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07/20/2018 07:58 AM EDT


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

SCOTUS WATCH: MCCONNELL VS SCHUMER -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may give Democrats what they want. By allowing Democrats access to upwards of a million documents, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation vote would slip until just before the election. "Delaying the vote past September would serve a dual purpose for McConnell, keeping vulnerable red-state Democrats off the campaign trail while potentially forcing anti-Kavanaugh liberals to swallow a demoralizing defeat just ahead of the midterms," Elana and Burgess write. "The Senate typically recesses for much if not all of October during election years... Should McConnell meet Democratic document demands by
staying in session longer before confirming Kavanaugh, a half-dozen of the minority's senators battling for survival in Trump-won states could lose out on valuable time to make their case to voters." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755bac1738d2deb0ea3e3af86647189856d373d6471a111245a7c71e11907bdb1519cdcb0a3242f217e1

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have lined up behind Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in the Supreme Court fight by refusing to meet with Kavanaugh until Republicans assure Schumer that Kavanaugh's extensive paper trail will be made available for review. Kavanaugh has met with nearly two dozen GOP senators, but the White House's attempts to set up meetings with Senate Democrats have been rebuffed at every turn. "Some Democrats have said they won't meet with Kavanaugh until Schumer does," Lorraine Woellert reports. "Others have more benignly cited scheduling conflicts."

The move has so far denied the White House photo ops with Democrats. "Tradition holds that Supreme Court nominees meet first with leadership from both parties before paying calls on rank-and-file senators, but it's not clear how long Schumer can hold the caucus together," she adds. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who both voted for Neil Gorsuch last year, are making plans to sit down with Kavanaugh. Manchin and Heitkamp, along with Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), are the Democrats most likely to end up supporting Kavanaugh's nomination. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755bc808f8f304e44a031c182dfa3e55938af0c09046426792a056676a4244304584bab630d68e41b5fc

Related: "McConnell-linked groups, flush with cash, plan $16 million advertising blitz in August," by USA Today's Fredreka Schouten: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c2fd0b48816a33f246eff9d7fed87ea437198e9242452dc78dcd58b5fc84b9f8f7dea3a869496bcc2e9c9f19530e01 and "Bill Nelson gets it from both sides on Trump's SCOTUS pick," from the Tampa Bay Times' Alex Leary: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755b29b60c185e22e30b03ed9c21473e650f0018d38a22a8c5ef527f668bc596ee487a7dab0c7db82d44

RUSSIA SANCTIONS BILL GAINS TRACTION -- Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have asked bipartisan leaders of the banking and foreign relations committees to hold a hearing and mark up their Russia sanctions bill, which would impose new penalties on Moscow within 10 days of the director of national intelligence determining that further meddling has occurred. The bill, which was introduced in January, picked up eight new cosponsors Thursday -- four Republicans and four Democrats. "The bill's momentum has grown steadily since Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) mentioned it on Tuesday as one option on the table for the Senate to respond to President Donald Trump's warm
posture toward Vladimir Putin's government, although some senators have raised concerns that its broad reach may hit U.S. allies," Elana reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755b3ca80fbd923238834a903b4c2507236ceae0274d952a8eb4ec01ce77cb26607234d2cd6b9fb7e703

Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) Secure Elections Act also appears to be gaining steam. The senators plan to announce later today that Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Angus King (I-Maine) have signed on as cosponsors, putting the number of sponsors at a dozen -- six are Republicans and the rest caucus with Democrats. The senators expect more support when lawmakers return to work next week. The legislation aims to strengthen election cybersecurity. A revised version of the bill was introduced in March. The original version was introduced in December.

Related read: "Senate fires bipartisan Russia warning at Trump," via Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755bd20c59d53560ca1c805c3ae0c23a157d60bb755853c260be57385bb202861371d9dd5bd342c344b6

HOUSE CLASHES OVER ELECTION MEDDLING -- House Republicans rejected a Democratic motion to add $380 million in state election security grants for 2019 to a broader spending bill, despite Democrats' chants of "USA! USA!" on the floor. "Republicans dismissed the Democrats' effort as theatrics, contending that Congress had fully funded states' election security needs over the years and that states still have plenty of grant money left to spend from a $380 million allocation for 2018," The Washington Post's Erica Werner reports. House Republicans later passed the broader spending bill. The Senate version also excludes new funds for election security. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755b35e53f4b9926ea9a0c403d8c0635ba82498b5c6e208e611c2d727dc9320689b11aad75f807f79a9a

Appropriations update: Lawmakers have hit the halfway point on advancing all 12 funding bills by Sept. 30. Sarah Ferris with the latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=57ba95067563755b6eb54fd873aa5a7e46a354b6c337fdb054cdd08728928514951775ef9897bdd5236675d054db9677

Related: "Trump Is Being Manipulated by Putin. What Should We Do?" by Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c2fd0b48816a33611519879ea9093abd960cb6f97170d9e56e03752a021990eaad8f8eb659c2804d92eb735fe5aa81 and "Microsoft reveals first known midterm campaign hacking attempts," from Eric Geller: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e0c5e23017ec68bce297488f0f72bfa0153ba5720518b15892e2fc97d9704a6485b5e7b556cd3b2b7e

HAPPY FRIDAY! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this July 20.

