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09/05/2017 07:49 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

WELCOME BACK Huddle readers. We're kicking off what's sure to be a busy day, week and month with government funding, Hurricane Harvey aid, tax reform, immigration and the debt ceiling all on the agenda. Remember, Congress is only scheduled to be in session for 12 days this month. Let's get started:

DACA DECISION TODAY - President Donald Trump is expected to announce the end of DACA today, an Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Trump, facing the threat of a lawsuit from several conservative states, is expected to punt the issue to Capitol Hill, officially delaying the program's end by six months to give Congress time to figure out a legislative solution. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime DACA foe, will make the announcement today at 11 a.m. He won't be taking questions from reporters.

Where things stand right now: Democrats and several key Republicans including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have called on Trump to keep the program in place while Congress works to find a solution. With that looking unlikely, House Minority Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have requested a meeting with Ryan to find a bipartisan agreement but so far nothing has been set up, sources tell Huddle.

Let's make a deal: Several Republicans have already suggested they'd be willing to take action to protect Dreamers in exchange for tougher immigration restrictions like funding for Trump's border wall. But Democrats have said that idea is a nonstarter, arguing that the nearly 800,000 Dreamers impacted by DACA are not a bargaining chip for funding a wall that even many Republicans think is a waste of money.

** A message from the National Network of Abortion Funds: People who had abortions have a message for leaders in Washington: When you embrace anti-abortion politicians, we ALL pay the price. This week we'll be bringing you the voices of our We Testify abortion storytellers. Listen to us. Learn more at listen.abortionfunds.org **

With Republicans divided on DACA - some key members sympathetic to Dreamers, others looking to bargain and hardliners opposed to saving the program, the issue is threatening to drive a wedge through the already fractured party, Seung Min and Rachael report. Still, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was optimistic Monday about a deal coming together: "I think, when you look at the overall package, securing the border and others, I think we can solve all of this," he told Dallas Morning News reporter Corbett Smith.

HARVEY AID VOTE THIS WEEK - The House will start voting tomorrow on sending nearly $8 billion to Texas to begin Hurricane Harvey recovery, a down payment for an aid package that could end up costing north of $100 billion in total. GOP leaders are weighing attaching a debt ceiling hike to the initial Harvey relief bill but no final decision has been made and conservative House Republicans are already threatening to vote against the move.

A little help from our friend: Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), wary of the the backlash from rank-and-file members who campaigned on reducing the debt, want Trump to publicly endorse the idea of a clean debt ceiling increase to give them political cover, Burgess and Rachael report. "September has an astounding number of challenges for Trump and GOP leaders to address: In addition to the hurricane, spending and debt issues, the Federal Aviation Administration, National Flood Insurance Program and Children's Health Insurance Program also all need to be extended past September."

ANDDDD WE'RE BACK FOLKS. Welcome to Sept. 5 and thanks for tuning in to POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. I'd like to wish a very happy birthday today to my husband, who unfortunately had to watch his favorite football team lose to Alabama this weekend. Don't worry, I treated him to wine and a nice dinner after, guys.

TAX REFORM TUESDAY - The "Big Six" tax reform negotiators head to the White House today for a 4 p.m. meeting with Trump. Republicans are desperate to notch a big legislative win before the midterms next year and with health care on the rocks, they think overhauling the tax code (no easy feat in itself) is their best bet. But Trump's relationship with GOP leaders is frayed - remember his very public feud with McConnell last month - and Republicans have a long list of must-do legislative items to tackle first, Aaron Lorenzo reports this morning. In addition to Ryan and McConnell, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and NEC
Director Gary Cohn will also attend.

TO BE A FLY ON THE WALL... Ryan, McConnell, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will meet with Trump at the White House at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Fun fact: This is Trump's first meeting with just the Big Four since taking office.

FOR YOUR RADAR - There is a lot going on in the Capitol beyond trying to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling and keep the government open beyond Sept. 30. What to watch:

-North Korea: Trump administration officials will brief lawmakers on escalating tensions with North Korea Wednesday after the country claimed it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb over the weekend. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will lead the briefings, which will also cover the White House strategy on Afghanistan. Mattis over the weekend warned of a "massive military response" if North Korea threatens the U.S. and its allies.

