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06/29/2017 07:50 AM EDT


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

EXHIBIT A: THE GOP STRUGGLE TO REPEAL OBAMACARE - Despite campaigning almost solely on a "repeal and replace" message for seven years, Senate Republicans are having a devil of a time actually dismantling the health care law they've long detested. An example of the tension: Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), close allies and generally both mild-mannered men, got into a heated exchange earlier this week over the bill's Medicaid language.

Why this matters: Without Portman's vote, there's no way the Senate will repeal Obamacare, Bres and Seung Min report. "Portman's opposition shows just how far McConnell is from getting the 50 votes he needs to pass the bill. It's not a matter of several conservatives or moderates not supporting the proposal. McConnell appears to be as many as 15 to 20 votes shy of majority support." Remember, McConnell hopes to reach a deal on a revised bill by this weekend to send to the CBO for a new score. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79339a1a7ed696ebd396d9ff49f400f915a51d7ea8932e1819f5fa183a297bf4ac45db371c89d20b777e3fc382225a9611

CH-CH-CHANGES - Even though getting a deal by tomorrow still seems to be a long shot, Republican leaders are doing everything they can to secure support for their repeal plan. Leaders "have agreed to add at least $45 billion to their Obamacare repeal bill to address the opioid crisis and are near agreement on allowing consumers to use Health Savings Account money to pay for their premiums," Jen Haberkorn, Josh Dawsey and Burgess report. Portman and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) requested the opioid funding to fight the epidemic in both of their states. Conservatives like the health savings account idea. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79e6c240b994e534406038f9360bf3971b15931f67d802c389e8304ddc0f15f00cbecff0701bd0ea72f6565ed5fe9b9955

WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON? If you're President Donald Trump, the answer is everybody's. Burgess and Josh explain part of the GOP's problem with having the president involved in repeal talks: "Rand Paul and Susan Collins are on opposite ends of the Republican Party when it comes to health care, yet somehow the two senators both left this week's Obamacare repeal meetings with President Donald Trump thinking he's on their side." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79a1c989356505f64175f7c60f5a80eb43c4dabd5560ba1b012464f350077fc01fc75f2d86bbb01d2805efcc28eb5594ca

FRUSTRATION BUILDS AS TO-DO LIST GROWS - There's mounting frustration from Republicans about their inability to accomplish anything on Capitol Hill, with the Senate's Obamacare repeal stumbles being the latest glaring example. "You're too weak to do what you should do," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) admonished his colleagues during a private meeting on the repeal bill earlier this week. Some lawmakers, like Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), are already calling on GOP leaders to cancel August recess, a hopeful but highly unlikely scenario.

Lawmakers face an unforgiving to-do list after July 4th: "An unfinished health care bill in the Senate, an ugly budget fight in the House, and difficult votes to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government - not to mention tax reform and infrastructure, which are still in the earliest stages of being developed," Rachael and Burgess report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79bfc6cc82f9633b0da9ebb115a0cee5d6c01b5117f7d971fe2e66c66c156d267b07cd4885ff47af6ac1518d321f638519

WELCOME TO THURSDAY, JUNE 29. Or Friday on Capitol Hill. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

Programming note: Your favorite morning newsletter will be taking Monday and Tuesday off to celebrate Independence Day. After fireworks, hot dogs and a little time at the pool, Huddle will be back in the game Wednesday, July 5.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Matt Laslo's Twitter pic of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) with his back to the Cubs/Nationals game was the big winner (y'all love photos).

500 DAYS OF NANCY PELOSI - Five hundred days - or about the time until the midterm elections - is about how long many House Democrats agree Nancy Pelosi will be their leader before they confront the topic again. "She's been authorized to provide leadership, good or bad, for the next two years," said Rep. Steve Lynch of Massachusetts, who supported a challenge to Pelosi in November. Even members who say they worry about the GOP's unrelenting barrage of attacks starring Pelosi say they think it would be too much trouble to upend the caucus now, 16 months from the election.

Trump targeted Pelosi at a closed-door fundraiser Wednesday night, joking she should stay atop the Democratic Caucus so Republicans can keep winning. And some agitators who have called for Pelosi to step down, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), insist the push for a regime change is privately intensifying. "I have people come up to me who have publicly supported her in the past say to me, 'Seth you need to keep doing what you're doing, we need to do this and it needs to happen now'," he said. Much more from Kyle and your Huddle host: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b794199fb0d3a9351bfba4af7c098693bbf1087100da394f8dc0d34a253d7176c06fc7b503bca19911fff04457a3eca88f4

Speaking of Moulton, the Boston Globe's Annie Linskey has a great profile of the rabble rouser that starts with a gushing letter he wrote to Pelosi last fall, ends with him proposing to his fiancée on Speaker Paul Ryan's balcony and has a cameo from David Petraeus (whom Moulton reported to in Iraq) in between. "He's heard me say: 'The bold move is the right move . . . unless it's the wrong move,'" Petraeus said. "You've got to understand when you can really push the envelope." Don't miss it: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79036c89c23cff72858b558a3289706255545c195f84eaa70f980c0b9ee4e32e3aa4bf9283461f932c66155ee564982aa6

