a15f0911d409189a9fba097bc6ff28f83fbd203c64967f3bd6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a15f0911d409189a9fba097bc6ff28f83fbd203c64967f3bd6

BENGHAZI PANEL TO INTERVIEW RICE, PETRAEUS, PANETTA - CBS News on the interviews that'll occur in April: "Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, listed 20 officials, including Gen. Martin Dempsey, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, former CIA Director David Petraeus, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, and national security adviser Susan Rice, among others ... Gowdy has also said he would like to hear from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1f29924e53c5cce3679d662aadd144179e3d2be44f52a3386
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1f29924e53c5cce3679d662aadd144179e3d2be44f52a3386

KENNEDY INSTITUTE SET FOR DEBUT - The NYT: "When it opens next month in Boston, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate will be aiming to restore respect for Congress at a time when rancor and partisanship have seriously damaged its reputation. As if to lead by example, the Kennedy family seems to have patched up its own reported differences over the $79 million institution ... The 68,000-square-foot institute, designed by the architect Rafael Vinoly, is on the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts and has a 99-year lease on the site."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a16b26162314523f6eec23cd00162b537ba942b537aa4b45e0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a16b26162314523f6eec23cd00162b537ba942b537aa4b45e0

'MRS. O' WHO RULES THE HILL - Kristina Peterson with a fun feature for the Journal, on former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's mother Barbara who has, for nearly three decades, answered the phones for Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.): "Mrs. O'Malley has greeted, trained, baked for and even scolded some of the hundreds of lawmakers and constituents who pass by her desk. 'She's so funny-and she's tough,' said retired Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), who visited Mrs. O'Malley every day he was in Washington. 'When she thinks the conversation has gone on too long, she goes, 'Go to your office and do some work,'' he said."

--"Mr. O'Malley, who is seriously considering entering the 2016 presidential race, said he would never poach his mother to work for him-at least, probably not. 'I'd never think of interfering with her career,' he said, but added, 'she'd be a tremendous asset and we'll see what the future holds.' Ms. Mikulski, meanwhile, isn't prepared to relinquish Mrs. O'Malley, even to her son. 'Hands off,' Ms. Mikulski growled. 'The governor would know it would be one of our first big battles.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1d0a60b7d17237f7ee83d282a78a28ad3cd4a6714f9d4d403
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d32004b7b2e458a1d0a60b7d17237f7ee83d282a78a28ad3cd4a6714f9d4d403

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Andy French was the first person to correctly answer that "Other Voices, Other Rooms" was the first published novel from Truman Capote.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Andy has today's question: Who is the first U.S. president to not speak English as a first language? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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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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***Automakers don't just design, build, and sell cars. We reach deep into the supply chain, buying not only finished parts that go into our vehicles, but significant amounts of raw materials such as steel, aluminum, plastics and other minerals and resources. These purchases prime the pump of those basic industries and others.

A new report sponsored by the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers highlights how the multiplier effect from automakers is responsible for 7.25 million jobs overall in the U.S. economy. Learn more:
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