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10/19/2017 07:59 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris

VOTE-A-RAMA DRAMA? PROBABLY NOT - The Senate will wrap up work on its budget sometime tonight or early tomorrow, with a vote on a disaster aid bill likely following shortly after. Typically, budget votes turn into a free-for-all, with a "vote-a-rama" on dozens of nonbinding amendments going late into the night as both sides try to score political points. More than 160 amendments have been filed - with a few voted on already - but many won't make it to the floor. And Democratic leaders are trying to keep their members focused, pushing a smaller batch of amendments targeting vulnerable aspects of the GOP's budget plan, including cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. In the end, the budget is
expected to easily pass, giving Republicans much-needed momentum in their tax reform efforts.

FLAKE RISKS IT ALL - Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake is the rare Republican incumbent running as an underdog in his own primary. But rather than shy away from his frequent criticism of President Trump now that challenger Kelli Ward is ramping up her campaign, Flake is going full speed ahead, determined to make his race a referendum on the future of the GOP as much as anything else. "Resentment is not a governing philosophy," he told Burgess and Seung Min in an interview this week. Despite rumors, Flake insists he wouldn't run as an independent and is fundraising aggressively for his reelection bid. "I do think that the party will come back to more traditional limited government, economic freedom,
free trade, pro-immigration, strong American leadership," he said.

Flake doesn't seem to be dialing back his criticism of Trump, even saying he agreed with retiring Sen. Bob Corker's sentiments last week that the president's recklessness on foreign policy could lead the U.S. to World War III. Corker, even, was a little surprised Flake publicly agreed with him: "I want him to come back here," the retiring Tennessee Republican said. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=19b31d7a6a1ce96c235c550b6a1dd552396a64ddd7d559fbda8cec810de4ec1f7c18a0b6b49a585960279f7fccce1c0b

Maybe, Mitch: There's a lot of buzz about Steve Bannon's anti-McConnell campaign and getting Senate candidates to pledge to vote against him as leader. But Ward isn't going there. "I can't answer. I've never met Mitch McConnell. I'll tell you I wish Mitch McConnell would get aboard the America first agenda," Ward said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Other prominent Senate candidates like Josh Hawley in Missouri and Josh Mandel in Ohio have also declined to take a stand against McConnell.

TIBERI TAPS OUT - Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a leadership ally, will soon resign from Congress to take up an executive post with a business group back home, the New York Times reports. Tiberi surprised many when he passed on a chance to run for Senate earlier this year, despite having built up a sizable war chest. Tiberi will join the Ohio Business Roundtable, Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin report. He could make the announcement as soon as this week, although it's unclear when he will vacate his seat. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7757788ace450dbe15fbd642d0dcfb57e19a06ea6824101cae9b3c48d884c3360453f1029e285255546872b5e3837a81

COCHRAN: DISORIENTED BUT DEFIANT - Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran is insisting he has no plans to retire despite widespread speculation about his health. Cochran, nearly 80, returned to the Senate this week after weeks at home recovering from medical issues. But he appeared disoriented at times - a not uncommon occurrence in recent years as many Capitol Hill reporters can attest - having to be directed to the Senate chamber and answering questions oddly.

Cochran isn't up for reelection until 2020 and GOP leaders are desperate to avoid a special election, particularly with Chris McDaniel - Cochran's challenger last time around - already waiting in the wings to take on Sen. Roger Wicker next year. Bres and Anna with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=950966a0e5a4dc79ae5403135ded1c8c89b9bee2e1ccacfff50e2f7c8d74bf87e750df0067735a09c6853c6e4b03cfc8

THANKFUL FOR THURSDAY. Welcome to Oct. 19 and thanks for tuning in to POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Roll Call's story about the possibility of Cups closing was the big winner. No shocker there. #SaveCups

A LONG DECEMBER - Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) plan to release text of their bill to stabilize Obamacare today with a significant number of notable cosponsors including Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). But momentum on the bill has stalled, at least for now, after Trump and House GOP leaders panned the plan Wednesday. Still, lawmakers privately acknowledge they'll have to do something to address the shaky insurance markets in the coming months.

