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By Burgess Everett | 05/17/2016 07:33 AM EDT


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

ZIKA CURVEBALL: The House's proposal for extra Zika funding is far different from what the Senate is likely to pass today, setting up an uncertain pathway for more funding to become law. The Senate is likely to approve a bipartisan compromise proposal from Sens. Patty Murray and Roy Blunt today that provides $1.1 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika, but the House's proposal unveiled yesterday is not emergency funding and provides $622 million in unspent ebola funding. Complicating things further: The THUD bill the Senate is aiming to attach Zika funding to is under a veto threat from the president. The result of the impasse could mean a weeks-long delay in actually providing the
funding. Democrats are signaling they are about to go on the attack over the matter and, perhaps, reprise Republicans' vicious 2014 knocking President Barack Obama's ebola strategy. "They are walking into a woodchipper," says one senior Democratic aide.

Nah, say Republicans: But Republicans say this is all just a temporary snag. In an interview with Huddle, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn sounded bullish that a compromise could be reached by convention season. "What we'll have to do is just reconcile what we pass here with what they do ... I don't really sense any hesitancy to do something. There just might be a slightly divergent pathway to the result. I think we'll get there," Cornyn said.

I SMELL LIKE MONEY: The Koch network has plunked down $30 million in Senate battlegrounds, Ken Vogel reports this morning. The group is targeting Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania in a round of ads scheduled to run in August and September. The group has already spent $12 million on Senate races. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa44c215b28031e9bb4e3bd35035264bc310a482bc9c6bac067

-- And the DSCC reserved $12 million in its second round of ad buys. That's $8 million for Pennsylvania and $2 million apiece for Illinois and Wisconsin, two states where Democrats are feeling quite bullish that they will knock off Sens. Mark Kirk and Ron Johnson. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa4c2b5dbb72512d27996c1676dd82d6bf2a7769ddd97c8e0e2

OHIO'S BATTLE OF THE INSIDERS: Rob Portman is a prominent GOP fundraiser and a backroom deal maker in the Senate. He's a former congressman, a onetime U.S. trade representative and the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. But he says it's the other guy who's the insider. "He's not only an insider who lost his election - first thing he does is come to Washington to cash in - but he's also someone who's totally ineffective, which is the worst kind of insider," Portman says of Democratic opponent Ted Strickland. No, no, says Strickland, a former governor, congressman, top official for a liberal Washington think tank and political consultant. Portman
is the real insider. "The fact is, I probably need the paycheck more than he does. ... As you know, he's pretty wealthy. He is the insider's insider," Strickland shoots back.

Year of the outsider: While Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump burn up the idea that voters want longtime, slick Washingtonians that know how to work the system, Ohio voters are going to end up with a longtime politician no matter who wins. But that hasn't stopped Portman and Strickland from going at it over who's the bigger insider and, in a parallel argument, who's the least effective insider. Portman has worked the system for years to pass smaller, targeted bills and revels in knocking Strickland for being unable to pass legislation while he was in the House -- which Strickland dismisses by saying he was a team player. Then there's the nicknames: "Beltway Rob" and "Retread Ted," and of
course, the man in the tire costume that sometimes dogs Strickland on the trail. The race's daily attacks even confound some of the people following the race the closest:

"A former congressman is calling a senator a Washington insider? Isn't that a bit ridiculous?" said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate GOP's campaign arm. My story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa47e24f69e46d770dbc5b22280aacbda20f98dccd66ca2e86f

SHOCK POLL -- GOP voters like Trump over Ryan: This makes it official. Paul Ryan is not running for president. An NBC poll out this morning shows that Republicans are placing more trust in Donald Trump than on House Speaker Ryan. "Nearly six in 10 trust the presumptive Republican nominee to lead the Republican Party over the House speaker, while nearly four in 10 trust the speaker more," NBC reports this morning. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa4586fb059c22f7a157ce4d9cbf08463d157eb0e93e7623fb9

But what does it mean? David Rogers knows, writing that in their continued shadowboxing each man is absorbing some risk: "Ryan has the most to lose, but Trump could be hurt as well. He wants Ryan's endorsement as another step toward uniting the party he has captured. But is he really well served by submerging the independence in others - the same quality he celebrates in himself? ... In truth, Trump could learn a lot from Ryan both in terms of policy and how to deal with Congress. Ryan could learn too from Trump. The New Yorker has tapped into the genuine anger of working-class voters whose economic troubles have been too long ignored by Ryan's Washington. And Trump's willingness to 'deal'
- small or big - could he healthy for a House GOP that has seemed forever trapped in its self-defeating ideology and demands for anti-tax purity." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa477a4db183d36240761d60cf648f84fed4c34cd57e837f154

