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02/07/2019 08:00 AM EDT

By MELANIE ZANONA (mzanona@politico.com; @MZanona)


BORDER BREAKTHROUGH IN SIGHT? -- Congressional negotiators say they are closing in on a deal to boost border security, with just one day left before Friday's unofficial deadline to reach an agreement. The emerging package would increase funding for three major buckets: detection technology, agents and barriers. The two sides are still split, however, on which area to prioritize most. "We're dealing in substance now. Something we haven't done before," Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told reporters Wednesday. But President Donald Trump, who has threatened to declare a national emergency to build a wall and will hold a rally in El Paso next week, is still a wild card -
and no one on Capitol Hill is quite sure what he is going to do.

Yet for all the uncertainty, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confident about one thing: there won't be another government shutdown. "I have a club that I started, it's called the 'Too Hot to Handle Club.' And this is a too-hot-to-handle issue," Pelosi told Heather, Bres and Sarah during a wide-ranging interview in her Capitol office. The California Democrat also pledged to back whatever deal emerges from the talks, even as she remains insistent on no money for Trump's wall.

Other nuggets from the interview: Pelosi urged a cautious approach to investigating Trump's tax returns ("You have to do it right"), defended her freshman firebrands who have come under attack by the GOP ("You can't worry about what the Republicans are going to say about you") and suggested that she'll hold off on endorsing in the presidential primary ("I want to see who connects.") That and much more here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9f7115f427fdf4a9a3e1ea0e8e2abab0d825db9fd76990566790cb9ed4ae0f1f2b8c733020f461398a

RUSSIA REDUX -- House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, unfazed by Trump's attacks on "partisan investigations," is plowing ahead with plans to reopen a sweeping probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, intensifying the ongoing battle between Democrats and the president. The California Democrat is expanding the scope of the inquiry to include the president's finances, collusion and obstruction of justice. And Democrats want to haul in a slew of witnesses that Republicans never questioned in their Russia probe. The president's response: "He has no basis to do that. He's just a political hack who's trying to build a name for himself," Trump told reporters. "It's just
presidential harassment."

Related: "House Intel votes to send witness transcripts to Mueller for possible perjury charges," from Andrew: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9fc6b4e7e52d21d33efcfb2c790a057e2099f3541af66751adb611ecb61c40fe2e4915ed9ded52d6aa

VIRGINIA IS FOR... CHAOS -- The Virginia legislature is in a free-fall. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is under fire for a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. A woman has come forward with a detailed, on-the-record sexual assault allegation against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D). And state Attorney General Mark Herring (D) is admitting that he once wore black face. The scandals are roiling national and local Democrats who are being confronted with questions about whether they think the trio of officials should resign.

Adding to the party's problems in the state, ABC News reported that Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was made aware of the allegations against Fairfax a year ago. Virginia Democrats have largely sidestepped questions about whether they believe Fairfax's accuser, though at least one lawmaker, freshman Rep. Jennifer Wexton, said she did. Maggie Severns with the dispatch from Richmond: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9f2808a6740a96953e7e3bd030140ac6c81f6ec57de0f00c4fe207e59dc6870f1068bdb7923abe0a2f

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Feb. 7. There's been a fierce debate over the true meaning behind Pelosi's viral State of the Union clap directed at Trump, but ask no more: her daughter Christine has the answer.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Heather and Burgess's report on the status of the border talks was the big winner.


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KLOBUCHAR'S STAFF PROBLEM -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar is weighing a 2020 bid, but is already running into hurdles: attracting staff. At least three people have turned down the chance to work for her campaign citing concerns over the Minnesota Democrat's reputation for mistreating her staff, reports The Huffington Post. While Klobuchar is publicly known around the Capitol as "Minnesota nice," former staffers described the lawmaker as "habitually demeaning and prone to bursts of cruelty that make it difficult to work in her office for long." The report comes as Klobuchar prepares to make a presidential announcement on Sunday from her home state. More from Molly Redden and Amanda Terkel:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9f05ff6a4865fee6b994e95bb1a9fdda579374e95312f009101c68a30fe8144bb96c88576814ed5c9c

Good 2020 reads: "Biden mounts Capitol Hill charm offensive ahead of 2020 decision," via Burgess and Heather: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9f3c27e65de1bc800b94c0062fbb7789acc10ac0183e2e30588ace74d1e3828f136fc0d0f82cb6fa3a and "'All my friends are running for president': How Senate Democrats are navigating 2020," by CNN's Phil Mattingly and Kristin Wilson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0a44935634f58e9f516063808032077ad35ac855d2433b6fa16c8bae77e7514cbcf867081e226c943129b5428beb1f8a

DEM HEARINGS HEAT UP -- The new Democratic House majority came into full view on Wednesday, as congressional committees held hearings on everything from climate change to voter rights to gun violence, providing a stark contrast to the issues that Republicans chose to focus on over the past eight years. That new reality seems to be setting in for Trump, who tweeted this morning: "Dems and their committees are going 'nuts.'"

