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By Seung Min Kim (
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

CAPITOL POLICE LEFT GUNS AROUND HILL - This shocker, from Roll Call's Hannah Hess: "When a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's security detail left his Glock and magazine stuffed in the toilet seat cover holder of a Capitol Visitor Center bathroom stall, a CVC worker found the gun, according to a source familiar with the Jan. 29 incident ... A 7- or 8-year-old child visiting the Capitol with his parents found the next loaded Glock lost by a dignitary protection officer, according to the source. A member of the security detail for John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, allegedly left the firearm in the bathroom of the Speaker's Suite on March 24."

--"A third Glock was found the night of April 16 by a janitor cleaning the Capitol Police headquarters building on D Street NE. The weapon was left in plain sight, sparking additional concern about the department charged with protecting one of the world's most important and frequently visited complexes. Unlike a gun with a traditional safety, a Glock will fire if you pull the trigger - making the young boy's alleged discovery of a gun in Boehner's office particularly concerning."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ac3040df12fbe94e72504c487324873c1025128a964b88ae
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ac3040df12fbe94e72504c487324873c1025128a964b88ae

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MCCONNELL UNPLUGGED - Manu Raju sits down with the Senate majority leader, who sounds off on relations with Barack Obama, the challenges in leading the Senate, his strategy on the debt limit fight and why he doesn't talk to press in the hallways: "Four months into his tenure as majority leader, Mitch McConnell says don't expect any legacy-making deal with Barack Obama in the final stretch of his presidency. 'This is not Reagan or Clinton,' McConnell told POLITICO Thursday. Obama 'is not a guy who easily goes to the middle. And there's no indication since the elections that he wants to go to the middle.'"

--On the upcoming debt fight: "I always think a debt ceiling is a good tool to carry something," McConnell said when asked if he'd heed White House demands to keep the measure free of restrictions. "I hope we can add something to it."

--How he handed the DHS battle: "The House asked me to try on several occasions to see if we could get cloture. When it became absolutely apparent we couldn't, we split the bill and ended the controversy," McConnell said. "If I had to do it over again, I might have done that sooner."

--On being Senate majority leader: "You know what I told several of the [presidential candidates] today? I said, 'You think running for president is hard?'" McConnell said with a big laugh.

--And the quote probably most interesting to us ink-stained wretches: "If I'm too vocal on every issue, then you're writing about it every day," McConnell said when asked about his secretive nature. "Sometimes, it's not to my advantage ... It's why I don't run up and down the hall doing interviews with you guys. It's not that I don't love you, I'm not afraid of you, it's just that it doesn't serve my purpose."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50f3ec9b784da4a312581cf330e6fce5a415156fa0bb9bf8d2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50f3ec9b784da4a312581cf330e6fce5a415156fa0bb9bf8d2

GRAHAM ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: 'TAKE THAT INCENTIVE OFF THE TABLE' - Huddle chatted with Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican mulling a run for the presidency who also crafted a bipartisan immigration reform bill in 2013. But the one issue where he splits with many immigration advocates is on revoking birthright citizenship, which grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, per the 14th Amendment. Some Republicans would like to change that, particularly for children of immigrants in the country illegally. "I've always been for reforming that," Graham said, referring to birthright citizenship. "As part of a process, I would like to take that incentive off the
table to come here illegally."

--When asked about the controversy over the issue, Graham responded: "I don't get it. Well, here's the message. I'm for immigration reform. I'm for the 11 million. Having non-criminals having a chance to live here all their lives and becoming citizens. I want to break the inducements that lead to illegal immigration ... I just think the whole concept is inconsistent with a rational immigration system because it entices people."

--Graham has, indeed, been consistent on this issue. POLITICO Huddle alum Scott Wong wrote in 2010 about the Republican's proposal to revoke birthright citizenship to children of immigrants here illegally and to those born to so-called "birth tourists.":
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a508912f4224fbd3b435b805ea2cdc7d6398b6974c84c9b504f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a508912f4224fbd3b435b805ea2cdc7d6398b6974c84c9b504f

--House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) tells Huddle in a brief interview that "no decisions" have been made on whether he'll advance birthright-citizenship legislation in light of the hearing.

