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02/13/2018 07:54 AM EDT


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

TICK TOCK -- The Senate launched its open-ended immigration debate on Monday, and the pressure is on. "All eyes are now on which idea -- if any -- can clear a 60-vote hurdle that requires both parties to look across the aisle," Elana and Heather report. "But as debate began, Republicans and Democrats alike acknowledged that it's anyone's guess as to whether such an immigration plan exists." Lawmakers have just two weeks in session before President Donald Trump's March 5 deadline to pass an immigration bill that would protect Dreamers from deportation. Though Trump's deadline is self-imposed and a judge has blocked his termination of DACA, he warned this morning on Twitter that it is
Congress' "last chance."

"This is going to be done or not done this week," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters. "People had better get to work, because the clock is ticking." The White House's immigration framework will likely get a vote, but it's unlikely to win 60 in its current form. Democrats could push for a vote on the DREAM Act, but that, too, will likely fall short of winning 60 votes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97b871d9695a2070df837816831cf176f06212d13fe6b6c9c5175088e17ecd974b89976723937351940

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) could file an amendment as early as today that incorporates elements of the president's framework. "It will go further than some Democrats would like in tweaks to legal immigration and not as far as some border hawks will prefer," Burgess reports. Flake's plan includes $25 billion for a border trust fund, a 10- to 12-year pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million young immigrants and changes to legal immigration that are major but still less severe than what the president proposed. Flake is also preparing a fallback plan that could pass the Senate. More from Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97b7de79d92092589ddc34009eae38e1e1e964709509bcb2380f8b8ca10fe90ac82ad57539cfb69a35b

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), a vulnerable incumbent who faces a primary challenge while seeking reelection in a state Hillary Clinton won in 2016, is open to supporting Trump's framework, according to Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97b475969a09b474eca766c4342daca750b19b224d84d4b2854da66023cc764eeeb428ea997fd454a00

TRUMP BUDGET BLUEPRINT BLEEDS RED INK -- The White House released the president's fiscal year 2019 budget on Monday, a spending blueprint full of red ink. "Even if Trump were to get all the spending cuts he wants, plus his ambitious 3 percent growth, deficits over the next decade would total $7.1 trillion," David Rogers reports, noting that figure is double what OMB projected last spring. "This being Washington, much has already been written about the hypocrisy of Republicans preaching balanced budgets and then running up huge deficits to try to save themselves in the midterm elections. But these numbers have real consequences, quite apart from politics." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97baa94e6eba87b0e6507678bc16e89c080cb39510f9e7ecce1a0e69292cb3d53c86dcc2599f01bac55

The budget also "takes a hard whack at the poorest Americans, slashing billions of dollars from food stamps, public health insurance and federal housing vouchers, while trying to tilt the programs in more conservative directions," The Washington Post reports. The document assumes Congress will overhaul entitlement programs "in ways beyond what Congress so far has been willing to do," the Post adds. Presumed changes include work requirements to qualify for federal assistance and converting food assistance "into a hybrid of commodity deliveries and traditional cash benefits." More from WaPo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97bff04f73fe1ac99f45a655fa2c2d8d2975f6482f43486fa5772510aa62a9791dac2cbddc794ac8fea

Related: "What's in the White House Budget Request?" via The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97bd01fdd2f067e6c29e7e8dc288bcd5986b2d1dc9dc417b826993b9036927dea110f7121e5fe16d9ae

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Feb. 13.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rachael's report on the RSC staffer who resigned amid an internal dispute was the winner.

PROPOSE AND DEPOSE -- Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) gave his wife a ring when they wed in December 2015. He gave Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who was a groomsman in the wedding, a letter seeking a deposition as part of his divorce proceedings last week. "It's unclear why Turner would seek Issa's testimony," Bres, Jake Sherman and Rachael report. "[Majida] Mourad's attorney, Sanford Ain, said in a statement Monday that Turner 'may have' told 'third parties' that she was unfaithful, 'thinking it would advantage him in the divorce.' But any claim of infidelity by Mourad 'has no basis in fact,' Ain said."

