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By Heather Caygle | 02/17/2017 07:59 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

YOU WANT TO DO WHAT NOW? House Speaker Paul Ryan has a real problem. A linchpin of his grand tax reform plan - changing the way imports and exports are taxed - is meeting stiff resistance within his own party on both sides of the Capitol. Time is running short to get skeptical lawmakers on board before President Trump releases his tax blueprint. And there's no obvious replacement for the revenue juggernaut, known as the border adjustment tax, which is needed to pay for the steep cut in corporate and income taxes the GOP wants.

Don't tell me what to do: Ryan tried to pitch his idea during a lunch with Senate Republicans Tuesday, telling them to "keep your powder dry," Rachael, Burgess and Eliana Johnson report. But several senators left the meeting privately saying the complicated idea doesn't have the votes to survive in the upper chamber. Others bristled at being told what to do by Ryan. "I heard 'keep your powder dry' as, 'Don't articulate your cogent arguments against our bad idea,'" one senator said. "I have not yet talked to a single senator who's enthusiastic about it."

Time is a wastin': "Senior House Republican sources told POLITICO that if the border adjustment proposal is not included in Trump's tax blueprint, set to be unveiled in the coming weeks, it could be even tougher to rally Republicans to the idea," they report. "A source familiar with the White House's thinking said it's unlikely Trump would try to push through the border-adjustment tax if key administration officials and senators are still divided over it." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf3828b595c59e1a58730ffb71842f2f53adb95153c1d021007d33fb7566777f2a61379ce04ee51616

BREAKING THIS MORNING: Longtime GOP leader Michel dies - "Former House Republican Leader Bob Michel, who helped shepherd Ronald Reagan's agenda through Congress only to be pushed aside by the rise of Newt Gingrich a decade later, has died at the age of 93." David Rogers with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf93fb6a2ccd4849661bd45f79ae1c580bbeb0d4b6d39a24129b90c64ee758f97851b497b7e8ed748d

PRUITT VOTE TODAY - The Senate will vote to confirm Scott Pruitt as the next EPA administrator this afternoon over the protests of Democrats who say they should first be able to see what he was up to as Oklahoma attorney general. A state judge on Thursday ordered Pruitt to release "potentially thousands of emails he exchanged with fossil fuel interests," Alex Guillén reports. But Pruitt doesn't have to divulge the batch of messages until Tuesday, several days after his confirmation vote. Democrats kept the Senate in session overnight in protest but Pruitt is still expected to be confirmed.

AIN'T NO STOPPING US NOW. Well, except... House Republicans left a critical pre-recess meeting with HHS Secretary Tom Price Thursday still sharply divided over how to repeal and replace Obamacare. "In addition to questions over Medicaid, conservatives took issue with proposals to replace the health care law's subsidies with tax credits to help consumers buy insurance. Many members also were lukewarm to ideas floated to fund a legislative package," report Jen Haberkorn, Kyle and Rachael. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf05cde56992c1c81e17531c169e08d2578c3f3abd9ec74a294865d58ee11f3bf859f1c09a02a1b502

And don't miss Playbook's Jake and Anna with the scoop du jour: A 19-page internal GOP document outlining plans and talking points for repealing Obamacare. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacfe77c005a35f008c56de3a8c8e561bd5501dc7d7c71ff7541aebb5082be01f8f725086338c52b9b2b

DEMOCRATS FEAR TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION PLAN - Democrats say they were told to expect "many more arrests and removals" of undocumented immigrants under President Trump during a meeting with the top federal immigration official Thursday. ICE acting director Thomas Homan gave limited answers about the status of the nearly 700 people rounded up in raids last week and whether they have been deported. "It was hard to not leave that meeting and believe that the Trump administration is going to target as many immigrants as possible," Rep. Joaquin Castro said.

Castro said "the only hesitation" the Trump administration seemed to have was over whether to deport so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought here as children and allowed to stay and work under an Obama-era regulation.

As the meeting went on, several House Democrats were fuming outside, mad that they were blocked from entering the room by GOP leaders at the request of federal officials. "I'm pretty shaken," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez. "I've been here 25 years and I've never been told by the Speaker of the House that I can't attend a meeting I've requested." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf33e4d135ae7f2a4ec8f1e873ef68db2c07e7669c9853d3049305a111c5d8ff02d51827dedc28ea28

RECESS, ALL I EVER WANTED. Recess, had to get away. Welcome to Friday, Feb. 17. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

** A message from Susan B. Anthony List: Congress will soon consider re-directing taxpayer funding away from Planned Parenthood and to community health centers, which outnumber Planned Parenthood 20:1 nationwide. These centers provide comprehensive health care for women but do not perform abortions or harvest fetal body parts. Polling shows the majority of Americans support this effort. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf9af00302844d2583df4258efe7eca60c8adf17a6ded40cad3b6da6917254b3a2ab86d1c2de302f22 **

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Huddle will be off Monday to celebrate President's Day. We're headed down to Tampa to kick off recess with a lil' fun in the sun. See y'all same time, same place Tuesday.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Twitter pics during his Capitol Hill visit was blowing up Huddle yesterday.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 1 p.m. in a pro forma session. The Senate has been in session overnight and will vote on EPA administrator nominee Scott Pruitt between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Cheri Bustos, Judy Chu, Matt Cartwright and Darren Soto hold a 10:30 a.m. press call today on Obamacare ahead of their "national day of action" tomorrow.

