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By Rachael Bade (
mailto:rbade@politico.com
rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

TOUGH LOVE: LABOR THREATENS HOUSE DEMS ON FAST-TRACK. POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere dives deep into the pressure Democrats have been feeling form labor unions, to vote against the President's trade authority request: "The AFL-CIO was blunt in the call that went out to Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat who represents San Diego: Vote yes on fast-track authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, people familiar with the conversation recall, and they'd spend a million dollars to knock him out in next year's primary. If he managed to win, they'd drop another million against him in the general election."

"The real fight over the trade agenda has always been in the House, and that's where organized labor has been focusing for months. The aggressive effort has left even members who'll be voting labor's way bruised, and others who'll be supporting President Barack Obama anxious enough that many won't discuss their experiences publicly, instead dispatching staffers to speak on their behalf. 'They were very heavy-handed. And it was not appreciated. And it will not be forgotten,' said one Democratic staffer for a member who will be voting no on trade, as the unions want."

"This staffer and other Democratic members and staffers who spoke under the condition of anonymity related a range of threats from local and national labor groups to pressure Democrats into opposing Obama. Permanently cut off campaign donations. Pour money into opponents' coffers instead. Run television ads. Launch protests of the type that have already stepped up this week, which include showing up in Sacramento, California, with giant prop Q-tips to urge Rep. Ami Bera, the latest announced supporter of Trade Promotion Authority, to 'clean out his ears.'"
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McC-TOWN NEWS-

McCONNELL ON 2016:'SLIM' CHANCE GOP GROWS SENATE MAJORITY. AP follows the Senate Majority Leader back home in Kentucky. Adam Beam in Elizabethtown: "Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the chances are 'pretty slim' that Republicans will grow their majority in the U.S. Senate in 2016, saying his goal is to preserve the majority.... 'I don't think we're going to have a bigger number. We're hoping not to have a smaller number,' the Senate majority leader told a Kentucky civic club... the reason is Republicans must defend 24 seats, compared to the Democrats' 10. Plus, he said Republicans will have candidates in several states likely to be overshadowed by the presidential race,
including New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a801506a3d0dd5ce2864ba81f40545e474b8b097bb0d46d2b7795
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a801506a3d0dd5ce2864ba81f40545e474b8b097bb0d46d2b7795

He's also shopping for a publisher... The AP also reports that he's working on a memoir. "[H]e plan[s] to tell both his personal story, including overcoming polio as a child in Alabama, and the story of his long career in public life. 'It's hard for me to believe it's been four decades in politics,' McConnell, 73, said during a telephone interview, adding that the book 'gives you an opportunity to convey the lessons you've learned over the years.' Known as one of Washington's savviest politicians, McConnell has given his book the working title, 'The Long Game,' a reference to his ability to prevail as a legislator and as a political candidate."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a80157fc8b9be8e53f43e4e645325a248afe88f8679c4b5dc353b
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GRAB THAT COFFEE -IT'S A SLOW WEDNESDAY DURING RECESS, May 27, 2015. Thanks for reading Huddle, where our Ohio roots have never made us feel beholden to LeBron - but we're grateful he's leading the Cavs to the NBA finals nonetheless. Email me if you've got a brilliant story pitch:
mailto:rbade@politico.com
rbade@politico.com , or Tweet: @RachaelMBade.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: More recess.

NOW LIVE: THE AGENDA, POLITICO's new home for the daily conversation around the policy ideas reshaping the country. Launching today with a deep-dive special report on the future of power, the Agenda aims to convene the smartest voices in U.S. policy conversation, featuring works by editor Michael Grunwald and senior writer Darren Samuelsohn.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a8015bac9e53bb685d5146ac9b56ddbc39de2b77c1daf113ce1ca
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-- Top story in the launch: "Inside the war on coal - How Mike Bloomberg, red-state businesses, and a lot of Midwestern lawyers are changing American energy faster than you think," by Grunwald:
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GOP VINDICATION?COURT RULES AGAINST OBAMA ON IMMIGRATION. David Nakamura for The Washington Post: "A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to allow one of President Obama's signature immigration proposals to move forward, throwing into doubt whether the program will even begin before the president leaves office. In a split 2-to-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans denied the Obama administration's emergency request to lift a lower court's injunction on an initiative to defer the deportations of illegal immigrants and grant them work permits."

"Obama announced the program through executive action in November, after House Republicans blocked an effort to pass a comprehensive immigration bill. The president said the federal government does not have resources to remove all of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants and must focus on hardened criminals and potential terrorists."
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SPEAKING OF COURT RULINGS....

SCOTUS TO CONSIDER HOW TO CALCULATE SIZE OF VOTING DISTRICTS. And this would affect Congress, so heads-up. Jess Bravin for the WSJ: "The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether the Constitution requires only eligible voters be counted when forming legislative districts, taking up a lawsuit that could shift political power to less populous rural areas from urban centers. If successful, the challenge to the state Senate map the Texas Legislature drew in 2013 could reshape the political dynamic in states with large Hispanic populations."

