Dems finally get a top Trump official to testify on Capitol Hill Presented by

with help from Andrew Desiderio, Sarah Ferris, Kyle Cheney and Burgess Everett

LOWERING THE BARR -- Democrats finally got Attorney General William Barr to testify on Capitol Hill — and they could ask him about Ukraine aid and the whistleblower complaint, though that won't be the focus of the hearing. Barr accepted an invitation to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, ending a year-long standoff that began when the panel first demanded his testimony in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. But this time, Democrats are demanding answers about Barr's apparent intervention in the sentencing of President Donald Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone, who was convicted last year on charges that he lied to congressional investigators and threatened a witness. Kyle with the latest: https://politi.co/2SKLkpO .


Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have little interest in pursuing the matter. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he won’t launch a separate investigation or bring Barr in for testimony — even as he and other Republicans criticize Trump for his Twitter forays into the case. “I don’t think he should be commenting on cases in the system. I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Graham said.

More broadly, Senate Republicans said they trust U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over Stone’s case, to handle the dispute when she ultimately decides on how long Stone should be behind bars. “I have confidence in the third branch of our government to act outside the world of politics and to do what is right,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said. He and other Republicans repeatedly demurred on questions about whether the president personally intervened to help Stone. “I can’t begin to spend time discussing the president’s tweets. That would be a full-time job,” Romney quipped. Andrew has more: https://politi.co/2OOxcKY .

Related: “After impeachment: Congress adrift, oversight uncertain,” via The AP’s Lisa Mascaro: http://bit.ly/31RUg0T ; and "Trump seeks to bend the executive branch as part of impeachment vendetta",” by WaPo’s Phil Rucker, Bob Costa and Josh Dawsey: https://wapo.st/2tXVU4C .

SOMEWHERE OVER THE UKRAINE-BOW -- A bipartisan trio of senators will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, reports Burgess. The trip will come just a week after the Senate acquitted Trump on charges he abused his power by asking Zelensky to investigate his political rivals. But senators want to attempt to return to normalcy in the region after the impeachment inquiry upended U.S. relations with a key ally. “One way to make clear that Ukraine is not a political football is for a bipartisan group of senators on opposite sides of the impeachment vote to go see Zelensky and to convey support," Murphy said. The dispatch: https://politi.co/2P6dXNt .

Speaking of Ukraine ... White House budget chief Russ Vought, one of the key players in the impeachment saga, testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where he faced questions not about the Ukraine scandal that has consumed Washington for months — but on the budget.

In fact, Democrats asked just one Ukraine-related question in the hours-long hearing, when Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) asked Vought what steps the agency is taking to ensure the agency does not withhold aid — alluding to the withholding of Ukraine funding. The more newsworthy tidbit came afterwards, when Vought told reporters that OMB would not freeze additional military aid to Ukraine this year, saying: “I don’t anticipate anything on that front.” More from Caitlin Emma: https://politi.co/31SJUO5 .

No gag order: Yarmuth said afterwards that he met with his members the day before to prep, and didn’t discourage Democrats from asking about Ukraine, though he did offer a warning that they might not get answers. “They could’ve asked whatever they wanted to. I just didn’t think he would answer any of it,” Yarmuth said.

Related: “Manchin voted to oust Trump. He could endorse his reelection,” from Burgess: https://politi.co/3bF1YjB .

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, February 13. If you still haven’t nabbed a Valentine’s Day present for your special someone, have no fear: Sean Spicer will record a Valentine for you for a small fee.

WEDNESDAY’S MOST CLICKED: Axios’ report on Trump withdrawing Jessie Liu’s nomination for a Treasury post was the big winner.

JOE SHMOE -- Joe Biden allies on Capitol Hill are doing some soul-searching after his cringeworthy performance in the first two primary states, on the hunt for a centrist candidate who can topple both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Some moderate Democrats say it's too soon to fret Sanders's surge or Biden's downfall. “The media is trying to anoint a nominee at this point when it’s really still pretty early," Sen. Doug Jones said. But privately, at-risk Democrats are getting worried. One member said: “The conversations are all the same: ‘'Oh s---.'"

