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11/02/2017 07:54 AM EDT


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

IT'S SHOWTIME Y'ALL - House Republicans are set to unveil their long-awaited tax bill later today. GOP leaders will brief lawmakers starting at 9 a.m. before walking through the bill with reporters and holding a press conference around 11 a.m. Republican leaders and GOP members of the Ways and Means Committee then head to the White House for a celebratory photo-op and afternoon meeting with President Donald Trump. Republicans scrambled to finish their tax plan Wednesday amid pressure from the White House to publicly release the proposal before Trump leaves on his 12-day Asia trip Friday. Brian Faler and Rachael take you behind the scenes: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2aaf4dedc31dcd47bfd56e27bce205aa567c6881a1245b73a7a78dbab10cee4cc1e968e1442f4f94953f33891665dd05

So what's in the bill? The corporate tax rate cut will be permanent, not set to expire as Republicans had considered earlier yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan doesn't make changes to Obamacare's individual mandate or 401(k) retirement plans. And the bill is expected "to collapse seven tax brackets into four, with the highest rate remaining at 39.6% and a new bottom rate of 12%. The lowest current income-tax rate is 10%," Siobhan Hughes, Rich Rubin and Kristina Peterson report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2aaf4dedc31dcd47995a4e47e1dcf8fe0895a694da4c3c61dd0d09bddcd2b5bc357ae2178142f9800eed7aca54d3d1eb

What's next: GOP leaders are still working to get the support of blue state Republicans who balked at an initial plan to nix the state and local tax deduction. Their votes are critical to the bill's passage. Republicans still stay they can meet their breakneck deadlines, with plans for a multi-day committee markup starting Nov. 6 and a successful House vote by Thanksgiving. America First Action, a Trump-related super PAC, plans to spend $100 million to sell the tax plan and back pro-Trump Republicans in the midterms, Alex Isenstadt reports this morning.

Kevin Brady's big day: In addition to finally introducing his tax code rewrite, the Ways and Means chairman's beloved Houston Astros whooped the Dodgers last night to claim the team's first World Series title. "Wow wow wow wow... do you believe in miracles!" Brady tweeted at nearly 1 a.m. after the Astros won 5-1.

PELOSI PREACHES FOCUS AS TRUMP DISTRACTS - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has a plan for getting Democrats back into power in 2018. She's encouraging members - and Democratic mega-donors like Tom Steyer - to lay off impeachment talk, calling it a distraction. And she also wants her rank-and-file to keep pushing Democrats' economic agenda and avoid getting too bogged down by Trump's daily cultural salvos and the Russia probe. Pelosi thinks the special counsel probe could lead to the unraveling of Trump's presidency - "the proof is in the Putin," she's said - but also knows Democrats' Trump-focused message fell flat with voters last year. Much more from your Huddle host:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2aaf4dedc31dcd4729f76bae7e89b414b4fc9a35aaeb99700fca01a46b300c7deec1ad9d6ad11b88edb6aa2696584f16

Pelosi has found renewed power within her caucus through her ability to take on Trump. But while talk of her stepping aside has died down, the conversation within the caucus has shifted, Edward-Isaac Dovere reports in his profile of the Democratic leader, out today. The new push from some Democrats: "She and the rest of the aging House leadership should announce that they will pass the baton next year, no matter what happens in the elections." Pelosi's response: "I say to my colleagues, 'You cannot let the opponents choose your leaders,'... They will always go after the leader." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2aaf4dedc31dcd47db0091f5dbe28100b8bf8f534d7b440a9a04dba521513503563f7a04efa79c3a272cdfafdf87e043

TAX REFORM THURSDAY, WE MADE IT. Welcome to Nov. 2, and thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THE OPIOID CRISIS UNCAPPED: President Trump officially declared the opioid epidemic a "National Public Health Emergency." This morning at 8:00 a.m., POLITICO will host The Opioid Crisis: Crucial Next Steps, sponsored by CVS Health, to discuss the policy challenges around fighting the opioid epidemic and to identify what states, regulators, and providers are doing to address it.