-Russia: Congress' multiple Russia probes are ramping up as lawmakers return from recess with plans for closed-door interviews with several high ranking members of the Trump campaign, including Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort and Donald Trump Jr. The House and Senate intelligence committees are also considering public hearings, Austin and Ali Watkins report. And Trump Jr. is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee behind closed doors in the next few weeks.

-Obamacare: Republicans have until the end of September to repeal Obamacare using reconciliation - a potential death knell for GOP efforts to dismantle the law -- the Senate parliamentarian ruled late last week, Rachana Pradhan and Bres report. The Senate HELP Committee this week kicks off a series of hearings on stabilizing Obamacare with the panel's leaders hoping to pass a bipartisan package of narrow changes to prop up the law by the end of the month, Adam Cancryn reports.

-McCain returns: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has been receiving treatment for brain cancer, returns to the Senate this week as the chamber prepares to take up its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. McCain, Senate Armed Services chairman, will lead the debate.

BREITBART DECLARES WAR IN 'BAMA - With Steve Bannon back at the helm, Breitbart is going all out to stop the establishment-backed Sen. Luther Strange from winning the GOP Senate runoff against Roy Moore later this month. With three weeks until the Sept. 26 runoff, the far-right forces are closing ranks around Moore and trying to persuade Trump not to campaign for Strange in the coming weeks, Alex Isenstadt reports. Bannon has been careful to paint his support of Moore as opposition to McConnell and not a repudiation of Trump. Moore is set to meet with the House Freedom Caucus and other top conservatives this week.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: WHAT'S NEXT FOR KENNEDY - In case you missed it, your Huddle host took a look at what's next for Rep. Joe Kennedy, the rising Democratic star who has built a loyal grassroots following with his opposition to Trump in recent months. There wasn't room in the story but Huddle wanted to share this anecdote of how liberal Kennedy became good buds with Rep. Markwayne Mullin, the cowboy-boot-wearing conservative from Oklahoma:

Mullin and Kennedy, both newcomers in 2013, found themselves in an elevator together early on, Kennedy bandaged up from a recent shoulder surgery. "I said, 'in Oklahoma this is how we tell you're a good friend' and I slapped him on the shoulder he had surgery on. He fell to the knee and started laughing real hard -- at least I thought he was laughing, he could've been crying," Mullin told Huddle, laughing as he recalled the story.

THE 2017 POLITICO 50 UNVEILED TODAY - The fourth annual POLITICO 50 list maps out the new American landscape of ideas and introduces the people who can see past the disruption of Trump to a future in which politics, technology and new social currents will transform our country into something most of us have yet to imagine.

From former White House strategist Steve Bannon to Trump opposition leaders Leah Greenberg & Ezra Levin, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch to Tech's ambassador outside Silicon Valley Steve Case, former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy-those on this year's POLITICO 50 list are transforming American politics. See the full list - www.politico.com/50

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House gavels in at 2 p.m. with votes on several noncontroversial bills beginning at 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72be633746f6e1fe29be1de0e9e920119db337548d3139c0824c81dd5cd71eb6f183c38dfa382fa4cbcb7a06e50aa2930e1a5820442517f The Senate meets at 3 p.m. with one roll call vote on Timothy Kelly, judicial nominee for the D.C. District Court, at 5:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds a pen and pad at 12:30 p.m. in H-144.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - This person, a major player during Congress' last successful tax reform effort, later resigned due to an unrelated scandal. Who is this lawmaker and what was the controversy? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: hcaygle@politico.com

LONDON CALLING - Have you signed up for the new London Playbook yet? London is the third international power center to get a dedicated Playbook, joining a growing community of more than a quarter of a million Playbook readers worldwide. Author Jack Blanchard brings a unique fix of original news, sharp insight and a bit of fun to Westminster insiders, political buffs and anyone who is tracking politics in the U.K. - Sign up today [here]

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** A message from the National Network of Abortion Funds: Kristine Kippins had an abortion, and she has a message for leaders in Washington: "It's not enough to simply show up when the votes happen. We need elected officials who speak out for people who have abortions with respect and compassion and vigorously defend our need for abortion access." Since 2010 there have been more than 338 new restrictions on abortion passed throughout the country, pushing this legal, necessary health care out of reach. YET, the majority of Americans want a person's abortion experience to be: legal and affordable, free from shame and pressure, and based on medically accurate information. Learn more at
listen.abortionfunds.org **

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