"The most likely scenario is to push the matter off and fold a yet-to-be-determined solution into a year-end package they hope will include some GOP concessions as well as Democratic perks," Jen Haberkorn and Rachael report. "Such a strategy, they argue, would be less painful than voting on a stand-alone bill that conservatives view as a 'bailout' for insurance companies - and a vote to 'prop up' a law they've tried to dismantle for years." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=230fbb65ee8f9f7c112dc9352a399a59a49713d5ac2fcd8e317800d3958482cfc0a3a5c1ae67fd223792279ed6d538a5

GET TO WORK! A group of nine GOP senators is writing to McConnell asking him to keep the Senate running 24/7 for the rest of the year. The letter comes after McConnell told senators on Tuesday he's scrapping the Senate's short work weeks, typically Monday evening until Thursday afternoon. It's signed by Sens. David Perdue (Ga.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Luther Strange (Ala.), John Kennedy (La.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Steve Daines (Mont.).

Key excerpt: "The 115th Congress is being disrupted by sustained, partisan obstruction. We believe our conference must be willing to change how the Senate operates both by tradition and by rule," the senators write to McConnell. "You have our full support to turn the Senate on full time, 24/7, to advance the president's agenda, including a meaningful health care solution, bold changes to our tax code, and funding the government by year's end."

DEMS WORRY ABOUT BLACK VOTER TURNOUT - With Barack Obama out of office, Democrats are nervous about turning out black voters in 2018 and are using the upcoming governor's race in Virginia and the Senate election in Alabama as testing grounds ahead of next year. Leading African-American lawmakers say what Democrats have done before, like the church "drive-bys," just won't work anymore and could cost them big wins in the House. "We are doing a pathetic job of reaching out to minority voters," CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) told the New York Times. J-Mart and Alex Burns: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ae4cad04cadba6ed16401da72917b0eca62d37bf1701c62b8023b69f2e6c465c6d5723802b08978c1d1ba3dc62ad70e5

-- Obama will campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam in Virginia tonight, after rallying earlier in the day with Phil Murphy, who is running to reclaim New Jersey's governorship for Democrats.

VIDEO DU JOUR: Attorney General Jeff Sessions' heated exchange with Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) during the Judiciary Committee's DOJ oversight hearing Wednesday. Watch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c2650a62a5f63d3d554cf9a5fb0fad4e26f7eed7fc7f32515cd3d6ff522cc931c17e9aa327f248e420159179d5063dd6 Related: Sessions testified that special counsel Robert Mueller hasn't interviewed him as part of the federal Russia probe, Josh Gerstein and Elana report.

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has signed onto a Democratic bill that would make online political ads more transparent, a victory for Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who have been working for weeks to secure GOP support. Warner and Klobuchar will officially introduce the legislation at a press conference later today. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google have faced scrutiny from lawmakers after revealing Russian trolls purchased thousands of ads last year aimed at sowing discord within the U.S. and influencing the election. Ashley Gold: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=909aa4b6b67aec4b440a15f47012b375b17a4b805430718ee856f5da061f3b72e26fbd1d150af6ef41c7f384835223a4

SENATE PANEL QUESTIONS LEWANDOWSKI - Senate Intelligence Committee staffers interviewed Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, on Wednesday as part of the panel's ongoing Russia investigation. "Lewandowski said earlier this year that he did not have any contact with Russian officials and if there was contact made by [Paul] Manafort or others on the campaign, Trump did not know about it," CNN's Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f0ad73aeb6fda596afc4d848af644d6aa378332e418410b2f921f97ef22d3ae4485cc3e69da7589be5b5c9d92b921588

