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By Heather Caygle | 07/20/2017 07:56 AM EDT


With an assist from Daniel Lippman

McCAIN DIAGNOSED WITH BRAIN CANCER - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been diagnosed with brain cancer following an operation last week to remove a blood clot from above his left eye. "McCain and his family are considering options for treating the tumor, including radiation and chemotherapy. The 80-year-old McCain has previously successfully been treated for skin cancer," Bres reports. McCain has glioblastoma, an aggressive tumor that is "'usually highly malignant,' spreads rapidly and is difficult to treat."

The news stunned Capitol Hill Wednesday night, with lawmakers from both parties, staffers and reporters offering a flood of support for the long-time senator, former presidential candidate and Vietnam POW. Many of the statements had one thing in common: they all mentioned McCain's fighting spirit. McCain's best buddy Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) interrupted a GOP huddle on health care Wednesday night to break the news and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) then led the group in prayer. "God knows how this ends, not me," a visibly upset Graham told reporters. "But I do know this. This disease has never had a more worthy opponent." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490e5a412b832393ea4020a9535b8cfae8640cba5a449394f6aaca6eac0e14fb0994243d274b7bf89daca0ecb18bd1f6f0d

GOP IMPASSE OVER HEALTH CARE - Senate Republicans still don't have a deal to move forward on health care, even after being instructed by President Donald Trump to delay recess until they do so and meeting late into the night Wednesday to try to hash out their differences. "At least 20 Republicans, including leadership allies, moderates and conservatives, worked through the party's myriad disagreements over Medicaid, coverage numbers, lowering premiums and cutting regulations," Burgess, Seung Min and Jen Haberkorn report.

What's next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) left a GOP senators lunch with Trump Wednesday pledging to hold a procedural vote on the health care debate next week. But senators left last night's meeting "uncertain of how a planned vote will go next week, or whether it should even occur while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is being treated for cancer." The latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490610be940b8300138e45abf5d0f39aac58cf2e513141dd47db8a82bd83ae80c4d2794c892e2e8f6fc8b9057b3333417a9

Tweet du jour: @seungminkim: After a five minute gaggle with reporters, @SenJohnKennedy cuts it off, says he has to go watch CSI Miami

Video du jour: Trump singled out Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, the GOP's most vulnerable incumbent, during the White House lunch. "Look," Trump told the room of Republicans, "he wants to remain a senator, doesn't he? OK? And I think the people of your state, which I know very well, I think they're gonna appreciate what you hopefully will do." Watch: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490028b29ec4a16d8356e01870ba14fb57a2497bf251c66790ee5f05919b5767695fbf7514c90c66367e65fb77887b91d90

Related: The Freedom Caucus launched a long-shot effort to force a House vote on an outright Obamacare repeal, Kyle and Rachael report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d4908c773a3febb4be81f44ad56ba2a6c0a29c0b6477f1534a0ed260108c51be214e56c30a17ec8967a344314a8ae05b6667

GOP AGENDA 'IN QUICKSAND' - Republicans are on track to leave for August recess with few, if any, major legislative accomplishments. The Senate GOP's health care effort is on the rocks. The House GOP's fiscal 2018 budget - a key for unlocking tax reform - currently doesn't have a path to passage on the floor. And even a Republican push to pass a partisan 12-bill spending package before August has been scuttled and scaled down due to lack of support within the conference. "We're in some quicksand right now. We just can't seem to free ourselves," said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.).

"Unified Republican control of government is a picture of complete disunity," Burgess and Rachael report. Trump is getting angry after seeing little progress on the Hill. But some GOP members are starting to turn the tables on the White House. "They're a distraction. The family is a distraction, the president is a distraction," complained Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). "At first, it was 'Well yeah, this is the guy we elected. He'll learn, he'll learn.' And you just don't see that happening." Full story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490120a1316cd549c5bba26b1d2ca98e358cfea285ad68ac84ea0d8111917399f9ec2d47ff9ddc05327b7e0fbb6ee6c6150

TWO THUMBS WAY UP FOR THURSDAY. Welcome to July 20 and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The triple-byline story from Seung Min, Jen Haberkorn and Burgess detailing the latest GOP health care hurdles brought the clicks.

WRAY CONFIRMATION VOTE TODAY - The Senate Judiciary Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. this morning to vote on Christopher Wray, the White House's pick for FBI director. McConnell plans to bring Wray's nomination up for a vote on the floor before the Senate leaves for recess. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie recommended Wray when contacted by the White House after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey in May, Seung Min reports. Wray represented Christie during the Bridgegate scandal. Tune in: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d4903a6bf1cb54f880d524621a374c4f3f4656feeef9974f31bd8b20d688874034812d31d0f0ac646d1a396d8b4ef0cfe542

Timing is everything: Today's committee vote comes after Trump said in an interview with the New York Times Wednesday he wouldn't have hired Attorney General Jeff Sessions if he'd known Sessions was going to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. Trump also criticized "both the acting F.B.I. director who has been filling in since Mr. Comey's dismissal and the deputy attorney general who recommended it. And he took on [special counsel] Robert S. Mueller." Peter Baker, Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d4907c5f2620af5cfb4eef542b5f6a1e7ef9f6fa5603bfb81cf6b3115aca7b600d64b7d2a9a09f9cae49be761cc9a256c480 And excerpts from the sit down: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d49086980781b4cc5e401ea260cb199eb85acde1d1a405697665f07abb9d82c69516a0769aef8c7e7a69378ef27a4351042c

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) tweeted to the president: "No one in America can match the excellence of @JeffSessions as Attorney General. Trump agenda would be crippled w\o him."

