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11/01/2018 08:00 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

WHAT BLUE WAVE? -- President Donald Trump doesn't see a blue wave coming. "I think the blue wave is dead, frankly," he said, according to excerpts of an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody and Jenna Browder released this morning. Trump predicted Republicans will keep their Senate majority and that "we're going to do well in the House." He said he hasn't seen House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) late-night comments with Stephen Colbert declaring victory Tuesday night but insisted "she's been losing for a long time, so you know, she would like to win."

In the interview, the president also indicated that immigration issues will boost Republicans. "There's a lot of feeling about the horrors of the illegal immigration problem," he said. If "people think they're just going to come into our country and take over our country," he continued, "it's just not going to happen." He added, falsely, that Democrats want to allow people to come into the U.S. and take over the country. And he dismissed charges that he's "anti-immigrant." He said he's for legal, merit-based immigration. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a9cfda4801164fddfb0c888b280e14a2bff12c745710a6ea45408b8de3d646bf06765120b2002c73b

Related: "Trump's moves on immigration roil midterm campaign for both parties," by The Washington Post's Seung Min Kim: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3aca83d11196debad88b57f6f8f6da6f305e479e6028a0060a317adc2f7daf4505f7dceeb6c3f1bbfd and "Trump defends military presence on border and says 'I do try' to tell the truth," from ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Devin Dwyer and Meghan Keneally: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a57c6758d846bc339425310032d5787a767a02547a8e05a56e2ecd39c4ed0f7bf44c18312098ae2df

NO BLAME FOR GOP LOSSES? -- The president told reporters he wouldn't blame anybody if Republicans lose the House. But he has also suggested he won't accept any responsibility for potential GOP losses and advised Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday to focus "on holding the Majority rather than giving his opinions on Birthright Citizenship," portraying the retiring Republican leader as a possible scapegoat. Trump said many GOP candidates are up on their Democratic challengers since he campaigned for them and predicted House Republicans will do well and Senate Republicans will do "extraordinarily well." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a0453b886803a23e016ba7aac5bd2dd56d3fd05cf13ef361b66ff6aa362e94a159cad50fcf7be8c1c

NEXT STOP: MISSOURI -- Trump will make the first of two pre-election stops in Missouri tonight to rally Republicans against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). "[H]is final scheduled rally of the 2018 midterms will be here in Missouri's conservative southeast on Monday, just nine hours before the polls open on Election Day," James Arkin notes. "Missouri is one of several states where Senate Republicans are leaning on Trump to either cement a victory or shift the tide in their favor." State Attorney General Josh Hawley has sought to nationalize his race against McCaskill, making it a referendum on her being a Democrat in a state the president won by nearly 20 points in 2016.

Hawley has linked McCaskill to Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi of California and Chuck Schumer of New York and focused on her vote against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, even as he faces allegations of mismanaging his state office. "Despite those questions, Republicans believe the race has shifted dramatically toward Hawley in the last month and is now his race to lose," Arkin writes. "Democrats view the race as a dead heat, and believe McCaskill is well within striking distance if she can turn out the Democratic base and peel off enough Republican voters to eke out a win. They view Trump's two visits as a signal that Hawley needs a major boost, not as a sign of Republican
strength." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a3bf0bbbad5f2f703c289a20ebbbd6eb886cbd1862eca6a565cd41a3c84c9525e32504d2471b6cc13

Related read: "Out-of-state political consultants helped direct Josh Hawley's Missouri AG office," per McClatchy's Lindsay Wise, Jason Hancock and Steve Vockrodt: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a6103b1826c76da1f74f2b958eb6f0aa1f060d8642d7a817889e2bf4c316d834a6f7cc415a042488f

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Nov. 1.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) appearance on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert was the winner.

