Subject: POLITICO Huddle: OLDEST CONGRESSMAN OUSTED IN TEXAS RUNOFF – Grimm: ‘I’ve been vilified’ – SNOWDEN TO NBC: ‘I WAS TRAINED AS A SPY’ – Cruz, Paul differ on Israel – DEMS’ BENGHAZI WARRIOR – Cochran on offense
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Date: Wed, 28 May 2014 06:10:58 -0600

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HALL, OLDEST CONGRESSMAN, LOSES RUNOFF: 'I JUST GOT WHIPPED' - AP's Will Weissert reports from Rockwall, Texas: "Congressman Ralph Hall, at 91 the oldest-ever member of the U.S. House, was ousted Tuesday in the Texas Republican runoff by a candidate barely half his age. Backed by powerful national conservative groups, 48-year-old former U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe was able to paint Hall as too cozy with the GOP establishment after 34 years in office. He forced the incumbent into his first runoff in 17 terms in the House, then won it decisively. 'I just got whipped and got beat,' Hall told supporters in his hometown of Rockwall, where he once had a brush with notorious outlaws Bonnie and
 Clyde while working in a pharmacy as a boy. He insisted, though, that he wasn&#39;t surprised or sad.

-- "Ratcliffe relied on modern analytics to better target would-be voters, while Hall used more traditional techniques such as direct mailings and walking cities and towns to chat with voters. At his election party Tuesday night, Hall campaign staffers even wrote county-by-county results on butcher paper tapped to the wall. ... Hall first ran for political office in 1950 and won his congressional seat when Jimmy Carter was president. He was a Democrat until switching parties in 2004. The only World War II veteran left in Congress seeking re-election, Hall promised that his next term would be his last but said he wanted to remain in office long enough to help the GOP win the White House in
 2016." 
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-- THE TEA PARTY also cruised in the runoff for lieutenant governor, POLITICO's Jose DelReal reports: "Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick, a tea party favorite, defeated incumbent GOP Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in Tuesday's primary runoff - the second straight election cycle in which Dewhurst has been upset in a runoff. ... The March 4 primary spelled trouble for Dewhurst, who as an incumbent came in second in the primary with 28 percent of the vote, to Patrick's 41 percent. Dewhurst was seeking renomination as lieutenant governor just two years after falling short in a runoff for an open Senate seat against now-Sen. Ted Cruz. As in the 2012 Senate election, Dewhurst faced a runoff against a
 candidate running to his right. Since then, Dewhurst has continually had to defend his conservative credentials and dismiss the charge that he is too moderate." 
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GRIMM LASHES OUT: 'I'VE BEEN VILIFIED BY THE PRESS' - Alex Isenstadt lands a sit-down with the embattled congressman in a Brooklyn diner: "A defiant Rep. Michael Grimm, in his most extensive interview since federal prosecutors accused him of rampant fraud, accused the media on Tuesday of trying to destroy him and vowed to campaign hard for reelection - even as the New York Republican acknowledged his fundraising has dried up to the point he can't air TV ads. Insisting he's not the 'bad boy' of Congress, the former Marine and FBI agent suggested that GOP leaders including Speaker John Boehner were acting 'politically' by refusing to back his reelection to a competitive Staten Island
 congressional district. Grimm, now literally running his own campaign after his lone full-time political aide departed last week, promised to prove his skeptics wrong.

-- "'There's no question: I've been vilified by the press since the day I got here,' Grimm said in a tense 22-minute interview at Hinsch's Diner in Brooklyn. 'From the very beginning they had to figure out how to get rid of this guy.' Aside from denouncing the media, Grimm defended his record serving constituents and his aggressive personal style, but conceded he erred earlier this year when he physically threatened a reporter who asked about his legal troubles. ... Asked if he is innocent of the criminal charges, Grimm paused for four seconds, then chuckled softly. 'You know, uh. It depends on what you're asking me of,' he said. 'But I'll tell you this,' he continued. 'What I'm guilty of
 is trying the hardest and giving 100 percent of myself and putting my heart and soul into representing the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn. But I do believe when all is said and done, I will be exonerated and I think the people that supported me will be proud that they did.'" 
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BOEHNER, McCARTHY KEYNOTE DISTRICT DIRECTORS FLY-IN -- House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) later today will welcome more than 150 Republican District Directors to the Capitol for a two day fly-in.The fly-in is part of McMorris Rodgers' ongoing efforts to train and equip Republican offices with the tools they need to have successful offices in both D.C. and their districts. Sessions in the Cannon Caucus Room will include digital outreach, coalition building and efficient casework, plus a visit to Microsoft's Innovation & Technology Center.Keynotes are expected from Speaker of the House John Boehner, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

