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03/25/2016 09:33 AM EDT


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

TALE OF TWO TOWN HALLS-

--"GOP court blockade gets frosty reception in conservative country" - POLITICO's Burgess Everett heads west to Charleston, W.Va. to see what Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is hearing back home about what the Senate should do on Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court: "Though Manchin and his constituents voiced serious doubts about Garland's record on guns, abortion and environmental issues, only one West Virginian advised Manchin to join with the GOP and insist on denying Garland hearings or a vote. The rest seemed swayed by the senator's argument that Garland deserves at least to go through the process. This in a state that gives Obama the lowest approval rating in the country."

--" 'You've convinced me to give him a vote,' said Pastor Doug Joseph, a board member of West Virginians for Life, which opposes abortion rights. 'I hope it's a down vote.' ... Manchin said at the outset that he'd take all of his constituents' concerns to Garland when he meets with the judge one-on-one on April 5. But he faced almost no pressure to change his position." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d386d949fb5a10f1e6db69168c38421cc27edb74c35b4b3b7a9

--Remember, Manchin is one of just three Democrats being targeted by the conservative Judicial Crisis Network for wanting to proceed with Garland's nomination. On Thursday, the group launched yet another barrage of ads against a Democrat, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado. My story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d38109b7c0768056ffb34c046932b5876a2884fafba646777f1

--"Wisconsin race frames dispute over Supreme Court nominee" -- The second event (OK, not exactly a town hall) comes from Pewaukee, Wis., and David Herszenhorn for the New York Times: "Senator Ron Johnson, a Tea Party conservative up for re-election in a swing state, looked out at a crowd of supporters and reassured them that he and his fellow Republicans would be resolute in blocking President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland to the Supreme Court. 'We absolutely will not allow the Supreme Court to flip,' Mr. Johnson said on Wednesday evening, drawing thunderous applause at a political forum organized by a local conservative talk-radio host, Charlie Sykes, in this Milwaukee
suburb."

--"But as [Democratic challenger Russ] Feingold repeatedly hammers Mr. Johnson over the refusal by Senate Republicans to fill the court vacancy - an issue that Democratic leaders believe will help propel them to victory in November - Mr. Johnson is turning the tables with gusto. 'Yeah, I am hearing the drumbeat, 'Do your job! Do your job!'' Mr. Johnson said, invoking the Democrats' battle cry in their quest to get Judge Garland a hearing. 'We're doing our job,' Mr. Johnson declared, to shouts of 'yes.' 'Our job as a coequal branch in the nomination process is advise and consent,' he said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d38e279247c69bd735f64c884f2fb56eeb3c3bdbe75c1e38896

MORAN: GIVE GARLAND A HEARING - From the Garden City Telegram, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) tells constituents that he wants Garland's nomination to proceed, despite Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to halt it altogether. The story is dated March 21, but no one in the national press seems to have spotted it until yesterday: "'I would rather have you (constituents) complaining to me that I voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying I'm not doing my job,' Moran said. Republican senators should interview Garland and have a hearing on his nomination, Moran said. 'I can't imagine the president has or will nominate somebody that meets my criteria, but I have my job to do,' Moran said.
'I think the process ought to go forward.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d389a1068839d082f3a778dff2d0afc1b02ddf7584fc0222911

--WaPo's Mike DeBonis (who is walking around with a sling due to an injured right arm, so you should all send him get-well notes) flags another Kansas story where Moran was more explicit in his call: "I think we have the responsibility to have a hearing, to have the conversation and to make a determination on the merit." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d38a97d68b1e5815f6872567f243d1527708d277f5a87fa2e05

--Huddle should note that Moran has made similar comments in previous weeks, for instance telling National Law Journal earlier this month that if Obama nominates sometime, "I'll consider them by constitutional responsibilities." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d3858a1ac33009be07805dd1bf4968142c5cd35d19d056bbefe Difference between then and now is that Moran is practically repeating the Democrats' "Do-Your-Job" refrain nowadays.

--Per new statement out from Jenny Beth Martin, Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund chairwoman: "It's this kind of outrageous behavior that leads Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund activists and supporters to think seriously about encouraging Dr. Milton Wolf to run against Sen. Moran in the August GOP primary."

GOP UNIMPRESSED WITH BIDEN SPEECH - Via The Hill: "Republicans quickly slammed Vice President Biden's Supreme Court speech Thursday, suggesting he was trying to gloss over his past comments. 'No matter how hard the White House tries to rewrite history, it can't change then Chairmen Biden's remarks explaining how the President and Senate should handle a Supreme Court nomination arising during a heated presidential campaign,' Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said."

--"While Democrats have boiled down their counter argument to a frequently repeated three-word slogan - 'do your job' - Republicans say Democrats would have the same strategy if the situation were reversed, under a GOP president. 'Remember when [Biden] said the Senate should consider not scheduling SCOTUS hearings during campaign season?' Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) asked after the speech." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d3888903ca48e273c3246e655e5c5bacb0170d52fd617913173

@JohnCornyn: Double standard plain and clear. Case of do what I say not what I said I would do.

