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09/18/2018 07:56 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

MCCONNELL MOVES TO SAVE KAVANAUGH -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is all in on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Senators say he made that clear during a private meeting Monday with Judiciary Committee Republicans and his leadership team inside his Senate office, where they devised a path forward. "He and the party committed to following Senate and committee rules, noticing a hearing for [Christine Blasey] Ford and Kavanaugh to appear in a week, rather than trying to change precedent and rush a hearing this week," Burgess and Bres report.

However, "McConnell is having to balance several competing factors: Republicans furious that Ford's allegation was made public so late in the process, especially since Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, was first contacted by Ford in July; a president who has faced repeated allegations of mistreating women himself; and the possibility that Republicans could lose control of the Senate in the midterms," they note. If Kavanaugh withdraws or lacks the votes to be confirmed, Republicans would likely try to confirm another nominee during a lame-duck session, a move sure to upset Democrats after the GOP blocked Merrick Garland in 2016. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da29a90c792231f20b2efcae5292acd032072744a90d5ab181c7e75c05961ea713a66aa38be850fe347

HEARING SET -- Ford, who accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago, will testify publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said his staff reached out to Ford to hear her story and held a follow-up call with Kavanaugh. "As I said earlier, anyone who comes forward as Dr. Ford has done deserves to be heard," Grassley said. "To provide ample transparency, we will hold a public hearing Monday to give these recent allegations a full airing."

Kavanaugh issued a fresh denial Monday in a phone call with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and in a statement released by the White House. "This is a completely false allegation," he said. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes -- to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday." White House spokesman Raj Shah added that Kavanaugh looks forward to clearing his name during a hearing. "He stands ready to testify [today] if the Senate is ready to hear him," Shah said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2c0bc0d084c94e03a0f3cf8106499ea94e44e222863aa19b3c829480518f89e4bde3f204226c9f0c3

Related: "Trump sticks with Kavanaugh as scandal escalates," by Nancy Cook: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2c93d96546b29405cdde21b4bf608f173044cc80f1b6bb0a746129caa7d1dfe0cbce38c1ef9a5f069 "White House Hasn't Asked FBI to Vet Kavanaugh Allegations, Sources Say," from Bloomberg's Chris Strohm and Shannon Pettypiece: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da24b323d65482b09b0f07b27c06fd06dc460090c91f2806aa758262fbf4e38828add0daf2c31308f72 and "Christine Blasey Ford feared an avalanche of attacks if she went public about Kavanaugh, friends say," per The Mercury News' Julia Prodis Sulek: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2136b742470609000dfdd8c9d9ddc593439df17be58282aae0e42f41ab17d2b8fd4f21e3483971e58

AD WARS -- Liberal and conservative groups are launching dueling ad campaigns on Kavanaugh. The conservative Judicial Crisis Network is planning a $1.5 million TV ad campaign that will feature a longtime friend of Kavanaugh. "We are not going to allow a last-minute smear campaign to destroy a good and decent man who has an unblemished personal record," said a person familiar with the ad buy. Meanwhile, the liberal group Demand Justice is running a $700,000 ad campaign aimed at pressuring four GOP senators to oppose Kavanaugh: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Dean Heller of Nevada. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2cf9515f577fa5f6d8cad7187d028961909636d7b986b07309bfeccd2d455be3eb61539b264c93fec and the
ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da275787adec5f7215f421a5d2d549ebfa29c07bef7b3d682d538d1dd5ae298d61226bf22f5b2d006aa

Related read: "Red-state Dems call for more deliberation on Kavanaugh after assault allegations," via James Arkin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2fb6f8f0e59b45bc512cb80280b9349f0b1914321b964313955438f02cd9e76ffbf8d5adc0a38f096

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Sept. 18.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Elana's report on the power Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) now holds over the president's Supreme Court nominee was the winner.

THE DEMS POISED TO TORMENT TRUMP -- President Donald Trump said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) should "lose 200 pounds." He says Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is "crazy" and has attacked Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as "the leaking monster of no control." All three, however, have something else in common aside from being Democrats the president has gone after. "Soon he may have to call them chairmen," Bres and I write. "Fifty days out from a critical midterm election for Trump, these three Democrats may end up as full committee chairs next year."

