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12/21/2018 08:01 AM EDT

By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL (nmccaskill@politico.com; @NolanDMcCaskill)


PROGRAMMING NOTE: Huddle will not publish from Dec. 24 - Jan. 1 but will be back in your inboxes on Jan. 2.

DEADLINE DAY -- You better watch out. A shutdown is coming to town. A divided Congress has less than 16 hours to find consensus on a spending bill that can pass both houses and win President Donald Trump's approval to avoid roughly a quarter of the federal government shuttering just days before Christmas. To their credit, the House and Senate each passed a spending package to extend government funding through Feb. 8. But the House didn't vote on the measure that unanimously passed the Senate earlier this week. Instead, it added $5 billion for a border wall and $8 billion in emergency disaster aid. The former won't pass the Senate, where Republicans need Democratic votes.

TRUMP SIGNALS LENGTHY SHUTDOWN -- The president is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to "fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything." And he not only reversed himself on a willingness to delay the border wall fight until February but also on owning an increasingly likely shutdown. "If enough Dems don't vote," he claimed this morning, "it will be a Democrat Shutdown!" "Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!" he added in a subsequent tweet. Senate Democrats aren't giving Trump $5 billion for his wall, so a shutdown seems inevitable. And if there is a partial government shutdown, Trump said it "will last for a very
long time."

That means Congress could be at an impasse until Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is elected speaker in January, when Democrats will control the House. But it's hard to see any outcome where Trump gets his $5 billion from a new House Democratic majority barring a major concession.

Related: "With spending bill stalled, federal agencies prepare to cease operations at midnight Friday," by The Washington Post's Lisa Rein, Damian Paletta and Brady Dennis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906ff0ddd8153e2b24e0bd2ce61a1e1f717aebb126e50976ed74a5bf7564059a6f6cef440bf1b13fe9a

HOW WE GOT HERE -- McConnell spoke to the president Tuesday night about a plan to delay the border wall fight and fund the government into early February. He believed he had Trump's blessing to move forward, and his chamber passed a bill via voice vote Wednesday night. But conservatives in the House loudly pushed for a fight in their final days in the majority. And the president listened. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) called Trump on Thursday morning, telling him now is their best chance to fight and that conservatives will have their back. Enough said.

Trump summoned House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other GOP leaders to the White House, where he directed them to change course. "I'm OK with a shutdown," Trump told them. "The hard-liners had defeated leadership once again, and Washington was barreling into another crisis of its own making with no endgame in sight," Rachael writes. "As Washington peers over the abyss of its third shutdown in two years, some Republicans see signs of a broken institution. Thousands of federal employees could be furloughed or forced to work without pay. And House Republicans as of Thursday night were embracing the chaos." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906e7f2fe40e7285aba0b22a301fb7a22da02eaad3e9fb46332b11af0bd8b746cef3154db11fef279c0

Related reads: "Pressure from base pushed a flustered Trump into shutdown reversal," from Eliana Johnson and Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906d15b25cf13a872da1b2c0ce80cf61ad35ba20b9b253bb6a3dc7c4c210defa50525c8a2c355f38952 "'Can't make this stuff up': Senate GOP isn't sweating shutdown," via Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906c40f04443d53a86090d9981659b5bddf395763b3239ab25fe4fc95ef23103172400ffe5bb65b1fe0

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Dec. 21.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Brent D. Griffiths' report on the GoFundMe campaign to pay for the president's border wall was the winner.

MATTIS TO RETIRE -- McConnell is calling on the president to nominate a new Pentagon chief who shares the views of outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who submitted his resignation Thursday after Trump rejected his plea to reverse his decision to withdraw from Syria. "I was sorry to learn that Secretary Mattis ... will soon depart the administration," McConnell said. "But I am particularly distressed that he is resigning due to sharp differences with the president on these and other key aspects of America's global leadership."

In a week when Trump announced he would withdraw U.S. forces from Syria and reports surfaced that he was preparing to pull troops out of Afghanistan, "the rapid-fire developments prompted rare warnings from within Mr. Trump's own party that his foreign policy could be leading toward dangerous instability on the global stage," The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos writes. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) signaled that "we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors" that will endanger the country, damage U.S. alliances and empower American enemies.

Even Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an ally of the president, warned that "we are setting in motion the loss of all our gains and paving the way toward a second 9/11." "Privately, even senior Republican leaders expressed alarm about the potential instability ushered in by Mr. Mattis's departure," Fandos writes. "The defense chief had been viewed as a reliable, calming presence among lawmakers of both parties on Capitol Hill, who have enthusiastically provided funds and authorization in the last two years to build up the military under his direction." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906df2853c846cd4e6e970a9116fe322c60be106f91b2f1dd1eca448ab0ed61441c62408f932ee8ac17

Related: "Who might replace Mattis?" by Connor O'Brien and David Brown: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb9067d8970bf9897fc6626916b49883a72aa14a2a54d0cfec64714415317dfeb612974e7174c07ea5201 and "Mattis breaks with Trump in resignation letter," from Connor O'Brien and Bryan Bender: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb9065b5767775fd8a661cfb6081955a5363e7564dd897412bb272e082202d7589d33fbf2008e37f6a41e

