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07/19/2018 07:58 AM EDT


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

GOP STILL ANSWERING FOR TRUMP'S RUSSIA RHETORIC -- "Would" should be "wouldn't," and "no" means "not answering." President Donald Trump and the White House are making clarifications great again. The president claimed Tuesday that he misspoke a day earlier when he stood next to Vladimir Putin on the world stage and said he saw no reason "why it would be" Russia that meddled in the 2016 election. Then press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday suggested the president wasn't answering "no" when a reporter asked whether Russia was still targeting the U.S. Trump, she told reporters in the briefing room, "was saying 'no' to answering questions."

The clean-up effort "is falling flat on Capitol Hill -- and White House aides are doing little to assuage an increasingly frustrated GOP," Burgess and Eliana Johnson report. "The reason: Threats from Republican lawmakers about confronting the president or pushing bills to punish Russia for further election interference are ringing hollow inside the White House, which has grown accustomed to panic, followed by inaction, on Capitol Hill." A former White House official acknowledged that "[t]here's always a worry that something [Trump does] could be problematic, but there's not enough will on the Hill that anything would have enough legs."

Some Republicans want to just ignore the White House. "What we need to do is focus [on] action here in Congress," said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who chairs the NRSC. While Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) seems satisfied by the latest clarification, many GOP senators aren't content. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Trump is wrong on Russian interference, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) cast Trump's walk back as ineffective, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Trump has "sent very conflicting, mixed messages," and Sen. Lisa Murkowski wants Trump to tell Russia: "Knock it off. Stay away. Get out." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=974fd9d3a771e9c2ee901641b07cc6fe9a28a697d9373a1fd3efe1a36c596c9fe0aec256d3e434cf12d61b0a3917a420

Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) will speak on the floor today to request unanimous consent for passage of a resolution they introduced reaffirming support for the intelligence community. More from CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=974fd9d3a771e9c20ca6c8a8da147ecbe649623305a5bd53b9dc18e9b953cd66de77a9ea123da614307f318b76b7c6de

Related: "Trump plays semantics on Russian meddling," by Andrew Restuccia and Louis Nelson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=974fd9d3a771e9c2e97c37f032367cc98187e12e616632dc167e052f37d10a4260a87732c279019d6f2ca5db0bb709df

YEAR OF THE WOMAN -- Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) was forced to grovel to the president to survive her primary challenge this week in her staunchly conservative district after saying in the wake of the "Access Hollywood" tape in 2016 that she couldn't justify voting "for a man who promotes and boasts about sexually assaulting women." "Needless to say, her constituents -- many of them Trump-loving Southern men -- didn't like that much," Rachael reports. "Roby quickly changed her tune after Trump won the presidency, unfailingly praising him and his policies as she went on to survive a primary runoff Tuesday that almost ended her career."

Her plight highlights the challenge GOP women face campaigning while Trump is in the White House. "While their female Democratic counterparts have benefited politically from going against the president on women's issues, GOP women don't have the same luxury," Rachael writes. Retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said Trump can do no wrong in his base's eyes. Blasting the president risks alienating the conservative voters they need to win reelection, but refusing to speak up similarly could be off putting to independent-minded women who are skeptical of Trump. "That dual-reality has forced Republican women to think creatively about how to reach female voters," she adds. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=974fd9d3a771e9c2409dce4e7c035946aa8299be83494e0a54d78560c52f72107fbbbeb9de2ce400b75fa153be95c7eb

HOUSE PASSES ICE RESOLUTION -- House Republicans approved a resolution expressing support for ICE in a 244-35 vote. "Republicans had hoped to divide Democrats by bringing up legislation hailing ICE as vital to the protection of Americans' public safety -- a vote that could prove significant in pockets of the country where immigration enforcement resonates most loudly," The Hill's Juliegrace Brufke and Mike Lillis report. Democrats, however, overwhelmingly voted "present." "The strategy was aimed at both protecting vulnerable Democrats from a contentious vote and protesting what most Democrats deemed a political stunt designed to distract the media and the public from Congress's failure to
enact immigration reforms," they write. Senate Democrats blocked a similar resolution in the upper chamber. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=974fd9d3a771e9c25d5b89b9a920a2b2f657cee2e9874140c4885fd669f3b298bbd66662ec699a1a490844cd6d10e6c4

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, July 19.

