GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, October 3. WHITE HOUSE PREPS FOR HOUSE GOP INVESTIGATION-PALOOZA — Publicly, the White House is promoting optimism that Democrats will hang onto control of the House in the midterms. But behind the scenes, there has been a months-long effort to prepare for the deluge of investigations that House Republicans plan to unleash in the predicted scenario that they take the House. Key targets: "We've got a lot of opportunities. We've got a lot of work to do. Obviously, we're going to have some high-profile committee hearings on the investigations dealing with Hunter Biden, dealing with [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas, dealing with the origination of Covid," said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who is expected to lead the Oversight Committee and beef up its staff if Republicans win back the majority. De-fence, De-fence: The White House has hired a small team to begin laying out messaging and legal strategies that could be implemented in the face of GOP investigations. Key Democrats in the House are lining up to lead the party's public facing defense, on the committee dais and in the public eye. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wants the top slot on House Oversight next year to continue what he started as a Trump impeachment manager and member of the Jan. 6 select committee. "If we were forced to be in the minority, then we would be the spokespeople for the truth and for the rule of law against those who would trample both," said Raskin. But Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) is also angling for that Oversight spot and he has a reputation as a tenacious bulldog who hasn't shied away from tangling with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio.), who is expected to lead a massive probe of the Justice Department and FBI if his party grabs the majority. Banking on it: Investigations into Biden's family, cabinet and administration are a cornerstone of the House Republicans agenda if they take the House. As Eugene Daniels, Jonathan Lemire and Jordain Carney write, the bar is lower for the investigations than for actually legislating: the GOP won't need buy-in from Democrats or Biden's signature. SCHIFF'S MULLING SPICES — Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) met Friday with his confidantes within the Democratic caucus as the Intelligence Committee Chair mulls a bid for leadership in the new Congress. He hasn't formally announced exactly which position he plans on running for, but if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were to bow out after the election, multiple sources say he'll throw his hat in the ring for the top job. Sarah has more on Schiff eyeing a shift. JAYAPAL ALSO JOCKEYING — Earlier this year, POLITICO reported that Rep. Primila Jayapal (D-Wash.) was seeking a role in House Democratic leadership and now she's getting more specific. "I think given the leadership role that I played so far, we'd have to see, but it would be one of the top roles probably," Jayapal told Bloomberg before the House closed up on Friday. "I'm certainly aware that there might be an opportunity for me to display the same kind of leadership that I have with the Progressive Caucus for the broader caucus," the Washington Democrat said. FIRST IN POLITICO: PENNSYLVANIA POLLING — No, not for the Senate race. In the 17th district, where Democrat Chris Deluzio and Republican Jeremy Shaffer are duking it out to win outgoing Rep. Connor Lamb's (D-Pa.) seat, Deluzio is leading Shaffer 49-43, per a poll conducted by brilliant corners on behalf of the DCCC. Back in May, DCCC polling gave Deluzio a 44-41 lead and polling from Lake Research Partners in July that gave him a 43-42 lead. POLITICO forecasts the race as a toss-up. Read the polling memo here. The poll included 400 likely voters between Sept. 18 and 20. The margin of error is +/-4.9 points. WHAT MIKE FANONE REALLY THINKS — An expletive-laden profile of Former Metropolitan Police officer Michael Fanone by Alex Morris in Rolling Stone includes his takes on Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence, Madison Cawthorn, Josh Hawley and others, along with his thoughts about his occasional check-in calls from Pelosi and if he thinks Raskin is the right person to take on today's GOP. ("I'm sorry, dude. I love Jamie Raskin — he's a really nice guy — but he is not designed for what lies ahead, and nor are the other super-intellectual types," said Fanone.) "Fanone is done being an American hero…. He's tired of liberals who back the blue only on Jan. 6 and conservatives who back the blue only when it comes to policing people of color, tired of being given 47 seconds of airtime to explain how to reform an entire police system, tired of explaining why overthrowing a CVS and overthrowing the American government are not quite the same thing. He has given up on any delusions that what he says or does will change people's minds." And brace yourself if your heart swells walking into these hallowed Capitol halls for work each day… "So little of my life has been spent in that building, and — fuck that place," Fanone told Morris. "And fuck the people inside it too." JUMPING ON THE UNION TRAIN — The offices of Reps. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) filed petitions last week with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to form unions. The move marks the second tranche of Hill staff exercising their newly affirmed right to organize for collective bargaining rights. The first group of eight offices petitioned back in July. Last week the staffs of Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) voted to unionize, 9-1 in Khanna's office and unanimously in Omar's office. Nancy has more on the state of unionization on Capitol Hill.
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