KUSHNER, TRUMP JR. SCHEDULED TO TESTIFY - Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a senior adviser, will testify in a closed-door hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee Monday. Separately, the Senate Judiciary Committee is asking Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort to testify Wednesday about their meeting with a Russian lawyer last year. "The panel is also scheduled to include Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of the firm that commissioned the salacious - and disputed - dossier on President Donald Trump's connections to Russia," Kyle, Darren Samuelsohn and Josh Dawsey report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490244880a79e6fb803977e9c7f5965f884f9c2d05cd20865a75006880f90139c17d6e075a10c65bff3984100a2f6c4075e

THE GOP'S BUDGET BATTLE - Republicans on the House Budget Committee were shaking hands and patting each other on the back late Wednesday night after a successful daylong committee markup of the GOP's fiscal 2018 blueprint. But with just one week until the House leaves for August recess, GOP leaders are still far short of the 218 votes needed to pass it on the floor, Rachael and Sarah Ferris report. The likely outcome? Republicans will punt dealing with the budget-which is a critical first step to the tax overhaul they're eyeing - until lawmakers come back in September. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d4902bfd13a6d70bf1391d2e19f006ee91c2d52aa405a11ce0013c29e5e17c7b562e5d9bef7236bb04f53e3756c9195d8dc3

Related read: Budget Chairman Diane Black (R-Tenn.) dismissed a last-minute rogue attempt to block the border adjustment tax, Sarah reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d49057557dd7e06d3c2e0c0d71f7953d98232651242f72b1e931ad60b25911fddabb13a01dcfeeb8f6173f49f68a149f558f

AN INTERESTING TURN OF EVENTS - House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who was caught on tape saying Rep. Dana Rohrabacher was paid by Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be headlining a fundraiser for the fellow California Republican next weekend, Katie Glueck reports for McClatchy. McCarthy has said his comments - "There's two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump" - were a joke. Rohrabacher has come under fire for his staunch pro-Russia attitude and is seen by Democrats as one of the most vulnerable Republicans heading into next year. More on the fundraiser: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d49074e4822f69f1d0a34f01032873e24a43612e1847b54cca5c52d181f7d906abdb7cbe48a405395ccd409b3e95c3aca4c5

Related: A top Rohrabacher aide has been ousted after revelations about a controversial trip the lawmaker and staffer took to Moscow last year, Rosie Gray reports for the Atlantic. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490b84d1e24d3cd680b2516d93346dfd4107774c2a8caf44889d94268595a864e471822b32315402ebe45bac7d8f5100b27

DREAM ACT COMING TODAY - Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today will introduce "a new version of a bill granting legal status and a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children," the Hill's Rafael Bernal reports. "The proposal comes as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary relief from deportation to those immigrants, who are known as 'Dreamers,' faces a legal challenge from Texas and nine other states." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d4903019c03c3f4b4eac3163f684146dcde7076c2e268263a108dc3035a491103de0397b841ca91cd6a601913b710f3b2948

ARRIVAL LOUNGE - Heather Neilson has started as press secretary for Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). She was previously at the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation.

Welcome to the world: David Stewart, staff director at House Ways and Means for Chairman Brady and Betsy Stewart, VP at Business Roundtable, email family and friends: "We're delighted to introduce you to our new daughter, Penelope (Poppy) Shea Stewart. She was born on [Tuesday] at 2:25 p.m. and weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces. Betsy and Poppy are both doing fantastic. And Big Sister Grace is excited and attentive to her baby sister already too." Pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490745dbe642137bb519dae071f101de8d9ef57b5f121f2473087339abb426a5a9fe851d837671bbfa5be321c64ea29c780

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House meets at 9 a.m. with last votes for the week starting at 11 a.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=33c39c656d87d490454320538a06219c0cb0cb8bba7529fbbb0541f21a1dd4b5b434d8f6c5b5894f4abe060117bfd16509b851cc405e1873 The Senate gavels in at 10 a.m. with a 12:15 p.m. vote on John K. Bush, nominee for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate will hold a procedural vote on David Bernhardt, nominee to be Interior deputy secretary, at 1:45 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) hold a press conference on anti-abortion riders in the House appropriations bills at 10 a.m. in HVC Studio B.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker (R-N.C.) holds a press conference on the RSC's proposed fiscal 2018 budget at 11:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) hold a 12:30 p.m. press conference in the Senate studio on their bill, the Dream Act, aimed at protecting young undocumented immigrants.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, brief House members on the U.S. strategy to fight ISIS starting at 1 p.m. in the CVC auditorium. The Senate had a similar briefing Wednesday.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will be in Massachusetts to tour a New Balance factory at 2 p.m. and talk tax reform.

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Wilson Golden was the first to correctly guess that aside from Trump, Wendell Willkie is the only other major presidential nominee to have not previously served in public office, a cabinet position, as an ambassador or a general.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Wilson with today's question: Which African-American House member was the first elected since Reconstruction from a predominantly rural congressional district, later serving as a cabinet secretary? 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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