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09/26/2018 07:58 AM EDT


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

DEMS IN THE DARK -- Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee say there's been no coordination with Christine Blasey Ford's team ahead of Thursday's high-stakes committee hearing. "That lack of communication underscores the political minefield both Democrats and the 51-year-old college professor are crossing ahead of the hearing, with President Donald Trump and the GOP tarring the minority for a 'smear campaign' against Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court pick," Elana and Rachael report. "Ford has a team of well-connected attorneys with Democratic ties to lean on -- as well as a veteran Democratic strategist -- but Democratic senators acknowledge they're standing behind her with little
certainty about how she'll fare."

"I assume her own lawyers are prepping her," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel. "We're not. Let me make that very clear." Before Anita Hill testified before the committee in 1991 about her sexual harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas, she engaged a trio of lawyers, one of whom told POLITICO in an interview that the best way to prepare a victim to testify is to pose the most incendiary, insulting questions that come to mind. "It's like any witness preparation times 2,000," said Emma Coleman Jordan, now a Georgetown Law professor. "This is pressure like you've never seen. ... That's why they call it 'murder boards.'" More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=41f77731238393198441c494cd5da1e283b4605a60d23ec6b770c72f0f05422bfde2ef448add1a8773e6b78e69984986

Related: "Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford offers Senate four people who corroborate her assault claims," by USA Today's Steve Kiggins: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=41f77731238393190eb33bdfb27c6573f7b67987f2871d409b896d775938d76c6e2bcbfa9c51d4f8a97ae33ae2b0cbc7

WHO'S ASKING? -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) announced that Republicans have tapped Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to question Kavanaugh and Ford. "The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns," Grassley said in a statement. "In enlisting Mitchell to join their staff, Republican senators are taking an unusual step," The Washington Post's Sean Sullivan, Josh Dawsey, Rosalind S. Helderman and Michelle Ye Hee Lee report.

"They are turning to her to ask what are expected to be personal and potentially painful questions about the woman's youth on live television, sparing the all-male panel of 11 Republican senators on the committee some uncomfortable exchanges that could sway the public's opinion about the session," they continue. Mitchell, a registered Republican, is the chief of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office's special victims division. She has worked for the county attorney's office for 26 years. More on Mitchell: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=41f777312383931915453a7085c2cecf52a2d094cca63274495fcaac3e70cfb36fa7d192a223c8fd737129906f55cb29

COMMITTEE SCHEDULES KAVANAUGH VOTE -- The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a Friday morning vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. The timing of the vote is less than 24 hours after Ford and Kavanaugh are set to publicly testify Thursday. Committee rules require the panel to schedule a vote three days in advance. But the committee says it will only move forward if a "majority" of its 21 members (11 Republicans and 10 Democrats) are ready to vote Friday. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can bring Kavanaugh to the floor whether the nominee gets a favorable or unfavorable recommendation," Elana, Bres and Burgess note. "Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is undecided on Kavanaugh's
nomination and is the key swing vote on the panel."

"For Republicans to schedule a Friday vote on Brett Kavanaugh ..., two days before Dr. Blasey Ford has had a chance to tell her story, is outrageous," Feinstein said. "First Republicans demanded Dr. Blasey Ford testify immediately. Now Republicans don't even need to hear her before they move ahead with a vote." Grassley, however, indicated he was simply following regular order by scheduling a potential meeting. "[I]f we're ready to vote, we will vote," he tweeted. "If we aren't ready, we won't." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=41f7773123839319d72f04402d32dbdfdaf313c448769b6df1490ff4e1d1f2f4c610c13a5fc8eafc0a7ac902894a580c

Related reads: "Frat boy vs. choir boy: Dueling versions of Kavanaugh raise credibility questions," from Marianne Levine and Andrew Restuccia: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b916782703a1276f70d99156b97ff14105244eff778e9ff6e2f3f58160292487dec0b501bffc355777f "Kavanaugh's 'choir boy' image on Fox interview rankles former Yale classmates," per The Washington Post's Aaron C. Davis, Emma Brown and Joe Heim: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b915911e25170c8ed84865410aeebbbec64f3b1f42a261b7953b5725791cbd6f5a59fda5d536d0e9a41 and "In a Culture of Privilege and Alcohol at Yale, Her World Converged With Kavanaugh's," via The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=41f7773123839319b3feb55cd544aae178c6be232136af35b6189514d4cf9836ff194b318f0937d222b140fe1cb96448

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Sept. 26.

** A message from the Free & Fair Markets Initiative: The Cambridge Analytica scandal rightfully set off a wave of scrutiny regarding data privacy, but Amazon is the prime example of a company stockpiling consumer data with hardly any accountability. At today's Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Amazon should share what they are doing with the stockpiles of sensitive data they have on you. Click here to learn more. **

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Republicans for the Rule of Law ad calling on Congress to vote on the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act was the winner.

