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03/28/2017 08:00 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

RUMBLE IN THE (SENATE) JUNGLE - Grab your popcorn. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, are headed for an epic showdown over two big issues: Neil Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination and funding the government beyond April 28. "They're in charge. Government shuts down, it's on their back. We have leverage," Schumer told Burgess in a lengthy interview in his Capitol suite. And if Democrats block Gorsuch and McConnell kills the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees, "the onus is on them," the Democratic leader added.

Hi, my name is... In many ways, the two Senate leaders are just starting to build a relationship (Schumer was surprised in the interview to learn McConnell's first name is "Addison," for example). But Schumer knows Republicans will need Democratic votes to fund the government and - short of blowing up the filibuster - confirm Gorsuch.

And the New York Democrat is itching for a fight: "It's a high-risk, high-reward play: Prevail and he'll open his tenure as leader showing he can take on President Donald Trump and win. Lose, and the bravado looks like a lot of talk." Burgess with a whole lot more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a125426044f842d60f50a15e89e158030846888a03196803f6b7f880ceae4b0cd78cf4c1bebaf4040fa42ac9

GORSUCH: THE WINDOW TO 60 IS CLOSING - Senior Democratic sources are increasingly confident Gorsuch can't clear a filibuster, setting the stage for a nuclear showdown in the Senate as soon as next week, Seung Min and Elana report. "That would mark the first successful filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee since Abe Fortas for chief justice in the 1960s." So far, Sen. Joe Manchin is the only Democrat to say he will vote to end the filibuster, advancing Gorsuch's nomination. Republicans need at least seven more Democrats to join them.

What's next? The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Gorsuch's nomination April 3. The earliest McConnell could file cloture is Tuesday, April 4, teeing up a Thursday vote to end a filibuster. "If Democrats successfully filibuster Gorsuch, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has heavily telegraphed that he will invoke the so-called nuclear option to unilaterally change Senate rules with a simple majority vote." Get your Gorsuch news here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260799c01c86cf37136d80441ca87d8166f616066308ef483c83994ded4a5d31e6b33e1ed4e37dab74f

ABOUT THAT BORDER WALL... Government funding runs out April 28. Congress will be gone for two weeks in the middle of the month for Easter recess. After the Obamacare repeal implosion, Republicans know they likely need Democratic votes to pass a short-term spending bill. Republican leaders, aware of this, are considering a plan that would not directly tie funding for Trump's border wall to the government funding deadline, hoping to avoid another major setback for the president so quickly, Burgess and Rachael report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260313e9eff1301bed976876057cc8e9f175e5755c3ba1a825ca4c28819576401f80a75fc608b1abd55

Meanwhile, the White House is pushing Congress to cut $18 billion in discretionary spending for the current fiscal year, offering detailed instructions on which programs should receive the funding ax in a document sent to House and Senate appropriators Friday. But with the deadline just a month away, the cuts are unlikely to be enacted. Helena Bottemiller Evich and Sarah Ferris have much more for Pros: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260be09ce5d286824b691fc63a95e2adfd580027d4d0a6d43b189cc3cb0f82e2becb953f61fde29d6e6

** A message from USP: How do you ensure drug quality in a global economy? USP works with experts in science and health to develop independent, transparent quality standards for medicine. USP: Helping protect lives by safeguarding the quality of medicines for Americans. Learn more at http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a12542600e893c3b39743d220c05861db33a7436a9ed27583fd8177a7dc77e6e91a00b3dea6522c8f8406501 **

NUNES REFUSES TO RECUSE - House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes says he has no plans to recuse himself from the panel's Russia probe, despite demands from top Democrats on Monday to do so. "I'm sure that the Democrats do want me to quit because they know that I am quite effective at getting to the bottom of things," Nunes said, dismissing the requests on the O'Reilly Factor Monday night.

Democrats' demands for Nunes to step aside came after he "acknowledged Monday that he was on the White House grounds last week before he claimed to have seen evidence that Trump transition officials were inappropriately monitored by intelligence agencies," Austin reports. "Meanwhile, Democrats said they still had not been provided access to the information upon which Nunes based his allegation." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260a5f0237dacc2059541eba4a4c48d130cb62773fcc2271d5a857153ce8fdb5d44cbd7cf47314c9108

Trump weighs in: "Trump Russia story is a hoax," he tweeted last night.

DEEP BREATH, TUESDAY IS HERE AGAIN. Welcome to March 28 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: My story about what Trump's Obamacare stumble means for Pelosi

IT AIN'T OVER YET - House Speaker Paul Ryan isn't giving up on a health care overhaul just yet, he told GOP donors Monday. On the afternoon call, Ryan said he intends to keep pushing for health care changes "by working 'on two tracks' as he also pursues other elements of President Trump's agenda," Mike DeBonis reports.