With Democrats in charge, its committee chairs would include seven people of color and four women, a stark contrast to current GOP chairs, who are overwhelmingly white and male. The Democrats are also older, with many in their 70s and 80s. "Most importantly, these Democrats say they want to conduct 'vigorous oversight' of the Trump White House, something they claim has been non-existent in the Republican majority," we add. "Their questions cover a host of Trump scandals." Meet the Democrats: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2e73b1ced822f30dd06c76956b7b2320f8f1e75e79b3d2f9c8f955457b0ee018da3a5ce32b2ea50f0

Related: "Internal RNC Poll: Complacent Trump Voters May Cost GOP Control of Congress," by Bloomberg's Joshua Green: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2c489b0c3f75b0e614737df46b394ad1e5aa14a76c4f8880fb39748270ba6783737e9c83f16e6c1bc

SPEAKING OF OVERSIGHT...

OGR INVESTIGATES FEMA ADMINISTRATOR -- House Republicans will investigate reports that FEMA Administrator Brock Long misused government vehicles to travel from Washington, D.C., to North Carolina. Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) requested in a letter Monday documentation and other information related to Long's use of government vehicles and the personnel who may have accompanied him. "Mr. Gowdy learned of the potential misuse last week from news reports, but he delayed starting an inquiry as FEMA girded for what was then Hurricane Florence, which was bearing down on the Carolina coast," The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos and Ron Nixon report. Long is
already under investigation by the DHS inspector general. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2a3ecadb6184f75736d55b0968191eb43364027de481a0b047b8fa211e4f7deae9e12b04c6a2fd990

Related: "Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors," per The Wall Street Journal's Michael C. Bender: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2c8b3941f11d08c74930d1abc2aab6f8df5a54e5ad5c9ff97fac2cbd9f48f4ae7d73f8fae9eb56d97

SENATE PASSES OPIOID PACKAGE -- The Senate passed a sweeping, bipartisan package of legislation aimed at combating the opioid epidemic. The bill, which contains more than 70 provisions, passed 99-1, with only Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) voting against it. "To become law, the package would need to be reconciled with legislation that passed the House of Representatives in June," The Wall Street Journal's Natalie Andrews writes. "Senate aides are optimistic the measures can be reconciled and passed by the end of the year." What's inside the bill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2fb9c10ef857ee99ba31dc7a90f3d23daa06cb109a7b57893fe5bf4312bab634ce9cb6d71443c47b8

Related read: "Congress' latest opioid bill won't solve the crisis," from Brianna Ehley: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2c8bf231788915ed655e24f7a42b72e48cd6ad02eafed44fcf1799521e9a6db87ee417ca02df984b3

REMEMBER WHEN -- When former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was indicted nearly a year ago for failing to register as a foreign agent, lawmakers said they would crack down on those who skirt the rules on lobbying for foreign interests. But efforts to strengthen the Foreign Agents Registration Act appears to be going nowhere -- fast. One of those lawmakers, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), said there are "very fierce efforts to maintain the status quo." His bill would strengthen enforcement by giving DOJ more power to go after people who fail to register. And an identical bill was introduced in the Senate in October.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) even proposed barring Americans from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments and companies this summer. "But Johnson hasn't gotten a vote from the full House on his bill, and the Senate version hasn't even made it out of committee," Marianne Levine and Theodoric Meyer report. "Nor have Warren's or a separate House bill that gives the Justice Department more authority to investigate suspected violators. Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats alike have complained the DOJ hasn't made enforcing FARA a priority." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da2a0bee8f0e973b1ff586e4973ecf0406b44293c31d7dcde3ba1d2c50d1a189e63f2e2f743265f66fb

