Subject: POLITICO Huddle: CRUZ DROPS OUT, TRUMP VICTORIOUS — What will Hill GOP leadership do? — DIVERGENT GOP LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOKS IN FACE OF ‘TRUMPED’ ELECTION — Rubio missed the Senate — PUERTO RICO REP'S FUNDRAISING UNDER SCRUTINY
From: POLITICO Huddle <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 4 May 2016 06:33:44 -0600

05/04/2016 08:31 AM EDT

By Rachael Bade ([email-masked] or @RachaelMBade) 

THE BIG STORY: CRUZ DROPS OUT, TRUMP ALL BUT SNAGS NOMINATION. Reid Epstein and Byron Tau for the Journal in Indianapolis: "Donald Trump almost certainly snared the Republican Party's presidential nomination by winning a sweeping victory in Indiana's primary Tuesday and forcing his chief rival from the race. Mr. Trump's decisive victory didn't mathematically clinch the GOP nomination, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's departure from the campaign means all that stands between the first-time candidate and accepting the party's nomination in Cleveland is Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has won just one state out of 41 so far."

"Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus quickly rallied behind Mr. Trump, calling him the presumptive nominee in a tweet. 'We all need to unite and focus on defeating' Hillary Clinton, he tweeted." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234daae43c6e369bc4838ad5cdf1159badd640c5b849d52c4f65 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren goes off on a late-night Twitter tangent blasting Trump. Check out some of these tweets: ".@realDonaldTrump is now the leader of the @GOP. It's real - he is one step away from the White House." "Here's what else is real: @realDonaldTrump has built his campaign on racism, sexism, and xenophobia." "There's more enthusiasm for @realDonaldTrump among leaders of the KKK than leaders of the political party he now controls." ".@realDonaldTrump incites supporters to violence, praises Putin, and is 'cool with being called an authoritarian.'" ".@realDonaldTrump attacks vets like @SenJohnMcCain who were captured & puts our servicemembers at risk by cheerleading illegal torture."

WILL HILL GOP LEADERSHIP RALLY BEHIND TRUMP? That's the million-dollar question. Everyone knows they hate him - but if it's him or Hillary Clinton... Amber Phillips for The Fix has a look at the Senate: "After Tuesday, Senate Republicans can no longer dodge what has become a very clear reality: They can either support Donald Trump, their party's presumptive nominee, or not. According to our survey of all the GOP senators in March, most of them have signaled they'd support Trump - even though his now-presumptive nomination could ruin their chances to hold the chamber. That includes most of the vulnerable incumbents running for reelection in purple or blue states -- a fact Senate Democrats
 eagerly pointed out in this recent ad."

"But many senators left wiggle room to back away from Trump if necessary; Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio), who is in a tough reelection battle back home, said he intends to support the nominee 'unless something crazy happens.' And according to our March survey, at least 22 Republicans aren't sure or wouldn't say. Newly minted Indiana GOP nominee Todd Young hasn't said anything we could find about whether he'd support Trump. Only one Republican senator - Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) - has said clearly that he won't be on Team Trump." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234d3c051ced081726a18bc0b5904e2f73951ce954e274b3f894 

"DIFFERENT PLAYBOOKS FOR RYAN, MCCONNELL IN WILD 2016," a timely story per last night's knockout. Alexander Bolton and Scott Wong for the Hill: "Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have adopted strikingly different approaches to leading their party in a turbulent election year dominated by Donald Trump. The result is a Republican Party as rudderless as it has been in decades.... Ryan, the House Speaker, is pushing an ambitious agenda he calls Confident America. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, has stuck to a game plan of passing small-bore bills, giving his vulnerable colleagues wide latitude to frame their candidacies as independently as possible in what could be a tough cycle for
 Republicans. There is no playbook for this type of election year, which has stumped pundits and taken unprecedented twists and turns." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234d954248b489095e7875813cdff22bda648a9407caa65c270a 

YOUR NEXT SENATOR FROM RED-STATE INDIANA? Of course, he still has to face his Democratic opponent, Baron Hill - and who knows what will happen in this Trump-dominated election cycle. "Todd Young wins Indiana GOP Senate primary." POLITICO's Kevin Robillard with the take: "Rep. Todd Young sprinted to an easy victory over fellow Rep. Marlin Stutzman in Indiana's GOP Senate primary, handing another Senate primary win to the establishment groups that backed Young with millions of dollars. Young was winning 65 percent to 35 percent with more than half of precincts reporting, after The Associated Press called the race. Young will face former Democratic Rep. Baron Hill, whom he defeated in a 2010
 House race, in the November general election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234d4f69eb8c365aa23f53042f6b36c61886e775b30e80c5112f 

"RUBIO LEARNS TO LOVE THE SENATE." But don't expect this out of newest, W.H.-dropout Cruz, who's built his career railing against Washington. For Rubio, however, it's good to be back, per Marc Caputo in Miami with Burgess Everett: "Marco Rubio sure isn't acting like a guy who hates the Senate. Two months after he quit the presidential race, as he heads into the twilight of his single term in the chamber, the Florida senator is showing signs that the job that once deeply frustrated him isn't so bad, after all. Bashed on the campaign trail as a vote-skipping truant, Rubio has become a constant, active presence in the chamber - leaning on fellow Republicans to cough up money to combat the Zika
 virus and strong-arming the White House in a foreign-policy deal in the past few weeks alone."

