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05/29/2018 08:07 AM EDT


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

GARRETT ADMITS TO ALCOHOLISM, ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT -- Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) isn't seeking reelection after all. Despite insisting last week that "there is no way in heck" he wouldn't be representing his district as a member of Congress in 2019, Garrett on Monday announced he will retire. The freshman lawmaker and Freedom Caucus member called allegations from former staffers who said the congressman and his wife turned them into servants "half-truths and whole lies." But he also admitted that he hadn't been entirely forthcoming and revealed he's an alcoholic. Several former staffers told POLITICO they had seen Garrett drinking in his congressional office. "It is unclear whether Garrett
will seek outpatient treatment for his alcoholism, or enter an in-patient facility," Alex Isenstadt and Bres report.

"Senior Republicans ... have grown concerned about Garrett in recent days and many of them said they were in the dark about his plans. Some of them described his behavior as erratic, and there were private discussions about whether to take steps to force him out," they write. "Garrett had waged a sluggish reelection campaign and struggled to raise money, drawing concerns from Republican officials. While his central Virginia 5th congressional district favors Republicans, Democrats are targeting the seat and have nominated journalist Leslie Cockburn to run." Local Republicans will select a general election replacement. Potential candidates include state Sens. Bill Stanley and Jill Vogen and
state Del. Rob Bell. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b007f8f17013be111e8c8da7060a7c23f7a2626465a665cb7b02b97a74ef0e2213ddd5be5b9244b4ffa0

Related: "Ex-aides say congressman made them his servants," by Rachael, Alex Isenstadt and Kyle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b00721a0169be46faa0eb3d38e0f8642ca3fcded6fdecf57ce7c280da386b2248b9929f71b002a715df2

TRUMP RALLYING WITH BLACKBURN -- President Donald Trump this afternoon will fly to Nashville, Tennessee, where he will hold a roundtable with supporters, then have dinner with supporters and play the supporter role himself at a rally for GOP Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn. "The president's return to Tennessee comes more than five months before the Republican congressman is expected to square off against former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in the general election," The Tennessean's Joel Ebert reports. "Blackburn is one of several lawmakers around the country who are openly embracing Trump heading into this year's midterm election. Bredesen has said his campaign will not be focusing on
Trump throughout the race."

The race to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker is expected to be tight. Bredesen is the last Democrat to win a statewide election in Tennessee: He was reelected governor in 2006. Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, has unenthusiastically endorsed Blackburn and donated to her campaign. But he has said he won't campaign against Bredesen. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who chairs the Senate HELP Committee, and Rep. Diane Black, who is running for governor, are expected to attend the rally. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b007980e2d72cc327721cf4e4e7123fd0bd8ea29edd10f065fd9a41fbb462e2e87c8573e8ff47e717571

Related reads: "President Trump To Attend Blackburn Fundraiser," from NewsChannel 5: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b0077feff1a7b87b7e77f4b2c32f0d61329a28ad8f70dfd5fafb87c4bee0cc4a4c5ed6de67d8de18b5d4 and "In Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn's embrace of Trump tests her standing with female voters," per The Washington Post's Mary Jordan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b0076f88ed3e8b54e4d979b182cc5ef88159589ba7f08a81bc678b50fbf46b7cb2e5e998aaf6a1b36c3c

SENATORS SAY IT'S DO-OR-DIE TIME ON DACA -- A bipartisan group of senators has restarted back-channel talks on immigration in hopes that the chamber will be ready to act when the time comes. "But the Senate isn't ready to take up the issue," Burgess and Elana report. "And lawmakers are growing more and more worried the upper chamber could be blindsided by a call to action later this year." NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) told the president by phone earlier this month that resolving the immigration issue will only get harder as the election nears.

The House could take up one or more immigration bills next month. But senators are unlikely to accept anything the House can pass. "Their opposition extends from a conservative bill written by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). to a more moderate one pushed by centrist House Republicans," they note. But the Senate lacks a proposal of its own that could get 60 votes. Any path to passage would be extremely narrow. And even if senators can find consensus, Democrats are skeptical the president will accept anything less than his four-pillar immigration plan. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b007885df4fe3fc33acd650d6da35f315908c8e932fc7e2729252b80ec463b4a6c1c67791177e2dfabc2

WELCOME BACK FROM THE THREE-DAY WEEKEND. Congress is on recess this week. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, May 29.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Roll Call's report on Senate Republicans' reaction to possible auto tariffs was the winner.

DEMS LOOK TO MAKE GOP PAY AT PUMP -- Democrats are blaming the president for a spike at the pumps. They say his foreign policy moves are responsible for the surge in gas prices, which they note are the highest they've been in nearly four years. "Voters are already feeling spooked: Forty-two percent of Americans won't take a road trip for summer vacation this year, a much higher percentage of people than last year, and many of them cited higher gas prices as the reason, according to a survey by gas station data company GasBuddy," Ben Lefebvre and Anthony Adragna report.

