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12/14/2016 07:51 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Seung Min Kim

COMING ATTRACTIONS: HACKING PROBE HEATS UP- Don't expect news about Russia's interference in the election to go dormant after the holidays. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker is planning a closed-door classified briefing and public hearing on the issue in January. For those keeping count, Corker's committee joins the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees in probing the matter, Burgess reports.

Double duty: "Corker was a finalist to be Donald Trump's Secretary of State and will simultaneously hold hearings on Trump's final pick for the state job - ExxonMobil executive Rex Tillerson - even as the the committee investigates Russia. Tillerson has drawn early fire for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95843dd0d5c884a19183d82a40624c2eff6c723f9cb012917a

And, as you probably remember, it wasn't just the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign that were Russian targets. Personal information for House members and their staffers was released after the DCCC was hacked. Now the New York Times looks at nearly a dozen House races in Florida, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico and North Carolina that were impacted by documents stolen from House Democrats' campaign arm. "The seats that Guccifer 2.0 targeted in the document dumps were hardly random: They were some of the most competitive House races in the country."

"'This is not a traditional tit-for-tat on a partisan political campaign, where one side hits the other and then you respond,' said Kelly Ward, executive director of the D.C.C.C. 'This is an attack by a foreign actor that had the intent to disrupt our election, and we were the victims of it.'" More from Eric Lipton and Scott Shane: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d9511de5a51d6eeb1797e6b17d9852a1adbfb1c84931ac69e77

And if you missed it, the House Democrats' story is part of larger Times investigation into Russian interference in the election, which got the five-column header treatment on today's front page. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95b21419f60668ef4d989325db849534920723a9bf091de896

Democratic leaders have doubled down on their calls for an independent investigation into the hacks, with both House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday comparing the issue to the commission launched after the 9/11 attacks. "I think this is as big a deal as Watergate, as 9/11," Reid said during a BuzzFeed event Tuesday night. "This is a scandal that has been uncovered."

Related: Nine Senate Democrats want the Obama administration to release its report on Russian hacking before Trump's inauguration. Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95b80714c67f28a43f1686b39f23db06ddd03465809aa22442 And "Trump can wipe out Russian sanctions with the stroke of a pen," by Elana and Austin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95cfc54bfd7b86efbb1bd9ad6d8aa7e8f3fd65435c31bb8ed1

JUST GETS BETTER WITH TIME- President-elect Donald Trump continued his victory tour Tuesday, making a stop in West Allis, Wisconsin, to appear with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker. Trump on Ryan: "'He has been terrific, and you know, honestly, he's like a fine wine: Every day goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more.' But then he added a warning, smiling while he said it: 'Now, if he ever goes against me, I'm not going to say that, OK?'" Rachael with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d9538372f9dd7e2d99646f47ba64cd8e88561926e57a2371359

TRUMP TAPS ZINKE FOR INTERIOR- Trump has tapped freshman Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Interior Department, POLITICO reported first Tuesday. Zinke, who just won reelection to a second House term, has made no secret that he's eyeing a challenge to vulnerable Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the No. 4 House Republican, was considered a frontrunner for Interior last week. She, Zinke and Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador all interviewed for the job on Monday. More from Ken Vogel, Maggie Severns and Rachael: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d958366bcdffde5fc44c3ffcbb586fe9ce33fd832cc68ebfb51

And, as Playbook reported this morning, Donald Trump Jr., who is supposed to be taking over Trump's business operations, was involved in the pick for Interior secretary: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d958638d96f19c468273ea1a087531989f1443b4a69717516cf

Background on CMR: A source close to the House GOP Conference chairwoman said she had two "brief" meetings with Trump but didn't get a call from the president-elect Tuesday. And despite last week's reports, according to the source, she never received an offer to be Interior secretary.

WE NOW RESUME REGULAR PROGRAMMING. Welcome to Wednesday, Dec. 14. Thanks for POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. I'm Heather, your Huddle host, back after a brief jaunt to Springfield, IL. The town was lovely but cold! Glad to be back in warmer climates, even if it's only temporary.

TODAY IN CONGRESS- Chirp chirp, that's congressional crickets you hear.

OFF THE HILL- Sens. John Boozman and Chris Coons will meet with President-elect Trump today to invite him to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast in February. Every president since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 has participated in the annual event.

