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07/27/2018 08:04 AM EDT


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

TRUMP'S CAPITOL HILL LOYALISTS -- Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) may not be beloved by their House colleagues outside the conservative Freedom Caucus. But they do have a super fan in the White House: President Donald Trump. The president gushed over their performances defending him on TV at a private meeting with GOP lawmakers in June. "There's a reason Donald Trump loves Meadows and Jordan and it all comes down to one word: loyalty," Rachael and Christopher Cadelago report. "The principals of the group of three-dozen hardliners have also become the ringleaders of an unofficial Trump alliance on Capitol Hill, the front line in Trump's war against his many foes."

Trump trusts the two and values their honesty. A White House official said Trump frequently seeks their opinions on policy, inviting them to the White House or calling up Meadows directly several times a week. "But in turning to Meadows and Jordan for advice and support, Trump has embraced two of the more obstinate members of the House Republican Conference -- lawmakers who've regularly blocked what a majority in both parties view as common-sense compromises," they write. "His reliance on Meadows and Jordan, for example, reduces the chance of bipartisan deal-making -- which hasn't been a priority of Trump's so far but could become more necessary, especially if Democrats win the House this
fall." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=722fb5bf369621de8095682f803e779f407499413bd3f54c885e2d2368dc1a2d0ccba9f68e671e525b56558283b2d649

PETE SESSIONS' ROLE REVERSAL -- As NRCC chairman in 2010, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) helped Republicans win back the House, netting 63 seats two years into Barack Obama's presidency. Now, two years into the Trump era, the Rules Committee Chairman is running to save himself. The Texas Republican "is confronting a treacherous political landscape back at home -- a well-funded Democratic opponent with a boffo résumé, a rapidly diversifying and more liberal district, and, perhaps most critically, a constituency of well-educated and upper-income suburban voters who increasingly are turning on the president," Alex Isenstadt reports.

"His predicament underscores the grave danger confronting Republicans this fall," he continues. "As the party braces for an electoral drubbing that threatens to wipe out the majority they won eight years ago, the list of incumbents under duress is growing ever longer -- and even powerful lawmakers like Sessions, a sharp-elbowed tactician who hasn't faced a serious reelection contest in over a decade, are suddenly trying to survive a Trump-fueled bloodbath." Inside Sessions' reelection race: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=722fb5bf369621de9a8ff99790a3feb321a4191b52dfdb0ff72f725d1e90225167300c36e4576c4ad89b0a2039dd10c3

TRUMP MOVES TO SAVE THE HOUSE -- The president's reelection campaign will send money to 100 Republicans running in House and Senate races. "The precise amount is unclear, but Trump is expected to send thousands of dollars to each contender," Alex Isenstadt notes. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told GOP lawmakers Thursday morning that the president is set to appear at a September event benefiting House Republicans but also that too many incumbents were being outraised by Democratic challengers.

"Additionally, as part of the financial decision, the Republican National Committee, which Trump has been aggressively raising money for, will transfer $4 million apiece to the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee," Isenstadt adds. "The financial decision comes at a time of growing fears that the party is getting outpaced on the fundraising front. During the most recent fundraising quarter, more than 50 House Republicans were outmatched by their Democratic opponents." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=722fb5bf369621def965b855c72d1fbb45cf235db20de855231f695d0646de224333da6e3caa920164503e0151db5310

Related: "56 Democrats outraised GOP incumbents. Here's where it could make a difference," a POLITICO interactive by Sarah Frostenson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8352710a2e5e143b13f080a8943444173adbd3c11eb3d61c2f51cb2b10f9342d5bf3f3e79b6bf395e412c563a54360d8 and "Human Rights Campaign mobilizes in key states ahead of midterms," from David Siders: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=722fb5bf369621ded1370f290ea1d1c764d8d4e820f739199e27f1ffe4e4348cf10b331653f15c218c39b19a4151fd92

HAPPY FRIDAY! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this July 27.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Hartford Courant's obituary of Andrew Davis, a former senior policy adviser to Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), was the winner.