"Today, Rubio says he is '150 percent' committed to being a senator and, by all appearances, having a great time. So much for the idea that Rubio 'hates' his day job, as one alleged friend anonymously described the senator's attitude last year. 'A couple times I've wondered, "Boy, if we had a couple more years, we could really get some stuff done,"' Rubio told POLITICO, displaying some misgiving over what might have been. 'Seniority is really a big deal in the Senate. The longer you're there, the more influence you have,' added Rubio, who will leave office in January. 'I regret that I won't have the opportunity to be in a position of seniority, where you have the chairmanship of a
 committee.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234d740bd469c2b2ba27eac42c9cfa8b674955015916a7ee9874 

IT'S WEDNESDAY, May 4, 2016, and thanks for reading Huddle after such an eventful primary night. I'm always reachable via email at: [email-masked], or on the twitters: @RachaelMBade

TODAY IN CONGRESS. Recess.

AROUND THE HILL. Meetings, meetings and more meetings.

POLITICO GOES DEEP - "Puerto Rico Rep's fundraising under scrutiny." John Bresnahan, Anna Palmer and Manuela Tobias with the investigation: "Pedro Pierluisi, resident commissioner for Puerto Rico and a leading gubernatorial candidate this November, is under scrutiny over his fundraising from campaign finance officials in Washington and San Juan. The Federal Election Commission wants Pierluisi to return more than $91,000 in general election donations to his federal campaign. Since Pierluisi is retiring from his nonvoting position in Congress to run for governor, the FEC said, there is no need for him to retain those funds."

"The Office of Electoral Comptroller in San Juan, which oversees campaign fundraising for the island territory, has also begun an investigation into Pierluisi's gubernatorial campaign, specifically whether he raised money from Wall Street executives and lobbyists for the governor's race without reporting it. Pierluisi has denied any wrongdoing, and his aides say the former attorney general of Puerto Rico has strictly adhered to federal and territory campaign laws. They note the complaint against him was filed by Pierluisi's opponents and say the August 2014 fundraiser was for his federal campaign, not his gubernatorial committee. Pierluisi was allowed to create an exploratory committee and
 raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his gubernatorial run even while not a formal candidate because this is allowed by the law in Puerto Rico." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234dd429c8b3c7afcc13f4d75b9ef70e217ad3254c58a086a7aa 

UNDER THE RADAR APPROPS NEWS - "New immigration fight looms in Congress," Seung Min scoops it: "Lawmakers on both sides of the Capitol are quietly launching a new effort to expand visas for low-skilled foreign workers in government funding bills - a push that could drive a deep ideological rift through both parties later this year. Republicans and Democrats whose home states rely on immigrant labor are lobbying top appropriators to include language in this year's funding bills to renew controversial provisions from last year's omnibus spending measure that effectively quadrupled the number of low-skilled worker visas. Nine House lawmakers, led by Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), sent a letter last
 week urging the Appropriations Committee to keep those higher numbers intact. And key senators have already begun to discuss the issue." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234d78618f403e49206d2585e3f9e04125bd4c60e2128d8f3fd9 

TWEET OF THE DAY: House Small Business Committee tweets @HouseSmallBiz: "Yes, that's @GOPLeader baking brownies at #smallbiz in his home district." Must-see link of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stuffing his face with a brownie (h/t Seung Min Kim): http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234dbd23d62ce679be086336155852665c4d2a21593f65df7f92 

MEET PAUL RYAN'S PRIMARY CHALLENGER. Though, this is no Eric Canter Part II. "Wis. Republican launches long-shot bid to oust Ryan," by Wong at The Hill: "Not long ago, Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen was a big fan of Paul Ryan's. He pounded pro-Ryan signs in front yards and made phone calls on behalf of his congressman ... Today, Nehlen, a little-known political newcomer, is trying to oust Ryan, the sitting Speaker of the House, in the Aug. 9 GOP primary for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District." 

"In a phone interview with The Hill, Nehlen rattled off a litany of grievances against Ryan, including his past pro-immigration positions and his work shepherding a trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill through the House last December. Nehlen also accused Ryan of trying to push through a 'bailout' for debt-ridden Puerto Rico; the Speaker - just six months on the job - insists that any such legislation would not cost taxpayers." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88401a2e0610234dfbb45621d3a4143e7c94a9592b944dae6b8cf4920cb11667 

TRANSITIONS: Cassie Smedile is taking a leave from Rep. Sean Duffy's office to serve as director of digital content for the RNC Convention in Cleveland. In her stead over the summer is Mark Bednar, former press secretary for Senator David Perdue and aide with Gov. Scott Walker's Super PAC. 

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER: Jeremy Berkowitz was the first to answer that in 1992 and 1996, Indiana was an island of red, with no border being touched by a single other red state. Clinton years.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Comes from our winner: "The alley right next to the Russian ambassador's house is named after a famous soviet dissident. Who is it, and what member of Congress successfully pushed through legislation to rename it? " Email me: [email-masked] 

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