By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
SYRIA ESCAPE HATCH? OBAMA’S ACCIDENTAL DIPLOMACY – POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein has the latest developments on Syria: “President Barack Obama has stumbled into a possible resolution of the Syria showdown, after an act of apparently accidental U.S. diplomacy seemed to deliver a potential way to wriggle out of his political predicament. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested at a London news conference Monday morning that the crisis could be defused if Syrian President Bashar Assad surrendered his chemical weapons to an international force. The Russians jumped on the idea and Monday evening Obama was sounding open to the proposal.
‘This could potentially be a significant breakthrough,’ Obama told NBC. ‘But we have to be skeptical because this is not how we’ve seen them operate over the last couple of years.’
– “With members of Congress clamoring for a chance to avoid a vote to authorize military action, the idea has a certain undeniable political convenience for the administration because it could avert the possibility of a political loss that could damage Obama’s reputation and to the U.S.’s global standing. The fast-moving developments meant the only thing that seemed certain Monday was that giving the diplomats time to work the issue could forestall an American strike and make it difficult for the White House to demand lawmakers take a tough vote to approve military action against Syria. … But in his round of interviews with network TV anchors Monday, Obama seemed eager to turn the lemons into lemonade, casting the development as a combination of his threat to use force and his own personal engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” http://politi.co/15NYZBB
BREAKING … AP: “Syria says it has accepted Russia’s proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly agreed to the Russian initiative to ‘derail the U.S. aggression.’ Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia is now working with Syria to prepare a detailed plan of action, which will be presented shortly. Lavrov said that Russia will then be ready to finalize the plan together with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.” http://bit.ly/15MQwZm
WAS A SYRIAN-RUSSIAN DEAL in the works before Kerry’s off-the-cuff remarks? Joshua Keating in Slate: “Obama … suggested that he had discussed such a proposal–or something similar to it–during the two leader’s brief meeting at last week’s G-20 summit. (Remember, plans for a full one-on-one between the two leaders were scuttled following the Edward Snowden affair.) … [A] lot of folks are also giving a second look today to a Haaretz article from Sept. 1 – little noticed at the time – in which journalist veteran Israeli journalist Barak Ravid suggested a potential deal was in the works that sounds very much like the one being discussed today.” http://slate.me/16g1NEI
FRONT-PAGE HEADLINES – NYT 2-col. lead: “OBAMA BACKS IDEA FOR SYRIA TO CEDE CONTROL OF ARMS: Russian Plan on Chemical Weapons – ‘It’s Possible if It’s Real,’ He Says.” WaPo: “Syria Welcomes Russian plan to avert U.S. strike: CALL TO GIVE UP CHEMICAL ARSENAL: Obama cautions but sees potential breakthrough.” L.A. Times: “U.S. weighs Russia’s offer on Syrian arms: A call for chemical weapons to be placed in U.N. control gives Obama an alternative to a military strike.” Boston Globe 5-col. banner hed: “Talk swirls of a peaceful resolution: Russia, Syria pounce on Kerry’s remarks about surrendering arms; Obama cautious.” USA Today: “Obama steps back on Syria: Russia pushes plan to have Assad give up chemical weapons.” WSJ: “Obama Push to Hit Syria Takes Detour.”
OBAMA HEADS TO THE HILL – POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown explains Obama’s thinking as he lunches with Senate Democrats and Republicans in separate meetings today: “President Barack Obama will attempt Tuesday to reset — again — his Syria strategy after a week of conflicting statements, mixed messages and unanswered questions. The best that Obama can hope for, according to one senior administration official, is that lawmakers and voters give his argument a second chance. The White House will know quickly whether Obama succeeded — or failed — based on what it hears from Capitol Hill. The president, in a rare flash of insecurity, told NBC News Monday that even he wasn’t confident that he could win congressional approval for military strikes. The use-of-force resolution looks dead in the House, increasingly doubtful in the Senate and stubbornly unpopular with the public. Between the prime time address and a trip to Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday to meet separately with Senate Democrats and Republicans, Obama will get a pair of the high-profile opportunities to shift the trend. ‘We’ve got a lot of cards to play still,’ the official said.