SENATE PANEL NOT CONSULTED ABOUT REFUGEE CAP -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Trump administration will admit no more than 30,000 refugees in the coming year. The current cap is 45,000 and was 110,000 when the president took office. "The hawkish turn demonstrates President Donald Trump's willingness to push hard-line immigration policies in the run-up to the November midterm elections -- even after his controversial 'zero tolerance' border enforcement policy led to thousands of family separations and a court order to reunify parents and children," Ted Hesson and Nahal Toosi report. "The Trump administration is required by statute to consult with the Senate and House
Judiciary committees regarding the proposed ceiling." However, an aide said the Senate meeting hasn't taken place. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da218afd89a33b39e0c22951ca1e3811232b083e22754dd7636d3f12a4ba0ae202e2e81cc0d90a4716f

COLLINS' CURVEBALL -- Indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) will remain on the ballot after all, a decision that blindsided GOP party leaders who were planning to unveil their plan to replace him. "The shocker development, stemming from major concerns lodged by the congressman's criminal attorneys, was neither anticipated nor appreciated by [Erie County Republican Chairman Nicholas] Langworthy and the other Republican county chairmen who toiled for six weeks to find an election law loophole to remove Collins from the ballot," The Buffalo News' Robert J. McCarthy reports. Republicans were considering substituting Collins for a Town Board member post, which likely would have drawn a legal
challenge from Democrats.

Just last week, Collins had signaled that he would go along with whatever party leaders suggested. But his lawyers overruled that plan over concerns that additional litigation from the ballot substitution could complicate his criminal case. Collins faces charges over alleged insider trading. The ballot will have Collins against Democrat Nathan McMurray. But it's unclear what Collins would do if he wins. "Will he resign?" McCarthy asks. "Or will he continue to serve in hopes of beating the charges on crimes he denies committing?" More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da286b312176d581ebd259c218d9f750e39bb9e91c56190bfb9b96eebba8883eedaa2d481dd863f0073

DEM NOMINEE FEUDS WITH DCCC -- Andrew Janz has been able to get an army of small donors to catapult him to the top tier of the Democratic Party's online fundraisers. But he can't get the DCCC to return his calls. Janz is running to unseat House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) but says House Democrats' campaign arm misled him about what support he could expect. After his June primary, Janz said, "A DCCC spokesperson basically told me to my face, 'Janz, you're on your own.'"

"Rifts between candidates and party committees such as the DCCC are not uncommon. The committees have limited resources and must focus attention on the nation's most competitive House contests," David Siders notes. "That often requires a form of political triage -- making tough decisions about sidelining races that are deemed too far out of reach. Yet it's rare for those disputes to spill into public view." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da257daaa55eb9898b21628dfe6bff68e3f17ee685b823bfd6aae03799a1aca7ead9960ac7a6e374414

JOHN DINGELL RECOVERING -- Former Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) was admitted to the Henry Ford Hospital after appearing to suffer a heart attack Monday morning. His wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), said the 92-year-old former lawmaker is "alert and in good spirits, cracking jokes like always." "Our sincere thanks to all the medical professionals and nurses at our sides," she said. "We'll know more later." John Dingell retired in 2015 as the longest-serving member of Congress. He succeeded his father, John Dingell Sr., in 1955 and was succeeded by his wife, who still holds the seat. John Dingell "is one of the last World War II veterans who served in Congress before his retirement," Kyle
adds. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d192e29f0cd5da22c69f49f5cbd76246bd144a53ddfaee5ef46b2b20e610de3e1d5884ff5cf50a46e01db8a9e5e772b

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the conference report to accompany the DOD and Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Act. Votes are expected as early as 12 p.m. The House is out.

AROUND THE HILL -- Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) will hold a news conference on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico at 12 p.m. in the Senate Swamp.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders will hold separate news conferences after their weekly policy lunches starting around 2 p.m. in the Ohio Clock Corridor.

Congress will host a ceremony to honor the 225th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol at 6:30 p.m. in Statuary Hall.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Marshall Yates was first to correctly guess that Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork are the last two Supreme Court nominees whose Senate Judiciary Committee votes to send their nominations to the floor with a favorable recommendation failed.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From: Marshall: How much time passed between Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation to the D.C. Circuit Court? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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