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07/02/2018 08:02 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

IMMIGRATION LOOMS OVER GOP -- Lawmakers left town last week for their Fourth of July recess without passing any immigration legislation. But at least they can move on now, right? Wrong. "President Donald Trump has been pestering Congress to send him big money for his border wall with Mexico, a demand that could lead to a government shutdown just weeks before Election Day. And lawmakers might not even have that long to ignore the issue," Rachael reports. "A series of court rulings expected in the coming weeks on Dreamers as well as separated migrant families will crank up the heat up on GOP lawmakers and underscore their inability to govern when it comes to immigration."

Trump attempted to rewrite history over the weekend, falsely claiming that he never encouraged Republicans to vote for any immigration bill. The president, in fact, tweeted days earlier -- in all-caps -- that they should pass the bill, in addition to speaking to the House GOP Conference on Capitol Hill and hosting undecided lawmakers at the White House. "Trump's reversals are one of the major reasons House Republicans were unable to pass a pair of GOP immigration bills addressing the fates of Dreamers just before the July Fourth recess -- even though they'd spent months negotiating among themselves," Rachael writes.

House GOP leaders quietly backed off plans to pursue a narrower bill before recess to keep migrant families together. The Senate is working on similar bipartisan legislation to address family separations at the southern border. But House Republicans won't take up any measure without the White House's approval. One White House official said he was unsure whether the president would sign anything without concessions from Democrats. "Conservatives, meanwhile, have also suggested that they need hard-line policy riders to sweeten the pot and win their support for any immigration bill," Rachael adds. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf13888fa785375812c9020ec4e3e16bd05fc7cf3b2c903805fc22d53235811e9c8d7432ec52ef405867c

Related: The Los Angeles Times' Q&A with Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) on immigration: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf138105ad84f56cda6c59448939269afb1af82c9b553c053b6245b55a464240fb23684a381091f91df3d

SCOTUS UPDATE -- The president began interviewing potential Supreme Court nominees over the weekend. His decision is expected next Monday. However, he has said he won't ask candidates how they would rule on Roe v. Wade, despite pledging on the campaign trail to nominate anti-abortion judges. "Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose votes will be critical to confirming any Trump nominee, favor abortion rights, and abortion-rights groups and their allies are organizing to fight any candidate selected from Trump's list of 25 potential candidates," Lorraine Woellert reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf1385448e5360064a34255989cc80e14f478e703eee0a7d72a727acffe804117d4866a4d35764e6b9149

Collins told CNN's "State of the Union" she wouldn't support a nominee who has "demonstrated hostility" to Roe v. Wade. In an interview with ABC's "This Week," she framed any candidate who would overturn the landmark ruling as unacceptable. She also said the president should "broaden his search beyond the list of 25 nominees." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf138c2a32d73fbb626843d67966a40df21420b8dad42b1eea581f7cb6d1880de0f57cc664ceacbd27e8d

Related reads: "Graham on Roe v. Wade: 'You don't overturn precedent unless there's a good reason,'" by The Hill's Max Greenwood: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=903aaf5ee98b52e11a41fd1a1010f5599e04793f5f397e774fcbabcc159db88a5dc4f0552bf78c9bbc466016f6d8ca12 and "The truth behind Bob Casey's 'pro-life' stand," from Jennifer Haberkorn: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf138b9e4eae18dd0d5952f64c821c47f1e577033d909da88f68c8584924efb13a39310c2791126575c03

STABILITY FOR SCOTUS CONFIRMATION PROCESS -- White House legislative affairs director Marc Short will delay his departure until after the president's next Supreme Court nominee is confirmed. White House counsel Don McGahn and Domestic Policy director Andrew Bremberg are similarly expected to stay through the confirmation process. "Short, who signaled to staffers that he would be exiting in the coming weeks, is now expected to stay on until October 1 to help coordinate with Senate offices," ABC News' Tara Palmeri reports.

