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05/19/2016 07:09 AM EDT


By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or beverett@politico.com)

SANDERS' INFLUENCE IN JEOPARDY - When and if Bernie Sanders returns to his full-time day job as a senator from Vermont, he is poised to have more power than ever. He has millions of followers now, is a nationwide name and a bill cosponsorship will carry with it more cache than ever. But there's a catch: Senate Democrats are watching how he handles the end of primary season and an uproarious Nevada convention closely. "It depends on how he handles the national convention in Philadelphia and how he handles the next months," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who says she was heckled for the first time in her life by Sanders supporters during the New Hampshire primary. "I appreciate that he's
going to continue to stay defiant, but the fact is Hillary Clinton's going to win the nomination. Is he going to support her and campaign for her, or is he going to help elect Donald Trump?" Asked whether the discord at the Nevada convention could spill into the halls of the Senate, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said: "It absolutely could."

Defiant senator: Sanders's statement on the events in Nevada -- which included people throwing chairs, shouting down Sen. Barbara Boxer and threatening the state party chair -- was defiant, concentrating more on how the party has wronged him than the allegations that his supporters are stoking violence. Yet there are signs that privately Sanders is trying to quell concerns among his colleagues: He personally dialed up Boxer on Tuesday, and she said it was a "warm" conversation that convinced her that he understood why she felt threatened in Las Vegas. Now most of Sanders's Democratic colleagues want to hear something public from him to that effect to feel better about the party coming
together. Said Sen. Barbara Mikulski: "I'm perplexed because the Bernie that I know always has stood for the highest principles of nonviolent behavior, advocacy of Gandhi and Dr. King ... I would like for him to live up to his own principles and standards. What happened in Nevada was beyond disturbing." My story this a.m.: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=94a6de9181912d5bcf7e21bad83543d67fdb43eb194a4ddfc0ef742edd636ef6

Ripple effect in Nevada? Sanders asked supporters to donate to Lucy Flores's congressional campaign April, leading to a big windfall. And a progressive source flags that on Thursday morning, Flores is releasing an ad in Vegas essentially on the Bernie platform of liberalism, touting endorsements from Planned Parenthood, PCCC and other prominent groups. The ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fa3ef668340996277128f70669b79f59c5f3dbbccfb61ffb9766a8eb9ad0e367

THE MAN BEHIND THOSE TWEETS: I spoke to the mastermind behind Marco Rubio's acid Twitter account. Here he is, revealed for the first time: "Who's it going to be? No, it's me," Rubio says of writing his own tweets to a much larger audience than ever before: 1.3 million people. And yes, there's a realization that the public likes hearing from Rubio, not his staff. He said "maybe" he should have done his own social media during the presidential campaign. "I'm in the middle of running for office so you can't just stand around all day and send stuff out. But you know, maybe I should have, maybe it would be worked out different," a grinning Rubio said in an interview.

Sources close to the Twitter account: While he said his late night rant about unnamed sources speaking on his half was done for "fun," he really was pretty angry about what was being spread about him anonymously. "The one that really bothered me was when someone close to me said that I hated the Senate. I've never said those words to anyone! It started a narrative, but it's just not accurate. I have members of my staff that work really hard: Imagine you're a staff member and you read that and you think: 'My gosh I'm working for someone that hates his job.' That's just not true," Rubio did. So he's back to doing his own tweets after the campaign -- is he ready to embrace hip-hop again? Every
senator has to draw a line. "I wouldn't say none of it," Rubio said when asked if he listen to ANY of the new stuff. "I migrated toward the electronic stuff because usually it doesn't have lyrics so i don't have to worry about the kids hearing it." Fair.

