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08/04/2017 07:52 AM EDT


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

With an assist from Seung Min Kim

SEE YOU LATER - Happy Friday. Congress is officially out for recess. The Senate passed a bill funding the FDA and approved dozens of nominees before bolting for the exits Thursday afternoon. But Republicans heading back to their constituents have no major legislative achievements to tout, despite the GOP controlling Congress and the White House. It's a far cry from January, when GOP lawmakers received socks with President Trump's face on them and were promising to do big things in the coming months.

Remember the GOP's 200-day plan? Republican leaders said the GOP-controlled Congress would repeal Obamacare, fund Trump's border wall and overhaul the tax code, all by August. None of those things have been done.

Ryan looks ahead to 2018: "If we don't do our job we will depress turnout," Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday in Wisconsin about the 2018 midterms. "I am frustrated as well." More from the Wisconsin State Journal: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89d1658acb4707f15fc0cf7f37d06b95d9417bf8948fe61be8ec8b66ef2f4385a302990c26f3fd735b9d79c479f06f1694

Republicans feel the heat: Coming back in September, top Republicans say they know their next big legislative goal - overhauling the tax code - can't meet the same fate as the GOP effort to repeal Obamacare. "On the next big thing, we can't fail," said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the third-ranking Senate Republican. "We have to double down on tax reform." Jennifer Steinhauer with the New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab892722aa0264891fffb76d8e846aadfea0424c39643df27d25912c3afe491362c536fdc9ea3f01f089fd3794e92add9bf4

INDEPENDENCE DAY - Senate Republicans did get one thing accomplished during their last week before recess: resisting strong-arms efforts by the president. Elana and Seung Min: "The GOP delivered an unstated declaration of independence from their own Republican president by passing a Russia sanctions bill he resisted, rebuffing his demands they try again on health care after the spectacular implosion of Obamacare repeal, even taking steps to head off any attempt by Trump to fire the special counsel investigating him, Robert Mueller." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab892f4384d4bc95cc0ba84368d6efb8f7a21fa35b3c02830675a7d7131b4fe152c9005cdb994d3dc41a0f1a4e1535766194

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL. Welcome to Aug. 4 and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Your Huddle host is doing a happy dance because Alabama is once again No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll. Bres, our bureau chief and huge Bama fan, is also over the moon. Roll Tide!

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: You guys really loved my hidden link to the Go-Go's "Vacation." So it's not just me that's ready for recess, huh?

AN EXTRA SPECIAL DELIVERY - Welcome to the world, Harry Cole Everett! Papa Burgess e-mails: Harry Cole Everett was born at 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 1 after a long delivery that his mom Emily fought through valiantly. Harry was 8 pounds and 19.5 inches tall at birth, but we still haven't measured his wingspan. The whole family is now at home resting comfortably. Big, big congrats to the growing Everett family!! See the youngest member of POLITICO's Congress team: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89134e5e6cdf16b6514f4e9c8f9f4bfd9a65df6d4912a5a7bed568eca64e2873250b99c2de97ee84756c8f6e70fa325662

WHAT THE HILL IS READING - Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in his Russian meddling probe, "a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase, according to people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The grand jury, which began its work in recent weeks, signals that Mr. Mueller's inquiry will likely continue for months." Del Quentin Wilber and Byron Tau: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab8967288b52c41b408433cb37a028e4801408b5cd1cceac2e3abb4eb083b1bdd10260880568f5dcea15d2121bd49ea738fc

The grand jury has already issued subpoenas related to Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last year who claimed to have incriminating information on Hillary Clinton, Reuters reports. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort also attended the meeting. Karen Freifeld and John Walcott with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89dc51ca31d77dc8d812495869fa4ef490ae2e46a25599e59e81b779a8bda48f45317bc3491b48acba135e1a5e9f83f7c1

Follow the money: Federal investigators "have seized on Trump and his associates' financial ties to Russia as one of the most fertile avenues for moving their probe forward," CNN reports. "The web of financial ties could offer a more concrete path toward potential prosecution than the broader and murkier questions of collusion in the 2016 campaign, these sources said." Evan Perez, Pamela Brown and Shimon Prokupecz: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89b486a7d4cd647aaf4a7f9cf34e1092299f40583492410e1971384682416f9ac71e38af82da8b5d34d2522cdb8e1e1576

Probe inflames Hill tensions: Two Republican House Intelligence Committee staffers traveled to London earlier this summer to track down Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence operative who compiled a controversial Trump dossier, Ali Watkins reports this morning. But the trip has inflamed simmering tensions between House and Senate investigators, who are worried the aggressive move could spook Steele. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89b18a1d82e97a6959146049fd98d5ac9f8324fb072e0285d98539b488a7694d72cdd8f7084a3ab9ad214570b388bc9af3

