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07/16/2018 08:05 AM EDT


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

PUTIN SUMMIT STILL ON -- Despite a push from Democratic leaders to cancel his one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump is face to face with his Russian counterpart in Helsinki, Finland. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for the cancellation "in the wake of an explosive new indictment from Special Counsel Robert Mueller that charges Russian military officers with hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election," Kyle and Elana report. "Some Democrats [demanded] that Trump cancel the summit outright, while others [said] he should simply ensure that top aides are in
the room to prevent suspicion about the substance of their meeting." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3d0ab7e8b8272aa3f4078399016fad7dd1f4032d34d251eef75f24847fba6f5b621caa56ea3431a224

Trump and Putin greeted each other in front of the media before heading into their private meeting with translators. "The two leaders met at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, appearing tense and subdued and forgoing a handshake as they first appeared together before sitting down for a highly anticipated one-on-one meeting," Matthew Nussbaum reports. "Trump made no mention in his opening remarks of Russia's election interference nor of other areas where the country has been seen as an aggressor: Ukraine, Syria and Britain. After Trump's statement, which came after Putin delivered his own opening remarks, the two finally shook hands."

Ahead of the summit, Trump blamed Mueller's investigation -- as well as "many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity" -- for a relationship he said "has NEVER been worse." He also accused former President Barack Obama of doing nothing, insisting Russian meddling was "no big deal" to him because he wrongly assumed Hillary Clinton would be elected president. The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3dd47dc7b302a4bb613cc67f2f7a6e7672d80de96b744db041fec90d572126fa1de48ef0af874624d9

Related: "Trump Is Right to Meet Putin," by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a288770177df5a2c7ad55899f21ee35912287f2818d5f72d29dd27a334bb75a7efd0433f0d5a7493a03ba9d66d3c3517 and "Why Trump won't cancel the Putin summit," from Michael Crowley and Annie Karni: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3d8017fbae438c171d865a6152b1317db91b2e7a900c7f8fb4ba3a7b08fd0776675f4bcb25ad55bdf5

CROWLEY DECLINES TO BACK PELOSI -- House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), who lost his primary last month to first-time candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, isn't saying whether he would support Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for speaker if Democrats win the House this fall. "That'll be up to the new Congress to decide," he told CBS' "Face the Nation." He did, however, add that Pelosi "will have a very strong case for holding on to the speakership." Crowley's stunning defeat has shaken up the Democratic leadership ladder, and a growing list of candidates has publicly vowed to oppose Pelosi as speaker. Nevertheless, her office maintains that she has wide support in
the caucus and is focused on winning back the House. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3dd6ca6ee78d68d9c0e2b2d44e0ae6f15627a7248422f1ebb57e93d052271c432a2ff8d8251c0ec14b

Days earlier, Pelosi called for leadership elections to occur after Thanksgiving. "Pelosi's request follows a behind-the-scenes scramble inside the House Democratic Caucus [last] week to force a delay in the elections, which are typically held in the first few weeks after the midterms," Heather reports. "Pelosi was trying to beat her own members to the punch, pushing out her letter first on Friday after word circulated that several rank-and-file Democrats had already drafted their own missive demanding a delay and were quickly gathering signatures in support."

About 20 members drafted a letter Thursday calling for the elections to be held on Dec. 5. The members signed it at a dinner that night, and some lawmakers tried to secure additional signatures from colleagues on the House floor Friday. "Some Democratic sources described the letter as another sign that Pelosi's longtime hold on the caucus might be waning," Heather writes. "The push isn't without precedent, however. Pelosi was forced to delay leadership elections in 2016 after an outcry from several members about how she was rushing the process. That delay allowed Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio time to mount a challenge to the longtime leader." But Pelosi won decisively. Much more from Heather:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3d7ecc107938bc580629922f6bfa6a729bc8ce437c3c0279954b3b6fa8947323dd58a536d6f99f1ebe

BARBARA LEE GETS BOOST TO REPLACE CROWLEY -- Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) will rally his colleagues to support Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) if she decides to run for caucus chair. "Lee has been canvassing Democratic House members to gauge support ahead of any official announcement, but she has made her intention to run clear," The Intercept's Ryan Grim reports. "Khanna's full-throated support makes the backing of the full Congressional Progressive Caucus, a bloc of 78 Democrats that is likely to grow by 2019 and of which he is a member, that much more likely." Lee ran unsuccessfully for Democratic Caucus vice chair against Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) in a razor-thin race in 2016.

"Lee's ascension to a significant leadership post would be a signal to grassroots activists that the strength of their opposition to the status quo is being felt inside the Capitol," Grim adds. "Her bid is also likely to be welcomed by Nancy Pelosi, who is vulnerable in her role as House minority leader and would benefit from progressive energy directed at electing Lee to the chair position rather than at ousting Pelosi from her top spot." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d8c35cbc9baf7b3d03c9f9952d4aaac3d30aaa818baebe2627211f72b7b04e5fbfd5262a83b90a43f9e1452ea9a572fc

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, July 16.

