EMAIL DETAILS

07/26/2018 08:00 AM EDT


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

MIDTERM MONEY SPRINT -- House leaders will crisscross the country to raise millions of dollars for candidates and incumbents during the five-week August recess as both parties compete for control of the chamber. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's offices say the leaders have scheduled dozens of events during their summer break. McCarthy aides say he will do more than 30 events in a dozen states, including stops in Ohio, Tennessee, Nebraska, Minnesota, New York and Maine. McCarthy has ramped up his fundraising this year, ascending to a level matched only by Ryan and Pelosi.

"McCarthy's multiple fundraising entities took in more than $12 million last quarter, with a huge chunk of that coming from a joint committee McCarthy set up with Vice President Mike Pence, another key player in the Republican money chase," Bres and Heather report. A Ryan aide says the retiring speaker will spend part of next month in Wisconsin doing events with its GOP delegation. The state's primary is Aug. 14. Then he'll travel to Illinois, Washington, Oregon and Colorado for fundraisers for incumbents.

Pelosi will swing through the Southwest, appearing with Democratic candidates in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, then travel the country with stops in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, San Diego, Indianapolis and San Francisco. Pelosi will host her annual donor retreat in Napa in mid-August. Scheduled speakers include former Secretary of State John Kerry, California Gov. Jerry Brown and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. More on other leaders' summer cash dash: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54caf1d0ebf11d40de7b8fa0977bdb0022adf9395786be16bc431e5359797f3a6385d09d87838298e7e84a5173b33212

LEADERS STRATEGIZE TO AVOID SHUTDOWN -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) presented President Donald Trump a government spending strategy designed to minimize the threat of a government shutdown over border wall funding a month before Election Day. The congressional leaders said they will prioritize less controversial bills before the Sept. 30 funding deadline and hope to fund the majority of the government through the appropriations process by the end of September, leaving a fight over border wall funding until later in the year.

"Trump made clear to the GOP leaders that he still wants a $5 billion down payment on his wall this year, but he signaled to the leaders that he might be willing to wage that fight after the midterms," Burgess reports. "Though the House plans to pass a spending bill giving Trump $5 billion for the wall, Senate Democrats are unlikely to agree to fund more than the $1.6 billion initially requested by the Trump administration -- meaning any attempt to fund the Department of Homeland Security could lead to a shutdown." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54caf1d0ebf11d40555eaf106e6a011641050377de37766c7f2b0ac95f66d05c6cd1b9d4acf0ff953018fc3bbe02b73f

GOP TORN APART OVER TARIFFS -- With the president threatening $500 billion in additional tariffs on China and new duties on foreign cars, Senate Republicans are increasingly focused on crafting legislation to tie his hands. Even Trump ally Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is working on a bill limiting the president from imposing new national security-based tariffs. There's just one problem: House Republicans. "[A]cross the Capitol, Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP leaders have all but rejected that approach," Rachael and Burgess report. "House Republicans, who rarely push back on the president, say it's more productive to try to convince Trump privately or through
letters or committee hearings than to force his hand legislatively."

"Ask them how they expect the president to sign it," House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) said of the Senate. "The split-strategy undermines Hill Republicans' drive to blunt Trump's protectionist trade policies," they write. "Instead, the political party of free markets is watching the president dole out $12 billion in subsidies for farmers hurt by his trade war with China, Europe, Canada and Mexico." Republicans in both chambers agree that an escalating trade war is the greatest threat to their majorities, but House Republicans are far less inclined to challenge the president. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54caf1d0ebf11d40ff27fbc3491e7873f48edd62eca463cc49b82fc2b9719adf4f58ab1c72f53d80a01136e6f79d2610

Trump, for his part, announced Wednesday that the U.S. would pause its plans to impose new tariffs on the European Union and move to resolve differences over trade in an effort to avoid a full-blown trade war. Andrew Restuccia on the president's abrupt shift: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54caf1d0ebf11d40135a463df4d6899e8cf25b1e520b648591e0a604e350c0e8c1821bd7f8d95e5c44e87c7059ec11cf

Related: "'What if this president's wrong?': Trade war anxiety surges ahead of Trump's Midwest swing," by Natasha Korecki: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54caf1d0ebf11d40e73af6b0c7cc9a6d53a03f5648cf9c27a90105a710ce732352afa6837020efd63f9e48a59d159bcd

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, July 26.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Heather's report on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise visit to Capitol Hill was the winner.

