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08/24/2017 08:03 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

TRUMP CLASHES WITH GOP SENATORS OVER RUSSIA - It's not just Mitch McConnell who's feuding with Donald Trump. The president also vented about Russia-related issues in tense phone calls with Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Sen. Thom Tillis, according to POLITICO's Josh Dawsey and Elana Schor. Trump and Corker sparred over Russia sanctions. With Tillis, the president discussed the senator's bill with Democrat Chris Coons to protect special counsel Robert Mueller.

More from Josh and Elana: "Trump's chewing out of GOP senators, according to people briefed on the calls, reflected the president's frustration that fellow Republicans would make moves that could damage him, particularly on an investigation that he detests. Trump also complained about the Russian sanctions measure in a call with McConnell earlier this month that devolved into shouting. ... 'It seems he is just always focused on Russia,' one senior GOP aide said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa017b4490e341fca142505c06bc124b39ce4c67e9c0ff0394bcdaaf83cd60f3f7844c2d3c8b8a1263289912fbdb4340bfc

McCONNELL, TRUMP TO RECONNECT: The news of Trump's calls with Corker and Tillis follows Tuesday's reports about the deteriorating relationship between Trump and McConnell, whose last phone call was two weeks ago. Yesterday, the White House and McConnell responded with statements that appeared to signal an attempt at reconciliation. A working relationship between Trump and the Senate majority leader will be crucial as Congress returns next month to try to avoid a government shutdown and a debt default.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Trump and McConnell "remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues. They will hold previously scheduled meetings following the August recess to discuss these critical items with members of the congressional leadership and the President's Cabinet."

McConnell: "The President and I, and our teams, have been and continue to be in regular contact about our shared goals. We are working together to develop tax reform and infrastructure legislation so we can grow the economy and create jobs; to prevent a government default; to fund the government so we can advance our priorities in the short and long terms; to pass the defense authorization and defense appropriations bills so we can support our troops and help implement an effective strategy against ISIL; to provide relief from Obamacare; and to continue our progress for our nation's veterans."

TRUMP HUDDLES WITH POSSIBLE FLAKE CHALLENGERS: Exacerbating Trump's strained relations with congressional leaders is the president's insistence on attacking vulnerable Senate Republicans. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reports that ahead of his rally in Phoenix Tuesday night, Trump met with two Republicans who are considering primary challenges to Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.

"Before taking the stage in Phoenix on Tuesday evening for a campaign-style rally, the president huddled backstage with state Treasurer Jeff DeWit and former state GOP Chairman Robert Graham. Both are considering running against Flake, an outspoken critic of the president who recently published an anti-Trump book, 'Conscience of a Conservative,'" Isenstadt writes. "Trump ripped the Arizona senator during the brief meeting, calling him 'the flake,' according to three people who provided an account of the discussion."

Arizona Rep. Trent Franks also attended the backstage meeting, telling the president that DeWit and Graham would make strong challengers to Flake. More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0d78f7d14c368abfeb74d438c8035e8a1e436e59fbaf439a9d91638710a2baf09a5f48c398a125397e1bfbea882a6f4b9

IT'S THURSDAY. Welcome to Aug. 24 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Programming note: Huddle is off next week, taking a break ahead of the craziness that will be September.

TWEET OF THE DAY - Rep. Ann Wagner posted a photo of her and other U.S. lawmakers at the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. "Yes," Wagner writes, "that is a North Korean solider staring at us through the window." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0869d93d2e4553968f0318fb248545aa06907d352e3e1b8f604aaad4068f555619b88089cdb21d87f2b08ce7f01d0cdf4

THE LATEST ON RUSSIA: DEARBORN EMAIL DRAWS SCRUTINY - Congressional investigators are now scrutinizing an email sent by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn during the presidential campaign. The email references efforts to set up a meeting between Trump officials and Vladimir Putin, according to CNN's Manu Raju and Marshall Cohen. "While many details around the Dearborn email are unclear, its existence suggests the Russians may have been looking for another entry point into the Trump campaign to see if there were any willing partners as part of their effort to discredit -- and ultimately defeat -- Hillary Clinton," Raju and Cohen write.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa001ff23116e57a12de1ad0582815d39d9ec3f8f293ad3cea48ba54eef7e8d533242b64d1158adf49feb37eb9bae86fc63

THE JUICE: CASTRO TWINS' POLITICAL AMBITIONS COLLIDE, via POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere: "Texas Democrats desperately want Rep. Joaquín Castro to run for governor next year - and they're frustrated by what they see as his twin brother's presidential ambitions getting in the way. The congressman's decision as to whether to run against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is caught up in the Castro brothers' unique mix of their deep personal connection and parallel political ambitions. Joaquín Castro is being hounded by Democrats to get in but is torn, according to people who've spoken with him, over whether to take on a popular incumbent with $40 million in the bank.

