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09/07/2016 07:47 AM EDT


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

With assistance from Burgess Everett

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: GOP FEELING GOOD HEADING INTO FALL-Republicans on Capitol Hill are riding high, thinking that if Donald Trump continues down the path he's on (going the last few weeks without a major gaffe), that'll be good news for the GOP's down-ballot races in November. Republicans are "cautiously optimistic" that Trump can "remain disciplined enough over the next two months to keep them from getting blown out - and give them a fighting chance to hold the Senate and protect their sizable House majority," report Burgess Everett, Seung Min Kim and Rachael Bade. Read it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e83907d270300bfe02e9ef948c3e2a8def03d305650e3b0a3079

NUMBERS ROLL IN: MASSIVE HAUL FOR SENATE GOP- Two outside groups with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "raised $42 million in August, a massive haul that shows the fervor with which GOP donors are training their focus - and dollars - on maintaining control of the upper chamber," scoop Playbook authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman this morning. The story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839ce05681210d246db623e110e9ab6b4f11b64a3bbfd24fd78

THE LATEST ON THE CR-Senate GOP leaders are planning to push a stopgap spending bill that runs until mid-December but the House Freedom Caucus, which until now has been opposed to any short-term measure that doesn't go into next year, has other plans. Rachael (who camped out at Hunan Dynasty Tuesday night) and Seung Min with more: The HFC plans "to tell leadership they will back a short-term funding package if they can tuck in a bill by Rep. Richard Hudson" to halt the Syrian refugee resettlement program.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Bill Flores said Tuesday it's not just HFC members who don't want to deal with a mega-funding bill in the lame duck, telling reporters that's a "broad conservative position" in the caucus. In addition to the weekly Republican huddle today, the House GOP will have a special conference meeting Friday to talk about the funding bill. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839d51336efacabc71c1b9b631eba435b9fa4e42c03d2174679

UH, HOW DO WE GET OUTTA THIS? Senate leaders think they have a way around considering the impeachment of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, even if House conservatives force the issue. Burgess explains: "First Senate Republicans are attempting to convince their conservative House brethren to avoid the matter entirely. ... Failing that, Republicans say, the Senate would likely turn to a procedural maneuver to dispense with impeachment rather than begin an entire trial that could soak up valuable campaign time for vulnerable incumbents."

Keeping it real with Sen. Hatch: "'That doesn't have even the slightest chance over here,' said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who opposes impeaching Koskinen. "'I'm not sure it's a wise thing to do before the election.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e8398279ae5b9f6099155854fa66a8c8952eec7829c223b6867a

HOUSE MULLS 9/11 BILL-With the 15th anniversary of the tragedy coming on Sunday, House Republicans "are wrestling with whether to pass legislation that would allow the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts," report Rachael and John Bresnahan. But "President Barack Obama and a number of top diplomatic and national security officials from both parties strongly oppose the measure" and the Saudi government is lobbying hard against the idea. A group of victims' families is headed to the Hill this week to press House Speaker Paul Ryan to commit to passing the bill and will attend Ryan's 9/11 remembrance ceremony on the Capitol steps Friday. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839f64a0d4174266afdd32f222043687fb0a72d3864a2bb31c5

DEMOCRAT ON SIT-IN PUNISHMENT: BRING IT-Connecticut Rep. John Larson, an architect of Democrats' gun control sit-in over the summer, said he's not worried about a potential reprimand from House GOP leaders. "I think it just brings further attention to why we sat in," Larson told Huddle in the Speaker's Lobby Tuesday night. "Not to have a vote since Sandy Hook is the real travesty here."

HEY, THE WEEK'S ALREADY HALFWAY OVER! Welcome to Wednesday, Sept. 7. You're reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Send scoops, Hill gossip and college football smack talk my way: hcaygle@politico.com

TODAY IN CONGRESS- The House gavels in at 10 a.m. with first votes around 1 p.m. and last votes around 4 p.m. The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and will begin work on a water infrastructure bill that includes money to address the Flint water crisis.

AROUND THE HILL- House Speaker Paul Ryan and other members of GOP leadership hold a 10 a.m. press conference in HC-8 following the Republican conference meeting. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Vice Chairman Joe Crowley hold a post-meeting press conference at 10 a.m. in the HVC-210 alcove.

Sens. Patty Murray, Barbara Mikulski and Mazie Hirono, along with Planned Parenthood representatives, hold a 10 a.m. press conference on Zika in S-120 in the Capitol. Sens. Dick Durbin, Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker hold an 11 a.m. press conference on Merrick Garland's nomination outside the Supreme Court.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders hold an 11 a.m. press conference on Zika funding in the Rayburn Room (H-207). Senate Democrats and Republicans host their weekly caucus lunches starting at 12:30 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party will head to Sen. Pat Toomey's office in 248 Russell around 11 a.m. today to drop off several Donald Trump books after Toomey told the Washington Post he was still "learning things about this nominee" in an August interview. FREE FRIES! Today from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. near the Capitol South metro. Roll Call with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e8397975da5792eae70867e13f04ecf76bfbe039801579831ecd

DEJA VU: ZIKA BILL STUMBLES AGAIN- "Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the GOP's $1.1 billion bill to pay for the nation's Zika response, as lawmakers eye a must-pass federal funding bill as the next opportunity to approve money to fight the virus," reports Jennifer Haberkorn. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839ee4db4b825e0e1a603e6609f8fddbaa4a170d58385863c87

WALKER PUSHES FOR RSC CHAIRMANSHIP- Freshman GOP Rep. Mark Walker made his push for the Republican Study Committee chairmanship official Tuesday, sending a letter to colleagues requesting their support and hinting his time as a pastor could help him mediate some of the caucus quarrels. "Leadership transcends, whether it's business, ministry or politics," Walker told your Huddle host. So far he's the only Republican to put his name in the ring but that could quickly change. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839d7339b96c3890f5e8bbdf1c86452d79c5a4f768dd89e71ce

Flores talks RSC: You Huddle host caught up with current RSC Chairman Bill Flores Tuesday to ask about rumors that several House Freedom Caucus members might be planning to leave the RSC. "First of all, nobody has talked to me," Flores said. "The only names that are mentioned are [Reps. Mick] Mulvaney and Mark Meadows. If there were going to be some kind of exodus, I would've heard about it."