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DEMS PLAN FOR MAJORITY -- House Democratic leaders plan to push through sweeping changes to future campaign and ethics laws, require more transparent donor disclosures, ban gerrymandering and restore key enforcement provisions to the Voting Rights Act, all in the first month of the new Congress. "If they win, they would then turn to infrastructure investment and the climbing costs of prescription drugs, answering voter demands and challenging President Trump's willingness to work on shared policy priorities with a party he has vilified," The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos writes. Pelosi said the plan is to show that Democrats can govern and reach across the aisle.

"[A]fter eight years in the minority, most Democrats believe they will need to do more than embarrass the White House with subpoenas and investigative hearings if they want to be more than a one-term majority and reclaim the presidency in 2020," Fandos adds. They're also prepared to pass liberal legislation such as a gun safety bill, a measure to give Dreamers permanent legal status and a path to citizenship, and the Equality Act -- even on party-line votes. "Democrats have also prepared detailed, more liberal approaches for a $1 trillion infrastructure package and how to slow the increases in prescription drug costs, but indicated that they would steer proposals through the regular
committee process," he notes. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3aa1f34b870d6d8e17df49e1fb66e26a994cc509f522438badb9e7b66f218f1ef4794ad2cce26847dd

Related: "Pelosi declares victory before Election Day," by Bres and Caitlin Oprysko: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a5dc628ab5f9f8b919e67da592b77f5caa880ff635c35a09dd2d1394c2032fe01ed939ae9376454c8 "Midterm elections could make or break #MeToo, abuse bills in Congress," from the San Francisco Chronicle's Tal Kopan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3ad8386a81d6ccff8fb8c6b9033f9f141265779bfe8c50874ab923c6f8d4fa2e64b1745157e14a0306 and "Report: Wave of Democratic women could reshape party agenda," via Tucker Doherty: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3aab8bafcf0c8781ba2d8ef8a50560d9cddf4e7b809d77175a4638da05f5c0fea274642cc1229557ae

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFER -- House Republicans will worry about putting together a legislative agenda after the midterms. "And at the White House, where aides privately view House Republican chances as slim, postelection planning has revolved around imagining a world in which Democrats are in control," The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos reports. "Continued Republican control would defy historical odds and the expectations of both parties." But retaining a Republican majority would give the GOP license to continue slashing taxes and chipping away at Obamacare. "Further down the list: giving President Trump some bipartisan legislative accomplishments ahead of his 2020 re-election campaign," he
writes. What a GOP majority might look like: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3af2cdb50fcfb27d1a7fbd4250868c43797679ab811f8872c69b6ecdb1d4648bf78f084c82ba028b68

In a rare joint statement from the White House and Ways and Means Committee, the president and Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) expressed a commitment to "delivering an additional 10 percent tax cut to middle-class workers across the country." They said they would take "swift action on this legislation at the start" of the next Congress. "The designs of the tax cut haven't been sorted out within the White House, including how it could be structured so as not to add to the deficit," The Washington Post's Damian Paletta reports. Then again, it's also unlikely that Brady will still be chairman and Republicans will be in the majority. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3aee63ea489da9185fd8204630b92cd39def824ce4742e84a4460522620bf521176755719e0486c3d6

SENATE FIGHT FOR NO. 2? -- Senate Republicans will privately hold their leadership elections in the Old Senate Chamber on Nov. 14. "The focus will be on who replaces the term-limited Sen. John Cornyn for the number two post, as the current leader, Mitch McConnell, is expected to stay in that job," CNN's Ted Barrett writes. "Senators down one rung in leadership could all move up, but it's also possible they could face challenges from younger members or others who want to shake up the top ranks." Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) are term-limited out of their current leadership positions, though the latter two are expected to move up.