"But the Democratic message faces a big obstacle, even as the party is riding a wave of optimism to the November midterms," they warn. "Short of an energy crisis like the one Jimmy Carter faced in his 1980 reelection campaign, it's tough to convince voters the president is to blame for expensive gas, as GOP candidate Mitt Romney found out when he tried to use it against Barack Obama in 2012." The White House has little control over gas prices, but some analysts say it may be contributing to rising prices. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b007912185098ec3f4ae5c22d34fed37aadfbc4b78658478af1c162971d7ed357d995ee95a01fb1a6c42

MILLENNIALS IN THE MIDTERMS -- At least 20 millennial Democratic candidates are running for Congress in battleground districts this year, including 35-year-old Colin Allred, the former NFL linebacker who says fellow millennials "are the best of this party." Allred "is part of a swell of young Democratic House candidates hoping to inspire higher turnout among fellow millennials in the midterm elections, when youth voting rates typically decline," Elena Schneider reports from Dallas. "Like the rest of his Democratic millennial cohort, Allred faces an uphill battle in November. He and others are running in tough districts that haven't elected Democrats in years."

The average age of members of Congress is 58 in the House and 62 in the Senate. The averages are among the oldest of any Congress in recent history, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. "Millennial candidates often face opponents who question their readiness for Congress, accusing them of resume inflation and dredging up social media posts to drive the point home," she adds. Cory Bliss, executive director of the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, called social media "an oppo researcher's dream." CLF ran an ad against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff in Georgia accusing him of "fighting against restrictions on keg parties" because he was "just a college
kid." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b0071800e76269f680619d1ea3d7d2a58589f26d5236a25fd529ff8fb577b25d6163dff98bd186d57aa6

DEMS TRY TO AVOID DISASTER IN CALIFORNIA -- National Democrats are pumping millions of dollars into California House races, hoping to avoid a self-inflicted disaster. "After months of optimism that the state's June 5 primary would position them to pick off seven Republican-held districts in November -- a substantial down payment on reclaiming the House -- Democrats are now trying to ensure that they do not hurt themselves because of their unusually crowded slates of candidates," The New York Times' Jonathan Martin reports. Worried that a crowded field of Democrats will splinter the vote in the state's jungle primary, Democrats are spending more than $4 million on three campaigns.

Democrats and allied groups are "intervening in one contest to prop up a favored candidate; attacking a Republican from the right in another; and even reminding people not to waste their votes on 'ghost candidates' who have dropped out yet remain on the ballot," Martin writes. "Some voters are not sure who to back to feel confident that a Democrat will advance past June 5, and they increasingly worry that Republicans will foil the party's chances to stop President Trump's agenda in the House next year." The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance past the primary. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b007d663f030684a3ad996eab6491d8ec9c96b0a039665603d17cc08651e9f3da2bb29a36d839b69ad31

Related: "It could be another 'Year of the Woman' in California, but probably not," by the Los Angeles Times' Christine Mai-Duc: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b00754a211561a22d9d0f79bb8d7ee48f3be346f0dd6a0ab6e318c8710ca7e1b7316bd0b269c9773495f

RUBIO HINTS CONGRESS WILL ACT ON ZTE -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) indicated in a CBS "Face the Nation" appearance that Congress would move to block Chinese tech firm ZTE from being able to operate in the U.S. "Rubio has been a leader of the congressional charge against Trump's plans to ease the restrictions on ZTE that were imposed after it broke U.S. sanctions by selling products to Iran and North Korea," The Washington Post's Karoun Demirjian reports. "As part of a deal reached last week with ZTE, the firm would be required to buy American-made parts and pay a $1.3 billion fine. But lawmakers like Rubio remain unconvinced that the terms will do anything to keep China from using companies
like ZTE to target U.S. national and corporate security."

While Rubio didn't specify what Congress might do to block the president, annual defense policy bills moving through Congress contain a prohibition on the federal government using ZTE products. The Florida Republican has also proposed a bill that would do the same but seemingly suggested Sunday that Congress should go further and predicted there would be a supermajority to override a presidential veto. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b00718d338a03a6be26209845f17202ff5a1c811a9b5f2a7c07ee720b63c19a3d03624599185ee6ebcc9

Related read: "Trump administration presents Capitol Hill with deal to rescue Chinese firm ZTE," from Adam Behsudi and Doug Palmer: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2df0f8597560b0077b8fddef01ea6ed938a84ccce59b915e9aed9d95515475d46a01dc52e5fdc901e7f6d0bcabfa6c4f

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

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Tori Miller was first to correctly guess that 17 states are above the national average in citizens with advanced degrees and none of them voted for President Donald Trump in 2016.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Tori: Who was the only president to become married for the first time after getting elected -- and to the youngest first lady ever? 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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