With help from Katherine Tully-McManus, Anthony Adragna and Sarah Ferris.

TESTING THE WATERS: Now that Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will chair the Democratic campaign arm for a second cycle, his top task is getting Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana to run again. He’s not alone in that endeavor. Several Democratic senators said in interviews that they are gently encouraging their two red-state colleagues to launch re-election bids. It’s for good reason: Manchin and Tester’s decisions will determine their party’s chances of holding its narrow 51-49 majority. Democrats already face a tough 2024 map and scant pickup opportunities. Their respective moves will influence how the Democratic party allocates its resources, as it seeks to also defend seats in the battleground states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

In an interview, Manchin nodded to the slim Democratic bench in his state, observing: “there’s no one on the Democratic side in West Virginia beating the door down.” As for his own timeline, the West Virginia Democrat isn’t feeling pressure to move fast. “I haven’t decided, I swear to God,” he said. “They would love for me to. But they understand I’ve been doing this for awhile and I’m going to make a decision on my own time.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Feldman, a Tester spokesperson, said the Montana Democrat is ”having conversations with his family, as this will be a decision they make together.” Rep. Alex Mooney (R-.W.Va.) is already running for Manchin’s seat, and other Republicans are mulling bids against the two incumbents. Republicans are already making it clear Montana and West Virginia will be top targets this cycle. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is out this morning with its first ads against Manchin, Tester and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). More from Burgess and Marianne here. 

IT’S A MATTER OF TRUST: Nearly a week after winning the gavel, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his GOP allies insist no back-room promises were made in exchange for “yes” votes in the Speaker’s race. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) put it this way: “There's all these people talking about a document that doesn't exist.” Yet there’s still lots of paper circulating outlining handshake deals with members. And some members are openly talking about what they got, complicating GOP leadership’s messaging, Sarah and Olivia report.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a McCarthy holdout, told Fox News he would join the GOP Steering Committee “as Speaker McCarthy’s designee.” And the House is set to vote on a contentious national sales tax bill, a top priority for Georgia Republicans. “That was part of the negotiation. The 20 conservatives who were holding out, one of the things that they wanted was to see it come to the floor for a vote,” Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) said. More here.

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, January 12. Today, we continue to remember our colleague Blake Hounshell. Please consider donating to this fundraiser to support his family. 

RUNNING THE NUMBERS: Four sitting GOP members of Congress from New York — Reps. Anthony D'Esposito, Brandon Williams, Nick LaLota and Nick Langworthy (who’s also party chair) — called on disgraced freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) to resign. But there’s a cold hard reason why House Republican leaders may not swiftly follow suit: math.

In short, McCarthy currently has 222 votes in the chamber while Democrats have 212, meaning he can only lose four on any measure. A Santos resignation would drop that to 221. Democrats are heavily favored in a Feb. 21 special election to fill the seat of the late-Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), which would further erode McCarthy’s margin to just three on any bill.

New York law grants the governor the power to determine when to hold special elections, specifying they must occur between 70 and 80 days following a proclamation. That means the seat could be vacant for a considerable amount of time if Santos, who said Wednesday “I will NOT resign,” changed his mind. His resignation, in a seat won by President Joe Biden in 2020, would immediately also trigger a competitive special election for the GOP to defend. Democrats believe they'd have a real shot of flipping the seat, which belonged to Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) until he left the House for his failed gubernatorial bid.

ICYMI: Dozens of local Republican officials called for his resignation on Wednesday at an event in Nassau County.

MEET THE CARDINALS: House Republican leaders are getting closer to naming the so-called cardinals, or the leaders of subpanels on the House Appropriations Committee. Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) has selected her dozen subcommittee chiefs for the next two years, Sarah and Olivia reported. The GOP steering committee still has to approve the list, which could still change. Take a look at the list. 

SENATE SCRAMBLE: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told her colleagues she was going to run for Senate in a closed-door lunch Wednesday, Nick scooped. “I’m not really doing anything except letting colleagues know that there’ll be a time to talk about the Senate race,” she told him later. Her decision, while not yet official, will make her part of a crowded field expected to vie for the seat currently held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

ABORTION POLITICS: The House took two votes Wednesday on abortion bills on mostly party-line votes. We noticed a few notable exceptions on the left side of the aisle, though. Anthony reported that three members of the House Democratic caucus — Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), voted with House Republicans for a resolution condemning recent attacks on pro-life facilities, groups, and churches. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was the sole Democrat to vote for another abortion-related measure, with Gonzalez voting present.