MUDSLINGIN', HARRY REID STYLE- Sen. Harry Reid managed to wedge in a few of his classic putdowns during his BuzzFeed Brews interview Tuesday. Huddle's favorite? Reid when asked if he'd rather fight former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist or current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "It would be a fairer fight if I fought Frist." More from Ben Smith and Lissandra Villa: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d957535ed258af0655f3a0b1adbc41c42e1bfa2acefe63d2cfc

Tweet du jour- Kevin Robillard (@PoliticoKevin): "I learned to swim in a whorehouse swimming pool." - @SenatorReid

And speaking of Reid, Mitt Romney had some not-so-nice things to say about the outgoing Democratic leader: "As for Mr. Reid, I lost respect for him when he repeatedly lied about my taxes and later admitted to it cheerily. Good riddance, Mr. Reid. The Senate will be better served without you in it," Romney told the Huffington Post. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d952e8894245d2536837aff4f19690262610b71d69ef96cdeab

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE- Top Senators are already fighting over Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination to be attorney general, even though his confirmation hearings are still weeks away. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee next Congress, said lawmakers need more time to review the 150,000-plus pages of documents related to Sessions' nomination. But Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, who has said he wants the Alabama senator confirmed promptly, isn't hearing it. More from Seung Min: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95cee8d68d229f0dbc1d473dcc7295bbff1606366dc71aefa3

LOOKING TOWARD GREENER PASTURES- Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham just won a bid to lead the Congressional Hispanic Caucus but she's already looking ahead to bigger things. Grisham, first elected to Congress in 2012, is running for governor of New Mexico in 2018, she announced Tuesday. More from KRWG: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d956dcf82886e1f4b7f866794bc060a8aa1c36020abc51eb928

SPIN, SPIN, SPIN- Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson has come under fire from both parties for his close business ties to Russia. But the Trump transition team quickly sprung into action, distributing talking points about the ExxonMobil CEO just hours after his pick was announced. "In talking points sent to the Capitol Tuesday, the Trump transition advises GOP senators to push back on criticisms that Tillerson is too cozy with the Kremlin by saying the State nominee will be able to work closely with Russia on shared interests." Seung Min: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d9596667e1d15b8e10baa8311c163b07cc9378b0d5116bde7c2

Trump dares GOP to say no: "Trump and Tillerson will have little margin for error," Burgess reports. "GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have all reacted critically to Tillerson's business ties to Russia. It would take only three Republicans to sink him, if all Democrats vote no. But no Republicans have said they will oppose Tillerson." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95fee5805820109e09d4f7973f59e0a7e006fca24711b4a9c1

Don't miss: "Why Trump picked Tillerson," your backstage guide to the decision, from Shane Goldmacher, Josh Dawsey and Matt Nussbaum: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95e76a61166bdd8b484b628465e307a75b2d539ed2bbfbcf51

And the man in the running to be Tillerson's deputy, John Bolton, could spark "an all-out war in the Senate," Nahal Toosi and Madeline Conway report this morning. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d9536117bf3f83756685e832d8b90af7542058c239aafff627b

STAYING RIGHT WHERE I AM- Sen. Joe Manchin is staying in the Senate, he announced Tuesday after reports that Trump picked former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to run the Energy Department. Manchin met with Trump on Monday. More from Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e5eae8df05cd4d95a4f55b447f7ecf599acb9e665514f8f3cbd6ebdf197a87a2

NEWS YOU CAN USE-- John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico): [House Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi is now talking about "the rhythm method." "People who use it are called 'Momma & Poppa.'"

WATCH LIVE - Cornerstones of Democracy: Join POLITICO for a high-level conversation about the future of the parties and the press. Featured speakers include: Susan Glasser, Founding Editor, POLITICO Magazine; Sarah Isgur Flores, Deputy Campaign Manager, Carly Fiorina for President; Evan McMullin, 2016 Conservative Independent Candidate for President; IJR Founder Alex Skatell; Ben Smith, Editor-in-Chief, BuzzFeed; Jeff Weaver, Campaign Manager, Bernie Sanders for President and President, Our Revolution. TODAY - 8am; The W Hotel. Livestream: here.

DEPARTURE LOUNGE- T.J. Tatum, aide to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, is moving on after 5.5 years on Capitol Hill. In January Tatum joins communications firm Finsbury in their New York office.

WHERE MY LADIES AT? Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel and Republican Rep. Susan Brooks have been tapped to lead the Congressional Women's Caucus in the next Congress. Reps. Mimi Walters and Brenda Lawrence will serve as co-vice chairs.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER- Jeremy Berkowitz was the first to guess that 1973 through 1974 before President Richard Nixon resigned was the last time the U.S. had no living former president. Former President Lyndon Johnson died two days after Nixon's second inauguration. And a month before that, former President Harry S. Truman died. Johnson's and Truman's deaths in the span of a month left the U.S. with no former living presidents.

TODAY'S TRIVIA- I'll take today's question, inspired by my trip to Springfield. Abraham Lincoln lived in the same home in downtown Springfield for 17 years, from 1844 until he was elected to the White House. The home, restored to what it would look like in 1860, and the surrounding area is now a national historic site. Who was the first sitting president to visit Lincoln's Springfield home?

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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