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03/01/2017 08:10 AM EDT


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

With assists from Elana Schor and Daniel Lippman

THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT - President Donald Trump's first address to Congress was just what Republicans had been hoping for: calm, cool, collected, and on message. Democrats mostly dismissed his hour-long speech as not as "crazy" as other times but still light on details. But for worried Republicans, Trump offered a bit of relief, showing - at least for one night - he's capable of transitioning from a candidate riling up voters to a president now tasked with governing. More below.

OBAMACARE'S MAKE OR BREAK MOMENT - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is summoning his caucus for a critical meeting this afternoon as Republicans try to sort out their deep divisions over Obamacare before their chances to dismantle the law disappear. House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady and Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden will be on hand to explain the House GOP leadership proposal, which includes tax credits and plans to roll back Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, both areas of significant disagreement within the caucus.

The road ahead: "McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are setting an ambitious, if soft, deadline to hold a vote to gut the law ahead of the Easter recess," senators said Tuesday. Today's Senate meeting kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Burgess and Jen Haberkorn: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422e79cf9aed61f0e8cd771e375b94039ede1aaf18714d88bf6c8905e64061943f735f2b612f280012aa

Conservatives rail against 'Ryancare': Speaker Ryan has brushed off reports of conservative discontent over Republican leaders' Obamacare repeal this week. But at the same time, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows' wife is rallying North Carolina Republicans to sink Ryan's replacement bill. In a Monday afternoon email, Debbie Meadows urged Republicans to bombard Ryan's office and the White House with calls in opposition. "It will end up being Ryancare and the disaster will be wrapped around Republican's necks," she wrote. Rachael with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422e85910921e6a54ce7c253a85bbba92a7b0b35afe5fd43dc936705b148e494574dc6ad98372f0f54a2

Speaker Ryan is set to meet with the House Freedom Caucus this morning, per Chad Pergram.

DO WE TAKE HIM LITERALLY OR SERIOUSLY? Republicans left Trump's prime time address relieved that the president actually stayed on message but bickering about just whose side he is on when it comes to Obamacare. House GOP leaders walked away convinced he had endorsed their Obamacare repeal plan. But conservatives who have spent days panning the proposal said he did no such thing. "What's the Republican plan?" House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said. "He just laid it out." "We all hear what we want to hear in life," House Freedom Caucus member Mark Sanford shot back. Seung Min and Rachael: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422ec98550dedc749996936c0c1f8541b29bba13314044f7344dc7c34794ddfd9c1085a3656fc93fa059

Democrats walked away hearing a few things they liked - infrastructure, criticism of drug pricing, a plug for paid family leave- but most said they don't expect Trump to change his divisive tone and tactics. "Yeah, this wasn't one of his crazier speeches, but at some point he's actually got to follow through and do the things he's talking about," Sen. Chris Murphy told Elana. "His tone was softer, not as bombastic. But his words, in many ways, were still very divisive," Rep. Joaquin Castro told Huddle. And more from Elana on Dems' reaction: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422e40177f89fed46e6a21f61bef7098a72c86716b4740124daf1e51b2546a9e2fe56e935366959044c3

Let's hug it out: Red-state Democrats did their fair share of applauding during Trump's well-received speech Tuesday night, but one stood out for more frequent cheering than others: West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Among the GOP's top targets to unseat next year, Manchin followed his public welcome of Trump's call to "make America great again" with a presidential hug, caught on video.

Manchin later told reporters that while he still takes issue with Trump's push to kill Obamacare before replacing it -- "take a vote on" replacement before killing the program, he said -- he didn't hesitate on the hug. "I come from West Virginia," Manchin explained of his Trump embrace, followed by a handshake. "We hug, we kiss, we're civil, we like people. We're not mad, we're not mean. I don't know -- I don't understand this." (Manchin then offered Elana a hug.)

