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07/13/2017 07:59 AM EDT


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

GOP HEALTH CARE HUDDLE THIS MORNING - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has scheduled a critical caucus meeting this morning to discuss the GOP's waning efforts to repeal Obamacare. GOP leaders have said they hoped to have text of a new proposal today but the caucus still remains deeply divided on the bill. Republicans meet at 11:30 a.m. in the Capitol, Burgess and Seung Min report.

Where things stand: GOP leaders are set to roll out new text today but nothing has been done to address concerns from several moderates about the bill's efforts to slash Medicaid spending. Moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski ripped into Republican leaders over the issue during a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican normally aligned with leadership, backed her up, Burgess and Rachana Pradhan report.

Far short of 50: McConnell and his team still remain far short of the 50 votes needed just to begin debate next week. "Not right now. But we don't need them right now," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the party's chief vote counter of the current tally. "We're going to need them next week." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b13e52a5b0dc6a7d63332ad14cdd09cbf704ca6885fa099bb218a60cfae93e68976ebac329f37c36aed20c5081965ce78

I need a little space here: Some Republicans including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are already putting together a package of health care fixes they say could even gather Democratic support if the current GOP effort fails. "But many in the GOP privately say they might need a break between seven years of repeal attempts and a sudden repair effort," Jen Haberkorn and Adam Cancryn report. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) charitably likened the bill being written by his buddy Graham to a "noose around my neck," hinting at fatigue over another round of Obamacare talks. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b6193e21af4579c94455c141c0dbb5c56ebf9c03056b744b3391ebea3f451c2581c2b584a750be3672cfe26799fea16a9

NO LOYALTY OATH HERE - Christopher Wray aced his five-hour confirmation hearing Wednesday, earning plaudits from both sides of the aisle for promising to be independent from the White House if confirmed as FBI director. "Anybody who thinks I'd be pulling punches as the FBI director sure doesn't know me very well," Wray told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Wray said he hasn't been asked for loyalty by anyone at the White House - as Trump reportedly did of former FBI director James Comey - and would "absolutely" fend off any attempts to interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Seung Min, Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Gerstein with the full wrap up:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b0b776b18dc3cd0cd7fd2ffdd76c37e25d9db4c6210a127c160d3026d118a02f0a8d7ebbb8f4129ac5f68b4a1ae83bb97

JUDICIARY WANTS MANAFORT TO TESTIFY -Senate Judiciary Committee leaders are demanding Paul Manafort testify before the panel as soon as next week, threatening to subpoena Trump's former campaign manager if he doesn't comply. Senators want to question Manafort about a meeting he attended last summer with Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-connected lawyer who supposedly had damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he hoped Manafort would appear next week at an already scheduled hearing on the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Seung Min and Austin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b492349a59306ae2a0629bdb4a15d4931f8960b6a62a438d14520d207728247f89625ac4cd38599bc5e308b2a81c1a628

Trump defends Don Jr. on meeting: "I think many people would have held that meeting," Trump told Reuters' Steve Holland. "It was a 20-minute meeting, I guess, from what I'm hearing," he added. "Many people, and many political pros, said everybody would do that." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b03a6c096b36d3196da10b20224961d574455655c5dd5c282f5e7f6bcd00b13bea177089bdd7da0af75e3da43c2cb22a7

Related: Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the opposition-research firm that commissioned a Donald Trump dossier, will testify at next week's FARA hearing. Austin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b3e181e87a070f7a0e22608a233d297fda01c78f7f7eb8ff26eea893996af4c56d2511d32c6d51698c6d6b5c9148f23ad

GUYS, GUYS, IT'S THURSDAY! Welcome to July 13 and thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The livestream link to watch Christopher Wray's FBI director confirmation hearing was the midweek winner.

DEMS INTRO IDENTICAL SANCTIONS PACKAGE - House Democrats are trying to force the GOP's hand in the Russia sanctions standoff, introducing a bill that's the exact same as the Senate version, thereby fixing the "blue slip" issue that Republican leaders have said is delaying passage in the House. But GOP leaders weren't biting, saying they still want to curtail House Democrats' ability to force a vote to punish Trump if he tries to ease sanctions against the Kremlin. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) to discuss a way forward on the dispute Wednesday but no deal was reached. Elana and
yours truly with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2bd804e36f794c480f9812332f9bee9daacf7fbe8a878c092722fd20923b6599aae109e2bf3556b23ef08c833253e3f071

And don't miss this timeline of the stalled sanctions bill, via Elana Schor and Jeremy C.F. Lin: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b63a0eca795562e48d96cb9bb8011d29ae64881b921355e2fb76db10cc9259ca35c64d8e97bea11fe2b0a70320562d892

CHC RAISES ALARMS ABOUT DACA FUTURE - DHS Secretary John Kelly wouldn't commit to defending the DACA program in court - an Obama era order that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants brought here as children - during a meeting with the CHC Wednesday. Kelly said "he'd consulted attorneys who told him the program wouldn't survive a legal challenge," Ted Hesson reports. "It's not a pretty picture," said Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who attended the meeting. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b9005c4f18e9f5ff8692cf155390d663e222cc6ad4de2574515f8464a441c9250e20456feacf42e795399c7d9286b8644

