Subject: POLITICO Huddle: SENATE GOP’S DISUNITY -- House and Senate GOP’s disunity -- House pushes three-month transpo bill -- READ THE FULL LEE EMAIL
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2015 05:51:53 -0600

By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or 
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[email-masked] )

SENATE GOP IN CHAOS: And to think that at one point the Democratic divisions on the Senate highway once stood out. On Monday night at 8 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell summoned his troops for a caucus meeting meant to let it all out after a weekend of bitter words, charges of deceit and internal conflict. But McConnell placed something damning on each senators' desk: An email from a top staffer to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that showed coordination with outside groups urging them to score a vote on changing the Senate's rules to repeal Obamacare, a big no-no in the halls of the Capitol. Lee did not make his Obamacare push on Monday night after the kerfuffle, but the damage was
 already done: His staff was clearly trying to get outside groups to hit his colleagues if they didn't vote to consider the Obamacare repeal at a 51-vote threshold.

Inside the meeting: "One GOP senator after another objected to the Lee aide's tactic and called for GOP unity, including party leaders like John Thune of South Dakota and the retiring Dan Coats of Indiana. Two senators in tough reelection races - Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire - were vocal, as was Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), sources said.

Lee was quick to apologize, saying he wasn't aware of what his aide was doing. And one conservative firebrand stayed notably quiet: Ted Cruz of Texas. 'I think there's a sense that we have to figure out how we can work together to accomplish our objectives," Thune said. "Right now, we have to figure out how we succeed as a team.'" Big Man Manu Raju with the most-read story this a.m.: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9fb2c49ce97ab87c1c408a3c0024b40c4f9e6988eacfdebdf6 
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THE LETTER: Your Huddler also got his hands on the juicy email, and we pecked out the text this a.m. so you can read it in full. The timing is right after Cruz called McConnell a liar on the Senate floor. Good times...

FROM: Bovard, Rachel (Lee) Fri., Jul 24 at 12:12 p.m.

TO: Brian Darling

Cc: Peter Russo (of Cato), Liberty-Caucus Google Group

"We might have a second vote on Obamacare. The posture we are in has left the floor open to germaneness appeal on the O'care amendment. Once cloture fails on the amendment (which it is set up to do), a point of order will be made that the amendment is not germane. Then Lee can appeal the ruling and litigate germaneness, per Rule 22. When that happens, all the members that just voted FOR cloture on the amendment will have to vote against it, so it's not ruled germane and added to the bill. That's the real vote that should be scored.

Also agree with Brian. It was an incredible speech. Staff on the floor were staring at him with their mouths open."

The Lee apology, per Manu: "This email is not how Sen. Lee does business," spokesman Conn Carroll said. "As soon as Sen. Lee found out about the email he contacted McConnell, met with him, and apologized."

ANOTHER HIGHWAY METAPHOR: The latest twist in the head-butting between House and Senate Republicans is the House now pushing a three-month highway bill that also allows the VA to shuffle some money around. This strategy might make the most sense right now: A two-month extension would link the highway and spending bill debates in September, while the a four- or five-month extension would disrupt the holidays. Bres has the scoop: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9fc43a9f4bf37847bef6ff3f178d69dc7f2f4db0bde86969c9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9fc43a9f4bf37847bef6ff3f178d69dc7f2f4db0bde86969c9 

But what happens to Ex-Im? If it's a short-term transpo bill, it probably remains dead until the fall. That's an "ouch" moment for pro-trade Democrats, for sure.

HOUSE GOP IS FROM MARS, SENATE GOP IS FROM...: First it was the DHS defunding battle, then the PATRIOT Act impasse. Now on highways the Senate's long-term bill is running headfirst into a resistant House that has its own plans to do tax reform and link it to a highway bill in December. "The dissension, which has festered for weeks, is likely to lead to a short-term highway funding bill - the outcome nearly every congressional leader believes is the least desirable for the economy. And so, seven months into Republican control of Capitol Hill, there's still no definitive answer to this very basic question: Can these Republicans ever learn to get along? 'I'm not in the Senate conferences,'
 House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said flatly when asked about the gulf between the two bodies."

Flashback: This wasn't the way it was supposed to be in January, when the two caucuses linked up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, to get on the same page. "Keep expectations in check and recognize the dynamics the other side is dealing with. The House can move legislation quickly, the Senate cannot. House Republicans' robust majority can run roughshod over Democrats; the Senate Republicans' narrow majority still must deal with Democratic filibusters. 'I don't remember that. It was a long time ago,' deadpanned Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). Governing in tandem, he added, is 'harder than it looks.'" Me, myself and I and Jake and Manu: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9fa5e5780c2cdbfe67da757e52ddd6bd6c3f1ea3c2c96477fa 
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Good Tuesday morning. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where the temperature's rising but ain't nothing surprising. Please send tips to 
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TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate is in at 11 a.m. and will vote at ... 5:08 a.m. on Wednesday morning on the highway bill without a time agreement. The House is in at 10 a.m. and will vote this afternoon on amendments to the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny bill.