** 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. **

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Tom Brenner's photo of President Donald Trump's notes during a White House meeting this week with Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee was the winner.

HOUSE DEMS TWEAK MIDTERM MESSAGE -- House Democrats are switching up their message as the caucus looks to win back the majority this fall. Their "Better Deal" slogan "has largely failed to break through with voters and has been openly mocked by some Democratic lawmakers," Heather reports. So party leaders unveiled a new campaign slogan in a private meeting with members Wednesday morning: "For the People," which House Democrats intend to work into their statements and news conferences. They will also focus on three key areas: health care and prescription drug costs, infrastructure and public works projects, and Republican corruption in Washington.

Privately, Democrats concede it's unlikely either party's slogan will sway the election. But the pivot could put some daylight between the Republican and Democratic caucuses. "House Republicans have been running on their own 'better'-based campaign slogans in the last two election cycles -- 'A Better Way' in 2016 and the GOP's recently unveiled 2018 slogan, 'Better Off Now,'" Heather notes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef42818160fb8fe28d119abb22827ea9751b2263ecb0bd58f8eec9d204f865fc192b962631b506add15f469d3

Related read: "Michelle Obama wades into the midterms," from Edward-Isaac Dovere: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816064ce35eca48cc692d5486f0e729db5d5e9637fc1ef1ee05da52eeb8034881a028f26ce8a60b5ef0

JORDAN INTERVIEWED IN OSU INVESTIGATION -- A law firm investigating allegations against the former team doctor who sexually abused male athletes at Ohio State decades ago interviewed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a former assistant wrestling coach, this week. A spokesman said Jordan repeated what he's told the media. "You know, the story stays the same because the truth doesn't change," Jordan spokesman Ian Fury said. Jordan has said he was unaware of any abuse, denying charges from former wrestlers that he turned a blind eye to it. "A watchdog group and a former special counsel to President Barack Obama have sought an ethics review of the congressman, who is a founder of the conservative
Freedom Caucus and potential contender for House speaker," The Associated Press' Kantele Franko reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef428181691db690e77cb5975e9bdf6de36800e2542123f79f255f0dc70dc635e36f7bd106d2207690c99fbf1

WILSON EYES FOREIGN AFFAIRS GAVEL -- The GOP congressman who shouted, "You lie!" at President Barack Obama during his address to a joint session of Congress is running to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee. To win the gavel, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) will have to overcome his baggage -- in addition to "You lie!", he was recently duped by Sacha Baron Cohen into endorsing the arming of toddlers with firearms on camera -- and beat out other Republicans who want the post. "His stiffest competition is Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, a well-liked, telegenic lawmaker who at the end of this Congress has to give up his chairmanship of the House Homeland Security Committee," McClatchy's Emma
Dumain reports. Wilson, however, has seniority over McCaul and has notably donated to more than three dozen incumbents and candidates this year. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816c2ef4c5554364c12e92b1ca4213bdd2be5223c1adfe186c6133146004043abd72e33669d0cd915c8

TRUMP THANKS YODER FOR BORDER WALL MONEY -- President Donald Trump gave Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) a thanks and an endorsement for securing $5 billion for his border wall in an appropriations bill. "The Kansas Republican, who chairs the powerful Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, is running for re-election in a key swing district that Hillary Clinton narrowly won in 2016," The Kansas City Star's Hunter Woodall and Lindsay Wise report. The bill appropriates significantly more money than the Senate's $1.6 billion in border wall funding. But the House measure is far from becoming law. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816e1c1bb72c8a92a59371c4633927ec78cd9052a313b001002bc19d6795d27ed91e99424d6de0db753

Speaking of immigration, Senate leaders say bipartisan talks to keep families who cross the southern border illegally from being separated have stopped and appear to be dead. Much more from Bloomberg: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816b344d9e798499980511f49d2d9bf5bae01060d1549d2a58af9b0bf89db2c72f65fd5245397da6f00

