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08/03/2016 07:41 AM EDT


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

FORMER TRUMP STAFFERS TRYING TO BRING DOWN RYAN- "More than half a dozen of Trump's former campaign staff members or leading volunteer organizers from around the country - and many more local volunteers - have signed on to the long-shot campaign of [House Speaker Paul] Ryan's primary challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, who is openly embracing Trump and casting Ryan as an impediment to Trump's agenda," report Ken Vogel and Rachael Bade.

The group was not sent by Trump, "in fact, most of the staffers had been laid off by his shoestring primary campaign or left amid infighting," Ken and Rachael write, but some admit "they see the effort to defeat Ryan as a continuation of the bitter fight Trump waged against the GOP establishment." Read the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3753c170a42548de33dfd1a03407c1e2c4250fd2484000d2d

Trump snub trifecta: The news comes after Trump refused to endorse Ryan in his primary during an interview with the Washington Post Tuesday, also declining to back Sen. John McCain and singling out Kelly Ayotte "as a weak and disloyal leader." All of this just two weeks after the GOP's big attempt at party unity in Cleveland. More from the Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3a1095ccb6bf066c8e2cbd7b43a0d09d92bb4be1b92813194

From the Ryan campaign: "Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump's endorsement. And we are confident in a victory next week regardless," emailed Zack Roday, Ryan's campaign spokesman.

McCain quiet: Sen. John McCain didn't respond to Trump's comments Tuesday but he did meet with GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence in Arizona. Matthew Nussbaum with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3d83ffc76315f70978727f2fba5351bba6cd07bf16a690e71

Tweet du jour: Scott Wong (@scottwongDC): @SpeakerRyan primary foe @pnehlen repeatedly refuses to say whether he WANTS endorsement from @realDonaldTrump. He was asked three times.

The hardest job in Washington: "Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is 'apoplectic'" over Trump's refusal to back Ryan or McCain, reports NBC News. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3dcb7be3b2db1ee8b11f5bd61b032db94fa350286ca8fc1be

SPEAKER RYAN'S BATTLE PLAN-Ryan may not be looking for Donald Trump's endorsement but he does have a plan to ensure an Eric Cantor-like upset doesn't happen in his district. The Hill's Scott Wong: "Just nine months on the job as Speaker, Ryan and his campaign team are trying to avoid the mistakes made by Virginia Republican Eric Cantor, the House majority leader and fellow 'Young Gun' who two years ago saw his political career abruptly ended by a little-known Tea Party challenger named Dave Brat."

"Unlike Cantor, who ran a spate of negative TV ads against Brat, Ryan hasn't directly engaged with Nehlen in media interviews or campaign ads - fearing it could backfire and boost the profile of the poorly funded political newcomer." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f30d12a317cc5ad662ee79914775fa6df473c46d8df912bd0b

HUELSKAMP GOES DOWN IN KANSAS FIGHT-Turns out a fifth-generation farmer doesn't trump a local doctor in Kansas voters' minds. Rep. Tim Huelskamp made history last night-becoming the first GOP incumbent to lose his primary this cycle in a congressional seat that wasn't touched by redistricting. "Huelskamp's primary in the 'Big First' district, a safely Republican seat, became a proxy war between hard-line conservatives and more traditional GOP groups and donors," writes Elena Schneider.

Huelskamp was soundly defeated by Roger Marshall, a local obstetrician who cast himself as a moderate Republican, promised to reclaim a seat on the House Agriculture Committee-a big issue back home--and was buoyed by outside spending from the Chamber of Commerce and others. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f37719fdddd4de01185600d7fd1d8a19b5466b2a114cc81d2d

A picture is worth a thousand words: Wondering how former House Speaker John Boehner-who Huelskamp played a key role in ousting last fall-spent Tuesday night? The New York Time's Carl Hulse with the pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f361984089ee703acb424daf4cde23009bfb49c7fdb9f959c8

WHEN IT'S RECESS, WEDNESDAY IS THE NEW FRIDAY. Welcome to August 3. You're reading POLITICO's Huddle, your play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Live video feed: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f34ba2554f549b269c35ea098801fb3554ed1722d7d44b38e9

AROUND THE HILL- This song will be in your head all day: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f31c0ac93d7c0e67d77d96682961bb86399a02221d56610755

BLOOMBERG IMMIGRATION GROUP LAUNCHING BLITZ TODAY-Seung Min Kim with the scoop: "The pro-immigration advocacy group led by Michael Bloomberg is already shifting its focus to 2017, with a new campaign launching Wednesday focused largely on making the economic case for overhauling the immigration system and giving cover to GOP lawmakers on the issue."