The public conversation on gun violence gave a new sense hope to Democrats who have been desperate to enact stricter gun control in response to a string of deadly mass shootings over the years. In one powerful moment, newly-elected Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) shared a personal story about her son who was killed by gun violence. But the hearing is just a first step for Democrats, who are preparing to vote on several gun restrictions in the first 100 days of their new majority. More from Sarah: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c3b12b938518afde5d31c7918d3af1ff2200be6b081f6efbef0744b2fede842ee0940a490820382e28878be7f3f6ee94

Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to put the spotlight on "late-term abortions", which they hope will divide Democrats while uniting conservatives. GOP leaders are planning a multi-pronged effort to put vulnerable lawmakers on the spot over the hot-button issue, including collecting signatures for a discharge petition, though it's likely to fail. More from your Huddle host: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c3b12b938518afdebd5a41a8dd405e866f9e60d0a68234c42bf27faa2248cb7cb2aacd8d012ac2acd38bee2c113b2050

ON TAP TODAY: The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on obtaining the president's tax returns. Democrats will unveil their vision for a "Green New Deal" to address climate change. And the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the confirmation of William Barr, Trump's pick for attorney general.

MNUCHIN MAY FACE CONGRESS -- The Treasury Department blew by a deadline from House Democrats to fork over documents related to the administration's decision to ease sanctions on an oligarch tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is negotiating with Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who is newly armed with subpoena power, to appear in front of her committee. In the meantime, the department says it's working to comply with the document request. More from Zachary Warmbrodt and Andrew: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c3b12b938518afdeec0b733ced83fa7cf792871d89b453383fa24b7b99716eacd525c2867fed81af2d1319b9cbea45e2

STEFANIK VS. AOC -- Two of the youngest women ever elected to Congress are sparring over the dwindling number of female Republicans in the House, a sensitive subject for the GOP. It started when Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) blasted fellow New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) for sharing a video of herself celebrating Trump's praise for the record-breaking number of women serving in Congress, with Ocasio-Cortez pointing out the trend only applies to Democrats. "Sadly Instead of lifting fellow women up regardless of Party, you chose to push us down," Stefanik tweeted. "Do better."

Ocasio-Cortez, the queen of clapbacks, responded by saying her criticism was directed at the GOP's problem with electing women. "You yourself have taken your party to task on this - in fact, you called it a 'crisis,'" she tweeted. "I'm happy you're trying to fix it."

DINGELL IN HOSPICE -- Some sad news out of Michigan. Former Rep. John Dingell (D), the longest serving member of Congress and owner of one of the most entertaining accounts on Twitter, has entered hospice care after a battle with prostate cancer, according to multiple reports. His wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D), asked for "prayers and privacy" - and also agreed to take up her husband's Twitter mantle. "The Lovely Deborah is insisting I rest and stay off here, but after long negotiations we've worked out a deal where she'll keep up with Twitter for me as I dictate the messages," his account tweeted. "You're not done with me just yet."
TRANSITIONS
Lina Francis has started as the communications director for freshman Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House gavels in at 10 a.m., with first and last votes expected between 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c3b12b938518afdec2cce7c9dfa229626f99c547261bfd13dd31c7ba4dfd4e7f894f512a2ac74abf38f45d625bcca3d4 The Senate meets at noon to resume consideration of S.47.
AROUND THE HILL
Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) hold a press conference to call on Congress to cut funding for President Trump's "deportation force" at 10 a.m. at the East Front on the House side.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) hold a press conference to oppose child detentions at 11 a.m. on the House Triangle.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) holds a pen and pad briefing with reporters at 2:30 p.m. in H-148.
TRIVIA
WEDNESDAY'S WINNER -- Brad Fitch was the first to correctly guess that former U.S. Senator George Mitchell also served as Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast from 1999 to 2009.

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From Brad: Keeping in the spirit of the women's suffrage movement on display at the State of the Union, which suffragette was a cofounder of the National Women's Party, organized the 1913 Women's Suffrage Parade, and was jailed for two months in 1917 (which included a hunger strike) for protesting in front of the White House?

First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: mzanona@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.


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