** A message from the American Academy of Dermatology: Board-certified dermatologists treat more than 3,000 diseases, many of which are chronic, disabling, and more than skin deep. American Academy of Dermatology Association members are on Capitol Hill this week, strongly supporting H.R.1316 and S.637 to protect patients and promote pharmaceutical access and affordability. Learn more at www.aad.org. **

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Vice News' report on dozens of House Democrats launching the Medicare for All Caucus was the winner.

GANG OF EIGHT COULD HEAR FROM TRUMP INTERPRETER -- Some members of Congress' Gang of Eight want information on what President Donald Trump discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two met one on one Monday. "Democratic members of the Gang of Eight are floating the idea of having [veteran State Department interpreter Marina] Gross testify privately before them," Quartz's Heather Timmons reports. A spokeswoman for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said the Intelligence Committee vice chairman "wants clarity on what happened in the private session," which could include "testimony from the interpreter, copies of her notes, or a briefing" from administration officials.

"Democrats hold more sway on the Gang of Eight than they do in Congress as a whole right now, because unlike Congressional committees', its agenda is not dictated by the chair," Timmons explains. "The mixture of House and Senate members could make the Gang of Eight's approach more rigorous as well." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e0cbbeff54be34db406338c913670875b88bae7e145fb315e00141c51f94477b2e5333a346a2d00c93

Related read: "Who Heard What Trump Said to Putin? Only One Other American," via The New York Times' Emily Cochrane: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e009ab14ed4b4197b24b39a9f309c503f159cde500f89e968ff1252d9bed5f50c6035c29a85443537e

OUT OF BOUNDS -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pulled Ryan Bounds' nomination to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from the floor on Thursday over GOP opposition to racially-charged writings in his record. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chamber's lone black Republican, first raised concerns Wednesday. He spoke to Bounds, then to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and both lawmakers later met with him in person. Scott then met with McConnell and shared his concerns at a Senate GOP lunch Thursday. "By the end of the meeting a number of other Republicans pledged to sink what would have been Trump's twenty-fourth Circuit Court nominee," Burgess reports.

The confirmation vote was delayed nearly an hour while Senate Republicans discussed what to do. Ultimately, McConnell plucked the nomination from the floor and said it would be withdrawn. "As an undergraduate at Stanford, Bounds, now 45, had lamented organizations on campus that 'divide up by race for their feel-good ethnic hoedowns' and called for those groups to be discontinued, among other racially charged remarks," Burgess writes, citing a report from the Alliance for Justice. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e0be8d30c90c86f06e156c7a7a7d3c7f077419993fd2c851b494970086cfe1fabbd6091b9c5a762aa2

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) office seized on the news. If Bounds' college writings sunk his standing with Republicans, Schumer communications director Matt House asked, how can they argue that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's White House papers aren't relevant to his nomination? "A lower court nominee's college writings are relevant but a Supreme Court nominee's White House writings aren't? I don't think so," he said.

JEFFRIES EYES LEADERSHIP RUN -- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is mulling a potential run for House Democratic caucus chair, though he said it's unlikely he'd make an announcement before the House recesses next week. "Jeffries' entrance into the race wouldn't be a total surprise," Heather reports. "But this is the first time Jeffries has publicly declared he's interested in the job." Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), the vice chair, announced her bid this week. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) has also declared interest in the position. Lawmakers say Jeffries is poised to quickly move up the leadership ranks, and some privately say he should challenge Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for speaker.
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e07711a431265ecf084db10230364e9c654d770fb44aca4351216dc0a322fe2ef210df8888c137a845

Related: "Why Joe Crowley's Loss Could Be Good News for Hakeem Jeffries," by The New York Times' Jeffery C. Mays and Shane Goldmacher: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e0b4f482786539585e3f4153f8c32c71ff1e4af3887f4dd12daad73aac1ddf8e8eeeb21f1a8f04bf47