MORE BERNIE, PLEASE -- Judging by the number of clicks in yesterday's Huddle, you guys really like Bernie Sanders slideshows. So here's another one, from POLITICO:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a502046119b0abeafd8fcd88874dc80d8816bc6755f71fb7b94
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a502046119b0abeafd8fcd88874dc80d8816bc6755f71fb7b94 . And here's Sanders running away from the press, from the NYTimes' Stephen Crowley:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a5051c68cab53a0bacf8023507e7f5698a2620c92c59d7c4347
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a5051c68cab53a0bacf8023507e7f5698a2620c92c59d7c4347 . Meredith Shiner has the press mob sprinting after the senator:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50328998028f0f812310cdad5bbebde096d74e5ec3a2f17416
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50328998028f0f812310cdad5bbebde096d74e5ec3a2f17416

@mocowan: Fun fact: @BernieSanders spent most of my #Senate service calling me 'Bill'. I saw no reason to correct him. #PrivilegeAffordedBernieOnly

CONSERVATIVES GO ROGUE, THREATEN IRAN BILL -- Alexander Bolton and Jordain Carney for The Hill: "Two junior conservatives blindsided Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Thursday by attempting to force a vote on an amendment that could derail the bipartisan Iran nuclear review bill. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is running for president, surprised McConnell by leapfrogging ahead of colleagues waiting for chances to get votes on their amendments."

--"They used a procedural maneuver to force McConnell to schedule a vote on an amendment requiring Iran to recognize Israel's right to exist as part of any nuclear deal. McConnell's only way of avoiding the controversial amendment would be to file a motion to end debate on the Iran Nuclear Review Act, which would block Republicans from offering any amendments to the bill."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50b7306ed178caf8028e12c5bf686ba7376139d36a7ff14e24
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50b7306ed178caf8028e12c5bf686ba7376139d36a7ff14e24

--Corker is not optimistic on an amendment process: "We were moving towards approving a large, large tranche of amendments. I think that's probably over now," he says, per Roll Call:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50389abe641061102e455da35f63217685a1da93e2efbec802
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50389abe641061102e455da35f63217685a1da93e2efbec802

HILL'S PETTY CASH PROBLEM - An investigation from Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: "Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo has dipped into her campaign fund to buy more than $2,000 in gifts for her good friend and fellow Californian, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, from swank stores such as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) has dropped nearly $3,400 in campaign cash servicing his BMW in Alexandria, Virginia."

--"Other lawmakers have used their war chests for European travels, upgrade airline seats and access the American Airlines Admirals Club in airports across the country. In one case, a retired member of Congress with money left in his account used the cash to pay his wife roughly $20,000 since Election Day. Disgraced former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) resigned after a firestorm of criticism over his use of campaign dollars to underwrite a lavish lifestyle, among other alleged misdeeds. But the truth is, while Schock was by all accounts an extreme case, he is far from the exception."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a504dbf7de6ba7fe43e3ef2fa3f2ea6fdb30d4623d89ea6888e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a504dbf7de6ba7fe43e3ef2fa3f2ea6fdb30d4623d89ea6888e

**Over the past 26 years, we've invested more than $35 million to fight breast cancer in the National Capital Region, funding lifesaving screenings, treatment and support services. Help us do more by joining the Washington, D.C. Race for the Cure on May 9, 2015. Find out more at
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50285ddb022575e4bc4fafdfa8075fe786e43f02bb940068e7
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HAPPY MAY DAY 2015 and welcome to The Huddle. Rachael Bade is taking over your congressional morning newsletter next week, so hit her up at
mailto:rbade@politico.com
rbade@politico.com and on Twitter @rachaelmbade.

My new followers include @Pablo_DNC and @just_Vivek.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 9 a.m. and voting sometime between 11 a.m. and noon to finish work on the energy and water appropriations bill. The Senate is out until Monday.

AROUND THE HILL -Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) and House Democratic leaders will hold a conference call on the impact of the GOP budget on the African-American community at 1:30 p.m. Dial 888-677-1831 and the passcode is 6207065.

CRUZ DEFENDS MISSING LYNCH VOTES - Donna Cassata and Erica Werner write for the Associated Press: "Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a declared presidential candidate, has a new defense for missing Attorney General Loretta Lynch's confirmation vote last week. According to Cruz, not voting was the same as voting 'no.' 'I voted twice against Loretta Lynch being confirmed. There was no significance to the final vote. And I had a scheduling conflict. Under the Senate rules, absence is the equivalent of a 'no' vote. It is identical procedurally,' Cruz told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a5016722f8a74e591a6bbc7520063fc291468e7f806834515a0
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a5016722f8a74e591a6bbc7520063fc291468e7f806834515a0

--Huddle wonders what this means for Cruz's absence during the 99-0 vote to pass the human trafficking bill last week.

