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

SENATE GOP TO LYNCH: GET READY FOR A GRILLING - I have the preview on this week's confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch: "The 55-year-old federal prosecutor will face many potential minefields when she goes before the committee on Wednesday, with senators set to grill her on issues like immigration, terrorism, war, marijuana laws and the limits of executive power. But she's also a polished, experienced lawyer who would be the nation's first black female attorney general. Top Republicans concede she's likely to be confirmed - unless she messes up."

--"The two days of hearings will also be the first key test for the committee's new Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa - known for his deliberative and thorough style, along with his obsession with congressional oversight of the administration, which he plans to raise in his questions. He also wants to ensure all senators get every last question answered from Lynch ... 'Before all the Republicans get done, and maybe even this would include some Democrats, we're going to have practically everything covered that we want to cover,' the Iowa Republican said in an interview in his Capitol office."

--How the GOP votes on the Judiciary Committee could break down: Orrin Hatch, Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake are potential votes for Lynch; Jeff Sessions, Ted Cruz, David Vitter, John Cornyn and Mike Lee are largely seen as "no" votes; and Chuck Grassley, David Perdue and Thom Tillis are a little bit more unclear. Graham says: "I think she's a good choice. She seems to me to be a very qualified person. But you know, she's got to perform well."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40a0c7493f9d91b96662ab2994ab5d19cab2cc620bc1335748
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40a0c7493f9d91b96662ab2994ab5d19cab2cc620bc1335748

--Ex-CBS investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson, who is suing outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder over allegations that the federal government hacked into her computer, will be among those testifying on the second day of the AG hearings this week. The Hill:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40c52210d278833b5a53aca5cfeb00199e8a0c47b250395dd6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40c52210d278833b5a53aca5cfeb00199e8a0c47b250395dd6

CBO VERDICT: MIXED - The Wall Street Journal recaps the agency's economic and budget forecasts released Monday: "Existing budget restraints and stronger economic growth will chip away at the federal deficit into 2017 before the gap begins to widen again, the Congressional Budget Office said, providing ammunition for both parties ahead of the White House's first budget proposal to the Republican-controlled Congress. Some Democrats are already pointing to the improved economic recovery to justify loosening the spending caps imposed three years ago."

--"Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, highlight rising deficits beginning in 2018 in resisting larger increases in nondefense spending, despite support among some for easing the caps on the military budget."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b4003e77fb2d00a804ee0d9e1de414a99afd49c08e0d0856e78
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b4003e77fb2d00a804ee0d9e1de414a99afd49c08e0d0856e78

--Huddle is wondering: Whatever happened to the GOP effort to dump CBO director Doug Elmendorf?

STORMY PROSPECTS FOR BORDER BILL - The blizzard in the Northeast has delayed House Republicans from taking up a border-security bill that's gotten criticized from both the right and the left. National Journal: "The measure -- authored by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul -- was facing opposition from conservatives. Some foes are concerned that it does not go far enough in terms of interior enforcement, while others are suspicious that it is a ruse meant to ease passage of a Homeland Security Department funding bill without measures targeting President Obama's relaxed immigration enforcement directives. It is unclear when the bill will come back to the House floor.
Current funding for DHS is scheduled to run out Feb. 28, so a significant showdown between Obama and Republicans on immigration is expected before then."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b4040c7bb5c0dc3cd186f5e232f89bac07ebe325512f21b97ee
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b4040c7bb5c0dc3cd186f5e232f89bac07ebe325512f21b97ee

--Another consequence of the border-security bill being pulled: Terrible weather puns from journalists (yours truly not an exception) and press release writers. For instance, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Republicans: "They can blame inclement weather all they want - but we all know that it was the storm clouds over this bill and its murky prospects that are the real drivers."

--Related: Nine of the House's most conservative members launched the "House Freedom Caucus" on Monday, and among the items at the top of their agenda was the border-security bill. WSJ:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40ce3066ed716303e0d599eda3d34db0535232acd672439ae3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40ce3066ed716303e0d599eda3d34db0535232acd672439ae3

TWITTER TRAFFIC -- @corybooker: Yes, if VP stands for 'Very Portly' RT @dnredsox: Senator, just read in Politico u are going to be on Hillary's short list for VP! Heck yes!