– “But it won’t be easy. Democrats and Republicans say they need Obama to make a clear case for why it’s in America’s national security interests to strike Syria and what will be achieved by the attack. They want to know how limited strikes wouldn’t drag the country into another prolonged military action.” http://politi.co/15NYojh
9 TONIGHT: Obama speaks to the nation on Syria in a primetime address from the East Room.
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID has delayed a procedural vote on an increasingly unpopular Syria resolution that had been set for Wednesday, USA Today’s Susan Page reports. “Six senators, including five Republicans and one Democrat, announced Monday they would vote against a resolution authorizing the use of force — a strong indication that the administration’s efforts to build bipartisan support have been ineffective. The Senate was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a procedural motion to begin formal debate on the resolution, but Reid announced late Monday the vote would be delayed in order to buy the president more time to make his case to senators and the public.” http://usat.ly/17LUMMm
– Meanwhile, Syrian protesters welcomed returning lawmakers to Capitol Hill, Roll Call’s Hannah Hess reports: http://bit.ly/18LNs1G
– Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are still undecided about whether to back the Syria strike resolution after meeting with Obama and National Security Adviser Susan Rice at the White House, Ginger Gibson reports: http://politi.co/19DyGuW
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation: Registration has opened for “The Reagan National Defense Forum: Building Peace Through Strength Through 2025.” Speakers include Secretary Chuck Hagel, General Martin Dempsey, Secretary John McHugh, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, SASC Chairman Carl Levin and HASC Chairman “Buck” McKeon.
ISSA TO CANTOR: LET’S VOTE AGAIN ON AMASH AMENDMENT – In a letter going out this morning, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) urges Majority Leader Eric Cantor to hold another vote on legislation authored by Rep. Justin Amash that would defund an NSA program that collects Americans’ phone records. Issa previously voted against it, but he’s had a change of heart since new revelations that communications of Americans had been gathered in the data-collection programs. The chairman calls for moving legislation to the floor – including language from the Amash amendment – “that both increases the transparency of the Agency’s programs and reinforces the constitutional protections of our citizens.” Read the letter here: http://bit.ly/1fUptjw
HUDDLE FIRST LOOK: DCCC VIDEO: GOP LOST AUGUST RECESS – The DCCC is out with a new video this morning highlighting the backlash that House Republicans faced during the August recess. The video, called “Republicans Lost August,” includes local coverage of protests, rallies, and events where Republicans felt the heat on issues ranging from immigration and social security to ethics investigations.
DCCC Chairman Steve Israel will reinforce that message at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning and will discuss how the fiscal debates this fall only reinforce all the problems House Republicans have with voters. Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/13FE7J2
GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, September 10, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.
My new followers include @mkinzel and @suraechinn.
TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. for party caucuses lunches with President Barack Obama. The House also meets at 10 with first votes expected between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. and last votes between 4:15 and 5 p.m. on legislation including the National Association of Registration Agents and Brokers Reform Act and the Science Laureates of the United States Act.
AROUND THE HILL – W.H. Chief of Staff Denis McDonough meets with the House Democratic Caucus at 8:50 a.m. in HVC-215, followed by a media availability with Leader Nancy Pelosi. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse holds a news conference on climate change at 9:30 a.m. in the Senate Swamp. Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference media availability at 10 a.m. in HC-8. Sen. Whitehouse and Reps. Chris Van Hollen, Rosa DeLauro and Jan Schakowsky denounce tea party efforts to sabotage Obamacare at 10:15 a.m. in SVC 200. Sen. Jeff Flake and others speak on the farm bill at 10:45 a.m. in the Senate Swamp. Reps. Michael Grimm, Earl Blumenauer and Jim McGovern speak on transit parity benefits at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle. Also at 11, Reps. Thomas Massie and Jared Polis speak on the conflicts in state and federal laws governing industrial hemp farming in Cannon 122.
Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee speak at the “Exempt America from ObamaCare” rally from noon to 2 p.m. on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad briefing at 1 p.m. in H-144. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of American host Reps. Dennis Ross and Bill Pascrell at a closed congressional briefing on how to prepare for natural disasters, at 1 p.m. in Cannon 121. Rep. Ron Desantis and Sen. David Vitter speak on OPM subsidies within Obamacare at 2 p.m. at the House Triangle. Congressional leaders hold a Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the four girls killed in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, at 3 p.m. in Statuary Hall.
