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Scott Brown To Be Sworn In Today
Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) is expected to be sworn in today, officially bringing the Senate Republican caucus to 41 members — and thus enabling them to block Democratic legislation — after his victory int he special election for the Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. Brown had originally been scheduled to be sworn in on February 11, but demanded that this be moved up due to votes that had been scheduled to take place earlier than that.

Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and the First Lady attended the National Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. ET, with Obama delivering remarks. Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10:40 a.m. ET with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Obama will have lunch with business leaders at 12 p.m. ET. Obama and Vice President Biden will meet at 3 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and at 3:30 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Obama will deliver remarks and take questions at a Democratic National Committee fundraising reception at 5:45 p.m. ET, and will speak at a DNC fundraising dinner at 8 p.m. ET.

Republicans Chase Wall Street Donors
The Wall Street Journal reports that Congressional Republicans are seeking to raise money from Wall Street sources that had been supporting Democrats: “In discussions with Wall Street executives, Republicans are striving to make the case that they are banks’ best hope of preventing President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats from cracking down on Wall Street.”

Hillary Clinton: No Deal With Iran To Release American Prisoners
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called upon Iran to release American hikers who have been imprisoned — and made clear that this should be done on humanitarian grounds, and not by any deal-making. “There are no negotiations going on between us and the Iranians,” said Clinton. “They should unilaterally release our detained citizens.”

Coburn Plans Series Of Gun Amendments
Roll Call reports that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) plans to introduce a series of legislative amendments on gun rights, in order to force Democrats to take tough votes during an election year. “We’ll see gun amendments if we see appropriations bills,” said Coburn.

Gregg: ‘I Recognized That It Would Be Very Hard To Be Supportive Of The Administration’s Positions’
In an interview with Roll Call, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) said he had no regrets about having pulled out of his nomination a year ago to be President Obama’s Commerce Secretary: “On reflection — especially as I watched the stimulus evolve, I realized what was coming on the budget side — I recognized that it would be very hard to be supportive of the administration’s positions on fiscal policy if they were going to go into this massive expansion of the government, which it’s pretty obvious they were going to do.”

Brown Won’t Get Kennedy’s Desk
Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) may be taking over the Senate seat formerly held by Democratic liberal icon Ted Kennedy — but he is not getting Ted Kennedy’s desk on the Senate floor, which was also used by John F. Kennedy. Instead, that desk has been claimed by Brown’s Democratic senior senator, John Kerry.

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