Pivot to Jobs

Time for the hard pivot.

The health care reconciliation bill hasn’t even hit the Senate floor but Democrats are making a quick shift to jobs and financial reform.

The House Rules Committee, still suffering from a “Slaughter Solution” debate hangover, announced last night it will take up another jobs bill Monday and send it to the House floor. Today the Senate Banking Committee will start its markup of the biggest overhaul of Wall Street in 70 years, while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner makes a major speech on financial reform Monday to push the cause.

Still high from their historic health care victory last night, Democrats realize they have to not only show an intense focus on jobs and financial issues, they’ll need to constantly market the health care legislation from now until November to minimize political losses.

Good Monday morning and welcome to The Huddle.

FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS:

POLITICO: “Democrats in the House of Representatives achieved a legislative landmark Sunday night that has eluded generations of lawmakers before them – reshaping the American health care system to extend insurance coverage to nearly 32 million people and halt industry practices that discriminate against the sick.”

NYT: “House Democrats approved a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health system on Sunday, voting over unanimous Republican opposition to provide medical coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans after an epic political battle that could define the differences between the parties for years.”

WAPO: “House Democrats scored a historic victory in the century-long battle to reform the nation's health-care system late Sunday night, winning final approval of legislation that expands coverage to 32 million people and attempts to contain spiraling costs.”

LA TIMES: “Ending the Democrats' decades-long quest to create a healthcare safety net to match Social Security, the House of Representatives on Sunday night approved sweeping legislation to guarantee Americans access to medical care for the first time, delivering President Obama the biggest victory of his young presidency.”

SENATE BATTLE AHEAD: It may seem anticlimactic after last night, but Republican senators have a bunch of procedural chances to poke holes in the reconciliation bill. Roll Call’s David Drucker and Emily Pierce: “Senate Democrats on Monday are set to pick up the battle over health care reform where the House left off, but the path forward remains uncertain as Republicans comb the reconciliation package for weaknesses and Democrats hunker down in an attempt to preserve the integrity of the bill.

“It will be important that we stay together so we can keep the bill strong,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said. “We won’t want to erode the bill just because certain people from certain states might want to do something. So, we will to a certain extent have to work together on this.” Countered National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas): “We’ll either bring down the whole bill, or we’ll punch big holes in it.”

MAYBE NOT: Senior Senate Republicans tell The Hill’s JT Rushing that in the end, they probably can’t stop the reconciliation bill, given that it only needs 51 votes: “Senior Senate Republicans are skeptical of their chances to block major elements of a Democratic reconciliation package of healthcare reforms this week, avoiding the bold predictions of victory that have marked their statements for months.

“A weeklong series of fits and starts is likely for the 153-page package that Democratic leaders will try to push through the upper chamber using reconciliation rules that will allow its passage with a simple majority of 51 votes. Republicans have threatened for months to make the process as grueling as possible, challenging the bill on virtually a line-by-line basis.”

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