Related: Trump and his aides are quietly working with Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on a bill that would reduce by half the number of legal immigrants entering the country each year, Eliana Johnson and Josh Dawsey report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b64b44c04f3addb8584af9fac86b1ca67afa5da815e837867e0095b6c08b7771d0316f01daf196fd6e706512f0d0a1c10

RYAN'S 'ROBUST' AUMF DISCUSSION - Speaker Paul Ryan had a "robust discussion" on the House floor Wednesday with Rep. Barbara Lee, the anti-war Democrat who's pushing for a new debate on Congress' 16-year-old war authorization that's still used as justification for the fight against terrorism. A Lee amendment to repeal the 2001 AUMF passed the House Appropriations Committee last week but Ryan is expected to strip her proposal from the defense funding bill before it comes to the floor. Austin with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b2a3ce73ad87646cde886a573548b80aba027f268bc048877e4115e435f04ed79c52a572be2c52e8eebef52f5ee4accaf

SCALISE OUT OF ICU - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) is out of the ICU but still in serious condition, the AP's Alan Fram reports. Scalise was moved back into the intensive care unit last week after having to undergo surgery to treat an infection. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b3176f26261e673f6359b94448233307b63da191e4933b166a809be0b250232a5497851668c80e2189d69e51a74905510

DEMS PUSH TRUMP IMPEACHMENT - Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Texas) made good on their threats to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump, officially filing the paperwork Wednesday accusing the president of obstructing justice. Sherman and Green have been publicly floating the idea for weeks, much to the dismay of House Democratic leaders who think the impeachment chatter distracts from Democratic opposition to the Trump agenda.

COMING SOON: STEWART FOR SENATE - "A month after nearly toppling Ed Gillespie in the GOP race for governor with a campaign centered around the Confederate flag and restricting immigration, Corey Stewart on Thursday will announce a run for U.S. Senate in 2018, sources said," reports Patrick Wilson for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He'll be challenging Sen. Tim Kaine, who's up for reelection next year. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2bcd8e668006fc23fc3519b254a080b187e81aca661c708bbf119e74ee814eb01525d0e3dded650b9b1c40d4417e1b2e06

Q2 ROUNDUP: MANCHIN RAISES $1.4m - Sen. Joe Manchin raised more than $1.4 million for his reelection in the second quarter of this year, Elana scoops this morning, leaving him with almost $3.5 million on hand as two of his GOP challengers face a brutal primary battle. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b6a6e4280f3363181a2bc41560b510f6f044f2c6aac8a822f2bb58566195e4f48b65464bccfaf60ba9f4d451477c02cef

Warren's war chest: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised $3.45 million between April and June, bringing her total cash on hand to $11.03 million. "It's the highest second-quarter fundraising haul announced so far," reports Lauren Dezenski from Boston. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b3c8e9cec20fb3489fcc809a7f0a33b6b4b0a0354ac4a6deeb00bb5c990f6751174128edac5a853c6b806502c2e051f51

Hoosier State haul: Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita, who's all but guaranteed to enter the race against Sen. Joe Donnelly next year, raised $1 million in Q2, giving him $2.3 million cash on hand. Rokita is likely to face off against fellow GOP Rep. Luke Messer in a primary to take on Donnelly. Kevin Robillard with more for Pros: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2ba8340b9535c3348d20f67151ea8034485a58fc142ac7e42f0f7ec23857a303bdacb10d6bbec496964f43d50a2765e6da

Speaking of Donnelly: "Senator profits from outsourcing he slams," via the AP's Brian Slodysko. Donnelly "has long blasted free-trade policies for killing American jobs. ...However, an arts and crafts business Donnelly's family has owned for generations is capitalizing on some of the very trade policies - and low-paid foreign labor - the senator has denounced." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2b34d6eb3235da6c1fda6b86be43efde6abedbbeb3b24069a457eec24264a8d53629819be7450f5273b50a8a4b040da28a

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate gavels in at 12:30 p.m. with a confirmation vote on Bill Hagerty, nominee to be ambassador to Japan, at 1:45 p.m. The House meets at 10 a.m. to continue consideration of the NDAA. First votes are around 1:30 p.m., last votes around 5 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=8a02546d2244de2bebbfd7742a368f07103042c3e6ed1c48315b76f4f65aba655d5d70bc4e32242decd293be10aed8edf2b9a6d3d5946934

AROUND THE HILL - Reps. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) hold a press conference on preventing college campus hazing starting at 9:30 a.m. in the House triangle.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) holds his weekly press conference at 11:30 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) hold a press conference on the GOP health care bill's impact on the opioid crisis at 11:30 a.m. in SVC-202.

Reps. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.), Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.), Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) hold a Medicare-related news conference at 3:45 p.m. in the House triangle.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Logan Ferree was the first to correctly guess that Kansas Sen. Samuel Pomeroy was the first member of Congress to introduce a resolution for a women's suffrage amendment to the Constitution, way back in 1868.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Logan with today's question: This governor, one of the first to be forcibly removed from office, faced backlash for declaring martial law in an effort to go after violent opposition by an organized group. Name the governor and the group he/she was going after. 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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