GOP REP'S RHETORIC RESURFACES -- Vulnerable Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) lamented that women can't be called "sluts" anymore and once claimed women lacked brains and weren't human beings, according to CNN's review of several months of audio from the syndicated radio program Lewis hosted from 2009 to 2014. "Lewis can be heard on the radio repeatedly demeaning women, and particularly women voters, in 15 months of audio provided to KFile," Andrew Kaczynski, Chris Massie and Nathan McDermott report. Becky Alery, Lewis' campaign manager, said, "This has all been litigated before, and as Congressman Lewis has said time and time again, it was his job to be provocative while on the radio." Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816ae80aa80ead83834a4bb0a464f9af1b681abe440ea7ca999b9a347c81586eba5630618ed7a161aec

Lewis responded in a 20-second clip, via @alanhe: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816d89b405115ddde135fe5bdc1fb711473ec0fe40a79a864f3f399b78d2a89f404e05af5c99ab9fe6a

DEMS TO ANNOUNCE NEW CAUCUS -- House Democrats this morning will unveil a Medicare for All Caucus that's expected to have more than 60 founding members. "It is just the latest instance of Democratic lawmakers embracing a single payer health care system after decades of party leaders dismissing it as too left-wing and politically toxic in the face of Republican attacks," Vice News' Alex Thompson reports. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), one of three caucus co-chairs, said she wants the caucus to work on readying proposals in case Democrats win back the House. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7db9beef4281816c802f8d52592bf033fe67750613140148b9fa72180487105c1da65d9204f3e5374fcb749f6710097

ANOTHER ONE -- Democratic Montana House candidate Kathleen Williams said she, too, won't support Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as party leader if elected. Williams is challenging GOP freshman Rep. Greg Gianforte. The former state lawmaker told The Associated Press that the "hyper-partisan" atmosphere in Congress needs to be addressed by installing new leaders in both parties. "By coming out against Pelosi, Williams appears to be trying to defuse a potential political liability as the general election season gets under way," AP reports. "Other Democratic candidates also have distanced themselves from Pelosi, a longtime lightning rod for Republican criticism." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0028c2084076405cbf42180a93b0f909330b9cee75fdedd9ba0a7383f4a3af4fa4bc4d1df5bd78c8ce2f73770fab2d6e

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 9 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0028c2084076405c6bd43c6e8c335be7a1f4d1735454c30ce388ac9a7dcc2118cf11d25e2baad0aa5e7866f34623918a The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of judicial nominee Ryan Wesley Bounds. The chamber could vote to confirm Bounds early this afternoon.

AROUND THE HILL -- Reps. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) and Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) will hold a news conference on U.S. auto manufacturing and tariffs at 9 a.m. in the House Triangle.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 9:30 a.m. in 425 Dirksen.

Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) will hold a news conference to announce the launch of a Medicare for All Caucus at 10 a.m. in the House Triangle.

CFPB director nominee Kathleen Kraninger and Export-Import Bank president nominee Kimberly Reed will testify before the Senate Banking Committee on their nominations at 10 a.m. in 538 Dirksen.

Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) will hold a hearing on peace and victims' rights in Colombia at 10 a.m. in 2255 Rayburn.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 10:15 a.m. in B85 Russell.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will hold a news conference to announce a proposal to defend the constitutionality of protections for people with preexisting conditions, after the Trump administration declared it would refuse to do so, at 10:30 a.m. in S-207.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will hold her weekly news conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC-Studio A.

Reps. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) will deliver brief remarks at a 5G technology showcase beginning at 11 a.m. in the Rayburn Foyer.

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 11 a.m. in 324 Hart.

Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 11:45 a.m. in 455 Russell.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and others will hold a news conference to introduce the Secure America from Russian Interference Act at 12:15 p.m. in HVC-Studio A.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 1:15 p.m. in 316 Hart.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 2:30 p.m. in 379 Russell.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) will hold a news conference with members of the 12th Woman on sexual assault on college campuses at 3:30 p.m. in the House Triangle.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Diana Deem was first to correctly guess that the original name of the hill on which the Capitol resides was Jenkins Hill. Daniel Carroll of Duddington actually owned the property.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Diana: Washington, D.C., hosted the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday. When did Washington first host the MLB All-Star Game, which president threw out the first pitch and what stadium was the game played? 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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