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By Scott Wong (
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EXCLUSIVE: HAGEL: 'I'VE BEEN USED AS A PINATA' -Former Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Obama's controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, had just wrapped up meetings with senators on the Hill Tuesday when he spotted a former colleague, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), just off the Senate floor. Asked by Thune if he was making the rounds before his confirmation hearing, Hagel offered to arrange a meeting. Thune, the GOP Conference chairman, noted that he doesn't serve on the Armed Service Committee that will hold the hearings, but the Nebraska Republican insisted: "Well, you're relevant. You're South Dakota." "We're neighbors," Thune chimed in. For Hagel, who's been nominated for defense secretary,
every senator counts. And so he's been on a charm offensive this week, sitting down with some of his fiercest Senate critics and chatting up old colleagues in the hallways. Ahead of his hearing next week, the former senator has remained mostly quiet as opponents rip him over past statements about Israel and Iran. But behind the scenes, he's been pushing back on what he sees as a smear campaign."You're doing whatcha gotta do. The main thing is, John, is to try to correct the record. I was out there used as a pinata for four weeks - the distortions, the lies, even for this town - so I'm looking forward to the hearing, John," Hagel told Thune, who had been in the middle of a conversation with
a POLITICO reporter. "And these one-on-ones are important, because what we're doing is we've got a package of the facts, you know: What did I vote for? What did I say? "But there's no magic - you just go do it," Hagel added. "And I'm looking forward to it all, and then it's up to the Senate."

Asked by Huddle how his meetings were going so far, Hagel replied: "I'm just doing everything I can. I meet all these important guys like Thune."

HAGEL RUNS THE GAUNTLET -- Mark Landler reports for the New York Times: "For President Obama, the first test of his second term passed peacefully on Tuesday as his nominee for defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, sat down with the Republican who poses one of his biggest potential hurdles to Senate confirmation, Senator John McCain of Arizona. By all accounts, the 45-minute one-on-one meeting went well enough for the White House to feel that it has finally turned the tide in favor of Mr. Hagel, whose positions on Israel and Iran have drawn heavy fire from conservatives, pro-Israel groups and other critics.

-- "While Mr. McCain did not say how he would vote on Mr. Hagel, he told reporters that he would reserve judgment until after Mr. Hagel's confirmation hearing on Jan. 31. And Mr. McCain characterized the meeting as a 'frank and candid' exchange between two 'old friends.' That was enough for administration officials, one of whom said the meeting was a 'very positive sign about the trajectory of things.' Mr. Hagel, who is running a gantlet of meetings, also won a positive response from Senator Angus King, the newly elected independent from Maine."
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-- POLITICO's Tim Mak wrote that the press-shy former senator took a wrong turn upon his return to the Senate Tuesday, and ended up in the lion's den, er press gallery: "Hagel, who's been out of the Senate for four years, was in search of the men's room. He found one inside the press gallery. By the time he exited, a gaggle of reporters was waiting for him. Hagel had ignored reporters' questions earlier in the day so the press was eager to get a word in. Hagel, perhaps realizing the perilous situation he was in, left quickly and gave a few non-answers to reporters' questions as he went. Asked by POLITICO whether he still believes the Pentagon is 'bloated,' as he said in September 2011,
Hagel responded, 'We have a hearing next week, and I'll look forward to answering questions then.'"
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Washington Post, A1, "GOP offers respite on debt," By Lori Montgomery and Rosalind Helderman: "House Republicans are advancing a novel plan to suspend enforcement of the federal debt limit through May 18, a move that would lift the threat of a government default and relieve the air of crisis that has surrounded their budget battle with President Obama. The measure - set for a vote Wednesday in the House - would not resolve the dispute over how to control the national debt. But after the traumatic 'fiscal cliff' episode at the end of last year, it would buy policymakers a little breathing room to continue the argument without another economy-rattling deadline just around the corner.

