| | | | | |  | | By Melanie Zanona | Presented by |  | | | with help from Caitlin Emma, Connor O'Brien and Heather Caygle GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW -- The sprint to the end of the 116th Congress begins. The House returns to Washington for the first time today since the election, one week after the Senate already gaveled back into session. And somehow, there are just *14* legislative days left on the calendar — even with a pile of priorities that both chambers are hoping to accomplish in the lame-duck session. Here's a rundown of everything Congress is trying to tackle before the end of the year: —1) Government Funding: Top on the to-do list for lawmakers is avoiding a government shutdown, as current funding runs dry on Dec. 11. Both sides want to pass an omnibus spending bill, as opposed to punting on the issue with another continuing resolution. Per our Caitlin Emma, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) — the top appropriators in their respective chambers — are expected to hash out the bipartisan topline numbers for each of the 12 spending bills this week. That is seen as a key step toward a broader deal. But spending bills are always a heavy lift. And since the omnibus is likely the last legislative business of the year, expect a whole lot of jockeying from lawmakers and outside interests who want to get their priorities included. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) outlined some of the biggest potential issues and poison pills for Dems here: https://bit.ly/3pw69F0. —2) Coronavirus relief: It would be hard for lawmakers to leave town for the holidays without providing some much-needed relief for the American people. Democrats want to clear the decks for the incoming Biden administration, while Republicans think they'll get a better deal with Trump still in the White House. Yet a relief deal has remained elusive. Dems are still calling for trillions of dollars in new spending, while the GOP is still insistent on a targeted measure of around $500 billion. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have yet to hold any new talks on an aid package, per WaPo. Trump did urge lawmakers this weekend to pass another round of relief. But he also gave a nod to both sides, offering little clarity on the issue. "Congress must now do a Covid Relief Bill," he tweeted. "Needs Democrats support. Make it big and focused. Get it done!" —3) NDAA: The House and Senate each passed an annual defense policy bill earlier this year, but Congress has yet to reconcile those versions. Formal negotiations on the National Defense Authorization Act could start as soon as this week, with the goal of having a final bill ready for a floor vote by early December. But lawmakers still need to resolve one of the biggest remaining sticking points: language that would require military bases honoring Confederate leaders to be renamed. The provision has bipartisan support in both chambers, but Trump threatened to veto the NDAA bill over the proposed change. As our Connor O'Brien wrote last week, Trump still remains a wild card in the NDAA fight. Last week, a group of Senate Democrats put pressure on negotiators to keep the language in the final bill. "We strongly oppose removing this provision and respectfully request the conferees to retain in the conference report the provision endorsed by both chambers: a requirement for the Department to rename all military assets named for the Confederacy no later than three years after the date of enactment," the senators wrote in a letter. —4) Other items: In the House, Republicans and Democrats will both hold their internal leadership elections this week. Dems' elections will take place virtually, while the GOP's will be in-person. No changes are expected at the top of either party, though Democrats have some contested races lower down on the leadership ladder that offer a preview of the post-Pelosi era, whenever that happens. (But the DCCC race won't be held until the week of Nov. 30.) Speaking of which … sources tell your Huddle host that Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who is running to lead the House Democrats' campaign arm, has added Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) to his whip team for the campaign. Escobar is a member of both the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) dropped out of the race for vice chair of the Dem caucus, per Roll Call's Lindsey McPherson. The House also plans to vote on a bill decriminalizing marijuana before the end of the year, as well as vote on the Water Resources Development Act. (Peep this piece from Matt Laslo of the News Station on the push to legalize weed.) And in the Senate, McConnell has — shocker!