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04/04/2017 08:05 AM EDT


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

GOING ALL IN ON GORSUCH - The expected confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch later this week is significant for many reasons. Not only will Gorsuch's confirmation bring the Supreme Court back to full power after more than a year of operating with only eight justices. The vote will also cement Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's place in history after pulling off one of the most audacious gambles of modern times, the nearly year-long blockade of Merrick Garland, Burgess reports.

Republicans "credit McConnell with saving the Senate majority and electing President Donald Trump, by giving traditional conservative voters a powerful motivator to turn out for a nominee they were less than enthused about." But as the Republican leader prepares to kill the filibuster for SCOTUS nominees this week, significantly altering the course of the Senate and the Supreme Court forever, McConnell's critics charge he'll be remembered for the lasting damage he caused.

"Merrick Garland is how he'll be remembered, violating 230 years of Senate tradition to create this unholy mess we're facing," said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin. Burgess with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b338551a4293d01c3f01ee27cf9ed09d4e85a4d313dc09d3abd2a394285d6f4b90573df280a90ee02f

ROUND TWO, LET'S FIGHT - The battle over Gorsuch moves to the Senate floor today after the Judiciary Committee approved his nomination in a party line vote Monday. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons became the 41st Democrat to come out in support of filibustering Gorsuch, all but guaranteeing Republicans will move forward with a historic rules change killing the 60-vote threshold for high court justices. Expect the filibuster showdown to come Thursday with a final Gorsuch vote likely Friday.

"Democrats are obviously paying a heavy price for what Harry Reid did, and I believe we will pay a price for this," Sen. John McCain told Seung Min, referencing Reid's move to kill the filibuster for lower court nominees in 2013. Nevertheless, McCain, who worked to save off a similar filibuster battle during George W. Bush's presidency, will go nuclear: "I have no choice," he said. SMK with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b38ec2273db1ca598dd7452e3dbf3090101bd9e586d4d1884130abbb916c6789c4fee3c574a6d14acc

** A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: The Coalition to Protect America's Health Care fights back against congressional and executive actions that threaten America's hospitals. When our caregivers, our patients, or our communities are at risk, our supporters speak out and advocate. Stand up for your hospital by joining our community today. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3c896aca3358b9a0d53526287e6e045e2f44c5152918efdc7ef97559c3a9c5a604f42e99bbaac9282 **

DEAL OR NO DEAL? The House Obamacare repeal plan is alive but on life support after White House leaders met separately with GOP moderates and hard-liners Monday to shore up support for a proposal similar in overall framework but with key tweaks. Right now there is no deal and no vote is imminent. But things could change fast if the right pieces fall into place.

"No one made any definitive changes in terms of moving from 'no' to 'yes,' primarily because there's not enough detail to do that," Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said after the group huddled with with Vice President Mike Pence, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney Monday night. "But I can tell you that all the 'nos' - every one of the 'nos' - expressed a willingness to look at this in a very detailed manner," he said. Rachael, Jen Haberkorn and Josh Dawsey: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b38ce71c0d659f902c64d37be5de44a8de9e50e7799a89e3c8366fd2b313063ec8cfdf35d565df6bc9

The proposal under consideration would allow states to opt out of regulations requiring insurers to offer certain essential health benefits, like maternity care, and allow the sick to be charged more for insurance. "Ditching those protections would let insurers charge exorbitant rates for people with pre-existing conditions," reports the Huffington Post's Matt Fuller. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b345e2da2037e8de491c61f95a6c3603a0c44853f91462d955078436b19a17b88f724327a77bd2279c

So what's next? "The president would be very happy come Friday to have this passed," said Rep. Chris Collins, a Trump ally who was part of the White House meeting with centrist Republicans earlier in the day. But right now, last votes in the House are scheduled for Thursday and then members leave for a two-week recess. And lawmakers have to deal with the government spending bill, which expires April 28, when they return. House leaders won't put a repeal bill on the floor unless they have the votes to pass it. "It's been a sobering, soul searching last week or so," Collins said.

WELCOME TO TUESDAY, APRIL 4. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Seung Min's story about Democrats moving ahead with filibustering Gorsuch was the winner

FIRST IN HUDDLE: KELLY MEETS WITH HISPANIC CAUCUS - Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will be on Capitol Hill this morning meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. This will be Kelly's third time on the Hill in the last few weeks. He huddled with Senate Democrats last week and had a contentious meeting with House Democrats in mid-March. The CHC has been pushing for a separate sit-down with Kelly to discuss the administration's beefed up immigration enforcement plans and nationwide raids.

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME - After golfing together this weekend, Sen. Rand Paul is throwing the president a lifeline on a political flashpoint: Trump's baseless claims that he was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama. On Monday, Paul "raised concerns over a news report that former national security adviser Susan Rice had sought to obtain the identities of Trump-linked individuals whose communications were swept up in government monitoring of foreign nationals," Elana and Austin report.

