with help from Sarah Ferris
LIFE’S AN IMPEACH -- Buckle up for another busy day on Capitol Hill. House Democrats will hold their second public impeachment hearing today featuring testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, the former ambassador to Ukraine who was ousted after a smear campaign by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
After that, impeachment investigators are scheduled to privately depose David Holmes, the diplomat who allegedly overheard a phone conversation between Trump and another diplomat about the investigations into the Bidens. And if all that wasn’t enough for you: White House budget official Mark Sandy is expected to testify behind closed doors on Saturday.As day two of the impeachment hearings gets underway, here’s what to watch for:
— Does Yovanovitch come off as a sympathetic figure? Democrats' main goal for this hearing is to paint Yovanovitch as a direct casualty of the Ukraine pressure campaign. She was a well-respected, veteran diplomat who was suddenly yanked from her post because of political retribution and the unusual shadow diplomacy being conducted by Giuliani. And Yovanovitch told investigators she felt threatened by Trump after she learned that he told the Ukraine president that she was “going to go through some things.” Andrew and Kyle with the preview https://politi.co/37aeHII.
— How hard do Republicans attack her? A key part of the GOP’s defense strategy has been undermining witnesses and attacking their credibility. But with Yovanovitch, that could backfire if they end up turning her into a martyr, playing right into Democrats’ hands.
Republicans held another practice session yesterday to carefully prepare for today’s showdown.— Do we get any more surprises? As we learned from Bill Taylor’s testimony on Wednesday, there could be new details that emerge in her testimony, even though she has already been deposed behind closed doors. And also keep an eye on whether we learn anything about Holmes’ deposition.
— Will Dems sharpen their message? At her weekly press conference, Speaker Nancy Pelosi concisely laid out the Democrats' impeachment argument: Trump tried to bribe Ukraine and cheat in the 2020 election, a violation of his oath of his office. Will we see the rest of the caucus adopt a similar tone and paint the scandal in a broader brush? More on the presser from Heather: https://politi.co/2qQqyed.
NEW NUGGET ... Trump administration officials were considering former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) as a possible replacement for Yovanovitch, per The Daily Beast. Sessions, who has had a close relationship with Giuliani and is now trying to make a congressional comeback, had written a letter calling for her ouster. More from Lachlan Markay and Betsy Swan: http://bit.ly/32Mw2Ec.
Related read: “Top Democrats privately concede major shift in public opinion on impeachment is unlikely,” by CNN’s Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb: https://cnn.it/376aRAc.
ALL CARROT, NO STICK -- Have you noticed that Trump hasn’t been publicly attacking the House Republicans who have been critical of his Ukraine call? Well, that’s not a coincidence. Senior GOP lawmakers and top Trump allies have been privately pleading with Trump to lay off Republicans — especially those on the House Intelligence Committee — as the impeachment probe goes public, essentially arguing he could win more bees with honey.
And the strategy appears to be working. Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) have both expressed alarm over Trump’s Ukraine call, but none of those concerns were on display during the impeachment hearing this week. And retiring Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida was one of the few Republicans keeping the door open to impeachment. But now, Rooney sounds like it’s just about closed. “I have a little trouble impeaching [Trump] over what I’ve heard I so far,” Rooney said. The dispatch from your Huddle host and Bres: https://politi.co/2rFMDMS.
Related: “No firsthand knowledge is GOP rallying cry in defense of Trump on impeachment,” via WaPo’s Rachael Bade, Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey: https://wapo.st/2NTb2Yd.
CALL ME MAYBE -- We’re still waiting for Trump to release a transcript of his first call with Ukraine’s president, which he promised to release by week’s end. But some GOP senators already got a sneak peek of the summary during a lunch at the White House yesterday, report Marianne, Anita and Burgess. It’s still unclear what was said in that call, but it is expected to be far less controversial than Trump’s July 25 call, in which he requested the Ukrainian president investigate the Biden family. The story: https://politi.co/2XiyyB1.
Related: “Rand Paul may force vote to bring Hunter Biden as witness in impeachment trial,” by Burgess: https://politi.co/2OeM1W7.
HAPPY FRI-YAY! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this November 15, where
THURSDAY’S MOST CLICKED: Axios’ story on the Turkish president showing GOP senators an anti-Kurd film on an iPad was the big winner.
EPIC NEWS DUMPS FROM ETHICS -- The House Ethics Committee revealed a slew of new investigations on Thursday, including a probe into Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) over his alleged longtime relationship with an aide in his office. Romantic relationships with staffers, which is barred by House rules, has come under more intense scrutiny following the resignation of Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who faced a similar allegation. Sarah with more: https://politi.co/2Xho0BR.
