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03/15/2019 07:58 AM EDT

By MELANIE ZANONA ([email protected]; @MZanona)


With an assist from Andrew Desiderio

WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH -- Senate Republicans have finally reached their breaking point. We've slowly seen the GOP stand up to President Donald Trump over the past few months, particularly on foreign policy issues, though most of the challenges have been largely symbolic. But this week, the Senate passed two pieces of legislation that directly defy the president and will force Trump to use his veto pen for the first time of his presidency.

What broke the camel's back: Trump's national wall emergency earned an eye-popping rebuke on Thursday, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats to overturn Trump's declaration. And the dozen defections come despite heavy arm-twisting from the White House. "The efforts to tamp down Republican defections probably turned the vote into even more of a media story than it would have been otherwise," said a former senior White House official. "It may have been a strategic miscalculation that made the stakes seem higher than they actually were."

Other notable votes: Earlier this week, the Senate approved a resolution ending U.S.-support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which is expected to pass the House and swiftly face a veto. And yesterday, the House unanimously passed legislation to make special counsel Bob Mueller's Russia report public.

Now the question is: will there be more jailbreaks? One area to keep an eye on is efforts to amend the National Emergencies Act. There is a bipartisan desire on both sides of the Capitol to rein in the president's powers, and Republicans who supported the wall emergency are especially eager to find some cover.

The tic-tocs: "Why Trump didn't stop a GOP revolt on his border emergency," by Burgess and Eliana Johnson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=22477065da0e0b81bb9421e0db27b1aaebf22d1925ede85bf72123343ff05096fd3de8695e96c8e8205895330a019878 and "'Beware the fury of Trump': 2020 GOP senators back president on border," via Burgess and Bres: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=22477065da0e0b81b861a975b164fb8877d5839311ae76c5da3df6e7ef9b9a3aa22dd0f6215dd94fc0d3c9e74354404c

GOTCHA GAMES -- Democratic leaders have launched a diplomacy campaign to stem the tide of moderates voting with Republicans on "gotcha" votes that have been giving the party heartburn, report Sarah and Heather. The effort includes personally calling the senior members who have supported the procedural votes, lining up key lawmakers to passionately speak out against the motions on the floor and reiterating in private caucus meetings that everyone needs to be a team player.

But if the push fails, some Democrats say a rules change will be necessary. One idea is giving lawmakers more advance time to read the motions before they must vote on them - a move that is sure to spark backlash among Republicans. Democrats are eager to have a strategy in place before they consider a Senate-passed Yemen resolution, given that the GOP successfully amended a House version of the bill using procedural tools last month. Much more http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=22477065da0e0b810a13dc3bd77abd0f7c0cb89af8f5f0eeeadb44aec658c8c9396ed853b8b251a158cd7baad5cb4e7a

HAPPY FRIDAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this March 15, where we knew it was time for a recess break when Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon caught herself wearing two different shoes after an entire day of work (totally relatable.)

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Hill's report on Democrats in Minnesota seeking a primary challenger to Rep. Ilhan Omar was by far the winner.

PLAYBOOK POOL: It's tournament time, which means it's time for the 3rd Annual Playbook Pool bracket challenge hosted by our Playbook authors across the country (DC, NY, NJ, MA, IL, FL, & CA)! Track who's up and who's down throughout the tournament as you compete against your friends, top Playbookers, political insiders and VIPs to win prizes including Amazon Echo, Series 3 Apple iWatch, iPhoneXR and more. Create your bracket starting on Selection Sunday (March 17) after the highly anticipated field of teams in this year's tournament are chosen. Click HERE to get in the game!

** A message from AARP: The big drug companies don't see us as people. They see us as profits. Americans pay the highest drug prices in the world while they rake in billions. We shouldn't have to choose between buying medication and buying food. Congress, stop the greed. Cut drug prices now. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc6afac9ab3c198d3d7b435a597b0eee9b691b2362153b3731dde686b646aa8ce0761de4d0feca97307 **