** 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. **

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Quartz's report on James Morhard, the deputy Senate sergeant-at-arms President Donald Trump nominated to serve as NASA's deputy administrator, was the winner.

GOWDY AT ODDS WITH CONSERVATIVES -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) sees no reason to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. "The deputy attorney general, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's sprawling Russia probe and is a frequent target of President Donald Trump's ire, has been accused by House Republicans of dragging his feet in responding to requests for documents related to Mueller's work," Quint Forgey reports. "POLITICO reported last week that House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other conservatives are launching a new effort to oust Rosenstein and are
putting the finishing touches on an impeachment filing."

Gowdy told CBS' "Face the Nation" he's not convinced there's "a movement." He acknowledged having differences with Rosenstein but said he often talks to him privately, which "is a lot more constructive than the public hearings we have." He also noted that Rosenstein is an appointee of the president, as are Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Chris Wray. "If President Trump is dissatisfied with Rod Rosenstein," Gowdy said, "he can fire him with a tweet." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4f68b25b12f469962634bf571e4fbfe3e44b14a1afcc2cf142b0013edd2405c980f68c432b102b94c1

Related read: "House conservatives prep push to impeach Rosenstein," via Rachael and Kyle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4f12b5a403f7a1b4518623ebeba8258c5974f85a6bb537769b3693edbf99cf7c2578fdd8f8e640d228

SECOND SNUB -- The California Democratic Party snubbed its senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, again. "The state party's executive committee voted Saturday to endorse progressive state Sen. Kevin de León in the general election, signaling what many fear will be a divisive Democrat-on-Democrat battle going forward to the fall in California, where the party hoped to put the focus on a host of crucial congressional races that could determine control of the House of Representatives," Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White report. The endorsement gives de León's struggling campaign access to slate cards, email lists and voter outreach machinery.

Feinstein was first snubbed in February, at the annual state convention, where party activists declined to endorse her reelection bid. Ahead of Saturday's vote, Feinstein had asked the executive committee of the California Democrats to choose "no endorsement." Her team circulated a "no-endorsement" plea with a half-dozen signatories whose campaigns in contested districts are a linchpin in the national party's strategy to win back the House. But the effort fell short. "The final vote gave de León 217 votes, or 65 percent -- beating the 60 percent required threshold -- versus 94 votes, or 28 percent, for the 'no endorsement' urged by Feinstein, and 22 votes, or 7 percent, for the
senator herself," they write. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4fe5372b7a3f02b203a9c3eb9420ef1363cdc6fbc3a49efe8f31b80fed167151ae65f2859e464f6122

Related: "Feinstein: I'm equipped to lead anti-Kavanaugh brigade," by Carla Marinucci: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4fa340ede3759af69e67aca538cd944c4c6e7431740ddb1e13d42fe77db0036c72faaf219f4b37d54d

SCOTUS WATCH -- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is signaling he may not be sold on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Paul, a libertarian, told Fox News on Sunday that he's concerned about President Donald Trump's pick, particularly his record on constitutional privacy rights. "Paul said he's worried and disappointed that Kavanaugh appears to support government surveillance programs that curtail privacy rights in the name of national security," Bloomberg's Sahil Kapur reports. "He cited an opinion by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals judge in 2015 that 'the Government's metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the Fourth Amendment.'" Paul, however, expressed a willingness to meet
with Kavanaugh and have an "open mind." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4f4fdc26495fbfdee1f4b3b97cbf037af45859436477704ab0c358784a06983b96d864715662dd83df

Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) office has set up a website and email to solicit comments from constituents on Kavanaugh. More on that: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4fc49759fabcdf68371376205fe776965c130a94bfd89d04d2324404ac42fa6b2154df4c2ce03092ec

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 12 p.m. with votes postponed until 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4fcad167fca5cb5fd367876dffe48043b4f347a667b79c79c55dcc431052ad02db9a1715d43e28001a The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of Scott Stump's nomination to be the Department of Education's assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education. At 5:30 p.m., the chamber will vote on Stump's confirmation.

AROUND THE HILL -- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a discussion on CEOs vs. workers, focusing on the disparity between the wealth of corporate executives and the wages and treatment of the companies' workers, at 7 p.m. in the CVC-Auditorium.

SPOTTED: Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Sunday at the San Antonio airport boarding American flight 249 to Dallas -- pics http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bf2f22ef7e0a4c4fc929db84de6888b4f6ea85e925f275fa7f89356291e4ed846139c40b49be6f93d6d4dca00e308602 ... http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=52b665a67222301f5b9a9362b48302c9fd03d1672fdc4899192f3f5cd0dccd83cd3c85fdb62d17c46b3b1fedaa9d061d

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Omar Hajajreh was first to correctly guess that William Charles Cole Claiborne was the youngest person ever elected to Congress. He was 22 at the time.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- In what year was the first African-American woman elected to Congress, who was she and who did she upset? 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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