A MAN WITH NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE - "Most Republicans in Washington are biting their tongues when it comes to Donald Trump, fearful that any candid criticisms of the new president could invite a backlash from their constituents or, potentially worse, provoke retribution from the commander in chief himself. Mark Sanford is not like most Republicans in Washington." Don't miss Tim Alberta's latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacfbf968c0ca23eaa082df9893020028789b2fbd4e23977eef7ebf73472bd94c035428c0059396160c3

MYSTERY SOLVED - Rep. Elijah Cummings, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he and Rep. Eric Swalwell have their first GOP cosponsor of a bill to create a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate Russian meddling in the election and any links to Trump. "That is a congressman from North Carolina. I won't get into his name right now," Cummings said on "All In with Chris Hayes" Thursday night. BUT our resident super sleuth Rachael Bade was able to track down the deets: GOP Rep. Walter Jones signed on to cosponsor the bill yesterday.

Former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan said during a BuzzFeed Brews interview Thursday night he's "open" to a select committee to investigate Russia down the road. Lissandra Villa: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf7c0670ca2661d319442753ad702e1c4d7ea3709abe47de1f8acb504b68345a0747da996ae5ddc107

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearing to start March 20. "The hearing for President Donald Trump's most high-profile and consequential nominee this year is expected to last three to four days," Seung Min reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacfdfb82a51ee60b16012b9809f69e7ff9c10092e39be3b67367b1af49d4ad2d5b69d8a6670e78f3662

DUFFY GETS REAL ON SENATE RUN - GOP Rep. Sean Duffy has passed on a chance to challenge Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018, saying his busy home life-he and his wife have eight kids-comes first. "This is not the right time for me to run for Senate," Duffy said, although he looked in recent weeks to be gearing up for the race. "Duffy, a former reality television star, lumberjack and district attorney, was considered the top candidate to take on Baldwin in 2018, and some other potential candidates had said they would not run if he did," Kevin Robillard reports. More for Pro subscribers: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf95a1a6842939521dce29459b9c4271a3c93113709eeb3e913e73e6cc9dddaf5a9d342f5c84fc2d4b

IT WASN'T ME - Rep. Elijah Cummings says he didn't cancel a meeting with President Trump because of "bad politics" as Trump claimed-or any other reason. Cummings and Trump were set to sit down this week to talk about prescription drug pricing, a policy area where they could find common ground. But Cummings also publicly promised to challenge Trump on voter suppression since the president continues to falsely assert he was robbed of the popular vote.

Fast forward to Trump's marathon press conference Thursday, where he blamed Cummings for bailing on the meeting. "I have no idea why President Trump would make up a story about me like he did today," Cummings said after. Kyle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf8c427c173a5488e934fb5568f0289943dccef38aaf9878a62e84c67bec9b8cd817d3f461eb62b25a

ARE THEY FRIENDS OF YOURS? Trump angered members of the Congressional Black Caucus Thursday after he asked April Ryan, an African-American journalist, if she could set up a meeting between the White House and CBC, saying, "Are they friends of yours?" Rep. Emanuel Cleaver told Huddle the comment was met by CBC members with a mix of "hilarity and anger." "This guy knows nothing and then he sees a black reporter and assumes that somehow she must be connected with the caucus," Cleaver told Huddle. "It's an embarrassment for the country." Cristiano Lima has more on Trump's exchange with Ryan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf6b42ff919aba275782baebc2698492ca1992466da93f469b69ef812bcf0f5c05ec0fd17f920ecae6

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Julia Lawless, comms director for the Senate Finance Committee under Chairman Hatch, and Jonathan Lawless, VP of product development and affordable housing at Fannie Mae, emailed friends and family: "Zane Alexander Lawless was born at 4:54 am on 2/15, weighing 7 lbs and 1 oz and measuring 18.5 inches. He is a chill baby. He and mom are doing really well, and big sister Maeve thrilled to take on her new role." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacfeabf8ca78aaf16f28c59a3539355fb7686f85b357cb2df5e01df1ca1c38d6c5f05a493727efa0cda

DEPARTURE LOUNGE - Kathryn Wheelbarger has a new gig as CSRA's vice president for litigation and chief compliance officer. Katie comes from the Senate Armed Services Committee where she worked as policy director and counsel for the majority. She's also worked in the House and as counsel to then-Vice President Dick Cheney.

Margaret Peterson has joined CAPG as director of federal affairs. Margaret comes to CAPG from the office of Sen. Joni Ernst where she focused on health policy.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Kirtan Mehta was the first to guess that Rep. Samuel Dickstein was the lawmaker who pushed a resolution to form a special committee to investigate un-American activities while also working as a Soviet spy.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Kirtan with today's question: On this day, February 17, in history, the House of Representatives was forced to resolve a constitutional crisis and break a tie in the Electoral College. Who was the president who was elected by the House and what amendment was ratified as a result of this crisis?

The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in Tuesday's Huddle. And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.


** A message from Susan B. Anthony List: Despite receiving over $550 million tax dollars a year, Planned Parenthood's cancer screening and prevention services have dropped by 57% since 2010. Additionally, contraceptive services dropped by 20% since 2010. Community health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood facilities 20:1 nationwide: Women don't need Planned Parenthood. Just this December, after reviewing over 20,000 documents, the Senate Judiciary Committee referred Planned Parenthood to the Department of Justice and the FBI for potential criminal prosecution for trafficking fetal body parts from abortions for profit. And despite claiming to offer prenatal services, undercover
investigators discovered fewer than 6% of facilities surveyed provided prenatal services. A 2015 nationwide poll showed 53% of Americans support redirecting tax dollars to federally qualified community health centers. Congress should redirect taxpayer dollars to community health centers that provide real healthcare for women. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bbde0faa3085aacf9af00302844d2583df4258efe7eca60c8adf17a6ded40cad3b6da6917254b3a2ab86d1c2de302f22 **

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