Exhibit A of the shifting grounds on Capitol Hill: A trio of Congressional Black Caucus members endorsed Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday — a not-so-subtle sign that the former NYC mayor is chipping away at Biden's coalition of black voters. “I’m feeling a momentum shift to Bloomberg right now,” said Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), who endorsed Biden in the summer and plans to stick with him. More from Sarah, Heather and Marianne: https://politi.co/38phoGn .

Related: “Centrist Democrats Want to Stop Sanders. They’re Not Sure Who Can,” per the NYT’s Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin: https://nyti.ms/2SorDFC ; and “Some Democrats fear fallout from Sanders atop the ticket,” by The AP’s Nicholas Riccardi and Alan Fram: http://bit.ly/37nSPIH .

NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 12: Democratic presidential candidate former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg delivers remarks during a campaign rally on February 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. Bloomberg is holding the rally to mark the beginning of early voting in Tennessee ahead of the Super Tuesday primary on March 3rd. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) | Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

NO-SHOW NUNES: Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee ghosted their Democratic colleagues Wednesday, boycotting a subcommittee hearing on emerging technology and national security while demanding that Democrats refocus on the FBI's mishandling of its FISA surveillance authority. The episode underscored the toxic divisions on the panel that were exacerbated during impeachment, when Democrats unearthed a stream of Ukraine evidence that led to President Donald Trump's impeachment. Kyle with the story: https://politi.co/2tTR3Bj .

Related: “Republicans threaten reprisals as House Democratic chairman gets subpoena power,” via Anthony Adragna: https://politi.co/2w9rvAU .

PRIMARY PROBLEMS -- A new poll in the Alabama Senate race shows that the GOP primary battle is shaping up to be a pretty tight race between the top contenders. According to a survey conducted by the Alabama Daily news: “31% would vote for former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, 29% would choose former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and 17% would choose Congressman Bradley Byrne.” That means Trump could really make a difference in the race, should he get involved. But so far, the president hasn’t publicly taken sides. More from Todd Stacy: http://bit.ly/37n0Kpy .

Related: “Georgia race devolves into nasty GOP fight amid fears it could cost Senate majority,” by CNN’s Manu Raju and Alex Rogers: https://cnn.it/2SlH0yr .

CALLING ON CALPERS -- Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) is calling for an investigation into the CIO of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation’s largest public pension fund, over their "long and cozy" relationship with China. “CalPERS has been funneling retired public servants’ savings to companies that abuse human rights and supply the Chinese military. And it has done so at the behest of its CIO, Yu Ben Meng, a man enlisted in China’s Thousand Talents Program—which has been described by the FBI as one of China’s ‘non-traditional espionage’ programs,” Banks wrote in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom. “This poses a national security risk to every region of the United States.” More from Reuters' Alexandra Alper: https://reut.rs/3bCL0C7 .

POD BLESS US, EVERYONE -- It seems like everyone has a podcast these days — and Capitol Hill is no exception. Among the list of congressional podcasts: “Hold These Truths,” hosted by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas); “Clyburn Chronicles,” hosted by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.); “What’s the Biggs Idea?", hosted by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.); and “Washingtown,” hosted by Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah), just to name a few. The fun story from Roll Call’s Kathryn Lyons: http://bit.ly/2ORLkTY .

TRANSITIONS

Amy Lawrence, who was previously Rep. Martha McSally’s (R-Ariz.) press secretary, has now been promoted to communications director.

Katie Knudson will be chief of protocol for the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will announce today. Knudson will add this to her duties as director of interparliamentary affairs. In these roles, Knudson serves as the primary point of contact for the House of Representatives with the Washington diplomatic corps, overseeing visits of heads of state and other foreign dignitaries to the Capitol.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House gavels in at 9 a.m., with first and last votes expected between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Today’s agenda: http://bit.ly/37o8pEe .

The Senate meets at meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of S.J. Res. 68 (116), which would limit President Donald Trump's war powers in response to his administration's actions toward Iran, and its six amendments. Senators will vote on passage of the resolution at 1:45 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Casey Burgat was the first person to correctly guess that Ronald Reagan was a co-anchor for the national broadcast for the Grand Opening of Disneyland in Anaheim.

TODAY’S QUESTION: From Casey: This president is the answer to many trivia questions, including being the president who fathered more children than any other White House occupant. Who is this president and how many offspring did he produce? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way at [email protected] .

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Follow us on Twitter Melanie Zanona @MZanona