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03/03/2017 07:52 AM EDT


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

With assists from Burgess Everett and Daniel Lippman

LIVE FROM JANESVILLE - Vice President Mike Pence and HHS Secretary Tom Price will join House Speaker Paul Ryan in his hometown of Janesville, Wisc., later today with one message: Republicans are in lockstep on repealing Obamacare from the White House on down. Ryan told Republicans in a closed-door meeting Thursday the House will vote on leadership's repeal by the end of this month, despite conservative rebellion against the plan. Today's appearance by Pence, Price and Ryan is meant to send a clear signal to the far right that the White House and congressional leaders are unified and GOP agitators better get in line.

Come to my office: Pence has been meeting with some of the conservatives who oppose Ryan's draft proposal, Rachael, Kyle and Bres report. "While Price didn't try to strong-arm them into standing down, the meetings themselves send a signal that the White House is in Ryan's corner." And Price, who once ran the Republican Study Committee and wrote a plan similar to Ryan's, is also meeting with conservatives to gin up support. This week, Price met with current RSC Chairman Mark Walker and House Freedom Caucus leaders Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan.

Boxed in: In private, senior Republican lawmakers and staffers are blunt: "They say they have no problem steamrolling conservatives by daring them to vote against an Obamacare repeal that their constituents have demanded for years." "Conservatives are going to be in a box," said one senior Republican lawmaker.

But what gets through the House must get through the Senate.: Republicans in the upper chamber remain deeply divided over what to do about Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. "Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told Ryan he needs the House bill within three weeks to move a measure through his own chamber before senators get bogged down in other issues." The full state of play: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=113645b97282797b98e3fecb3750a36e9975f0d73ddeeda9ad7eacec04aace5aabfef4049c175d9fc5029e99dfd031f5

STAND BY YOUR MAN - GOP senators are standing by Attorney General Jeff Sessions after he announced Thursday he will recuse himself from any DOJ investigations into Trump and Russia. In fact, even before his late afternoon announcement, just three GOP senators "had publicly called on Sessions to step aside from any federal investigations into contacts between Trump's team and Russian officials," Seung Min and Burgess report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=113645b97282797b9edfb49efcac589c6496757f70daf340c988f3c5fb9dd7b7efcea3a5eab4857c6a27b9fd545e0146

Grab the popcorn: Democrats, some of whom have said resignation -not recusal- is the only recourse, aren't letting the issue go just yet. As Seung Min reports, Democrats are going to make the Sessions controversy "topic A" during the confirmation hearings for Trump's nominees to be deputy AG and associate AG, set for next Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, now that they'll be the ones dealing with any investigation.

Trouble in the water? "Even if Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn't commit perjury during his confirmation hearing, Sessions could still be in other kinds of legal trouble for failing to tell his Senate colleagues that he met the Russian ambassador on two occasions during the heat of the presidential campaign," Josh Gerstein reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c0cf53f7257c85a4c9043c4868cc52e4a478e06b44eacd679fda53ffbb33e7c791e1e1844575e46b4

Oops: Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill defended herself Thursday after she drew jeers from Republicans for "claiming she had never met with the Russian ambassador while calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign - despite evidence of two prior encounters with the controversial envoy." Elana and SMK: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c750434f9fbc24eb342543dac5cbfcd17fe35dbf99eea1a9871179c2ad6ac49cab46079e684ee3d30

PUTTING COMEY ON BLAST - Rep. Adam Schiff, top Democrat on the House Intel Committee, had stern words for FBI Director James Comey after a briefing Thursday, saying Comey is withholding information on the agency's investigation into Russia. "I would say at this point we know less than a fraction of what the FBI knows," Schiff said afterwards. "We're gonna need the FBI to fully cooperate, to be willing to tell us the length and breadth of any counterintelligence investigations they are conducting," he added. "At this point, the director was not willing to do that." Louis Nelson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65ca8a1ae77065867fb5b26102acbdb9f564edf7e17671746a26184152739eaa1d680f2c58b6218653d

Sen. Lindsey Graham also met with Comey Thursday, promising beforehand to "look him in the eye" and demand to know if there's an investigation into ties between Trump and Russia. Graham and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse later issued a carefully worded statement after that didn't reveal much. Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c15ab059892f7b9b16ebfdb44a46347708c45ec0018c22adfa5547ae85851bba610cbe69054c2c6d4

HAPPENING THIS MORNING: WATCH LIVE AT 9AM - 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. TODAY - Doors at 8:20 a.m. - The Newseum. Livestream: here.

DID WE MAKE IT TO FRIDAY? SURE DID. Welcome to March 3 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The story about Sessions being under fire for not disclosing meetings with the Russian ambassador, via Rebecca Morin, Josh Meyer and Austin Wright.

