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08/08/2016 07:59 AM EDT


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

With assistance from Daniel Lippman

RYAN HEADS INTO PRIMARY WITH TRUMP'S BACKING-- Donald Trump did almost a 180-degree turnaround over the weekend, giving his version of a wholehearted endorsement of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sens. John McCain and Kelly Ayotte after his lukewarm comments about the trio just days before. Ryan wasn't present for Trump's endorsement, which came during a Green Bay rally Friday night.

But does it matter? While Trump's refusal to endorse Ryan earlier in the week created a lot of headaches for party leaders, the GOP nominee's turnaround isn't expected to dramatically impact the House speaker's GOP primary tomorrow. Ryan, who is immensely popular in his district, has always been heavily favored against challenger Paul Nehlen. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3552a932fa3de787c7fdebf7a28bfa62185b043d12c83c2bbe2e62e82a230ed6

Turns out that Ryan's primary opponent, the one people started paying attention to after Trump praised him on Twitter last week, was actually booted from Trump's rally on Friday. The can't-miss anecdote from the Washington Post's Robert Costa in Wisconsin: "'They held me from going in. I said, "I have a ticket. I'm on the list to get into VIP,"' Nehlen said, his face pained. 'And they said, "Nope, you're not," and they pushed me back out.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3552a932fa3de787173866c5a588811501f1ed10f3cade39dd83b021928bf9fe

TO DITCH OR NOT TO DITCH? Incumbent Republicans like McCain and Ayotte with close races looming face a tough decision. How long, and at what cost, do they continue to back Trump for president? "Disavowing Trump would not cause Ayotte or McCain to lose their reelection bids, but it would give ammo to their primary opponents to use over the next several weeks, which could erode their support among a part of the Republican base," reports the Hill's Alexander Bolton. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3552a932fa3de7871ac54103588283a517e9ace72467f496eb5cc513b39c350f

Go your own way: Some GOP lawmakers aren't taking a chance, making efforts now to distance themselves from Trump. Sen. Pat Toomey told reporters on a conference call "that his state's voters 'will make a completely separate decision' between the top of the ticket and the Senate campaign this year," write the New York Times' Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns.

And that's not all: "In the world of Republican 'super PACs,' strategists are going even farther: discussing advertisements that would treat Mr. Trump's defeat as a given and urge voters to send Republicans to Congress as a check on a Hillary Clinton White House," they report. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3552a932fa3de787e260893119203178437e6617e1c8e3f5335ca6af0087ade2

McConnell on Trump's down-ballot impact: "I don't think we know yet," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN's Manu Raju. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec92f2db1a59ce7567082a11795f65982e1ca4b6ee43597ae21

NEW THIS A.M.: MURPHY GETS CANDID- After being elected to the Senate in 2012, Chris Murphy was "unfocused, a bit adrift," he told Glenn Thrush. But then the tragedy at Sandy Hook happened and the Connecticut Democrat was shaken to his core. More from his sit down for Glenn's "Off Message" podcast: "I walked out of that tragedy feeling like I had just been handed my mission in public service, that if I wasn't able, in my career in the Senate, to do something meaningful to pay homage to those kids and those teachers, then I had failed," Murphy told him, calling gun control a "litmus test" for Democrats.

"This was a something I'd never heard before -- a thought that a real person, someone with civilian self-awareness, not a senator, would say. A few minutes later, Murphy followed up by lamenting the churn of meaningless tasks his job entails, especially fundraising: 'There's just a ton of bullshit with this job,' he said." The story and podcast here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9ecf60e9bcffecfce2b73cfc033e29147730e42a2d49022f0

FLAKE UPDATE: STILL NOT A TRUMP FAN- Despite a personal plea from vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence, Sen. Jeff Flake says he's still not ready to hop on the Trump train. Speaking on CBS Sunday, "Flake said Pence pitched Trump as 'a different guy in private than he is shown in public,'" reports Patrick Temple-West. Flake's response? "If you could govern in private, I guess that would be OK, but you can't." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9921135461f24444277537fcf504e29f5e03fa120f76a7d5f

THANKS FOR COMING BACK, it's Monday, Aug. 8. You're reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. We're less than a month out until lawmakers file back into the Capitol and 26 days until Bama football kicks off and we couldn't be more excited for both! Live shot of your Huddle host right now: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec94ee2013b4f45e305bff99581a5fc5e418b5204b20ad645c1

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Capitol Hill returns to life in 29 days.