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UNDECLARED SENATORS -- More than a half-dozen senators and aides believe Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are firm "no's" on Kavanaugh, and the group of senators and aides are hopeful that Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) can be persuaded to vote against the Supreme Court nominee. But Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) are wild cards. "Both are paying close attention to how GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine vote," Burgess and Elana report. "And the duo has made clear to fellow Democrats that they're agonizing over the decision." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91fea15d2d0ae6020e3d58fca6e79de266c5f037d2eced4b1f241f42103f47ea9e5c8cacf000ed2889

If Collins opposes Kavanaugh, she has signaled that it won't be because of his abortion views. Collins said Kavanaugh believes "the concept of precedent is rooted in Article III of the Constitution, and he clearly reveres our Constitution." He "also believes that it is not sufficient -- since I asked him this directly -- for five sitting judges to believe that an earlier decision was incorrectly decided," Collins told reporters. "He said it would have to be grievously wrong and deeply inconsistent." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91a1236e53c103c8c693aa4477fce0fc15d990038af47facb04dc1f672a728ddf638365d2ed6d96c1b

"We are now in a place where it's not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified," Murkowski told The New York Times. "It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91ac97ed014d0f4410764ac959d2aa65a58f575dd1f3c84485ba426584b9e83d40322896d51e24d077

Related: "Trump stays away from Senate Kavanaugh fight," by Bres, Burgess and Eliana Johnson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b914dffc5184b6e9fee30874c4978bde008bcd9028a0a74c55b2fef5a594f8df0c72c84c02ffbbe18aa

SHUTDOWN WATCH -- The president has still given no indication of whether he will sign legislation that funds the Pentagon and the departments of Labor, Education and HHS -- and a so-called continuing resolution that funds other agencies at current levels until Dec. 7. Absent is the $5 billion Trump has requested for his border wall, an issue the president has signaled a willingness to shut down the government over. The question is when: before or after the midterms?

"In effect, Republican leaders are betting that Mr. Trump will swallow yet another defeat for his promised wall to avoid vetoing a $20 billion increase in military spending," The New York Times' Catie Edmondson writes. "Neither Republicans nor Democrats want the government to close before the midterm elections, but the president has repeatedly raised the specter of a shutdown, most recently last week when he criticized the stopgap spending bill as 'ridiculous' and chastised Democrats for pushing an agenda that he deemed soft on security." The House is expected to vote today to fund the government. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91ca0f2c0e722c44f74b0276afdaf147724432ca0b97805ae61731d39f358c65f2b40f2bc1660ad3ed

Related read: "'Unforgiving' news cycle buries GOP spending victory," from Sarah Ferris: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b9180efd5d05d202c8e790ef09edbfe65d321a3c9e4a6fa869d3175ea66ac7925a0377e9a66c34009d1

ANOTHER THURSDAY HEARING -- The House Financial Services Committee has invited Simone Grimes, the FHFA employee who has accused director Mel Watt of sexual harassment, to testify before the committee at an oversight hearing Thursday. Sarah Flaim, a spokesman for committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), said the panel has "requested she come in to meet with staff to present her claims and supporting evidence -- as is our regular practice for anyone making claims of this nature." Flaim added that Grimes was expected to meet with majority and minority staff Tuesday afternoon and has been invited to testify, which Grimes said she is "100 percent willing" to do. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b919efc54015897c548405f4775f6f73ad607c128b21ab78a9607ed0b8c292182a450ffb51fabe4481a

SECURE ELECTIONS ACT STALLED -- The possibility that Congress passes a bipartisan election security bill before the midterm elections is, well, "impossible," Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said. "The House won't be here after this week so it's going to be impossible," Lankford told The Hill. "Congress has not passed another piece of legislation aimed at protecting election systems from cyberattacks since the 2016 election, which the U.S. intelligence community determined was influenced by Russia," Jacqueline Thomsen writes. "Lawmakers did include $380 million for states to upgrade and secure their voting systems in an appropriations bill passed earlier this year." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91606b61fde5ce7b6c197c5b53cb033f5dc9911467b5867b5f2d6f10e81e057aded84e840c438877fd

AGUILAR ENTERS LEADERSHIP RACE -- Moderate Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) launched his bid for House Democratic Caucus vice chair, setting up a race against progressive Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) for the No. 5 leadership post. "The race perfectly highlights the debate raging inside the Democratic Party about which direction to tack as 2020 approaches: Clark, who declared her candidacy for the post in late July, is a member of the Progressive Caucus and could see a boon from an energized and emboldened left-wing of the caucus," Rachael reports. "But since many of the incoming Democratic freshmen will hail from swing districts, having a pragmatist in leadership could also be appealing."
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b9162c5a1e96be6f065b55f4e64dd9f76095a0cde9da913b9ebf7ca788f6d66497f33549d965b7a923e

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SEEK TESTIMONY OF COMEY, ET AL -- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) have requested interviews with former FBI Director James Comey, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Other witnesses also received requests. "The large slate of requests suggests the panels leading the probe are entering the most crucial phase of their work and may still have weeks to go before interviews are complete," Kyle reports. "That leaves a narrow window for lawmakers to issue findings ahead of the 2018 congressional elections and could push their work
into the lame-duck session of Congress."

