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09/20/2017 08:01 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

SEE YA LATER - The Senate left town Tuesday for the rest of the week with Republican leaders feeling hopeful about their efforts to repeal Obamacare by the Sept. 30 deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) won't bring the bill to the floor next week unless he has 50 votes for passage. So far, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is the only firm "no" on the Republican side. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) seems to be leaning that way but hasn't said definitively. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) still haven't indicated how they would vote.

Friendly fire: Republicans are facing a wave of backlash from health care groups, patient advocates and some GOP governors, who say the bill would upend the nation's health care system, Adam Cancryn reports. Several Republican governors, including Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, urged the GOP to abandon their repeal bill and instead focus on a bipartisan effort to stabilize Obamacare. But House Speaker Paul Ryan and White House officials rejected that idea Tuesday, Burgess, Josh Dawsey and Rachael report, saying they're solely focused on the partisan repeal effort.

Lone Ranger Rand: As the lone GOP "no" (at least so far), Sen. Rand Paul isn't doing much to make friends within his conference these days. But he's just fine with that, Seung Min and Burgess report. "These people, they so totally do not get it," Paul said of his GOP colleagues. "I'm actually happy to be out there as the leading advocate for repealing Obamacare, not keeping it." His unwavering opposition has left GOP leaders with virtually no room for error since they can only lose two votes and still pass the bill. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c7356ac5610a0b8363fbbfc55131d8aad05adccc362af529f046d80c847a84c202eb38eb3eb86f6ce220b28273f9b3aee

Not so funny: Late night host Jimmy Kimmel ripped into the GOP repeal, authored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), on his show Tuesday night. "This guy, Bill Cassidy, he just lied right to my face," Kimmel said, going on to list four health care pledges the Louisiana Republican had made on his show earlier this year, dubbing it the "Jimmy Kimmel test," saying the latest bill meets none of those promises. "There's a new Jimmy Kimmel test for you," Kimmel said. "It's called the lie detector test." Dan Diamond: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c564d626df2c3daad515c0e3fe38b131a03f3b6ea35bc410201189097d3c495d53ca9262e0a3c233e6839de2a4f1efbbf

COULD REPEAL PASS THE HOUSE? If the Senate does cobble together 50 votes to pass their health care bill, the House would basically have to clear the legislation without changes in order to get it to the president's desk. "Paul Ryan told me to my face, 'If you pass it, we pass it,'" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of the bill he helped author. But it might not be that easy, especially considering the House passed its Obamacare repeal with only one vote to spare - and that included sweeteners for skittish members - earlier this year.

Rachael and Kyle explain the dynamics in the lower chamber: "Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are unlikely to be able to amend the bill and offer the same carve-outs for wary colleagues that they used previously. At the same time, it could serve as a cudgel to persuade skittish rank-and-file Republicans to back the bill since it's the last chance for the party's seven-year repeal crusade." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c79997ec4852322949336227310631c31c0c9a7fbe189290db2c699373f67e6e5b1311288d90b67fb189e28fbca0821f3

JUMPING THE GUN - Elana explains the view on the Dem side: "Republicans claim that Bernie Sanders' 'Medicare for All' pitch last week fueled their revived repeal effort, an argument that even Democratic single-payer foes dismiss as untrue. Yet some Democrats wish more attention had been paid to protecting the Affordable Care Act before some of the party's biggest names turned to single payer." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4ce471a157b1c11539e595c553ac01b777c60c2535c7e23fab1d35291771df47101e8afbdf185e7ed76ca72383d21ed1a9

Strategy session: "Democrats are considering whether they could force enough amendment votes on the Senate floor to run out the clock and effectively kill the Obamacare repeal, by taking debate past Sept. 30, when the GOP's special procedural tool to pass a bill with just a simple majority expires," Jen Haberkorn reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4cfe10678a90009a9b05fa6f2442e3a096055f4a29ea691cfa9468db5179d42b7ce79d1089bbde7eed23138c611872ef24

YUP, IT'S WEDNESDAY, we're doing this. Welcome to Sept. 20 and thanks for tuning in to POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Hill's story on Roy Moore describing people as "reds and yellows" in a campaign speech was the winner yesterday.

HUDDLE SCOOP: DEMS UNVEIL DEBT LIMIT BILL - Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Chris Coons (Del.) will unveil a bill later today to repeal the debt ceiling. "This is an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to work together to prevent manufactured crises and lift the threat of default off our economy for good," Bennet will say in a statement. The bill doesn't have any Republican cosponsors but the general idea does have one GOP fan: President Donald Trump. The president suggested scrapping the debt ceiling during fiscal negotiations with congressional leaders earlier this month but Speaker Ryan quickly ruled it out.

