FULL STEAM AHEAD — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is moving along at a quick clip as it tries to get to the bottom of wide ranging questions about the lead-up and causes of the insurrection before Chair Benny Thompson's (D-Miss.) rough deadline of this spring.

The panel issued a subpoena Wednesday evening for records and testimony from Jeffrey Clark, a Trump Justice Department official who sought to utilize DOJ resources to further former president Donald Trump’s false claims of voting fraud in the 2020 election and efforts to overturn the results. The subpoena calls on Clark to appear for a deposition on Oct. 29, the same day documents are due to the panel.

Jeff Rosen, the acting attorney general during the final days of the Trump administration, sat for an interview with the Jan. 6 select committee on Wednesday, Betsy Woodruff Swan reported.

Keep an eye out: The panel is scheduled to have depositions with Kash Patel today and Mark Meadows tomorrow, according to Sept. 23 subpoena letters from the panel. Trump has demanded that his former allies and aides not comply, the committee confirmed last week that both Meadows and Patel are “engaging” with them. But will they show up for their depositions? That remains to be seen. Also on the docket are Steve Bannon and Dan Scavino.

If not, both Thompson and the committee’s top Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), have said they will rapidly consider criminal contempt of Congress.

Privilege, checked: President Joe Biden's counsel, Dana Remus, on Friday declined to grant executive privilege to shield an initial batch of Trump-era documents sought by congressional investigators probing the Jan. 6 attack. The former president pushed back, asserting broad privilege, and Remus replied in the negative on Wednesday. More from Anthony on what the denial really means.

RELATED: What can happen to the Trump advisers who are ignoring the Jan. 6 subpoenas? from The Washington Post

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, October 14, where your host sometimes holds contempt for Congress (rarely during recess) but couldn’t be found in contempt of Congress.

STATUS UPDATE: CAPITOL POLICE — As the 1/6 committee digs deeper into the attack, the Capitol Police are still grappling with the aftermath nine months later. "We are no better off today than we were on January 6th," the Capitol Police Union wrote this week.

The Capitol Police Union is throwing its backing behind a department whistleblower who blasted how two senior leaders [still on the force] handled the incursion, saying the scathing 16-page Capitol Police whistleblower complaint backs up the union’s contentions about insufficient action in the leadup to the Jan. 6 attack by Sean Gallagher, the force's acting chief of uniformed operations, and Yogananda Pittman, its former acting chief. More from Anthony on the Union’s response.

Protected while protecting? The specialized USCP teams that flank members of congressional leadership will face reassignment if they don’t get vaccinated against Covid-19, Chris Marquette reports in CQ Roll Call. Other Capitol Police employees (nearly 2,300 in total, 1,800 sworn officers) are not required to be vaccinated and don’t have to disclose their vaccinations status to the department. Dignitary Protection Division agents are not part of the union.

Lila’s small screen debut: Lila, the Capitol Police comfort dog who started with the department back in July, got her own segment on the CBS Evening News last night. Yes, there is a “paw patrol” reference and Lila is outed as a flunked seeing-eye-dog (she’s found her calling though, no hard feelings.) Over at NBC Nightly News, Lila was bumped from the lineup, but might be on tonight in a segment on the peer support program the department has set up.

PROGRESSIVE PRESSURE — Progressives are clamoring to save a proposed expansion of Medicare benefits in the Democrats' reconciliation bill and Alice Miranda Ollstein has a must-read report on how the 96 member caucus is approaching the fight.

“Democratic lawmakers and aides said the envisioned Medicare expansion is the likeliest to drop out in its entirety because of its high cost and the difficulty of rolling it out quickly — a key factor since Democrats are planning to campaign on the new programs next year as they fight to maintain their slim congressional majorities,” she reports.

Related: The Progressive Caucus’ 27-member executive board sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last night about what’s on the chopping block.

MEMBERS’ MEMORIAL — The Association of Former Members of Congress held a virtual memorial Wednesday night for the 34 former House and Senate members who died in the past year. Speakers included Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who honored his father, Maryland Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes, Alaska GOP Rep. Don Young (the current longest-serving member of the House), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). CQ Roll Call’s Chris Cioffi looked at the longstanding tradition that, like so many, has gone virtual.

Another former member died just yesterday, Dale Kildee (D-Mich), who served as the Flint area’s congressman for more than 30 years. He was the uncle of current Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.). More on Dale Kildee’s life and service from the local press.

CASEY CLAPS BACK — Of course “Hill intern TikTok” is a thing. A former Hill intern with 208.3K followers posted that constituent calls to senators’ offices are ignored and that she personally let calls go into a void rather than follow-up. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) responds in a very Bob Casey way. While your Huddle host is in a senators-on-social-media rabbit hole, Sen. Alex Pedilla (D-Calif.) can roll the heck out of a tortilla.

POWER PLAYERS — Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough and Sharon Soderstrom, chief of staff to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have both been named to Washingtonian’s Most Powerful Women list for 2021, along with a predictable roster of elected officials.

ZEBRA WATCH — “Animal experts told The Washington Post that the five zebras are probably roaming and munching on grass and shrubs, drinking from streams and rivers, and sheltering in wooded areas at night as they remain on the lam,” reports the Washington Post.

QUICK LINKS

— ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t’: Dems plagued by debt déjà vu, from Burgess, Sarah and Heather

— Katie Porter has the floor, from Vanity Fair

— As Budget Bill Hangs in Limbo, Kyrsten Sinema Heads to Europe, from the New York Times

TRANSITIONS

Sasha Galbreath is now communications director for Rep. David Trone (D-Md.). Galbreath was previously at Clyde Group, a public affairs shop in D.C.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House is not in session.

The Senate is not in session.

AROUND THE HILL

All quiet on the West (and East) fronts.

TRIVIA

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Peter Orvetti correctly answered that Justice Byron “Whizzer” White is in the Football Hall of Fame for his All-American run as a Colorado Buffalo and time with both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Lions.

TODAY’S QUESTION from Peter: What former senator who died earlier this year tried during his long career to win the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, and the Democratic and Libertarian presidential nominations, all without success?

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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