Playbook On The Road: Where are you reading Playbook this summer? Tweet pictures of you and others reading Playbook on your summer getaways to #PlaybookLoyal or email them to daniel@politico.com for the chance to be featured in Playbook on Friday each week this summer. Learn more.

HOUSE PASSES FINAL DEFENSE BILL -- The House overwhelmingly passed a compromise $717 billion defense bill Thursday before leaving town for a five-week break. "The vote was 359-54 to pass the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act ... as lawmakers aim to enact the must-pass bill at the earliest point in more than four decades," Connor O'Brien reports. "The Senate is likely to take up the measure as early as next week and send it to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it." The bill includes a government-wide ban on procurement of equipment and services from the Chinese firms ZTE and Huawei. What else is in the NDAA: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba88bab94ae16d088dcb8d473a81f4e1ba978e074b9cd22e688c266157d676804d6e2f72c32b841159ac68577073e3c3

RYAN REJECTS TALK OF ROSENSTEIN IMPEACHMENT -- Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday rejected House conservatives' move to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Shortly after, however, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Ryan is willing to support holding Rosenstein in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department fails to turn over documents in August that lawmakers subpoenaed in March. "Moving forward with contempt proceedings would escalate the clash between Congress and DOJ and potentially become a court battle over Capitol Hill's access to Executive Branch documents," Kyle and Rachael report. Much
more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba88bab94ae16d089e8c339657eda44063582819503e642d2788058b3e3ca4c2e4d85d8cdd7ca61ee6b15710b6060251

JORDAN LAUNCHES LONG-SHOT BID FOR SPEAKER -- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) formally announced his intention to run for speaker if Republicans maintain their majority. "Jordan can't win the speakership," Bres and Rachael write. "He has offended too many of his colleagues over the years, despite his popularity with the conservative media and outside groups, according to a number of Republican lawmakers. Jordan is admired by fellow Republicans, yet they view him as an ideologue who plays more to the conservative base than someone who can actually govern or pass legislation." But by running, he could still win key concessions from the next speaker.

"He wants to be a chairman and has been eyeing the Oversight and Government Reform Committee gavel for years," they add. "Jordan could also have his eye on chairing the House Judiciary Committee." He notably has failed to do the kind of fundraising necessary to win support from colleagues and has also been ensnared in an Ohio State sexual abuse scandal, though he denies knowledge of any abuse when he coached wrestling there in the 1980s and '90s. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba88bab94ae16d0801592afc61dadaea615e7e536aa39f7c91daddde9b3bd0e8819d393b9b81d9c9d91b842bcd0672c8

Related: "After blasting O'Connor over Pelosi, Balderson won't say if he'd back Jordan as speaker," via The Columbus Dispatch's Owen Daugherty: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8352710a2e5e143b568577f519883ee96cbbd0391165ff20b2c49b9216cd69bd7695e905956ec25596e9e6fc8b90ebc8 and "Indiana Dem candidate vows not to support Pelosi for Speaker if elected," per The Hill's John Bowden: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba88bab94ae16d089a6b82b5ec51e9a645bb85005aa028356f2996dc5bdd8e4434c5ec4c82b60d1cd10bfdd166c3f4bd

KATHERINE CLARK ANNOUNCES RUN FOR VICE CHAIR -- Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) is the first entrant in the race for House Democratic Caucus vice chair, the No. 5 leadership post. "Clark emphasized her current job ... as an asset in the contest, which could attract several members looking to rise in the ranks," Heather reports. "As vice-chair of recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Clark has mentored many of the candidates from the beginning. Those relationships could potentially help deliver her a critical bloc of votes when Democrats hold their leadership elections later this year." Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) are considering running
for the post, which has traditionally been a launching pad. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe7cdaf6f98f771223ec6ae48a752d58ca48722c16261a959814cde65dde1a913ea14b5165ec6064de1

RUSSIA TARGETS MCCASKILL -- The Kremlin targeted Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-Mo.) last year as she kicked off her reelection campaign in earnest, making the vulnerable red-state Democrat the first known target of Russia's midterm election interference. "The attempt against McCaskill's office was a variant of the password-stealing technique used by Russia's so-called 'Fancy Bear' hackers against Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, in 2016," The Daily Beast's Andrew Desiderio and Kevin Poulsen report. "The hackers sent forged notification emails to Senate targets claiming the target's Microsoft Exchange password had expired, and instructing them to change it. If the target clicked on
the link, he or she was taken to a convincing replica of the U.S. Senate's Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) login page."

