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06/28/2017 08:01 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Elana Schor

BEHIND THE SCENES: THE GOP'S HEALTH CARE FLOP - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's decision to pull the GOP's Obamacare repeal on Tuesday shocked even his top lieutenants, who knew the support wasn't there but expected the Kentucky Republican to drive ahead with a vote this week as promised. Instead, McConnell surprised members of his caucus from the top down when he announced at their Tuesday lunch that he was pulling the bill. The episode was a stunning turn of events considering McConnell in March, when the House was going through its own Obamacare stumbles, boasted that the Senate could pass a repeal bill in a week.

'Tinkering isn't going to work': "Everyone in the Senate took him at his word that a vote would occur this week, which is why the decision to punt the bill was so surprising. But it's also true that McConnell has never been the type of leader to put a bill on the floor that he knows will fail," Burgess, Jen Haberkorn and Josh Dawsey write in their post-mortem. "Tinkering isn't going to work, from my perspective. There would have to be a major overhaul of the bill ... to win my support," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said.

So what happens next? Congress leaves Thursday for a weeklong July Fourth recess. McConnell, meanwhile, hopes to "strike a new deal by Friday or Saturday, with plans to have the Congressional Budget Office analyze that proposal and to hold a vote soon after the recess," they report. But even if the GOP follows McConnell's new timeline, "Republican senators will have nine days at home dealing with liberal activists, a new CBO score and more critical media coverage."

Getting to 50: "McConnell and [President Donald] Trump must persuade all but two of the following currently opposed senators to reverse course: conservatives Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) as well as the more centrist Collins, Shelley Moore Capito (W.V.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Dean Heller (Nev.), and surprise opponents like Jerry Moran (Kansas)." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d470c9147fc1195b49fb2c52196b8803633633fb18362f72ec2040bb1988e7abed2a4ffbccb45ae38b1a6decb4ddcd6647c

Following Trump's all-senators meeting at the WH Tuesday... "When asked by reporters clustered on the blacktop outside the West Wing if Mr. Trump had command of the details of the negotiations, Mr. McConnell ignored the question and smiled blandly," Glenn Thrush and J-Mart report for the New York Times.

Who's afraid of Trump? Not Congress obviously... "History suggests that presidents who have governed successfully have been both revered and feared. But Republican fixtures in Washington are beginning to conclude that Trump may be neither, despite his mix of bravado, threats and efforts to schmooze with GOP lawmakers," Philip Rucker, Robert Costa and Ashley Parker report for the Washington Post.

More: 5 changes to get the repeal back on track | Fewer than 4-in-10 voters back Senate bill | Dan Balz: 'Repeal and replace,' once a unifier, now an albatross | Pro-Trump group pulls Heller attack ads

DEMS TAKE VICTORY LAP - Senate Democrats, united in their opposition, are celebrating a major - if temporary - victory. But now Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) faces his next big challenge: "Keeping his party and grass-roots allies mobilized for at least two more weeks, as Republicans rewrite their plan and hunt for votes," Seung Min and Elana report. "Schumer also has to protect his moderate members up for reelection in 2018, who already have faced repeated attacks from the National Republican Senatorial Committee over their pledge to shield Obamacare from efforts to unravel it." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d47853aa6f3130b4e5d48b54a738ff1bcf1b987ce3129ae199cbad7911537fb0e58e2453431a844411c33cca8ba0f2cb85e

WE'RE GOING ALL-IN FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Erica Werner's AP story on the GOP senators who could make or break the Obamacare repeal vote was the winner, winner, chicken dinner.

TOP DEM 'OKAY WITH' HOUSE FIX ON RUSSIA SANCTIONS - The Senate's bipartisan package of sanctions on Russia and Iran, including new limits on the Trump White House's power to ease penalties against Moscow, remains in limbo amid a constitutional concern raised by the House. Senate leaders are still urging the House to take the initiative in getting around the procedural issue, but House Republicans say the Senate should take up their proposed fix. And the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat says that the House fix passed muster with his staff.

"Yes, I think I'm okay with it" based on a staff-level review, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said in a Tuesday interview, noting that not every Democrat is fully on board yet. Asked whether a resolution of the sanctions holdup might be in the offing, however, Cardin demurred. Democrats suspect there may be a delay that's "a little bit more Machiavellian than" the House has admitted, Cardin said. (Don't forget that the White House has planned to ask House Republicans for Trump-friendly changes to the legislation.)

GOP FUMES AT WHITE HOUSE - Several top Republicans are increasingly frustrated with the White House, saying the chaos and impulsiveness at 1600 Penn. Ave are crippling efforts to expand the Senate majority in 2018 and endangering incumbents for no reason, Alex Isenstadt and Josh Dawsey report. The most recent example is the pro-Trump super PAC America First Policies going after Sen. Dean Heller over the Obamacare repeal. McConnell complained about the attacks to the White House over the weekend and Heller brought it up himself during the all-senators meeting with Trump on Tuesday.