RICK NOLAN REHIRED AIDE AFTER SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM -- Several women have accused Rep. Rick Nolan's (D-Minn.) former legislative director, Jim Swiderski, of sexual harassment. Swiderski resigned in 2015 instead of facing disciplinary actions but was rehired to work for Nolan's 2016 reelection campaign, only to be let go after aides pressured the congressman. "MinnPost spoke to eight former employees of Nolan's congressional office and of his campaigns," Sam Brodey reports. "These staffers remain disturbed over the way Swiderski's behavior was handled by Nolan and his most trusted lieutenants." Nolan said he retained the "separated employee" as a "vendor" who worked remotely. He
acknowledged, however, "In hindsight, the vendor should not have been retained by the campaign committee." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ea506ae51ddae9e06f9803c9537e820255cad2f0c68d4c49a5254878c30d27b20fdb96e2ae7fa113ebd679a81c9b3eca

NUNES SPENT $15K FROM HIS PAC ON CELTICS TIX -- Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) used funds from his leadership PAC to purchase nearly $15,000 in tickets to Boston Celtics basketball games. The PAC spent more than $40,000 in Las Vegas on catering, site rentals, hotels and meals -- and nearly $5,000 in wineries outside his district. The charges were all listed as fundraising expenses. "Leadership PACs such as the one Nunes runs are supposed to be used to allow members of Congress to donate money to other political campaigns, but using them for other expenses in connection with fundraising is common among members of Congress," McClatchy's Kate Irby reports. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8057b2061f8c1c7bc6a0fd796ed3b504a1791ee5642a5206fe6ac153a56102a56f3b647e37eb966848778d1b10c4f27

Related read: "How members of Congress cultivate wealthy donors through a little-known PAC," from The Washington Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8057b2061f8c1c7b7f83abd5f3d57b9b3b3da37272dea6fadd36df652a95654d3fb2a343d652c01b48005d005e103ae

SENATE PANEL ADVANCES IRS NOMINEE -- The Senate Finance Committee advanced tax lawyer Chuck Rettig's nomination to be IRS commissioner on a party-line 14-13 vote. Democrats temporarily delayed the vote and ultimately opposed Rettig over the Trump administration's decision to end donor disclosure requirements for most nonprofits. "The Trump administration has taken a qualified nominee and dumped him right in the middle of a dark-money political firestorm of their own creation," said ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who also demanded to see the president's tax returns. "But it's not clear how far Wyden and the other Democrats are willing to carry their opposition," Aaron Lorenzo reports.
"They can formally hold his nomination from getting a Senate floor vote ... but they haven't made that threat." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8057b2061f8c1c701c0eee9bd84e9810bfa79310611404bb6492ac571e24b00b1a3246ace4268d20cd99de2de64b16c

Related: "House votes to prevent IRS from punishing churches engaging in politics," per Brian Faler and Aaron Lorenzo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8057b2061f8c1c77b86c3283001c0186252e080c8102a11c611e1272f571a8ef03b5a310eade52588f32bb159b85b70

DEMS SLAM CFPB NOMINEE -- Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee repeatedly argued during Kathleen Kraninger's nearly three-hour confirmation hearing that the nominee is unqualified to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "Kraninger ... has a short paper trail and no clear experience in financial policy," Katy O'Donnell and Zachary Warmbrodt report. "The bureau's critics see her nomination as a way to keep acting Director Mick Mulvaney, her boss at the Office of Management and Budget, in the loop at the CFPB." With Kraninger lacking a consumer protection record to attack, Democrats targeted her post as associate OMB director overseeing the agencies responsible for the
administration's controversial zero-tolerance border policy and disaster recovery in Puerto Rico. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8057b2061f8c1c74ddcfb63b657d6cc0cc129daccbdbb9e7acea866d39ddfced6eb40891b2dde83af2ee6e1d015a684

SPOTTED: Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) last night at Montmartre on the Hill.

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House and Senate are out.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Chris Armstrong was first to correctly guess that Washington, D.C., first hosted the MLB All-Star game in 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt threw the first pitch at Griffith Stadium.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Chris: Baseball and presidential trivia fans know that William Howard Taft was the first president to throw out a first pitch, but who was the first sitting president to attend a professional baseball game, and how many MLB games did he attend while in office? 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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** A message from the American Academy of Dermatology: Board-certified dermatologists detect, diagnose, and treat more than 3,000 different diseases, many of which are more than skin deep. We can also provide a first alert for diseases such as cancer and diabetes. In fact, Nancy's breast cancer was diagnosed by her dermatologist - twice; Ralph lived when a dermatologist, surgeon, and oncologist together tackled his rare and aggressive form of cancer; Makeba got her life back when a dermatologist, gastroenterologist, and plastic surgeon teamed up to treat her rare skin disease. They aren't alone - millions of other Americans seek treatment for skin conditions each year. The American Academy
of Dermatology Association asks Congress to support H.R.1316 and S.637 so patients can know the true cost of prescription drugs. At www.skinserious.org, learn about how serious skin diseases affect patients' lives and families, and how dermatologists work to improve outcomes and help patients receive the care they need. **

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