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05/09/2016 08:17 AM EDT


By Seung Min Kim (skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

CRUZ-NADO WHIRLS BACK TO THE SENATE - What Huddle will be watching this week: How does Ted Cruz -- the last man standing against Donald Trump (no, we didn't forget about Kasich) in the GOP race - approach his return to the world's greatest deliberative body? New York Times' Jennifer Steinhauer: "Mr. Cruz's return is more fraught with curiosity than those of the other three [who ran for president], Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida ...Now the man who helped create an outsider movement in national politics, only to have it eat him alive by the co-opter of that idea, must decide which group among his fellow lawmakers to join."

--"Will he stand with the hold-your-nose set, as Mr. Paul has done, and support Mr. Trump? Or join forces with 'Never Trump,' as Senator Graham did on Friday, and publicly decline to get on board? ... 'I think all of us will be interested to see what position Senator Cruz takes,' said Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, who is more or less in the same place as Mr. Graham. 'After he pretty much excoriated Trump on the final day of his campaign, it would be quite a turnabout if he were to support him now.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63b086e0135ec98c0c57c84272d94ca64b6d9166cdab9cfb6a

--Is this the starting gun for 2020? Top Cruz campaign officials are (anonymously) blaming Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for aiding and abetting Trump's victory in the GOP race, saying Rubio rejected a Cruz-Rubio unity ticket that could've defeated Trump in key primary states. CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63d9fc25be8a7c4c63ec73e6d15e0068423c7e79f56fdd4d46

QOTD - A resigned Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on Donald Trump as the nominee: "I guess this is where we are." Via BuzzFeed News: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63797f1e538dae57e7bf7a1702346cc11aa2eb1903207663ca

$150K VS. $4.5M - That's the spending disparity between each side's most active group in the Merrick Garland fight, POLITICO's Burgess Everett reports. The $150,000 were spent by the Constitutional Responsibility Project in two ads slamming GOP Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, while the Judicial Crisis Network has spent $4.5 million going after moderate Democrats on Garland's "liberal" stances and praising Republicans who've stood firm against confirmation this year. More from Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63be372138982ebb6af4c9680bcc657b41286176d6ce163d90

--The always-blunt Harry Reid on the GOP's cash advantage: "If I were worried about being outspent, I would be in some kind of mental hospital. It's nothing we haven't faced before."

--The New York Times' Carl Hulse says Senate Democrats will tee up yet another pressure campaign against Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) this week (http://goo.gl/Olmfmp), which makes this story Huddle wrote last month still very much relevant: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63f8855036b1b7e522bef5b8a663286a35b40c949ed15e2c61

--And new today: a PPP poll commissioned by Americans United for Change finds 38 percent of voters trust Donald Trump to fill a Supreme Court vacancy. A sneak peek at the memo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a6305fd0a5e8b1447c591a9974632726da23d417bad7cdf0ec0

MCCAIN BATTLES TRUMP'S RISE IN ARIZONA - The Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson has a nice dispatch from Phoenix: "Sen. John McCain walked into Ping Inc.'s headquarters on a campaign stop here last week and immediately thanked the Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants who help manufacture its golf clubs. 'I'm grateful that you all are here,' he said. 'That's what America is all about.' Minutes later the Arizona Republican reiterated his support for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, whose militant immigration stance has polarized voters, particularly in border states such as Arizona."

--"'I support the nominee of the party,' Mr. McCain said, while predicting the state's voters would separate his record from the businessman's provocative stances. 'I'm running my own campaign and the people of Arizona know me.' ... [T]he party's 2008 presidential nominee is now almost certain to be in the difficult position of running on the GOP ticket below a man who has clashed with him on immigration, national security, torture and even diminished his time as a prisoner of war." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63e457615b87829af4a9fac383a7ae3d805ac39688f92e16af

--Also from the Journal, an interesting character in the theater that is 2016: a Republican running for Congress who is an immigrant and thrilled by Donald Trump: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63ba7ad4602899c9cc297c428aad5d3c618f59b3f3bfba4752

SUNDAY SHOW WRAP-UP -

--Former GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will work to defeat Paul Ryan in his primary, vowing the speaker will be "Cantored." Palin says on CNN's "State of the Union": "His political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a636dcb2bb17be264bf8e16f9908716df17c20b1acfd0b0baed

--Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) says on NBC's "Meet the Press" that if it appears "we're going to lose the election," the Senate should quickly confirm Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. That appears to be a slight shift for Flake, who so far has spoken solely of a lame-duck confirmation: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63a13f4aba1c083828c9a158410c3ca6befc0659f5b62a7361

--Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) weighs in on 2016 in a wide-ranging CNN interview, suggesting Joni Ernst as a possible running mate for Donald Trump, criticizing GOP leaders who haven't gotten behind him, and calling on Trump to apologize for his comments on prisoners of war. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63aa100d36c339b935f4c1ad5a62c36decb7c8352374fe9cbe