"The lawsuit offers the high court a chance to clarify the one-person, one-vote doctrine it established in the 1960s, when the justices swept away legislative maps that gave rural voters disproportionate power over urban areas. Since then, the near-universal practice has been to draw maps based on total population without regard to legal status. Subsequent electoral disputes centered on whether the racial composition of resulting districts complies with the Voting Rights Act."
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a8015b5dddfc515e62a749cf5148dc0e20169d48e1eaf5e2610ab

CAMPAIGN WATCH-

MCCAIN GETS A SURPRISE DEM CHALLENGER. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) announced Tuesday she'll take on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), surprising, well, everybody. Campaign Pro's Theo Meyer with the story: "Kirkpatrick's decision to trade a reelection bid for an uphill battle against McCain - who's easily dispatched every Democratic challenger over the past three decades - comes as politicians across the state await the outcome of a crucial court case that could scramble the electoral playing field. ... Republican consultants said they were puzzled that Kirkpatrick would announce her bid now when the court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of June. ... But getting in the race first could
give Kirkpatrick a leg up over Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, her fellow Democrat." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cb05c22b35e3a3ef90b9d543f1730154474e33f36f588a0fc96cf1b542111146

Morning Score author Kevin Robillard offers this reality check: "While Kirkpatrick's entrance is a definite win for the DSCC, it's also doesn't immediately reshape the Senate map. McCain has a cash-on-hand advantage of more than $3 million and Arizona hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than 25 years. Democrats hope a presidential year and Arizona's growing Hispanic electorate is enough to give Kirkpatrick a boost."

BIG PICTURE: "House Democrats Are Losing Prized Incumbents to Senate Races," by National Journal's Jack Fitzpatrick: "With Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona running for Senate, House Democrats are once again losing a precious resource-a lawmaker who can win in a swing district. Kirkpatrick's announcement that she will challenge Sen. John McCain in 2016, along with Rep. Patrick Murphy's Senate bid in Florida, leaves House Democrats with only three incumbents defending districts that Mitt Romney won in 2012: freshman Reps. Gwen Graham of Florida and Brad Ashford of Nebraska, and Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota. Republicans, meanwhile, hold 25 seats President Obama won in 2012."

"In Kirkpatrick and Murphy, Democrats have two strong Senate candidates who can appeal to independents, but they lose two incumbents who were uniquely attuned to their House districts. Kirkpatrick won reelection in a conservative-leaning district by touting a bipartisan approach and a personal connection to the district's large bloc of Native American voters. In Florida, Murphy similarly defended his swing district by focusing on local, nonpartisan issues like attracting jobs and restoring a lagoon. In both cases, Democrats could struggle to find replacements with a similar bipartisan appeal.
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3a314ebc619a8015843036d52dcce8c66f36b14864818a931cf4296aa29c04f9

PATRIOT ACT ON LIFE SUPPORT. Per my colleagues Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim: "The PATRIOT Act is going to need a miracle to survive the weekend unscathed. Backers of the post-9/11 anti-terror measure are scrambling this week to prevent the law's key surveillance programs from lapsing at midnight Sunday. But with the Senate not slated to return to Washington until just hours before that deadline, opponents like Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) showing no signs of budging, and the House so far unwilling to bail out the upper chamber, the prospects for an eleventh-hour breakthrough look slim."

"Pressing their advantage over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others who lost a late-night gambit last weekend to prolong the current law, even for a matter of days, reform backers say the only way out of the jam is simple: Pass our bill. They're claiming momentum for the USA Freedom Act, which would rein in current surveillance initiatives by ending the so-called bulk collection program, among other reforms. The House approved the legislation overwhelmingly, and on Saturday, it fell just three votes shy of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance in the Senate."
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POPPING OVERNIGHT - 14 FIFA OFFICIALS INDICTED FOR CORRUPTION. Per a 4:30 a.m. Justice Department email: "A 47-count indictment was unsealed early this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses, in connection with the defendants' participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer.The guilty pleas of four individual defendants and two corporate defendants were also unsealed today."

IRS: THIEVES STOLE TAX INFO FOR 104,000 PEOPLE. Richard Rubin for Bloomberg: "Identity thieves stole information on 104,000 U.S. taxpayers from the IRS website and used the data to file fake tax returns that yielded as much as $50 million in refunds, agency Commissioner John Koskinen said. The thieves had enough personal information on the taxpayers to get past security filters on the 'Get Transcript' function on the Internal Revenue Service's website, Koskinen said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. That allowed them to gain access to past tax returns, which contain the information they would need to file convincing fake returns..."

"The amount stolen relatively small compared with the broader wave of tax-refund identity theft the IRS has fought for several years. In 2011 alone, the IRS paid out $3.6 billion in potentially fraudulent refunds, according to its inspector general. Still, the breach unusual because the thieves gained access directly through the IRS."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cb05c22b35e3a3ef555ef404b7bddc03c662d72d5ec8c29f199d1cb964f5a753
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cb05c22b35e3a3ef555ef404b7bddc03c662d72d5ec8c29f199d1cb964f5a753

Get ready for the Hill boomerang. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the go-to IRS watchdogs on the Hill, will be all over this. Between its controversial targeting practices, hiring practices of formerly fired workers and for giving bonuses to employees who owe taxes, the agency is already in boiling water. Stir this into the pot and the future of IRS credibility looks as bad as ever.

BOMB SCARE MAN IS FOOD TRUCK OWNER. More deets on Monday's bomb scare, per Hannah Hess of Roll Call: "The Arlington, Va., man who triggered a bomb scare Sunday near the National Mall apologized and explained the pressure cooker that Capitol Police exploded was used for his food truck business, NBC4 reported on Monday.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=cb05c22b35e3a3ef7f77ec9006a262c7f7db1ed3bbb6ebf96e324e6a5edc67e1
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MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER. Flavio Cumpiano was the first to answer that Joe Lieberman won running as part of the party called "Connecticut for Lieberman" and James Buckley won as part of the conservative party of New York-the last two Senators to be elected under a third party name.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: This person will mark his 34th year in prison this Friday May 29th, making him the longest held political prisoner in a U.S. prison. Hint: He was once granted clemency by President Bill Clinton but rejected the offer. Email
mailto:rbade@politico.com
rbade@politico.com .

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