Wednesday in politics: ‘Sequester’ meets ‘snowquester,’ and more

Talk of the “sequester” will be joined Wednesday by what Washington, D.C., locals are calling the “snowquester” as a late-winter storm moves through the area.

Time will tell if the “snowquester” actually goes into effect and results in heavy accumulation. If it does, events are likely to be canceled.

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a measure that would prevent a government shutdown on March 27 and give the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department flexibility over how those agencies allocate their shares of the $85 billion in spending cuts that went into effect last Friday.

Senate Democrats seem likely to agree to the flexibility, the Associated Press reports, if it can be expanded to include other agencies. Among the candidates are the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Justice and State.

Also worth noting on Wednesday: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is scheduled to testify at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on cybersecurity; Attorney General Eric Holder will testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Department of Justice oversight; and President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will meet with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

Obama was scheduled to welcome the BCS National Championship-winning Alabama University football team to the White House, but the visit was postponed due to the weather.

And then there is this: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and co-author Clint Bolick discuss and sign copies of their book “Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution” at the Cato Institute and the National Press Club. Some members of Congress criticized Bush on Tuesday after he seemed to change his position on whether illegal immigrants should be offered a "path to citizenship."

Sources: Yahoo News’ The Ticket, Associated Press and Reuters.