SNOWDEN TELLS NBC: 'I WAS TRAINED AS A SPY' - NBC's Brian Williams' exclusive interview with NSA leaker Edward Snowden, his first with an American TV network, airs at 10 p.m. Eastern. During the sit-down in Moscow, Snowden fought back against critics who dismissed him as a low-level hacker, saying he was "trained as a spy" and offered technical expertise to high levels of government. Snowden defended his expertise in portions of the interview that aired Tuesday on "NBC Nightly News." Watch here:
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=f114648ebadc5ceca238bcc15b43087c2bed56abdb9c8c0848c1507a6a95a983  Additional reporting by NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell is here: 
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MENTAL HEALTH BILLS GET FRESH LOOK AFTER CA MASSACRE - Steven Dennis and Emma Dumain write for Roll Call: "In the aftermath of the killing spree blamed on Elliot Rodger, Democrats activated, issuing what seem like ritual news releases and tweets ripping Congress for failing to act on gun legislation, particularly in the wake of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Conn. But few expect Congress to resurrect a gun debate in the shadow of the midterm elections. Efforts to pass gun control effectively died in the Senate a year ago, when Republicans defeated a background check compromise proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa. ... Legislation addressing mental health
 has more promising potential to reach President Barack Obama's desk, although it is by no means a slam dunk. There already are multiple mental health bills in the House, and the Senate gun legislation included several mental health pieces that could be resurrected." 
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GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, May 28, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to 
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TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate is out this week for the Memorial Day recess. The House is back at noon today with votes expected about 6:30 p.m. on several bills considered under suspension of the rules, including: The Venezuela Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act; a resolution urging the Government of the People's Republic of China to respect the freedom of assembly, expression, religion and all fundamental human rights for all of its citizens; the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act; and a bill to provide veterans with counseling and treatment for sexual trauma that occurred during inactive duty training.

The House will also begin consideration of the fiscal 2015 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Act.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad session with reporters at 11 a.m. in H-144. A stakeout has been approved following the Democratic Caucus meeting at 7 p.m. in the HVC-210 Alcove. Rep. Tom Price delivers a fiscal policy address, 'Austerity: Past or Future?' at noon at the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Rep. Luis Gutierrez speaks to local leaders and supporters of immigration reform at 1 p.m. at the state Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, in House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's congressional district.

OBAMA: U.S. TROOPS TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN BY 2016 - Mark Landler writes on A1 of the NYT: "President Obama, declaring that it was 'time to turn the page on a decade in which so much of our foreign policy was focused on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,' announced on Tuesday that he planned to withdraw the last American troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016. Under a new timetable outlined by Mr. Obama in the Rose Garden, the 32,000 American troops now in Afghanistan would be reduced to 9,800 after this year. That number would be cut in half by the end of 2015, and by the end of 2016, there would be only a vestigial force to protect the embassy in Kabul and to help the Afghans with
 military purchases and other security matters. At the height of American involvement, in 2011, the United States had 101,000 troops in the country.

-- "Mr. Obama said the withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan would free up resources to confront an emerging terrorist threat stretching from the Middle East to Africa - a strategy he plans to detail in a commencement address on Wednesday at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y." 
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-- THE NEW THREE AMIGOS - Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), called the withdrawal announcement foolish:"The President's decision to set an arbitrary date for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is a monumental mistake and a triumph of politics over strategy. This is a short-sighted decision that will make it harder to end the war in Afghanistan responsibly. ... All wars end. The question is how they end. The war in Iraq has ended in tragedy. And it is difficult to see how we can succeed in Afghanistan when the President tells our enemies that our troops will leave by a date certain whether they have achieved our goals or not."

-- SPEAKER BOEHNER: "I welcome the President's announcement today that he will support a troop presence in Afghanistan next year that will have both a counter-terrorism mission and a train, advice, and assist mission. After my visit last month, I said that I hoped Washington and Kabul would always be worthy of the shared sacrifice and effort the Afghan people and the international community have made.The biggest takeaway from my visit is that of all the challenges facing our strategy for Afghanistan, the most potentially damaging and completely avoidable is quitting just short of the goal line. It has been my long-standing position that input from our commanders about the conditions on the
 ground should dictate troop decisions, and not an arbitrary number from Washington."