--"The White House tacitly endorsed the proposal Tuesday, issuing a statement that said Obama 'would not oppose' the temporary respite. The president has called for a long-term extension of the Treasury Department's borrowing authority, which he argues would 'increase certainty and economic stability.' But, White House press secretary Jay Carney said, 'clearly, we support extension of the debt ceiling without drama or delay.' Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) also welcomed the proposal. 'I'm glad,' he told reporters, 'we're not facing crisis here in the matter of a few days.'"
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THE GOP'S 48-HOUR DEBT CEILING MAKEOVER - POLITICO's Jake Sherman pulls back the curtain on how House Republicans got to this point: "The warning was unusually dire. Speaker John Boehner laid out what many in Washington already knew as he stood before House Republicans at his party's retreat last week: The GOP needed a new plan to tackle the debt ceiling. Trying to force President Barack Obama to slash trillions of dollars in spending against the backdrop of default simply wouldn't work this time around. '"With three deadlines practically upon us - debt limit, sequester and [fiscal year] 2013 appropriations - the [normal plan] is not an option,' Boehner said Thursday morning, according to
sources in the room. 'That means we will have to develop a plan very quickly. The stakes are very high. That makes the discussion we are about to have very critical.'

--"Then came the salesman: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a conservative with lots of credibility among the hard-core budget hawks in the room, described three options for resolving the debt standoff. The last one - and the option leading Republicans preferred - was to reorder the fiscal fights to hike the debt ceiling now, battle over government funding in March and then lift the debt cap again in the spring. The leadership followed by doing something it has often failed to do given what some gripe is a top-down management style - it simply listened.

-- "The result was widespread agreement among a fractious Republican Conference that hasn't been able to unify around much of anything over the past two years. In roughly 48 hours during a retreat in Williamsburg, Va., Republicans went from defense to offense and created more of an agenda for themselves in the 113th Congress. They also retreated from a core mantra of their majority - that the debt ceiling must be matched by spending cuts of an equal or greater magnitude. It was the swiftest and most drastic position shift of Boehner's speakership. ...

-- 'First, please clarify your end goal,' Boehner said, sources in the room described. 'What are we - as a Republican minority in a Democratic-controlled Washington - trying to achieve?' Boehner then wanted to know which of the three issues - debt ceiling, sequester, government funding - were most fertile for a fight: 'Second, tactically, given we are dealing with three different issues, what makes the most strategic sense to achieve the goal?' he said, according to sources present. But before anyone could speak, Boehner turned over the floor to Ryan, who discussed options he had drafted over the past few weeks with conservative Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Jim
Jordan of Ohio and Tom Price of Georgia - a working group that was essentially a creation of leadership, sources said."
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HILLARY ON THE HILL - Matthew Cooper writes for National Journal in a piece titled: "Why Benghazi Hasn't Brought Down Hillary Clinton-and Won't": "When Hillary Rodham Clinton marches up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify about the Benghazi attack, it'll be the last 'scandal' of her 20-year run in Washington. The quotation marks are there for a reason. Most of what has exorcised the Hill and press corps about Hillary Clinton over the last two decades has rarely turned out to be scandalous. 'Hillary' - what other politician gets called by their first name, 'Rahm?' - has survived every 'scandal' to come her way. The mysterious death of White House counsel Vince Foster in 1993? Ken
Starr concluded it was a suicide. The Whitewater 'scandal'? Whatever there was to it, it's a memory now. Hard to imagine now that Washington was once consumed with how Mrs. Clinton made $100,000 on commodity futures. She's endured it all ... -- "Four years and more than a million air miles after joining the team of rivals, she's atop her game. The scandal mongers, like the coterie that suggested she might have faked her concussion to get out of the Benghazi hearings, grew quiet when she was hospitalized for a blood clot. It's not that Clinton is blameless for the Benghazi disaster. The attack in Libya cost the lives of four Americans, including a beloved ambassador. It wrecked the
aspirations of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who withdrew from consideration as secretary of State. It probably wrecked the aspirations of the president, who seemed like he wanted to nominate Rice. But even if it was Clinton's State Department that was unprepared, the word 'Benghazi' is unlikely to chase the 65-year-old into her next life of books, high-end speeches, public service, needed rest, grandmotherhood (should she be so lucky), and perhaps another run for president."
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REID THREATENS 'NUCLEAR OPTION' ON FILIBUSTER - POLITICO'S Manu Raju reports: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Democrats will take the unprecedented step of changing filibuster rules on a party-line vote if Republicans don't agree to a bipartisan deal this week. Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell met Tuesday on a proposal to pare back the use of the potent stalling tactic, but the Nevada Democrat then publicly threatened to change the filibuster rules with 51 votes, rather than 67 votes, if a deal can't be reached soon, a tactic critics warn could fundamentally transform the Senate away from a body meant to protect minority party rights.