BEHIND THE SCENES: McConnell pushed for woman to fill Senate seat - Newly released notes written by then-Gov. Robert Bentley last year reveal McConnell pushed for the Alabama governor to appoint a woman to the seat left open by Jeff Sessions. "Bentley said McConnell told him 'we are made up of old white men in the Republican Party. If you could consider a woman, that would be really good for the party,'" the Montgomery Advertiser reports. Bentley appointed Luther Strange, the state attorney general who was reportedly investigating him, instead. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4cb666f0ec276bbb8115be91cbd15ccb9b13bbd755e548c30aca53959ec948e5cca69636d4696bf04b0207207c10dabae8

Scheduling change: Trump's rally for Strange, originally scheduled for Saturday, will now be held Friday. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c4a5d05ebdd09f8081ffc564e3efcf72f89d153bc08addd8dbc4891a7a74b79433a4c92a711471b42e4b63ff20cf8e47b

Moore touts endorsement of late activist: There was an interesting name listed on Roy Moore's website recently among the dozens of endorsements he's received for his Senate bid -- Phyllis Schlafly, the well-known conservative activist who died in 2016, long before the Senate race. Schlafly appeared on a list that also includes Steve Bannon, "actor Chuck Norris, 'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson, and numerous pastors and elected officials," Nathan Gonzales reports for Roll Call. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c8b70c30b184421e9f79eedf4eb1169d8bc17b9dfbbcb21a1eba13e2612a9125e135bed51baf7c40ef00022d85477579e

** A message from A-29 for America: As the fight against terrorism continues, there is a critical need for a light attack combat aircraft. With nearly 40,000 combat hours, the American-made A-29 is a cost-effective, off-the-shelf solution and the only light support and reconnaissance aircraft in the world with a U.S. Air Force military type certificate. www.BuiltForTheMission.com. **

TWEETS DU JOUR: @connorobrienNH: Kirsten Gillibrand issued three press releases today on provisions she secured in the NDAA. None mention that she voted against the bill.

-- @burgessev: Just heard a senator tell another senator: "have a nice weekend" It's Tuesday.

-- @IsaacDovere: Currently, @SenSchumer, @SenBobCorker and @MarkWarner are having a very relaxed, jackets off dinner at 701 in Penn Quarter

LET'S MAKE A DEAL - Budget Committee members Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) have reached a deal on the scope of tax breaks to be included in the Senate budget resolution - a key step in the GOP's tax reform efforts - resolving the last major standoff that was holding up its release, Sarah Ferris and Jen Scholtes report. After a weeks-long fight, the two announced late Tuesday "that they had agreed to a 'tax reduction' over 10 years - without disclosing the total amount." The number is thought to be around $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade - the dollar amount GOP senators have been considering and one Corker didn't push back on earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the 'Big Six' tax negotiators are rethinking their plan to cut taxes for the wealthy, Brian Faler, Ben White and Josh Dawsey report. "Removing some benefits for the rich and backing off a proposed 15 percent corporate tax rate would help Republicans in two ways: by broadening the political appeal of tax reform and reducing its cost," they report.

ASLEEP ON THE JOB - At least four jurors appeared to snooze Tuesday during the federal corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez as "federal prosecutors spent hours detailing years-worth of private jets and other flight arrangements" for the New Jersey Democrat, CNN reports. The judge overseeing the case ruled on Tuesday that any talk of unsubstantiated claims Menendez used prostitutes while vacationing in the Dominican Republican be kept out of the trial. Matt Friedman explains why: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c2507d86dbc7927d695dd3f169cc1ed3ced8f97935434ec087a02801611d63f657e44741836e745b605882cbfc154b14b

DEMS ARRESTED OVER DACA - Three House Democrats were arrested outside of Trump Tower for protesting over the Dream Act. Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Melissa Mark Viverito, the speaker of New York's city council, were all taken into custody Tuesday, Louis Nelson reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4c57ddb549f02783d1b1920cf982f7c42179b57bd3848ad838ab644da5b2d56137f6c2eb8991094c9b371d7c955099e457

SENATE INTEL TO GRILL COHEN PUBLICLY - Leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee called off a closed-door interview with Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen Tuesday and asked him to instead appear at a public session on Oct. 25. Intel members say they were upset that the president's longtime lawyer released a statement denying any role in Russian meddling in the 2016 election ahead of the hearing -- after the committee asked him not to comment publicly. Austin with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=aabdcf4813a9fd4ca4a38ec75b5e3ec96a9d477fc797867f17eeedfd21e7147ee9a4ccc9ea114821f0ccb55a4b8920c456b331c56fe18291

ARRIVAL LOUNGE - Max Fenkell started on Monday as an LA for Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), primarily handling his T&I committee portfolio. He previously was a legislative analyst at Ford.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate and House are both out for the rest of the week in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Both chambers will be back Monday, Sept. 25.

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Reps. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus will take questions from reporters before a roundtable on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) at 10:30 a.m. in HVC-215.

Pelosi will hold her weekly press conference at 12 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Bob Koczera was first to correctly guess that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is the senator who survived a recall attempt as mayor of San Francisco, lost a gubernatorial bid in 1990 and in 2012 claimed the record for winning the most votes in history in a Senate election.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Bob with today's question: John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Edmund Muskie were the last three Democratic senators to serve as secretary of State. Who was the last former Republican senator to lead the State Department and how long was this person in the Senate prior to that? Send your best guess my way: hcaygle@politico.com. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle.

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ground forces, extend the service life of high-end fighters and generate savings for the taxpayer faster and better than any alternative. The A-29 is truly built for the mission. Learn more about the American-made A-29 at www.BuiltForTheMission.com. **

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