"The brothers serve as each other's top strategists, and they've agreed that Julián's next political move takes primacy for now. One worry is that a Joaquín loss for governor - it would be an uphill battle, at best, against Abbott - would make the Castros look like losers. The other is that if Joaquin happened to pull off an upset, it would distract attention from Julián, potentially complicating his path to the White House." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0e8875758da45f7b652476ca75b66fc3eba4395a6cb776179c8c5e66a2550ab853d1dc223c00a42c11b5d41c68626ff46

TRUMP UNDER THE GUN AS DREAMERS DEADLINE LOOMS - Trump is running out of time for dealing with so-called Dreamers before the matter could be taken out of his hands and decided by the courts, Seung Min reports. Ten conservative states have threatened to sue the administration to kill the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has granted work permits to nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants. That means DACA is facing its gravest legal danger yet, and it's an unanswered question whether Trump would defend the program in court. More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0c368106970be2b6211b527906f8fff19cf5ad53d5db19d0c8d8e140f98137a01d73870481fde93183dbfa71a11691404

COMING ATTRACTIONS: GOP LEADERS LOOK TO RELEASE TAX-REFORM DETAILS NEXT MONTH, via POLITICO's Brian Faler: "Republican leaders aim to release more details next month about their tax reform plans, but they want some rank-and-file lawmakers to weigh in first to avoid a repeat of the Obamacare debacle. The leaders plan to give their colleagues on the House and Senate tax committees a preview of what they've been working on behind closed doors before any public rollout, according to a source familiar with the leaders' thinking.

"If their colleagues buy into the ideas they've been discussing, the leaders plan to release more details in September and hope to formally take up legislation in the House Ways and Means Committee in October. But if the lower-ranking lawmakers balk, the leaders will reassess how to proceed." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0fc7f8486504f6c943834fed9c39e4a83c25f036598a3fa5b4c9ce298a2c1bc6c0be939b026236054701d8d716fcdc314

WHITE HOUSE CLOSE ON TRANSGENDER BAN, via The Wall Street Journal's Gordon Lubold: "The White House is expected to send guidance to the Pentagon in coming days on how to implement a new administration ban on transgender people in the military, issuing a policy that will allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to consider a service member's ability to deploy in deciding whether to kick them out of the military. The White House memo also directs the Pentagon to deny admittance to transgender individuals and to stop spending on medical treatment regimens for those currently serving, according to U.S. officials familiar with the document." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa0ed11a3f5272dcc11dec0aa50fc4d0d8ed70cf260707b7cda60beaf2c8daaa8c97704c9a4af1c05e6e8ee59f0916eb2a0

The big question: Will congressional Republicans take action to soften or halt Trump's transgender ban? A number of them, including combat veteran Sen. Joni Ernst, spoke out after Trump said on Twitter the government "will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military." The upcoming National Defense Authorization Act, set to be considered this fall in the Senate, could offer a vehicle for Congress to put its own stamp on the policy.

REP. HICE ENDORSES ROY MOORE IN ALABAMA: POLITICO's Daniel Strauss has the details: "Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia is endorsing former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in Alabama's special Senate election. 'I'm proud to support Judge Roy Moore for US Senate,' Hice said in a statement released by Moore's campaign [Wednesday]. ... The endorsement comes as Moore will face Sen. Luther Strange in the runoff for the Republican nomination, scheduled for Sept. 26."

HAPPENING TODAY: A Senate Judiciary subcommittee chaired by Flake is holding a field hearing in Arizona titled "Rebooting the Ninth Circuit: Why Technology Cannot Solve Its Problems." Flake has been a major critic of the California-based federal appeals court, pushing a bill to reduce its jurisdiction." Hearing details here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=dfe3d8d9935bcfa051922299c4a61cfed1d159bab13362942344372c570563be72c1d21b1821f01f539217ad7cb6ba1708dc82bbbafd86c1

TRANSITIONS - Curtis Rhyne has started as deputy chief of staff for Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.). He was previously legislative director for Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.).

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Jeremy Berkowitz was first with the correct answer: Former Virginia Rep. Porter Hardy was the father of Lynn Yeakel, the Democrat who challenged then-Sen. Arlen Specter in 1992.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Today's question comes from reader Slade Mead: Who is the last living member of the Senate Watergate Committee?

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: awright@politico.com

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