"Rice's requests to 'unmask' Trump associates likely were not illegal, but they offer some political ammunition for Trump," who has continued to stand by the debunked wiretapping allegations. "In reality, they were using basically an espionage tool to eavesdrop or wiretap" Trump aides, Paul told reporters. "It's inappropriate, and it should be illegal." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3d93eae194978d593b3529571ace261ec24f5431433c37eed6a07367ec3bdeef223e4eb5931ecdf4e

BRING 'EM OUT, BRING 'EM OUT - House Democrats are looking to ride an anti-Trump wave all the way to November 2018. And they're already eyeing a specific group of candidates to help them do that: veterans, preferably with small business experience. "They'd like as many of them to be women or people who've never run for office before - and having young children helps," Edward-Isaac Dovere reports.

So far, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee leaders have met with 255 potential candidates (not all veterans) across 64 districts. Republicans, who have more territory to defend and less need to recruit, have met with 100 prospective candidates to date, Isaac reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3e40bfcc3ec14fa82066fc76a1b0fc8cd8185eb236bec11f4c3af2d272d76692c93d46702e47a0d19

Exclusive details: DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan will hold a recruitment meeting this morning with several veterans-turned-lawmakers and Jon Soltz, chairman of the progressive PAC VoteVets. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Reps. Seth Moulton, Ruben Gallego, Ted Lieu, Anthony Brown and Tulsi Gabbard are expected to attend.

EXCLUSIVE: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES - Sens. Joni Ernst and Gary Peters, two of Capitol Hill's biggest biker enthusiasts, are launching the first-ever bipartisan Motorcycle Caucus today. The caucus will focus on issues impacting both riders and manufacturers. See the pics of Ernst: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3a6ada5286bb5d7ca2a5e53a46ea0da97d5a682f67b02d4ce337db24ffefd2e6b3492c9c694d33937 and Peters: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3db30888309e83a93186cf3666c7473ed46ab627ddb6fc23e58a3e5162aa697350a0ecdc84fae9467 in action.

HAIR DO JOUR - Rep. Devin Nunes had arguably the best hair of any high school senior in 1991. The House Intel chairman's 'do is much more subdued now. But back then his coif ascribed to the mullet rules of the road: business in the front, party in the back. The yearbook picture, unearthed by the L.A. Times, is part of a great deep-dive into Nunes from Cathleen Decker.

"At home, Devin Nunes remains what he has always been, an auspiciously successful man who rose swiftly to unexpected heights, a man high school teachers point to when they tell kids in this often-overlooked place what is possible in this world," Decker writes. "Outside the farming community southeast of Fresno... many see [Nunes] very differently - as a national symbol of political bungling or worse." The story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b38d74f4cbc480239e7fa780eba7e998f93d97852902849a2bd883016217d67df6cefeda05f6119d0b

COMING ATTRACTIONS - "Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said his committee would be taking action as soon as Tuesday to determine how much money former national security adviser Michael Flynn received in payments from foreign governments," Kelsey Sutton reports, "and how much he might be required to remit to the U.S." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b3e007f598707421b7faeaa4108437d5d2102e02f1f444ceb8d493d1d81ad585ee93f232f586a8aca9

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 2:15 p.m. and last votes around 5 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b372df37e31f19a91930aa849a5b896958664888fb430dfaadb81d82acf56594678766971b051f7936 The Senate meets at 10 a.m. with a 12 p.m. vote on Elaine Duke, DHS deputy secretary nominee.

AROUND THE HILL - House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders hold a press avail following their weekly conference meeting at 10 a.m. in HC-8. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici hold a post-conference press avail at 10:15 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer holds his weekly pen and pad at 11 a.m. in H-144. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Hoyer, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patty Murray hold a 12:15 p.m. press conference on paycheck fairness in the House triangle.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at 1 p.m. in H-137. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell meets with Sisi at 3:30 p.m. in the OSC alcove. Sen. Mazie Hirono holds a 4 p.m. press conference on Neil Gorsuch in the Senate studio.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a pro-Russia lawmaker, meets with President Trump at the White House at 4:45 p.m.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jeremy Berkowitz was the first to guess that former Rules Committee Chairman William Colmer gave William "Fish Bait" Miller, the legendary Capitol Hill doorman, his start in politics.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Jeremy with today's question: Twice in the last 40 years, two foreign dignitaries have addressed a joint session of Congress at the same time. What years did it happen and who were the dignitaries?

The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in tomorrow's Huddle. And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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** A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: America's hospitals provide critical, often life-saving care - and other primary and preventative care services - within and outside their four walls. But that hasn't stopped Congress from cutting vital federal funding for patient care. These cuts make it harder for hospital staff to do their jobs, prevent hospitals from getting beyond their four walls to better serve those who rely on them, and increase wait times and reduced access to medical technologies. We can't afford any more cuts to patient care. Stand up for your hospital and protects access to the best quality health care for all people. Join the Coalition to
Protect America's Health Care today. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9bc849ebef79b9b359c41d60dff1b2c7cef9c5becc97d6f4aac4f4f29f4e3e1bbd846f9ed7e6a1db37b60c3d2ebc50ce **

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