The deluge continues. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where you can leave your nicest shoes at home today. Please send tips to beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at 10 a.m. with work on the NDAA commencing and a vote expected to go to conference on opioid legislation. Votes at 2 p.m. and then another set at night around 8 p.m. The Senate is in at 10 a.m. with votes on Zika proposals expected around 2:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - At 9:15 a.m. Sen. Jack Reed meets with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland In Hart 728. At 10 a.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan and his team hold a leadership avail at HC-8 while in HVC 210 Democratic leaders also hold a post-caucus presser. At 10:30 a.m. Reps. Richard Hanna and Bill Pascrell will speak about the National Fire Fighter Cancer bill on the House Triangle or HVC 215 if it rains. At 11 a.m., House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer has his pen and pad in H 144. And at 1 p.m. Rep. Judy Chu leads a presser on Col. Young Oak Kim's nomination for the Presidential Medal of Freedom on the House Triangle.


** 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. **

JUST EAST OF THE HILL: The Capital Soccer Classic at RFK kicks off at 5 p.m. with a round robin tournament of embassy teams and then a congressional soccer match at 6:30 p.m. and a staffer match afterward. First person to go all Charlie Adams and do this gets a mention in Huddle: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa4492e0180b4c5782c4829e23b1b4e52e285a8654030d7b05a

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Our story about some moderate Ds saying they will work with a President Trump.

NOT HAPPENING TODAY: White House official Ben Rhodes is not testifying about Iran in front of the House after mocking the entire Washington press corps in that NYT mag story that had the Beltway abuzz. "Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Oversight Committee chairman, invited Rhodes to last week to make that case to his panel, where he undoubtedly would have faced hostile questioning from Republicans. White House Counsel W. Neil Eggleston responded Monday to decline Chaffetz's invitation on Rhodes's behalf, citing 'significant constitutional concerns rooted in the separation of powers.'" DeBonis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa4309096a3f0b74c230a6035c64c43c12d049d2169c4f97797

REID AIMS AT BERNIE: After the chaotic Nevada Democratic Convention over the weekend, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is laying the blame squarely on Bernie Sanders for the untoward behavior of his supporters. Reid tells some guy named Manu Raju: "I've been dealing with Nevada state conventions for 50 years: To say I was disappointed was an understatement ...I hold his people accountable, and I'm sure if Bernie found out about it, he would not accept what happened there." Sanders spox Michael Briggs isn't having it, calling on Democratic leaders to embrace the energy of Sanders's campaign. CNN: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa4c3baa1ac01431208d67f33f03843529ab8c7cbcca93a67b9

SOURCE CLOSE TO RUBIO NOT HAPPY: Sen. Marco Rubio has an instant classic Twitter rant from Monday night, whacking WaPo's story about "5 people who are never going to be vice president." That story, by Chris Cillizza, includes info "according to conversations I've had with people close to him, [Rubio] is sort of betwixt and between when it comes to his next move." Ha, ha, is Rubio's response. From his tweets: "A source 'close to Rubio' says he was tired after long day & has decided to sleep for a few hours before tomorrow's ZIKA debate in Senate. A 'longtime friend' says Rubio is 'betwixt and between when it comes to whether to chest or legs tomorrow at gym.' According to source who knows
his cousins, wife's dentist, Rubio could do cardio instead." Louis Nelson with the write-up: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa49b7583805bb2ecfdb58175b8dfcca4e98ec4194d91da12cf

#Analysis: Between this and Rubio criticizing The Today Show for coming to a dilapidated Miami apartment building to do a political story, we are seeing the side of Rubio that had everyone so hyped for his presidential run. He's funny, quick on his feet and equipped with a fully functioning sarcasmeter. Could a private citizen host a comedy show?

KIRK NOT HAPPY WITH TSA LINES: Sen. Mark Kirk delivered a stern message to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger overnight, asking for a detailed plan in how $34 million is being reprogrammed to speed TSA processing during the summer travel season. Kirk says he viewed firsthand hours-long lines snaking around underused equipment and says in a statement this a.m. that "passengers should never have to miss a flight because of TSA's inability to effectively screen travelers at busy airports like O'Hare and Midway. I am demanding answers and action from TSA because as one of the most-traveled cities in the world, Chicago's passengers deserve better." His letter:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6a6c92167550dfa44745a95c1c495a113df91b381f8ad80fbf06bd88845825d9

COMMUNICATING: Douglas Wagoner will start on June 1 as Rep. Rick Larsen's communications director. That's also his birthday so be sure to ask him a bunch of annoying questions that day.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Mike Szustak was the first to answer that last night's confirmation of Paula Xinis was the 18th judge confirmed this Congress.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question since I'm the one grinding this out every morning: With the Kentucky primary today, name the first year that a Republican presidential candidate won a majority in the Bluegrass State during the general election.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=6a6c92167550dfa44cd2727dff945c4a86d692c5e8e98281e86591ab3d6e2a33

** 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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