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By Lauren French (
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lfrench@politico.com & @laurennfrench)

SENATE DEMOCRATS FACE A GUT CHECK ON SPENDING. Burgess Everett and Jeremy Herb have the story, "Senate Democrats are ready to follow through on a risky strategy to confront Republicans this week over government spending, shrugging off Republicans' assertions that blocking a military funding bill amounts to 'political suicide.' It's a gut-check moment for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his successor-in-waiting, Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who aims to force Republicans to increase domestic spending by killing every GOP-written funding bill until they extract some concessions. The scheme will work only if all 46 members of their caucus are pulling in the same direction. And Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hopes to tempt some defense-minded Democrats to vote with Republicans by putting forward a national security spending bill as his opening move in the chess game, followed by other tough votes on military construction and veterans affairs."
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THE PERILS OF WINNING ON OBAMACARE. Manu Raju and Burgess Everett report, "Senior Republicans who are worried they'll be blamed for killing health insurance for millions of Americans have been busy assembling a range of options if the Supreme Court strikes down the law's subsidies in 34 states. But the GOP senators running for president - starting but not ending with firebrand Ted Cruz - threaten to stymie their leaders' carefully hatched plans. Any whiff that the GOP's Plan B is a continuation of Obamacare is bound to spark furious protests from the conservative base, putting pressure on the presidential hopefuls to respond. Cruz, for one, would press for a wholesale repeal of the law - or
to allow states to opt out of Obamacare - if the high court provides the opening... It's the latest example of how presidential politics continues to be the biggest wild card facing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as he tries to work his will in a body where any one senator can upset his plans. Already, White House hopefuls have altered McConnell's strategy on Iran and the PATRIOT Act. The aftermath of the King v. Burwell case could be next."
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NEW BENGHAZI EMAILS DISCOVERED. Rachael Bade has more, "House GOP Benghazi investigators have discovered 60 new Libya communications between Sidney Blumenthal and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a congressional source told POLITICO on Monday - suggesting that either the State Department or the 2016 Democratic presidential contender withheld correspondence the panel had requested. The House Select Committee on Benghazi had quietly subpoenaed Blumenthal's Libya emails. And on Friday, the longtime Clinton family friend - who is set to testify before investigators behind closed doors Tuesday morning - handed over 120 pages worth of new Libya- and Benghazi-related emails."
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NO CLEAR PATH FORWARD ON TRADE. Jake Sherman reports, "Congressional leaders and the White House are quickly finding there's no easy option to revive President Barack Obama's free trade initiative, leaving the White House's top legislative priority in critical condition after Democrats turned against it in droves last week. Millions of dollars and countless hours have been spent trying to pass Trade Promotion Authority, a key component in Obama's quest to strike a trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim countries. But Congress is now hung up on Trade Adjustment Assistance, a job training and aid program that typically rides alongside trade deals. One hundred and forty-four Democrats abandoned
Obama on the TAA bill, which needs to pass for the legislation to be sent to the White House."
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GOOD MORNING, it's Tuesday, June 16, 2015 and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill. Have a wonderful day and let me know what's going on at
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com or at @laurennfrench on Twitter.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate will have two series of votes at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. In the House, first votes are expected between 1:15 and 2:15 p.m. and last votes are expected between 5:15 and 6:15 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - House Republican leaders will hold a 10 a.m. press conference at the RNC following their weekly conference meetings. Also at 10 a.m. Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Vice Chair Joe Crowley will hold a press conference in HVC-210. Ways and Means ranking member Sandy Levin will discuss trade at 10:30 a.m. in HVC-114. At 11 a.m., Steny Hoyer will hold his weekly pen & pad with reporters in H-114. Also at 11 a.m., conservative lawmakers will hold their monthly lunch for reporters in Rayburn 2237.

NO LOVE ON THE LEFT FOR GRAYSON. Your Huddle author reports, "Rep. Alan Grayson, who is eyeing a run for a Florida Senate seat, is hoping to position himself as the progressive alternative to Rep. Patrick Murphy in the Democratic primary. But there's one hitch: Some of the progressives who've worked closely with Grayson in Congress over the years aren't that keen on his candidacy. The wariness of fellow liberal Hill Democrats toward the verbose Floridian crystallized in late April, when Grayson pitched the 70-member Congressional Progressive Caucus on a plan to make a new leadership position for him. Caucus members quashed the effort, in part because they didn't want to give Grayson a de
facto endorsement from the left wing of the party."
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THIS COULD COMPLICATE THINGS FOR THE GOP. From Reuters, "A majority of Americans say Congress should make sure Obamacare subsidies to buy health insurance are available nationwide if the Supreme Court rules that the payments in at least 34 states are illegal, according to a poll released on Tuesday.... The Supreme Court is expected to rule this month whether subsidies provided to states that rely on the federal government's HealthCare.gov insurance exchange are legal based on the requirements of President Barack Obama's healthcare law. ..About 63 percent of people surveyed by Kaiser said Congress should pass a law to ensure subsidies are available in all states. By political
affiliation, 80 percent of Democrats said Congress should act, versus 38 percent of Republicans."
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MENENDEZ CARRIES ON. Mike DeBonis reports for The Washington Post, "A month had passed since the bill [Bob Menendez] co-authored establishing a congressional review of an Iran nuclear deal passed on a veto-proof vote, generating an unusual spate of bipartisan back-patting. And, still, here was the Democratic senior senator from New Jersey last week, giving a lunchtime floor speech detailing centrifuge procurement and ballistic missile ranges and the uses of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride - and casting new doubts on President Obama's efforts at nuclear rapprochement... It was the latest demonstration that Menendez, now under criminal indictment, has remained comfortable asking pointed
questions even as he faces more than a few himself. On Tuesday, his attorneys will continue mounting his defense against 14 counts of political corruption, arguing to a federal judge in Newark that Menendez's trial, set to begin in November, should be moved to Washington."
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KIRK APOLOGIZES FOR 'HO' COMMENT. The Associated Press reports, "Sen. Mark Kirk has apologized for what he said to a fellow senator that was captured by an open microphone on the U.S. Senate floor and offended many. Last week, Kirk, who is seeking re-election in 2016, called fellow Republican senator and presidential candidate Lindsey Graham a 'bro with no ho.' Kirk reportedly followed up with: 'that's what we'd say on the South Side.'
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CORKER: 'BREATHTAKING' NUMBER OF CONCESSIONS IN IRAN TALKS. Martin Matishak reports for The Hill, "The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is sounding the alarm about the nuclear talks with Iran, warning the United States has made 'breathtaking' concessions that risk creating a 'bad deal.' In a letter sent Monday, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) warned President Obama he must be willing to walk away from the negotiating table... Corker said negotiators 'have moved' from a trying to strike a 20-year agreement, to a 10-year one and seem ready to let Tehran continue to develop its ballistic missile effort and maintain research and development for advanced nuclear centrifuges."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA -There has been a lot of talk about the White House turning into a bachelor pad with Lindsey Graham's entrance into the presidential race. But if the South Carolina senator wins, he won't be the first single man to occupy the Oval Office. Who is this nation's only president to be a bachelor at the time of his election? The first person to email
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lfrench@politico.com with the correct answer gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle.

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