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07/13/2018 07:57 AM EDT


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

SCHUMER'S SHAKY SCOTUS SWAY -- If Democrats sink Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination on the Senate floor, the most likely scenario is that they unite in opposition and get at least one Republican to join them. But for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), getting 49 "no" votes from his caucus will be hard enough. The most likely defectors are vulnerable Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), the three Democrats who voted for Neil Gorsuch last year -- and who say the Senate leader will have no sway over whether they support Kavanaugh.

In fact, Manchin went so far as to suggest Schumer can "kiss my you know what" if the New Yorker tries to twist his arm. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) say they probably won't be whipped by Schumer, and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) insists that "Chuck knows better" than to tell her how to vote. "It may be good politics for them to distance themselves from Schumer, who is close to the caucus's moderates and helped elect many of them," Burgess and Elana report. "Republicans are attacking vulnerable Democrats for their association with Schumer, so they're doing what they can do create daylight... Yet that distance will hamstring Schumer's ability to stop Kavanaugh's
nomination." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs6cd74a01a9236b061a56d0b33f17377a6674615bc79daff4aac18c432949d00175353591e1899a3bc0bdcba42c6ddc

WHITE HOUSE NAMES NEW HILL AIDE -- Shahira Knight will succeed Marc Short as legislative affairs director, the White House announced, confirming a POLITICO report. Knight is "a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump who played a central role in shepherding the Republicans' tax bill through Congress," Andrew Restuccia and Jake Sherman report. "Knight, a deputy director of the National Economic Council, announced in June that she would be leaving the administration for a job at the Clearing House, a banking policy and lobbying group. But she agreed to temporarily extend her tenure in the administration in the aftermath of NEC director Larry Kudlow's recent heart attack." She has since
been in discussions to succeed Short.

Short's last day in the administration is next Friday. He will take a position at the consulting firm Guidepost Strategies and teach at the University of Virginia's business school. He will also serve as a senior fellow at UVA's Miller Center. Short said he is "forever indebted" to the president and vice president for the opportunity to serve in "an administration that has worked with Congress to pass the largest tax relief in American history, to rebuild our military with the largest funding increases since the Reagan years, and to confirm more appeals court judges than any administration in its first two years." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs6cd74a01a9236b2ff956202bc09bd268c2b4ac56aaf8017df41ae57e36e4dc6fc2014bce01f0189c9c59050aa0cff5

Related: "White House Lawyer Reshapes U.S. Courts," by The Wall Street Journal's Peter Nicholas and Brent Kendall: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1a12f837df13b759bf29bfacd516f6bd398732afaf9d10452d1f43356491d8966189cc234bf4bb6698

ICE, ICE, BABY -- House GOP leaders plan to hold a vote on a liberal bill to abolish ICE, putting Democrats on record on a divisive issue ahead of the midterms. Leaders are also considering holding a vote on a progressive "Medicare for All" proposal. Republicans believe the vote to abolish ICE is a win-win for them: Democrats either vote "yes," potentially turning off swing voters, or vote "no" in a rebuke of their colleagues. "It would also be an easy unifier for House Republicans, who are still licking their wounds from their own divisive immigration battle last month," Heather and Rachael add.

But the plan could backfire. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who introduced his bill Thursday to terminate the immigration enforcement agency, and Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) say they won't be part of a "political stunt." Pocan expects more Democrats who back the bill to join him in voting "no." Party leaders and moderates aren't supportive of the ICE or Medicare for All bills and warn that the policies could imperil their ability to win back the House by alienating independents in key districts. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1a75ed89eee9dffe12b77cf72b181f22f01315995584f8642978b5fdaefbaf0fcbe5181d3340b4de06

IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

** A message from Farm Credit: Hear from our Heroes - As veterans transition from military service to agriculture, they need partners they can rely on. From financial support to marketing initiatives like the Homegrown by Heroes program, Farm Credit proudly supports our veterans all across the country. Learn more at http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs0927ef3ac8e42f975f8a9d7e8efe9589e6e54fd10127779ee12ee4bf4d72d44322e4fb9fc55d83bcdd48fbaa3289fc **

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Matthew Nussbaum's report that legislative affairs director Marc Short is planning to leave the White House next Friday was the winner.

PROLONGED PRIMARY? -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) have taken their fight from New York's 14th Congressional District to Twitter, where Ocasio-Cortez accused her vanquished primary opponent of planning to launch a third-party bid to keep his seat. The tweet, which included the charge that Crowley stood her up on three scheduled concession calls, came "a few hours after the New York Times reported Crowley had actually won a ballot line to run in his own district in November from the Working Families Party, through a quirk in New York's election law, but declined to vacate it despite a request from the WFP's state director Bill
Lipton," Laura Nahmias and Heather report.

