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03/22/2017 07:55 AM EDT


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

WHERE DA VOTES AT? With less than 48 hours to go until the big Obamacare repeal vote in the House, Republicans still don't have the magic number for passage. GOP leaders need to get to 215 (Democrats are expecting one absence), meaning they can lose 22 votes and still pass. But members of the House Freedom Caucus are still threatening to tank the bill. And moderates are worried about the political backlash of voting for a plan that might not even survive in the Senate.

After personally calling out House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows during a conference meeting Tuesday, President Donald Trump held face-to-face meetings with other GOP lawmakers at the White House to shore up support. "I think we'll get there, especially with Trump working it, but we're not there right now," said a top House Republican.

Coming attractions: The Freedom Caucus is expected to hold a press conference today to trumpet its opposition to the bill. Rachael, Bres and Kyle with much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041aa47fe9ccacbab6f972470f55cf9f92c1cc72107250b0cd471ddb5e04a8783263b3be20424b28615d

Move Dems, get out of the way: House Democrats will be briefed on the latest "TrumpCare" polling this morning before joining with former Vice President Joe Biden for an Obamacare rally on the Capitol steps. Behind the scenes Democrats have shifted strategies, essentially deciding to get out of the way and let Republicans tank their own bill.

"Republicans now are dealing with the fact that they've built a castle on a foundation of lies," said New Dem Coalition Chairman Jim Himes. "The last thing we would want to do is get in their way." Much more from Elana and yours truly: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a7e3f76b60a3577458f663bad50a3eadbc449084cc69833759caa07a996c32ef064b0168744a1c5c1

SENATE WATCH: FULL SPEED AHEAD - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to steamroll the GOP repeal bill through his chamber next week over the resistance of several GOP senators who still have serious issues with the proposal. "We will reach a conclusion on health care next week because we're going to Judge Gorsuch after that," McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

Dead on arrival: The bill in its current form would fail in the Senate. McConnell can only afford to lose two votes and more than enough GOP senators have come out in opposition to the current plan. It's unclear how GOP leaders can change the bill to win both moderate and conservative support. "Maybe the best outcome is for this to fail in the House so we can move on to tax reform. Which is what we should have done anyway," said one Republican senator.

But for McConnell and his deputies, ramming the bill through seems to be the best option. Letting the repeal twist in the wind during the two week April recess could be a "potential disaster as opposition brews back home and GOP lawmakers face antagonistic crowds at their town halls," Burgess and Jen Haberkorn report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a8e36e89787c34792a5f3ff4820f6f9c49372138eb6923b57387969ffa768849ad9f5a1b68dfe5333

Warning shots: "I would hate to be a Republican whose vote prevented us from keeping the commitment we've made to the American people for almost 10 years now," McConnell told the AP Tuesday. The Kentucky Republican later told reporters his comments weren't a threat, more a "statement of the obvious."

Senate Democrats have a plan of their own: Democrats are confident that some of the sweeteners put in the House plan to woo wary conservatives actually go against the Senate's strict budget rules and will try to have them stripped out. Burgess and Jen again: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a8fe9da3c8d0ebd05f5198d4eb16503dff8dfa7eafc622fd303e4d911071d4aed5c61b91844334a5b

WE'RE ROLLING RIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY Y'ALL. Welcome to March 23 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Kyle, Rachael and Bres combo detailing President Trump's huddle with House Republicans

HIGHLIGHT REEL: GORSUCH DAY TWO - Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch spent hours in the hot seat Tuesday, ducking attacks from Democrats, avoiding wading into hot-button controversies and making clear he's independent from Trump. "Senate Democrats threw a kitchen sink of attacks against Gorsuch and his record on Tuesday - but it's unclear whether those blows will ultimately cripple the high court hopeful," Josh Gerstein and Seung Min report. Top takeaways from day two: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a15bff957c103266a0911a29f922d6160a609c183cf64202e029544bbd6a93804d78755738f39f45e

Key moments: Gorsuch criticized Trump's attacks on judges, dodged questions about how he would rule on the administration's travel ban, said gay marriage is "absolutely settled law" and revealed Trump complained to him about losing Colorado. SMK and Josh again: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a48b4a28e2e048eb1256213738f45915ebea52cf275756ec5d0c35f22a10b0a2b13864c9a97c032f3

Slow down, Schumer says: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans should delay Gorsuch's confirmation while Trump's campaign is under FBI investigation for potential collusion with Russia. If "a Democratic president was under investigation by the FBI, the Republicans would be howling at the moon about filling a Supreme Court seat in such circumstances," Schumer said on the Senate floor. Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a81406bcba6c95408e70bc9e7a34a98afea2f24edd3db8d4d44359be18bd0399227ca67aa48fd6568


** A message from the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: The current bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act could slash the number of Americans that are able to afford or maintain health coverage. Speak up today and tell Congress: Don't support the ACA replacement bill. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a6df8261e0c88692c92862cedbf80a1d3352e0ef5c5640a146bd58bf62e1f0e3a08a134babeb3150a **


Neither Schumer nor McConnell would entertain the possibility of Republicans deploying the nuclear option and changing Senate rules ensure Gorsuch's confirmation. But McConnell guaranteed that Gorsuch will be confirmed before the April 8 recess, one way or the other. "We'll confirm him before we leave," McConnell told reporters. Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a1413bf404a1b89a77cfde394cd3f0eb5684bdbfee5ae0ca1989a82ad0f17d7de75130ff7cbdc6d95

TWEET DU JOUR: @ChuckGrassley: After 9 hrs of chairing Judic Comm SCOTUS hrg I handed the gavel to Sen Tillis Thx senator for taking over so I can run at 4 in the morning

CBC MEETS WITH TRUMP - Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond and the handful of members on the group's executive board will meet with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the Oval Office this afternoon. Muslim Rep. Andre Carson plans to bring up the administration's travel ban targeting majority-Muslim countries. Rep. Anthony Brown will focus on higher ed funding, including federal support for historically black colleges and universities. Aides said members are going into the meeting "open-minded."
"I don't think It's going to be about flame throwing," one source told Huddle.

MONEY MAKER - President Trump helped raise a record $30 million at a dinner for House Republicans' campaign arm Tuesday night. Trump's mostly on-message speech about GOP unity only included a couple of asides: "a shout-out to former Vice President Dick Cheney for his early support and a critique of the National Building Museum itself," Henry Jackson reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041afac3a4fc50008736575eaf7ac95e95dd2295ef1990638fd30e4e275ddb36a71d35231655836eeb8b

STAGE FRIGHT? Democrats have the opportunity to test their anti-Trump playbook ahead of 2018 in several upcoming special elections. But party leaders are getting increasingly frustrated by the nationalization of races to fill seats in Georgia and Montana, "worried about unrealistic expectations in Republican-friendly seats where the Democrats are at a decided disadvantage," Gabriel Debenedetti reports. "Just a few high-profile losses in races framed as referendums on the Trump agenda, Democrats fear, and the currently heightened level of engagement and hope might fall off the cliff." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a9b727b30fc38cdb412b3bf7f2ae37dcafd07c1d26bb91be777147cc9193a832bbe88a8c1546026a8

MATTIS RANKLES HILL REPUBLICANS - Defense Secretary James Mattis received bipartisan praise when he was nominated by Trump for the top Pentagon post. But recently the former Marine general's staffing decisions, including efforts to hire some Obama-era veterans, and refusal to push for dramatic increases in defense spending have rankled Hill Republicans. "He certainly has got a tough job, but it sometimes feels like he forgets that we won the election," said one GOP aide. Eli Stokols and Eliana Johnson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a7a997f2c850ee78946af288dfa3a97796de68f615cdd6e1da09d3f40b0edbb6c853a718c2e585d50

MENENDEZ'S IRON GRIP - Nearly two years after being indicted on corruption charges, Sen. Bob Menendez has kept New Jersey Democrats "on remarkable lockdown, preventing most of them from even thinking about raising their own names to replace him," Matt Friedman reports. Now with a fall trial looming, Democrats and Republicans in the state are wondering what's next. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a1db07aedbfced033fc483660abe8fa144153f83f09f79ca3af2f82e2b8193e605f2b2a37ebe23cf6

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 1 p.m. and last votes around 4 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041a7fa186efef0b9e5bc74bd3887555ed4a114811c7cf4943009c3fa35abe31b516adea50d1ed56cec8 The Senate meets at 10:30 a.m. with a vote disapproving a Department of Labor regulation at some point.

AROUND THE HILL - Former Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Jerry Brown join Democrats in rallying for the seventh anniversary of Obamacare on the Capitol steps at 10 a.m.

The House Rules Committee meets on the GOP repeal bill at 10 a.m. in H-313. Sens. Chuck Schumer, Bob Casey, Debbie Stabenow, Chris Van Hollen and Maggie Hassan hold a Medicaid rally with disability advocates at 11 a.m. in the Senate swamp.

OFF THE HILL - Sens. David Perdue and Joe Manchin participate in a Washington Post discussion on Trump's first 50 days in office at 9 a.m.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Sean Neary was the first to correctly guess that French Ambassador Andre de Laboulaye and Cuban Ambassador Guillermo Belt are the two foreign dignitaries who have the distinction of addressing a joint session of Congress as opposed to a joint meeting.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Sean with today's question: In honor of March Madness, aside from Bill Bradley, name another member of Congress who was a basketball star and tell me where they played in college and the pros. 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

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.


** A message from the Coalition to Protect America's Health Care: The American Health Care Act could create tremendous uncertainty for families and individuals looking for affordable coverage. The health care bill could also limit benefits for current Medicaid enrollees and harm programs for our most vulnerable Americans - including children, the elderly, and the disabled.

And these health care changes could affect us all by reducing our community hospitals' ability to provide essential quality care. A decrease in health coverage and continued cuts to hospital funding will impact patient access to care and hospital services.

Tell your senators and representative: Protect patients and access to care. Don't support the American Health Care Act. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e34920e0143f041af272942f845fae852813bc5bd64610098bc6b6310dcb2d5de815a304bfd67da71cc05149aa9ef319 **

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