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07/27/2017 07:56 AM EDT


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

BRING EXTRA SNACKS TODAY and wear your comfy shoes, Huddle readers. It'll be a long night in both the House and Senate as the lower chamber tries to wrap up work on a multi-bill spending package and senators kick off a vote-a-rama related to the GOP's Obamacare repeal.

VOTE-A-RAMA DRAMA - Senate Republican leaders still don't have the votes to pass some kind of anti-Obamacare bill this week, despite pushing a bare-bones repeal that avoids divisive issues like Medicaid cuts but leaves key centrists and conservatives undecided. So far Senate Republicans have rejected both the GOP's repeal-and-replace plan and a repeal-only bill. GOP leaders are aiming for a final vote, likely on their "skinny repeal," tomorrow following a long night of unlimited amendments known as the vote-a-rama. Burgess, Jen Haberkorn and Seung Min: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a1f28e355b7316babdd0ff93e6fe419ce90469880ae02ad37a21bc513fb8d031da9ef1a9b32b1b09d53bbcd82c7c51dcbf

-Related: CBO: 'Skinny' repeal could boost uninsured by 16 million, Dan Diamond reports.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats say they're done offering amendments until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) unveils the GOP's ultimate repeal plan. "It's not that Democrats aren't ready to go for a vote-a-rama with an arsenal of amendments," Seung Min reports. "But Democratic senators say they see no point in offering up their proposals if they're amending what they say is a shell of a health care bill. 'This is a joke, and we're not going to participate anymore,' said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a123da5af1d57fc25151437f98593f33a2f91b24a7b2f8615dc18ebfc96517b0492a266550ef05fda72153cdaded6f3d87

Not so fast, the House says: House Republicans are eyeing the Senate's skinny repeal plan warily. First, the possibility of a House-Senate conference to hash out differences means the health care debate could drag on for months, further delaying other parts of the GOP's agenda. Second, House leaders already forced members to take a tough vote on their repeal plan that the Senate is refusing to support, potentially putting GOP lawmakers in political jeopardy in November 2018. Bres and Jen report from the House: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a1cf9977640959411167b8237c962b1a0926cc518ae4c534c92ef61c895f67b2597fd80dd34d3892fb4eaa5c62c2c6e86c

Juicy read: Don't miss this scoop from Erica Martinson about how the Trump administration threatened Alaska after Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted against starting debate on health care. By Wednesday afternoon, "each of Alaska's two Republican senators had received a phone call from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke letting them know the vote had put Alaska's future with the administration in jeopardy," she reports. "I'm not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop," Sen. Dan Sullivan said. More from the Alaska Dispatch News:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a1d16be7fc029763712795ea0b8b08aabfc708a7d0bc4949339b7d06b16a151dc53fea777fb084216e88ad82da78ec83f7

WARNING SHOTS FIRED: BACK OFF THE AG - Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fired off a warning seemingly aimed at President Donald Trump Wednesday, saying the panel's schedule is set for the rest of the year and they have no plans to confirm another attorney general. Grassley's tweet came just after the Washington Post reported Trump has mused about replacing Attorney General Jeff Sessions with a recess appointment (sidestepping Senate confirmation) during the August break. The Senate can block recess appointments by not formally adjourning during the break.

With friends like these: Sessions' allies on Capitol Hill and in the conservative world continued their drumbeat of support Wednesday. "He's trying to get Sessions to quit and I hope Sessions doesn't quit," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said about Trump's tweets and statements criticizing the AG and calling him "weak." Josh Gerstein and Josh Dawsey: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a1bf8d3595915865b2d0ae62fb062af6771f14ca0a54b4768028685d52c7c91312c6e1a8d113379354317212433666922c

TAKE ON THURSDAY, Y'ALL. Welcome to July 27 and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Paul Demko's story on what could happen next in the Senate's Obamacare repeal effort won Wednesday.

SANCTIONS CRISIS AVERTED - After a day of last-minute GOP jousting over the Russia, Iran and North Korea sanctions bill, a deal has been reached that will likely send the bill to the president's desk before August recess. "The House has committed to expeditiously consider and pass enhancements to the North Korea language, which multiple members of the Senate hope to make in the very near future," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Thursday night. Earlier in the day, Corker rattled House negotiators by saying he planned to strip the North Korea language out, which leaders in the lower chamber feared could delay the bill's passage until September. Elana with the
play-by-play: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a14441e6d8cf4c8e35061204cd319c8311aae77be50572364271c919658061a19b0df30a66547d00843714514ddc69aa65

White House reacts: WH communications director Anthony Scaramucci said on CNN this morning Trump may veto the sanctions bill, implying it isn't tough enough on Russia. Remember, Congress beat back attempts from the White House to water down the bill. Also, the sanctions package is overwhelmingly supported in Congress, meaning lawmakers could easily override the president's veto.