THE ROGERS REPORT: GOPS CUTS URBAN PROGRAMS AMID BALTIMORE - David Rogers explains: "With Baltimore's troubles as a backdrop, House Republicans are proposing new cuts from urban programs this week ... Caught most in the middle is a $55.3 billion housing and transportation measure that is fast becoming the new ground zero in the appropriations wars this summer and a symbol of Washington's retreat from public investments in poor urban neighborhoods like Baltimore's. The 156-page bill demands real cuts from a cross-section of urban programs in order to meet statutory spending targets."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a509aa2dc9ae847c00596e04591a2e8c748e19b037e7f441149
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a509aa2dc9ae847c00596e04591a2e8c748e19b037e7f441149

--Halfway there: House Republicans passed the budget conference report last night that could pave the way for using reconciliation to overturn Obamacare. The Senate is taking it up next week. The AP has more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ce3d2151446afb82bfa089fab9c114dc678ff113659df1a9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ce3d2151446afb82bfa089fab9c114dc678ff113659df1a9

RUST-BELT GOP HIT WITH HOME-STATE POLITICS ON TRADE - Paul Kane writes for the Washington Post on the tough sell that pro-trade Republicans -- such as Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania - have back home: "From the largely shuttered steel mills around Scranton in Pennsylvania, to the devastated manufacturing region around Kansas City, Missouri, Senate Republicans face the daunting task of promoting global trade while defending seats in states that have seen so many factories fade into history."

--"Many Democrats in the region see an anti-trade message as a way to appeal to a key voting bloc - the white working class - that has increasingly abandoned the party over the last 15 years, because that group has also felt left behind by the global economy ... Midwest Republicans are keenly aware that their region has been hit hard by disappearing factory jobs, placing these GOP senators in a tough spot heading into the 2016 elections as they tout a message that might not resonate. 'I'm for free and fair trade. I certainly recognize that it's not the most politically popular thing to be for,' said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who faces a possible rematch with former senator Russ Feingold
(D-Wis.)."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ee14c3e45abc425686a501cfb35184b364a2cb612832949f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50ee14c3e45abc425686a501cfb35184b364a2cb612832949f

BOEHNER VS. HENSARLING ON EX-IM - Jake Sherman, Zachary Warmbrodt and Victoria Guida for POLITICO: "A clash between Speaker John Boehner and House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling over the renewal of the Export-Import Bank's charter is bursting into public view, pitting the chamber's top Republican against a favorite of the conservative right wing over an issue that threatens to split the party. The battle isn't explicitly about policy or politics, it's a power struggle between two senior lawmakers."

--"Boehner (R-Ohio) has privately asked Hensarling (R-Texas) to craft some sort of plan to address the bank's expiration this June - whether it be reforms, or a wind-down plan. Hensarling's allies say he is not interested in doing that. And if the House doesn't act and lets the bank expire this summer, the Senate will keep it alive on the back of a piece of must-pass legislation - frustrating conservatives who want it eliminated ... This fight is another example of Boehner being more assertive."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50f04acba2bf486281c45d49a14dd7e8585993bd444908433f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50f04acba2bf486281c45d49a14dd7e8585993bd444908433f

STATE ON HILLARY EMAILS: NOTHING TO SEE HERE - Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) announced Thursday that his Benghazi committee had secured 4,000 pages of new documents from the State Department - but State spox Marie Harf says the papers don't reveal anything that changes the current story: 'I'm not going to characterize the contents of the documents that were provided, except to say that they don't change the essential facts that have been known since the accountability review board report came out." Reuters has more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50cb6639446b4870d90fe853a641ba9f36a93e8471fbf6818a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50cb6639446b4870d90fe853a641ba9f36a93e8471fbf6818a

--Gowdy sits down with USA Today's Susan Page and tells her that he may accept assurances from Clinton that she's handed over all relevant emails to the Benghazi committee:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50fecc88b9c8687a078aca6586c858ac6de4f4dcafcf6a32b2
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ef43a2f282e57a50fecc88b9c8687a078aca6586c858ac6de4f4dcafcf6a32b2

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Joshua Falcone was the first person to correctly answer that Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan were the two most recent secretaries of state who went on to become presidents.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Joshua has today's question: What U.S. president was unable to play football at Harvard due to nearsightedness? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
mailto:skim@politico.com
skim@politico.com .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says 'Sign Up.'
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