Playbook On The Road: Where are you reading Playbook this summer? Tweet pictures of you and others reading Playbook on your summer getaways to #PlaybookLoyal or email them to daniel@politico.com for the chance to be featured in Playbook on Friday each week this summer. Learn more.

DEM GROUP TO SPEND BIG IN RED STATES -- Vulnerable red-state Senate Democrats are getting a boost. Senate Majority PAC plans to pour at least $20 million into a voter-mobilization campaign in Republican-leaning states. "The initiative ... will span more than a dozen states where Senate seats are at stake, but it is to focus on four states above all: Missouri and Indiana, where endangered Democrats are seeking re-election, and Arizona and Tennessee, where strong Democratic challengers are running for open seats currently held by Republicans," The New York Times' Alexander Burns reports. "Those four races are among the country's most competitive. And for Democrats to take control of the
Senate, they would likely have to win at least three of them, or perhaps all four, depending on the outcome of races in other states." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d3f8e2b2e9132049cfa2cd7c97bd0c62a82919818281c10defdb8be73f5937327a73dbc30dd935c692

CONSERVATIVES REACH TO IMPEACH ROSENSTEIN -- Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) filed articles of impeachment late Wednesday in an attempt to oust Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. "Meadows sidestepped a procedural move that could have forced the issue to a vote this week and laid bare divisions among Republicans," Kyle reports. "Instead, the House is leaving Thursday for a five-week recess and it's unclear whether conservatives will attempt to force the issue when lawmakers return in September." The filling followed a meeting with top DOJ officials over a lingering demand for documents.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has rejected impeachment calls, recently describing the document dispute as a "compliance" issue that was on its way to being resolved. "Without GOP leaders' support, it's unlikely an impeachment bid could pass the House -- and even if it did, it would be doomed in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to oust any executive branch official," Kyle adds. "But Rosenstein's sharpest House critics have previously suggested that laying out articles of impeachment could be enough to prompt Trump to act against Rosenstein on his own." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d3e109c18006e9f3044855851f06c75d9b4380af673025e6159fa269283d5a43f24e111ba72903fc5f

Related read: "Election meddling bill would curb president's power, Paul warns," from Stephanie Murray: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d358c7b469492de9519d890625b99be96069a88006dd9234a6e4dcdfd09ff40d318b55a775908764bf

POMPEO DEFENDS TRUMP ON RUSSIA -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers the president accepts that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Pompeo assured the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Trump "has a complete and proper understanding of what happened" because he briefed the president on it as CIA director. Pompeo "repeatedly urged lawmakers to pay attention to the administration's policies as opposed to what the president may be implying through public comments," Nahal Toosi and Stephanie Murray report. Pompeo also said the U.S. "does not and will not recognize the Kremlin's purported annexation of Crimea." More from the hearing:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d3713007221f225f5fa8cf4cdc921335f64d442b096b74e3616adbe153385d9bad01f3477c07824083

DEADLINE DAY -- Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who met with Kirstjen Nielsen on Wednesday say the DHS secretary told them the Trump administration would meet today's court deadline to reunify families that were separated at the border due to its zero-tolerance enforcement policy. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) told reporters that members "questioned her numerous times" on that claim. "That's impossible," he said of the possibility. "We all said this to her." In a statement, Nielsen said she had a "productive and frank conversation" with lawmakers that included the administration's reunification efforts. Members had a far different characterization, though. They said the meeting
ended with few concrete answers and some unresolved issues. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d3adbb8680087d536a11ad0c02fa2609d4155dbeafc4f36ccf1d3d48093a1a424e03170d732e83344d