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU - After weeks of wrangling with defense hawks, Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) was well on her way moving ahead with the House budget. Well, until leadership and committee chairmen concerned about cuts to their key programs stepped in. Now lawmakers are leaving for July 4th without a budget and some members of the committee think as Budget chairwoman, Black should put her foot down. "She ought to say: Dammit, this is your f---ing number," one panel member said. Read this great profile from Rachael and Sarah Ferris on the powerful woman stuck in the middle of the drama: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79006871aff8afa4d8c58911bb592a4211b914f96bfb0d3159c4c533783846dc561c98a2e66d0d79e8477369da6e3dc8da

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE - Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr says the committee plans to wrap up its Russia probe by the end of the year, calling his self-imposed deadline "aspirational" but saying "it can be done." As part of that work, the panel plans to double the number of witness interviews to nearly 90 before lawmakers leave for August recess, Darren Samuelsohn, Austin and Kyle report.

Comey memos coming: Austin scooped on Wednesday that the Senate panel will get the memos former FBI Director James Comey wrote about his interactions with Trump. Burr told Austin he is "fairly certain of the timeline" for getting the memos and suggested it would be soon. "It does us no good later," he quipped. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b7943926e48cfbae1173d0cafeca24def49c089f1a62fa9cba543284b74f0c3273add2b7cd6a941fb3977ed7f106aee1e85

The Senate Intel probe is "now focused sharply on financial transactions involving the president's associates -- with the committee searching for improprieties in more than 2,000 documents it has received from the Treasury Department's financial crimes unit," Bloomberg's Steve Dennis and Billy House report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b791a0a564032629439c2d2a1cc805a7037300f2ec50d614f0570509e4465e0cb2077886fb642a819d7b9785438ba5ce593

IT'S NOT OVER TIL IT'S OVER - An overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate sanctions bill aimed at Russia and Iran hit a new snag Wednesday, Elana reports. Democrats don't want to move forward on a procedural fix to the bill until they receive assurances that the House won't water down the package at the behest of the White House. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) called Democrats' position "ridiculous." But for Democrats who fought for language that hamstrings Trump's ability to warm relations with Vladimir Putin, "the prospect of diluting the sanctions package in the House is hard to swallow." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79fa8b0ea4a86fbeb000c5d7693ddf69ea753f9f0ccb11a853e5b943f5458cff576e6cf61c702e9a8c79885f26a974b8b1

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - Rep.-elect Jimmy Gomez, the California Democrat elected to replace Xavier Becerra, will be sworn in July 11, Kyle reports. Gomez was elected June 6, prompting House leaders to get in a little war of words this week over why his swearing-in was delayed. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b79527fdb4b0b1625c41c3b4626982bc5eac8fe0415c5bfa569ece9ddf8e8193ba72d3427f599df637be03ba25e0fdec61c

HUELSKAMP'S NEW GIG - "Former Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp, the conservative bomb-thrower who was ousted in his GOP primary last year, will become president of the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank based just outside of Chicago," the Hill's Scott Wong reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b798ea3a2f4493c8470c901cd6f9aa24614604932ee3370a02463f2acefb9e2fca6d3ef5ac67fea8a69772c031261f4130f

VIDEO DU JOUR - Singer Kalie Shorr, who performed at last week's congressional softball game, has a short video with some great footage of lawmakers hanging out behind-the-scenes during the game. "There was such a great spirit of girl power there and just genuine support. And politics were not involved, which was beautiful," she said. Video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=56f32e855e7a5b7942067f7d5cebb627d1ba87332d7120b35072a9dd374c2b43e38b482aaeba0c1d539ee37b46c6ab0410c81140ab01a3d7

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) will join Chuck Todd NBC's "Meet the Press" in a joint interview to talk about the latest in the Senate health care fight.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate gavels in at 11 a.m. with one procedural vote at 12 p.m. on Neomi Rao's nomination to lead OMB's office of regulatory affairs. The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes around 1:30 p.m. and last votes at 4:30 p.m. The House will be voting on the two immigration bills Seung Min and Bres got the early scoop on last week.

AROUND THE HILL - Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) and other CHC members including Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velasquez (D-N.Y.), Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), Norma Torres (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif., Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) and Filemon Vela (D-Texas) hold a 10 a.m. press conference in the House triangle on immigration votes later today.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), GOP Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in with a photo spray at 10 a.m. in H-230.

Speaker Ryan holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Minority Leader Pelosi holds her press conference at 12:30 p.m. in HVC Studio A.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Christopher Schuler was the first to guess that Ways and Means Chairman Al Ullman (D-Ore.) was beat by Denny Smith (R-Ore.) in the 1980 election. Smith's spokesman was none other than now-Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.).

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Before bike racks were installed around the Capitol complex, there was a unique place cyclists were allowed to store their gear. Where is it and what is the significance? 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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