AROUND THE HILL- Today's jam: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9b4b14028a7bd6bcac4c030d5d4e2d92535ce5f5765c8d3f4

OFF THE HILL- Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty holds an 11:30 a.m. conference call on what she says is incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey's history helping Wall Street. Dial in information: 877\u2011876\u20119176; conference ID: "McGinty"

WHERE MY LADIES AT? The House GOP caucus has fewer women today than 10 years ago, down from 25 in 2006 to 22 now, while female lawmakers' footprint in the Democratic caucus continues to expand. "This growing disparity, with Democrats electing ever more women and Republicans ever fewer, repeats at every level of government: U.S. Senate, statewide offices, upper and lower state legislatures, and municipalities," reports David Bernstein.

Just the facts, ma'am: The bad news is this trend doesn't look like it'll be reversing anytime soon. "So far this year, Republicans have nominated women in just 26 of the 308 congressional districts that have held primaries. That's a mere 8 percent-and it's in line with the current makeup of the House Republican Conference, which is 91 percent male and 9 percent female." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9ace2bbe2faeb0645d98a7529e59e8f75e017278bdf7ef1dd

HUELSKAMP TALKS PRIMARY LOSS- "It is my hope that the people of the 'Big First' of Kansas, and all Americans, hold their elected representatives accountable and remember that Congress belongs to them - not the special-interests groups that bought this primary," Rep. Tim Huelskamp writes in a Washington Post op-ed. "It is also my hope that my loss won't deter other principled conservatives from voting their conscience in office and staying accountable to the people, not the Washington elites destroying our country." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec97950f815a9bd874af4b22546b7147b60632e562476d4a806

TWEET DU JOUR-Sen. Ben Sasse (@BenSasse): For those watching synchronized diving right now: McCain and Lindsey @GrahamBlog have been doing this in the Senate gym for years. #Olympics

RUH ROH: ISAKSON ONLY UP 6 POINTS OVER OPPONENT- GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson only has a single-digit lead over his Democratic opponent in red-state Georgia, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll. Tamar Hallerman: "Isakson, the Republican incumbent who is seeking a third Senate term in November, holds a 6 percentage-point lead over Jim Barksdale, the Atlanta investment manager and political rookie who's self-funding much of his campaign." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec923c692da2f1aa87df5526c6bc1649b47f84371635736f043

SENATE CANDIDATES SPAR OVER DEBATES- California Senate candidates Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez are fighting over how many debates the two should have before the election, reports the L.A. Times. "'If Loretta Sanchez can't make her case in four debates it should be case closed,' [Harris adviser Sean] Clegg said in an email. 'Rather than whining about these debates, Bill Carrick should begin preparing his candidate so that she does not offend another large segment of the California electorate.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9da9ea2fb8d0edea91ba80c306d03ec485e0383e2b9b0cf4e

FORMER MARYLAND REP. BENTLEY REMEMBERED- "Helen Delich Bentley, the colorful and cantankerous former Maryland congresswoman whose fierce advocacy for the port of Baltimore led to its being named in her honor, died Saturday," reports The Baltimore Sun's Michael Dresser. "She had a long and varied career that took her from The Baltimore Sun newsroom to the Federal Maritime Commission to the U.S. House of Representatives. She ran for governor in 1994 but lost in the Republican primary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec951ae7bea43cb3b5734a984462bc8b9c2c5ea3ada02861bf2

JOHNSON LANDS CLUTCH ENDORSEMENT- Third-party presidential candidate Gary Johnson has garnered his first congressional endorsement, retiring GOP Rep. Scott Rigell. Alex Burns with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9b60c564a83c6498d5e0e168648c528231878d208587164d6

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ'S BAT MITZVAH CLAIM- "Former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz acknowledged on Friday that Vice President Joe Biden had indeed recorded a video for her daughter's bat mitzvah, a day after saying a POLITICO story on the matter was 'not true,'" reports Cristiano Lima. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=725bbff3b8831ec9e72e29bef27202618c69e0617204c5dc41d1f7dc4a7ecee4

DEPARTURE LOUNGE-Paul Teller, chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz, has left the Texas Republican's office for a new gig today. The National Review first reported shake ups in Cruz's office in early July, including news that Teller was leaving the Hill to serve as an adviser to two nonprofits affiliated with Team Cruz.

Ben Chou, policy adviser for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, wrapped up his time on Capitol Hill Friday. He's starting a new job as the political director for former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's O'PAC.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Eli Schechner was the first to guess that unofficial Senate majority leader Henry B. Anthony was known as the "Father of the Senate" during his time as conference chair in the late 1800s and instituted the now defunct rule in the Senate limiting debate on certain bills.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Eli with today's question: A number of presidents were elected to the White House directly from the Senate. How many of these presidents were there, who were they, and who currently occupies the Senate seat that each vacated to assume the presidency? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout-out in tomorrow's Huddle. Email me: hcaygle@politico.com

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