Republicans will also choose an NRSC chair to lead the Senate GOP's campaign arm. McConnell, the longest-serving GOP leader in history, is not subject to term limits. "Cornyn has said he would like to replace McConnell when the Kentucky Republican decides to step down from the post," Barrett notes, though others could also compete for the post. It's unclear when McConnell, who is up for reelection next cycle, will relinquish his position. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a352b8751bf76b40b53115c597690c6d62f471cb007ddd9520d5344745e1f9c49a2ae187cc0a6bf01

CORKER ON THE CARAVAN -- Republicans are fearmongering to galvanize their base, according to one of their own. "Let's face it," retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters in Nashville. "We all know what's happening. It's all about revving up the base, using fear to stimulate people to come out at the polls." He added that he disapproves of the president and Rep. Marsha Blackburn's (R-Tenn.) rhetoric about the migrant caravan. "Blackburn released an ad last week announcing 'gang members, known criminals, people from the Middle East' and 'possibly even terrorists' were among those walking in the caravan of Central Americans," the Tennessean's Natalie Allison writes.

Corker said a friend recently texted him about a conspiracy alleging a wealthy Democrat -- presumably George Soros -- was funding the caravan. "I said, 'Are you kidding me?'" Corker recalled. "If anybody's funding it, it's some Republican donor, because it has obviously turned into an election issue that has benefited the Republican side." Corker added that he has "never been angry at someone who wants to come to the greatest nation on earth and live the kind of life that we lead." "To make pejorative statements about all of them," he said, "I don't approve of that." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman received the Tennessee World Affairs Council's inaugural leadership award on
Wednesday. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a153d0c3907bdd3814e6334976fa47cf231dcff52b7b3a3bf3627f595816e80f45413432cb5fabc0e

Related read: "'Pushing every button': Trump mobilizes the government in campaign's final days," by The Washington Post's Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a62ee8570312da344eef578914c23b996bf505fff5f8ffc95382c210a31b7f51608a7ae84e8b09c34

TRUMP CLASHES WITH REID, RYAN -- The president said former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada was "right" 25 years ago before "Democrats went insane." Trump was alluding to a 1993 floor speech in which Reid said "no sane country" would offer a "reward for being an illegal immigrant." Reid acknowledged he "made a mistake" proposing an "awful bill." He credited his wife for setting him straight and said Trump "can tweet whatever he wants while he sits around watching TV, but he is profoundly wrong." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3ace74a9ec6f0ee65695784812badc2374fa65e67524eb4c256d1b361e0f051296efdf38111bfaadb8

Trump also sniped at House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), tweeting that he "should be focusing on holding the Majority rather than giving his opinions on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about!" Trump insisted he has the executive authority to revoke birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children whose parents are undocumented immigrants. Ryan, however, told a radio station that the president "obviously cannot do that." "Legal experts from both sides of the aisle almost universally agree that the Constitution guarantees citizenship to the children of foreign nationals born on U.S. soil," Matthew Choi writes. "The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional provision in the late
19th century." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a2d6d052e1f32550ffddab974962bf7d36e64b1e3704dac65e982cb083d39b68ef716e8006887b982

Related: "Trump's attack on Ryan seen as advance scapegoating," from The Hill's Melanie Zanona and Juliegrace Brufke: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3a8208c0e7ec6d4f6beec5b7a13636afb176a0454ac1e3965ffb3a1d45f8dda95cd1d5268d43f55bbb

CONJUNCTION MALFUNCTION -- Vulnerable Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) says he misspoke earlier this week when he brought up the diversity of his staff at a debate against Republican Mike Braun. "Our state director is Indian American, but he does an amazing job," Donnelly said at the debate. "Our director of all constituent services, she's African-American. But she does an even more incredible job than you could ever imagine." Donnelly later clarified that he meant to say "and," not "but." "That would have communicated what I have tried to do my entire life: that I make a habit to seek out and promote people of color for both my campaign and official staff," he said. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=332a41e934b6bf3ac3110a2eb734df4dd2b17801e677a9e671dd395add4f3b8181792db1682f2a896b72a921ffcb6c73

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

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Chase Farmer was first to correctly guess that before Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Treasury Secretary Fred Vinson was the last Kentuckian to serve as a secretary in the president's Cabinet.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Chase: Which Senate candidate this cycle is currently suing a company both he and his wife represented as lobbyists? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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