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05/31/2016 09:20 AM EDT


By Seung Min Kim (skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

MCCONNELL THROWS SHADE AT CRUZ -- USA Today's Susan Page sits down with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is promoting his memoir, "The Long Game," out today. But McConnell spends some time talking about one figure who doesn't pop up in his book: "Surprisingly, another senator with whom McConnell often has tangled doesn't appear in the book: Ted Cruz of Texas. The conservative Republican and presidential hopeful has been a burr in McConnell's side, once calling him a liar on the Senate floor."

--" 'The Washington Post gave him three Pinocchios for calling me a liar,' McConnell says, noting the judgment of the newspaper's fact-checking column. He says Cruz isn't mentioned in his memoir because he's "not a significant part of my story.' Does that mean Cruz isn't a significant part of the Senate? 'I would say he has maybe one follower on a good day.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3e01bdf4997f0f4fe2aa03fc5675d5721a9000790c0d90f9618582741ec139c9

--CBS also ran a feature about McConnell on Sunday, where Huddle's favorite part was how the future majority leader outmaneuvered his rivals in a competitive bid for student council president at his Louisville high school: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3e01bdf4997f0f4fe68dec9e2c27d82ba3ea6f6c4bf4773248a8d2a0fe794a4b

--The book promo media blitz continues this morning with the Hugh Hewitt show, where McConnell says of his prospects running for reelection in 2020: "I certainly think that's a good possibility." Audio: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3e01bdf4997f0f4f6ca765e07e7076e642861f1c0f6dd085f6384edabb35d056

--And McConnell, of course, opines on Donald Trump: "We've had nominees before who were not deeply into Republican politics and philosophy. But Trump is not going to change the institution, he's not going to change the basic philosophy of the party. And I'm comfortable voting for him because on the big things that I think have the greatest impact on the future of the country. At the top of the list is Supreme Court. I think he'll be just fine." Via POLITICO's Nick Gass: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3e01bdf4997f0f4f5ff0be26152f3aede75f4171404132745545345a1e771b0d

CRUZ WORKS TO EASE GOP BAD BLOOD - POLITICO's Katie Glueck and Burgess Everett: "Ted Cruz's associates insist he's returning to the Senate as the same uncompromising, hell-bent conservative he's always been. But one thing is different, and it's glaring: The senator who made enemies with fellow Republican senators and bragged about it to voters now wants to play nice - or at least his version of nice - with his colleagues."

--"And the first step to improving his rancorous relationships, the Texas senator's allies say, will be to help them keep their Senate seats. The freshman senator wants to return to the campaign trail this fall as a conservative surrogate for Republicans aiming to turn out the GOP base, they say. 'That can go a long way toward establishing good relationships," said a senior Cruz adviser." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3e01bdf4997f0f4ff1f584f6a135411e710deb000df18425a72c989b2a4dbe2b

SESSIONS: GET ON BOARD THE TRUMP TRAIN - Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is Glenn Thrush's latest subject for his POLITICO podcast series: "Sessions, a 69-year-old former state attorney general who famously donned the 'Make America Great Again' trucker's cap at a massive rally in Mobile last August, thinks Trump is more a movement than a man."

--"And this sprightly son of country preachers and teachers is on a mission to evangelize maybe-Trumpers like House Speaker Paul Ryan on the Gospel According to Donald - with a sermon on self-preservation. 'I think [Ryan] needs to recognize, on some of these issues, Trump is where the Republicans are and if you're going to be a Republican leader you should be supportive of that,' Sessions told me during a taping of POLITICO's 'Off Message' podcast in his Senate office last week." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=534528c3e49675aad6cd2ce0d6ef46c2b76d26c74a3bc152fb0dbe02e349f0d6

TRANSITIONS -- Sam Rubino, who was a staff assistant for Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) for the last two and a half years, is headed to the Montana Republican Party to be a regional field director out of Billings. (h/t Daniel Lippman)

GOOD MORNING, IT'S MONDAY, May 31, 2016 and you're reading the Huddle, where your morning newsletter is being published a tad bit late this morning since we had to stay up to watch Game 7 of the Warriors-Thunder series last night. #SorryNotSorry. I'm taking your NBA Finals predictions (and general congressional news, of course) at skim@politico.com. Please also follow me on Twitter at @seungminkim.

And a reminder that Heather Caygle, our new Huddle writer, starts next week! So add her to your Rolodexes and start following her on Twitter: hcaygle@politico.com and @heatherscope.

My new followers include @JustinBarasky and @carolelee.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - A heated debate about where to grab that two-hour lunch break. And the House comes into a pro forma session at 1 p.m., while the Senate's pro forma came and went at 8:30 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) is holding a conference call with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic congressional candidates on the House GOP veteran agenda at 2 p.m. For call-in info, e-mail STEPHENSON@DCCC.org.

GAME-TIME INBOX, from the pool report of Sanders at the Warriors-Thunders game: "The actor and activist Danny Glover - a longtime Bay Area resident and Warrior fan is sitting with Sanders. They arrived at halftime and Glover pulled on a warriors 'strength in numbers' t-shirt before entering the stands. Accompanied by Secret service agents they walked to their seats - section 108 row 15 behind the Thunder basket. Good Seats but not the ones frequented by millionaires and billionaires."