TRUMP TO SIGN CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL -- The president is scheduled to sign bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation at a White House ceremony this morning. The House on Thursday easily passed the legislation, 358-36, sending it to the president desk's. The bill is a win for Trump and an often-divided Congress. Trump repeatedly nudged McConnell to take up the bill in the lame duck, and it easily passed the Senate despite opposition from some Republicans. "The final House vote follows an intense, yearlong lobbying effort from an unexpected group of allies including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Kim Kardashian, the American Civil Liberties Union, liberal Democrats, conservative
Republicans and the Koch network," Heather writes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb90648e3f05210e589bcfdb2632d137da916db9eae7554ff8cb2a0f3f86023592b0508631d732b621ceb

Related: "Trump touts food stamp crackdown as he signs farm bill," via Helena Bottemiller Evich: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb9069d3331a64e7c36e41441208478ab16a97c9d2d7580ff5a2360c77bcbe165c8cd37f073580b63eae7

DENHAM UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR INTERIOR SECRETARY -- Outgoing Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) has talked to the White House about joining the administration as Interior secretary. "It's all the things that I have worked on for the last 16 years -- water, our forests, a lot of our [agricultural] economy in California and federal properties," Denham said. "It's a good fit for me. I'm on the president's list." Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is leaving the administration at the end of the year after facing numerous ethics investigations. Outgoing Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is also interested in the post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906b9a856d0948b5efaec46132b255461a4a2614fc5bce7482960168e933c7a29b03e9352d01a08a982

Related read: "How Zinke lost his way," from Ben Lefebvre and Nick Juliano: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb906def740e26643c44b3feed4aeb134399e18757f0fd537bb846e74d2c4f53f8ae0b3cf2292fe3e90eb

RETIREMENT WATCH -- Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) plans to speak with family members and supporters in Kansas over the holidays and announce early next year whether he will seek reelection in 2020. "I think it's incumbent on people, if they're going to not run, to certainly indicate that [early] because it's a very competitive situation," said Roberts, who chairs the Agriculture Committee. "Roberts, 82, survived a serious primary challenge in his last reelection fight in 2014 and had to stave off questions about his residency in Kansas," James Arkin and Daniel Strauss note. He won reelection by double digits that year.

Roberts said he isn't worried about potential challengers. Though Democrat Laura Kelly was elected governor last month, Kansas hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since the 1930s. "I'm 24-0 in terms of times I've had somebody on the ballot in opposition to me," Roberts said. "Sometimes they have been lesser candidates but 24-0 is a pretty good record." If Roberts retires, potential GOP candidates include Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, outgoing Gov. Jeff Colyer and Rep. Roger Marshall. Democrat Barry Grissom, a former U.S. attorney, is also eyeing a run. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb90630e93b06445fa8fef85a074374d9ddcb1f030454e4a640c801616f39f43abd231d4603820755d91b

FORMER SENATE AIDE SENTENCED -- Ex-Senate Intelligence Committee security director James Wolfe was sentenced to two months in prison for lying to the FBI about his interactions with journalists. Prosecutors had recommended he face two years in prison. "The FBI was talking to Wolfe as part of a broader attempt to find out who was leaking details about surveillance targets in the government's investigation of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia," Josh Gerstein and Matthew Choi report. "Wolfe and his lawyers argued that he deceived the FBI because he wanted to cover up an extramarital relationship with a reporter." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0619c76d4efb9064f401668baf94798e27c715516226a01fac6b0847108508babcd5872374e3e2ff988adeebc9d3c1d
TRANSITIONS


Mara Kunin will be Rep.-elect Angie Craig's (D-Minn.) chief of staff. Kunin managed Craig's campaign. Will Mitchell will be legislative director. Mitchell previously served as legislative director for Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.). And Jen Gates will be communications director. Gates served as press secretary for Sen. Tina Smith's (D-Minn.) reelection campaign.

Rachel Holland is joining Facebook as associate manager of state and local government and political outreach in the South and Midwest. She was previously Rep. Will Hurd's (R-Texas) communications director.

Caleb Fisher is overseeing the digital and creative teams for the Senate Republican Conference. He was previously senior creative services manager for the House Republican Conference.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD
Zach Hunter, communications director at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Mallory Hunter, vice president of Mason Strategies and a Trump White House alum, on Wednesday welcomed William "Billy" James Hunter, who was born at 9:46 p.m. and came in at 8 lbs, 12 oz., 21.5 inches long. Pic ... Another pic
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House gavels in at 9 a.m. with first votes expected between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Last votes are to be determined. The Senate meets at 12 p.m. The chamber will receive and begin consideration of the House-passed funding bill, according to the Senate majority leader's office.
TRIVIA
THURSDAY'S WINNER -- Jenni Bowring and Tim McDonough were first to correctly guess that Walter Mondale is the vice president who has lived the longest after completing his term as VP.

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From Adam Schutzman: Which three Republican congressmen held onto their seats in the 2018 election in districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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