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12/07/2016 07:58 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS- After years of battle cries against Obamacare, Republicans finally have a chance to roll back the massive healthcare law impacting millions of people. But now that their talk must become action, disagreements about what to do and when are splintering the party. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to kick off the repeal effort as soon as Jan. 3 via a budget resolution. But even after a meeting with VP-elect Mike Pence Tuesday, Republicans still disagree over how long to give themselves to replace the law, Burgess and Jen report. "The view on that probably is in a constant state of evolution, based on who you talk to," said Sen. John Thune.

The options: "Lawmakers have proposed putting off the effective date of repeal from as little as six months to as long as three years to come up with a replacement - and give insurance markets a chance to prepare." But some Republicans don't want to wait that long, arguing a three-year repeal would have lawmakers revisiting the thorny issue right in the middle of the presidential primary season. "'It may take awhile ... we've spent six years acting like the Hatfields and McCoys,' said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who chairs the committee with primary oversight over health care."

Potential fallout: "Several senators suggested at the meeting with Pence that additional measures from Congress or the administration may be needed to address rising insurance premiums and avoid roiling the insurance markets in the period between repeal and replace, attendees said." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b24b5fe275ae1aa8d794f00540bfec14fac796a2e47f8c5275

MAD OVER MAD DOG- Republicans are taking a gamble: Plowing ahead with an effort to ease the confirmation of President-elect Trump's defense secretary and betting angry Democrats won't go so far as to shut the government down in the process. "GOP leaders slipped in a provision into a must-pass government funding bill Tuesday that would streamline confirmation of [Gen. James] Mattis next year by fast-tracking legislation to grant him a waiver to serve in the Cabinet." Burgess again: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2901b587ccf18880cd3ddc801ddd5d4e59e3b5a675dacd2f4

Tweet du jour: Sen. Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc): Remember "read the bill"? Rs are not even allowing us to read the legislation that will fund the government come Friday. Regular order? BS.

DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR NO MORE? Democrats had a built-in security blanket during Obama's presidency: Any extra dollar for defense had to be paired with a dollar for domestic spending. Austin explores what that means in a Trump presidency: "One key variable is where, exactly, Trump will come down on the issue, as the real-estate mogul has made conflicting statements about his plans for federal spending. He is expected to push for a huge military buildup - but has also pledged to boost infrastructure spending, a Democratic priority."

Democrats still have a little leverage in the Senate, where Republicans will need some Democratic votes to avoid a filibuster. But Republicans will be putting pressure on the moderates and vulnerable red-state Dems up for reelection in 2018. "At least one Democrat already sounds like he's willing to work with Republicans. 'I've never been prescribed to one-for-one - you have to invest where it's needed,' said Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a moderate Democrat facing an uphill path to reelection in a state that Trump won by more than 40 points." Austin with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2d521ceef0e2a86c9f555b62183601548cfe8dcb55e343937

DON'T LET YOUR WEDNESDAY BE WACK. Welcome to Dec. 7. Thanks for POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Let's all take a moment to remember the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and honor those lost.

POLITICO EVENT ALERT - WOMEN RULE: Join us for the fourth annual Women Rule summit, setting the 2017 agenda for women in the new Washington. Conversations to include: Women in the New Congress, Women on the Trail, What I Learned in the White House, and keynote conversations with Kellyanne Conway and Valerie Jarrett. Wednesday, December 7, 8:50am. Learn more: here. Livestream: here.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED- Ben and Rachael's story about the GOP's plan to pass a short-term spending bill this week.

TODAY IN CONGRESS- The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 2 p.m. and last votes around 5:30 p.m. Today's House agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2570c6f524e8e860723d51ea40155c9154af36bc159336652 The Senate gavels in at 9:30 a.m. with at least two roll call votes related to the Cures Act and the National Defense Authorization at 2 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL- Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Luis Gutierrez and Lucille Roybal-Allard hold a 9:45 a.m. press conference on Dreamers in HVC Studio A. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Ted Deutch hold a press conference on GOP efforts to overhaul Medicare at 11 a.m. in 608 Dirksen.

Sens. Patrick Leahy, Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner and Rep. Tom Emmer hold a 12 p.m. press conference on Cuban entrepreneurs in Russel 328A. Reps. Elijah Cummings and Eric Swalwell hold a 2 p.m. press conference in HVC Studio A on a bill targeting foreign tampering with elections.

Starting at 3 p.m., Sen. Chris Coons kicks off a series of bipartisan tributes to Vice President Joe Biden on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sens. Tom Carper, Orrin Hatch, Patrick Leahy and others will also participate.