SUNDAY SHOW WRAP-UP -

--Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sits down with CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" for a lengthy, introspective interview on his failed presidential race and beyond. Rubio's apology for the "small hands" comment got the most headlines, but the whole interview is worth a watch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=534528c3e49675aa7f516d70ea3590bcb4d56d2d0065e345b3576cfe337af9e3

--Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who is chairing the RNC's platform committee in Cleveland, dodges a question on ABC's "This Week" on whether the GOP will embrace Donald Trump's Muslim ban, saying instead that national security will be a major part of the party's platform. CBS: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=534528c3e49675aa46d63c9869039dc9faca431753ecfc1f4c32d5b2c21e125e

--And Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) declares Bernie Sanders' campaign "all but over" on ABC: "I know the passion of a campaign. I know when you're in it, you just keep go, go, go until the last hour is there. Well, the last hour is close by." ABC News: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=534528c3e49675aa573207ea7c76b7ac2d19260a4eecc199c1767791c1fd1127

TOM COTTON ON THE RUN - Burgess Everett dares to do what few of us Hill scribes would do and goes on a not-so-leisurely jog with the Arkansas senator: "Until he was 25, Tom Cotton never considered himself a runner. Then he found out how fast President George W. Bush could run a 5K. 'It was a lot faster than I could do it,' Cotton recalled during a brisk run across the National Mall last week that left a POLITICO reporter huffing and puffing to keep up. 'I found it embarrassing that a 50-year-old man smoked me. So my first goal was to run three miles in 20 minutes.'"

--"The Arkansas senator is certainly a man in a hurry. At 39 he's the youngest senator, elected in 2014 after a single term in the House. If Donald Trump loses in November, the veteran of two wars and Harvard Law grad is sure to be the focus of 2020 presidential chatter." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72fead113d76066565112d6ae5ac31bbb5151f526bf1160a7299c4d2efabe92

COULD RAIDS DEPRESS LATINO TURNOUT? My weekend piece for POLITICO: "Donald Trump and his incendiary immigration rhetoric was supposed to send Latino voters to the polls in droves for Democrats this fall. But the Obama administration's controversial immigration raids are threatening to weaken the Democrats' advantage ... Advocacy groups say they're concerned that enthusiasm from Latino voters and volunteers is getting sapped because of the furor stemming from the controversial enforcement operations."

--" 'People are fatigued and outraged about the raids, and just when things should be turning to creating clean lines between the candidates, the Obama administration is dampening enthusiasm,' said Cristina Jimenez, the co-founder and managing director of United We Dream, a leading advocacy group led by young undocumented immigrants." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72fead113d76066202a2ed22da826dffb4cc17ab19ffbf6f10e7379c80bab9b

GARLAND SPEAKS! Still blocked by Senate Republicans from his confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland goes public in a different fashion: the commencement speech at Niles West High School, his alma mater. Via the Chicago Tribune: "Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland on Sunday bid the graduates of his alma mater Niles West to 'go out and do some good in the world' in his second noteworthy commencement address at the Skokie high school."

--" 'When you are facing the unanticipated twists and turns that life shall surely take, when the bad things happen, it should be of tremendous solace to get outside yourself and focus on someone else,' he said to the crowd of roughly 4,000 filling the football stadium. 'Instead of taking a selfie, turn the camera around. You know, the way we used to take pictures? You will have a much more fulfilling life by turning your focus outward to helping others.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72fead113d760665299fae9ff537bef720dc0742a1803e6b571b6389062e6e2

CHAMBER RAMPS UP SENATE PUSH - From the Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson: "The country's biggest business lobby will launch an initiative Tuesday to deploy influential Republicans to raise funds for tight Senate races, hoping to keep the GOP from losing control of the chamber in November. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 'Save the Senate' effort is being led by both Republicans who back the party's presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and those who have balked at doing so, in a shared quest to retain the Senate majority."

--"The Chamber's coalition highlights how much easier it is for Republicans to rally around congressional races this year than to join forces in the divisive presidential election. Republicans 'are all over the board on the presidential race, but there's a lot of unanimity when it comes to the Senate,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), an honorary co-chairman and fundraiser for the Chamber's push." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72fead113d760669cb23b89a8f02d99166f800eba0f2b0fe78532d11351409e

FLORIDA GETS WEIRDER, GRAYSON EDITION - Via POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: "One of Dena Minning's biggest assets in her congressional bid was her boyfriend: incumbent Alan Grayson, who's leaving the U.S. House to run for U.S. Senate. Now, after Grayson has helped raise her profile and run for his U.S. House seat, he married her over the Memorial Day Weekend and gave her his last name, according to her Monday social-media posts and The Orlando Political Observer."

--"Dena Minning promptly became Dena Grayson on Twitter and Facebook. The largely unknown outsider in the Orlando-area district now has a potent tool in running under the name of the incumbent in a crowded Democratic primary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e72fead113d76066f59546a6e0fa40e6dc57377026563705f8c0276652a74a60

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMERS LAUNCH DNC PETITION - The jockeying has already started on shaping the party's platforms at the conventions this summer. Criminal justice reform advocates at the Brennan Center for Justice are starting a petition today pushing the Democrats to embrace ending mass incarceration in their platform in Philadelphia. See the petition here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=901528e6b74cf27c45e31bee9db32e4fe43007de8f72ddf8b49e4c92e0681b56

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jon Deuser was the first person to correctly answer that Board of Education is the name of the room in the Capitol where Speaker Rayburn met to plot strategy and where Vice President Truman got the urgent call to return to the White House when President Roosevelt died.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - What House member, and later senator, when visiting Speaker Rayburn in the Board of Education room, would always first plant a kiss on the speaker's bald head? The first person to correctly answer will get a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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