HONORING TAKAI- Lawmakers took time Tuesday to remember their colleague, the late Hawaii Rep. Mark Takai, who died in July, speaking about him on the House floor and donning leis in his honor. Video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839fbc50725421e25716bd488e1322987b6098c1dad97523d73

BRING OUT THE GRASSROOTS TROOPS- The Koch brothers are calling on their grassroots network to give GOP Sen. Richard Burr a boost in North Carolina. BuzzFeed's Tarini Parti: "Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity, which has a heavy presence in the state, will target Burr's Democratic opponent, Deborah Ross, for her votes in favor of certain tax hikes during her time in the state legislature. AFP will start knocking on doors, making calls and sending out 500,000 mailers on the issue - the first in a series of mailers directed at Ross - this week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839c0d8ba114e850f647b16905a81c6b22db55bc8abf27b740a

Walker talks Burr (and the Thing): "I'm not sure Sen. Burr has ever got upset about anything in his life," Rep. Mark Walker told Huddle when asked how worried Burr is about November. Walker, who's known Burr for more than 20 years, chatted with him Tuesday morning. Asked has he ever been a passenger in Burr's old school VW, lovingly known as the Thing: "By choice, no," Walker said with a laugh.

TWEET DU JOUR- Alex Gangitano (@AlexGangitano): Just saw a Boxer, Booker, Scott group hug on the Senate floor #backtoschool

PELOSI WANTS BAN ON HACKED MATERIALS- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wants Speaker Ryan to ban Republicans from using materials that surfaced in recent hacks against Democrats in the election, reports the New York Times. "'Democrats and Republicans must present a united front in the face of Russia's attempts to tamper with the will of the American people,' Ms. Pelosi wrote."

The response? Ryan's office referred questions to the House GOP's campaign arm. An NRCC spokeswoman "did not rule out using hacked content, but disclaimed responsibility for the one instance it had happened thus far" (Remember the recent ad targeting Randy Perkins in Florida? http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e8399936a8ffccf6317581a94059cc65278c13a32da693d37447 Jonathan Martin with more on Pelosi's letter: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839f8e8f2de732978227c57096f8b414e66da0837857930036e

OBAMACARE BILL COMING TODAY-Sen. John McCain and several other GOP senators are rolling out a bill today to exempt folks who only have very limited options in the insurance exchanges from having to pay the individual mandate tax. "With Phoenix Health Plans, Inc.'s exit from the Obamacare marketplace last week, nearly all of Arizona's counties are now left with either one or no options when it comes to health insurance under Obamacare," McCain will say, according to a release.

NEW GARLAND PUSH: Democrats are trying to resuscitate the sleeping giant that is the vacant Supreme Court seat today, launching a new campaign to put Merrick Garland up for a vote and releasing new polls about Senate Republicans' blockade. The campaign includes a new #WeNeedNine video, Democratic polls showing that 56 percent of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Iowa voters want the Senate to consider Garland and a press conference outside the Supreme Court.

Spoiler: This is not going to move Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, but will help bring Garland back into the news after a very quiet July and August on the SCOTUS front.

Related: Senate Democrats vow to hold up committee meetings to protest the inaction on Garland. The Hill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e8391449144263fd464ea562f42accf3abf9a17d42691d26fda2

A TALE OF TWO CAMPAIGNS-Sen. John McCain is offering two different immigration narratives depending on which campaign site you visit, a Washington Post analysis found. Ed O'Keefe with more: "The Spanish language site, for instance, lauds him as a member of the Gang of Eight that sought comprehensive immigration reform, and a supporter of a pathway to citizenship for the children of immigrants who came to the country ...The English-language site makes no mention of either and portrays the senator as a champion of tougher border security." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839752070439c56f51f1905a79fc605fb10a0404af518a56071

DEPARTURE LOUNGE-Andrew Dohrmann is leaving his job as staffer to Sen. Barbara Boxer on the EPW Committee for a new gig in California. Today is his last day on Capitol Hill before he heads West next week for a job as government relations director at infrastructure consulting firm T.Y. Lin International.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER- The AP's Erica Werner was the first to correctly that then-Sen. Evan Bayh was the lawmaker who held up Rob Portman's nomination to be U.S. trade representative way back in 2005. Erica didn't know this at the time, but her recent tweet was actually inspiration for the Huddle question.

TODAY'S TRIVIA- Erica with today's question: California's Sanchez sisters are the first, and so far only, pair of sisters to serve together in the House. What other family pairing has happened only once so far, who were they and from what state? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle. Email me: hcaygle@politico.com

POLITICO Event Alert - The Medicaid Agenda in 2017: Join POLITICO's Pro Health Care team and featured speakers Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), Louisiana Department of Health Sec. Rebekah Gee, Arkansas Department of Human Services Director Cindy Gillespie and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) for a conversation on the future of Medicaid. September 13 - 8am; The W Hotel - 515 15th St. NW. RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a7c3138274e8e839a495ebc8ff49f8b49084449cbc09b2a6fff59a76c00cf3e7

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