Harry Reid wants President Obama to "go big" on immigration reform, because creating a pathway to citizenship is just like upgrading your fast food order. Denis McDonough will huddle with Senate Democrats to discuss immigration and solemnly mark the last time any of them will acknowledge Barack Obama's existence. And the FCC will postpone a decision on net neutrality until 2015 -- hopefully giving you enough time to explain it to your grandparents. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, November 18th, 2014:
CHAFFETZ TO HEAD OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE - Salt Lake Tribune: “Republicans on Tuesday selected Rep. Jason Chaffetz to chair the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a powerful position that will allow the Utah Republican to probe and poke the Obama administration for the coming two years. Chaffetz faced stiff competition for his post, beating out more senior Reps. Jim Jordan and Mike Turner, both of Ohio, to take over the House’s main watchdog committee known for taking on controversial topics and grilling witnesses. The Utah Republican, who will start his fourth term in January, had campaigned openly for the spot being vacated by Rep. Darrell Issa, who was term-limited.” [SLT]
LANDRIEU SCRAMBLING FOR 60TH KEYSTONE VOTE - Vote could is imminent. Politico: “The frenzy over the Keystone pipeline has come down to Louisiana Democrat Mary Landrieu’s furious search for a 60th “yes” vote in the Senate — the culmination of a desperate week of arm-twisting by a lawmaker whose political career is on the line in the lame-duck Congress. Never mind that President Barack Obama may well veto the bill, which would approve the Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline by taking the matter out of the hands of his State Department. With Keystone apparently stuck on 59 votes — one shy of the amount needed for passage — Landrieu has turned into a one-woman Senate whip, seeking a vote set for Tuesday night that would show her clout in oil-rich Louisiana ahead of her Dec. 6 runoff. In the past week, she’s drawn Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) to her side, while a series of rumored Democratic fence-sitters came out against the bill, including New Jersey’s Cory Booker, New York’s Chuck Schumer and Michigan’s Carl Levin. Since all 45 Senate Republicans already support the bill, a tiny number of Democratic waverers will decide the outcome.” [Politico]
GRAHAM SUPPORTS UNDOING FILIBUSTER REFORM - And we’re sure Mitch McConnell didn’t stare at him blankly for a few moments before busting a gut laughing. Amanda Terkel: “Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wants Republicans to reverse the Democrats' filibuster reforms in the new year, arguing that doing so will make it tougher for President Barack Obama to get his nominees approved. The new system requires just 51 votes to advance executive branch nominees and judges nominated for all courts except the Supreme Court, instead of the 60 votes that were previously required. Democrats approved the reforms after Republicans were refusing to let many of Obama's nominees go through. Half the nominees filibustered in the country's history, for example, were blocked by Republicans during the Obama administration. The question for Republicans now is whether to keep these reforms in place or go back to the 60-vote system. On one hand, if Republicans keep the majority in the Senate and win the presidency in 2016, the new rules would be advantageous to them because they'd be able to push through a GOP president's nominees more easily.” [HuffPost]
MCDONOUGH TO MEET WITH SENATE DEMS - WaPo: “White House Chief of Staff Denis R. McDonough plans to huddle on Thursday with Democratic senators -- yet another sign that President Obama is preparing to act soon to revamp the nation's immigration laws. A senior congressional aide familiar with the plans confirm the plans, but would only say that McDonough will attend the weekly Democratic policy lunch ‘to discuss the economy and priorities in the lame duck’ session of Congress. But the biggest White House priority these days is immigration and Obama has promised to use his executive authority to make changes in immigration policy at some point after the midterm elections and the end of the year. Another potential subject of conversation could be the sensitive, months-long negotiations over the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s long-anticipated report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program.” [WaPo]
DAVE DOWNER: WALMART EMPLOYEES STILL MISERABLE - Dave Jamieson - “As they try to rally support for legislation aimed at improving low-wage jobs, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) invited members of the worker group OUR Walmart to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to brief Congress on working for the world’s largest retailer. At the forum held in a Senate office building, Warren and Miller made their case for a trio of labor-friendly bills that have so far failed to overcome Republican opposition: one that would raise the federal minimum wage, a second that would set rules for work schedules in the retail sector, and a third that would address the gender pay gap. ‘We’ve got millions of families across this country that are barely hanging on by their fingernails,’ Warren said. ‘No one in this country should work full-time and still live in poverty.’” [HuffPost]
