CANADA CODEL — Oh, Canada. A bipartisan group of senators headed north to Nova Scotia this weekend to attend the annual Halifax International Security Forum, where they found themselves dogged by some of the same pressure points as on Capitol Hill.

Predictably, Russia and China dominated this year’s conference — but legislators from the United States often found themselves on the defensive, including as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol drew concern from others at the confab. The senators made news on a few of the major topics dominating Capitol Hill during this year-end crunch time, and Andrew sent along his top takeaways from the three-day forum…

Homemade Blockade: Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, strongly pushed back against the Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley-led blockade of diplomatic nominations, which is currently holding up more than 50 of Biden’s foreign-policy nominees, including a slew of ambassadors. “I have been a critic of this since I started” on the committee, Risch said. He added that as a former governor, he understands that “you need to have a team in place in order to govern.” Risch’s comments were his most forceful to date on the backlog of nominees. “If your criticism is, ‘we need more ambassadors out there,’ I couldn’t agree with you more,” he said. The senators said their foreign counterparts, too, were concerned about the dearth of Senate-confirmed ambassadors. Read the story here.

NDAA Anxiety: Senators told Andrew they were hearing concerns from U.S. allies about Congress’ ability to pass the annual defense policy bill before the end of this year. It’s unusual for their foreign counterparts to openly worry about whether the NDAA can pass, especially with the six-decade track record of getting it done.

But this year is different. With so many issues unresolved, they’re worried they might not have clarity on the U.S. posture toward a host of pressing national-security matters. “Don’t mess up the one thing you can count on the Senate to do in a bipartisan way every year,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said. “A Senate that cannot do this hardly deserves the title.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) went even further, saying “there are consequences for our security and our standing in the world” if Congress can’t pass a defense bill and an appropriations package to fund it. More on NDAA anxieties from the senators and the international community.

So, what’s the bottom line? Yes, Russia’s and China’s malign behavior dominated the discussions; but some of the harshest critiques in Halifax were directed toward the U.S. in what sometimes seemed like a therapy session. The U.S. took heat on several topics — Afghanistan, Jan. 6, and the paralysis on Capitol Hill over the defense bill and diplomatic nominations — and foreign counterparts expressed fears about the state of American democracy and doubts about Washington’s will to counter Moscow and Beijing.

The forum was less of a celebration of Biden’s agenda and his vow that “America is back,” and more of a global intervention for a nation in crisis. Kaine summed it up this way: “I do feel like there’s no ground for cockiness. Sometimes a bit of humility actually enables you to make better connections with other nations because we’re not really in a position to lecture.” He also said the U.S. “immune system” — the country’s ability to respond to strains on our democracy — is faltering, and that’s worrying our allies. And Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said there was an “acknowledgement” that the U.S. “has let our partners down in a number of aspects.” A full recap of the conference from the POLITICO team is here.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, November 22, where I want to know if you ordered a Turkey Day pie from Dirksen.

NOTE: Huddle will be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back in your inboxes, grateful as ever, on Monday, Nov. 29.

PICTURING THE PILE OF CASH — Remember waiting for the Congressional Budget Office score last week? Ah, what fun. Well, now that CBO has tallied up the costs for the Democrats' social spending bill passed by the House, with spending on the social safety net and early childhood education comprising the largest sections of the bill’s $1.7 trillion of direct spending. Patterson Clark, senior graphics editor for for POLITICO Pro, has a visual of the bill’s two biggest titles:

FRESH FROM VERMONT — Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) made it official this morning: he's running for Senate to succeed Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who announced his retirement last week. The campaign launch video is here.

A STUDY IN CONTRASTS — The House last week took swift action against one of their own, punishing Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) within days of his violent social media post. In contrast, it has been 10 months since seven Democrats asked for an inquiry into two Republican senators who led objections to certifying the 2020 election. Sens. Hawley (R-Mo.) and Cruz (R-Texas) haven’t been contacted by the Senate Ethics panel, which highlights the molasses pace of the inquiry, if it is happening at all. Burgess looks at the divergent paths that each chamber takes to punish its members: Senate's Jan. 6 ethics probe into Cruz, Hawley drags on

SUNDAY SCHUMER — The Senate Majority Leader focused his Sunday press conference in New York on one provision in the massive House-passed social spending bill: a cap of $35 per month for the cost of insulin for patients with diabetes. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he expects challenges on the provision, "there are different ways, the parliamentarian and other ways the Republicans could try to knock it out," he said Sunday.

He acknowledged the challenges ahead to make changes to the bill that will bring the two centrist Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on board. "The House did a very strong bill. Everyone knows that Manchin and Sinema have their concerns, but we're going to try to negotiate with them and get a very strong, bold bill out of the Senate which will then go back to the House and pass," said Schumer.

GREETINGS FROM THE AIRPORT — Wishing Huddle readers safe and smooth travel over the holiday, but delays and cancellations are already piling up. And some powerful frequent fliers on Capitol Hill have questions. “Congress is demanding answers about why airlines have been so unprepared for the inevitable upswing in passenger demand, a question with big implications for the holiday travel season that kicks off this weekend,” writes POLITICO’s Oriana Pawlyk. More: Congress to airlines: Where did all that Covid money go?

RETIREMENT WATCH — The latest lawmaker to announce they won’t seek reelection in 2022 is Texas Democrat Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the dean of the Texas delegation and chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

"I will retire, and let me assure that I will also recommend to you whom I feel is the best to follow me," Johnson said during an event in Dallas, reported by The Texas Tribune. Johnson added she is looking for a "female that is qualified."

QUICK LINKS

— As a coal plant fights for life, it could enrich Manchin, from Scott Waldman

—With Back Channels to Manchin and Sinema, Pelosi Found a Path to a Deal, by Carl Hulse at the New York Times

TRANSITIONS

Let Huddle know who’s coming and who’s going (and where) on the Hill.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

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The Senate is not in session

AROUND THE HILL

Quiet to start Thanksgiving week.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY’S WINNER: Jill Burke correctly answered that “freedom fries” hit the menu in the House cafeterias in 2003, as part of a Republican protest against France’s opposition to the war on Iraq.

TODAY’S QUESTION: Who was the first cabinet nominee rejected by the Senate?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to [email protected]

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