--And Trump doesn't rule out removing Ryan as the Republican National Convention's chairman after the speaker's refusal to endorse him just yet as the GOP nominee. "I will give you a very solid answer, if that happens, about one minute after that happens, O.K.?" Trump tells NBC: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63bd5e9e897592ef6b98d29ba90ad1843a98f058d828f1cd7d

CLEAN UP IN AISLE 1600 - Ben Rhodes, the White House deputy national security adviser and subject of a controversial New York Times profile (http://goo.gl/vGW9qa), took to Medium late last night to respond to the piece. Rhodes, who openly ridiculed the Washington press corps and boasted of the White House's spin tactics during the Iran nuclear deal negotiations, makes this bottom line: "Today, Iran verifiably cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. That, more than anything I or anyone else can say, makes the case for the Iran deal." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a6317120d1036978d7758155a1b02c473ff2de21f42c4544d4c

TRANSITIONS -- Jonathan Slemrod is joining the staff of Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) to handle tax, banking, trade and business community outreach. Slemrod was previously a Senate GOP leadership staffer and policy director for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).

John Mashburn, former chief of staff to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), has started on Donald Trump's campaign as policy director. That's one nugget in this piece from POLITICO's Darren Samuelsohn and Ben White on how a President Trump will fill out his administration: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63bdcc26a1b74f68825a5c6cb24a54b2560e1365a8c9e2611a

GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THE HUDDLE, where we're already fearing the size of the press gaggles around Senate Republicans today, asking about Donald Trump. I'm at skim@politico.com and on Twitter at @seungminkim.

My new followers include @TeamMcCain and @agreilingkeane.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out. The Senate is in at 3 p.m. and will vote on cloture (again) on the energy and water appropriations bill at 5:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - The nice, sweet quiet before the storm.

WHERE IS TRUMP ON PUERTO RICO? The Hill's Pete Schroeder attempts to dissect the presumptive Republican nominee's position on aid for the fiscally beleaguered island, and finds that while Trump doesn't favor a bailout (the House bill doesn't direct new federal money to Puerto Rico), he says the territory will have to ultimately restructure its debt.

--Why does this matter? From Pete: "The mixed messages from the self-proclaimed 'king of debt' and presumptive GOP nominee come as Ryan and his leadership team tamp down 'bailout' jitters from their rank-and-file members. It also adds a new layer to brewing tension between Trump and the Wisconsin Republican. In a stunning move [last] week, the speaker said he was not yet ready to back Trump, the only Republican left in the race, for president." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63ab9eb917b8e1f7f88a2d4cd88ff001c94233ccb56046696f

--New Puerto Rico legislation in the House is set to be unveiled Wednesday. Morning Consult: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63dfa1e19312862decbac75454135fbfb09811c47e282a3905

ALLIES BREAK WITH RYAN OVER TRUMP -- POLITICO's Rachael Bade: "Reps. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia and Dennis Ross of Florida - who, as House whips, help Republican leaders muster support to pass legislation - told POLITICO in interviews on Friday that they disagreed with Ryan's decision to break with Trump in a bombshell interview a day earlier. 'I honestly don't understand what Paul's thinking - I don't get it," said Westmoreland, who is retiring after this year."

--"'Trust me, I haven't been on the Donald Trump bandwagon, but I will support him, and I disagree with Ryan's comment,' Ross said. "I think it's time we unite (and) ... extend an olive branch and start working this out.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a6338f74d86e9a51466273fdb90876ddfd2038224be5075f86d

--More from Ryan vs. Trump: The business mogul insists the speaker called to congratulate him following his victory in the April 19 New York primary, but Ryan spox says that call never happened: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a636984250b60648ff4ae960e23aebfc0cc57da1794b92c5675

--Coming attractions: Trump will meet with Ryan and other top House Republicans Thursday. CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a634e69e514f2da258c2d8fc576b31148edce99c8d2b08bf203

CAN'T MAKE IT UP - Fresh out of federal prison, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) -- who served time for tax fraud - won't rule out another run for office, has started writing a book and sounded dismissive of the nature of his crime, per NY1: "I don't think there's anything that I've ever done that I would say I'm really ashamed of. Did I have a couple people off the books? Yeah. So does a lot of people. It's not the end of the world. It's something I put behind me and will move on." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0660f8be2e5f0a63af9cbe1501789feec8ed36f5c8eb5f15c6fb4edfd1eeca44

--We double checked for you: the NY1 reporter who interviewed Grimm wasn't the one that the former congressman threatened to throw off a Capitol balcony.

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Genevieve Gearity was the first person to correctly respond that Rep. John Tener (R-Pa), a former professional baseball player, organized the inaugural Congressional Baseball Game between Democrats and Republicans in 1909.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Genevieve has today's question: Which U.S. president lost both his wife and mother on the same day, less than two days after the birth of his first child? Just for kicks, the **third** person to correctly answer will get a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail skim@politico.com.

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