BEFORE PRIMARY DAY, LAWRENCE O’DONNELL ASKS WEINER: WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU? – Corinne Lestch writes for the New York Daily News: “Anthony Weiner took a beating on the night before the mayoral primary from MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, who repeatedly asked the scandal-scarred Democratic candidate, ‘What is wrong with you?’ The TV host turned his show, ‘The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,’ into a combative, bizarre, not-quite-therapy session Monday night when he barraged Weiner with vague questions, barely letting the mayoral hopeful get a word in edgewise. … After an awkward pause, Weiner replied that he didn’t understand the question. ‘I mean, what is wrong with you that you cannot seem to imagine a life without elective office?’ The two men began arguing, and O’Donnell waffled between showing disgust and tolerance for Weiner’s sexting scandals, which plunged him far behind the other candidates in the polls.” http://nydn.us/1eyGORf Watch here: http://youtu.be/mVSOe-sx2gw
THE ROGERS REPORT: HOUSE GOP MAY RESURRECT LEGISLATIVE GAMBIT ON OBAMACARE – “House Republicans are dusting off an old legislative gambit from April 2011 as one way to move ahead this week with a stopgap spending bill for the first months of the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1,” David Rogers writes. “The goal is to give conservatives a vote on defunding health care reform without resulting in a government shutdown. It has worked before, but ‘before’ is the operative word. And until Tuesday’s Republican Conference, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) won’t really know whether this flash from the past can flash again. Most simply, the procedure calls for sending the Senate a stopgap spending bill with a resolution that would alter the text of the bill once it’s enrolled for presentation to President Barack Obama. In this case, the so-called enrollment correction would bar funding to carry out Public Law 111-148, Obama’s signature health care reforms. But the Democratic-controlled Senate retains the right to choose: accepting the spending resolution with or without the so-called correction.” http://politi.co/1ezcTbE
– CLUB FOR GROWTH PRESIDENT CHRIS CHOCOLA RESPONDS: “Are these news reports from The Onion? Or are they real? When members were at home over recess, did they hear their constituents ask for legislative tricks or principled leadership? Trying to fool Republicans into voting to fund Obamacare is even worse than offering a bill that deliberately funds it. I hope this proposal is nothing more than a bad joke and is quickly discarded. Republicans should simply do what they say they are for by passing a Continuing Resolution that doesn’t fund Obamacare.”
SANFORD GOT EXEMPTION TO TAKE FIANCEE TO ISRAEL – Shane Goldmacher writes in National Journal: “Rep. Mark Sanford, whose extramarital dalliance abroad while governor of South Carolina led to scandal, took his mistress-turned-fiancée, María Belén Chapur, to Israel in August, on a trip paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, congressional records show. Such privately funded trips are typically limited to relatives, but Sanford, a Republican who won a House seat in a special election earlier in the year, asked for and received a special exemption to take Belén Chapur along. Sanford gave a two-word answer on the congressional travel form when asked why he wanted to participate in the Israel trip. ‘Educational purposes,’ he wrote.
– “The American Israel Education Foundation spent more than $ 18,558 to fly Sanford and his fiancée to and from Israel for the weeklong journey. They flew business class, records show, with round-trip flights that cost more than $ 5,000 apiece. They were part of a delegation of roughly two dozen Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy. … The couple departed for Israel on Aug. 10 and returned Aug. 18. The website LegiStorm, which tracks congressional travel, first noted the participation of Belén Chapur on the trip, which included stops in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, and the Sea of Galilee. Sanford’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” http://bit.ly/1al4HZR The original Legistorm report: http://bit.ly/1cZ1O1O
MONDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Paul Hays was the first to correctly answer that Charles Evans Hughes, Jr. had to resign his solicitor general post when his father became chief justice of the U.S. in 1930.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Paul Hays has today’s question: Who is the only signer of the Declaration of Independence buried in Washington, D.C.? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library: The Reagan National Defense Forum on November 16, 2013 is bringing together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community – including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry – to address the health of our national defense and to stimulate a discussion that promotes policies that strengthen the United States military into the future. Registrations is $ 499 per person. For more information and tickets, please visit www.ReaganFoundation.org/Defense.
The program includes a keynote address by General Dempsey, remarks by Secretary Hagel, and multiple panels including “Counterterrorism in 2025,” “Congress, Industry and the Pentagon” and “The Industrial Base After a Decade of War.”
“My husband would be so pleased to know that his ‘Peace Through Strength’ policies are being discussed again with a focus on today’s new technology and tomorrow’s needs.” – Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
