Subject: POLITICO Huddle: IMMIGRATION HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON PRIMARIES – Texas is now Cruz Country – REID SWAYS FERC PICKS – Capitol complex evacuated after pilot error – CROWLEY EYES NEXT MOVE -- Cranston, ‘All the Way’ win Tonys for LBJ play
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 06:42:54 -0600

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IMMIGRATION HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON PRIMARIES - The WSJ's Laura Meckler reports: "Sen. Lindsey Graham appeared to put himself in political jeopardy when he wrote and championed an overhaul of immigration laws, but he is poised to lap the field in Tuesday&#39;s Republican primary in South Carolina. GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who also backed the bill, is in a strong position ahead of his primary this August. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R., N.C.) easily survived a primary challenge after backing liberalized laws. And Tim Donnelly, a leader in the movement to stop illegal immigration, lost to another Republican this month in California&#39;s open primary for governor.

-- "Opposition to an immigration-law overhaul remains high within the Republican Party, but primary season is showing that support isn&#39;t necessarily a career-ending move, nor is opposition a clear path to the nomination. That could factor into the decision by House GOP leaders on whether to move broad immigration legislation this year. ...So far, House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) hasn&#39;t brought any immigration bills to the House floor, allowing his members to avoid taking a position. It isn&#39;t clear whether the results of primary races to date will help persuade Mr. Boehner and other House leaders to move legislation this summer, as the White House and others are hoping.
 Defeats of Republicans who back new legislation surely would have hurt the measures&#39; chances." 
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BERGDAHL SWAP CRITICS: WHY WAS THERE NOT A WIDER AGREEMENT - David E. Sanger and Matthew Rosenberg report for the NYT: "When the heads of the two major intelligence committees criticized the Obama administration on Sunday for swapping Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five members of the Taliban, they homed in on one part of the deal that the White House has struggled for a week, unsuccessfully, to explain. The question is why the five were released without any commitments to a larger agreement, under which the Taliban would renounce international terrorism, and begin a process of reconciliation with the government of Afghanistan. ...

-- "It was abandoned last year ... because the Taliban were no longer interested in a broader deal - probably because the Taliban understood American forces were leaving. Now, both in Afghanistan and in Washington, there are questions about whether the release of the five men gives the Taliban legitimacy, and enhances their power over a weak government in Kabul. Like the senior members of Congress, Afghan officials said they were caught off guard by the prisoner swap for Sergeant Bergdahl. According to one Afghan security official and another former official who maintains close ties to the presidential palace, many in the Afghan government believed that American officials misled them into
 thinking that the prisoner swap would not be done unless it was connected to a broader peace effort." 
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-- BERGDAHL has declined to speak with his parents or other relatives, though he was released by the Taliban more than a week ago, the WSJ reports: 
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CRANSTON, 'ALL THE WAY' NAB TONYS FOR LBJ PLAY - "Bryan Cranston won the Tony for lead actor in a play on Sunday for his Broadway debut as Lyndon B. Johnson in playwright Robert Schenkkan&#39;s political bio-drama All the Way," writes The Hollywood Reporter. "The presidential role is Cranston&#39;s first leading turn since wrapping his Emmy-winning arc as meth mogul Walter White on Breaking Bad. He earned near-unanimous raves and was also feted at the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards. ... All the Way also nabbed a nomination for best play. The production, playing at the Neil Simon Theater in a limited engagement through June 29, has grossed $15 million to date." 
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TED CRUZ COUNTRY - POLITICO's Katie Glueck in Fort Worth: "The stage was set for a clash of political titans as three likely presidential candidates and thousands of conservatives gathered here this weekend. Instead, the Texas GOP convention turned into a blowout bash for Ted Cruz. The Texas senator was introduced at times as 'the next president of the United States.' His speeches were punctuated by chants of 'Run, Ted, run!' and supporters mobbed him at his huge exhibition booth. Cruz easily overshadowed fellow potential 2016ers at the event, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and he dominated them in a presidential straw poll held there.

-- "Many establishment Republicans disdain Cruz's stick-it-to-Washington attitude, stoking doubts about whether his appeal is broad enough to win a national election. ... But the dynamics here show the strength, energy and numbers that still make the GOP grassroots powerful. And Cruz's reception - home-field advantage notwithstanding - offers a preview of the enthusiasm he could generate in other places where grassroots conservatives are active if he runs in 2016." 
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-- WaPo, A1, below the fold: "Once an outsider, Cruz is now Texas GOP's mainstream," By Karen Tumulty: "The story line of this primary season nationally has largely been one in which the Republican establishment has regrouped and managed to brush back the tea party. Then there's Texas." 
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TRANSITIONS -- MARY BETH SCHULTZ has been named chief counsel for the full Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee under Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), replacing Beth Grossman who retired last month after 20 years of federal service. Schultz previously had served on the committee as chief counsel for Homeland Security issues, including the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006. Prior to joining the committee, Schultz worked at the Department of Justice, handling both civil and criminal cases in the Office of Consumer Litigation.

-- STEPHEN VINA, previously Deputy Chief Counsel for Homeland Security, will now serve as chief counsel for Homeland Security.

