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03/15/2017 07:46 AM EDT


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

REPUBLICANS PLAY HARDBALL ON RUSSIA - Key Senate Republicans are just as frustrated as Democrats about the lack of information coming from the administration about federal probes into Russia. The big difference? GOP senators can actually do something about it. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is now saying he won't hold a confirmation vote on Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general nominee, until administration officials answer a bipartisan Senate request sent last month to the DOJ and FBI asking for a briefing on Russia.

Why it matters: The deputy AG is always an important position at the Justice Department but Rosenstein, if confirmed, would be in charge of all Russia-related investigations after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself earlier this month. "I'm not going to schedule a hearing on the deputy attorney general until we get a briefing from [FBI Director James] Comey," Grassley said. Seung Min with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b693006f33cc9f324e24fcde30802be298378b50c1e10b27830111401ca3f208411cc714238e1945ddc

Grassley isn't the only Senate Republican peeved by the lack of information from the FBI. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who leads a Judiciary subcommittee looking into Russia, said the FBI is "about to screw up big time" if it doesn't answer a letter he and ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse sent asking for any evidence to back up President Trump's wiretapping claims. "If they don't honor this request and give us an answer, then I would say that we need a joint select committee because regular order is not working," Graham told reporters Tuesday.

Tune in: Graham and Whitehouse kick off their hearing into Russian election meddling today at 2:30 p.m. (Livestream: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b695ba43f22d5be56dddf7500cdf295efd535265fe787fb43fd275045166434addab40910250b4c5202 Today's hearing should be interesting because unlike other Republicans leading probes into Russia, Graham has shown he isn't afraid to buck the Trump administration time and again. Austin and SMK with a preview: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b690c9a528a06adc229ff1f91a0bdeb08a99cbc9c70ecd5c9cba5acb4f7de8f9871b6af90a65a150fb3

Will Comey finally confirm an investigation? Whitehouse said Comey, who is not testifying, could confirm whether the FBI is actually investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia ahead of today's panel. "Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said the FBI director made the suggestion during a private sit-down between the two men and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on March 2," the same day Sessions recused himself from Russia probes. Seung Min: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69a5ee886c2d6d85bcd126b65c88c68d39ceed6fb0bc5971bb8cce5c6f9dcbf08b6c13ead4482e34e6

CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? The CBO's scathing score of the GOP repeal plan seems to have only hardened divisions within the party. Centrists in the Senate want to see changes that could make the tax credits more generous for lower-income people but any move in that direction would infuriate House conservatives who have already threatened to sink the bill in the House if they don't get their way. The ongoing divide is calling into serious question whether GOP leaders can actually send a repeal to the president's desk by the mid-April recess.

Looking to August? "'The way I see this going right now, we're probably going to head to the August recess with Obamacare. And that's scary,' said one House Republican close with leadership, who requested anonymity to speak frankly," Burgess and Rachael report. While GOP leaders aren't backing down from their April deadline, Senate GOP Whip John Cornyn also wouldn't rule out bicameral negotiations between the two chambers. "It may be well be this goes back to a conference committee," Cornyn said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69de99e7015c699e9605523a76338f95e7f976d2c300f001d475c890100c96ecb2f79456fe3e33fcb3

In a 45-minute call Tuesday night with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Trump asked the GOP leaders to incorporate some changes into the House bill that could bring the far-right on board, Rachael reports. Two ideas include "enacting in law administrative actions that HHS Secretary Tom Price plans to take to deregulate the insurance industry, and allowing governors to impose work requirements on healthy Medicaid beneficiaries." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69f0a19c186538b32e1f2a941bf4bd4b7b3b1d5b915d6b79a072a7ed82c35c4acb3ba15d51e9c1a3c9

But while Trump is trying to woo conservatives, some House moderates are already coming out against the bill in its current form. "I plan to vote NO on the current #AHCA bill. As written the plan leaves too many from my #SoFla district uninsured," GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen tweeted Tuesday. New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance says he doesn't see the point of backing a bill that will fail in the Senate and Rep. Charlie Dent said the conservative push to end the Medicaid expansion sooner is a "non-starter" with moderates. CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b697146c3ae80f2ff5b7dc5c1afa16360255cf1507445f8d52a2be02f7b56a4b30cbd4fb619f85943a3


Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister: GOP Sen. Tom Cotton dismissed Republican leaders' promises of a three-step plan to fully repeal and replace Obamacare, telling Hugh Hewitt it simply doesn't exist. "There is no three-step plan. That is just political talk. It's just politicians engaging in spin," Cotton told Hewitt. "Step three, some mythical legislation in the future that is going to garner Democratic support and help us get over 60 votes in the Senate. If we had those Democratic votes, we wouldn't need three steps."

WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, where it feels like Monday in the House. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Trump's effort to woo conservatives on the Obamacare repeal, written by Josh Dawsey, Rachael and Tara Palmeri, was the winner

INSIDE THE WAR ROOM - Neil Gorsuch and his aides have been holed up in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, preparing for the bright lights and probing questions that will come with his SCOTUS confirmation hearings starting Monday. And there's a lot at stake. "His performance will help determine whether President Donald Trump's nominee hands ammunition to his Democratic opposition or glides toward confirmation," Seung Min reports.

While Gorsuch is undergoing hours of prep at the EEOB, Republicans on and off Capitol Hill are preparing their own war rooms to counter Democratic criticisms during the hearings. Senate Republicans will staff about 10 aides for their operation in the Hart Building. The RNC has also been preparing its own war room, coordinating for weeks with the Senate GOP's campaign arm and outside groups like America Rising and the Judicial Crisis Network. And JCN has brought on former Sen. Jon Kyl to ramp up lobbying in the Senate. SMK with the deets: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b697129260ea968f701695206173de44ad4df639ab0075760d6c40c1e5bab659f8f59239c0fded6fab8

Related reads: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, is demanding more documents from Gorsuch ahead of the hearings, saying he omitted key information about his work on national security issues at DOJ during the George W. Bush administration. SMK again: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b698dd9378805b42c127f9cf2d4b1c27ae4acda7ede978eb798dea7c6ef7e6d8c60b903d56194170b1d And the New York Times reports on Gorsuch's ties to secretive billionaire Philip F. Anschutz: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b6949d959fe415c61161154f8f66b6886ba821f06854b6e84c5eab7f26bac1f73efa1e93e44406dbe1e

AIN'T NO THANG - House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday dismissed an audio recording from October of him saying he wouldn't defend Trump "not now, not in the future," calling it old news. "I've got really thick skin. This is ancient history," Ryan said in a Fox News interview. Breitbart posted the audio Monday night but the gist of Ryan's comments were reported back in October. Henry Jackson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b6974872f1cb32b0d39e71f22195a1f35f33b3e368697bef3cd9ace26f9bf54b958adf13f1fa9fe2d9d

The key question is whether chief White House strategist Steve Bannon, who ran Breitbart for years, had anything to do with the strategically timed audio leak. The White House and Breitbart insiders insist Bannon's fingerprints are nowhere near the attack, Josh Dawsey and Hadas Gold report. "Still, Breitbart's escalating attacks on Ryan and the GOP health plan are causing severe agitation among the legislation's backers... and Ryan's allies fear the site could do more damage as he tries to push through his preferred bill." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69c3b20d6f5c0ce132ef01b721169268ac400b25f8b3334c9133f7a631ccab00e0dea654f6d397579e

PARTY OVER PRESIDENT - "On the Senate's highest-profile votes since the president took office, eight of the 10 most vulnerable Democrats on the ballot next year voted with their party at least four-fifths of the time," Elana reports in a new analysis. "It's obviously still early in Trump's presidency to draw sweeping conclusions. But the voting behavior of Senate Democrats - particularly the 10 from states Trump won in November - suggests that the president has a lot more bridge-building to do with red-state Democrats." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b698fb7126a079a40a82ea1b87a0ee1a5271c3a19e41dfa24db3101ca4ab5bf0cb50e3f58638f83d349

THE BEST THINGS WE LEARNED FROM THE TEXAS ROADTRIP - Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Will Hurd are continuing their bipartisan road trip from Texas to D.C. today, with hopes of making it to the Capitol by 6:30 p.m. votes. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn called to make sure there was no distracted driving going on; the duo expressed their shared admiration for Rep. Mac Thornberry around midnight, who O'Rourke said is somebody he doesn't "really think of" as a Republican; and we learned Hurd's handle as a CIA agent was "Coffee Black." They ended their livestream to go to bed around 1 a.m. in Nashville by jamming out Kansas' Wayward Son.

First pickles, then health care? Hurd is becoming a pickle fan after a stop at Whataburger: "After accidentally switching orders, Hurd said he was surprised to discover that he actually enjoyed the pickles and onions on O'Rourke's burger. 'You're already teaching me something, Beto,' Hurd said. 'First, pickles and onions, next, health care,' O'Rourke replied," reports the Dallas Morning News.

THE RACE TO REPLACE BECERRA - One man is having an outsized influence in the race to replace former Rep. Xavier Becerra, now California's attorney general, and it's not the former lawmaker. Sen. Bernie Sanders has "given the race a decidedly leftward tilt in the heavily Democratic enclave," Christine Mai-Duc reports for the L.A. Times. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69dfbca6efc2f76659722b9800ab11c182644d5fe8143efa43592257564635ae1f95a491553b491635

SCHUMER TALKS SHUTDOWN - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning Republicans not to tuck funding for a border wall into the government spending bill needed to keep the government open beyond April 28. "If they put these poison pill amendments in and try to shove them down the American people's throat," Schumer told reporters Tuesday, "of course they might be responsible for shutting the government down." Senate Democrats wrote a letter saying as much earlier this week and House Democrats have issued similar warnings in recent weeks. Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b69929f06c3aaa8b749eb9734d8919c67485e34d8eb78887f382340f2674a6b234b99b51ef2d1518154

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 4:30 p.m. with votes at 6:30 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d743ebbe1526b691aa7a785709add1c919628c9ef8fb636f9d189885a755f433b713492a7204b6f61f59c495a75de7a The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. with a procedural vote related to former Sen. Dan Coats' nomination to be the director of national intelligence at 10 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Ben Cardin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Udall and Richard Blumenthal hold a 10 a.m. press conference on government transparency in S-211 (the LBJ room).

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley, Democratic Vice Chair Linda Sanchez, and Rep. John Yarmuth, top Democrat on Budget, hold a press conference on the Obamacare repeal at 10:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer holds a new conference on SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch at 11 a.m. in SVC 215. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and ranking member Adam Schiff hold a press conference on the committee's Russia probe at 11:15 a.m. outside HVC 304.

Vice President Mike Pence talks to the Republican Study Committee about the Obamacare repeal at 12:45 p.m. Pence will then hold a series of meetings with GOP lawmakers before speaking at the weekly House GOP conference around 6 p.m.

Rep. Jim Banks holds a press call with Concerned Veterans for America about the VA Accountability Act at 1:45 p.m. For dial-in information, RSVP: press@cv4a.org. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers hold their weekly press conference at 6:30 p.m. in HC-8.

OFF THE HILL - Sens. Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner, Dean Heller and Rep. Ron DeSantis participate in a 12:15 p.m. lunch hosted by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at the Mayflower Hotel. President Trump holds a campaign rally in Nashville around 6:30 p.m. Tennessee Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander are expected to attend.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Shallum Shameak Atkinson was the first to guess that Sen. Howard Cannon beat Nevada Lt. Gov. Paul Laxalt in the state's 1964 Senate race by just 48 votes. A recount demanded by Laxalt increased Cannon's victory margin to 84 votes.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Carlton Huffman with today's question: What former senator had his name used for a fictional governor in the film that earned George Clooney a Golden Globe award? 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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