MEET THE MAJORITY MAKERS -- The House's freshman class isn't all about AOC. Vulnerable Democrats who are on the front lines of battle in 2020 are trying to distinguish themselves from the pack and distance themselves from the superstar squad of progressives who have been dominating headlines. While moderates applaud the energy that their liberal colleagues have injected into the party, they also worry about being cast as "socialists" by the GOP - a potentially damning label in their centrist districts. "As we run up to this presidential [election], we need to show that Democrats, as a whole, are not socialists," said Rep. Katie Hill, who flipped a Southern California district long held by
Republicans. "We're not pushing for impeachment without serious cause and serious evidence." More from Laura Barrón-López : http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc685cf3b203d98f9cd596a06cb5482e247c3a59f21539c71c7fed75747741641066ce7c5938fe12792

Related read: "House Freshman Backs Conflicts of Interest Bill-Then Sheds His Own Conflicts," by The Daily Beast's Lachlan Markay: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc6753cb67031a9fdb3588c6e46ec37b2400bc8107879f6efd027b0e79017c50db631adee799660660a

RELEASE THE REPORT -- The House unanimously approved a symbolic resolution calling for special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report to be made public. The effort comes amid speculation that Mueller may be wrapping up the Russia probe soon, and Democrats want to ratchet up pressure on the Justice Department to make the findings available to both Congress and the public. But despite overwhelming support from House Republicans, an effort to bring the measure up in the Senate was swiftly blocked. Democrats aren't going down without a fight, however: House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has threatened to issue a subpoena for the Mueller report if it's not released. Andrew with the
latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc67c7aad8eeef6a89760b5aee9cbca5f7c20ac967d82219431cc79d8ce3003584dc05ca73fbd376dd2

Related: "Top Mueller deputy stepping down from special counsel's office," by Josh Gerstein and Darren Samuelsohn: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc61a45de3f863a0580ae7ed0fcecb3f778eef7613b471d2dbcad7f09849a7b5b401d6eece482735b85

SOFT SUBPOENAS -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) gave a status update on Thursday about his panel's wide-ranging investigation into President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Ahead of Monday's deadline, Nadler said the committee has heard back from "about half" of the 81 individuals and entities that received document requests. Others, according to Nadler, said they would only comply if the committee issues a subpoena (Nadler called this a "friendly subpoena"). Others have been "defiant" and told the committee that they won't comply, but Nadler wouldn't name names.

ROSS IN THE HOT SEAT -- Democrats accused Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross of lying about adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census - and they were armed with receipts to back up their accusations. Ross previously told Congress that he only added the controversial question at the sole direction of the Justice Department. But during a contentious hearing on Thursday, Democrats touted emails showing Ross was exploring the idea months before the agency ever made the request. "He was choreographing these efforts behind the scenes, he became impatient when his demands were not being met, and he was working directly with officials at the highest levels of the Trump administration to force
this issue through," said Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). The AP's Kevin Freking with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc6f0315ef583c29c4e57462b562795d3b8149144d3575ae6dc0f7c800cf4885b7a0614559de200c889
TRANSITIONS
AshLee Strong, former spokeswoman for ex-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is heading back to Montana to start her own communications business.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is announcing several senior staff changes. Scott Raab, policy director, will now be deputy chief of staff for policy. Stefanie Muchow has been promoted to deputy chief of staff for operations. And David Popp, McConnell's communications director, will lead the McConnell communications team.

Laura Hernandez will serve as press secretary for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). She replaces Katrina Bishop, who is moving on after seven years.
TODAY IN CONGRESS
The House and Senate are OUT until the week of March 25.
AROUND THE HILL
Nada. Go enjoy your Friday.
TRIVIA
THURSDAY'S WINNER -- Jon Deuser was the first to correctly guess that Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) holds the record for a 32 year gap in Congressional service.

TODAY'S QUESTION -- From yours truly: Only the President or Congress can declare someone an honorary citizen of the United States. How many times has that been done? First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: [email protected].

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.


** A message from AARP: There's no question about it: The big drug companies' profits are soaring while too many Americans are struggling to make ends meet. As we continue to pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, drug companies continue to pocket billions of dollars. They can afford to spend nearly $175 million for lobbying, and more than $6 billion for advertising, and yet we're supposed to believe they can't find a way to lower prices? Americans shouldn't have to choose between buying medication and buying food for our families. It's time for Congress to step up and put people before profits. Stop the greed. Cut drug prices now.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a35b305a8b2cc6afac9ab3c198d3d7b435a597b0eee9b691b2362153b3731dde686b646aa8ce0761de4d0feca97307 **

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