— teed up more votes on judges and other nominations. | | A message from American Land Title Association: While the work of land title professionals is behind-the-scenes, and they may sometimes go unseen, the joy from what they do can be seen on the smiling faces of millions of Americans when they finally get the title of "homeowner." Land title professionals have safeguarded the American dream for more than 125 years. Meet the people who help protect homebuyers and sellers when they make the most important financial decision of their lives. Learn more | | | GRIDLOCKED AND LOADED -- Joe Biden's ambitious legislative agenda is going to run into some serious headwinds on Capitol Hill: divisions in his own party, a potential GOP-led Senate, and a Congress that is far more polarized than when he served in the Senate. Or, as WaPo puts it, Biden is about to face a "governing grind." And while Biden campaigned on bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle, it's an open question whether Republicans are willing to take his hand. Most of them won't even acknowledge him as the president-elect right now. And even if Dems manage to win the Senate, Biden will still have to find GOP votes, assuming Dems don't nuke the legislative filibuster. That means the keys to Biden's legislative agenda may rest with centrist Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins. The Maine lawmaker, who just romped to victory after a tough race, even received a phone call from Biden after she won her race — a sign that Biden also recognizes her potential influence next year. Much more from Burgess: https://politi.co/36yhxHK. Related reads: "What mandate? Biden's agenda faces a divided Congress," by The AP's Lisa Mascaro: https://bit.ly/2IFn3R7. … "After White House Victory, Democrats Are Divided on What Is Next," from WSJ's Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews: https://on.wsj.com/2UxtDLS. SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN -- House Democrats and Republicans both ended up modifying dinner receptions in the Capitol for their incoming freshmen over the weekend, after facing backlash on social media for holding an indoor dining event while the pandemic is still raging. Instead, new members in both parties grabbed their meals to-go. More from CNN's Clare Foran and Daniella Diaz: https://cnn.it/3f3XRPR. Meanwhile … The Office of the Attending Physician sent a letter to congressional offices over the weekend about post-travel coronavirus testing, reports Heather. D.C. issued a new travel order recommending that anyone who travels into the city obtain a Covid-19 test three to five days after arriving. (Maryland and Virginia residents are exempt.) Beginning today, the Capitol physician will start offering post-arrival coronavirus testing for members and staff. Related read: "Incoming GOP lawmaker shares video of hotel room workout, citing 'Democrat tyrannical control,'" via The Hill's Jordan Williams: https://bit.ly/3kyTUnx. HAPPY MONDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Nov. 16, where your host can't decide who is cuter: Chunk or Chewy? Tweet me your picks! FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: HuffPo's story on Dems questioning their decision to forgo door-knocking during the pandemic was the big winner. | 
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - NOVEMBER 15: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the manned Crew Dragon spacecraft attached lifts off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on November 15, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA astronauts mission specialist Shannon Walker, vehicle pilot Victor Glover, commander Mike Hopkins and mission specialist Japanese Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi are on board the Crew Dragon Spacecraft and will mark the second astronaut launch from U.S. soil by NASA and SpaceX and the first operational mission named Crew-1 to the International Space Station. (Photo by Red Huber/Getty Images) | Red Huber/Getty Images | | | | | JOIN WEDNESDAY - CONFRONTING INEQUALITY TOWN HALL "BRIDGING THE ECONOMIC DIVIDE": Although pandemic job losses have been widespread, the economic blow has been especially devastating to Black workers and Black-owned businesses. POLITICO's third "Confronting Inequality in America" town hall will convene economists, scholars, private sector and city leaders to explore policies and strategies to deal with the disproportionate economic impact of the pandemic and the broader factors contributing to the persistent racial wealth and income gaps. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | ALL ABOUT THAT BASE -- Both parties are trying to turn out their bases in Georgia's Senate runoff races. For Republicans, that means the message is: save Georgia from socialism. And for Democrats, the message is: save Georgia's health care. James Arkin with the dispatch, reporting from the Peach State: "The dueling messages last week defined the kickoff of the two runoff elections in Georgia that will decide control of the Senate in January. "Win both races, and Democrats have a 50-50 Senate with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris breaking ties. Lose both, and Democrats are relegated once again to the minority, with a Republican Senate standing in the way of President-elect Joe Biden's ambitious agenda. "The eight-week sprint to the Jan. 5 runoffs comes amid the backdrop of rapidly rising Covid-19 infections, along with the start of Biden's transition — even as Republicans defend President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine and fight the results of the election. Both sides agree on one thing: Georgia is about to determine the shape of American politics for at least the next two years. But they diverge