Speaking of the Senate, Nebraska is due for a new senator today. Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, is expected to name a successor for Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who resigned to lead the University of Florida. Former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to be one of the top contenders for the spot, which in a somewhat unorthodox twist, was subject to an open application process.

Related: “Nebraska Gov. Pillen to announce Senate appointment” from WOWT’s Gina Dvorak

If you see something, say something...Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-D.C.) office got an unnerving visit Wednesday, her aide Sharon Eliza Nichols wrote on Twitter. 

"A man in camo pants came into our Rayburn office today claiming he's an 8-time felon, off his medication, and ranting about classified information. He was holding several bags," she wrote. Capitol Police told their office that with the buildings fully open to the public, this will be more common. The Capitol complex is in the process of fully reopening to the public, which could increase the likelihood of unwanted visitors too.

"Their advice: Use your duress button as soon as you feel worried about safety. Don't wait on an explicit threat," said Nichols.

NEW VIEW, NEW YOU? McCarthy's team is touting new views from the House-controlled cameras inside the chamber beyond the typically static and wide angle shots. The move comes after an outpouring of support for the coverage C-SPAN produced last week during the extended fight for the speaker's gavel when they got to bring their own cameras inside. (And C-SPAN's standard request to continue operating in the chamber after the speaker was elected.)

"Since Speaker McCarthy was sworn in, viewers have seen new angles and vantage points of the House Floor during proceedings," tweeted McCarthy spox Matt Sparks. Frank Thorp at NBC News snagged screenshots of the new vantage points during a vote on Wednesday.

House Rules Committee chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.)isn’t giving up cigars. And smoking is back in the House.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) will finally get sworn in with the Constitution and Superman #1, among other items.

Coffee solves everything (well, almost).

We all make typos, even state nameplate-makers.

QUICK LINKS 

“‘It’s fast and furious’: New GOP committee chairs face learning curve,” by Paul Kane at The Washington Post

“House Lawmakers Discuss Discharge Petition to Force Debt-Ceiling Vote,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Wise and Natalie Andrews

“Republicans Press Treasury for Records Related to Hunter Biden” by the Wall Street Journal’s Siobhan Hughes

“Baby boomers loosen their grip on Congress” by Roll Call’s Paul Fontelo

TRANSITIONS

Kate Huffman Gorud is legislative director for Rep. Balint (D-Vt.). She was previously senior legislative assistant to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).

Team Hick: Kaitlin Hooker is now press secretary for Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). She was previously communications director for Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.). Maddie Hughes is now deputy press secretary for Hickenlooper. She’s coming off a Fulbright and a Master's in Global Security & Borders at Queen's University Belfast and is also a former campaign intern for Hickenlooper.

Courtney O’Hara Taylor is the new Democratic Staff Director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She previously served as senior Vice President at ML Strategies and had stints at and the Departments of the Interior and Justice.

Theresa Reed has joined Hance Scarborough as counsel in the federal affairs practice. She previously was communications director for Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

Emma Dulaney is now press secretary at DOJ. She previously was strategic adviser and deputy communications director for the House Oversight Committee.

Emelia Rowland is now communications director and senior adviser for Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.). She previously was press secretary and senior spokesperson for John Fetterman’s Pennsylvania Senate campaign

Former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) is now a managing director at Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, as Olivia Beavers scooped in Congress Minutes.

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House will meet at 9 a.m for legislative business.

The Senate is out.

WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Bob Marvos was the first to correctly guess that Robert Randall of Philadelphia and Charles Whitney of Vermont were the two private citizens who faced trial by the House for attempted bribery of Congress in 1796. Anderson v. Dunn in 1821 was the Supreme Court decision affirmed the right of the House to arrest and try citizens for contempt of Congress

THURSDAY’S QUESTION: From your Huddle fill-in hosts: Who was the first speaker to be subjected to the motion to vacate?

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

GET HUDDLEemailed to your phone each morning.

Follow Marianne on Twitter @marianne_levine and Nick @nicholaswu12.