Roll Tide: McConnell is also stewing about the Alabama Senate primary, with the RNC yet to wade into the contest and bolster Sen. Luther Strange in the contested race, a personal priority for the majority leader. The NRSC is also having a harder time than expected wooing potential candidates in the current political environment, committee chairman Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) told a small group of donors recently. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d471db15b2e9cc2e5f2275cbbaca2486b5ef015383d157931c62ec95ab93594c8e156497a5b91700aa3724834f55d4720fd

TWEET DU JOUR - Our very own Seung Min is giving TMZ a run for its money on Capitol Hill: "SNL alum Tim Meadows is on Capitol Hill. He tells me he is in D.C. visiting his son at Georgetown so he's meeting with old pal @alfranken," SMK tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

LAWMAKERS APPROVE EXTRA SECURITY $$ - "The House passed a measure on Tuesday that grants lawmakers an extra $25,000 to pay for security needs in the wake of the shooting at the GOP baseball practice this month," Cristina Marcos reports for the Hill. "The funds allocated by the resolution will be available to House members through Jan. 2, 2018." Lawmakers can use the extra money for security at their offices or public events but not at their homes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d4760e263c86aeacd898efe69fd8a91ab2c28516141f37c71f926dbe39d20a1c83129cfdd35ade80dc9c1c581352c2d535d

BUMMER, DUDE - Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) lost $17 million Tuesday after the Australian biotech stock he's championed to fellow lawmakers dropped 90 percent, Doni Bloomfield and Brandon Kochkodin report for Bloomberg. "A source close to the company said the $17 million loss was only on paper and that Collins' actual loses are just over $5 million," our Rachael Bade notes. "Collins' relationship with the company has raised eyebrows in recent months. And the Office of Congressional Ethics is currently investigating whether Collins engaged in insider trading." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d47b017847916086b536f2a9287e9e2eef2705705a0627759f5bb5b372371dfbe1d6f908f666c7efc4694c8ca591e118fbd

'ABDICATION' OF DUTIES - Three weeks after winning a special election to replace Xavier Becerra, Rep.-elect Jimmy Gomez still hasn't been sworn in to Congress. And now House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is demanding answers, calling the seat's "elongated vacancy" an "abdication" of his responsibilities, Sarah Wire reports for the L.A. Times. Gomez told the Times "he would try to delay his Assembly resignation to vote on extending the state's cap-and-trade program... [now] there are rumblings Gov. Jerry Brown would like to be able to count on Gomez' vote to pass the bill with a two-thirds majority before the Legislature leaves on July 21." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d47eb23d0f2a558c3a6cf826a86e87e8bd7c2579847644425d8b5f942a41db02bce9a31262ce0f6962df55bca4a6656dc07

WARREN MAKES SINGLE PAYER PUSH - As the GOP continues efforts to repeal Obamacare, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) says "now it's time for the next step." "And the next step is single payer," she told the Wall Street Journal's Reid Epstein. "Warren's comments represent a shift to her position," Igor Bobic notes for HuffPost. "In March, she said her support for switching to single-payer \u2015 in which the government handles coverage of health care costs, rather than insurance companies \u2015 would depend on whether Democrats could find Republican lawmakers willing to help fix the Affordable Care Act passed under Obama."

SPOTTED: Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger at the Nationals/Cubs game in D.C. Tuesday night sitting at a table in the outfield area with his back to the game (Pic via Matt Laslo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b28613f5bc132d47cc0d714b05ad1ba8307dac12ce5775cf4037647894ecd2daf9d94045908227d8efef2f274c7dccbf8016a3c47c7e3356 ... Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) dining with a group al fresco at Trattoria Albertos Tuesday night ... Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) were also spotted separately at the restaurant for dinner ... Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) talking on her cell phone while walking along 8th Street SE ...

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House gavels in 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=b28613f5bc132d47eb4d5891496f8ec78be77d9d6482f58d119202ba32f743f5a7fde2d2a5d69cfdb49c4baa1c7849b2695a586f554957e8 The Senate meets at noon with no votes scheduled as it burns clock on Neomi Rao's nomination to be OMB office of regulator affairs administrator.

AROUND THE HILL - Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) hold a discussion on human trafficking in Florida at 8:30 a.m. in 2020 Rayburn.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.) hold a 10 a.m. press conference on corporate transparency at 10 a.m. in the House triangle.

Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) hold a 12 p.m. press conference on the GOP's Obamacare repeal efforts in SVC-200.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Andrew Malcolm correctly guessed that George W. Bush was the last president to live in Washington as a private citizen before being elected to the White House. Bush moved his family to Washington in the mid-1980s to work on his father's presidential campaign.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Andrew with today's question: In 1980, this Ways and Means Committee chairman lost his seat in Congress. Who beat him and who was the winning candidate's campaign spokesman? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send answers my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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