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02/22/2018 07:59 AM EDT


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

TRUMP VOWS TO ACT ON GUNS -- President Donald Trump hosted students, teachers and families from schools affected by gun violence for a listening session at the White House on Wednesday. Since the latest shooting -- at a Parkland, Florida, high school, where a gunman killed 17 people -- "the president has been looking for a way to take action on guns in response to cries from gun-control advocates and emotional students, whose images have been plastered across television screens around the clock, without alienating his pro-gun base, which he courted with promises to support the Second Amendment," Eliana Johnson and Cristiano Lima report.

"In response to remarks by the families at the listening session, he floated some new ideas, surprising some White House aides, including reopening some of the mental institutions shuttered in the 1970s to house worrisome teens who have not committed any crimes, and arming teachers or other school officials -- controversial views that he would have difficulty garnering support for on Capitol Hill," they write. "The conversation also provided a forum for grieving parents to air raw emotions and confront some of the leaders they say have failed them." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56ba38613d2069107ee38d1c71192f2316b609fe34bf4c78291e273f6597a547065f1f15ec81bfec24d

"Mr. Trump, who has often struggled to express sympathy in the face of tragedy, appeared moved by the personal stories," Julie Hirschfeld Davis reports for The New York Times. "During the session, Mr. Trump held a card that appeared to remind him of the basics of compassion when dealing with grieving survivors." He said his administration would be strong on background checks for gun purchases and appeared to express support for raising the age for buying certain weapons. The president will host state and local officials later today to discuss school safety. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b400ed8eef7b6dffccdd3099c7e8e2c7ed41713b2d033b86f44a037eccaa3652ae1e9fe87ddc26e33

PHOTO DU JOUR: An Associated Press photographer captured the president's notes for the listening session. The fifth point read, "I hear you." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b06667058b0b97144c511db30b5bd835284d337e2c48572b5adf8dcd1136c878c20b66fdedb963fd4

Related: "Why arming teachers is highly unlikely," by Benjamin Wermund: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56bd63e64129406c47ac33764573a4460c4944a4fabe3f9b7b32204c1c9292fc281c03fc291fde32b5e

TRUMP VS. HOUSE GOP ON GUNS -- The White House has expressed support for a bipartisan bill that would strengthen reporting of violent criminals in the federal background-checks database to bar them from buying guns. "But House conservatives are unwilling to sign on, unless the measure is coupled with so-called 'concealed-carry' legislation backed by the National Rifle Association," Rachael and Elana report. "Combining the two ideas would have the net effect of loosening gun controls." Before the House passed a bill in December that married both proposals, GOP leaders promised conservatives they wouldn't separate the two.

"That sets up the possibility of a clash between House and Senate Republicans," they write. "Trump will likely have to decide how hard he wants to push for the standalone background-checks bill, at the risk of antagonizing his pro-gun base and GOP allies in the House. If Senate Republicans don't separate the two measures, the package is bound to run aground." The concealed-carry bill would allow gun owners who have permits in their states to carry weapons across state lines. That measure is a non-starter for Democrats. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b6f1ac4963b67452d8b66ccf0d6c195f60d8a57ec1f7628d93b46c9d7c06f4ecc225d1f0fe70e40d3

RUBIO SHIFTS ON GUNS -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) faced parents and students who survived last week's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at CNN's town hall on Wednesday night. "Jeered and booed by the crowd, buffeted by tough questions, Rubio stood alone as the only Republican onstage, in purple Florida's liberal bastion of Broward County," Marc Caputo and Rebecca Morin write. Rubio said arming teachers is a bad idea but expressed support for raising the legal age to purchase an assault rifle to 21 and restricting the size of gun magazines.

"It was a striking turnabout for Rubio, who never met a gun-rights bill he didn't vote for in the Florida Legislature and, later, in Congress," they report. "But Rubio said he wanted to prevent another massacre and said it was time for everyone to start rethinking their positions." Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) gave Rubio credit for showing up, unlike Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Nelson's likely 2018 opponent. Rubio, however, refused to consider banning semi-automatic rifles outright or stop accepting money from the NRA -- which "he might not be able to count on after Wednesday night." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b10c1458edece3a2807b53b4bedfa657bac907d912436c87ab47e3f18a5b44b200bc3467b6f9c92fc

Related read: "Florida's moment on guns," via Marc Caputo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b29eb6085c8b472d416e365808bc1200f066e790f25f83d485350a10dade928d4ce1cedbae2715e19

GOOD MORNING. Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Feb. 22.

COMING UP ON FRIDAY: Join us for the Eighth Annual State Solutions Conference, a conversation with governors from across the country about their innovative policy approaches in the states. Doors open Feb. 23, 2018, at 9 a.m. -- 901 K St. NW. Details here.

WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: KPNX-TV's report on the Arizona congressional candidate who received a topless selfie from a state legislative staffer was the big winner.

THE (FRAT) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES -- You don't need to tune into ABC on Thursdays to see scandal. Just look at Congress, where the past year "has been a lowlight reel of nonstop unethical -- and, in some cases, potentially illegal -- behavior," Bres and Rachael report. Three House members resigned over misconduct allegations, and four announced their retirements before party leaders forced them out. One congressman has even gotten entangled in another congressman's divorce. "Incidents like these have become seemingly routine, which itself shows how far Congress' ethical standards have fallen of late," they write.

