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09/11/2018 08:00 AM EDT


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

STORM WATCH -- House Republicans will determine today whether to cancel votes this week as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast. "This would have important impacts on legislative business," Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman and Daniel Lippman note in Playbook. There are only seven legislative days on the House calendar this month. With the chamber scheduled to be out next week, "all government funding business would have to be done during the last week of the month," they write.

Related: "Hurricane watches posted as 'extremely dangerous' Florence churns toward Carolinas," by The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce832a67ba5536ccef851fb73db47fa9488e489d176646db93c6e0f21055dad73e77a6f8d179fa9cb9ac

SEPTEMBER TO-DO LIST -- Congress has a lot to do and not much time to do it. Government funding runs dry Sept. 30, but "[a]ppropriators in both chambers still face numerous policy disputes over controversial issues such as abortion as they work to cut deals on spending bills before the close of the fiscal year," Rachael and Burgess report. There's also the farm bill, which has stalled amid a clash over work requirements for food stamp recipients. "Failure to pass a new farm bill by the Sept. 30 deadline could be a disaster," they warn. "Republicans say it's the best way to counteract the ill effects of Trump's trade war."

"The legislative pile-up comes as rank-and-file GOP members are increasingly worried that they will lose the House this fall and are itching to hit the campaign trail full time," they continue. "There's been a notable shift in attitude among House Republicans, who once predicted a '50-50' shot at keeping the majority and now worry they are severe underdogs despite a buzzing economy." The Senate, meanwhile, is focused on funding the government and confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The chamber won't pass another tax cut bill or try to repeal Obamacare again. Even anti-harassment policy to protect staffers is on hold.

And in addition to the possibility of canceled votes due to Hurricane Florence, there's a looming threat of a government shutdown over $5 billion in funding for President Donald Trump's border wall. Appropriators will continue working through next week's recess, but the calendar is setting up a high-stakes final week in September, when Congress must pass a continuing resolution to extend funding for the remaining departments. "Both political parties are eager to tap $36 billion in new funding for domestic and military spending from this year's budget deal," Rachael and Burgess add. "And if the appropriations process falls apart, there may be less will to do a difficult budget deal next
year." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83971eedd1b800eed6f9aa2ba02963ea2ae95851511bd9575ecf461ba79e09180ba2dc710b82387114

Related read: "Romney hits GOP for increasing deficits," from The Hill's Niv Elis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce835b92c9e00625a197dbfaf5d8bc187f568fad9bd00853fb34b68ddf15ec2fe16fd9ae8fa1c9a5c75a

A NEW-LOOK CONGRESS -- Congress is poised to look a lot different next year. With primary season winding down this week, Democrats have nominated a record-breaking 180 women in congressional primaries. They've also nominated at least 133 people of color and 158 first-time candidates. "White men are in the minority in the House Democratic candidate pool," Elena Schneider reports. In the 125 districts where the Democratic incumbent isn't seeking reelection or the Republican-held seat is at risk of flipping, 65 nominees are women, 30 are people of color and 73 have never run for elected office before.

"Their success in primaries could herald a major shift in Congress, which is majority-white, majority-male and still mostly made up of former state legislators who climbed the political ladder to Washington," she writes. "And the candidates could also mark the beginning of a new era for the rebuilding Democratic Party, which is counting on new types of candidates to take back the House." Some of the 52 Republican female nominees could also make history. For example, California's Young Kim could become the first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Lea Marquez Peterson could become the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce834a15875421fb457035a7c354bcc663e2d9736952167045c0faf90a743f6d8ecfa2ffb3b1ab47c203

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Sept. 11.

** A message from the National Confectioners Association: The confectionery industry is comprised of hundreds of family-owned businesses as well as global companies operating nearly 1,300 facilities in all 50 states. Manufacturing chocolate and candy, we directly employ 54,000 people in the U.S., and we support more than 550,000 American workers in other industries. Learn more at PowerOfSweet.com. **

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The letter signed by 46 moderate Republicans asking GOP leaders to hold a vote on the bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act before it expires on Sept. 30 was the winner.

PRESSURE RAMPS UP ON SUSAN COLLINS -- Progressive groups are threatening to make Sen. Susan Collins' (R-Maine) potential vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh a costly one. The groups are mailing coat hangers to her offices; organizing rallies and social media, telephone and email campaigns; and raising almost $1 million to help fund a Democratic opponent in 2020 if she backs Kavanaugh. "The coat hangers are symbolic of women having few alternatives but to get 'back-alley' abortions before the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion," the Portland Press Herald's Joe Lawlor explains. The money is being raised in a national crowdfunding campaign.

In a Friday post retweeted more than 28,000 times, Linda Homer of the progressive group Indivisible MDI accused Collins' Bangor office of failing to record messages from constituents. "[W]e witnessed the interns taking many phone calls, but NOT writing down any of the constituents comments," she wrote. "They just said 'I'll pass that on to the Senator.' Then hang up." Collins' spokeswoman Annie Clark said comments from Mainers are logged and shared with Collins but not responses from people outside of the state. Clark also dismissed the crowdfunding campaign.