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IMMIGRATION: HARRY REID WANTS OBAMA TO GO BIG - Or, alternately, just walk up to Mitch McConnell and literally stick his thumb in his eye. Either one is fine for Harry Reid. Elise Foley: “ Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has the authority to act without Congress on immigration, and that when the president does so, he should do as much as possible to protect families. ‘I think when the president decides to do his executive order, he should go big,’ Reid told reporters at a press conference. ‘As big as he can.’ Obama could take executive action as soon as this week to grant deportation relief, revamp enforcement programs and make other administrative changes to immigration policy. Republicans have said they will do whatever they can to block that action, including potentially creating a showdown over funding the government.” [HuffPost]
DEMOCRATS WORRYING: REPORT - Sam Stein: “But a favorable year and demographics are only some of the components of electoral success. And there has been a rising sense of concern that the party lacks other critical elements: namely, a message that addresses the top concerns of voters and effective messengers to share it. ‘I think politically, we, the Democratic Party writ large, have to do some real analysis about the fact that what many people think is the emerging democratic electorate has now only shown up twice and only shown up for Barack Obama,’ said Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to the president, in an interview a few days after the elections. ‘What does that mean in a post-Obama era? The technology and the field organization is very important. But organization is a mechanism to harness enthusiasm. And if you don't have enthusiasm, all the organization in the world is not going to get you over the top.’” [HuffPost]
BOEHNER LAWYERS UP - We imagine the aesthetics of a law office and John Boehner’s house are not that different. A lot of paintings of ducks and untouched leather encyclopedias. NBC News: “George Washington University legal scholar Jonathan Turley -- a frequent legal and political commentator on MSNBC -- has agreed to represent House Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans in their lawsuit against President Obama. Turley's announcement comes after other lawyers ultimately declined to represent the House Republicans -- allegedly due to political pressure at their big law firms. Indeed, it's notable that the House GOP lawsuit against Obama still hasn't been filed.” [NBC News]
NET NEUTRALITY DECISION POSTPONED UNTIL 2015 Dana Liebelson: “The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will not be voting on net neutrality in December, instead delaying the decision until sometime in 2015 when Republicans will have full control of Congress. The decision, which the agency confirmed Monday, is drawing criticism from net neutrality supporters, who say the delay is unnecessary and raises concerns about the possibility of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler bowing to pressure from GOP lawmakers and telecom and cable companies. Last week, President Barack Obama threw his weight behind a ‘Title II’ proposal to keep the Internet free and fair by treating Web access like a utility, not unlike water. Telecom and cable companies oppose this plan because they want a lighter regulatory touch, and they could benefit by being able to charge companies for faster download speeds, though they have said they will not do this.” [HuffPost]
CAPITOL REPAIRS STILL UNDERWAY - The Architect of the Capitol could probably replace the whole damn building for less than the Visitor’s Center cost. “Have you ever wondered what it's like to walk out onto the roof of the United States Capitol? Our Ryan Grim did, so when the Architect of the Capitol offered reporters the chance to get a look at renovations of the dome, he tagged along.” [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here’s a ram battling a punching bag
COMFORT FOOD
- Next Thursday, give thanks for Tiny Hamster Thanksgiving
- History’s greatestlemon slicer
- A great holiday gift idea: a travel kit for mid-air drinking
- Dolphins laugh at gymnastics routine
TWITTERAMA
@dcbigjohn: God I hope Mary Landrieu gets lit up and decides to chronicle all that dumb shit her colleagues have done during Nola fundraisers
@timkmak: Let the journo who has never TK'd cast the first TK
@DylanByers: to the curious non-journalists, it’s TK, not TC, because TC doesn’t jump out and catch your eye… it just makes you think about TC Boyle
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