--The POLITICO story in question:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40fb7449276ae2e31bc898384319680cfa32ccf7e58a096912
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40fb7449276ae2e31bc898384319680cfa32ccf7e58a096912

SWING-STATE GOP-ERS BREAK RANKS - POLITICO's Senate guru Manu Raju on how blue-state Republicans are already showing their independence ahead of their 2016 reelex bids: "It didn't take long for vulnerable Republican senators to start bucking their new majority's party line. Just three weeks into Mitch McConnell's reign as Senate majority leader, he's already confronting the challenges of running a caucus filled with blue-state Republicans who face reelection next year."

--"The Senate's dynamic was on display in a series of amendment votes over the last week on the Keystone XL oil pipeline: New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, one of the Democrats' top targets in 2016, repeatedly broke with her party, including by opposing efforts to hamper Obama's international climate negotiations. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk was the lone Republican to back regulations on petroleum coke, a byproduct from oil refining. And conservative Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey was one of 15 Republicans to endorse a statement that humans contribute to climate change."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b402872e2c8e759c9661ddc5d623eccb3bf1ecb89e378a3b2b0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b402872e2c8e759c9661ddc5d623eccb3bf1ecb89e378a3b2b0

--Meanwhile, Senate Dems stalled a vote on Keystone last night. WaPo:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40d6e5044278e5f805356389b0207b6d6263738a489bb46c47
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40d6e5044278e5f805356389b0207b6d6263738a489bb46c47

PARTISAN SPARKS FLY ON BENGHAZI PANEL - Yahoo News's Meredith Shiner: "Democrats on the special House panel investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks have accused Republicans of conducting the committee's work without them and withholding information that would undermine the credibility of the panel itself ... The previously unreported letters, sent by Democrats to the special select committee's chairman, Republican Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, underscore ongoing Democratic concerns that the panel is a partisan witch hunt rather than a neutral attempt to uncover the truth."

--"At the heart of the Democrats' grievance is that Gowdy and his staff have been interviewing witnesses behind closed doors and without the presence of Democratic members or staff, after promising both publicly and privately that the committee's work would be bipartisan ... 'Chairman Gowdy will talk to Benghazi sources with or without the Democrats present, just as they are welcome to talk to sources with or without Republicans present,' said Gowdy spokesman Jamal Ware."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40b0eabcf07738c00cb8187bbf10ff22977f0183e08b289df1
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40b0eabcf07738c00cb8187bbf10ff22977f0183e08b289df1

** The Beer Institute represents the American beer industry, which employs more than 2 million Americans earning nearly $79 billion in wages and benefits. The industry pays more than $49 billion in business, personal and consumption taxes, making taxes one of the most expensive ingredients in your beer. Learn more at BeerInstitute.org. **

WELCOME TO TUESDAY, JAN. 27, 2015 and welcome to The Huddle, where this Midwesterner will inevitably be smdh at how Washington handles an inch of snow. 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.

My new followers include @RepTedDeutch and @capriottisjason.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at noon, with votes expected between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. On tap are suspension bills dealing with human trafficking. The Senate is in at 11 a.m., and votes are expected sometime later today related to Keystone.

AROUND THE HILL - Speaker John Boehner and House Republican leaders hold a post-conference presser at 10 a.m. in HC-8. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer holds his weekly pen-and-pad at 11 a.m. in H-144. Rep. Tim Walberg and others have a news conference on legislation restraining government forfeiture powers at 11 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Sen. Bernie Sanders will discuss the Rebuild America Act at 11:45 a.m. in S-115. House Democratic Caucus Chair Xavier Becerra will have a post-caucus news conference at 1 p.m. in HVC-210 alcove. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will lead a news event on anti-human trafficking legislation at 1:30 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

Slightly away from the Hill, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will deliver the keynote at a 10:30 a.m. Heritage Foundation event unveiling its "2015 Index of Economic Freedom."