-- TORRIE MILLER has been named communications director for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) in both his personal office and on the Appropriations Committee. Miller most recently has headed communications for the House Rules Committee and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas.). Her first day is June 16, and she replaces Jonathan Graffeo who is heading back to the South for a new position that will be announced soon. (h/t: Burgess Everett)

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, June 9, 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 House meets at noon with votes expected about 6:30 p.m. on the fiscal 2015 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act. Several other bills considered under suspension of the rules also will be considered, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act; Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act; and a bill authorizing the use of the Rotunda for a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act.

The Senate is in at 2 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. will hold a procedural vote on the nominations of three judges.

CANTOR PLANS TO CLARIFY HIS HIGHWAY PLAN - National Journal's Billy House reports: "House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says 'a lot of misinformation' is circulating about a GOP proposal to cut Saturday postal delivery as a way to keep the Highway Trust Fund from going broke this summer, and he plans to clarify the plan for rank-and-file House Republicans this week. In a memo to members Friday laying out the leadership&#39;s 'June legislative agenda,' Cantor signaled that he and other Republican leaders aren&#39;t backing down on the idea-even if it has been ridiculed by Senate Democrats, who say they are pursuing other avenues to resolve a looming highway-funding crisis.

-- "Other parts of the Cantor memo Friday discuss plans this week for the House to take final action on its versions of the 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill and the Agriculture appropriations bill. That will bring to five the number of annual spending bills finalized in the House, out of 12 that need to be completed for the next fiscal year that begins Oct. 1." 
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REID ON FERC: 'NO KIDDING' - "Reid Shapes Regulator With an Eye To His State," WSJ, A1, By Amy Harder: "The nation's top energy regulator may soon get two new leaders who share at least one thing in common: the unrelenting attention of Sen. Harry Reid. As majority leader of the Senate, the Nevada Democrat is one of the most powerful people in Washington. Over the past year, he has on two occasions scotched the White House's pick of leader for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a low-profile agency that oversees the nation's electric grid, and he has successfully pushed for other preferred candidates.

-- "His efforts will be tested as soon as this week when the Senate's energy committee votes on whether to confirm Norman Bay as FERC chairman and Cheryl LaFleur as a commissioner. Mr. Bay is a Reid-backed candidate. The senator blocked Ms. LaFleur from getting the top job, and he is blunt about his interest in shaping FERC. 'Oh really? No kidding,' Mr. Reid said. 'Wow, that is amazing - that a majority leader who has a responsibility of selecting people would have some opinion as to who he suggests to the White House.'" 
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HOW GILLESPIE COULD PULL OFF AN UPSET IN VA - Ed Gillespie won the Republican Senate nomination in Virginia on Saturday, but he's still the underdog against incumbent Democrat Mark Warner. POLITICO's James Hohmann identifies the top 5 things Gillespie will have to do to have a shot in November: 1) Keep up with Warner on the cash front. Gillespie raised more money in the first quarter than any other non-incumbent Republican Senate candidate. ... But Warner already has raised $12.6 million this cycle. ... 2) Strip the Teflon off Warner. To beat Warner, Gillespie will have to run against Barack Obama. ...

-- 3) Define himself before Warner does. Gillespie wants to introduce himself as a sensible, economy-focused Republican who has a record of getting things done. ... 4) Keep talking about Obamacare - and make Warner own it. Obamacare has continuing resonance in Virginia because of an ongoing showdown between Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the Republican-led House of Delegates over whether to expand Medicaid. Gillespie strategists point to polling that shows independents oppose Medicaid expansion. ... 5) Limit his losses in Northern Virginia. Republicans carried Virginia in every presidential election from 1964 through 2004, but Obama won the last two presidential cycles in part because
 of the growth of the D.C. suburbs and exurbs - and their leftward shift. 
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JOE CROWLEY EYES NEXT MOVE - Lauren French and John Bresnahan report for the hometown paper: "The affable New York Democrat - currently the party's vice chairman in the House - is intently preparing to move even higher up the ladder of Democratic leadership. He's positioning himself as a key fundraiser for the party and an aggressive campaigner for many of this cycle's most vulnerable Democrats. Yet despite his well-regarded status among the caucus, there is no guarantee Crowley, 52, will land a coveted spot in Democratic leadership. The problem is not his popularity - it's broad - or policy, since his liberal bona fides are solid. Crowley's biggest challenge is waiting until the timing is
 just right - something that might not happen soon." 
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CAPITOL COMPLEX BRIEFLY EVACUATED AFTER PILOT ERROR - CNN: "The U.S. Capitol was briefly evacuated Saturday afternoon when a small aircraft entered restricted airspace, authorities said. The evacuation was ordered after authorities were unable to immediately contact the pilot, U.S. Capitol Police said. NORAD says two F-16 fighter jets intercepted the plane around 1:30 p.m. after it entered restricted airspace and was out of communication with air traffic control. The jets escorted the plane to the airport in Mount Airy, North Carolina, where the pilot was met by members of law enforcement. A U.S. official told CNN that the pilot&#39;s destination was Mount Airy, where he was going to meet
 his daughter. The source says the pilot said his outdated maps caused him some confusion. ... Also evacuated during the scare was the Library of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court buildings, the Metropolitan Police said." 
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FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Aaron Merkin was first to correctly answer that John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) is the sitting senator who once served as a rodeo physician. 
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TODAY'S TRIVIA - Kristina Olney has today's question: The Old Supreme Court Chamber, housed in the basement of the Capitol, was used as a committee room for which committee? The first person to send the correct answer to 
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