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02/12/2018 07:57 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

SENATE IMMIGRATION DEBATE BEGINS -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is taking a rare gamble by bringing a free-for-all immigration debate to the floor. "No one knows the GOP leader's endgame, nor how he personally prefers the stalemate over Dreamers be resolved," Seung Min and Burgess report this morning. "Even his top lieutenants aren't sure whether McConnell would ultimately support a final immigration deal that can clinch the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate." A senior administration official said the White House similarly has no indication of what McConnell will do.

"What is clear is that the Kentucky Republican's pledge of unlimited amendments could open vulnerable senators in both parties up to politically tough votes on a range of contentious issues - from beefed-up enforcement to a pathway to citizenship," they write. "And despite allies' claims that McConnell wants to get the issue off the Senate's plate, there's no guarantee his promise for a freewheeling immigration debate will yield a new law." Indeed, it's unclear whether the House would take up the Senate bill or if the president would sign it. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b0824479c9a2c66aae2f3c88901eee56d75c6f771990fe26619c3974f52b31434ffee0f2340039edf4fa4455

While the White House's framework will likely get a vote in the Senate, "it probably won't become law without major alterations that could bring Democratic support," Burgess reports. Nevertheless, a group of GOP senators said Sunday that they intend to offer the president's framework as legislation during the immigration debate. The White House proposed offering a pathway to citizenship for nearly 2 million immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children in exchange for $25 billion for a border wall and security and cuts to family-based immigration. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b0824479baa7256e6cd256a5525ce53144dced280fd90972a15fb023ad0f06e10bb28d0aed6d4b06eeb65c9a

Related: "Trump's man on the Hill tries not to make promises he can't keep on immigration," via Matthew Nussbaum and Seung Min: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b118596448f188b993f9f9e328c6d9824b8cb080313e78e225cf9868b1bbeaa141a2dc2189ab79ac0615 and "White House floats an offer to keep legal immigration at 1 million per year instead of cutting it," from the LA Times' Brian Bennett: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b0824479b7dcf3da5c7a571c29cf17ed8a353f31733fc98b33479fcbd9c8c2d30b8cc11099173137246a05a2

BUDGET DAY -- The White House is expected to release President Donald Trump's budget blueprint today. Its anticipated release comes days after Congress raised defense and domestic spending caps by $300 billion in a bipartisan two-year budget deal. Trump is expected to call for drastic cuts to nondefense programs. The White House on Sunday said the budget will lay out "an aggressive set of spending reforms" to reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over a decade.

"Those spending reductions would run nearly as deep as Trump's first budget, with a key exception: the Department of Defense," Sarah Ferris and Jennifer Scholtes report. "Last year, Trump's first budget arrived with a thud on Capitol Hill, proposing the most extreme drawdown in federal spending in decades." His new budget will call for a major boost to the Pentagon and request $23 billion for border security. But it's also "just a nice book," Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) said. "It's good to know where their priorities are, but the ones that make a difference are the ones here." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b08244799bf031d63611e44ae7af71de118dc9854d359b7892307c05801a09de0f74d8cd94c63b22bf0c865c

TRUMP'S $1.5T INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN COMING TODAY -- The White House will also roll out the president's long-awaited infrastructure plan. Trump is scheduled to a host a meeting with state and local officials about his infrastructure initiative this morning. "The proposal faces tough odds in Congress: Some conservative Republicans are already expressing shock at Trump's total price tag, while Democrats say the share coming from the federal government would be too little to fill the backlog of crumbling roads, bridges, railroads, tunnels and airports, along with other needs like rural broadband service," Brianna Gurciullo reports.

"Trump is proposing to provide $200 billion for his plan over the next 10 years ... paid for by unspecified cuts elsewhere in the budget proposal that the White House also plans to release Monday. That spending is meant to draw an additional $1.3 trillion or more in investments from cities, states, private investors and other sources." The plan is actually a set of principles that Congress would have to translate into legislation. It doesn't address a permanent new revenue stream, which many infrastructure advocates say is necessary. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b0824479987438062df4d7705a6f679a8d4ede6bfeb89ca601e6eaaa8a3ebe137362e3c602079bb9e8862216

Related read: "Draft White House memo would speed up infrastructure project permitting," by Andrew Restuccia: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b0824479e8e2081270ff4cf5dd449fd5b0f93a0cb080158f819bfea723123db148b006f039cea132232768ea

HAPPY MONDAY! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Feb. 12.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: POLITICO's report on the surprises in the budget deal was the big winner.

PELOSI'S LEADERSHIP TEST -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged House Democrats not to support last week's budget deal. Seventy-three members of her caucus did. "Ms. Pelosi now says she wanted it to pass all along," Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes for The New York Times. "The mixed messages from the Democratic leader marked another turn in a political high-wire act that has become one of the longest running in Washington." While Pelosi is still a dominant figure in the party, she is also polarizing, even among Democrats. "[A]nd as the budget vote indicated, she may be losing what was once an iron grip," she adds.