What caused this national crisis? How did we get here? How bad is it? Launching at 9 a.m., check out the latest "POLITICO EXPLAINS" animated video series that pairs health care reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Wuerker, for a whole new way of looking at the opioid crisis and potential solutions. Click HERE to watch.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The photos of Sen. Luther Strange walking right by Roy Moore and his crew at Cups coffee shop yesterday, captured by TPM's Cameron Joseph, was the big winner.

SCHUMER VS. TRUMP - Trump's relationship with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took an ugly turn Wednesday, after the president repeatedly pointed the finger at the New York Democrat following an alleged terrorist attack in NYC that killed eight people earlier this week. "It's probably not the time to be attacking the native son of the city where the attack occurred," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). The latest dust up, several weeks after Schumer was noshing on Chinese food and talking immigration with the president at the White House, shows their relationship is purely transactional. "Trump will cut deals with Schumer if he can or has to, but at all other times, it's a
bare-knuckled brawl," Bres and Seung Min report.

Related: Trump calls for terror suspect to 'get death penalty' in late night tweet. The New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2aaf4dedc31dcd4776bf9681e997bf90c8f8786edee8efe26b191a1a2fd48a60adb25957373898ba13c0a66acdd85cd1

HATCH WATCH - GOP Rep. Mia Love fueled speculation Wednesday that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will retire after she was overheard chatting about the race with another member. "No, but Hatch isn't sticking around," Love said when asked whether she would run for the Senate if Hatch steps down. "We're trying to get Mitt," Love added, referring to Romney. Hatch's team quickly shot back, reiterating that the 83-year-old senator planned to make a final decision by the end of this year and taking a shot at Love's "tightening House race." Colin Wilhelm with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e9244d2ee38841c3832265816505ffba1ff5b816e09b10fb8c1baa2c79e4555e32a7f96dd617f21eeaac

CHC WEIGHS CURBELO MEMBERSHIP - The Congressional Hispanic Caucus could decide as soon as today whether to let GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo join the caucus over the objections of some members. The CHC is waiting on guidance from the House Administration Committee about whether it has to let Curbelo join the historically Democratic caucus and hopes to receive the verdict by today's weekly meeting, CHC Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) told Huddle. The group tabled the issue last week after some members protested, saying his bid to join was clearly a political ploy to boost his reelection chances in the Latino-heavy battleground district. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e92408f8e56ecd87674a5c44cbfe76e9fef6d9bad4b5995d397223d219cd1a9cde3450e20ec456b263de

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TRUMP CONFIDANTE TO TESTIFY IN RUSSIA PROBE - Keith Schiller, a long-time confidante and adviser to Trump, is expected to testify next Tuesday before the House intelligence committee, CNN reports. "Schiller had long been by the president's side, and was the aide dispatched by Trump in May to deliver the news to the FBI that James Comey had been fired as bureau director," write Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb. Schiller left the White House in September after working as director of Oval Office Operations.

"The Russia interviews -- at least a half-dozen this week and next -- show that the committee's probe, which has often been marred by partisan squabbles, is still chugging along through its witness list," they report. But the charges against former Trump campaign aides Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos likely eliminates the chances congressional investigators will get to question them. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e9244026ea046a30732f5632d5d59ea1aec5e09e269bf244dedff2cb294c38093a09149999ea4b894fb3
Worth a click: The House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday released several of the Russian-bought ads the Kremlin tried to use to influence last year's election. The batch of ads touch on hot-button U.S. issues ranging from Black Lives Matter to illegal immigration. See them: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e9240c8db87e5d586afe21297db8115d7fcd246607c0bde7c131d1b4edb4d9b78a6e2499121f0e458319