AROUND THE HILL - In the early hours: At 10 a.m. House Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team hold a press availability in at HC-8 and Latino leaders talk Puerto Rico in Cannon 402. At 11 a.m. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen and pad atH-144 and Democratic senators hold a presser on gun violence in SVC 200. At noon on the House triangle Rep. Keith Ellison talks about guaranteed childcare and is also expected to deliver 400,000 petitions in support of the Iran deal with Rep. Raul Grijalva.

On the afternoon side: At 1 p.m. lawmakers commemorate the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2261 Rayburn. At 2 p.m. Hoyer holds a Make it In America briefing in 1310 Longworth and the Progressive Caucus holds an event on family detention in 2226 Rayburn. At 2:30 p.m. Reps. Ed Royce and Eliot Engel holds a photo spray with the Korean National Assembly Delegation at 2255 Rayburn. At 4:30 p.m. McCarthy hosts the delegation at H-107. At 6 p.m., Rep. Mike Honda hosts a traditional Sikh Langar in the Rayburn foyer.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Senate smackdown.

FAST-MOVING: Here's why journalists keep asking the same question and hope to get a different answer. I asked Sen. John Cornyn just after 4 p.m.: Will the Senate vote on defunding Planned Parenthood before going on recess? "Last I heard is Cyber," Cornyn responded. Three hours later... @JohnCornyn: "The Senate will vote on a defund Planned Parenthood bill as soon as this week." There's probably time to do both; the PP vote will be quick since Dems will block it.

GUN LAW GAP: We are guessing Democrats and other backers of gun control see something here. Washington Post: "The man who killed two women at a Louisiana movie theater last week was able to buy a firearm legally - despite a judge's order sending him to a psychiatric hospital in 2008 - because he was never involuntarily committed for treatment, Georgia officials said Monday. An involuntary commitment would have banned John Russell Houser from buying a firearm under the federal gun law that strengthened state reporting requirements after a mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. But Houser never reached the crucial stage of having a judge rule on his mental competence, a process called
 adjudication, which is required before someone can be involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, officials said." 
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DONALD TRUMP, OCCASIONAL D: Donald Trump has been blasting Lindsey Graham, whom he gave $2,600 in October as Graham cruised to reelection. In 2008 he gave John McCain $4,600 in his presidential bid before lighting into him seven years later. But that's not even the most awkward, reports David Hawkings of Roll Call. "The most uncomfortable thing he's done with his checkbook is making seven donations totaling $10,200 to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Almost half the money was proffered when she was not only his home-state senator, but also a candidate for the presidency in 2008. New York's current senators, by contrast, have received significantly less; Trump has given Kirsten Gillibrand $6,400 and
 her fellow Democrat Charles E. Schumer $4,000. (Trump hasn't donated to a Democrat in almost three years)." 
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iGraham -- As shot by Niels Lesniewski: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9f866772106f147c21d563b4edcd74181b5d8c7d51d9947809 
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BOEHNER CRIES DURING GOLF INTERVIEW: HuffPo's Jen Bendery reports that the speaker is still leading Congress in tears dropped. "If there&#39;s one constant in the United States House of Representatives, it is Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) crying. He cried at an event honoring painter Constantino Brumidi. He bawled through a congressional award ceremony honoring an astronaut. He wept during a Taco Bell event. Why not cry in a Golf Channel interview? Golf Channel host David Feherty landed an interview with Boehner that&#39;s set to air Aug. 3, and a preview shows his waterworks in full effect. 'I wanted to make sure that every kid had the same chance I did,' Boehner tells Feherty, with tears
 falling down his cheeks. 'An opportunity.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7d50131a6e4bae9f3856b1535784031997ca9b39a26bfb1e85987102a1646d3e 
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TIM SCOTT'S PERSONAL QUEST: I swear I've seen Manu twice already in Huddle today, but here he is again, interviewing Sen. Tim Scott. Today "Scott will introduce a plan that would authorize up to $100 million annually for grants to police departments for officers to use body cameras while on patrol ... The 49-year-old Scott's effort still faces hurdles - namely its price tag, concerns over privacy and whether law enforcement could shield such videos from public view. Moreover, there's a dispute within Congress over which policing and sentencing laws should be changed now - and how ambitious those efforts should be. For Scott, however, the matter is personal and demands immediate action." 
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MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Katie Waldman was the first and only person to answer that a pack of gun is $1.35 at the Senate refectory. John Ashbrook correctly answered that there is no sales tax on purchases in the refectory (and elsewhere in the Capitol).

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Katie has today's question: Which United States Senator and former United States Ambassador served as debate partners in high school? Bonus: How was their debate topic germane to one's future job? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at 
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