"In July we'll be making sure the proper papers were assembled that senators will ask for, and then in August we will be consumed with individual meetings," Short said. "Hopefully them being here in August -- we'd like to assume the hearing by the end of the summer. We're trying to aim to have the new court in place by October 1." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3ed2d651a44bf13875929e32e23996ba4214cb9764ec04dc8b2b89bb99b62066297d037dde86a430c8dce77dc1057494

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, July 2.

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Nancy Cook's report on the president's timeline for nominating a Supreme Court justice was the winner.

TRUMP WANTS U.S. FART ACT -- The White House has drafted a bill -- the United States Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Act -- at President Donald Trump's request that would give him "unilateral power to ignore the two most basic principles of the WTO and negotiate one-on-one with any country," Axios' Jonathan Swan reports. Congressional Republicans have already warned the administration that tariffs will be harmful to Americans and are considering a bill that would give Congress the ability to approve or disapprove of tariffs on national security grounds.

Trump was briefed on the draft in May, but White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said, "Principals have not even met to review any text of legislation on reciprocal trade," suggesting the text is far from finalized. White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told trade adviser Peter Navarro the bill is "dead on arrival" in Congress. "It would be the equivalent of walking away from the WTO and our commitments there without us actually notifying our withdrawal," said a source familiar with the bill, who described it as "insane." "The good news is Congress would never give this authority to the president." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4f4fe10a1363fae6a68bb585f0989ff05d97cf0452049cabbea357ea3a5563bd157c1a9ac46fdd205

NYT EDITORIAL HITS DEM LEADERS -- House Democrats are being forced to confront questions over future leadership in the middle of a high-stakes election. And Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is to blame, The New York Times' editorial board says. "For too long, this regime has clung to power at the expense of future leaders," the board writes. "Neither of Ms. Pelosi's two chief deputies, Steny Hoyer, the party whip, and Jim Clyburn, the assistant leader, is a remotely viable successor. ... At this point, the caucus leadership has gone from stale to downright ossified."

Democrats were already jockeying for posts in leadership, but questions about what the next group of Democratic leaders should and will look like reemerged last week in the wake of House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley's (D-N.Y.) stunning loss to 28-year-old first-time candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. At least 20 Democratic candidates have pledged not to support Pelosi, who intends to become speaker if Democrats win back the House. "The Democrats' failure to aggressively nurture fresh talent has had a concrete impact on the caucus," the Times says. "Promising up-and-comers have long found themselves languishing, with nowhere to up and come." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4c445a74ba6d892f41a31cfc53e8626886a46d0eed30872f03fd5a2c93649af5e346d29bef0506b5b

NYT interactive: 20 Democrats who haven't had a primary challenge for at least a decade: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4601981b40c051aab546c0ab2658e3995296a3832f899453eb0ea6ec8c23c23dc1a8a1b34927fa287

TAX LAW COULD SPUR DIVORCES FOR THE RICH -- The GOP tax law eliminates a tax break for alimony payments finalized after Dec. 31. What does that mean? For the wealthiest Americans, between now and then is the best time frame to get divorced. "Under the law, Americans who finalize or modify divorce agreements in 2019 or later will no longer be able to deduct alimony payments from their taxes," The New York Times' Jim Tankersley reports. "Agreements signed before the end of the year will still qualify for the annual deduction -- a distinction with large financial implications for couples where one partner earns substantially more per year than the other." Lawyers say the provision could
disproportionately harm women and reduce the welfare of some children. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4777b4ca7bdae3b422d93da137620fbec75c5edc1afc657adb17f01fe5485bbe1cfb434fee72eb9cb

WARREN JOINS ANTI-ICE DEMS -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) this weekend joined a cast of potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who have embraced calls from the left to abolish ICE, the immigration enforcement agency. At an immigration protest in Boston on Saturday, Warren advocated for "replacing ICE with something that reflects our morality and that works." "President Trump seems to think the only way to have immigration rules is rip parents from their families, is to treat rape victims and refugees like terrorists and to put children in cages," she said. "This is ugly, this is wrong, and this is not the way to run our country."

