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By Heather Caygle | 07/21/2017 07:56 AM EDT


With an assist from Daniel Lippman

MIKE LEE PUNCHES BACK - With Sen. John McCain out for an unknown period of time, it only takes two more GOP senators to bring down Republicans' Obamacare repeal effort. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) isn't afraid to lead the way, arguing the current strategy doesn't go far enough to stop Obamacare - and he says he's tired of other members in the conference berating him for his stance. "I'm a little frustrated by some who are eager and willing to call me out for saying this doesn't go far enough in doing what we promised to do for seven years," he told Burgess and Jen Haberkorn in an interview.

'Against everything': A number of Lee's colleagues say he's never made clear what it would take for him to vote yes on the health care plan. "It seems like he's against everything right now," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Lee, who along with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) shocked everyone Monday night by jointly announcing their opposition to the GOP repeal-and-replace plan, said he's "stunned" by that suggestion. "Angry phone calls are coming no matter what. It's not like there's a solution without angry phone calls," Lee said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b1a1c785e7334c59aeac780b4ace1a650d69c5a7ce049d206bd3fec58f857191cf75ec77d8663b6fe8e6f48535830cec4

McCAIN'S ABSENCE RIPPLES THROUGH SENATE - Sen. John McCain sent a note to his well-wishers Thursday, vowing to be back in action in the Senate soon. But as he receives treatment in Arizona for an aggressive brain tumor, his absence is already leaving a gaping hole in the Republican Conference. Not just a leading voice on foreign policy and defense and a critical Obamacare repeal vote, McCain also has been one of the few Republicans willing to speak out about a range of controversial issues that have cropped up during the Trump administration. "Because of his own political stature, McCain has been able to say what other Republicans can't or won't," Bres and Seung Min report. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b2df52c9586ade53a47e7ad90e9203cfb87cfc9f0de84058657a8feae27259fedcbd5af12ee4e1d620da8e624357d9c96

And don't miss Paul Kane's take on McCain's lifelong friendship with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), whose life was cut short by glioblastoma, and what McCain learned about challenging his own party from his longtime friend. "Sometimes fierce opponents, sometimes mischief-making partners, Kennedy and McCain helped define what the modern Senate could be, or at least should be," PK writes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8bfe8556ae79b3c3ef3690e16c766313694a928539bbd17c9fe82a0087e3b43ef46afecc467cb2ca0e59a4067a5c747383

Tweet du jour: @SenJohnMcCain: "I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support -unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by!"

'Rooting for John McCain': Around two dozen senators participated in a bipartisan Snapchat story Thursday about the Arizona Republican, recording short videos of encouragement for McCain ranging from serious to heartwarmingly funny. One example: "Hey John, I hope you're feeling better and looking forward to you coming back soon. The Republican Conference is not ornery enough without you," Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said.

GOP'S HEALTH CARE EFFORT SPUTTERS - GOP leaders are vowing to hold a vote next week to open debate on health care, despite all signs pointing to failure. Republican senators say GOP leaders still can't tell them what plan they'll be voting on if enough senators agree to start debate and it's blunting any momentum they may have had earlier in the week. "It's still very vague and nebulous and that's why it's hard to say whether you'll vote to proceed to something that you don't know you're proceeding to," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said.

And the latest CBO score, released Thursday, isn't helping matters: "The revised Senate repeal and replace bill would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured over a decade," Jen, Burgess and Seung Min report. "The new coverage projection - which accounts for billions of dollars in additional funding to appease moderate Republicans - is nevertheless the same as CBO's estimate for the first version of the bill." Where things stand: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8ba2279cd55786fc3d06e78bab677482c9ab3fb752161c38eae821ee51287d0a85bf974667b5eba1d252164440d4ad207b

Remember this quote: "That's a luxury we don't have" Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said when asked "don't some people want to know the plan before they vote" on health care, the Washington Post's Kelsey Snell reports.

WELCOME TO FRIDAY (!!), JULY 21 and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The story on House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) fundraising for pro-Russia Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), written by McClatchy's Katie Glueck, was the winner.

WARNER: TRUMP PARDON QUERY 'EXTREMELY DISTURBING' - Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, top Democrat on the Senate Intel Committee, said it's "extremely disturbing" that President Donald Trump is raising questions about whether he could pardon himself or those close to him in connection to the Russia probe. "Pardoning any individuals who may have been involved would be crossing a fundamental line," Warner said. His comments come after separate reports in the New York Times and Washington Post Thursday detailing how Trump's team is trying to dig up dirt on special counsel Robert Mueller and his team, possibly setting the stage for firing Mueller and disrupting the investigation.

