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06/05/2017 07:55 AM EDT


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

With assists from Daniel Lippman, Elana Schor and Kyle Cheney

THE CAPITOL BRACES FOR COMEY - Welcome back Huddle readers! The big news on Capitol Hill this week is former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday. Comey hasn't spoken publicly since he was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump on May 9. The former FBI chief is expected to be peppered with questions from both Democrats and Republicans about his conversations with Trump, including reports that the president pressured him to shut down a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

"We've known since Watergate rules of the road that the president shouldn't intervene in an ongoing investigation. It would be unthinkable if the president actually did what was reported," Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Intel Committee, said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

That's not all folks: Comey's testimony may be the main attraction but he won't be the only newsmaker on Capitol Hill this week. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers are all slated to testify before the Intel panel Wednesday. The hearing will be Rosenstein's first public testimony since he appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to take over the FBI's Russia probe. Kyle and Austin preview the week: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf24846f25f45c1e1584936e2b97d30e5ff78663daec61a6411d7116e117490f76e1fd0a184579834a

Playbook tidbit: Press gallery staff are scheduled to meet with aides on the Intel panel today to discuss the specifics of how many reporters will be allowed in the hearing room Thursday, Anna and Jake report this morning. Usually about 120 reporters, not including photographers, are allowed to sit in the press section.

I HEAR THE TRAIN A COMIN'... With Republicans in total control of Washington since January and little to show for it, concerns are mounting that Congress is heading for disaster come September, with a debt default and government shutdown both looming possibilities. Democratic leaders are already signaling they won't back down from a debt limit fight. And while GOP leaders insist their big plans (repealing Obamacare, overhauling the tax code) are still on track, the chamber has done little lately other than process delayed nominations, Burgess and Seung Min report.

'Give me a break': "There have been zero amendment votes on regular legislation, with only a non-binding budget vote-a-rama in January. ...It's the fewest such votes in a new Congress since 1981," Burgess and SMK report. "I'm very frustrated," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). "We're going to do all these things by Sept. 30? Give me a break. We're going to cut taxes, pass health care, set aside sequestration?" Much more on what's to come this summer, described as a "train wreck" by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf1fedc2f40e1b178a6bf77c470b992c9e84295466931fce20fc9919e3307e390a3b5c44aa0a3d3b95

Reality check, via the AP's Erica Werner: "Seven legislative weeks are left before Congress scatters for a five-week August recess, a period when lawmakers are likely to lose momentum if they have failed to act on health care or taxes, and face GOP voters frustrated that they haven't delivered." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf03fc68c20984523bd5487609b618d3846a161cee7b444888f9d4f35e980fa080f8df2973d10e2b32

AND WE'RE BACK! Welcome to Monday, June 5 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Your Huddle host is happy to be back at the helm after a little time away getting married and hanging out with the wild roosters in Key West.

REPUBLICANS TAMP DOWN REPEAL EXPECTATIONS - Senate Republicans are growing increasingly pessimistic that an Obamacare repeal will happen this year, publicly airing their concerns over the Memorial Day recess. "I don't see a comprehensive health care plan this year," Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told a local news station late last week. And Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said over the weekend "tax reform is an easier lift," reiterating his idea to shift to a two-prong plan to dismantle Obamacare.

On the flip side, Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he thinks the Senate will vote to repeal Obamacare "by the end of July at the latest." Elana and Madeline Conway with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf61bf14ed6b70d604aa049f9dd7f10a45df0c0efee53266270f6b02f96027611ee88db80f1a4e524a

Dems weigh in: "Make no mistake, Senate Republican leaders are working as hard as they can to get to 50 votes and jam their version of Trumpcare through the Senate-and the minute they do, this bill is going to move fast," Senate HELP Committee ranking member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told Huddle. "That's why we're going to keep the pressure on."

