Subject: POLITICO Huddle – How not to oust a speaker – A liberal lion exits the Senate – Warren-wing and New Democrats clash in the House over party’s direction
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 07:21:55 -0600

By Lauren French (@
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd0462809715be4200883894c7cad78f27553dba2bded7b439da75e 
laurennfrench  or 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] )

With an assist from Burgess Everett 

HOW NOT TO OUST A SPEAKER. From your Huddle author and POLITICO's bureau chief, John Bresnahan, "A group of House conservatives spent almost a year dreaming big about toppling Speaker John Boehner, but less than a day before the vote they still hadn't found someone to replace him. One promising candidate finally jumped in - but only at the last minute, not even telling his closest friend in Congress he was running. The result was a vote Tuesday that ultimately yielded an ugly, controversial win for Boehner, with the most defections from his own party that any speaker had seen in decades. The Ohio Republican's allies were left howling for revenge, and hopes of a big tea party victory once
 again went unfulfilled. The contest also made a conservative hero out of Florida GOP Rep. Daniel Webster, who drew 12 of the 25 dissenting votes. But mainly, the disorganized attempt to oust Boehner was a reminder of how hard it is to unseat a speaker." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286db1841011e6847f2a3e96402967204d6d218dab53805c2d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286db1841011e6847f2a3e96402967204d6d218dab53805c2d 

THE EXIT OF A LIBERAL LION. Seema Mehta and Evan Halper report for the LA Times, "The news that Sen. Barbara Boxer would not run for her Senate seat again after nearly four decades in public life was a watershed moment for California and for her fellow Democrats, signifying the end of a political career that has come to embody Bay Area liberalism....Boxer, 74, stated her plans Thursday in a video to supporters, saying her decision was not prompted by her age or by partisan bickering in the nation's Capital, where Republicans now control both houses.

"Though short of stature - and often accompanied by an aide carrying a 'Boxer box' for her to stand on at news conferences - Boxer has not been a demure presence on Capitol Hill. She has advocated vocally on behalf of environmentalists, organized labor and women&#39;s rights groups. Her Senate career was forged at a crucial time for women in politics. In 1991, Boxer - then a member of the House - was among the seven lawmakers who marched up the steps of the male-dominated Senate and demanded that a vote on the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation be postponed so accusations of sexual harassment against him could be investigated."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286a9aefef2de1e7462aefbfe69b136f47a02c34f9afca9ff3 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286a9aefef2de1e7462aefbfe69b136f47a02c34f9afca9ff3 

THE RACE TO REPLACE BOXER. Doesn't yet include the names of that many congressman. Rep. Darrell Issa told Jake Sherman the seat has essentially been "vacant" for years. The names swirling around, via Ed O'Keefe, are "Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, current Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628bb79d5b7bafe38c4742a430fea718f1f96f469855f91cb3f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628bb79d5b7bafe38c4742a430fea718f1f96f469855f91cb3f 

But the statement from Rep. Eric Swalwell also caught our eye. His office said, "Today, Congressman Swalwell is celebrating Senator Boxer&#39;s service to California&#39;s families and environment. Congressman Swalwell remains focused on his work to bring new energy and ideas to Congress.Any decision about the future will come at a later time."

WARREN-WING CLASHES WITH NEW DEMOCRATS. From Anna Palmer and your Huddle author, "Moderate House Democrats are warring with the dominant liberal faction over the leftward shift of the caucus, arguing that they'll never win back the majority if they don't change their message. Tension reached a boiling point during a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday over the party's stance toward Wall Street banks, according to multiple sources at the meeting. Liberal Massachusetts Rep. Mike Capuano incensed the moderates when he said if Democrats support rolling back Dodd-Frank regulations, 'you might as well be a Republican.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286b1f177eab6f36e42953d6afb80d48694b390ae71d1f1ed2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046286b1f177eab6f36e42953d6afb80d48694b390ae71d1f1ed2 

DRIVING THE DAY.Seung Min and Jake report, "House Republicans will unveil their bill Friday morning to fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of September while trying to block President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration. The 10:30 a.m. meeting in the Capitol is meant to preview the legislation for House Republicans in advance of a vote next week. The GOP leadership expects to post the bill online Friday, setting up an early-to-midweek vote. DHS funding runs dry Feb. 28." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046287e22ec0ed85b7f78271b25f994c33cd8365c980315952d4c 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046287e22ec0ed85b7f78271b25f994c33cd8365c980315952d4c 

TGIF. Welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill. Happy Friday! Thanks for reading along with me this week. Seung Min will be your Huddle author extraordinaire next week so send tips to 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  and follow along on Twitter @
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd0462809715be4200883894c7cad78f27553dba2bded7b439da75e 
laurennfrench .