Actual Rubio news: He's hired Washington power lawyer Bob Barnett to help him find post-Senate employment, intrepid Miami reporter Marc Caputo writes this morning. "'Senator Rubio has already received many - and will receive many more - inquiries from interested individuals and entities. They come from a wide variety of sectors and reflect the fact that he will be in high demand,' Barnett said in an email ... Two jobs are off the table, Rubio has said: lobbying and working for Wall Street. He also has said he won't run for governor in 2018 but he hasn't ruled out another campaign for president. He'd like to remain living in the Miami area, he said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2e6c8e68bff5505bfe32358406e34fdc7221c6131f39c9d7433cfb2cf67cdfa3

INSIDE A FREEDOM CAUCUS POWER PLAY: Rachael Bade has a nice yarn here about how Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows pushed House Speaker Paul Ryan into action against the IRS. Two weeks ago they told him that they would move to impeach the IRS commissioners unless the Judiciary Committee took action instead. "Their recent threat to use what's called a 'privileged resolution' to sidestep leadership and put the impeachment measure on the floor set in motion a series of meetings that ultimately pushed Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) into scheduling two 'misconduct' hearings on the IRS commissioner. It's exactly the sort of arm-twisting Ryan set out to avoid when he took the speaker's
job last fall. A GOP leadership source familiar with Ryan's thinking said he views impeachment as a serious action, not to be taken lightly, and that he prefers any such measure be vetted on the merits by Goodlatte's panel, the committee with impeachment jurisdiction." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5f757aec726dce02cd674ffa37d1d7d4fa3f9ce3bae91b59a5cde4608bb077f5

Good morning, foggy London. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where time is a flat circle. Please send tips to beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 9 a.m. and is all about its MilCon spending bill, with votes expected around 10:30 a.m. The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and will hold votes on the THUD/MilCon combo package around 11:15 a.m.


** A message from American Society of Anesthesiologists(R): Removing physician anesthesiologists from Veterans' surgical teams would "directly compromise patient safety and limit our ability to provide quality care to Veterans." Over 200 VA Chiefs of Anesthesiology and physician anesthesiologists, October 2015. Protect Safe VA Care. Vets earned it and deserve it. Visit www.safevacare.org. **

AROUND THE HILL - At 9 a.m., Reps. Ann Kuster and Frank Guinta plus Sen. Rob Portman talk opioids on the House Triangle. At 10 a.m., House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy leads a presser on NDAA on the Triangle and Sens. David Vitter, Jim Inhofe and Tom Udall talk TSCA in the Senate swamp. At 10:45 a.m. in Studio A, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly presser; same place at 11:30 a.m. it's House Speaker Paul Ryan's turn. At 12:30 p.m. Sen. Jeff Merkley meets with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in Hart 313. At 1:15 p.m. Sen. Martin Heinrich meets with Garland in Hard 303.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Isaac's story on whether Tim Kaine can play attack dog as Hillary Clinton's running mate.

NEW SCREENINGS AT THE CAPITOL: NBC4's Scott MacFarlane reports that the Cap Police are about to institute "new screening for vehicles and people for the House complex in the busy and crowded garages." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ba6c6594a3edef25ac236d6896621a85d1cd5670ecbf827e1bc8de670a38e9a4

DRIVING REPUBLICANS DAY: Donald Trump has put out his list of 11 potential Supreme Court judges to soothe Republicans worried about his governing style -- and take away a potential Democratic talking point aimed at the GOP: Do you trust Trump to fill out the Supreme Court? Republicans are going to be asked all day what they think of the list and whether it brings around some of the "Never Trump" or "Maybe Trump" or "I Guess Trump" folks. But Trump is leaving himself some wiggle room in case people don't like it. He says he plans to use the list 'as a guide." CNN with the wrap: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=daa205b72faed9cabdd32f7c3f60652ba1080d6368af56940834f477444f359d

Can't make everyone happy: The always sharp Josh Gerstein notices that some top legal minds on the right were left off the list. "What immediately caught the eye of many legal observers was the absence of many judges considered legal luminaries on the right. While Trump's list pulled in five judges from various state supreme courts, he passed over some of those long considered top contenders for any future Republican Supreme Court pick, like 6th Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton, D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh and former Solicitor General Paul Clement." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=fbd9742e5b8dac23b834770c54a6bc11464fb53a640d85e881b508cfb806c8e4

