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By Lauren French (
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com and @laurennfrench)

DEMOCRATS MIGHT SKIP NETANYAHU'S SPEECH. Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jake Sherman report, "Vice President Joe Biden won't commit to attending Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress next month. He's not the only one. Dozens of House Democrats are privately threatening to skip the March 3 address, according to lawmakers and aides, in what's become the lowest point of a relationship between the Israeli prime minister and President Barack Obama that's never been good. Democrats have had to balance publicly supporting Israel with backing Obama, who's trying to close a deal with Iran to curb its nuclear programs over vehement opposition from Netanyahu, who has expressed concerns
that the U.S. president is being naive. Negotiations are facing a deadline at the end of March for a political framework."
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WASSERMAN SCHULTZ WALKS BACK 'PROBLEM' COMMENT. Anthony Man writes in the Sun Sentinel, "Comments and a subsequent clarification from U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston have attracted new attention to long-running concerns over the implications of interfaith marriage in the Jewish community.Wasserman Schultz recently told a Jewish group that interfaith marriage is a 'problem.' On Tuesday, in a statement issued by the Democratic National Committee, she said she does 'not oppose' it.... In a statement issued on her behalf Tuesday from the Democratic National Committee, Wasserman Schultz clarified her comments: 'At an annual Jewish community event in my congressional district, I
spoke about my personal connection to Judaism and in a larger context about the loss of Jewish identity and the importance of connecting younger generations to the institutions and values that make up our community. I do not oppose intermarriage; in fact, members of my family, including my husband, are a product of it.'"
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THE GOP 'NO' VOTES ON OBAMACARE. Erin Mershon details why three GOP lawmakers votes no to an Obamacare repeal - marking the first time a Republican has done so in the House. "The measure passed 239-186, a margin that largely mirrored the outcome of House Republicans' three previous bills. This time, however, the party hopes to offer a replacement within the next six months. Yet it was the three dissenters who attracted the real attention late Tuesday afternoon: John Katko of New York, Bruce Poliquin of Maine and Robert Dold of Illinois. All are in seats held last term by Democrats and likely to be contested hard in 2016. Both Katko and Poliquin said in statements Tuesday that while they did
not support the Affordable Care Act, they couldn't support its repeal without something immediately ready to replace it."
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NO CLEAR PATH FOR DHS FUNDING. From the AP, "[T]wo opposing sides are in a high-stakes drama underway on Capitol Hill as lawmakers wrangle over a $39.7 billion House-passed bill that funds the department for the remainder of the budget year while overturning President Barack Obama's executive actions limiting deportations for millions here illegally and giving them the ability to work...But how and when lawmakers will get there is less clear as both parties jockey for advantage in a new era of divided government, with Republicans in full control of Congress for the first time in eight years and Obama ready and willing to wield his veto pen."
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AND JUST IN TIME...OBAMA TO MEET WITH DREAMERS. David Nakamura writes in the Washington Post, "President Obama is set to meet with a group of young undocumented immigrants on Wednesday as the White House escalates its fight with Republicans over immigration reform and funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The House GOP has passed legislation that would extend funding for DHS beyond the end of February, when it is set to expire, through the fiscal year. But the measure stipulates that the administration cannot use any of the money for Obama's executive actions to protect up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation"
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HAPPY WEDNESDAY, FEB. 04, 2015, and welcome to The Huddle. We'll see you at the congressional correspondents' dinner tonight - and are accepting funny stories from the soiree to be featured in Huddle tomorrow. Please send your tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, and corrections to
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com and please follow along on Twitter at @laurennfrench.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan will testify before the House Budget Committee at 10:30 a.m. on the FY 2016 budget. The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the White House's new Cuba policies at 10 a.m. First votes are expected between 1:15 and 2:15 p.m. while last votes are expected between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. The Senate does not have any scheduled votes.

AROUND THE HILL: Rep. Keith Rothfus will discuss the Congressional Pay for Performance Act during a media avail at 10:30 a.m.