FEDERAL RESERVE NOM COMING TODAY - Trump will announce plans to nominate Jerome "Jay" Powell as the next chair of the Federal Reserve this afternoon, Ben White and Victoria Guida report. Powell, widely viewed as a safe pick, would succeed Janet Yellen if confirmed, whose first term expires in February. "Powell, who first joined the central bank's board of governors in 2012 under President Barack Obama and then was renominated in 2014, is not expected to deviate heavily from Yellen's gradual approach to raising interest rates." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e92410d119eb05b8378c1d0530a92ac83ca99c557421f98c63d06d7ec456abe4234c7076f1b2531f49fc

PAUL ENDORSES WARD IN ARIZONA RACE - Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) endorsed Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward on Wednesday. Ward was running against Sen. Jeff Flake until last week, when the Arizona Republican announced plans to retire after this term. Ward, a former state senator who is backed by Steve Bannon, unsuccessfully challenged Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2016 election. "Ward hails from the 'Liberty Movement' led by Paul and his father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. ...She was the opening act during a campaign rally for Paul at Arizona State University in May 2015, when he was running for the Republican presidential nomination," Eliza Collins reports. USA Today:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e924d7845e9b2be96a3bc82c65b97c237c9132db7b33875d40a9bead871756c8705d445495d18e144f17

SCOTT UNDECIDED ON EX-IM NOMINATION - Republican Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) says he remains undecided about whether to support Scott Garrett's nomination to lead the Ex-Im Bank after hearing testimony from the former lawmaker Wednesday. Garrett vowed to keep the bank running if confirmed despite past attempts to kill Ex-Im while in Congress. Garrett "had the right answers," Scott told McClatchy later in the day. "I just need to have more confidence in those answers," he added. Scott is "viewed as a lawmaker who could make or break Garrett's chances of being confirmed by the full Senate," Emma Dumain reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=088c29b0a421e924cca6292ebe93dd221d74c625dfeda2e19847f072bb8b1e277b6552bfd1575d8f56b78b8c62570af8

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Emily Leviner starts Friday as legislative director for Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). Leviner currently works as the LD for Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) and previously worked for House GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) as a policy adviser. Thomas Scanlon is leaving his gig as communications director for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) this Friday. Scanlon starts a new job in grassroots advocacy for Boeing next week.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate convenes at 9:30 a.m. with roll call votes on circuit court nominees Allison Eid and Stephanos Bibas at 12 p.m. Additional votes are possible today. The House gavels in at 10 a.m. with first votes around 2:30 p.m. and last votes around 5 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d1a1672b4c564fb8d9feffec97afcfbd9688a88f25db0e529750a9dbe5ca27f97956a623a93d70269ce8089995d8b84b

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) hold an event on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands at 10 a.m. on the Capitol steps.

Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network hosts its Capitol Hill day with several members speaking starting at 10 a.m. in CVC 200. Pelosi holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. President Donald Trump meets with Republican senators on Dreamers at 11:15 a.m. in the Oval Office.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) unveil the House GOP tax plan at 11:15 a.m. in 1100 Longworth (the Ways and Means Committee room).

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.) hold a press conference on the need for congressional authorization for strikes against North Korea at 11:30 a.m. in the House triangle.

Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jim Ward, Kansas State House minority leader, hold a press conference on similarities between Kansas' tax experiment and the current GOP plan at 12:15 p.m. in SVC-202.

House Oversight ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and other committee Democrats hold a press conference on the Trump Hotel in D.C. and possible violations of the emoluments clause at 1 p.m. in the House triangle. House Republican leaders and GOP members of the Ways and Means Committee meet with Trump at the White House at 1:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Kirtan Mehta was first to guess that William Berry's bar was named Berry & Lincoln and his famous partner was - you guessed it - Abraham Lincoln, the only licensed bartender to later serve as president.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - On this day more than 30 years ago, the president signed into law a bill to create a national holiday for this American hero. What is the holiday, which we still celebrate, and how many House members voted against the proposal? Send your best guess my way: hcaygle@politico.com. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle.

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