A bipartisan group of senators has been working on a legislative solution, but their efforts appeared to sputter Wednesday, Elana reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e033db14a02502d3318bd081e35a94e03ab607c8487b95e4dd4cc1e44659bbda44829b36d630778b60a7f13ecea4f3aa

Related: "Most deported migrants were not asked about leaving children behind, Trump official says," via Ted Hesson, Renuka Rayasam and Dan Diamond: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf768994fd241eaca8022f1db660bcc46e2fdb975e98edf629d5909f70460c0d6edfee8033259ae858ca

IN MEMORIAM -- Former congressional aide Andrew Davis died this week following a two-year battle with cancer. Davis, 29, spent nearly two years as a senior policy adviser for Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), focusing on transportation and infrastructure issues. "He was a gracious person, a joy to be around, and a true family man," Lipinski said in a statement. "I am very saddened by his passing, and my staff and I will greatly miss him."

"He had a larger than life presence and a passion for making others smile," his obituary reads. "He was known for his altruistic disposition and could always be counted on to help family or friends in need. Even in the bleakest of conditions, he was someone who always saw the positive in life." Davis is survived by his 3-year-old son, Alden, college sweetheart and wife, Caitlin O'Donnell Davis, parents and siblings. The Hartford Courant obit: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf76cc873be74c92028a94b4187dce599efafab612801e551e3b4faadb4ef68b7ee21c19821d35a054ee

Former Rep. Guy Molinari (R-N.Y.), 89, died Wednesday with his daughter, former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.), and protégé, former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), by his side. From the Staten Island Advance's Tom Wrobleski: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf76ae09c0d3082e6509f31685df29df2bfcc21aef319b2738eced9aa071132cd4c60773b471d6bf9efa

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House gavels in at 9 a.m. with first votes expected between 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. and last votes expected between 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf76eee1659b15689120fe24be41c8ebe314acf822e491cfb6b54b2d6bc46718713df4662358c40345bb The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of an appropriations minibus. Roll call votes are possible.

AROUND THE HILL -- House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) will hold a news conference to highlight committee wins for veterans at 9:15 a.m. in HVC-110.

Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) will hold a news conference on the Trump administration's inability to reunite all separated families by today's court-ordered deadline at 10 a.m. in HVC-Studio B.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 10:15 a.m. in 354 Russell.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will hold her weekly news conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC-Studio A.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and others will hold a news conference to highlight the GOP's ongoing efforts to sabotage the American health care system at 10:45 a.m. in S-207.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will hold his weekly media briefing at 11:30 a.m. in HVC-Studio A.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 11:30 a.m. in 248 Russell.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) will hold a news conference to introduce legislation that reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act at 11:30 a.m. in H-207.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 1:15 p.m. in 205 Russell.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 2:15 p.m. in 455 Dirksen.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) will hold a meeting with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at 3:30 p.m. in 109 Hart.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Diana Deem was first to correctly guess that in July 1972, Johnny Cash played "What Is Truth" when President Richard Nixon invited him to the White House to discuss prison reform. Cash also played "The Man In Black" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes."

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Bruce Mehlman, who was first to respond but, like many of you, guessed "Folsom Prison Blues": In what year did the largest number of GOP House members retire? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

To view online:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf76ff06b0146ad7b6c1dafd1926066d9c497b26b24134fa88f97fe538da19c9e4fc941ecf51413516fd
To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a098579d204ccf7685c1f75a50fa83b3d3e68fdc7da337b5e4b5bd1ea4b911e7bdd34b16e2fe8f9a13b3e710130317a9 or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd47f39feffc3d03d0dcdda8146f8a18464f494f94d4bf02685cb95aceba06b8f49bae5cc9155b8eb95
This email was sent to Hbiden@rosemontseneca.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA


To unsubscribe,https://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000164-d676-de41-a974-d6f7908f0000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=cf30c02263b20bd72cee4dbe6f5b58e3dc7df88e044b7780c170cf3ed33cca41566b849db898fcf95e81425a68b4745b5f8220ce19786deb946699c1e70b782f