"Warren is the latest high-profile Democrat to call for the US immigration system to be revamped and ICE replaced -- a proposal that's gaining momentum in her party," CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi reports. "[ICE] has recently faced criticism over the large number of children being separated from their families as a result of President Donald Trump's 'zero-tolerance' policy of criminally prosecuting all who cross the border illegally." The president tweeted Saturday morning that there's "zero chance" ICE would be abolished and told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo in an interview broadcast Sunday that Democrats will "get beaten so badly" if they keep talking about abolishing the agency. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4990071043d641538adfefebe14628b8e530ab44fd5b648c388378f4451fefb702bd4127a89e42e79

Related: "2020 Dems join anti-ICE stampede," by Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=903aaf5ee98b52e18258697e776d1946e20911f18c1a6b42ca4aa0899741b1d5d9f6f81331c05259826ebc6650c9d40e and "Trump Attacks Democrats on Calls to Abolish ICE," from The New York Times' Emily Cochrane: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d406ce3283997303d1bace5c8f1b65a43c6cceb6b2fe9dcd425e6bf2f5bf1da72d67b0e64cd3912ce1

CLOUD EMERGES IN TEXAS -- Former Victoria County GOP Chairman Michael Cloud won a crowded nine-candidate race on Saturday to replace disgraced former Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas). Cloud led Democrat Eric Holguin 55 percent to 32 percent, winning enough of the vote to bypass a runoff. None of the remaining candidates finished with more than 5 percent of the vote. "The special election determined who finishes Farenthold's term, which ends in January," the Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek reports. "Both Cloud and Holguin are their party's nominees in November for the full term that starts after that." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d411662298a9c07faa139e7e7db3d4cbccea114267779b8ec5fe35f64d062196139e8586aee9b54514

TED CRUZ ROOTING FOR A DEMOCRAT -- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is encouraging Republicans to support blue-dog Democrat Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.). Lipinski is facing Holocaust denier Arthur Jones in a heavily-Democratic Chicago-area district this fall. Cruz's comments followed a POLITICO report detailing the Illinois GOP's failed efforts to oust Jones from the ballot or offer Republican voters an alternative. "This is horrific. An avowed Nazi running for Congress," Cruz tweeted. "To the good people of Illinois, you have two reasonable choices: write in another candidate, or vote for the Democrat. This bigoted fool should receive ZERO votes." Jones boasted to POLITICO that he "snookered" Illinois
Republicans. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fe895fcfb76680d4ec1b7f919cf20812b269390a5e7e8c88a88002f231ca091c0a3d9447ff85534781fa17354508186e

Related reads: "'I snookered them': Illinois Nazi candidate creates GOP dumpster fire," via Natasha Korecki: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=903aaf5ee98b52e1440a61b5d92332f60001274ac1ac89ec299e0858ebd6958311de0db2359a59ffdb32fb60e7daef67 and "With Corey Stewart atop the ticket, Virginia Republicans are in turmoil," per The Washington Post's Jenna Portnoy and Laura Vozzella: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=903aaf5ee98b52e1a7b8dd56510acaef9cf4f951595eebb73a129204a1d3c395b52398cabc496a24a7a8c6fbe8f8ef7d

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House and Senate are out.

AROUND THE HILL -- Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and others will hold a conference call briefing to discuss the launch of a campaign to tear down the "second wall" preventing eligible immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens beginning at 11:30 a.m. The call-in number is 334-323-0522 or 877-260-1479, and the participant code is 2571251.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Kirtan Mehta was first to correctly guess that John C. Calhoun is the vice president who's cast the most tie-breaking votes while leader of the Senate.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Kirtan: Although we celebrate our country's independence on July 4, it was actually on July 2 that the Continental Congress voted on legal separation. And although Thomas Jefferson is credited with drafting the Declaration of Independence, it was actually another Virginian who drafted the original resolutions that led to the final declaration. Who was that author and why wasn't he present to author the ultimate Declaration of Independence? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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