TODAY IN CONGRESS - There are no votes currently scheduled in the Senate. The House meets at 9 a.m. 

THE ECONOMIST MAKES THE CASE FOR CONGRESSIONAL OPTIMISM. The paper argues why the 114 Congress might be just more productive than in years past. "Congress works best when it is wholly controlled by one party, as the new one is. When one side holds just one chamber of Congress and the presidency, as was the case for the Democrats between 2010 and the end of 2013, the other lot has plenty of power-in the sense that it can stop things happening-but not much incentive to co-operate in governing. It is harder for a party to act as a protest movement when it is in charge of the legislature." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd0462891338d2a7d4e4ece3bec10575c1f7af1e59e3e01654f7098 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd0462891338d2a7d4e4ece3bec10575c1f7af1e59e3e01654f7098 

OBAMA PROPOSES TWO YEARS OF FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. President Barack Obama will need the approval of Congress to realize his proposal for making two years of community college free for students. So far, that plan doesn't have an official price tag - other than "significant," according to White House officials. If all 50 states participate, the proposal could benefit 9 million students each year and save students an average of $3,800 in tuition, the White House said.... Federal funding would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college, and Obama is asking states to pick up the rest of the tab - assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first place. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628c5be8867fb10c3c6ee03d4d990366144cb774f88cd45c238 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628c5be8867fb10c3c6ee03d4d990366144cb774f88cd45c238 

COONS: BRING OUR BOYS HOME. Sen. Chris Coons is calling on the Department of Defense to undertake a "substantial realignment" of the U.S. presence in West Africa. Now, Coons writes, that "remarkable progress" has been made to combat the Ebola crisis in Liberia, the U.S. should recall a "majority" of the military forces sent to the region to help stop the spread of the deadly virus. The letter: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046283d55495a0ad47cbf17697801a898abb72ec75607a9344ad4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046283d55495a0ad47cbf17697801a898abb72ec75607a9344ad4 

GRASSLEY AT ODDS WITH WHITE HOUSE ON LYNCH. Edward-Isaac Dovere writes, "The White House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairman can't even agree on whether they've talked about holding confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch. Aides to new Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday told POLITICO that they'd informed the White House that hearings would be held in either late January or early February. On Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters traveling back from Arizona with the president, "I'm not aware of a conversation like that occurring." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628400da4dc1b8635b7b2fbfff4724b07e5a95f387117ee18ab 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628400da4dc1b8635b7b2fbfff4724b07e5a95f387117ee18ab 

30 THE NEW 40? The House passed a bill Thursday redefining the workweek under Obamacare to 40 hours, but the path toward passage in the Senate is getting increasingly rocky. Though moderate Democrats Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin have co-sponsored the bill, finding four more Democrats is proving difficult. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania tells us he won't be backing the bill and said it's "not the right approach" to tweaking the health care law: "I&#39;m concerned by the CBO's independent analysis which has determined that the 'workweek' legislation could increase the deficit by $53 billion and leave hundreds of thousands more people uninsured." Casey joins Jon Tester in opposing the bill,
 and several other centrist Democrats like Heidi Heitkamp and Mark Warner have expressed major reservations. Asked how he can get to 60, Manchin deadpanned: "I got me and Joe Donnelly I think. That sounds like a fair fight to me." But he remains increasingly concerned about the health care law cutting West Virginian's hours. "In West Virginia 40 hours is almost like part time now. We have to work harder than that to make a living. So you cut us back to 30 we'll be in starvation wages."

TRANSITIONS.Sen. Johnny Isakson, the newly minted chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has named retired Marine Corps Colonel Thomas Bowman as staff director.

WELCOME TO TWITTER, the Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats. Follow along at @SASCDems.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - The lovely Sara Bonjean was the first to correctly answer that Sam Houston was the only person to be elected governor of two different US States.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Sara has today's question. Who was the last U.S. Marshal in the state of Wyoming to be appointed by President George W. Bush? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] 

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046289128be57c70438f0e3e3acc73cf841f269f2e2bace913c86 
 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd046289128be57c70438f0e3e3acc73cf841f269f2e2bace913c86 

Go to POLITICO Huddle Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628ab5f1daa89aaf98d2f32fa2f27245d2f93c68fe13ebf18bf

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628b940bab1ac632325584c6c22dd7d6dde05743612daa24317

=================================

2015 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Huddle.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d01bc0279bd04628615a11bc6369450a580a8a6ece590c613421ddf86976ab4f

=================================