Paging the Gang of Eight: Ahead of his speech, Trump again signaled an openness to restarting dormant immigration reform efforts, via Ted Hesson, SMK and Hadas Gold: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422ee848145577ab8a10833926c7f3a2e9b79b0892a65fda8f3c5d058cca7fc43b29b00a081e69d6320c

Gif du jour: House Democratic Reps. Jackie Speier and Judy Chu giving a big thumbs down when Trump talked about repealing Obamacare: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422e6a0444ee66e8712dfbad03183cc654e356a0f2aae353ce0e8359572eace9bcd6482a16aa51705695

The White House has delayed plans for Trump to sign his reworked travel ban today after such positive reaction to his Tuesday night address, CNN reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca967b604566422ef71b0abd99905ac41adfc2f6eaa392b22c5518b593749cdf4988ea98a886e815dba18f35e7c6ecf0

More speech reading: Josh Dawsey with the behind-the-scenes look at how it all came together (hint: lots of teleprompter practice, for one thing): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c4e770fb1c70fc21f935f46afd34e9b6ca2eee79025def4ab198c8d810a9a24296ab6a2cb0edfc4162 Dreams vs reality: handicapping Trump's big promises, via Austin and Bres: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c4e194242aab638d023ee8de57aa88e27ed40a5a0cac85d02d3b2f1531ca54473ca181c3881b82e340 Annie Karni on what the president didn't touch in his speech (Russia, anyone?): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c4a3fd0c9de78affca365e9b09217922a516b7aa0c8422d17868dc91e57b746fc5ff4b5eadedcb25ae

** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs: Federal programs, state governments, employers, unions and others partner with PBMs to address rising prescription drug costs, keep patients healthy, and deliver value for the health system. Visit www.affordableprescriptiondrugs.org for more. **

BAD NEWS ON THE BUDGET, MAN - President Trump's budget isn't even finalized but it's clear his proposal would never make it through Congress. Key Republicans in both the House and Senate have panned Trump's plan to make steep cuts to the State Department and foreign aid while refusing to overhaul entitlement programs. "It's dead on arrival. It's not going to happen. It would be a disaster," Sen. Lindsey Graham said on MSNBC Tuesday.

House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has endorsed entitlement changes to help balance the budget as opposed to deep domestic cuts, will sit down with (former House colleague) OMB Director Mick Mulvaney today. Bres and Sarah Ferris: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c4675fd2e9a796b70fd50de71785afc7389f3518f732c579dfb57487a59ca6dd58f5651f5c19988c26

DEEP BREATHS, WE MADE IT TO WEDNESDAY. Welcome to March 1 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rep. Tom Cole's op-ed in the New York Times about what Republicans want to hear from Trump

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate will vote on confirmation of Interior secretary nominee Ryan Zinke at 10:30 a.m. before moving to a procedural vote related to HUD secretary nominee Ben Carson. The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes at 2 p.m. and last votes around 6 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c4cbb8c4b88fa4b41c0fe4ce85fe305b7957e89ebc7b183c57aaf73fde92dd9d6e304dae6bfa22c27a

PORTMAN'S POWER PLAY - The president railed against the establishment during his campaign (#DraintheSwamp) but it turns out being a D.C. insider isn't so bad in Trump's Washington. Sen. Rob Portman, the archetypal Washington operator, now has "a direct line to the Trump White House on national and home-state priorities, as the administration has been quietly stocked with aides and advisers with longstanding ties to Republican Party leadership," Burgess and Josh Dawsey report. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c42a25745dab105b04b763afeb0e31964bcf3d8eebef7c5191a9765d557e708f37b4402a1ea6ac0c44

BRING IT ON - Rep. Steve Stivers, chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, said his members have nothing to fear in 2018 when it comes to angry protesters dominating town halls right now. "Organic movements don't happen 10 days into a new administration," Stivers told Rachael in an interview, dismissing the protesters as a "vocal minority." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c42036948c96da72f941b14aeb957cc4b7388951d45ae51ee828ebc2c9e963069e188e25424bb51036

TWEETS DU JOUR: @mikedebonis: >@RepHankJohnson just pronounced @DeutscheBank as "Douche Bank," and the House Judiciary Committee is bipartisanly amused.

-@Alyssafarah: Sean Hannity breaks some news: @replouiegohmert officially joins the Freedom Caucus (h/t Rachael Bade)

RYAN RULES OUT GOV RUN - Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan won't run for governor in 2018, he announced Tuesday. Ryan was considering a run after challenging House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for her leadership post late last year, which many said was just a way for Ryan to raise his national profile ahead of a gubernatorial bid. More from the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Henry Gomez: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c452a8d1b6a2e9f0b03329fb86874baa7b274cacb689eada59816afa4ac14347c8623c68f6d1584b36

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Rep. Elijah Cummings said his meeting with Trump about prescription drug pricing, an area of possible bipartisan compromise, is back on for next week. The two were supposed to meet on the issue in mid-February but Trump said Cummings canceled the meeting due to political pressure. Cummings denied canceling the confab, saying Trump "made up" the story. Elana with more on next week: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c494a1c1ba59411975d58c493a5caf713a6fd853012ae3b5ced3d2a0409551e5fa1f1149149b05ad9a

BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN - House Democrats will vote against any short-term spending bill that funds a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, caucus leaders said Tuesday, saying the onus is on Republicans to prevent a government shutdown if they try to do both in one bill. Government funding runs out April 28 so stay tuned. Yours truly with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c43dec6dadd0a7463dacb24c6e88f00c329cf8acc1026dbedcfbd96e7d08937c59633e9cc9a51e19c0

AROUND THE HILL - Sens. Roy Blunt and Pat Leahy participate in a breakfast hosted by America's Public Television at 8 a.m. in the Library of Congress' Jefferson building. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, Peter Welch, Walter Jones, and Tom Garrett hold a press conference at 10 a.m. in the House triangle on legislation to block the government from indirectly arming groups with terrorism ties.

Rep. John Garamendi introduces a social security bill at 1 p.m. in the House triangle that would require federal retirement programs to use the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. Sen. Tom Carper, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser hold a press conference on D.C. statehood at 2 p.m. in the House triangle.

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Bill Pascrell lead a press conference calling on tax-writing Republicans to demand Trump's tax returns in S-311 starting at 2:45 p.m. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen hold a 4:15 p.m. press conference on Obamacare in the S-116 foyer.

Sens. Chris Coons and Marco Rubio will speak jointly on the Senate floor at 5 p.m. about pushing back on Russian aggression.

OFF THE HILL - GOP Sen. Tim Scott and Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond headline the annual Washington Press Club Foundation dinner tonight, starting at 8 p.m. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham participate in a CNN town hall starting at 9 p.m.

Playbook Interview with Nancy Pelosi - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joins Playbook Co-Authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a live Playbook Interview that will provide intelligence and insight around the congressional agenda and Washington in the first 100 days of the new Administration and beyond. Friday, March 3 - Doors at 8:20 a.m. - The Newseum. RSVP: here.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Longtime Democratic aide David Pomerantz is retiring after 34 years in the House. Pomerantz worked on Rules Committee from 1983 through 2001. He joined the Appropriations Committee in 2001, serving as Democratic staff director since 2010.

Shalanda Young, who has worked as a Democratic staffer on the committee since 2007, is being promoted to staff director. Young is the first woman of color to work as staff director for either party on either the House or Senate Appropriations Committee, according to a statement from House Appropriations ranking member Nita Lowey.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - Peter Oppenheim, education policy director at the Senate HELP committee and Katie Oppenheim, an executive director at Merck, emailed friends and family: "We are thrilled to announce the arrival of William Frawley Oppenheim. William made his big debut ... [Feb.] 28, 2017, at 5:10 [p.m.], weighing 9 lbs., 1 oz. and measuring 21 ½ inches. He is named for two beloved family members - Peter's great-uncle, William Oppenheim, and Katie's maternal grandmother, Bridget Frawley Browne." Pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dc7fabd159d499c45e1f177225597199b8ff87749162fa88baa5855e02893c7b23fb2f604b423592beafed385e98efe9

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Logan Ferree guessed Ronald Reagan was the first president to bring a State of the Union guest. Reagan invited Lenny Skutnik, who was recognized for helping save victims of the Air Florida crash in 1982.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Logan with today's question: One year has the record for being the birth year of three U.S. presidents. What is the year and who are the presidents? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in tomorrow's Huddle. And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs: PBMs use their purchasing power, sophisticated analytics and clinical expertise to help government programs, employers and unions get the most effective drug at the lowest cost possible. In fact, a 2016 study found that for every $100 in prescription drug expenditures, costs would be $45 higher without PBMs negotiating directly with drug manufacturers. With drug costs on the rise, it's good to know there are private-market solutions to lower them. Check out www.affordableprescriptiondrugs.org for more. **

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