--"There are 55 members of the Democratic Caucus, and younger senators in particular have pushed for action to water down the power of filibusters, which take 60 votes and days to overcome. As part of any deal, McConnell wants to ensure he has a guaranteed number of amendments if Reid chooses to speed debate, GOP senators said Tuesday. Senators said Reid and McConnell were also weighing elements of an alternative plan led by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would guarantee Republicans at least two amendments while preventing them from filibustering in a handful of situations."
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GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 23, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to
mailto:swong@politico.com
swong@politico.com . If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include but are not limited to @RachelSmolkin and @RepSeanMaloney.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House will meet at 9 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 10 and 11 a.m. and noon and 1 p.m. on the No Budget, No Pay Act, the legislation to temporary raise the debt ceiling. Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. with no votes currently scheduled.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Vice Chairman Joe Crowley hold a post-conference media availability at 10 a.m. in the HVC-210 alcove. The conference will begin streaming these news conferences live each week at
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=38eb7164b6078ed5e1cd538395f01befcb3a25868fac09efe311fc6c1178cb2a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=38eb7164b6078ed5e1cd538395f01befcb3a25868fac09efe311fc6c1178cb2a .

Rep. Phil Roe speaks on IPAB repeal at 10 a.m. in HVC Studio B. Also at 10, Sens. Dean Heller, Joe Manchin, John Cornyn, Kelly Ayotte, John Boozman and Mike Enzi speak on the No Budget, No Pay Act in S-325.

Rep. Mike Thompson and members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force hold a hearing on gun violence prevention at 1 p.m. in Rayburn 2237. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and other House Democrats speak on the reintroduction of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) at 1 p.m. in HVC Studio A. Sen. John Hoeven speaks on the Keystone pipeline at 2:30 p.m. in S-325.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, other senators and women advocates will push for the passage of VAWA at 2 p.m. in SVC-202. Also at 2, Sen. Marco Rubio will deliver remarks on creating new middle class opportunity at a conference on the role of business in education at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street, NW. Reporters should register by emailing
mailto:press@uschamber.com
press@uschamber.com or calling 202-463-5682.

BEYONCE FAKED IT - Both the New York Daily News and New York Post put the story on their covers. The headline of the Daily News? "STAR SPANGLED SCAMMER." Melissa Cronin, Josh Margolin and Dan Mangan write: "O say can't she sing? Beyonce's dazzling rendition of the National Anthem at President Obama's inauguration was a total fake - with the megastar lip-syncing as the Marine Corps Band merely pretended to play its instruments, sources said yesterday. The Grammy-award winner's decision to use a taped version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' stunned the first family, which handpicked her for the occasion. 'Oh, my God! You're best friends with Michelle and you faked it! I am very upset,' said a
source close to the Obamas. 'I would like my three minutes back.'

--"Beyonce's performance was a well-choreographed acting job. She made it appear as if she was belting out the anthem as a crowd of dignitaries and a million other attendees watched in awe from the National Mall. A worldwide television audience was also clueless to the chicanery. As she mouthed the words, Col. Michael J. Colburn emphatically led the United States Marine Band, whose members acted as if they were blowing on wind instruments and horns and banging on drums throughout the song. ...