** A message from the Stop The HIT Coalition: The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) drives up health care costs for small businesses, seniors, state Medicaid programs and middle-income Americans. The consequences are real. We need to repeal the HIT before it hurts small businesses and hardworking American families even more. Congress, please stop the HIT. Once and for all. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2ed23737ea140770001fbb43fe43ce6b18436009fb5d82400 **

OFF THE HILL- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Derek Kilmer discuss the future of ocean policy under Trump at the Center for American Progress starting at 9:30 a.m.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DREAMERS? Trump faces a big question on his first day in office: how far does he go to implement his hard-line immigration promises from the campaign trail? The first test of that is whether he'll pull back an Obama administration directive that allows so-called Dreamers--undocumented immigrants who were brought here illegally as children--the chance to work in the United States.

"Trump could shut that process down completely on his first day in office, but if he does nothing, immigration officials will continue to grant and renew permits he has argued are illegal," Seung Min and Josh Gerstein report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2e55dcb7fe2456322bb4520235eafb2c323a53571c23a4abe

BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE- House Democrats leadership troubles are mostly settled for now, but several Midwestern members say they still feel overlooked and ignored. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi added several new leadership spots for junior members but the caucus ended up electing coastal members for most of those positions, adding to a top flank that's already heavily skewed in that direction.

"'We're not as intentional when it comes to geography,' [Rep. Emanuel Cleaver] said. 'That's a big mistake. The election was lost in the very area that we just ignored in the leadership assembly.'" More from the Hill's Mike Lillis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2ceb3cc4325294d43363f5b7e4482bb51c37c6b4b5847d14e

N.Y. TIMES OP-ED: 'Paul Ryan's Dangerous Silence on Trump'- "Is Ryan really content to look the other way just for an Obamacare repeal and some tax reform?" writes Frank Bruni. "Ryan is sacrificing too much for too little, and it's time he rummaged through his wobbly endoskeleton and made fresh acquaintance with his spine." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b210d56f82d8f0e9cc9d53e83bd402ecd96eec1504f79fe577

THE GREAT QUESO CLASH COMES TO AN END- Sens. John Cornyn and Tom Cotton are ready to settle their simmering queso debate once and for all, holding a blind taste test today for some of their Republican colleagues. Today's faceoff comes after the two senators got into a friendly Twitter debate last month following a Wall Street Journal article that compared the merits of their home states' claims to cheese dip fame. Your Huddle host will be there to report the action (and try to snag a sample).

TWEET DU JOUR- Hannah Hess (@ha_nah_nah): Sen. Pat Roberts spotted bowing before potential Trump cabinet pick @SenatorHeitkamp outside Senate chamber, pretending to kiss her hands.

KOSKINEN QUANDARY SETTLED, FOR NOW- The House on Tuesday finally dealt with a Freedom Caucus push to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen that's been brewing for more than a year. In a fierce bipartisan rebuke, lawmakers voted 342-72 to punt the resolution back to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the measure this Congress. And Koskinen, whose term ends in November 2017, has said he serves at the pleasure of the president, meaning he'll step aside if Trump asks him to, which many Republicans expect. More from Katy O'Donnell and Bernie Becker: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b28c37c35e3661b0a746c3f8f8975f03a2c9609ff974b394ae

POLITICO EVENT ALERT - EMERGING HEALTH CARE LEADERS: Join POLITICO for the sixth annual Emerging Health Care Leaders event, a morning of one-on-one conversations with the emerging leaders who will influence the future of health policy. Thursday, December, 8 - Doors at 8:00 am; W Hotel. RSVP: here.

SHUFFLEBOARD- Rep. Robin Kelly has hired James Lewis as her new communications director. Lewis comes from Rep. Barbara Lee's office, where he served in the same role.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER- Logan Ferree was the first to guess that Dr. Joseph Irwin France challenged Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover in the 1932 campaign. Rep. Bertrand Hollis Snell chaired the convention that year.

TODAY'S TRIVIA- Paul Kane with the question: In honor of today's tribute to Vice President Joe Biden, when was the last time he had to cast a tiebreaker vote as president of the Senate? The first person to correctly guess the answer to today's question gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle. Send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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** A message from the Stop The HIT Coalition: The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) drives up health care costs for small businesses, seniors, state Medicaid programs and middle-income Americans. The HIT is estimated to cost hardworking American families an additional $5,000 over a decade. And since the cost and consequences of the HIT increase over time, America's small businesses and hardworking families are facing a bigger HIT every year. This translates to real jobs for businesses and real wages for families. That's why the Stop The HIT Coalition - representing the nation's small business owners and their employees - is working hard to repeal the HIT before it causes even more damage.
Congress, please stop the HIT. Once and for all. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=de093a8b0e0882b2ed23737ea140770001fbb43fe43ce6b18436009fb5d82400 **

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