Cotton leads opposition to criminal justice reform - D.C. digs out, Congress stays home Presented by

By Lauren French (@laurennfrench & [email protected])

COTTON LEADS OPPOSITION TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM. Seung Min Kim reports, “Sen. Tom Cotton, the hawkish upstart who's already made waves railing against the Iran nuclear deal and government surveillance programs, is now leading a new rebellion against a bipartisan effort to overhaul the criminal justice system — hoping to torpedo one of the only pieces of major legislation that could pass in President Barack Obama’s final year. GOP tensions over a bill that would effectively loosen some mandatory minimum sentences spilled over during a party lunch last week, when Cotton (R-Ark.), the outspoken Senate freshman, lobbied his colleagues heavily against the legislation, according to people familiar with the closed-door conversation. The measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last fall with bipartisan support.” politi.co/1S5rGki


DC DIGS OUT, CONGRESS STAYS HOME. Carl Hulse with the New York Times, “Washington was recovering slowly from the weekend’s fierce snowstorm, leading House Republican leaders to cancel votes and committee sessions in what was already going to be a short week as a result of a Democratic strategy retreat. Citing the difficulty of traveling to a city where the airports have been shut down, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican majority leader, announced Sunday morning that the House would resume business on Feb. 1. House Democrats still intend to travel to Baltimore midweek for a scheduled party planning session. The Senate prepared to convene this week but will do so a day later than expected. Senators will now vote on a judicial nomination Wednesday evening before turning to an energy bill.” nyti.ms/1nJkrS8

LONGTIME CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER DIES FROM STORM. Peter Hermann reports for the Washington Post, “A veteran U.S. Capitol Police officer and a fixture on the Hill died Saturday after suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow outside his home on the Eastern Shore of Delaware, according to his wife and law enforcement officials. Officer Vernon J. Alston was 44 and had spent nearly two decades patrolling the Capitol grounds. He was known to lawmakers yet so humble about his job that he failed to tell his wife when he chased down and subdued a theft suspect a couple months ago…The Capitol Police said in a statement that Alston mostly worked with the House division. Chief Kim Dine described the death as a “tragic loss” for Alston’s family and the police force.” wapo.st/1PMs6p7

HAPPY MONDAY. Thank you for reading Huddle even though OPM called the workday rather early. It will be a slow week because of the snow but please send tips to [email protected] and follow along on Twitter @laurennfrench. Also accepting good snow-day haunts and predictions on how long it takes for the Metro to be back to normal service.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – Zip.

AROUND THE HILL – Zilch.

OBAMA REFLECTS ON 2016. Glen Thrush reports, “In [a 40-min.] Oval Office interview for POLITICO's Off Message podcast [on Friday], the president offers his most expansive comments yet on the race to succeed him": "[H]e couldn't hide his obvious affection for Clinton or his implicit feeling that she, not Sanders, best understands the unpalatably pragmatic demands of a presidency he likens to the world's most challenging walk-and-chew-gum exercise. '[The] one thing everybody understands is that this job right here, you don't have the luxury of just focusing on one thing,' a relaxed and reflective Obama told me in his most expansive discussion of the 2016 race to date.” politi.co/1K6iaKH

CONGRESS MENTIONED ONLY TWICE. The full transcript: politi.co/1PNo683

FIX FOR PUERTO RICO DEBT CRISIS TAKING SHAPE. Bloomberg’s Kasia Klimasinska writes, “It took a pair of defaults, but House Republicans may finally be turning their attention to the deepening debt crisis in Puerto Rico. After avoiding Democrats’ calls for action last year, lawmakers are now responding to Speaker Paul Ryan’s promise to address it by the end of this quarter. Senate leaders remain noncommittal when it comes to Puerto Rico, but the House is set to hold a second hearing Feb. 2 aimed at finding a solution that would help the U.S. territory pay $70 billion in debt and revive its economy. Puerto Rico’s non-voting delegate, Democrat Pedro Pierluisi, said members are circulating draft bills containing ideas ranging from an outside board overseeing island’s finances to cutting the island’s minimum wage.” bloom.bg/1Px9U2h

DEMOCRATIC RETREAT GOING ON AS PLANNED. By your Huddle author, “A policy retreat for Democratic lawmakers will go on as planned despite the House canceling its D.C. workweek because of a massive blizzard on the East Coast. Both President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are still scheduled to attend the three-day confab for House Democrats in Baltimore that begins Wednesday. Obama and Biden will both speak Thursday.” politi.co/1QvcHhD

Other speakers: Senior Vice President and General Manager of multicultural growth and strategy at Nielsen Monica Gil, President and CEO of Project New America Jill Hanauer, founder of Khan Academy Salman Khan, President of Demos Heather McGhee, “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, author Simon Sinek editorial cartoonist Tom Toles, environmentalist and Democratic donor Tom Steyer and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

CONGRESSIONAL ALUMNI NEWS: “WEINER” SCREENS AT SUNDANCE. Erich Schwartzel for the Wall Street Journal, “’Weiner,’ the all-access character study of the disgraced New York City politician and his wife Huma Abedin, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday after weeks of speculation about its footage. Ratcheting up the interest: Abedin is a longtime aide to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and the scenes of the press-shy power player seemed to rivet the audience more than the footage of her husband’s political downfall. “Weiner” filmmakers Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman had remarkable access to the couple — in their home playing with their son, at the campaign office hitting up donors for money, in the car debating whether Abedin should make an appearance. Kriegman was a chief of staff for Weiner before becoming a filmmaker, which helped secure the access, he said after the screening.” on.wsj.com/1UlYv9U

FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – No one was able to guess the correct answer to Joseph’s question from Friday. Hope you have better luck today!

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Joseph has today’s question. Several of the world leaders who have addressed Congress were actually born or died on American soil but only one did both. Who was it? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at [email protected]

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Follow us on Twitter Melanie Zanona @MZanona