"The couple's abrupt divorce has been a subject of speculation on Capitol Hill for months," they write. "Turner has sought $1.5 million as a divorce settlement, according to several sources familiar with the case. It's a surprising amount -- roughly $100,000 per month from the date of their wedding to when Turner filed for divorce." Mourad is worth between $2.8 million and $9.8 million; Turner is worth between $156,000 and $744,000. He alleges that Mourad "is guilty of a fraudulent contract." Much, much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97bc3d2814ba7efdaef0f619daf1435479c358da7327113bf35e6e5a7b11033c71c8fb6654f4d68a457

TRUMP TO RALLY IN PA NEXT WEEK -- President Donald Trump will hold a campaign-style rally near Pittsburgh next Wednesday, a stop that comes just weeks before the Pennsylvania special congressional election between Republican Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb. "Last month, Trump traveled to Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District for an event billed as an official White House event, but said that he'd hold a campaign rally to boost Saccone," Lisa Hagen writes for The Hill. "This upcoming trip to Ambridge will be right outside the 18th District." Trump won the district by 20 points in 2016, but Republicans have spent millions trying to fend off Lamb from claiming the GOP-held seat.
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97bb1a615f4dd40a541ec0cc752479d6ed578d21d5443e5396199d1fb6c75244bc16e664f4d31a0e031

Also next week: Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Co., will host a fundraiser for six red-state Senate Democrats seeking reelection: Bill Nelson (Fla.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester of (Mont.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.). Next Thursday's event seeks max contributions of $32,400 per person and will be hosted by Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, and his wife, Cindy Horn, a longtime environmental activist. Variety with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97b66c7bec59b1969c924b0d0fd11aa789f5d2ad76c25651da57ff1172211b237800c17f2a8ef693657

MARSHA, MARSHA, MARSHA -- Some Washington and Tennessee Republicans are worried that Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) could lose her bid to replace Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to a Democrat, potentially costing the GOP its Senate majority. "They want Corker to get back in to hold the seat and preserve waning foreign policy experience in the GOP," Burgess reports. "And there are signs that he is open to it, despite the steep climb a Republican primary might entail." Public polls show Blackburn is favored to win her primary, but an internal poll from January has her narrowly losing a hypothetical matchup with former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=91f7e86bb105b97bbe9bd348fc2e808f4cddba78273a0bce7b2a896377d0056c1a36c6e5388fa86ed33e1dfeb498488a

Wait, what? In another Senate race, a Republican candidate's parents have maxed out donations to their son's opponent, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). GOP candidate Kevin Nicholson's parents each gave Duckworth $2,700 in December, according to FEC filings. The contributions to Duckworth's primary campaign "are the first his parents have given to Baldwin since Nicholson announced his candidacy to try to oust the senator," Chris Massie reports for CNN. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8af841608f0137e21264d260033c14e12c1085cfce25f47f531bf71bad728f0f0c0e49e040ec9d81d72b26cc8e656878

Related read: "Candidates chase their '15 minutes' -- and buckets of cash," by Gabriel Debenedetti: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8af841608f0137e2d66a9bdd7b91e668d1f32ba68f67350f754611260d7de545012648a383f6089662aed17c75352c0f

TRUMP'S CENSUS PICK WITHDRAWS -- Political science professor Thomas Brunell has withdrawn from consideration to run the 2020 Census as deputy director of the U.S. Census Bureau. Brunell was considered a controversial choice because he is a registered Republican with no government experience who has defended GOP redistricting efforts in more than a dozen states. Congressional Democrats and civil rights advocates opposed his appointment. Advocates feared the 2020 Census "would not accurately count minority communities and would be manipulated by the Trump administration to give Republican areas more political representation and federal funding than Democratic ones," Ari Berman reports for
Mother Jones. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8af841608f0137e274f5076543d0e330c0770a654fa25493251a057818653af40ca43dba81f33e9f7cda374efd4954ba

ARRIVAL LOUNGE -- Amanda Munger has joined Rep. Rick Larsen's (D-Wash.) office as communications director. Munger is a former White House intern, Homeland Security Department press assistant and Interior Department deputy press secretary.

Lora Snyder is serving as the lead Democratic staffer on fisheries, oceans and endangered species on the House Natural Resources Committee. She replaces Matt Strickler, who left to become Virginia's secretary of natural resources. Snyder most recently served as campaign director at Oceana.

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 12 p.m. with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8af841608f0137e239c1fcdf9fc7f79100efe87d93b8c7edfd7dad9dad67eb69ed2c4b730a54fa5699dc844646f38dd5 The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the intended vehicle for immigration legislation.

AROUND THE HILL -- House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will hold his weekly pen and pad briefing at 11 a.m. in H-144.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders will hold separate press conferences after their weekly policy lunches starting around 2 p.m. in the Ohio Clock Corridor.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) will hold a media availability after a meeting with U.S. Park Police Chief Robert MacLean about the November shooting of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar by Park Police officers at 3 p.m. in 2136 Rayburn.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Patrick Boland was first to correctly guess that Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) once took to the Senate to protest the cancellation of "Gunsmoke."

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- Patrick with today's question: Which state has had the most House speakers, how many have served as speaker from that state and who was the last speaker from there? 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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