In the Senate, Al Franken (D-Minn.) resigned over sexual harassment allegations, and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) faced charges of bribery, which were dropped last month. The Senate Ethics Committee is still investigating Menendez. But it's the people's House that "has been home to the most outlandish behavior," they say. "The scandals have come at such a rapid clip that it's hard to keep up with all of them." Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56ba3f4e8da28a6225158d8f4821d72439834eddd09f5214accac3ed771e636329690c00cea1599d55d

SENATE LEADERS, PELOSI ARE TOP 6 IN TRUMP'S WASHINGTON -- Excluding President Donald Trump, GQ editors this morning released their list of the most powerful people in Trump's Washington. Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are tied for fourth. "Republicans live in mortal fear that Schumer and Pelosi ... will get the president alone and trick him somehow," the editors write. "That's what they did last fall at the White House, striking a deal on immigration reform--before panicked Republicans and White House staffers persuaded Trump to renege. Rarely is the minority this powerful."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) ranks sixth. "Years from now, historians will make the case that he was the most consequential politician of the early 21st century," they say, crediting him for scuttling former President Barack Obama's every attempt at a compromise and denying him a Supreme Court appointment, "which in turn persuaded countless conservatives to hold their noses and vote for Trump. Is he fond of the president? No, but as long as Trump's bill-signing hand works to cut the taxes of the GOP donor class, McConnell is as pleased as can be." The full list: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b37e921eac247f7358b9b47c200305985350c27664a1a7537d985858e7a6c5cea6a74016ac1f35d8a

DEMS WANT $300M TO SAFEGUARD MIDTERM ELECTIONS -- Schumer and Pelosi requested more than $300 million in new funding to protect November's elections from Russian meddling in a letter to Republican leaders on Wednesday. While the letter made no mention of the president, it "was clearly intended as a barb toward Trump, who has seemingly lashed out at every target besides Moscow in the days since special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three companies for an alleged systematic campaign to disrupt the 2016 election," Elana reports. Schumer told reporters Trump should lead the effort "rather than obsessing over the legitimacy of his election, tweeting and relitigating
the 2016 campaign." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56becf69170e7b5f3fa1af511d1ee6b0ef07fd5e97ef1df9614265a31b4d4603d0806f58ec311f54196

Related Russia read: "Bernie blames Hillary for allowing Russian interference," from Edward-Isaac Dovere: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56be1b12e8fb99e2865a5a4dc98c5304146edf381c8006cf174c6a9863c3eb889ce6157e92d43ef6c6b

GOWDY ASKS FOR PRUITT FILES -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) requested documents Wednesday from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt related to his first-class travel at taxpayer expense. Gowdy "called on Mr. Pruitt to detail all his government travel since assuming leadership of the E.P.A. one year ago," Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times. "He raised particular concern over conflicting statements from Mr. Pruitt's press office about whether the administrator had a waiver to fly first class at all times." An EPA spokesman said Pruitt had a "blanket waiver" before later correcting himself.

"Mr. Pruitt has long been a target of criticism from Democrats, who last week asked the E.P.A.'s inspector general to expand an existing investigation into the administrator's trips. But the issue of first-class travel has also struck a nerve with a handful of Republicans," she writes. "Mr. Gowdy has asked that Mr. Pruitt's travel information be handed over by 5 p.m. on March 6." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b6cd5d9704f3513349a5a5b8a589934444f0821a782092620a2a510046ebc487c1c969a9bd4c85312

The Defense Department is also coming in for scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) on Wednesday warned the Pentagon that Congress may withhold some of the funds it's slated to receive if it can't do a better job managing its finances. He has asked Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to respond to his concerns by March 15. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56ba2f5c00219ac4bab2ae081c071f480aea5cfbce39994b5f3083313e9b616717663c32cd116f59994

TRUMP CRITICS SEEK HIS SUPPORT IN SENATE RACES -- GOP Senate candidates Mitt Romney, Martha McSally, Dean Heller -- and potentially Bob Corker -- are all "essentially making peace with a president they once shunned," Jonathan Martin reports for The New York Times. "Their hopes for a detente with Mr. Trump, who effectively staged a hostile takeover of a party he joined only in 2012, reflect the realization that rank-and-file Republicans have come to embrace the president. There is little appetite on the right for Trump skeptics in the halls of Congress." Their reversals, Martin says, "are as revealing as they are glaring."

Corker once called the White House "an adult day care center" and suggested Trump could lead the U.S. into World War III. He's since launched a charm offensive in hopes of winning the president's support to seek reelection. Romney dedicated an entire speech to blasting Trump yet accepted his endorsement in Utah's Senate race. "[W]hat is striking," he adds, "is how easy a president often consumed with slights has made it for his former critics to bind up old wounds." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b56098baccb66f2a328516b79581cab33f9174e23ea15c81b8ba4b7038ab0de8d4cfc2e2ea6cbacb8

TRUMP TO HOST FUNDRAISER WITH HAWLEY -- Trump will travel to St. Louis next month for a high-dollar, invitation-only fundraiser with Missouri Senate candidate Josh Hawley. "Hawley, widely viewed as the front-runner for this year's GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has faced talk lately of party dissatisfaction with his campaign, which some say has failed to catch fire," Kevin McDermott writes for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Chatter in Missouri and Washington has included the possibility of pulling U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, into the race. An appearance by Trump at a Hawley event full of big-money donors presumably would tamp down such talk."

The fundraiser will be held March 14, according to an emailed invitation. A "Host Committee Roundtable" with a $50,000-per-person price tag will include a photo with the president and attendance at a "VIP reception." "For $25,000 per couple, attendees will get a photo with Trump and attendance at the reception," McDermott adds. "A donation of $5,000 per person will get just the reception." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6d6ce2e4603ac56b4ef5ce60f3323ea0a503f715521727ba6a0d04f7a2fd6033a98eda710c28e630e5e3a7ef18f1685b

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

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- No one guessed that Jared Pratt is a common ancestor of Mitt Romney and Jenny Wilson.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- A woman who had an affair with a lawmaker who resigned during this Congress is running for Congress herself. Who is she, who is the lawmaker who resigned and in what state is she running? 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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