And the Ethics Committee also announced that the Justice Department is now conducting a criminal investigation into Rep. Ross Spano (R-Fla.) over alleged campaign finance violations. He has been under scrutiny for months over funds he loaned his campaign during last year's race, but the Ethics panel was asked by DOJ to defer its probe into Spano while the criminal investigation unfolds. Bres with the latest: https://politi.co/350wcck.
Related: “House Ethics Committee examining alleged Rep. Rashida Tlaib campaign finance irregularities,” from Kerry Picket of the Washington Examiner: https://washex.am/34ZkwGS.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE DEAL -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday declared a deal was “imminent” on Trump’s trade deal. But more skeptical members of her caucus are saying “not so much.” Democrats said they learned of some progress, but no breakthrough, at a closed-door caucus meeting on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the anxiety is building for swing-district Democrats. A group of battleground Democrats organized a dramatic show of support for Trump's trade deal at the meeting, upping pressure on Pelosi in the final stretch of negotiations. The moderates had privately encouraged each other to show up and speak in favor of the deal in front of their caucus — trying to ensure robust turnout and vocal support at a critical time for USMCA. More from Sarah, Sabrina Rodriguez and Megan Cassella: https://politi.co/2Kra7Mj.
Related: "With USMCA, Dems try to prove they can pass legislation during impeachment,” from Sibile Marcellus of Yahoo News: https://yhoo.it/2CMBnAK.
A RARE BRIGHT SPOT FOR BUDGET -- For once, some good news on the appropriations front. A bipartisan meeting in Pelosi’s office on Thursday ended with both sides sounding confident they could avert a shutdown and reach a deal on topline spending levels by next week. That would allow Congress to finally start passing spending bills, a full six weeks into the fiscal year.
There’s no deal on the border wall, but Democrats say Republicans are at least willing to ignore the problem for now. And both parties are discussing ways to skirt the funding issue, like by using emergency cash to pay for other programs to free up more cash for the Department of Homeland Security. More from Sarah: https://politi.co/2rNg9k2.
Related: “Mnuchin emerges, again, as key player in budget talks,” via CQ’s Jennifer Shutt: http://bit.ly/2OgBUjz.
SANCTIONS SHOWDOWN -- Senate Republicans are still deeply frustrated with Trump’s Syria policy and are seriously considering imposing sanctions on Turkey over its invasion into northern Syria. And it doesn’t help that Trump looks like he is cozying up to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Trump heaping praise on him during a meeting at the White House this week. “It was certainly not a good time, at least, for Mr. Erdogan to be at the White House,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a frequent Trump critic. Romney advocated “a series of actions sanctioning Turkey for going against the interests of our country and our ally, the Kurds.” Burgess and Marianne with more: https://politi.co/2XlKceb.
Related: “Erdoğan gets earful from GOP senators at White House,” via The Hill’s Jordain Carney: http://bit.ly/2OdWMbf.
WEEKLY WINNERS AND LOSERS -- Another one for the history books. This week, the House was home to the first impeachment hearings in 21 years — a monumental and dramatic day on Capitol Hill, which is only the first of many more to come. So, who came out on top and who landed on the bottom? Lets explore.
W: Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who staged a somber, serious hearing that avoided that same missteps as the Mueller hearing and showed the Democratic caucus why he was tapped to lead the public phase of the impeachment probe.
L: President Trump, who was confronted with a damning new accusation during the hearing that Democrats think will tie him even more closely to the Ukraine scandal.
Suzanne Youngblood joins Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office as Digital Director. She most recently served as Deputy Communications Director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Mo.).
Former Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.), who was ousted in the 2018 midterms by Democrat Max Rose, has joined cyber defense services firm K2 Intelligence as a senior adviser.
The House gavels in at 9 a.m., with first and last votes expected between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Today’s agenda: http://bit.ly/2XfrmFD.
The Senate is out.
The House Intelligence Committee holds an impeachment inquiry hearing with Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, at 9 a.m. in 1100 Longworth.
Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) hold a news conference to call for a Defense Department investigation into troop deployment at southern border at 9:30 a.m. on the House Triangle.
THURSDAY’S WINNER: Jason Morganti was the first person to correctly guess that three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon were formally approved by the House Judiciary Committee: Obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress.
TODAY’S QUESTION: From Jason: The Chandelier in the Small Senate Rotunda has been hanging there since 1965. Where did Congress get it from and how many crystals does it have? First person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: mzanona@politico.com
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Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine