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By Austin Wright | 08/23/2017 07:57 AM EDT


By Austin Wright (awright@politico.com and @abwrig)

IN ARIZONA, TRUMP STICKS IT TO THE GOP: At his Arizona rally last night, President Donald Trump launched implicit attacks on the state's two Republican senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake. He did not reference them by name, joking that his advisers had urged him not to, but he left no doubt about the targets of his jabs. "We were one vote away" on health care, Trump said, prompting jeers at McCain. "Nobody wants me to mention your other senator, who's weak on the border, weak on crime," he added, referring to Flake. "Nobody knows who the hell he is!" POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt has more on Trump's thundering Phoenix rally: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e5b12ee0f43164d81eb5f27265885c6e899036a09dcda510e9475180ce5b0d2dfcefb8ecf56ba9d64e7815df4756fcd09

-- Trump also said he's willing to shut down the government to get border-wall funding: "If we have to close down that government," he said last night, "we are going to build that wall." The president has told aides he will not accept a deal without wall funding and that "it has to be real money," according to POLITICO's Josh Dawsey. More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0ed2e6aeba9e0b2d3ba97020b1f47f9a0e404726167394baa4f3bcc9bdf709e667fdd7f78bb906bd093fcae9e47d509c8b

-- Trump signaled last night that he plans to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who became a nationally known figure for his tough treatment of illegal immigrants. "I'll make a prediction: I think he's going to be just fine. Okay?" Trump said. "But I won't do it tonight because I don't want to cause any controversy. Is that okay? All right? But Sheriff Joe can feel good." POLITICO's Josh Gerstein and Ted Hesson have more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e1484f3ae7203ad5f534b4e3f851e9cbeebe6b7d886a157d5393ecbda8b50ebeb250c7df845e22b2c1d8e3bba48593fc7

SIREN: McCONNELL EXPRESSES PRIVATE DOUBTS ABOUT TRUMP - Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are now locked in a "political cold war," The New York Times reports, writing that the two men haven't spoken in nearly two weeks. Publicly, the feud is manifesting itself in Trump's attacks on, and McConnell's defense of, vulnerable Republican senators like Jeff Flake of Arizona and Dean Heller of Nevada. Privately, McConnell is expressing doubts about Trump's ability to lead the GOP.

Via Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin: "In offhand remarks, Mr. McConnell has expressed a sense of bewilderment about where Mr. Trump's presidency may be headed, and has mused about whether Mr. Trump will be in a position to lead the Republican Party into next year's elections and beyond, according to people who have spoken to him directly." McConnell also expressed "horror" over Trump's remarks last week on the violence in Charlottesville. More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0ecba9bdf91254285f6ffced245502c801ebe9ce4670e3eb2f5663370b7031e5c0e173ef1a5938f0aa7677c1cc69284a50

-- SHOUTING MATCH ERUPTS OVER RUSSIA PROBES: The last phone call between Trump and McConnell took place nearly two weeks ago and devolved into a shouting match, reports CNN's Manu Raju and Jeremy Diamond. The biggest sticking point, according to CNN, was Trump's frustration over the congressional Russia investigations. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0efcf654a29b88fd4f5a2fa3b2372ad793dbac83856d87600436ce38751617730f41263f1e216fb6395f363e0442566325

Question 1: Does this mean special counsel Robert Mueller will now want to interview McConnell?

Question 2: What will the strained relationship between Trump and McConnell mean for the thorny issues Congress has to tackle when it returns next month, from government funding to the debt ceiling?