Crowley wrote back that "the race is over and Democrats need to come together." He claimed it was her team that failed to follow through on the calls but said, "I'm not willing to air grievances on Twitter." "Because of New York's complicated election laws, Crowley can't simply vacate the ballot line, unless he dies or leaves the state," they explain. "The Working Families Party would have to nominate him for another elected position on the ballot. Crowley made it clear that wasn't something he wanted." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1af32d15caae631f26e98aa984773d4479c231a34cf060676c45bb493fdc84291ce9195aa547f4282d

Related read: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deploys campaign staff to help another liberal Democrat," from CBS News' Ed O'Keefe: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1a57187b717586054b01bb152b6bcc7d260cf38442f000799b978db6e52c251609b27dc578026c0cd9

OHIO STATE UPDATE -- NBC News has obtained a "heavily edited 11-minute video" that "features wrenching descriptions of the alleged misconduct by Dr. Richard Strauss from two former wrestlers" Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) coached at Ohio State, "and from former head coach Russ Hellickson and a former ... student who worked with Strauss at a clinic and who says he, too, was molested by the doctor," Corky Siemaszko reports. An ongoing investigation and accusations from former wrestlers who say Jordan turned a blind eye to sexual abuse has ensnared the Ohio Republican, whom GOP leaders, Freedom Caucus members and some former wrestlers have defended.

"Jordan, who was the assistant wrestling coach under Hellickson, is not mentioned by name nor referred to in the footage ... from former Ohio State wrestler Mike DiSabato, the initial whistleblower," he adds. "DiSabato says he created the video in June to collect accusations of abuse against Strauss and turned it over to Ohio State. The video received by NBC News did not include the unedited interviews." Jordan has denied knowing about any abuse. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1a92620397fa652231ed9f391d341ec198fd82fe786c991f44fc18721c6d93b1bacf2b0806b583f98f

Related: "Jordan weathering political storm, but headwinds remain," via The Hill's Melanie Zanona and Scott Wong: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1a368229079e0731c4aabe78a0bce0a89ead741697a4798e2c128f019e50dba522a9643fdf34d70f4d

GOP INTERROGATES STRZOK -- FBI agent Peter Strzok defended his professionalism against Republicans who lashed out at him during a marathon hearing that lasted roughly nine hours. "And he got backup from Democrats who accused Republicans of harassing Strzok and running roughshod over the committees," Kyle reports. Strzok, who helped launch the agency's Russia probe and sent anti-Donald Trump text messages, claimed his personal opinions have never impacted his work. He framed himself as a patriot who defended American democracy and cast the hearing as "another victory notch in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's belt and another milestone in our enemies' campaign to tear America apart."

"Soon after, the hearing degenerated into a partisan morass," Kyle writes. "Democrats repeatedly interrupted and demanded answers for how [House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob] Goodlatte could instruct him to defy his employer, the FBI, to answer a question about an ongoing investigation. The dispute resulted in bickering and shouting among members and an attempt by Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the top Judiciary Committee Democrat, to adjourn the hearing." Much more on the contentious hearing: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1ac7a605b10108b9c0bf2245295df201a247fb1604a788f151a73fb88e948bfe555379e5180c35f6b2

Lisa Page, the former FBI attorney who exchanged texts with Strzok, will meet congressional investigators today for a transcribed interview. Page defied a subpoena to appear for a deposition Wednesday. "Her attorney, Amy Jeffress, previously said Page was not refusing to cooperate but had been treated unfairly by lawmakers and denied access to relevant FBI files necessary for her to prepare," Louis Nelson notes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qsL80411823cd7c1ae10c0723ea3b087d316226861ff624a17cb30b51a3319cf9f5ded7de43f7304ede9f4a35d619fa2a

TRUMP NOMINATES SENATE STAFFER TO NASA POST -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine publicly name-dropped Janet Kavandi as his preferred deputy. But instead of tapping her, "an astronaut and respected leader of one of the space agency's research centers," Quartz's Tim Fernholz reports, the White House nominated James Morhard, "a long-time Senate aide with no experience in space technology." As the deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms, Morhard, 61, is responsible for technology and administration in each senator's office and 88 committees and subcommittees. He served as staff director of the Appropriations Committee under Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) from 2003 to 2005.

"Several officials familiar with the deliberations were concerned about the message that might be sent by the appointing a man with little experience in space technology after Bridenstine, a former lawmaker, was criticized for his lack of engineering experience," he adds. "Some NASA stakeholders worry that Morhard's background as a Capitol Hill operator doesn't balance well with Bridenstine's similar work as a lawmaker. Previous presidents have sought to combine engineering know-how and political savvy by splitting those responsibilities roughly between the administrator and their deputy." Nevertheless, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Morhard is "an excellent choice" and
looks forward to supporting his nomination. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs0927ef3ac8e42f3a44921da139b53729db2e6a1fec416f6f0d08633c7d23ce463c3f38e2403c06aa7475f596594bc1

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 9 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 10:20 a.m. and 11:20 a.m. The Senate is out.

AROUND THE HILL -- Reps. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) will hold a briefing on how commercial unmanned aerial system end-users in multiple industrial sectors are using this technology to collect and process data at 11 a.m. in 2167 Rayburn.

House Judiciary Committee staff members will hold a meeting for a transcribed interview with ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page beginning at 1:30 p.m.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Christopher Mahler was first to correctly guess that Sen. David Atchison believed he was president for a day. There's a statue in Missouri, the state he represented, commemorating this.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- Who was the youngest person to ever be elected to Congress, and how old was he or she at the time? 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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