AND, SCENE: Seung Min Kim checks out the Democrats' forum on Garland and finds an unusual atmosphere on Wednesday. "The nominee, Merrick Garland, wasn't there - nor is he expected to appear before the Senate anytime soon. Because they're in the minority, Democrats can't call a hearing, so they couldn't use the official Judiciary room. They had makeshift paper nameplates, and a senator not on the Judiciary Committee even got to sit in and ask a question ... There were parts that were totally normal for any confirmation hearing. The forum attracted outsize attention from the public. C-SPAN showed it. Senate Democrats threw softball questions at the witnesses, ensuring their party's nominee
would get unvarnished praise. And outside interest groups flooded reporters' inboxes with their own commentary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40859585f3da57299ae7241a08c08ffc5ec6afd38bd3f153d2bba12cebcc6b93

More tactics: Six House Democrats are introducing a measure that would prohibit Congress from going on recess unless Garland gets a hearing. "Joining [Rep. Elizabeth] Esty in introducing the bill are the four House Democrats who are seeking Senate seats in November - Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Rep. Patrick Murphy of Florida and Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) is also co-introducing the bill." Gee, I wonder what these four prospective senators are getting at with this? DeBonis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6f8d4d7fe0cc13c7a52782b3dcd19c58ddee12a2e303a83b6e91e457b6f85b7d

BENNETT APOLOGIZES FOR TRUMP: The family of Bob Bennett, the Utah senator who recently died, tells Tim Mak that the senator was concerned about Trump's approach with Muslims even from his deathbed. "With a slight slurring in his words, Bennett drew them close to express a dying wish: 'Are there any Muslims in the hospital?' he asked. 'I'd love to go up to every single one of them to thank them for being in this country, and apologize to them on behalf of the Republican Party for Donald Trump,' Bennett told his wife and son. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=36419c89ddc7619f62e96bee64d1ad890de9527eabc15d4ee5bb60ab26f70c14

BIPARTISANSHIP LIVES: @SenatorHeitkamp: As always, great to catch up w/@cindymccain - my friend, anti-trafficking advocate & defender of the vulnerable. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8acefbb724866a8c0b7301ccaded0b2e53a71b76c37054f8a4417dba753b9b4a

WELCOME BACK TO THE HILL: Rep. Mark Walker has hired Jack Minor as his comms director, a former Ted Cruz presidential staffer who's also worked for Rep. Dave Brat and Heritage Action.

Transition TK: International man of mystery and Tim Scott flack Sean Connor is heading to New York soon -- stay tuned to Huddle for further updates.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Marcus Faust was the first to answer that Mississippi incorporated the Confederate Flag into its state banner in 1894.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: Let's go local. Known as Slim Charles to many HBO watchers, the frontman from this D.C. band had a prominent role on The Wire. Name the band and the frontman. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at beverett@politico.com

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=77409795128fc76f64553862a618e017b269c36c20247ec94e6036200c82f63b

** A message from American Society of Anesthesiologists(R): Protect Safe VA Care. Join the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Veterans, physician anesthesiologists and VA Chiefs of Anesthesiology in opposing VA's proposed policy to remove physician anesthesiologists from Veterans' surgical teams abandoning a proven model of care where physician anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists work together to provide high-quality, safe anesthesia. There's no shortage of physician anesthesiologists in VA - this change isn't needed to improve access to anesthesia. VA's own internal review concluded current information doesn't support the proposed nurse-only model of anesthesia care as safe for
Veterans and key studies "do not provide any guidance on how to assign patients for management by a solo CRNA [nurse anesthetist], or whether more complex surgeries can be safely managed by CRNAs, particularly in small or isolated VA hospitals where preoperative and postoperative health system factors may be less than optimal."

Protect Safe VA Care. Vets earned it and deserve it. Visit www.safevacare.org. **

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