"The Partnership for a New American Economy, headed by the former New York City mayor and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, is calling the new initiative 'Reason for Reform' and will flood all 50 states Wednesday with pro-reform events and detailed economic reports tailored to each state." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3dd8455b6855de2920f66b6d49f890357c063f14d2c05dc96

MAJOR DNC STAFF SHAKEUP AFTER EMAIL LEAK- "The shake-up at the Democratic National Committee after an embarrassing breach of its email system continued on Tuesday with the departure of three senior officials. Amy Dacey, the committee's chief executive; Luis Miranda, its communications director; and Brad Marshall, its chief financial officer, will leave amid a reshuffling of leadership positions," reports the New York Times. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3760cb7de954b4c0b7a7dec30f5598221cc5adb93ea37736a

NEW IN HUDDLE: LIBERAL GROUP PLANNING TO HAMMER GOP ON TRUMP- Americans United for Change is relaunching its "Accountable Congress Project" in an attempt to tie vulnerable Republicans to their bombastic GOP nominee and his nearly daily drumbeat of incendiary comments. As part of the project, AUFC will hold a daily call with more than 50 progressive and labor groups over recess tracking GOP lawmakers' public events, posting the information online and encouraging activists to show up and confront members face to face.

What to expect: They aren't just targeting vulnerable Republicans. "We'll endeavor to have a presence at any GOP member event," AUFC President Brad Woodhouse said in a statement obtained by Huddle. "These Republicans won't be allowed to get away with claims they don't agree with Trump's dangerous vision for American after endorsing him to lead the free world and have his finger on the nuclear button. That ship has sailed."

NEW THIS A.M.: IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME- "One of the Senate's biggest prizes is up for grabs if Democrats win back the majority in November: the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. But a number of senior senators may pass up the plum assignment as they angle for other influential gavels," write Ben Weyl and Seung Min. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3c2001708601a22bfd12b1c5abe26ec560e9d1271b7b88d79

ZIKA BATTLE SIMMERS OVER RECESS-- Sen. Tim Kaine used his Florida rally Tuesday to demand GOP leaders cancel recess so lawmakers can vote on the bipartisan Zika package the Senate passed earlier this year. "The House put what we call a poison pill in it. They cared more about Planned Parenthood than they did Zika," Kaine told the Daytona Beach crowd. But Republicans say it's actually Democrats who are the obstructionists, refusing to support a bill that's already passed the House. More from Burgess Everett: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f397c2a94169beceacbe3114a0a056b072e564e7f7750aa5d2

HANNA FOR HILLARY-- Retiring Rep. Richard Hanna, a moderate New York Republican, broke ranks on Tuesday, becoming the first GOP lawmaker to announce his support for Hillary Clinton. Hanna in an op-ed: "While I disagree with her on many issues, I will vote for Mrs. Clinton." Read it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f36b72141c1b146f645c4765446d74c6b3b47b74463c63749e

CHECK IT OUT: CAPITOL HILL'S FEMALE COMBAT VETS TEAM UP-- Congress' four female combat veterans--Democratic Reps. Tammy Duckworth and Tulsi Gabbard, GOP Rep. Martha McSally and GOP Sen. Joni Ernst--don't all agree on much when it comes to politics. But they are quickly becoming Capitol Hill's go-to advisers when it comes to military issues, reports the Washington Post's Karoun Demirjian.

The story has a lot of great anecdotes from all four women about overcoming their struggles in such a male-dominated arena: "McSally wanted to be an Air Force doctor, but 'the reason I decided to be a fighter pilot,' she explained, 'is because they said that I couldn't.'" Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f3500de4316362d284b0adc7b981c2e7634e0bae100d7ca9f9

LOBBYISTS IN FULL 'WOOING' MODE- "Lobbyists don't wait until after Election Day to begin courting next year's freshman class. Influencers are already reaching out to prospective senators and House members, hosting fundraisers and meet-and-greets at which they can provide connections and help swell candidates' campaign coffers," writes Roll Call's Kate Ackley. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f38baad500338ef4bbf623e6c65370193fd609dfdc6e527a8b

COMING TOMORROW-The fourth annual "Startup Day Across America." Sens. Steve Daines and Gary Peters explain in a bipartisan op-ed: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=28ab6915576aa0f305b071cee31e8b590aac904780b2bd186ba5c9964ac9ffa5

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES-Matt Wolking, most recently press secretary for the House Select Committee on Benghazi, is crossing the Capitol for a new gig on the Senate side. Wolking starts today as press secretary for Sen. Marco Rubio after more than four years working in the House.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Turns out there was more than one possible correct answer to Tuesday's trivia depending on how you interpreted the question, with Andrew Johnson, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison all fitting the bill. Alex Stroman was Tuesday's winner with the first correct answer.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Alex with today's question: This New Dealer, who later endorsed Barry Goldwater, is one of only a handful of people in American history to have served in all three branches of federal government and also as governor of a state. Give his name, the highest office in each branch that he served, and what state elected this "assistant president" as governor.

HELP ME HELP YOU -- Know any hot gossip, scoops, tips or transitions happening on the Hill? Send 'em my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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