GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, April 19, where your Huddle hosts are very excited because it’s hump day. EXPECTATIONS YET TO COME — Lawmakers come into today’s classified briefings on leaked sensitive Pentagon documents with some specific desires — understanding the full extent of the leak, answering how the 21-year-old accused leaker got access to the records in the first place and what steps are being taken to prevent it from happening again, according to interviews with more than half a dozen senators. They know they won’t get all the answers at once — “I still think they're learning about it,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, told POLITICO — but expect as much information as possible from administration officials. “It’s just the first step. There's a lot we have to work on,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Intelligence Committee, said. Remember, these briefings haven’t always gone super smoothly. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) threatened to slow down confirming all of President Joe Biden’s nominees after a particularly unsatisfying one in January over records recovered at presidential residences. “I look to hear about half as much as I can read about in whatever you write,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) quipped. “There's been a lot of frustration presented at previous hearings on things like the spy balloon. I don't think any of it compares to what will happen tomorrow if high-ranking officials don't come with some significant information and some solutions.” Department of real world consequences: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the classified document leak came up directly at her recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “His response was, ‘you know, I had a plan. And now people know what the plan is. So I gotta do what I gotta do,’” she said in an interview. JUDICIARY STALEMATE — As promised, Senate Republicans nixed a speedy roster swap for Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) Tuesday afternoon request for unanimous consent to add Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) temporarily to the Judiciary Committee. In theory, that could tee up a floor vote on the matter, but Democrats don’t have the 10 GOP votes they’d need to move forward. More from Burgess, Jennifer Haberkorn and KTM. NOT SOLD ON SU — Julie Su, President Joe Biden’s choice for Secretary of Labor and current Acting Labor Secretary, faces the Senate HELP Committee Thursday for a hearing on her nomination. Su was making the rounds on the Hill Tuesday, even stopping in the Senate basement to chat with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) plans to meet with Su on Thursday following the HELP Committee hearing and said he’d be tuned in to see what questions her testimony raises. “I’m very ambivalent. I voted for her before. I don’t have a problem with her right now,” but he suggested the hearing could bring up concerns. Tester, Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) all voted in favor of Su’s confirmation to be deputy labor secretary in 2021. FIRST IN HUDDLE — Ian Sams, a spokesperson for the White House Counsel's office, released a memo Wednesday ahead of the House Oversight hearing on the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, slamming Republicans ahead of what is expected to be a contentious debate on the withdrawal. “These MAGA House Republicans are hoping to distract from their own failure to even agree upon, much less act on, solutions that are desperately needed today to protect the progress the Biden Administration has made to safely evacuate tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan at the end of the war,” the memo states. You can read the full memo here. DOUBLE, TRIPLE BOOKED — Is there a way to keep House members from being double, triple, quadruple booked with different committee commitments in the same time slot? The House Modernization Committee, sure thought so and now the House Digital Service is making it happen. The new tool is called “Deconflict” and it’s all in the name. The initial version is only available to House GOP committee staff, for now. But there is a plan to expand usage. WORTH A WATCH — If you’re one of the 17 House members, more than 500 members of Hill staff (along with hundreds more dependents) whose personal data was compromised in the breach of DC Health Link, here’s a hearing for you. Mila Kofman, Executive Director of the District of Columbia Health Benefit Exchange Authority will testify, as will House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor. Their written testimony is already out, read Kofman’s and Szpindor’s. DURBIN UPDATE ― Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) signaled on Tuesday that he’s “trying to honor” the blue slip courtesy for Scott Colom ― President Joe Biden’s judicial nominee for the Northern District of Mississippi ― whose nomination came under turmoil after Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) indicated she would formally block it. “We’re still talking,” he told Nancy when pressed for further clarification. The nomination was effectively halted after the Mississippi Republican said she would not return a blue slip for Colom ― a legislative maneuver that gives senators a de facto veto over appointments to district court seats within their home states. CAUGHT IN THE HATCH — The Office of Special Counsel found that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act when he expressed support for Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) election at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute event in the fall. ANOTHAH ONE, THANK YOU — A former White House official has launched his bid for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.). That makes 14 (!) candidates for the Ocean State seat, so far. BOARDING UP — Donna Shalala, the former Health and Human Services Secretary and Florida House Democrat, is joining the Board of Directors for a growing Medicare navigation platform: Chapter. Shalala touted Chapter as the "only Medicare advisor to put the interests of beneficiaries above all else," adding in her statement that she is "delighted to support Chapter and help them expand their services to more organizations and consumers."
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