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01/23/2018 07:46 AM EDT


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

OPEN FOR BUSINESS - President Donald Trump signed a bill last night that keeps the government open through Feb. 8 and funds the Children's Health Insurance Program for six years, formally ending a three-day shutdown over an immigration impasse - for now. The bill easily cleared the Senate and then passed the House on Monday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered to consider legislation that would codify protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), however, made no such commitment.

McConnell "did not offer a specific promise to protect dreamers, and he suggested that he would offer nothing if the government shut down again, but he said he would follow an evenhanded process," The Washington Post reports. "Even if such a bill passed the Senate, it remained entirely unclear Monday how it would fare in the more conservative House." Democrats were highly skeptical of McConnell's commitment but signaled they would trust the GOP leader after a strategizing session Monday morning. As for Republicans, they "were gleeful that Democratic senators had caved without any substantive wins," Seung Min, Burgess and Elana write. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d5069c1a017ddb7d5aea06cfa8521ffbe32a33d65727d833ab342858fdb698c0bdcc056948201652b527

Democrats learned Monday what Republicans already knew, according to The Post: "First, that bringing the government to a halt is not an advantageous way for the opposition to force through the policy objectives it has not been able to achieve through legislating. And second, that the party that holds the White House has the upper hand." But thanks to roughly two dozen centrist senators and a talking stick (which was later swapped with the "safer" option of a small basketball), the talks will continue - while the government is open.

UP NEXT: ANOTHER SHUTDOWN BATTLE - If you thought the shutdown showdown was over, the good news is it is; the bad news is it won't be for long. Mark your calendars, because "Washington will be back on the brink in less than three weeks," Rachael reports. "Lawmakers may have pulled themselves out of a debilitating government shutdown Monday, but the fight over immigration and spending that's ground virtually all congressional business to a halt is far from over. And the fundamentals of the debate haven't changed at all."

Defense hawks are tired of short-term spending bills that they say harm the military, but Senate Democrats still have the leverage to stop a long-term spending bill if they don't get a palatable deal on immigration by Feb. 8. "Republicans and Democrats are still far apart on immigration - meaning Congress may soon be facing another spending stalemate," Rachael writes. "Democrats are betting that pressure from rank-and-file Republicans will force leadership to address DACA... And more and more Republicans are upping the pressure on their leaders to find a solution." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d506f6e1d25a6f1f6ee14cc642a4bf7ade5f40e62517c6ba4f0e0f077f1ae2a1e883f658f95ae5ccf782

DEMS DEAL WITH SHUTDOWN FALLOUT - Democrats lost the shutdown battle, Rachael and Seung Min report, writing that Senate Democrats largely voted to reopen the government with little to show for it after initially vowing to vote against a spending bill without protections for Dreamers. Liberal groups are livid, and House Democrats are angry that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) backed down and accepted McConnell's deal.

Schumer's leadership isn't in jeopardy, and many Democratic senators and aides told POLITICO that McConnell's deal may have been the minority leader's only way out. But Monday's turn of events "marked the most serious cracks in the unity Schumer has painstakingly built within his caucus since he became Democratic leader a year ago," Burgess and Elana report. "After holding almost all Democrats together through fights over the Supreme Court, health care, taxes and even Friday's vote that shut down the government, Schumer is now under attack from the left and confronting pointed criticism of his negotiating skill." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d50654e747641d4bd6487fcefd8c8f95fbada8f4ee7c3953070823bfa023e4044a43ec82d03ae778be1e

Related: "'None of it matters' - top strategists shrug off shutdown fallout in 2018 vote," by McClatchy's Katie Glueck and Alex Roarty: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d506a2753aa51d0c077b271a82800df3b85628e5d408b46b06a92c0c68e1205619290c348ead446b0097

ONE STEP CLOSER TO FRIDAY. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Jan. 23.

POSTCARD FROM DAVOS: Key leaders and thinkers from around the world have converged at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and POLITICO is providing up-to-the-minute dispatches through our exclusive Davos Playbook (Sign up here) and a pop-up Davos Confidential podcast (Sign up here) to help track significant conversations, newsworthy events and the general buzz from the scene at #WEF2018.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Wall Street Journal's report on a casually clad Congress was the winner.

HE'S BACK - Trump was largely relegated over the weekend to watching TV and making phone calls as aides and allies encouraged him to stand by while the shutdown battle played itself out on Capitol Hill. But the president signaled Monday that he's itching to prove he can lead and strike a deal. "Trump is impatient to return to the immigration negotiating table," Kevin Liptak and Jeff Zeleny report for CNN.

