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09/20/2018 07:55 AM EDT


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

GRASSLEY SETS A DEADLINE -- Christine Blasey Ford and her attorneys have a little more than 24 hours to submit a biography and prepared statement if she plans to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has invited Ford and Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee Ford alleges sexually assaulted her at a party when she was 15, to speak publicly at a hearing next week. But it's unclear whether Ford will attend -- and whether the hearing would still occur without her.

"Grassley says he's going to great lengths to be fair to Ford, offering to fly a staffer to California to interview her and making repeated attempts to contact her lawyers," Burgess and Elana report. "But his dilemma is the same as the rest of his party's: Being as delicate as possible with an alleged sexual assault victim while keeping Kavanaugh headed toward the bench." Grassley told reporters he's focused on doing everything possible to make Ford comfortable with coming before the committee, in an open session, closed session, public interview or private interview. "That's four different ways she can choose," he said. More on Grassley's handling of this:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d635886ca0e4abbd04066095096b0e407bcf28e8da739de7d8198d0c2c83d564999ee1b8eaf8fa9db4b5acf

Ford's attorneys argue there's no need to "rush" and contend that additional witnesses should appear. They've also pushed for an FBI investigation before Ford testifies at a hearing, but Republicans have shown little interest in such a probe. "I certainly understand and respect Dr. Ford's desire for an investigation of her allegations," Grassley wrote. "That is precisely what the Senate is doing." Ultimately, Kavanaugh's confirmation could be decided by whether Ford shows up Monday. Key Senate Republicans have signaled a willingness to move ahead, even if Ford declines the committee's offer to testify in the coming days. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d635886c1e6225b5a97b42662e366a009c3c0556f21ea6e0efd5988510ca56c230a0997c53aeccf63a2986a

Related: "Timeline: How an allegation against Kavanaugh came to light and shook Washington," by Matthew Choi: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b4419c08434c2d9c1d09a5e7719995cb4895fc9c47fb4beff1d0f1034cbed63e511c40071de696b4dd and "'I told her that I believed her': Calif. lawmaker describes meeting with Kavanaugh accuser," from The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d63588649059a1e740cd132932c0d8a5ed9a7f9771b96420571ee0808061d3f6ef865ddf7e8f8841262eeeb

TRUMP, GOP CONFIDENT IN KAVANAUGH -- President Donald Trump is growing more confident that Kavanaugh will ultimately be confirmed, so much so that the White House and its allies have made no effort to line up a new nominee. That confidence "is shared by some of Trump's key Republican allies, even as controversy continues to rage over a sexual-assault allegation against the conservative judge," Nancy Cook reports. "Even so, Kavanaugh's Washington allies continue to hunt for evidence -- scouring everything from high school yearbooks to real estate records -- that might reveal Ford to be acting out of personal or political bias, or simply misrecalling a single night when they were in high
school." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d63588644b129b34f46a1ca96247fc1bf0f7254a1d2c164f682961d25d44942f0b1907ca197485716af1fee

Related read: "Kavanaugh saga sets Washington rumor mill on fire," via Eliana Johnson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d635886d07b8d7173a7b6fac384eac844221b9e84e8b8221dde820691f223732a47d104473c704281b0d3ee

MCCASKILL 'NO' ON KAVANAUGH -- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said "no" to Neil Gorsuch. And she'll vote the same way on Kavanaugh -- not because of the "troubling" sexual assault allegation against him but because of his views on "dark, anonymous money that is crushing our democracy." "McCaskill also said she was 'uncomfortable' with his views on executive power but said that her fear that Kavanaugh's place on the bench would loosen political spending restrictions was the 'determining factor,'" Burgess writes. "Her opposition is not a huge surprise... But her decision to oppose President Donald Trump's nominee is likely to animate her race against [Missouri Attorney General Josh] Hawley."
More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d6358866991551fbe3a68a157cb8974c7430897ee246a64008289cb2af8047607a4eddf959ba1e18b7d3e30

Related: "For Red-State Democrats, Accusation Against Kavanaugh Scrambles Midterm Calculus," per The New York Times' Jonathan Martin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d635886c505f31914f4cb6784d3dd9dd075c81563fd433398e2f176448b796d01f8902e50f90a80ba88d81c

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Sept. 20.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Charlie Mahtesian and Steven Shepard's list of five unlikely races that could tip the Senate was the winner.

HOUSE DEMS SEEK RULES CHANGE -- A group of House Democrats is asking Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) for a rules change that would raise the amount of votes required to nominate a candidate for speaker. "Current rules mandate that a nominee receive support from only a simple majority of caucus members before advancing to the floor for a vote," The Atlantic's Elaina Plott reports. "The letter requests that threshold be changed to 218, a majority of the House." The move is an attempt to raise the threshold for Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be the party's nominee for speaker if Democrats take back the House.

The letter to Crowley only has 10 signatories. However, "Only five are needed for a vote on a petition like this one," Plott writes. "The proposed rule change will be voted on next week. ... Multiple House Democratic sources predicted the measure would overwhelmingly fail, noting that there is likely no member, currently, who could get 218 votes. Moreover, those sources added, most members with their eyes on a leadership position won't want to risk alienating Pelosi and her allies." Signees include Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Albio Sires (D-N.J.), Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Filemon Vela (D-Texas), Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and
Robin Kelly (D-Ill.). More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2721b5749d63588624ee09055cfa1712d1f318daafd0d8d6b5129713e61bf612cb749bcf91ce41bb3627f2d1818e4f15

FEMALE LAWMAKERS LAUNCH PAC -- A group of seven Democratic female lawmakers are forming a new PAC aimed at electing women to Congress. Elect Democratic Women "will make donations to female candidates and hopes in the future to spend money in their races as well," Maggie Severns reports. "The lawmakers founding the PAC say they'll use their networks and fundraising prowess to raise money in a manner similar to PACs linked to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, which served as inspirations for the new effort." Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) said the PAC has hired the consulting firm Mothership Strategies to build its digital fundraising efforts and is working to
hire a director.

