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08/17/2018 08:02 AM EDT


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

SENATE GOP'S OBAMASCARE -- Republicans are trying to have it both ways on Obamacare. Senate candidates are still campaigning against the Obama-era health care law, arguing that favorable midterm results could give the party another chance to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Some high-profile GOP Senate candidates also support a lawsuit that could scuttle the law in a case a federal judge will take up in September. "Yet at the same time Republicans are still touting the law's most popular provisions, arguing that after it is struck down they will be able to preserve protections for pre-existing conditions by passing a new bill," Burgess reports from Mishawaka, Indiana.

There's just one problem -- one big problem. "Congress has shown no ability to pass new health care legislation under Republican rule or work across party lines, raising severe doubts that the GOP would be able to fulfill its promises to both kill the law and maintain its popular provisions," Burgess explains. Several senators told POLITICO the party isn't prepared to act if the lawsuit is successful. "It may be good to have an exit strategy," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) acknowledged, but "I'm not sure there's one in place." How Obamacare is playing in key Senate races: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a57a88e40baac26f4f7a4ffbd88c44c2fdd7a6c7452dc4afa9484611d3033033d09e3699f8029d287

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM STALLS IN SENATE -- The President Donald Trump-backed bipartisan criminal justice reform bill the House passed in May remains stalled in the Senate. "[G]roups off the Hill say they're closing in on a path to pass the legislation through the Senate by adding some of the sentencing changes Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) spent years negotiating with Democrats," Elana reports. "But interviews with a dozen GOP senators show that those talks remain in a precarious state." Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) voiced skepticism that the chamber could reach a deal. In fact, he said, "I'm not sure we should."

"[T]he handful of Republicans who have long protested reducing mandatory-minimum sentences leave Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) without any incentive to call up legislation that would split his conference," Elana notes. But resistance hasn't stopped groups on the left and right from ramping up efforts to unite Senate Republicans. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, is fully engaged on the issue. A GOP strategist said Kushner "will be making the rounds on the Hill" and predicted the president would "lean in hard" once there are enough Republican votes.

"Close involvement from Trump will likely be required for the GOP to get past its internal schism over reducing mandatory minimum sentences as part of a prisons package," she writes. "Grassley's bipartisan package of sentencing and prison reforms boasts 15 Republican cosponsors, but Attorney General Jeff Sessions opposes even the narrower prisons-only approach the House has passed." Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), however, signaled that sentencing reform is too divisive to pass the chamber. "If you want to get something done, I think we need to start with prison reform and see what the market will bear," he said. In any case, the Senate is running out of time. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73ad60d3fbd7a2004882ef2c3823162e5d0a39d976f8b59b639b7e93e4feab16e2ca33ddb52079e9244

Also dividing the Senate: food-stamp work requirements, the Washington Examiner's Susan Ferrechio reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a52643f8242f9088c4b8a53ee570fde0e865a5be2f725d67d49ad99aa7f3c929df4a801e77c4a6df4

IMPERFECT ATTENDANCE -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) scolded his GOP colleagues at a private lunch Thursday over members' poor attendance. "McConnell warned ... that he would have trouble moving legislation next week if the attendance remains as abysmal as it was this week," The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports. Eleven senators missed a Wednesday afternoon vote, and 10 senators missed two votes on Thursday. In both cases, almost all of the lawmakers were Republicans.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) didn't even travel to Washington, D.C., this week -- despite signing a letter in May urging McConnell to cancel this month's recess. "That raised the eyebrows of fellow Republicans who trekked to the nation's Capitol amid sweltering heat and humidity," Bolton writes. "Democrats mocked Republicans for making a big deal about canceling the August recess and then not showing up for votes." Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a vulnerable red-state Democrat, said she recognizes the "political posturing." "Feels a little bit like something that was done for optics rather than for substance," she said. More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73ae8be560a843c2ff822d9fbeee9cd90f6f0b3b1d3e87a58f8da5cac25920030b154e557ec1e897c31

HAPPY FRIDAY! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Aug. 17.

What is it really like for women hitting the campaign trail in 2018? Women Rule's three-part podcast series, entitled "Women Rule: Tracking the candidates," will focus on the gritty realities of running for office. Tune in each Wednesday in August to hear from three women running for office, the challenges and opportunities they face and the lessons other women can take from their campaigns.

THURSDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Former CIA Director John Brennan's response in The New York Times to President Donald Trump revoking his security clearance was by far the big winner.

REMEMBER WHEN -- What a difference a year makes. This time last year, the president was blasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over the chamber's failure to pass Obamacare repeal while the Kentucky Republican insisted the president had "excessive expectations." "The phone lines between them went quiet for days," The Associated Press' Lisa Mascaro recalls. "But both learned how to better relate to the other. Trump now keeps the Kentuckian close as a needed ally in accomplishing his agenda on Capitol Hill. And McConnell talks to the president almost daily as the two chat strategy, monitor campaigns and count votes."

