With an assist from Jordain Carney and Burgess Everett

RABBLE ROUSERS ON RULES — So much for “The Speaker’s Committee.” Buckle up, the House Rules Committee is going to be a wild ride.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced his picks for the panel that controls what bills advance to the House floor and the structure of debate and amendments. And it’s not the usual crowd.

Gone are the days when the House Rules Committee was packed with yes-men, unflinching allies of the speaker in lockstep with leadership. As part of his grand bargain to win the gavel, McCarthy promised to diversify viewpoints on the key panel, elevating Freedom Caucus members and conservatives, including his own detractors.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) Chip Roy (R-Texas)are far from leadership darlings – more often, they’ve been a thorn in the side of their own leaders. They’re known rabble rousers with track records of holding up major spending legislation, emergency disaster aid and forcing votes on divisive amendments against the wishes of GOP leadership.

Their elevation to the panel, along with that of Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.),who also opposed McCarthy’s speakership bid, will give these members the opportunity to grill committee chairs and ranking members as their bills come to Rules and, if they coordinate, to block the bills entirely.

Voting bloc: If Norman, Massie and Roy are in agreement, they can functionally block legislation, even bills McCarthy supports, from getting to the floor. Unless McCarthy and his allies can scrounge up Democratic votes on the committee. The minority usually votes no on the 9-4 split panel.

Another interesting element is that if House leaders stick to their pledge to offer more open rules, with unlimited amendment proposals and votes, members of the Rules Committee could resume their roles as thorns in leadership’s side. Massie especially has a history of proposing divisive amendments that squeeze members of his own conference. And then, and even if they’re adopted, voting against the underlying bill.

Establishment voices: Rules Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and McCarthy allies Reps. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) will have their hands full. There’s a chance that bruising internal party battles could play out on the panel. Former House GOP aides who spoke to Huddle questioned whether the established norm that Rules members in the majority always vote in favor of rules in committee and on the floor could fall apart with these new members. If that changes, it will be a remarkable erosion of GOP leadership’s power.

Freshman: First-term GOP Reps. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) and Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) will also be on the panel.

Jordain and your Huddle Host have more on this fundamental shift at House Rules.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Jan. 24, where it's a great time to be a House Rules superfan.

BIDEN’S BUDGET BADGER  — New Senate Appropriations ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) said to finally hit those regular order targets, the president needs to get moving. She said she plans to meet with the other appropriations leaders this week, but they really need a speed-up in the executive branch.

“One of the issues is we need to have the president’s budget and the president is talking about submitting this budget in mid to late March. It's due the first Monday in February. And I'm going to strongly urge that the four of us petition the White House to get us the budget on time so we can begin the process.”

WOOF: DOGS BITE PLAN — What are the Blue Dogs without half the pack? A major rift about rebranding the group of centrist Democrats has caused the group to lose at least seven members, nearly half of the small but powerful coalition.

Earlier this month, “Blue Dog members met for a lengthy debate over the reboot that culminated in a secret-ballot vote to reject the new name, according to interviews with nearly a dozen people familiar with the situation, on both sides of the dispute. Shortly after that vote, Reps. Ed Case (D-Hawaii); David Scott (D-Ga.); Brad Schneider (D-Ill.); Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) all left the group,” report Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick. They dive deep into the rift and what is next.

Who’s left? A group of seven all male members, the smallest roster in the nearly 30 years of the coalition and continuing the “boys club” image those who exited were trying to shed.

OVER TO YOU, KEVIN — Senate Republicans are happy to let McCarthy, with his fractious conference, take the lead on averting a catastrophic default on U.S. debt. Four of the Senate Republicans who stepped up to raise the debt ceiling twice in 2021 told Burgess on Monday that they won’t be doing that again.

“In the end it’s going to have to be something that House Republicans and the president agree on. Let’s see what they can figure out,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). “That’s the best strategy, for us.” Burgess has more on the Senate’s stakes in the debt ceiling standoff. 

STEUBE’S STATUS — Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) is at home, recovering from a fractured pelvis, a punctured lung, and several torn ligaments in his neck and won’t be back to Washington for at least “several weeks.” He tweeted an update, including a photo of himself in a neck brace with his dogs on Monday night. “I’m eager to rejoin my colleagues in Washington as soon as possible!” he said. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

CLARK’S CASE  — Rep. Katherine Clark’s (D-Mass.) daughter Riley Dowell, 23, was arraigned Monday at Boston Municipal Court and posted $500 bail over the weekend. Dowel faces charges of assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, vandalizing a historic marker or monument and tagging property.. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 19th.

TICKET HEARING (TAYLOR’S VERSION) — The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing today digging into the lack of competition in the ticketing industry following Ticketmaster’s debacle managing the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets in November. Swift will not be at the witness table. But executives from LiveNation (parent company of Ticketmaster) and SeatGeek will be, as well as singer songwriter Clyde Lawrence from Lawrence the band.

…Ready for it?: LiveNation’s CEO plans to tell the panel that the company was hit by a cyberattack in November that wreaked havoc on ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming U.S. tour.

Back to December: If you’re wondering how Judiciary is holding this hearing given that the rest of the Senate’s panels are still awaiting rosters and other organizing details, that’s fair. The answer is that the panel is able to hold hearings before the organizing resolution because the Senate is a “continuing body,” it’s the same committee operating from the last Congress.

QUICK LINKS 

In George Santos’s district, voters feel a mix of regret and resignation, from Camila DeChalus at The Washington Post

Big winners from Biden's climate law: Republicans who voted against it, from Kelsey Tamborrino and Josh Siegel

Opinion: I’m a Congressman Who Codes. A.I. Freaks Me Out from Ted Lieu in The New York Times

TRANSITIONS 

David Hanke is in talks to be GOP staff director for the new House Committee on China Competition, reports The Dispatch’s Haley Byrd Wilt.

KP Pratt is now EVP and chief of staff at Smith Dawson & Andrews. She previously was chief of staff for Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).

Eli Cousin is now press secretary for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.). He previously was deputy national press secretary for the DSCC.

Valeria Ojeda-Avitia is now comms director for Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.). She previously was a principal at Precision Strategies.

Cydney Karlins is now a legislative assistant for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). She previously was a legislative assistant for Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.).

Clarissa Rojas is now deputy comms director/national press secretary for the House Democratic Caucus. She previously was comms director for Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), and is a Darren Soto and Nanette Diaz Barragán alum.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business, with roll call votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. and will recess at 12:30 for weekly caucus meetings.

AROUND THE HILL

11:30 a.m. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hold a press conference on protecting abortion rights. (Senate Swamp)

11:30 a.m. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) holds a press conference with other lawmakers on a bipartisan CODEL to Abraham Accords countries. (Senate Studio)

12:15 p.m. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)hold a press conference on their trip to Ukraine. (Senate Studio)

2 p.m. Senate Democratic and GOP leaders hold separate press conferences following closed door caucus lunches. (Ohio Clock Corridor).

3 p.m. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) meet with Biden at the White House.

5 p.m. New members of Congress head to the White House for a reception hosted by Biden.

5:10 p.m. Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Jim Banks (R- Ind.) hold a press conference on border security. (Studio A)

TRIVIA

MONDAY’S WINNER: Luke Wallwork correctly answered that the House members’ gym came under the spotlight in 2011 as the location of some of Rep. Anthony Weiner’s spicy photos from his texting scandal.

TODAY’S QUESTION from Luke: What was the name of House Republicans FY2012 budget proposal?

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

GET HUDDLE  emailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus