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04/05/2017 08:01 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Elana Schor and Seung Min Kim

GORSUCH WRITINGS BORROW FROM OTHERS - Publications by Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, including a chapter in his book and an academic article, "copied the structure and language used by several authors and failed to cite source material," Bres and Burgess report. The news comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has teed up a Thursday showdown over the nuclear option to push through Gorsuch's confirmation over the protests of Democrats.

The details: "The documents show that several passages from the tenth chapter of his 2006 book, 'The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia,' read nearly verbatim to a 1984 article in the Indiana Law Journal," they report. "In several other instances in that book and an academic article published in 2000, Gorsuch borrowed from the ideas, quotes and structures of scholarly and legal works without citing them."

The White House pushed back, calling the claims "a false attack" and a "baseless, last-second smear" by people who don't want to see Gorsuch confirmed. And the author of the law article, Abigail Lawlis Kuzma, released a statement through Gorsuch's team saying she does "not see an issue here, even though the language is similar."

But six experts on academic integrity differed in their assessment, "ranging from calling it a clear impropriety to mere sloppiness." "I've never seen a college plagiarism code that this would not be in violation of," said Syracuse professor Rebecca Moore Howard, who has written extensively on the issue. Much more, including a side-by-side comparison: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa2989c2df624d535691780d7ed025bddce84a3e7aef10b3cf13843cf59995381a5f33cfb6bfb13b9a8 And more SCOTUS news below.

REPEAL RUNS AGROUND, AGAIN - The White House's latest effort to revive its Obamacare repeal fell flat Tuesday night after "conservative and moderate Republicans met and realized they had two very different understandings of the changes sought by top Trump officials," Rachael and Josh Dawsey report.

The late-night huddle with Vice President Mike Pence and GOP caucus leaders in the Capitol basement failed to clarify the issue, "leaving Hill insiders speculating whether the White House offered two different potential deals - or lawmakers selectively heard what they wanted," they report.

What's next: Republicans plan to meet again today. But with GOP lawmakers still far apart on even the parameters that would get both sides closer to yes, it's unclear where they go next. "There were no agreements tonight in principle, and certainly no agreements in terms of a foundation," Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said Tuesday after the meeting.

What is all but certain: The House will not be voting on a repeal and replace bill before they leave tomorrow afternoon for the two-week Easter recess. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=579615698242acab73d9df7afa251148ef46b0ee3d9c909103b7868036eb3a7b79e113273206483e976896b402ca501c

Video du jour-- Rep. Pat Tiberi proving that yes, he really is talking to his mom on the phone and not just trying to avoid reporters' questions when leaving last night's meeting, via Matt Fuller: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=579615698242acab9de80ebbbd16e675116624b0e4e59353fbf1bf2c0eb2e4d518f46d829685de98f3ecb5bfb3c47d04


** 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=4a824b05e410aaa2969151b634735d7193b7c6cf4dd25030c764a3fc472a8a297672df296a4051ec04128b00a11e8a6a **


COUNTDOWN TO RECESS BEGINS. Welcome to Wednesday, April 5 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Matea Gold's tweet pic of Rep. Devin Nunes' awesome 1990's mullet got all the clicks.

NOW TALK IT OUT - Sen. Jeff Merkley vowed to filibuster Trump's Supreme Court nominee before Gorsuch was even tapped, and he sought to make good on that pledge Tuesday by holding court on the Senate floor over night. While the gesture is not technically a filibuster since cloture has already been filed and it will have no effect on McConnell's plans to confirm Gorsuch, Merkley's move drew quick cheers from liberal activist groups that have propelled Democrats' Supreme Court filibuster.

Merkley's campaign also got in on the action with an email to supporters that vowed he would "stand there and talk - for hours, if necessary - to pressure the Republican leadership to pull Gorsuch's nomination." The Oregon Democrat, who started talking at 6:47 p.m. according to C-SPAN, was still going this morning.

McCONNELL: FILIBUSTER STAYS FOR LEGISLATION - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may be more than willing to blow up the 60-vote threshold for SCOTUS nominees but there's one thing he's promising to never change: the filibuster for legislation. "Who would be the biggest beneficiary of that right now? It would be the majority, right?" McConnell told reporters. "There's not a single senator in the majority who thinks we ought to change the legislative filibuster. Not one." Seung Min reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa222e31b5026721251d5f59f2531138ae63b64bd9ffc9f28cbcc16f729ba0da3f1394eabafbe630e0f

FREEDOM CAUCUS WANTS TO PLAY ON TAX REFORM - Leaders of the House Freedom Caucus are firing an early warning on tax reform negotiations: They want to be included from the start or else a tax overhaul might meet the same embarrassing fate as the GOP's Obamacare repeal. "When a member sees the text for the first time in a leaked draft from Politico, therein is a problem," Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said, referencing what happened with the repeal bill. Aaron Lorenzo with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa258c60efd2555e65f039ad5625912a283460b2a9891814e7d859cde783e519373c4737f1b83769ef6

Today: House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady will meet with Democrats on his committee to talk tax reform. Brady met with members of the centrist New Democrat Coalition Tuesday.