Trump met Monday with a half-dozen hard-line GOP senators, then with moderate Sens. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). But he "offered few specifics on what he wanted," Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey write for The Washington Post. "He remains flexible on policy and an unreliable negotiator, and several aides said privately the next test would be harder than this one." Nevertheless, before the day was over, Trump tweeted his desire for a "big" bipartisan win on immigration. "Should be able to get there," he wrote. "See you at the negotiating table!" More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d5067f77526d7237d88f59b22143570374927b4c02c9cf202aa3049f76a47af6def3506853c4264c5078

RSC WANTS VOTE ON GOODLATTE BILL - The influential Republican Study Committee comprising more than 150 Republicans will announce today that it will support a hard-line immigration bill from Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) and call for a floor vote, CNN's Tal Kopan reports. "The Goodlatte proposal contains a number of contentious provisions that would be difficult to pass with even just Republican votes," Kopan writes, "including mandatory worker verification, cracking down on sanctuary cities, changing asylum thresholds and cutting legal immigration to the US by 25%, according to bill authors." Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b4cb853e1a09d50659ff905548a6856cbda8cb4a200d3e25d994138dd279e554854dedf35319633f2990708e313b043f

SCALISE MAKES SURPRISE VOTE - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) returned to the Capitol to vote for a short-term spending bill. Scalise was discharged from the hospital earlier Monday after undergoing surgery two weeks ago related to last summer's shooting. "I'm feeling good," said Scalise, who called the surgery "very successful" while lamenting "it took a long recovery." Scalise is continuing rehab and will be back to work full time when the House is in session next week. "He conducted whip calls from his hospital bed on the four-week continuing resolution that the House passed last week after much vote wrangling among the rank-and-file," Lindsey McPherson reports for Roll Call.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0fe2b64d424149444b6fd4eb1a3959bd17dcbf4550c10353456938f7173d885175b80dc1448f1529db3

TWEET DU JOUR: @JeffFlake: "Just got off the phone with @SenJohnMcCain. He is sounding good and is pleased that the senate has voted to reopen the federal government."

A BRISKET AT CORNYN'S - Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and his wife hosted Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and a group of senators for dinner, according to Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). Per Cornyn's Instagram account, his wife's "famous brisket" was served. Alexander tweeted that he enjoyed dinner, which he said included a "talk about important issues facing our country."

GOP CHAIRMEN FUME OVER MISSING FBI TEXTS - A trio of Republican committee chairmen expressed concern in a joint letter Monday with the FBI's claim that it lost five months of text messages between two top officials who have been accused of anti-Trump bias. "The officials, former senior counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page, have become an increasing focus of President Donald Trump's allies in Congress, who raised alarms after a previous round of text messages turned over by the Justice Department revealed hostility toward Trump and other political figures," Kyle reports.

The statement from Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) "comes amid a steady drumbeat of frustration among rank-and-file Republicans who suggested there must be more nefarious efforts underway to keep the text messages from Congress," Kyle writes. "The three chairmen also met over the weekend to discuss growing calls on the right to make public a classified memo they allege will reveal misconduct by senior DOJ and FBI officials." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0fe33fc1e5c43c1e2aa18943f448b031cacc1b8c538f419d7f46e48c28f6a8bb3aa1fcf16585f7249a5

Related reads: "House GOP won't show secret Russia memo to Justice Department," from Kyle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0feac1ea46cfb4e55bdfad9e5466827afc63c6ce003ca74e3db361792369bc776dc5c9d0de30b548ec3 and "FBI director threatened to resign amid Trump, Sessions pressure," by Axios' Jonathan Swan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0feb1f4240c3c12b5723e1647e735a397526a48930ad21b33a3aaebe6cc1487d148aeb53bdec5c3d351

COURT TOSSES PA CONGRESSIONAL MAP - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision Monday to toss out the state's congressional map could boost Democrats' chances to retake the House. The court said the map "clearly, plainly and palpably violates" the state constitution. GOP legislative leaders said they will seek a stay, citing an "impossible deadline" set by the court to have the map redrawn in the next three weeks. "But several legal experts and GOP operatives said they don't expect the Supreme Court to intervene," Elena Schneider reports. "Unlike recent partisan gerrymander cases out of North Carolina and Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania case deals with state law, not federal." Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0fedd3d4950ceaf3e116ea4830bab0d0187092600024fd04a2601d731562be5b1a46b6874a8cc603a5a

ETHICS PANEL OPENS INQUIRY INTO MEEHAN - The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into sexual harassment claims against Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.). The New York Times reported that Meehan used taxpayer funds to settle a claim with a former aide. "The committee's announcement of a Meehan inquiry cited allegations of harassment as well as his use of his office budget to resolve his former aide's claim," Elana reports. "The congressional Office of Compliance ... maintains a taxpayer-funded account for payment of misconduct settlements - but Meehan and former Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) used their office budgets to resolve their issues, a practice the Ethics Committee had no clear
guidance about as of late last year." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4e753286a282f0fe3a24b9c58f82b3c90602bd0ff5abaf09ef3b64ad41bc209f9bea99f7a05d637932c171fc6a72dabb

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 12 p.m. to resume consideration of Jerome Powell to be chairman of the Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors. Roll call votes are possible today. The House is out for the remainder of the week.

AROUND THE HILL - Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) will host a discussion with former EPA staff at 12:30 p.m. in S-116.

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.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will deliver remarks on emerging trends in transportation at 3 p.m. in 325 Russell.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a national town hall with digital outlets on Medicare for all at 7 p.m. in the Capitol Visitor Center auditorium.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Eli Schechner was first to correctly guess that John Kelly and Denis McDonough each served as White House chief of staff during one of the past two government shutdowns. They both have a master's degree from Georgetown University.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Eli with today's question: Who was the last second lady of the United States with brunette hair whose husband wasn't a one-time Republican congressman from Indiana? 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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