CARTER PREPARES FORCEFUL PUSH IN SECRETARY HEARING. Helene Cooper writes in the New York Times, "Ashton B. Carter on Wednesday will assert himself as an advocate of forceful yet prudent use of American power overseas when he faces a newly Republican-controlled Armed Services Committee that includes some of President Obama's fiercest critics on American foreign policy.Mr. Carter, who would be the fourth defense secretary to serve under Mr. Obama, is widely expected to be confirmed with ease, but he will have to navigate a hearing colored by the backdrop of the Islamic State's most recent high-profile execution, the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot who was part of the American-led coalition
against the Sunni militancy."
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DID YOU CHECK THE MATH ON THAT? Via the AP, "President Barack Obama's budget is relying on a series of familiar accounting tricks to show $1.8 trillion in deficit reduction over a decade, an amount that would shrink by almost half if they were excluded. But so-called 'pay-go' rules officially require tax cuts and new spending on the mandatory side of the ledger to be balanced by new revenues or spending cuts elsewhere. Mandatory spending, like fees that Medicare pays to doctors, runs on autopilot. The accounting steps essentially inflate the White House's 'baseline' predictions of future deficits."
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A LOVE STORY AS OLD AS TIME - OR AT LEAST THE SENATE. Burgess Everett has the story, "Senate Democrats are falling back in love with the filibuster. After eight years of complaining about obstructionism, the Senate's new Democratic minority is embracing some of the same tools Republicans had wielded so skillfully to jam the legislative machinery. On Tuesday, Democrats used the filibuster to stop a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security - and roll back President Barack Obama's immigration policies - dead in its tracks. Democrats' relationship with the filibuster had been on the rocks when they ran the Senate, a time when the GOP regularly used the procedural weapon to
disrupt the majority's agenda. Democrats responded by gutting the filibuster on nominations, making "Republican obstruction" a go-to explanation for the Senate's gridlock and complaining bitterly when the GOP minority blocked debate from even opening on bills."
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NEW GIGS. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee tapped Rep. Dan Kildee to head up its Frontline Program - an election-year effort to protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents. -- House Majority PAC, which helped raise $40 million for Democratic candidates last cycle, will announce today that Charlie Kelly will joins its ranks as deputy executive director. He previously served as chief of staff to Rep. Dan Maffei. -- Max D'Onofrio has been hired as press secretary for Senator Mike Enzi, replacing Daniel Patrick Head who is moving to Charleston, S.C.

CONGRESSIONAL SPOUSES GONE WILD. Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman report, "Sidney Williams can't seem to stay out of the congressional spotlight. The former NFL player and U.S. ambassador, who is married to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), has been seen several times on and around the House floor since the beginning of the year, according to several reporters who were there. A doorkeeper told him Monday that he could not enter the speaker's lobby."
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EWWW. Senators say the darndest things- and we love them for that - but the suggestion from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina yesterday that restaurants shouldn't enforce hand washing after employees use the bathroom is giving us the shivers. Even in this partisan, bickering time, can't we all agree that after you use the restroom, you should thoroughly scrub before touching food?
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THE PRIMARY FIGHT THAT WASN'T? Seema Mehta and Michael Finnegan write for the Los Angeles Times about Kamala D. Harris' vast head start in the California Senate race. "Harris jumped into the race days after Sen. Barbara Boxer announced she would not seek reelection in 2016. Harris almost immediately began rolling out endorsements from Democrats across the nation - including some from such big names as Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Corey Booker of New Jersey. She has been holding fundraisers, including one Tuesday night in Sacramento, as well as regularly headlining official events... Every day a potential contender does not enter the race, 'they're losing supporters to
Kamala Harris and ... losing an opportunity to demonstrate their viability,' [said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College.]"
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TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Shelby Boxenbaum was the first to correctly answer that the Virginia 5th is the congressional district with illustrious past, having featured a congressional race with not one but two future presidents facing off against each other in the same election (Madison and Monroe) and once had a representative who was a Democrat, an independent, and a Republican (Tom Perriello.)

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Shelby has today's question: According to the most recent data, which country has the highest proportion of women in its legislative body? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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lfrench@politico.com

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