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01/15/2016 08:49 AM EDT


By Rachael Bade (rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

NO ESCAPING 2016 - "Trumpmania Stomps On GOP Strategy Session." Burgess and Jake report from the GOP's Baltimore retreat on the distractions keeping them from focusing inward, namely: the election. "House and Senate Republicans arrived here for their annual retreat to think big thoughts about the year ahead: How to use their majorities to advance a conservative agenda and win over voters at the polls. But the increasingly bizarre presidential contest keeps butting in. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) threatened to force votes on Donald Trump's policies. Every time a Republican leader comes out to talk to reporters, they're asked about a brokered convention, South Carolina Gov.
Nikki Haley, Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz - and how any of those things might hurt their party's electoral prospects..."

"The GOP mantra is this: Keep working, heads down, and wait for the race to shake out. Then in the meantime, develop a policy portfolio for a nominee or their own candidates to run on. But for congressional leaders looking for daylight from the rowdy presidential primary, it's going to be a long few months." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa6514265290c79d899af2cfc7c23dc58ad8c5283bb4645e03b988d3a7

"At Baltimore Retreat, Republicans Can't Escape Donald Trump." WSJ's Siobhan Hughes with more from Baltimore on 2016: "On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) reaffirmed their support for the eventual Republican nominee, even if the pick is Mr. Trump. 'We're going to support whoever our nominee is,' Mr. Ryan said at news conference with Mr. McConnell at the hotel in Baltimore... But in the same breath, the Republican leaders also embraced Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of South Carolina who on Wednesday confirmed that her remarks in a State of the Union response to 'turn down the volume' and resist following the 'angriest
voices' were directed at Mr. Trump. 'We thought Nikki did a great job,' said Mr. Ryan, who along with Mr. McConnell picked Mrs. Haley to give the GOP response..."

"The twin comments - embracing both Mr. Trump and the criticisms directed at him - underscored the political dilemma facing congressional Republican leaders. As they try to design a platform that could be implemented if their party wins the presidency, carrying out the ideas will depend upon support from the eventual GOP nominee." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa65142652f1deb56e7122f6c7d58436f7455194939e13f050ba269cb1

"REID, MCCONNELL THREATEN TO PLAY 2016 GOTCHA ON SENATE FLOOR." Sarah Mimms with National Journal: "As Democrats threatened to use the senate floor this year to attack the GOP's presidential candidates, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that those tactics can go both ways. McConnell, asked about a statement by Minority Leader Harry Reid threatening to force votes on Donald Trump's policies, said Thursday that should Democrats force votes to embarrass his party's candidates for president, they could expect votes targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders in return."

"'Generally speaking, I've tried to avoid turning the Senate into a studio for the presidential campaign, but it's worth noting that what's good for the goose is good for the gander,' McConnell told reporters, while huddling with fellow Republican lawmakers at a three-day retreat in Baltimore. 'And so, they could expect amendments that they may not like related to the Sanders or the Clinton campaign.' ...Reid said in a statement tied to the GOP's Baltimore retreat Thursday that since Republican leaders in the House and Senate have said they will support the eventual nominee, Democrats will use the open amendment process to force votes on the policies of current front-runner Trump,
'including his unconstitutional plan to bar people from entering the United States based on their religion.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa65142652c8f4edc4ff5adc218537b662345d3aeed914c370df08cc34

FRIDAY, Y'ALL. (CHA-CHING!) Thanks for reading Huddle, where congressional news is increasingly being hijacked by the election year - a trend that's only just starting. I'm out but you can always reach me via email: rbade@politico.com, or Tweet: @RachaelMBade.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: Retreat.

"PRESSURE MOUNTS FOR FILIBUSTER CHANGES." Alexander Bolton and Scott Wong for The Hill, in Baltimore: "House Republicans are twisting the arms of their Senate GOP colleagues over the filibuster, arguing it's time to change the rules. Senate Republicans held a special meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to discuss proposed changes that would make it tougher for the minority party to block or slow legislation. But there's still strong reluctance among GOP senators..."