IT'S WEDNESDAY. Welcome to Aug. 23 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

MORE FROM THE TRUMP RALLY:

-- The president once again threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement. "Personally, I don't think we can make a deal," he said. "I think we'll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point." CNBC: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e7335f330f8f36623c84496864a112db558a1e01154ec1769619238f1fd27ce89a594213add23dd0490aa282d428f0552

-- Trump also repeated a longstanding admonition that has irked Senate GOP leaders: He wants them to get rid of the legislative filibuster. "We have to get rid of what's called the filibuster rule," Trump said. "If we don't, the Republicans will never get anything passed - you're wasting your time. We have to get rid of the filibuster rule. Right now, we need 60 votes and we have 52 Republicans. That means that eight Democrats are controlling all of this legislation." The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e1b0c881708fe8c42eb157f052ae5e599797b732b83a30673d3cbd4e35877a73bddb5c20b140f0526bd4a82b837574ce0

FUSION GPS CO-FOUNDER MEETS WITH SENATE JUDICIARY - The co-founder of the firm that commissioned a dossier of salacious allegations against the Trump campaign was interviewed yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The interview with Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS lasted a "full day," according to Simpson's lawyer, Josh Levy. In a statement, Levy said Simpson was "the first and only witness to participate in an interview with the [Judiciary] Committee as it probes Russian interference in the 2016 election." A spokesman for the Judiciary panel confirmed the interview was taking place but declined to comment further.

More from Levy: "Mr. Simpson told Congress the truth and cleared the record on many matters of interest to congressional investigators. He also kept the identities of Fusion GPS' clients confidential. ... The committee has a transcript of the interview. We are not permitted to have a copy. The Committee has the right to disclose the transcript, if it wishes to do so."

HOUSE BUDGET CHAIR WANTS SWEETENERS IN DEBT-CEILING DEAL - House Budget Chairman Diane Black said yesterday that a deal to raise the debt ceiling will require some goodies for fiscal conservatives. "I think it would be hard to get the votes if they don't have some kind of sweetener in the pot," Black, who's running for Tennessee governor, said in an interview with the Washington Examiner's editorial board. "The energy will swing toward finding a way we can raise the debt ceiling while at the same time getting something back for it." More here, from Philip Wegmann: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e19395f7ce1de64b1c7190a3659149605a9d459a7eb10d8f77b34e092d0c7d9b22eb978d473de7fdece6c34fc211c5fe5

PERSONNEL IS POLICY - Trump's decision to increase the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan, a move widely praised by GOP leaders, is the latest evidence that a small cadre of military officers is consolidating power over the West Wing, reports The Washington Post's Robert Costa and Philip Rucker. These high-ranking military officials are "winning arguments inside the West Wing, publicly contradicting the president and even balking at implementing one of his most controversial policies," Costa and Rucker write. "Connected by their faith in order and global norms, these military leaders are rapidly consolidating power throughout the executive branch as they counsel a volatile president."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e917c238f1430460f46571d7f8ef2990cd6de190eebcdaef727865ea19a6cf3636ee5c2a28ece982ff0eefd1ce83fcc2b

DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES PLUNGE INTO CONFEDERATE MONUMENT FIGHT - POLITICO's Daniel Strauss and Negassi Tesfamichael have the story: "The white supremacist march that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia, is spurring a wave of Democratic governors and gubernatorial candidates to call for Confederate monuments in their states to come down. The push offers Democrats an opportunity to take on President Donald Trump and mobilize the base ahead of the 2018 elections - though some strategists say the focus should be on bread-and-butter issues rather than a revived culture war.

"Democratic candidates in Maryland, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico and Tennessee have all called for Confederate statues or icons to be taken down. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted last week that he had asked the secretary of the Army to "remove confederate names from the streets of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn." In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said he wanted Confederate monuments around the state to be taken down. And in Montana, Gov. Steve Bullock hailed the Helena City Council's decision to remove a Confederate memorial fountain from a park there." More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cdf45549958fdb0e2a272ef1a79312dd2952a5937eb0dfe553265404310795613f9a182e38626df1b9a34f90e45f7084c2eb977ea7bd0c8b

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jeff Trammell was first with the correct answer: Gerry Studds was the former Massachusetts congressman who picked up a second language, Portuguese, to improve his campaign skills among his district's fishermen.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Jeff with today's question: What Virginia congressman was the father of the 1992 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania against then-Republican Senator Arlen Spector?

The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in Monday's Huddle. And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: awright@politico.com

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