"As Congress turns to the difficult topic of immigration -- the Senate is expected to begin debate this week -- some are wondering if Ms. Pelosi is the person to leader her party on an issue that goes to the heart of Democratic divisions in the era of President Trump." Pelosi says she doesn't think about becoming House speaker again but wants Democrats to take back the House. "It's an awesome power, and I just want the Democrats to have the gavel," Pelosi, 77, said. "It doesn't have to be me, but I'm good at what I do." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc42fb63b082447968edee531b3e39e8805106696537e88aea68b0ce4c8c0fb378e8cbea549a9d064fa844259642e234

CORKER RECONSIDERING RETIREMENT? -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has spoken with colleagues recently about whether he should reconsider not seeking reelection. "Whether it is a serious reconsideration, or just chatter with colleagues is the subject of some disagreement," John King and Rebecca Schatz report for CNN. "There are also conflicting accounts of whether Corker has initiated the conversations, or whether he has had them with colleagues who are pushing him to think again." Corker has discussed the subject with Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Linsdey Graham (R-S.C.).

"McConnell likes Corker, and would have preferred that he sought re-election. But once Corker announced he was not running, the GOP establishment quickly rallied behind Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who is already in the Senate race and has support across the party's often fractious spectrum," they write. Given his past feuds with Trump, however, "CNN is told McConnell's view is that if Corker is serious, he would need first and foremost to get the President on board." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b11836ffa02b5937bc7ae327dedbb4089d6cb9038882fc35f20f52c3aab8a10e6cdf8e7da68c25d5ed98

TRUMP BACKS BARLETTA SENATE RUN -- Trump tweeted that Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) would make "a fantastic senator." The Pennsylvania Republican is hoping to unseat incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). "Barletta, a four-term congressman and former mayor of Hazleton, is among a handful of Republicans vying to challenge Casey in a state where the president narrowly edged out 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton," Brent D. Griffiths reports. "State Rep. Jim Christiana, another Republican seeking to challenge Casey, has received endorsements from the top lawmakers in the state House and Senate. But Barletta received the backing of the state Republican Party." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b118ab507a7f16ae524693b61888e6714ec8a5d52b2a74203e4310bf6b5396787211d27c95092226e6a2

Fearful of potentially losing both chambers of Congress, Republicans flocked to Las Vegas over the weekend for the annual Republican Jewish Coalition conference casino mogul Sheldon Adelson hosts, though he didn't actually attend this year. Lawmakers present included Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Reps. Mia Love (R-Utah) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.). "The RJC conference has emerged as a must-stop for those eager to appeal to Adelson and his extended network of friends and fellow contributors," Alex Isenstadt reports. "Adelson, a famously private figure, has given few hints about his plans for the midterms." But he's expected to contribute
millions to House and Senate races. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b118bed059cad0bbbf1d88559202ae744b02344c89b3466aae7f437a18773b23ae28708d5a0f21204654

Hillary Clinton also plans to play a role in the midterms. The former presidential candidate plans to back select candidates while remaining under the radar, according to The Washington Post.

RSC STAFFER RESIGNS -- Scott Parkinson has resigned from the Republican Study Committee, where he served as executive director. "The longtime Hill aide landed in hot water just before the State of the Union when he argued at an off-the-record Heritage event that GOP whips were phoning it in on a conservative immigration bill," Rachael reports. "The criticism, offered to a roomful of congressional aides, did not sit well with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise -- a former RSC chair himself -- who pushed back on the remarks in a subsequent RSC meeting." More from Rachael: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b1181e03d91cf07950158ee5be084fb3ea6c84deccae9d24b80e07d237b6025d2efac2ff7e1481e50e29

WHITE HOUSE NAMES NEW DRUG CZAR -- The White House has tapped deputy chief of staff Jim Carroll to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "The White House's first nominee to lead the office, Rep. Tom Marino, withdrew from consideration in October after a report detailed how legislation he sponsored helped make it easier for drug companies to distribute opioids across America," Jeremy Diamond reports for CNN. "Carroll was named late Friday afternoon as the drug policy office's deputy director, where he will serve as the office's acting director while awaiting confirmation." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=eba8103c3585b1187a4834557df96c944198dd1c50deb7c5029d6ce9215828bb198bf070fd4feb5b269815cb269d7252

MOVING ON -- Marvin Figueroa is now deputy secretary of health and human resources for Virginia in the Northam administration. He previously served as a senior policy adviser for health care for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gates Fellow.

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- No votes are expected in the House. The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the intended vehicle for immigration legislation. The chamber will hold a procedural vote at 5:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL -- The House Budget Committee will hold a photo-op for the delivery of the president's fiscal year 2019 budget at 8 a.m. in 1334 Longworth.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) will hold a pen and pad briefing to respond to the president's budget request at 3:45 p.m. in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's conference room.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Jon Deuser was first to correctly guess that Robert Byrd served in his state's House and Senate, as well as the U.S. House and Senate. He also carried every county in his 1970 reelection campaign.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- Jon with today's question: The cancellation of what long-running TV drama once caused Byrd to take to the Senate in protest? 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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