CRUZ: I'M NO RAND PAUL ON ISRAEL - Alex Bolton reports for The Hill: "Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is making it clear that he and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have very different policies on Israel. The Texas senator, best known for his efforts to derail ObamaCare, is now pivoting to foreign policy. He is traveling to Israel and Ukraine this week and has scheduled meetings with senior Israeli government officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. He has scheduled meetings with Jewish and Catholic leaders in Ukraine. The Armed Services Committee member has emerged as one of Congress's most outspoken advocates for Israel, a core difference with Paul, who in
 2011 described foreign aid to Israel as 'welfare.' Both senators are mulling a run for the White House in 2016. Cruz has pledged to Jewish leaders that the United States must do whatever it takes to defend Israel's national security interests." 
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DEMS' BENGHAZI WARRIOR - Lauren French reports for the hometown paper: "He's the man who helped bring you Sandra Fluke. Rep. Elijah Cummings is the Democrats' top guy on the new Benghazi select committee, but fighting Republican-driven scandals is old hat to the pugnacious Maryland lawmaker. Cummings understands the twists and turns of the Benghazi controversy just as well as many Republicans. For three years, he has served as Rep. Darrell Issa's chief sparring partner on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, one of the panels where the scandal first caught fire.

-- "The former prosecutor, who speaks in a booming baritone and is from a safe Baltimore-based seat, has earned a reputation among Democrats for besting Issa on a number of Obama administration controversies ranging from Benghazi, to the Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups, to Fast and Furious. Cummings' work has made him a champion to the left - where he's called in noted witnesses like Fluke to testify - and a respected foe to some on the right. So while Democrats have called Benghazi nothing more than a political game, by picking Cummings, they're showing they still plan to play." 
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OBAMA DELAYS DEPORTATION REPORT - Seung Min Kim reports for POLITICO: "President Barack Obama is delaying releasing the results of a review of his deportation policies until late summer, as the White House continues to see a window of possibility for immigration reform in Congress, according to two administration officials. Obama asked Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson - who had been leading the deportation review on behalf of the administration - to hold off on unveiling the results during a meeting last week, a White House official said late Tuesday. ... The Obama administration had come under increasing criticism from its own allies about how he has carried out enforcement of
 immigration laws. Advocates say Obama - whom they have called 'deporter-in-chief' - has removed 2 million immigrants here illegally from the United States." 
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-- MAJORITY LEADER ERIC CANTOR (R-VA.) has been talking tough on immigration ahead of his GOP primary, Elahe Izadi reports for National Journal: "Immigration activists and Eric Cantor agree on something: He&#39;s responsible for blocking comprehensive immigration reform in the House. The majority leader, who faces tea-party activist and Randolph-Macon College professor David Brat in a June 10 Virginia primary, has been beating back claims by his opponent that say he&#39;s soft on issues ranging from Obamacare to immigration. Last week, Cantor&#39;s campaign sent out a mailer, which declares Cantor is 'stopping the Obama-Reid plan to give illegal aliens amnesty.' It&#39;s the sort of harsh
 rhetoric that appears to be at odds, at least in tone, with Cantor&#39;s recent statements on immigration." 
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COCHRAN ON OFFENSE - WSJ's Janet Hook in Brandon, Miss.: "The last time Sen. Thad Cochran had a competitive Senate race, Ronald Reagan was president, Bruce Springsteen&#39;s 'Dancing in the Dark' was getting regular radio play, and the Internet was years away from common use. That's why many of Mr. Cochran's supporters worried when he announced his campaign for re-election in December. With little money in the bank, no political staff and a tough tea-party opponent, the 76-year-old Mississippi Republican quickly came to be viewed as one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country.

-- "Now, they're breathing easier. The race in Mississippi has been nasty and unpredictable. But Mr. Cochran, powered by support from the state's top Republicans, has built a campaign versed in Twitter, quick-hit negative ads and other tools of modern electioneering to counter a challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel, whose campaign has been taken off-point by the arrest of four supporters. A victory by Mr. Cochran in the June 3 primary would be a big blow for the tea party nationally, because he is seen by political analysts as the movement's last chance to unseat a Senate incumbent this year." 
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RICIN SENDER GETS MORE JAIL TIME FOR FONDLING -- Therese Apel writes for the Jackson Clarion Ledger: "A man who pleaded guilty to sending ricin to President Barack Obama and two other officials was sentenced to 20 years on fondling charges Tuesday. James Everett Dutschke, 42, was a martial arts instructor in Tupelo at the time of the incidents. Officials said the fondling occurred between 2007 and 2013. The plea deal kept the victims from having to testify. He will also have to register as a sex offender. Dutschke will serve 20 years in a federal penitentiary, consecutive to the 25 years he received for sending ricin-laced letters to President Barak Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker and Lee County
 Judge Sadie Holland last year. Dutschke also was sentenced to an additional 25 years in the fondling case but that time was suspended." 
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TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Many of you correctly answered this one but John Clark was first: The state of West Virginia was created when it seceded from the Confederate state of Virginia during the Civil War.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Claude Marx has today's question: Who is the only person to serve on the Supreme Court during two different periods, and why did he leave the court after his first stint? The first person to send the correct answer to 
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