"This crowdfunded money to pressure Senator Collins is based on a quid pro quo -- you vote the way we want and we will keep more than a million dollars away from your opponent -- vote against us and we give her the money," she said in a statement. "It is basically a bribe. These tactics will not work. Senator Collins will make up her mind based on the merits of the nominee. Threats or other attempts to bully her will not be a factor in her decision-making." Collins, a pro-abortion-rights Republican, is undecided on Kavanaugh, who will likely be confirmed within the next three weeks. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83f8bd731d046fdc330058db86d572dc0f5e103c7f49300c8748f7f110d2aaeb88053be9468c952a0c

Related: "Shaheen, Hassan to vote against Kavanaugh's nomination," via The Associated Press: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce837f975a86a46a9af245f84f4de11faead455b5ecc3ec710dc34057fdcbc694a81ba0daaef8c78fdaf

KOCH NETWORK EXPANDS -- The Koch network is adding another super PAC to its arsenal: AFP Action. The new group "will give the Koch network's largest arm -- Americans for Prosperity -- significantly more leeway to push lawmakers directly on political issues, adding another tool to AFP's arsenal at a moment when the Koch network is trying to assert its power in Washington," Maggie Severns reports. While AFP's 501(c)(4) nonprofit must spend a significant amount of money on "social welfare" activities without expressly urging voters to cast ballots for or against a member of Congress, the new super PAC can expand that work by spending unlimited money on political activities. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83a4ab422ecefd7a3b49f95acfb0aa043af755d1ce566c5af4723ca54bc96f7cc06ef4ded3efefc27e

Related read: "In Hollywood, there's a nerdy new hobby: Flipping the House," per The Washington Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83e81e9bea7f2161b0e06d1fed30ae9797c1fee1ecc6e7e9dbc480efefdad1270f98843cdbcd6522c6

E-FILING -- Disclosures for Senate candidates may be moving into the 21st century. "House and Senate appropriators came to an agreement Monday on a roughly $147.4 billion fiscal 2019 three-bill spending package that includes a $4.8 billion Legislative Branch title to fund Congress, the Capitol Police and other Capitol Hill agencies," Roll Call's Katherine Tully-McManus reports. It includes an e-file requirement for Senate candidates. While campaigns for the House and White House have been required to e-file since 2001, Senate candidates file paperwork with the secretary of the Senate, who sends it to the FEC.

"[T]he language would mandate that candidates file electronically directly to the FEC," she adds. "The change would decrease the lag time for filings to be made public, which can take weeks." According to FEC estimates, e-filing could save nearly $900,000 a year in taxpayer funds. Similar language was floated in a proposal last year but never made it into law. More on the minibus package: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83008d35962dd959d6f2d52be763a49100ac554012fee374dd54034054ffdb273a8ece30fbcc70921f

FEC VIOLATION -- Rep. Mia Love's (R-Utah) campaign has told the FEC "it will refund or redesignate less than half of what the government says was more than a million dollars improperly raised for a primary that was never expected to happen," CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott reports. In an August letter, the FEC told Love her campaign had violated federal guidelines regarding primary money. "In Utah, candidates are not allowed to raise such funds if they have no primary," they write, citing the FEC and election law experts. Love's campaign responded Friday, telling the FEC it would refund or redesignate only some of the funds. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83630071612aeb229f2ad7d424c0748ceb4a7a0efe28c682a62c65a5edd7892ac16dc1c0a2088d6463

THE CHRIS COLLINS QUANDARY -- Indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) isn't seeking reelection. But he could still be on the ballot in November. "Removing someone from the ballot in New York is no simple matter, and Republican officials in the 27th Congressional District now say they may not have a new nominee until after the state primary on Sept. 13," The New York Times' Lisa W. Foderaro notes. "The three main ways to remove a candidate from an election ballot, according to state law, involve dying, leaving the state or being nominated for another office -- since candidates cannot run for two different positions at the same time."

Democratic leaders have hinted at litigation to stop Republicans from moving Collins down the ballot for a position he has no interest in, such as town clerk or assessor. In that process, which Foderaro describes as akin to musical chairs, "the end result could leave some elected official without a seat, or in an unfavorable election." Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Nick Langworthy acknowledged that the process is "very complicated." "It's something we have never been through and doesn't come with a playbook," he said. "But we are confident that there are mechanisms in place to substitute him on the ballot." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce8382760a6a7a00202afbc39d37f4da80739fc4a293893a1d6f57c5b2d6d35e628205958003966de0c1

429 -- Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) announced his resignation from the House on Monday to focus on his gubernatorial campaign against Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. "As the Republican nominee for governor of Florida, it is clear to me that I will likely miss the vast majority of our remaining session days for this Congress," DeSantis wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). "Under these circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to accept a salary." DeSantis' departure deprives the president of a key Capitol Hill ally and brings the number of current House members down to 429. His seat is likely to remain vacant until January. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83846e7f2ba559af1f74385beb1bc2e234f0ec177fd861ee4f4c084c63013983d9b443d7a6d16338e4

Related: "GOP candidate for Fla. governor spoke at racially charged events," by The Washington Post's Beth Reinhard and Emma Brown: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce839cb494e2ffb6e1bcbcd8c15c5daedc8a281706caff08d643035bb3dc8713242976e810ba16628485 and "Rick Scott plays 'keep away from Trump,'" from Marc Caputo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f1cdab4dfef2ce83244f658d9c2157482be323e00476846597745dddeafbf448b8b0522d6e2e2e18c8e1e6a828fe1a82

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

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Jon Deuser was first to correctly guess that Lloyd Bentsen was the last Democrat elected to represent Texas in the Senate.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- In which states are there currently vacant congressional seats? 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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vital piece of the American economy, as they have been manufacturing some of the world's most iconic brands for decades. Learn more about the #PowerOfSweet at PowerOfSweet.com. **

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