"Several House Republican exhorted GOP senators to set their reservations aside during a joint retreat at Baltimore's Inner Harbor. 'There's been some discussion, and the senators are here. Are they hearing that? It's been raised two or three times in the last couple times, but is it falling on deaf ears or not?' Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) told reporters after morning meetings. 'We would argue that the Senate has been the holdup for a long time,' he added. Many House Republicans were frustrated that Senate Democrats were able to use the filibuster last year to block a stopgap government funding bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood, a family planning group that provides
abortions. Democrats were able to block the funding bill last fall, raising the threat of a government shutdown. Fearing that they would get the blame, Republicans backed down and pulled the Planned Parenthood language from the legislation." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa651426527f5e6aae53ecfc27b33f0d4f78b23383718e134598af1989

AND THERE'S SERIOUS PUSHBACK: "Ending the filibuster would hand progressives a huge victory." Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) takes to the Wall Street Journal op-ed pages with a retort to House Republicans: "House and Senate Republicans met at a planning retreat in Baltimore the past few days. My biggest takeaway has been how deeply House conservatives yearn for a more 'efficient' Senate. In particular, many want an end to cloture and the filibuster... Here's the problem. Progressives believe power - that is the government - is the center of life... They want to make it easier, more 'efficient,' to grow the government. So making it easier for government to act when Republicans are in the majority
might have consequences we will regret when we are next in the minority."

"Party like it's 1936." More from the op-ed"...Consider the three most consequential moments in the growth of federal power in the past century-the 1930s New Deal, the mid-1960s Great Society programs, and the first two years of this administration that brought us... ObamaCare. All occurred when Democrats had the White House, a majority in Congress and, crucially, supermajorities in the Senate... If Republicans eliminate the Senate's supermajority requirements to pass bills in the name of efficiency, it will guarantee that every time Democrats have the presidency and even a bare majority in both houses of Congress, they will party like it's 1936, 1965 and 2009."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa65142652c54f259b93d21ab2464522e20adc63ee4b18018f311c14e5

WELCOME TO THE HILLARY PROBE CIRCUS. Take a seat, ladies and gents, because the show's about to begin. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee announced yesterday that it's going to be investigating the Clinton email issue, too. While we were expecting House Oversight to jump in at some point - Jason Chaffez has wanted to get in on this for months, and the Senate right now is the only chamber probing this matter - this new probe from the Science panel took as aback. Not that we're complaining - that's job security for this gal who covers these investigations. But you should def read my story about how Speaker John Boehner's exist means we could see lots of Clinton probes like this
popping up in the near future: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa6514265208504c9753a0eadf51b1c0dcb3534ce2fadc89fb6e3e9eb8

VIDEO(S) OF THE DAY.

Part 1: If you missed Marco Rubio going for Ted Cruz's jugular on his Senate flip-flops, you're gonna wanna watch. Ouch, ouch, ouch. The Washington Post has the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a69bbcaa651426520bf27e59a33fd3b459eaa5976feb269dd3655c49d0e9ff53

Part 2: (H/t Kevin Robillard!) - After being awarded a bulawa, a ceremonial war hammer (something about going into battle for re-election?), Sen. John McCain joked that he was going to club Harry Reid with it. Watch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9518fcd63b6b8edc62753254c7f0243c3002243e48a9373f7933039c0cb83916

BELATED TRANSITIONS: "Former NFL player joins Ryan's staff." Per Jake Sherman: "Derrick Dockery played football at the University of Texas under Mack Brown and appeared in the Cotton Bowl. The offensive lineman was drafted by the Washington Redskins and later got a $16 million signing bonus to join the Buffalo Bills. He went on to play for ten seasons in the NFL, and earned an MBA from George Washington University. Ryan (R-Wis.) has hired Dockery, 35, to help him build coalitions with state and local governments and the business community."

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER. Robert Raffety at George Mason University was the first to answer that in 2015, Monopoly was the board-game subject of one of Lady Butter Cow's sculptures. Email rbade@politico.com.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Which comes from our winner: Gov. Nikki Haley's SOTU rebuttal speech is getting some attention for taking not so subtle swipes at Donald Trump. While the SOTU address originates in the Constitution, the rebuttal speech is a more recent phenomena. What year was the first SOTU rebuttal speech delivered and who delivered it ? Email rbade@politico.com.

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