--Interesting tidbit from Biden's speech, noted by NPR's Nina Totenberg: President Barack Obama intentionally picked a more moderate judge to try to sway Senate Republicans: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d38e24bba159b3b27bf249fae73d64431eaefb155caca6e75f2

BREAKING: 'At least two Americans confirmed killed in Brussels' - From CBS News this a.m.: "A U.S. official told reporters in Brussels Friday that at least two Americans were among those killed in the terror attacks in that city Tuesday. It wasn't immediately clear who the official was referring to. The word came with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visiting Brussels to express his condolences to the Belgian people. In addition, family members said a brother and sister, both Dutch citizens who had been living in New York City and were among those missing following the Brussels attacks, were killed, their family says. Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski have relatives in the Netherlands."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d381ebc70a365fc47a5fc7c94aa14fe6fe96e851e7b0beb4a5d

TRANSITIONS - Jill Shatzen Kerr, the communications director for the House Rules Committee, is leaving the Hill to become the PR manager for public policy at Amazon starting April 4. She writes to colleagues: "My years here on Capitol Hill filled have been filled with interesting work with wonderful people, and I was lucky enough to serve four incredible bosses in former Congresswoman Mary Bono, former Congressman Frank Wolf and Congressmen Michael Burgess and Pete Sessions."

HAPPY FRIDAY, March 25, 2016 and welcome to The Huddle. I'll be back in the latter half of next week, but Lauren French will be driving the Huddle train on Monday and Tuesday, so give her a shout at lfrench@politico.com and on Twitter at @laurennfrench. You can reach me at skim@politico.com, and please follow me on Twitter at @seungminkim

My new followers include @Bedingfield44 and @JoePerticone.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Quiet.

AROUND THE HILL - Probably lots of Hill staffers sneezing due to horrible allergies. (Your Huddle writer is suffering, as well.)

YOWZA: HOUSE GOP-ER OPEN TO VOTING FOR HILLARY - That Republican is Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), one of the few House members in truly contested races this fall. From CBS Miami: "In recent weeks Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo has been telling some Democrats in his district he would vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump if those were his two choices, according to those who have spoken to him. In an interview Thursday with CBS4's Jim DeFede, Curbelo refused to rule out voting for Clinton, saying instead he hopes that Trump will be stopped or there will be a third-party candidate he could support." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d387c302cdd68e94952c623b6995adaf181e6b96577394dd4fd

TOM COLE HOLDING OUT HOPE FOR 'PRESIDENT PAUL RYAN' - The Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson, who interviewed the press-friendly Cole for C-Span's "Newsmakers" with The Hill's Scott Wong, has the story: "The dream of House Speaker Paul Ryan as the GOP presidential nominee isn't dead yet. Mr. Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, has repeatedly said he doesn't want to be chosen at the Republican convention in Cleveland this July if delegates can't coalesce around any of the current candidates. But some senior House Republicans aren't ruling it out as a possibility."

--" 'He's already been vetted, he's been on a national ticket, millions of people have already voted for him,' Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a senior House Republican, said in an interview for C-SPAN's 'Newsmakers.' 'Frankly, he does represent the kind of vision and values that as a Republican you would want to put forward,' he said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d389b211c5770ed6606c024d1cd7752c0f6c954a9469a8b3e9b

PUERTO RICO PLAN ADVANCES - Mary Williams Walsh for the New York Times: "Politicians in Washington are coalescing around a financial plan to rescue Puerto Rico, just weeks before an expected major default on bond payments that would spread more turmoil through the island's shaky economy. The plan, being drafted as legislation by House Republicans, would not grant Puerto Rico's most fervent request: permission to restructure its entire $72 billion debt in bankruptcy."

--"It would, however, give the island certain crucial tools that bankruptcy proceedings can offer - but only if it first comes under close federal oversight and meets other conditions. The oversight would be provided by a five-member voting board, selected by the president of the United States from candidates with expertise in finance, law or other relevant fields." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d38bea1737cbcc5541df1a2980694bb4cc3634e6c2ba8977652

HOUSE DEMS LAUNCH BLACK WOMEN'S CAUCUS - Marissa Evans for CQ Roll Call: "Three Democratic House members are launching a new caucus specifically focused on issues affecting black women, saying that Congress 'altogether ignores the systemic challenges they face.' Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, Robin Kelly of Illinois and Yvette D. Clarke of New York announced on Tuesday the launch of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, calling it a long awaited answer to the White House's My Brother's Keeper initiative, which focuses on black men and boys." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28124ce56b916d384a70905a26cfcd44a4ecae78b364dccd8c002f1bd4222f8b

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Matthew Erwin was the first person to correctly respond that Tonie Nathan was the first Jewish politician to win an electoral vote in a presidential election. It was for the Libertarian Party, and the year was 1972.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Matthew has today's question: Name the candidate (and his party) who ran for president and was declared ineligible due to being born in Britain. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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