Let the questioning begin

Gen. Michael Hayden is expected to get grilled over the National Security Agency's wiretapping operation this morning when he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a hearing on his confirmation to lead the CIA.

"This issue will be central to the committee's deliberations on General Hayden's nomination," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) said earlier this week.

Hayden, principle deputy director of National Intelligence, oversaw the NSA's program as that agency's director when it was approved by President Bush following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In the past, details of the wiretapping program had been revealed to only a handful of Congressional leaders, but this circle was widened yesterday to include all members of the Senate and House intelligence panels. Hayden could also be asked about a USA Today story that alleges the NSA tracks Americans' telephone calls. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. ET.

After successfully prodding enough moderates to join them, House Republican leaders successfully muscled through a $2.8 trillion budget blueprint at about 1 a.m. ET this morning, CNN's Deirdre Walsh reports. Twelve Republicans joined the entire Democratic Caucus in opposing the measure, but that was not enough to prevent its passage. The final vote was 218 to 210. Predictably, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) praised the measure for "reining in spending, reducing the federal deficit and continuing America's strong economic growth," while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) criticized the plan because it "cuts homeland security funding by over $450 million" next year and by "$6 billion over five years."

Roundly criticized for its failure to probe the alleged misdeeds of fellow congressmen, the leaders of the House Ethics Committee announced yesterday it was opening investigations into whether Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and Rep. William Jefferson (D-Louisiana) performed official acts in return for bribes. The Justice Department is conducting its own inquiries into the congressmen. Ney and Jefferson have not been charged and both have declared their innocence.

The Ethics panel also announced it would examine whether other House members or staffers were involved in the recent bribery scandal that forced Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-California) to trade his House seat for a prison cell. Cunningham admitted to taking bribes from a defense contractor, while Ney is being investigated for allegedly taking gifts and a lavish trip from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in return for official acts. Jefferson is being examined for taking cash in return for promoting a business and making it eligible for federal contracts. And Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) appears to have dodged a bullet by announcing he would resign from Congress next month. The Ethics committee said it would have taken up an investigation into DeLay's activities had he remained in Congress. While not charged in the Abramoff affair, two of his former aides have pled guilty in that corruption probe. The Texas Republican continues to battle charges back home that he broke state campaign finance law.

And surprisingly, Republicans and Democrats have different takes on the announcement of the investigations. Hastert's spokesman Ron Bonjean suggested Rep. Alan Mollohan (West Virginia), who recently stepped aside as the panel's senior Democrat to defend himself from allegations he improperly used his own office for personal gain, was blocking the probes.

"Isn't it interesting that when the chief Democrat quits the stalled ethics panel under scrutiny, his replacement is able to easily work with House Republicans to move the process forward?" Bonjean said.

Mollohan was replaced by Rep. Howard Berman (D-California).

"The Republican blame game on ethics is laughable," Jennifer Crider, Pelosi's spokeswoman, told the Grind this morning. "If Republicans want to see who was slow walking the ethics process, they need only to look in the mirror. The fact is Republicans couldn't sustain their obstruction of ethics process after one Republican Member was indicted, another Republican Member was sent to prison for bribery, and Democrats continue to insist that all Members - Republicans or Democrats - must obey the law and follow the rules or be held accountable."

There will be lots of flashbulbs going off in the Capitol today when the CEOS of the big three auto makers meet with Congressional leaders. Hastert and House Republicans kick off the day with an 11 a.m. ET meeting; followed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Senate Democrats at 12:45 p.m. ET; Pelosi and House Democrats at 1:45 p.m. ET; and ending with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) at 3:45 p.m. ET. Other notable Capitol Hill events include House Majority Leader John Boehner's (R-Ohio) 10:30 a.m. ET briefing in the House Radio & TV Gallery; Pelosi's 10:45 a.m. ET press conference in H-206; and the House GOP Conference's 11 a.m. ET Medicare event on South Capitol Street in-between the Rayburn and Longworth House Office Buildings.

Meanwhile, Bush heads to Arizona for the day where he tours the Yuma Sector Border at 2:10 p.m. ET; attends a briefing on the Yuma Sector at 4:25 p.m. ET and "makes remarks on Border Security and Immigration Reform" at 4:45 p.m. ET. He returns tonight to the White House.

File this under the "go-figure" category. After allegedly striking a Capitol Hill police officer and then criticizing the police force, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) has signed on to a House resolution praising the force. McKinney, who is waiting word on whether she will be charged in the incident, became the 41st cosponsor on Tuesday.

And for you Clintonphiles, the former president is writing a new book that will focus on stories of individual activism. It is scheduled to be released in late 2007 or early 2008.

"Since leaving public office, I have met so many good people who are doing tremendous work to help improve the lives of people in the U.S and around the world," Clinton said. "We all have the capacity to do great things like this, and I am writing this book to encourage others to join their ranks."

Alfred A. Knopf, who will publish the book, would not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

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GRIND EXTRA - I'll Have What She's Having. . .
By Robert Yoon
CNN Political Research Director

The movie that dared to ask whether women and men can really be friends is the inspiration for our latest Grind Quiz:

Q: Which son or daughter of a former U.S. president played a small but important role in the 1989 film "When Harry Met Sally"?

Submit your answer to morning.grind@cnn.com. Answer the question correctly and win a delightful CNN refrigerator magnet (refrigerator not included). Please include the city and state where you live in your reply. In the event of a tie, a winner will be selected at random from among the correct responses. CNN employees, their families, Rob Reiner, Meg Ryan, and Former Intern Kenny are magnet-ineligible, but are of course encouraged to play nonetheless. The winner will be announced in Friday's Grind. Good luck and may there never be too much pepper on your paprikash.