--And D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is on the Hill today for meetings with key lawmakers, including with Boehner. Per Washington City Paper's Will Sommer:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40f1cea1db5742814c64b36ecf5c9d791080bb126963a0caac
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40f1cea1db5742814c64b36ecf5c9d791080bb126963a0caac

'NO DEFINITIVE VERDICT' ON REID'S VISION - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) went in for surgery on his right eye yesterday, and his office says while doctors are optimistic Reid's vision fully returns, it's not a sure thing just yet. Spox Adam Jentleson said Reid was released Monday afternoon and was resting at home, "cracking jokes and asking about the whip count for [Monday's] vote on the Keystone pipeline legislation." More from the Las Vegas Sun:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b400e615acb471ddefcea57dbf0826a73792cdd3d57e961a259
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b400e615acb471ddefcea57dbf0826a73792cdd3d57e961a259

GAY HILL AIDES LACK WORKPLACE PROTECTION - Rachel Roubein, writing for National Journal: "Mitchell Rivard scanned through the House Members' Handbook in 2013 ... when a line gave him pause: Personnel decisions must be free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, and more. Nowhere did it mention sexual orientation or gender identity. Inserting the language into an individual office policy was an easy decision for Rivard's boss, Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan ... Many individual members have made the same decision as Kildee, but others have not."

--"So House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and some other advocates want them done in bulk. That's why Hoyer sent a letter to fellow House Democrats Monday night urging them to add these protections to their individual policies, and attached a sample workplace anti-discrimination policy that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It was signed by Rep. Jared Polis, LGBT Equality Caucus cochair; Rep. Robert Brady, the House Administration Committee ranking member; and Rep. Mike Honda."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40ff6c796c679e9a7d9c561026ee5070a4c8944a33f7133401
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40ff6c796c679e9a7d9c561026ee5070a4c8944a33f7133401

RUBIO DINGED ON MISSED VOTES - As the Florida Republican tests the waters for a potential 2016 bid, Rubio's getting hit for not being in Washington. Alex Leary for the Tampa Bay Times: "It's cold and nasty in Washington today. Fortunately for Sen. Marco Rubio he's in California for the week, attending a series of fundraisers. Yet as he pursues his national ambitions, Rubio is neglecting the job Floridians elected him to do. 'It's not unusual for presidential candidates to miss Senate votes," spokesman Alex Conant said. "Senator Rubio has not made a final decision about 2016, but he's seriously considering running for president and taking the necessary steps to prepare a competitive
campaign.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40b662961641c3a7634d38df696fd3acf718497ec7b7997e60
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40b662961641c3a7634d38df696fd3acf718497ec7b7997e60

DRIVER ARRESTED IN SOTU CHASE - Hannah Hess of CQ Roll Call has the latest on the bizarre case of the driver near the Capitol that night: "Police in Maryland's Prince George's County have arrested the driver who skirted Capitol Hill on State of the Union night in a high-speed chase. District Heights, Md., Police Chief Elliott W. Gibson said officers arrested the man - who entered the District via the John Phillip Sousa Bridge in a white Crown Victoria, passed through 17 traffic lights at speeds of up to 80 mph, and came to a stop in traffic on a street adjacent to the Rayburn House Office Building - on Jan. 23, around 11:33 p.m." Officials did not release the name of the driver.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40e37e33e6383603967472eea026c28ea075ed89e9342797b3
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b40e37e33e6383603967472eea026c28ea075ed89e9342797b3

GARDNER, RANGEL HEADLINING DINNER - CQ Roll Call: "Newly minted Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and veteran Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., will effectively be campaigning for the biggest laughs on Feb. 4, when they face off at the Washington Press Club Foundation's 71st Annual Congressional Dinner. ... Although not a trained comedian, Gardner aides suggested the three-term House member and new senator wants not for material - 'On the subject of Charlie Rangel, Senator Gardner was quite Evasive, finding the whole process rather Taxing,' a Gardner aide quipped via email, making light of Rangel's fiscal challenges."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b402f410c1564129dadd2f1b7dda5cb5d67a689f18bf1ce60f0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b059865e605d7b402f410c1564129dadd2f1b7dda5cb5d67a689f18bf1ce60f0

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Shelby Boxenbaum was the first person to correctly respond that William Proxmire succeeded Joseph McCarthy in the Senate after he died in 1957, and Tammy Baldwin holds that seat today. A runner-up award goes to regular Huddle trivia player Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Boxenbaum has today's question: Until Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was elected, the Hawkeye State was one of just two states that had never sent a woman to Congress, nor elected a female governor. What is the other state? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
mailto:skim@politico.com
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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** Nobody knows the beer industry better than the Beer Institute. Have a question about beer policy? Contact the Beer Institute. With roots dating back to 1862, the Beer Institute represents brewers, beer importers and allied suppliers before Congress, the media and others. You can learn more about the business of beer, and answer your questions about complex industry issues, by calling the Beer Institute at (202) 737-BEER (2337), or by visiting BeerInstitute.org. **

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