"Russia continues to engage in cyber warfare against our democracy," McCaskill said in a statement. "I will continue to speak out and press to hold them accountable. While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this. I will not be intimidated. I've said it before and I will say it again, Putin is a thug and a bully." Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) tweeted that there's no "government-wide strategy for dealing with this, and that needs to change now." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe7415345bf47a8921adde7a7d1cd56831b973a1465edad71ce30abf0f7b9b3c878cf763b1df590590a

Related Russia read: "Once a Trump Antagonist, Rand Paul Emerges as His Russia Wingman," by The New York Times' Elizabeth Williamson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe7cec5745c99855cb31298eba401ddddea552a6e40fe1cdc4a85322bc140eb9aab97e7a476f6d37b10

CARPER'S FIRST PRIMARY -- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has run and won statewide since 1976, has "never faced a Democratic primary challenge -- and never been accused of being out of step with a party that he had a large role in building," The Washington Post's David Weigel reports. Until now. Carper, who is seeking his fourth Senate term, "is the No. 1 target of the people who helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez oust the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, with one of her top staffers relocating to Delaware to help challenger Kerri Evelyn Harris in the Sept. 6 primary," Weigel adds. "He's being watched closely by Republicans, who are running as Trump-style outsiders, and who wonder if a
Democrat who once ran as 'a senator for our future' may stumble or show his age." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe71cdad83818cae978f74b1528f0a1ef152f233e4465c4267d4a3dfb2c309fba384d9cd0b69a2b3e29

GOSAR EYES MCCAIN'S SEAT -- Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) chief of staff texted Gov. Doug Ducey's then-lawyer about Gosar's interest in replacing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) less than 24 hours after a December announcement that McCain had been hospitalized for cancer treatment. "Gosar is interested in the McCain seat and he wants to talk with your boss," one message read, in part. "If McCain's seat were to open, because of his resignation or death, the sitting governor would appoint his Republican successor," the Arizona Republic's Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports. Both sides, however, say the desired conservation never occurred. Gosar tweeted last month that McCain's wife, Cindy, shouldn't be
appointed to the seat, which isn't vacant. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe782a360565528ffb2965b1163daab7af3bae3d1a127a4dce6941c44101deefc7ae5e3e0bb0d8e916f

SENATORS UNVEIL NATO BILL -- Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) unveiled a bill that would allow Congress to stop the president from pulling out of NATO. "Trump has suggested in the past that the United States might pull out of NATO if European nations don't up their defense spending, though doing so would likely require an act of Congress," Elana notes. The measure is one of several bipartisan proposals pushing back on the administration's foreign policy in the wake of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. "While it's unclear whether GOP leaders would allow a vote on any of the bills, they indicate a
simmering discontent with Trump's attempt to warm relations with Russia," Elana adds. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe7ae981a79a89480003b854fda219d1f0bd89f739a9a545dfcd1d4871a01ff44132416e5198874fc33

MAN INDICTED AFTER THREAT AGAINST BLACK -- Authorities indicted a Tennessee man this week who allegedly threatened to kill Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), who is running for governor. The threat came "after she introduced the Border Wall Trust Fund Act to help the federal government pay for President Donald Trump's envisioned wall along the U.S.-Mexico border," Roll Call's Griffin Connolly reports. "This is not the first time -- and it probably won't be the last time -- that when people get angry they do and say things that are threatening," Black told Fox News. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e6b66515c872afe7c183540dbc664e34f53d65405b9ab11a4b73136bae57dc2e266c7c9c09ce0935e69c9f389f8a1eed

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

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Peter Roff was first to correctly guess that 2018 is the year the largest number of GOP House members retired.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- What is the last year in which neither Republicans nor Democrats made any net gains in the Senate? 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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