Ryan, who said he will give more details at a GOP donor retreat later this week, met with Trump at the White House Monday. The speaker had a separate confab with Vice President Mike Pence, HHS Secretary Tom Price and WH Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260609e09e4d5964b1257b2281abce5d719a5a6209e48819649fb0d5254179f6a65fb70f4e7b3cd11f1

From the Senate: Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn "says flatly that health care will not be attempted again via reconciliation. 'It's clear it needs to be done on a bipartisan basis,'" the AP's Erica Werner reports.

YOU GOTTA PICK UP THE PHONE - Sean Spicer said Monday the White House is "absolutely" open to working with Democrats to score some big wins after the GOP's Obamacare repeal fiasco. But a little House Democratic leadership birdie tells Huddle they haven't heard a peep from the administration on tax reform, infrastructure or any other big-ticket items.

KELLY TO MEET WITH SENATE DEMS - About a dozen Senate Democrats who work closely on immigration policy will meet with DHS Secretary John Kelly Wednesday. The meeting will focus on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including a push this week to stop federal funding from flowing to sanctuary cities, Seung Min reports. Kelly's huddle on the Senate side comes after the DHS chief had a contentious back-and-forth with House Democrats a few weeks ago.

TWEET DU JOUR: @MEPFuller: Raul Labrador on HFC departures: "If you don't want to do the hard work of legislating and taking a position, that's why we have the RSC."

WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE? White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday the administration is "driving the train" on tax reform. But his comments came one day after House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady "cautioned the White House against assembling its own proposal," Michael Bender reports for the Wall Street Journal. "It wouldn't make sense to have a separate tax bill from Secretary Mnuchin, a separate one from Gary Cohn, a third from whomever," Brady said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260042e41245e997bb1ee5f96c08e25e7e49f4471c41f761122dddf15d4932db16678cbff1abce0ce1e

WALZ-ING RIGHT OUT OF CONGRESS - Democratic Rep. Tim Walz is running for Minnesota governor next year, he announced Monday. Walz is joining a crowded Democratic field and is opening up what's expected to be a hotly contested House seat. Walz's Minnesota 1st District went for Trump by 15 points and the lawmaker beat his GOP challenger by about 2,500 votes. Daniel Strauss reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260a987221d4f1bb0be1fd95c8ee4b890fe0b8aeb8b3712c59d12cb88005084f902552a6b98a6672175

BAD NEWS FOR DEMOCRATS - "Many pollsters and strategists believe that rural white voters, particularly those without college degrees, eluded the party's polling altogether - and their absence from poll results may have been both a cause and a symptom of Donald Trump's upset victory over Hillary Clinton in several states," Steve Shepard reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a12542609c72da30b0114ceaf658f89a591b86cb167ac1293fb8a59a8b1ecc0a30860c9ab6d9f43bd44370b8

SPOTTED: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the Rayburn cafeteria on Monday afternoon. ... California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters in first class Monday on the American Airlines flight from L.A. to D.C. ... Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy and Sen. Elizabeth Warren getting on the shuttle to DCA

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Hayley D'Antuono started Monday as first lady Melania Trump's scheduler; she previously was scheduler for Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas).

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 3 p.m. and last votes around 5 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a1254260f603de41c732ba72fa9bbf2d056d22ddbbd6ffe093175fa581bf139ac54bb5144ab7420053a28d19 The Senate meets at 10 a.m. with a vote today on a treaty ratifying Montenegro's NATO membership.

AROUND THE HILL - House Speaker Paul Ryan and GOP leaders hold a press avail following their weekly conference meeting at 10 a.m. in HC-8. DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley and Vice Chair Linda Sánchez hold a 10:15 a.m. press conference following a member meeting at the DNC.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer will hold his weekly press briefing at 11 a.m. in H-144. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Bob Menendez and Kamala Harris hold a press conference denouncing Trump's push for border wall funding at 11 a.m. in SVC-203.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar, Joni Ernst, Joe Donnelly and Todd Young hold a press conference with former members of the U.S. gymnastics team about protecting athletes from abuse. The avail starts at 12 p.m. in S-120.

The Blue Collar Caucus has a listening session with union and manufacturing leaders at 2 p.m. in 1416 Longworth.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Joe Bookman was the first to guess that Andrew Jackson was nominated by the Tennessee legislature as the Democratic candidate for the 1828 presidential election within months of then-President John Quincy Adams' term in 1825.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - What was the nickname for the operators of the Capitol switchboards, who was the first person to hold the job and when was he/she hired? 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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We are an essential piece of the safety net that ensures quality standards are met, in order to improve public health in the United States and around the world.

USP: Helping protect lives by safeguarding the quality of medicines for Americans.

Learn more at http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6e0ba04a12542600e893c3b39743d220c05861db33a7436a9ed27583fd8177a7dc77e6e91a00b3dea6522c8f8406501 **

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