sharply on how that prospect motivates voters." More: https://politi.co/36JLNQ4. Related read: "Democrats Work to Defy History in Georgia Runoffs That Have Favored G.O.P.," by NYT's Carl Hulse: https://nyti.ms/32Oh6YK. FIT FOR A KING? -- Biden is considering tapping Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) to serve as his director of national intelligence, report Natasha Bertrand and Lara Seligman. The deets: "The senator from Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is a prominent member of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees. His appointment as Biden's intelligence chief would give the president-elect someone in the position that both he and the intelligence community know well. "But it would also vacate a Democratic Senate sea t in a state that just overwhelmingly reelected a Republican, Susan Collins, to its other Senate seat. During President Donald Trump's tenure, King was an outspoken critic of what he called Trump's politicization of the intelligence community through the appointment of loyal allies, including current DNI John Ratcliffe and former acting DNI Ric Grenell. Both aides came into the job with little intelligence experience." More: https://politi.co/3notdne. Related read: "House leaders urge Democrats not to join team Biden to maintain majority," by the New York Post's Carl Campanile and Ebony Bowden: https://bit.ly/3kxVTbH. | | | |   | | | YEAR OF THE GOP WOMAN -- After a successful effort to recruit and elect more GOP women, one key outside group is looking to grow its influence in the next election. Roll Call with the dispatch: "Winning for Women, which also has an independent expenditure arm known as WFW Action Fund, noted in a memo that is being sent to donors, board members and advisers that it surpassed its goal of electing 20 GOP women to the House. "The memo touted 27 Republican women who have won House races, and that number could grow with several races still not called. That figure includes GOP Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, whose race The Associated Press has not yet called. Democratic Rep. Max Rose conceded to Malliotakis on Thursday. The group sees women candidates as key to winning over suburban women voters, a bloc that has fled the GOP after President Donald Trump's election." More from Bridget Bowman: https://bit.ly/3lwbNVn. Related read: "Here are the 17 GOP women newly elected to the House this year," via The Hill's Tal Axelrod: https://bit.ly/2ILa4gA. RETURN OF THE TAX RETURNS -- Will Dems finally get their hands on Trump's tax returns now that his administration is ending? Brian Faler explores: "President Donald Trump's defeat will make it a lot easier for Democrats to finally get his tax returns, and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver. "Once Biden controls the Treasury Department, his administration could simply hand over the long-sought records to its allies in Congress, who have been fighting in court to force Trump to turn them over, so far unsuccessfully. But Biden is casting himself as a moderate uniter, and releasing Trump's returns risks looking like a vindictive investigation of his predecessor." More: https://politi.co/3ntxw0S. TOP-ED -- "Time to concede: The peaceful transition of power is an American tradition," by retiring Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) for The Hill: https://bit.ly/35yLUyt. | | | | DON'T MISS NEW EPISODES OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded in 2020 amid a global pandemic. Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | |
|  | TRANSITIONS | | Nothing today. | | TODAY IN CONGRESS | | The House gavels in at 2 p.m., with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: https://bit.ly/2IwYc20. The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Kristi Haskins Johnson to be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. At 5:30 p.m., the Senate votes on the motion to invoke cloture on the Johnson nomination. | | AROUND THE HILL | | Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) hold a teleconference call to urge the passage of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, at 1 p.m. | | TRIVIA | | FRIDAY'S WINNER: Marshall Yates was the first person to guess that Richard Nixon and Al Gore were the vice presidents who had to announce their own defeat — and the election of their opponent for president — while presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results. TODAY'S QUESTION: When — and where — was the very first meeting of Congress? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess to mzanona@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. | | A message from American Land Title Association: While the work of land title professionals is behind-the-scenes, and they may sometimes go unseen, the joy from what they do can be seen on the smiling faces of millions of Americans when they finally get the title of "homeowner." Land title professionals have safeguarded the American dream for more than 125 years. Meet the people who help protect homebuyers and sellers when they make the most important financial decision of their lives. Learn more | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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