--"Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who was the inauguration's master of ceremonies, refused to answer questions about Beyonce's reliance on a recording.'Senator Schumer promised Beyonce, but he delivered Milli Vanilli instead,' quipped one Republican congressional aide. 'Typical politician - promise one thing and deliver another.'"
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McCAIN JOKES: WATERBOARD KERRY - Ginger Gibson reports for POLITICO: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joked that he's going to get the truth out of Sen. John Kerry during confirmation hearings this week, even if he has to resort to enhanced interrogation methods. Kerry has been nominated to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. 'We will look forward to interrogating him at his hearing next week, mercilessly,' McCain joked at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. 'We will bring back for the only time waterboarding to get the truth out of him.' Kerry's hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -which he currently chairs - will be on Thursday, where he's expected to easily
receive approval."
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LAUTENBERG: BOOKER NEEDS 'A SPANKING' - Jonathan Tamari writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who might face a 2014 primary challenge from Newark Mayor Cory Booker, said his fellow Democrat is 'entitled' to run if he chooses to but suggested that he had to give a 'spanking' to his potential rival for so openly coveting his seat. Booker has already formed a 2014 campaign committee, prompting anonymous Lautenberg aides to rip the mayor to Politico, accusing him of being 'disrespectful.' ... 'I have four children, I love each one of them. I can't tell you that one of them wasn't occasionally disrespectful, so I gave them a spanking and everything was OK,'
Lautenberg said with a smile in his first public comments since Booker announced he was considering a run for Senate. Lautenberg, who turns 89 on Wednesday, would not say if he intends to run for another six-year term in 2014."
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-- A poll out Wednesday reveals that Garden State voters see Lautenberg's age as an issue: "Booker leads Lautenberg (D-N.J.) 51-30 percent in a Democratic primary match-up for the 2014 Senate race, a
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poll from Quinnipiac University found on Wednesday. Of those surveyed, 71 percent said Lautenberg's age - the incumbent Democratic senator turned 89 on Wednesday - might make it too difficult for him to do the work required of a senator, while 21 percent said his age gives him the 'wisdom and experience to do a good job.' Garden State voters still approve of Lautenberg's job performance, 50-34 percent, but those surveyed said that he "does not deserve to be reelected," 45-36 percent."
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NELSON TO HEAD INSURER WATCHDOG -- Zachary Tracer and Alex Nussbaum report for Bloomberg: "The National Association of Insurance Commissioners named ex-Democratic Senator Ben Nelson to be its chief executive officer as the regulators' group tackles U.S. President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul.Nelson's duties will include working with U.S. and international agencies as overseers increase their scrutiny on financial firms, the NAIC said today in a statement. A former industry executive, Nebraska governor and state regulator, he was one of the more conservative Democrats in the Senate.'We needed the gravitas, the phone calls returned, to go to Capitol Hill, to tell our story, defend our
turf, and beyond, protect and promote our system around the world,' Jim Donelon, NAIC president and Louisiana insurance commissioner, said in an interview today at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. 'I think all the way up to and including President Obama would return Senator Nelson's phone calls.'"
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COCHRAN KEEPS FEDERAL PROGRAM ALIVE -David Fahrenthold writes on A1 of the Washington Post: "It took up just three lines in Congress's last big appropriations bill, on Page 123 out of 487. But it is a legend, a wonk's campfire story - the government spending nobody could kill. 'For payment to the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation . . . $450,000, to remain available until expended.' This is a great survivor in the vast ecosystem of federal funding: a 20-year-old program that gives cash prizes for work in science. President Obama has called it inefficient and redundant. He and House Republicans - who agree on almost nothing - have tried to eliminate it. Each time,
however, it has been saved by a powerful friend in the Senate, Thad Cochran, the senior senator from Mississippi. Now, Washington is enmeshed in another battle over spending. But the Columbus foundation shows how both parties are struggling to turn their hard-nosed rhetoric about austerity into action. After all, it would be hard to imagine a less painful cut than this one: a program with two full-time employees and bipartisan enemies. And yet, it lives."
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WASSERMAN SCHULTZ REELECTED AS DNC CHAIR - James Hohmann reports for POLITICO: "Debbie Wasserman Schultz won unanimous reelection Tuesday as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She was unopposed after President Barack Obama backed the Florida congresswoman for another two years."
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TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - There apparently were many correct answers to yesterday's question. Colleen Shogan was first to answer that there's no record of President Thomas Jefferson using a bible during their swearing-in ceremony. Senate Historian Don Ritchie also points to this website, which reveals that John Quincy Adams took his oath on a volume of law, Teddy Roosevelt did not use a bible.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=38eb7164b6078ed58f23ea3bca18c4fd8e07dee7fbb900004f1a95a3687f151a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=38eb7164b6078ed58f23ea3bca18c4fd8e07dee7fbb900004f1a95a3687f151a Lyndon Johnson used a Catholic missal found on Air Force One after JFK was fatally shot.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Art Bush has today's question: Who were the first and last American presidents to take the oath of office outside of Washington, D.C.?First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
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