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04/14/2017 07:53 AM EDT


By Austin Wright (awright@politico.com or @abwrig)

OBAMACARE SHUTDOWN SCARE - Democrats are vowing to use the upcoming government spending bill to continue funding a key Obamacare program that President Donald Trump is threatening to end, raising the specter of a government shutdown fight when current appropriations expire at the end of the month.

POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn and Sarah Ferris on the battle's background: "The debate over the cost-sharing program, which was the focus of a House lawsuit brought against the Obama administration, poses a significant threat to the future of the health care law. If funding for the program is eliminated, many insurers would likely leave the Obamacare markets immediately, throwing coverage for millions of people into turmoil." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145e58d2d8a5843db31d6016aec168643e93439e6264523e34db0e1b50bfaaa063ca34cc8ae841e9e5ef

What Trump said, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: "If Congress doesn't approve it, or if I don't approve it, that would mean that Obamacare doesn't have enough money so it dies immediately as opposed to over a period of time. ... What should be happening is [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer should be calling me up and begging me to help him save Obamacare. That's what should happen."

Flashback: A looming battle over funding for sanctuary cities is also raising the prospect of a government shutdown, as Burgess and Sarah reported earlier this week.

TRUMP STILL TRYING FOR A HEALTH CARE DEAL - The president tells The Wall Street Journal he's still looking to resurrect his health care bill and that he wants to deal with the issue before moving to tax reform, a reversal of his stance last month. "I want to get health care done," Trump said. "I think I will get it done."

WSJ's Louise Radnofsky, Peter Nicholas and Richard Rubin on the motivation for Trump's reversal: "Mr. Trump's revived push to fulfill a core campaign promise appears to be driven by three developments: First, a renewed confidence that he can still win enough votes to pass a bill; second, a belief that he needs the health-care savings to help pay for the tax bill and hit his economic growth promises; and third, a recognition that the tax-code overhaul isn't near ready."

MEANWHILE ... REPUBLICANS IN POLITICAL PURGATORY OVER FAILED REPEAL EFFORT - As they face angry constituents in town halls across the country, Republican lawmakers are finding themselves trapped between the reality of their failed effort to repeal Obamacare and Trump's renewed focus on killing off the health care law before doing tax reform. As a result, Republicans are seeking to downplay their repeal efforts -- which had been a rallying cry for the party over the past seven years.

Jen and Kyle with the story: "Lawmakers back in their districts during their first recess since the collapse of the House effort are downplaying the repeal agenda as if the rallying cry to eliminate the law 'root and branch' has been pared down to some leaves." More here, including plenty of examples of constituents expressing their displeasure: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145e3e7b027c3a4c335719599d482f58f499c7e91459799a1cd7a0b740040ae18e308d0e2448dbcefebf

FREEDOM CAUCUS PAYING NO PRICE BACK HOME: Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which helped derail Trump's Obamacare replacement bill, are being met with applause back home for defying the president, writes Letitia Stein of Reuters. One voter at a town hall in Michigan this week had this to say about his firebrand congressman, Rep. Justin Amash: "If I had to choose between Justin and Trump, I'd go with Justin for sure."

IT'S GOOD FRIDAY. Welcome to April 14 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Heather will be back in the driver's seat on Monday.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rachael's story about Rep. Mike Coffman's heated town hall won the prize.

TRUMP'S NEW FAVORITE STEVE - The president used to affectionately refer to Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller as "my two Steves," but only one has managed to endear himself to Trump's most indispensable adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner. Miller, a former Senate aide to Jeff Sessions, is making sure "his colleagues know he's not on Bannon's team," illustrating the shifting fortunes of Trump's two most ideologically committed advisers, write POLITICO's Josh Dawsey and Eliana Johnson.

SPEAKING OF JARED KUSHNER ... DEMS GO AFTER HIS SECURITY CLEARANCE - A handful of House Democrats are calling for Kushner's security clearance to be suspended. Kyle with the scoop: "President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser failed to disclose numerous foreign contacts when he applied for top secret clearance, including at least two meetings with high-profile Russians during Trump's transition to the White House, according to a New York Times report cited by the lawmakers. It is, they noted, a felony to intentionally conceal such meetings on a national security form."

The letter, led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), says "Kushner's lack of candor about meetings with Russian officials appears to be part of a larger pattern of dissembling and deception on Russian contacts from the Trump team, and we believe the public deserves the truth about what connection, if any, exists between these incidents." More from Kyle here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145e0ab5bdcfaa24020760b467b6fec121cd6e952d531eec2df663c6760e4e476a5b39b3dcbb06d2a3e0 And here's the original New York Times story on Kusher's omissions: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145ea24fe59a87f58835e866decc258d2c4ac9349adffd477f1265c481fcf9cbf713c2e987e2ac4e1913

TESTER RAKES IN $2M: Democrat Jon Tester raised $2 million in the first three months of the year, reports POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti. The Montanan, who's expected to face a tough reelection battle in a state Trump won by a wide margin, now has $3.2 million on hand, "continuing the trend of Senate Democratic incumbents piling up large cash hauls" to start the Trump era, Debenedetti writes.

The Republican field: "It is not yet clear which Republican will face Tester in the general election, though state Sen. Albert Olszewski recently said he would run, and state Attorney General Tim Fox has been courted for a bid, as well. Ryan Zinke had been considered a strong potential candidate, but the former congressman instead took a role as Trump's secretary of the interior earlier this year." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145e3b8ab90afa753c770c027fb62ed16a0d7daeec6eb77eeea759947119538e1144b107e3d3074a19ec

CONGRESSMAN TO CONSTITUENTS: YOU DON'T PAY MY SALARY - GOP Rep. Markwayne Mullin is facing a backlash over his odd message to constituents at a recent town hall in his state of Oklahoma. "You say you pay for me to do this? That's bullcrap," the congressman said in a heated exchange. "I pay for myself. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go." The Daily Mail has the story and video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8ac9e8f1a09145e42dee499cf05543cb2d9fd65663592d0dd45bba6b52df88f1a4d487f77792f5a1889e031e374c639

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - John Sullivan was the first to guess that Sen. James Shields holds the record for representing three states: Illinois, Minnesota and Missouri.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - John with today's question: Which of our vice presidents took office upon confirmation by a majority vote in each house of Congress? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in Monday's Huddle. Send answers to awright@politico.com

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