Read 'em both: The Washington Post: "Trump team seeks to control, block Mueller's Russia investigation," via Carol D. Leonnig, Ashley Parker, Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger; The New York Times: "Trump aides, seeking leverage, investigate Mueller's investigators," via Michael Schmidt, Maggie Haberman and Matt Apuzzo

SANCTION DEAL SEEMS NEAR - Congressional negotiators on nearing a deal on their Russia sanctions package and it's looking increasingly likely that changes sought by the White House won't make the cut. "Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has pushed back against the bill for not providing the administration with 'flexibility' to deal with Vladimir Putin's government, but his words don't appear to be resonating," Elana reports. The sanctions package has been stalled in the House but House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Thursday he could see a deal coming together in the next day or two. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b30e659e5ff4c95f09acd9bb3bbc21bd8e1c81f9ca269c975f238bcbc47687e91a277d4e948a3c84134d2dfeb041bf126

GRASSLEY THREATENS TO SUBPOENA TRUMP JR. - Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday that the committee would subpoena Donald Trump Jr. if he refuses to voluntarily testify next week at a hearing on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Seung Min and Kyle report. Grassley also said they would subpoena Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager, if he refuses to show up, a fact he made clear to both Trump Jr. and Manafort in letters requesting their testimony. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8bd48c93901d3df000bd772766976232b6f67f1976ecc92cfa11cbff89dbe0a55bdb5a567b9beb4b484b8a8ae19f312702

GOP TRIES TO REVIVE TRANSGENDER AMENDMENT - "Several House Republicans are working behind the scenes to revive a failed effort to bar the Pentagon from funding gender reassignment surgeries for troops," Rachael reports. "A mix of GOP defense hawks and conservatives are urging Speaker Paul Ryan and his team to use a procedural trick to automatically include the controversial proposal in a spending package set for floor consideration next week." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8bbbdb259205d4d43fcdccaafe272e6d9d662b885fdd49636911463e09a4306955e1ab454c72219026bb50a8b150f64e75

'SO MUCH MORE UNIFIED' ON TAX REFORM - Speaker Ryan thinks Republicans won't run into the same hurdles they've faced trying to repeal Obamacare when they turn to a remake of the country's tax code. "As Republicans, we are wired the same way on tax reform," Ryan told reporters after touring a New Balance factory in Massachusetts on Thursday. "Obviously, we've seen in the Senate there are a difference of opinions on how to do health care reform. We are so much more unified on tax reform, on what it looks like, and how to do it, and the need to do it." But as of right now, Republicans don't even have the votes to bring their fiscal 2018 budget to the House floor, a key first step to advancing
tax reform. Jim O'Sullivan with the Boston Globe: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b1d00f6f79a14471ee159f65398d6272db5cec114ffd1a3deb680563e3568d72eaff17b3ba1049cb3b8cf17857f0b8935

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES WRAY - The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted in favor of Christopher Wray's nomination to lead the FBI Thursday, setting the stage for a swift confirmation before August recess. "The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 20-0 in favor of Wray, a former Justice Department official who has been in private practice for the past dozen years," Seung Min reports. "But the Democrats' admiration for Wray didn't stop them Thursday from rebuking the man who nominated him, with one senator after another raising concern about comments Trump made to The New York Times." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b3125ecd4d2e73f9b9d996d45fc0be95e5ea209dc578b1e3aef5d19e348933264cb4587e1b187a47c5c11ec5872539faf

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Emily Cosci, the director of scheduling for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Army officer Joseph Cosci welcomed their first child, Marshall Robert Cosci, on Monday. Pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d6cf97d3d07ae8b65cd4dd6b85fa90843601b765a1d273a4c72968ce3ff8da8cb35801718afa5bd14f191fb135f4a965d645723531fd33c

HOW SAN FRANCISCO TURNED ITS TENEMENTS INTO TREASURES: The city of San Francisco has undergone an unbelievable transformation after turning over all publicly owned housing to nonprofit property management companies and developers. The effort is emblematic of a new paradigm taking shape in cities across the country in which large swaths of public housing are now becoming private and represents one of the most dramatic and consequential reform efforts in the seven-decade history of public housing in the America.

POLITICO Magazine's "What Works San Francisco" reports on the innovative ways that San Francisco tailored a one-size-fits-all federal program to ensure that all of its most vulnerable residents benefited from better housing while still keeping rents affordable.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out but tune in for a new episode Monday.

AROUND THE HILL - The Capitol Hill intern lecture featuring Jared Kushner, originally set for today, has been rescheduled to Monday, July 31.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Claude Marx was the first to correctly guess that former Rep. Mike Espy was the first elected African-American House member since Reconstruction from a predominantly rural congressional district. He later served as Agriculture secretary, the first African American to hold that position, under President Bill Clinton.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Claude with today's question: This person served as both secretary of Agriculture and leader of a major religious organization. Name him/her. As a bonus, under what president did this person lead the Agriculture Department? 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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