ON THE DEBT CEILING - OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is now falling in line with other top administration officials, saying he supports a clean debt ceiling hike. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has been pushing for a clean bill, saying lawmakers need to raise the debt limit by the end of September. Previously, Mulvaney had been advocating for any debt ceiling increase to also be accompanied by spending cuts. When asked about his position on Thursday, Mulvaney told reporters he was for "the simplest debt ceiling increase that we can get." Business Insider's Bob Bryan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89b922641f3c1016f06ac55d2cbc27da1e81462e6c40bbb1aebc7c1112c0ba6a83334e3512d501492c07433cc33b77a58a

WHAT'S NEXT FOR OBAMACARE? Republicans leave Washington with no clear idea what's next for their effort to repeal Obamacare. And everyone is all over the map on next steps: "Senate leaders want to just drop the issue altogether. Conservatives say they're still fighting for repeal. Moderates want to launch a bipartisan effort to fix the shaky Obamacare system," Jen Haberkorn and Paul Demko report.

Reality check: "After seven years of unity on repealing Obamacare, Republicans are rudderless on how to talk about or address the defining domestic policy issue of nearly the past decade for their party, and they have no clear plans despite holding all the levers of power in Washington." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab8911479838f58e822d54037bea303fd4f08cc8ce069209ab4fc360030e5642f5f327f6e5ebf61ebc83b14e0cdc67f35b9e

SOMETHING TO WATCH - Senators, along with current and former Hill staffers, have received the official go-ahead from the Senate to testify at Sen. Bob Menendez's upcoming bribery trial in New Jersey, Diamond Naga Siu, Josh Gerstein and Seung Min report. Opening arguments are slated to begin Sept. 6 with jury selection starting later this month. It's unclear which senators or aides have been subpoenaed to testify. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89416ec0ebe8f5114a905e2ed2e739b7758b61ec36c7b836ed8f91ab660526b3683cbc57400ffb6e91669867cff471842d

DeSANTIS DEMANDS PROBE INTO IT STAFFER - Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) wants DOJ to take a deeper look into the finances of Imran Awan, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's recently fired IT staffer. Awan was arrested last week on one count of bank fraud while trying to fly to Pakistan. He and his family - also former Hill staffers - have been the center of a criminal investigation on Capitol Hill involving computer equipment theft. "National security aside, the case has a political dimension for DeSantis, a likely candidate for governor who has mused about calling Wasserman Schultz to testify before the judiciary panel about the case," Daniel Ducassi and Marc Caputo report. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89d2056c3734dedbfc548263485dc75a4990a252c23ddaa3b1c0349f90185c4985711d564885ee70ba7d8ae80ebecaab47

NEXT FOR McCAIN: IMMIGRATION REFORM? Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he wants to revive bipartisan talks on immigration reform when he returns from cancer treatment in September. McCain told the Arizona Republic he recently broached the idea with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Both men were part of the "Gang of Eight" immigration push in 2013. "Immigration reform is one of the issues I'd like to see resolved," McCain said. "I've got to talk to him (Schumer) about when would be the best time. I think there are all kinds of deals to be made out there. I really do." Dan Nowicki with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab893b44dc38a7073e3c6d4f3f73d9d6a27ef17ac018648c9a53919f43e1a53f86603c38d59b00b182c4cbe2e1f359c70c36

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE - Do House Democratic candidates back current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi? If so, they aren't saying. "In a survey of 20 Democratic House candidates, only one - a former Senate staffer from Orange County, California - would state support for the congresswoman staying on as leader of the House Democratic Caucus," Alex Roarty reports. "Of the rest, 18 declined to say if Pelosi should keep her job, while one, a political newcomer from a culturally conservative Ohio district, said he would vote for someone other than Pelosi." More from McClatchy: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab89663d75aeb81aa699b5960f519f20b3db5d1fb27997363410a78cf2d03f5e070e223251a9de6e8e02aeb2613084dac095

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Nicole Hager, deputy press secretary for Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) has a new gig starting later this month. Beginning on Aug. 21, Nicole will join the Senate Finance Committee as deputy press secretary. She's also starting law school at GW.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out until September.

AROUND THE HILL - Interns anonymously editing their boss' Wikipedia page. Follow along: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=622cc28c6284ab8914f72107a1e68e6e29cb7e64cb6c1367660a3dc3d20590e05516facf651468fff5c3d8037fc09c2f9af2e54db81820cd

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Edward Rolwes was first to guess that a cotton blossom is the mystery item that appears in both the Grisaille Frieze and the George Washington Apotheosis in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. It's also the name of the steamer in Show Boat.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Ed with today's question: This former speaker of the House entered the Democratic convention with the most pledged delegates, yet failed to secure the necessary support to get the presidential nomination after losing the backing of the Williams Jennings Bryan-led wing of the party. Who is he, what state was he from and what year was the convention? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send answers my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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