Livid Democrats accuse committee Republicans of deceptively arranging the interviews. They say they weren't made aware of the requests until they were already made. "In addition, the requests indicated that Democrats had been CC'ed, informing them of the interview requests," Kyle adds. "But in fact, Republicans had not informed them of the requests, they said, leaving a false impression with the invited witnesses that the minority party was aware." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b915dc266cf3deca1ad5e713791cb66f1faf9d9a05347e8ee32853fc69042403ef9d389d5dd5a72ec84

Related: "House Republicans prepare subpoena for McCabe memos," per Kyle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b912274ddbfbd32955ff0f1b84cfa967d80302bc382bf7abcb3661251cc594715796cfc3bf80ab7bd6c and "House conservatives threaten Rosenstein impeachment vote," via Kyle and Rachael: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91a3584a65be880bafa8c1e8ed529f324af856f0aed97a1bed568e36db3213bd7645bceb844d5528b7

BREDESEN OPPOSES SCHUMER AS SENATE LEADER -- Democratic Tennessee Senate candidate Phil Bredesen said during a debate with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) that "hyperpartisan" Washington needs new leadership. "I can tell you right now that if I'm elected, and when I'm elected and go to Washington, I am not going to be voting for Chuck Schumer," he said. "It's the latest effort Bredesen has made to show independence from national Democrats while running in solid-red Tennessee," James Arkin reports. "But the former governor's pledge to vote against Schumer is his largest break from the Democratic Party thus far." Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is the only other Democratic battleground Senate
candidate who has vowed to oppose Schumer. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b919155f3686eca19ca382f9fcb7fedfb44331981b02780c378ff4503a456deed6bf126d3c704620dd8

STAFFERS WELCOME -- The Members' Dining Room in the House is now open to Capitol Hill staff. "Beginning [Tuesday] ... the [Bennett] Room of the Members' Dining Room will open to all congressional staff," House Chief Administrative Officer Philip Kiko wrote in a letter. "This includes employees of the House, Senate, Architect of the Capitol, Congressional Budget Office, and Library of Congress." Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus notes, "A valid congressional ID is required to enter, and the letter reminds staff that diners are expected to 'dress in business attire.'" More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91483a7658736a16427e8522f3d361630e49512e0b17f2f86ba152c38b502ce333d820054b7fa61c0d

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 10 a.m. with first votes expected between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. and last votes expected between 5:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0be663bb68fe8b91c5850c18b29072665ddb3c4775fe9296c0215eae30d96c465c52b91f6e59f6e4fe17b8be50fe1846 The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of Peter A. Feldman to be a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission for a full seven-year term. At 1:45 p.m. the chamber will hold a confirmation vote on Feldman's nomination.

AROUND THE HILL -- Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) will deliver keynote remarks at an Alliance to Save Energy briefing by the 50x50 Commission on recommendations to cut the transportation sector's energy use by 50 percent by 2050 at 9:10 a.m. in 2255 Rayburn.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will hold a media availability immediately after the Republican Conference meeting at 10 a.m. in HC-8.

Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) will hold a news conference on the economic and workforce impacts of the railroad supply industry at 10:45 a.m. in 2253 Rayburn.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Vice Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) will hold a media availability after a closed caucus meeting at 11 a.m. in HVC-Studio A.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) will hold a hearing with the Poor People's Campaign on poverty and economic opportunity in America at 11 a.m. in HVC-215.

Reps. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) will hold a briefing on post-election human rights and strategies for accountability in Turkey at 1 p.m. in 2325 Rayburn.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats will hold a news conference in support of Christine Blasey Ford and her decision to come forward to tell her story at 1:30 p.m. in H-207.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie will testify before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on the implementation of VA reforms at 3 p.m. in 418 Russell.

Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.) will hold a briefing on election hacking, including a demonstration on the vulnerabilities of voting machines, at 3 p.m. in 2167 Rayburn.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) will hold a "Taste of Small Farm America" event to celebrate a day spent advocating for increased access to local meat, dairy and fresh produce at 5:30 p.m. in 106 Dirksen.

Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Al Green (D-Texas), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Lou Correa (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) will meet with William Nguyen, who was convicted by a Vietnamese court in July for disturbing public order and ordered to be deported, and his family at 1:30 p.m. in H-144.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Andres Uzcategui was first to correctly guess that Sam Rayburn was the last dean of the House to simultaneously serve as speaker.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Andres: Who was the last president of Venezuela to address a joint meeting of Congress? 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 Free & Fair Markets Initiative:

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Amazon is the prime example of a company stockpiling consumer data with hardly any oversight or accountability. Congress needs to ask for answers today. Click here to read our memo. **

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