DHS CHIEF BACK ON THE HILL - One day after meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will be back on Capitol Hill to huddle with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus at the request of CAPAC Chair Judy Chu.

DHS officials and CHC members left yesterday's meeting saying it went much better than the huddle-turned-showdown House Democrats had with Kelly in mid-March. But Rep. Joaquin Castro said there's still "an incredible reluctance" by Kelly to admit any wrongdoing on the part of his immigration enforcement agents. "There's a bit of a see no evil, hear no evil mentality on his part," Castro said. The CHC has asked to meet with Kelly on a regular basis, every six weeks or so.

RUNOFF IN RACE TO REPLACE BECERRA - California Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and former L.A. planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn appear to be headed to a June 6 runoff to replace former Rep. Xavier Becerra. Gomez had locked up several endorsements heading into the primary, including from Becerra, now the state's attorney general. Ahn, if elected, would be the only Korean American in Congress, according to the L.A. Times. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa21781dbcd33e4c551d351cb004f66d65e5a52bfb633f52dfab52ec410ff4fc3ca509cac6a81040bac

THAT'S QUITE THE RETURN - Former lawmaker turned HHS Secretary Tom Price received three times the return on biotech shares he sold in February after being confirmed to his Cabinet post, James Grimaldi reports for the Wall Street Journal. Price faced intense criticism during his confirmation process for purchasing most of the shares at a discount after being told about a privileged stock sale by fellow Rep. Chris Collins, a board member for the biotech company. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa207907ae813eff37895d42bb4299f7f27c03ee0678ed150a6281be9742cfc1ab6c2cd8ebcab98b08f

INTEL COMMITTEES TO VIEW NUNES REPORTS - Soon all members of the House and Senate Intel Committees will be able to view controversial reports about communication from Trump associates swept up in U.S. surveillance. House Intel ranking member Adam Schiff called the move "long overdue and follows an inexplicable series of events in which the White House played a role in selectively and surreptitiously providing the documents to" Intel Chairman Devin Nunes. Austin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa2d50bcd59d3e3197cca32b72b54d59fd0f590b4df7d6161e9947d10ed3e4e0f27b9775d4defca49c6

Meanwhile, conservatives have seized on reports that former national security adviser Susan Rice ordered the names of Trump associates to be unmasked in the reports, actions Rice has defended as routine given the nature of her job. "When it comes to Susan Rice, you need to verify, not trust," Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News. "There's a way to find out. I intend to find out." Madeline Conway: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa2a770804757a717ee87a203ae18d7a42d5020e30e69bea8d28499c7d46449690a490cd48810677bdf

NOT THE ONLY MOTORCYCLE CAUCUS IN TOWN - In Tuesday's edition of Huddle, we highlighted the Motorcycle Caucus being launched by Sens. Joni Ernst and Gary Peters. Turns out while that is the first such caucus on the Senate side, Reps. Michael Burgess and Tim Walberg have been chairing a similar House caucus for several years.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 1:30 p.m. and last votes around 4 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4a824b05e410aaa2075c8bd94b8b27dd8feaef110b5a1f27a1364530803bae2737bed55891892d7438fd69e0a27ab8a2 The Senate is still in session (due to Merkley's talk-a-thon) but will start a new day at 9:30 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Sens. Steve Daines and Thom Tillis hold a press conference with House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Reps. Doug Collins, Darrell Issa and Jim Sensenbrenner in support of Neil Gorsuch at 10 a.m. in front of the Supreme Court.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Reps. Richard Neal, Hakeem Jeffries, Anna Eshoo and Bill Pascrell hold a 10 a.m. press conference on Trump's tax returns in HVC Studio A.

Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Bob Casey hold a 10:30 a.m. press conference on U.S. trade with China in the Senate studio. Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond and Reps. John Conyers, Bobby Scott and G.K. Butterfield hold a forum on civil rights in the Trump administration at 10:30 a.m. in 2226 Rayburn.

Sens. Ben Cardin and Marco Rubio hold an 11 a.m. press conference on Syria's war crimes in the Senate studio. Reps. John Larson, Richard Neal, Jan Schakowsky and Debbie Dingell reintroduce their social security bill during a 1 p.m. press conference in HVC 215.

Sens. Bob Casey and Joe Manchin and Reps. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Bobby Scott introduce their miner's health bill during a 2 p.m. press conference in HVC Studio B.

Reps. Eric Swalwell and Eliot Engel hold a 3:30 p.m. press conference on their U.S.-Russia relations bill. Reps. Annie Kuster, Patrick Meehan, Jackie Speier and David Joyce announce a bipartisan task force against sexual assault at 4 p.m. in the House triangle.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Mikhael Smits correctly guessed that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin attended a joint session of Congress in 1978. And King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin addressed a joint session in 1994.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: Who holds the longest straight voting streak in the House and what's the number of votes cast? 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=4a824b05e410aaa282c4253e63b5fa3ef4608c9256e7fa3191b9e6bcf0cd49b10c57a478129f6e884a7465d478327ed7 **

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