THE TUESDAY GROUP FLEXES ITS MUSCLE - For years, centrist House Republicans like the Tuesday Group have been dutiful backers of whatever plan House leadership is pushing. But after watching the rabble-rousing Freedom Caucus bigfoot the agenda time and again, the centrist pack is starting to flex some muscle. The group has left its mark in recent months, including resisting the initial GOP Obamacare repeal, sinking controversial amendments on transgender troops and Islam and scuttling a plan to pass a massive, partisan spending package. But the get-tough approach further complicates things for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and his team, who "find themselves twisted in knots trying to find 218
votes to pass almost anything of consequence," Rachael reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a14103f71f9121a2655212ece5747aba31b509e2450c6cfcdaea88dc0a63a2223bcbf417f832b2e49d0fb14184757d8a51

OLD PALS CATCHING UP - Mark Meredith grabbed this pic of Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) hanging out with John Boehner at Trattoria Alberto, a Capitol Hill Italian joint that's a favorite of the former House speaker. See the pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a18fe236c0403087670f6730b87680ae458b50bd84752faa02ea7cdabe56828ec0127b30b8c8057c742217c6f3e5083d4e

THE INSIDE STORY ON WH TRANSGENDER BAN - House GOP leaders had a problem: The spending package they were bringing to the floor with funding for Trump's border wall this week seemed headed for defeat due to internal fighting over transgender troops. So they asked the White House to help settle a dispute over whether the Pentagon should pay for gender reassignment surgery. Except Trump took it much further Wednesday, announcing on Twitter - without giving Congress a heads up - that he was banning transgender troops from serving in the military.

Quote du jour: "This is like someone told the White House to light a candle on the table and the WH set the whole table on fire," said one senior House Republican aide. Rachael and Josh Dawsey with much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a101781822df45dcb9e83641bdbc5f3558012e24e3b8bdc57d46784f5ac4db2f72351d5074e99af4979947d9cd485eee3b

Many Republicans did not respond warmly to Trump's plan, with folks like Iowa Sen. Joni Ernest, a military vet, saying gender is not an indicator of someone's military prowess. "Americans who are qualified and can meet the standards to serve in the military should be afforded that opportunity," a spokesman for Ernst said. Burgess with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a101781822df45dcb9e83641bdbc5f3558012e24e3b8bdc57d46784f5ac4db2f72351d5074e99af4979947d9cd485eee3b

SCALISE TRANSITIONING TO REHAB - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was released from the hospital Tuesday and will now transition to an "intensive inpatient rehabilitation," his doctors said in a statement. Rachael with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a1f90fbb379d54ac84c8baa2f393fd8374738b77dc69b26eec6b52174666a8359748f20b7926319d98944492b0f2503992

PROFILE DU JOUR: JEFF FLAKE - "The Arizona Republican is betting his Senate seat on the political appeal of decency-but can that pay off in Trump's America?" McKay Coppins writes for the Atlantic after trailing Flake around the Grand Canyon State. "He sometimes seems as if he has just crash-landed here in a time machine from some bygone era of seersucker suits and polite disagreements. In today's climate of staged presidential beheadings, and reporter body-slamming, and senatorial f-bomb-dropping, the gentleman from Arizona seems altogether uncomfortable." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a13c28205592f7466a8c9ccbf6e9b3a454d2585d72a07b1e1b5c079c8302442971f2da5b5f7e02fc579a8a3e1ba62ccce0

DEPARTURE LOUNGE - Lauren Huston (née Hammond) will be leaving her gig at the Senate Commerce Committee to pursue her J.D. full time at Catholic University. Brianna Manzelli has been named press secretary and digital director for the committee, coming from the press team at the RNC.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes at 1:30 p.m. and last votes around 9 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4d9da535164276a12a7a4b725fbd9bc95638bb8d89c80cd994dbb8cf57e97d83d5525215b31f1d432241cac1314b3c629c2692a4b2457f81 The Senate gavels in at 10 a.m. with a 2:15 p.m. vote relate to the GOP's Obamacare repeal and a vote-a-rama expected to start tonight.

AROUND THE HILL - Comedian Adam Carolla will testify with others about free speech on college campuses during a House Oversight subcommittee hearing led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) starting at 9 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn.

House Education Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Reps. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) hold a 10 a.m. press conference in the House triangle on joint-employer legislation, a bill backed by the National Restaurant Association.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Pelosi and other House Democrats celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid at 11 a.m. in HVC 215.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.), Brian Higgins (D-N.Y) and Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) hold a press conference on Medicare at 11:30 a.m. in 234 Cannon.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and other House Judiciary Democrats hold a press conference on President Trump and the ongoing federal Russia probe at 2 p.m. in HVC Studio B.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Dan Cohen was the first to guess that Rep. Edith Nourse Rogers, the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, received the first pen after the signing of the original GI bill in 1944.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Dan with today's question: This presidential candidate appeared on all 50 states ballots, quit the race mid-summer before returning to the campaign trail and still had an impact on this election. Who was the candidate, why did he quit the race and what was the main impact of his candidacy on the race? 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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