The latest result? The Senate confirmed two more circuit court judges Thursday before taking off for the weekend. The chamber has now approved 26 appellate judges, meaning a Trump-nominated judge holds one out of every seven seats on the circuit courts. That course correction from last year has also allowed the Senate to approve funding bills early and lay the groundwork for a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh this fall. Senate Republicans have even "decided that forfeiting the August break is a small price to pay to prevent another round of Republican-on-Republican infighting before the midterm election," Mascaro writes. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73aa632ce79e60c0d4eccdea39f490c3a701b7556d2f29b9b188d0ddc9348f537454848a2e2d2872ae0

SUE ME -- Senate Democrats are threatening to sue the National Archives if it fails to meet their public records request for hundreds of thousands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's documents that haven't been publicly disclosed. Democrats say the Archives has 20 days to meet their request or they'll sue. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats would "much rather follow the bipartisan process," but the GOP's "obstruction requires an extraordinary response." Schumer also announced he will meet with Kavanaugh next week. He said he will ask the nominee about the documents "and what he intends to do about it." More on the potential suit:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a83b0c56573163d6559739f64d6a41b050229caaf99a320a160148c65535d4f560b270ebb1d986d2a

SENATE SPEAKS UP FOR MEDIA -- President Donald Trump declared in all-caps Thursday morning that the so-called "fake news media" is the opposition party, an escalation of his rhetoric that the press is the enemy of the American people. But the Senate said otherwise. The chamber passed a nonbinding resolution by unanimous consent affirming that journalists aren't the enemy of the people, reaffirming reporters' "indispensable role" and condemning attacks on the fourth estate. Earlier Thursday, the president claimed the press could "write and say anything it wants," grumbling that much of what is reported is "pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73abe94c00ac4cbd82ca476acd9876e6472055dfd3ee3dde07e0fda91f247db11ad37ecce8fb6275d14

CLF FUNDS EARLY ATTACKS TO WIN LATE -- The Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is spending nearly $10 million this month on attack ads against Democrats in 14 races from New York to California. The move is an effort to preserve House Republicans' majority and force Democrats to spend money early while defining Democratic candidates negatively with voters. "Among the attacks: accusing one California Democrat of being 'shady' by enriching himself on Chinese 'sweatshops,' calling an Illinois Democrat a 'corporate con man,' alleging that a New Jersey Democrat lobbied for 'terrorist rights' -- and tying several to Republicans' favorite
target: House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California," CNN's Manu Raju reports.

"Most outside organizations have typically waited until after Labor Day to drop hard-hitting ads, betting that voters are vacationing and not fully engaged in the competitive midterm battlegrounds until Election Day draws closer," Raju writes, noting CLF didn't start its 2016 air war until Sept. 13. "But this year, Ryan's super PAC calculated that to save the majority, huge money needs to be spent aggressively and early -- especially as Democrats have a strong chance to pick up the 23 seats they need to flip the House." CLF executive director Corry Bliss said, "In this environment, we must win August to win November." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73aa7b88018b75fcfcc75853fedf969c8126ccf37487f9136c0f99d11875c96778347dea33c4d7b2087

Related: "Super PACs take brash new steps to hide their donors," by Maggie Severns: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a421c208268763411739b1b968819d042bbfe5be9941b105c7d207f811ff4ac9049fa70d0a5537605 and "Inside a super PAC that spends on everything but winning," from The Associated Press' Brian Slodysko: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a074bc820813ac1f836116b27346af7ea16e291a5eabdfac23f5fb6e879e0222715a5d37501542afc

HOUSE PANEL COULD SUBPOENA TWITTER CEO -- House Energy and Commerce Committee staff are considering subpoenaing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify before the panel, according to a Republican familiar with the discussion. "The source said Twitter is 'delaying' and 'stonewalling' the committee, which has been negotiating over the past few weeks to try to arrange Dorsey's testimony about the company's data and content policies," Ashley Gold reports. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who chairs the committee, tweeted a "formal invitation" to Dorsey to appear before the panel on Sept. 5.

"Dorsey is already slated to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss Russian election interference, along with executives from Facebook and Google, on Sept. 5," Gold adds. A Twitter spokesman said, "We remain in discussions with the Committee and no decisions have been made either way." Twitter is also dealing with criticism over its decision to block InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from tweeting or retweeting for one week, a punishment critics say is too light and has come too late. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73aca379eb964d9ed085f9884e7a73b9370263b3a51970ae1d7fbc021e19b82f994e4bdb84d68e567c3

Related read: "A Time for Tech Transparency," by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in InsideSources: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73ad6e40beb01f308f2cf0a992ea67d86401bf81f4f476d268116c79cc89c9cf1b616f1d6b019e66b75

NO TAKE-BACKS -- Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) seemingly equated his time in public office with his Democratic opponent's military service. "We both served our country," Barr told The New York Times. "I've served in a position where ideas matter. My opponent has served her country in the military, where execution matters." Barr won reelection in 2016 by 22 points but now finds himself in a toss-up race against Amy McGrath, a first-time candidate and former Marine combat aviator. The Times' Michael Tackett examines the race: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a0129efb195da73a4ebf0f634c6a7e4c57104c521063b3cf4fc2d7289343323b7cdf2d8daa8db4ae741d143b7aacb6a7

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

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Caitlin Reed was first to correctly guess that Hawaii's statues of King Kamehameha and Father Damien are the historic people in the Capitol's Statuary Hall who aren't American citizens.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Caitlin: Which county in New York is split between designated market areas, and what lawmaker represents that county? 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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