"Each founder is either contributing or raising $5,000 to help cover the initial costs associated with starting the group," Severns writes. Women make up just 20 percent of Congress. "Even if we elect the next 30 women [to Congress], we're still way under where we need to be," Frankel said. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) added that the group wants to be a "major player." "The need is very clear to every one of the women who are serving in Congress," she said. "We're not doing this to have a couple thousand bucks we can give out." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b4c3b7434a38e0b411d90a7318e61814757d60dd55949712dde5149dd7cd9e9effbd21b7eec9875dc7

HELLER WELCOMING TRUMP WITH OPEN ARMS -- The president is holding a campaign-style rally in Las Vegas tonight, and Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) is "thrilled." In a private conference call Wednesday with White House aides, Nevada GOP officials and local activists, the most vulnerable Senate Republican up for reelection this year praised Trump as a "great leader." "Mr. Heller has steadily moved closer to Mr. Trump, finally acknowledging last year that he voted for the president, but the senator has not gone as far in public as he did Wednesday," The New York Times' Jonathan Martin writes. "Mr. Heller memorably said in October 2016, weeks before the presidential election, that he was '100 percent
against Clinton, 99 percent against Trump.'" Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b4e9774ad1b5a32ffe215890aaad250c8a2678fa6a74986ca1703dd3cf91200fd7be743cae6a712b6d

REPUBLICANS WORRIED IN INDIANA -- GOP Senate candidate Mike Braun has vowed to wake up "Sleepin' Joe" Donnelly (D-Ind.) on Election Day. But as Donnelly barnstorms the state in a used RV, Republicans fret that it's Braun's campaign that's asleep at the wheel. "Groups that typically back GOP candidates ... are sitting on the sidelines," The Associated Press' Brian Slodysko notes. Braun has also publicly complained about the millions of dollars in loans he used to fund his primary campaign and is being outspent by nearly double on TV and radio since June, in addition to failing to purchase any air time of his own in October so far.

"That's cause for concern, according to a half-dozen GOP officials, operatives and commentators familiar with the race, most of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to offer candid assessments of the contest," Slodysko writes. "They say Braun appears to be coasting at a time when he ought to be investing more of his own money and rallying the base." Trump won Indiana in 2016 by nearly 20 points, and Braun's campaign insists that he's winning, too, though polls indicate the race is neck and neck. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b44930439fa8ba54b7e69968e0b55efc03ce83b04daac9e92f8639d18c2964bf324af613dd4fc32589

The NRSC is out with three new ads in Indiana -- two TV and one radio. Watch "No to Joe": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b40e706ae02f72278c8b79ff12b71aee1ccc28ffebe66f8993fa7eb05499550cfe080ebbc6082d745e and "Fire Drill": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b444125b6ef33031800b755ce8a10040cd2c9395fbc6e7aafe7c8715733ced813b89bc704fbcf43ad8

HE'S RUNNING -- A month ago, it was "in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump's agenda" that indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) suspend his reelection campaign. But now, "The stakes are too high." Collins, who will remain on the ballot despite facing insider trading charges, is vowing to "actively campaign" for reelection. "Voters can be assured that with the recent turn of events, they can count on me to actively campaign for Congress, and to serve should voters re-elect me," Collins wrote in an email to supporters. "The stakes are too high to allow the radical left to take control of this seat in Congress."

"The email capped a whirlwind stretch for Collins and Republican leaders in the district, which covers all or part of eight counties in the largely rural areas between Buffalo and Rochester," the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Jon Campbell writes. "Collins had suspended his campaign in August and pledged support for removing his name from the ballot as recently as last week, which would have required him to accept a nomination to a lower office -- likely a town position in Clarence -- so he could be replaced on the congressional ballot. That all changed Monday." Collins is still favored against Democrat Nate McMurray. The president won the district by 24 points in 2016. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b4c1b4fe2a805bc54471f1be7f355382047f66e50faa59d9dfd3de11fe383c28f93f9462168340f27e

ISSA NOMINATION -- The president is nominating retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to lead the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Issa's role as Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman during the Obama administration, however, could complicate his Senate confirmation. His targeting of President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder and top IRS officials "left him virtually friendless on the left," Rachael reports. "If confirmed, Issa would take the helm of the trade agency as Trump upends trade deals and tries to renegotiate more favorable terms for the U.S. Issa has been a supporter of those tough trade policies. He frequently appears on Fox News praising
the president." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e1b6e5ef5845b4b487f3b485eec9709999e2a075bede7c1f746c615f523011cc3a867dd6b8380da58922018bb44c8857

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House and Senate are out.

AROUND THE HILL -- The offices of Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Nadia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will hold a congressional conference marking one year since Hurricane Maria at 9:30 a.m. in HVC-215.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Matthew Seamon was first to correctly guess that Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Richard Shelby and Patrick Leahy are the sitting senators who voted on Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination in 1991.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Matt: Of the 44 presidents in U.S. history, only 41 have made nominations to the Supreme Court. Which three presidents made no nominations because no Supreme Court vacancies occurred during their presidencies? 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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