CAPITOL HILL WAS WEIRD THURSDAY - Sen. Rand Paul was wheeling a copy machine around the House. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer got into a one-way conversation with a bust of Abraham Lincoln. Joe Crowley was hunting for legislation in the men's bathroom. Why, you ask? Read on:

Where's the bill? "After years of complaining about the secretive way Democrats drafted the Affordable Care Act, Republicans locked a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in an undisclosed room for only select members to review, setting off a theatrical search on Thursday that had Democrats wandering Capitol halls and knocking on random doors." More from the Huffington Post's Matt Fuller: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c76c4f8858061293d7ea478f53fd015fccaa7cbc7077607b7d043b7d5f5e86e5f58027b267976eb08

And Burgess has more about GOP Sen. Rand Paul being blocked from looking at a copy of the bill, a stunt the House Freedom Caucus declined to participate in: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c0a5e7192ed324af2ef0e3f5688de3dea823697ab166f71f9af396637928245da0ee8ae11995dfcf1

TODAY IN ADORABLE - GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain have such a strong bond, they can be brought to tears when dishing about their friendship. Here's a sweet clip of Graham on CNN talking about how McCain stumped with him in 2014, when Graham was up for reelection and feeling heat back home for working with Democrats on immigration reform. "John, to me, has one quality that is really special. He will fight for his friends," Graham said, as McCain brushed back tears. "I love him to death." Watch the video: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65cbe8de74277bbdb8e7981822b5f4f2fc644712bcd9a400577c5a2089da7db019f0a8a0e78381d4547

DON'T KILL OUR BUZZ, MAN - A bipartisan group of senators led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Lisa Murkowski is asking Attorney General Sessions to back off any planned efforts to crack down on states' recreational marijuana laws. Administration officials have hinted at "greater enforcement" of federal laws that deem marijuana illegal. But it turns out the senators may not have much to worry about. During the conformation process, Sessions privately assured some GOP senators he wouldn't "deviate from an Obama-era policy of allowing states to implement their own marijuana laws," Burgess reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c6c0b54379ed9b26c18f3162d5f679e708b6d45dfe8451f2c7c6203d4fb5ad2a2051f28a8147f1166

BYE Y'ALL - Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk has quietly left the House Freedom Caucus, telling Tamar Hallerman he's "out of bandwidth." "'I ran out of time. And until somebody puts in a bill that extends the day from 24 to 48 hours, there's only so much I can do,' he said in an interview." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c665e3b2540a51bf2238d4fc39f0b7f69ce23c10e49af3bdd633474cfe2bff17e60346d99af0b83cc

** 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. **

PEACH STATE PRIORITIES - Ads are going up in the Georgia special election to replace Tom Price, Elena Schneider reports in Morning Score: "Democrat Jon Ossoff is putting his $2 million-plus fundraising to use on the airwaves starting Friday, according to contracts filed with local TV stations. His advertising campaign starts just after Congressional Leadership Fund's Han Solo-themed attack ad against him started airing. Republican Dan Moody is also getting ready to hit TV on Monday, ad documents show."

FILL 'ER UP, PLEASE - Democratic delay tactics are soooo last month. The Senate plowed through Trump's Cabinet nominees this week, confirming several positions at warp speed compared to the slowdowns of weeks past. The Senate confirmed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, HUD Secretary Ben Carson and ended the week by confirming Rick Perry to lead the Energy Department.

-Sen. Elizabeth Warren voted against Carson's confirmation on the floor after taking heat from the left for backing him in committee. Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65cfe4dd1338df8f97d1698774695549800e5dae84871dc3ec618be02f00951dfb60dbc770952b8b9ca

Who's left? Agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue and Alexander Acosta, Trump's pick to lead the Labor Department after Andrew Puzder withdrew.

And because it's Friday, here's a gif of Rick Perry on Dancing with the Stars dressed as Vanilla Ice: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c755a8dcaca3a7e80614fa7a5766c2b2f68f8877ef583cff2b1af1c7b1c0d0d254c7ee951b142a14b

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT - Rep. Mike Bost said he regrets using the term "Orientals" in an interview with the Southern Illinoisan's editorial board to explain why he won't hold town halls. "You know the cleansing that the Orientals used to do where you'd put one person out in front and 900 people yell at them? That's not what we need. We need to have meetings with people that are productive," he said at the time. Bost later told CNN he "used a poor choice of words." Eli Watkins: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c457999bf86863ad10675df91815ece11c59945cb34783c7819380d88c5d525de6d8363f2721c697a

WHERE YOU AT? "Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is coming under fire by Sen. Marco Rubio and others for breaking with tradition and staying away from the upcoming public release of the State Department's annual Human Rights Report," Nahal Toosi reports. "Some activists and former officials fear it's just another sign that President Donald Trump's administration intends to downplay human rights issues while also sidelining the State Department in general." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a4d9aba294d0f65c1d50f9ef3d730fd117492ba394c3c36af5f7bb946864902873bfb6f5e7a67610b41cdc05a6817343

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

AROUND THE HILL - We're hoping Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will bring his new horse to the Capitol to impress his old House buddies.

DEPARTURE LOUNGE - Sen. Tim Kaine's longtime communications director and former Clinton campaign aide Amy Dudley is moving out West to be the chief spokeswoman for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in Palo Alto. Kaine's press secretary, Sarah Peck, is promoted to comms director, and Miryam Lipper becomes press secretary.

SPOTTED - Kaine leaving Casa Luca last night with a doggy bag after spending time in a back room at the restaurant. Rep. Peter DeFazio was there separately ... Sen. Jerry Moran and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver on Southwest Flight 644, Reagan National to Kansas City Thursday evening ... Freshman Rep. Jamie Raskin chanting "Stop Trump; Stop Pence; impeach them for emoluments" at a fundraiser Thursday night.

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - John was the first to guess that three states - Virginia, New York and California - have had the most individual electoral votes in at least one presidential election.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: After Pierre L'Enfant was dismissed from his job of designing the Capitol building in the late 1700's, a competition was launched to find an alternative plan. What was the reward for whoever produced the best design for the future Capitol and who won?

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: hcaygle@politico.com

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning.

** 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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