Risky premium pledge: Even if Senate Republicans can agree to an Obamacare repeal plan, they are in danger of overpromising and underdelivering on their pledge to reduce insurance premiums. Jen Haberkorn explains: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdffc87133f1eaedb087458fc17022c213fb09e786177bc3c365a74e76acb5b914214ff640e8b4cc567 And Jen teamed up with Burgess to profile Bill Cassidy, the gastroenterologist turned Republican senator who is determined to bridge his party's Obamacare repeal divide. From Covington, La.: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf6798764271c3808acdf4f8faa197e5a1f2dd0c8695758f4b0726955baa28103d5228e5fff4c867b3

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DISPATCH FROM THE BEST COAST - GOP Rep. Darrell Issa won reelection by less than 2,000 votes in November, struggling to hold onto his seat in a southern California district that's turning more blue with every election. Rachael went to San Juan Capistrano to see how he's doing back home: "Anger from the left - and more than a little from his own party - has dogged Issa here in a Republican-leaning part of his increasingly Democratic district. Every seat in a nearly 500-person auditorium at the San Juan Hills High School was filled, and hundreds of constituents protested outside, irate that they couldn't get in." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdfcbb2beb6ec2c0e06a5486d9939ed9d7a75158837b70183b47049435819a6586473fca462ab1321be

SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO BE A WRITER - Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) pocketed a $332,750 advance for his latest book, "Giant of the Senate," according to personal financial disclosure records filed in May. HuffPost reported in 2015 that Franken's memoir would garner him at least $1 million. His office didn't comment Friday on whether the total listed in Franken's financial disclosures is the full amount or part of a larger advance. Seung Min with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdffb2e3ce292ae18f7577081c0b035d860557807c4e2eacc72e49854b4ab96e5d31fdf52ca7c51250c

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR TESTER - Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has decided against challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018, becoming the second high-profile Republican to pass on jumping in the race in recent months. "Fox is also known to be interested in running for governor, and Montana Republicans said that became more likely after Rep.-elect Greg Gianforte was charged with assaulting a reporter shortly before his election victory last month. Gianforte, a wealthy tech executive, had been the Montana GOP's gubernatorial candidate in 2016. 'This all changed post-bodyslam,' said a D.C. Republican." Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider report:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf559a28407475dcdac76370c8fd6bde51111afaba4cda3ef0325618cdcaf9ad5baec8b492bd773748

NOT SO FAST - As President Donald Trump renewed his travel ban push over the weekend (and this morning), lawmakers on both sides of the aisle came out against the idea on Sunday. Several lawmakers making the Sunday show rounds said the ban "is no longer necessary since the administration has had the time it claimed it needed to develop beefed-up vetting procedures," Paige Winfield Cunningham reports for the Washington Post. "It's been four months since I said they needed four months to put that in place," Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said on Fox News. "I think you can do that without a travel ban and hopefully we are." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdfd128b07ab3dbdcd1bdc04b1d479e01b067e851fd6c40b8ead49630113fb45b38f91990903f0a5e0d

GOV WATCH: WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT - Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is quietly exploring a bid for Florida governor, Marc Caputo reports this morning. "DeSantis today is in Tallahassee to meet with potential donors and supporters as he weighs a bid for governor or, possibly, attorney general. DeSantis has held similar exploratory meetings in Miami and Naples." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdf193081a294695f25c683a2cfb9836fa04e052b832cc21b10f0c86267220015729fa0286b29d7d0e7

Meanwhile, Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), who sits in a Trump-won district, ruled out a 2018 gubernatorial run in a Facebook post. More from the Pioneer Press: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b23e771cc2027cdfa6d41ebead1af44087fac5996c42adef58805ea6d375d198c91db861244f6ed257b37e4f80bca1c6

VIA PLAYBOOK: TUESDAYS WITH TRUMP - Trump is hosting a half dozen members of Congress for dinner at the White House Tuesday night, Jake and Anna report. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) are all on the invite list.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 3 p.m. today with a 5:30 p.m. vote on a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The House is out until Tuesday.

AROUND THE HILL - Not much happening today as everyone gets back into town post-recess.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Katie Niederee has a new gig as press secretary for the Senate Finance Committee. Previously, she was communications director for Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). Daniel Cameron, who most recently was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's personal office legal counsel, is returning to Louisville to practice law at Frost Brown Todd. Reagan Payne starts a new gig next week in government relations at Cruise Automation, an autonomous vehicle startup acquired by GM last year. Payne previously worked for Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.).

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER(S) - Jeremy Berkowitz was the first to correctly guess that Maine elected two independent governors since 1940: James Longley and Angus King. Then Heinz Kaiser noted that Alaska, too, had achieved the feat when Wally Hickel (who later registered as a Republican) and current Gov. Bill Walker were elected. So it's a joint victory today.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: This person, a central figure in the history of the United States, appears many times in the Capitol, including above a room previously used by the Committee on Post Offices. Name this person. For bonus points, name another place he/she is featured in the Capitol. Send answers my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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