GOWDY THREATENS SUBPOENAS OVER AIR TRAVEL - House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is threatening to subpoena two federal agencies for failure to properly respond to questions about officials' private jet travel. In a letter to leaders of DOJ and the Agriculture Department, Gowdy and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings said both agencies missed an Oct. 10 deadline to provide details about taxpayer-funded flights for officials' personal travel. The committee leaders said they're prepared to issue subpoenas if they don't receive answers by the end of the month. Kyle with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ce22590cdb108e273b496eb41ea3c134a63e3c404b29b7fa6a5437e995aad9baa5a129c026026f9ec1eed9f9d93718d6

Also, Democrats are pressing Gowdy to subpoena the White House for documents related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Kyle reports. Read: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51ec2a293b5381049e50cae9db5b8375b5aa0506c59eaa2f82799c4d2d1f3141cb3ff9b76f625fa7dd62118bcf15fdd2


** A message from the National Confectioners Association - #AlwaysATreat: Leading global chocolate and candy companies are coming together to provide more information, options, and support as consumers enjoy their favorite treats. It's the first step on our journey to help people manage their sugar intake and ensure that they feel empowered to make informed choices. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com. **

ALL IN THE FAMILY - Greg Pence, older brother to Vice President Mike Pence, is gearing up for a congressional run in Indiana. Pence is eyeing a run for Rep. Luke Messer's district - Messer is running for Senate - a seat previously held by his younger brother, Maggie Severns reports. The older Pence filed paperwork with the IRS this week to form "Greg Pence for Congress Inc." and currently serves as chairman of Messer's Senate finance committee. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8362832c76161184401e73a950286f4d27c911dee209f4a0763f8709a3fd8b65427ee2523dcab03e9568adf66363d00

WHAT'S UP WITH CHIP? It's been three weeks since the Children's Health Insurance Program expired and negotiations over how to fund it appear to be at a standstill, according to HuffPost. States still have money to operate the program even though Congress missed the Sept. 30 deadline. But 11 states are expected to run out of federal dollars for CHIP by the end of this year and another 32 states will exhaust funding by March. The Senate Finance Committee approved a bipartisan bill to reauthorize CHIP earlier this month but House negotiators remain at odds over offsets for the program. Igor Bobic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ad008a5d0cd57c7894ca1542e53d84fd9195783ccd71b750cd8383ba6eb7334cede9c8d0aec6014e00662b021ea05219

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate gavels in at 9:30 a.m. with three roll call votes related to budget amendments at 11:45 a.m. The Senate will hold another amendment vote at 2 p.m. with more votes expected later in the day but not currently scheduled. The House is out until Oct. 23.

AROUND THE HILL - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will meet with Ricardo Rossello, governor of Puerto Rico (time TBD). Rossello will also meet with President Trump at the White House at 12:15 p.m.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) hold a press conference at 12:40 p.m. in S-325 on their bill to make election ads more transparent and prevent foreign meddling in future elections.

Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) hold a conference call at 2:30 p.m. on the importance of Dreamers going to college.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Claude Marx was first to guess Sen. Brock Adams decided not to run for reelection after being accused of sexual assault by eight women. Adams, a Democrat from Washington, was previously a House member and secretary of Transportation in the Carter administration.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - This senator, a southern Democrat, is notable for becoming the first member of the minority party to win election as chairman of a Senate committee over the objection of the Republicans in power. Name the senator and the committee he led. 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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** A message from the National Confectioners Association - #AlwaysATreat: We've always created transparent, fun, and great-tasting treats. By 2022, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Nestlé USA, Ferrero, Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, and Ferrara Candy Company will work together to make half of their individually wrapped products available in sizes that contain 200 calories or less per pack. And, 90 percent of the best-selling treats made by these companies will have calorie information printed right on the front of the pack. During the same time period, the newly established AlwaysATreat.com will evolve into a digital resource full of easy-to-use information for consumers to better
understand the unique role that chocolate and candy can play in a happy, balanced lifestyle. Learn more at AlwaysATreat.com. **

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