Subject: POLITICO Huddle, Presented by Visa: House Republicans are obsessed with John Boehner’s future – Toomey dogged by gun rights group after re-election bid announced
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2015 05:32:18 -0600

09/15/2015 07:30AM EDT

By Lauren French ([email-masked] & @laurennfrench)

Why are you so obsessed with me? John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer report, "Speaker John Boehner says he's not worried about his political future, but the Ohio Republican's fate has become an overwhelming obsession of House Republicans. His backers believe Boehner is being "blackmailed" by conservative hard-liners into supporting a government shutdown. His critics insist they just want their leader to do the right thing. The latest flash point for Boehner is the controversy over federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Hard-line conservative Republicans want Boehner to do whatever it takes to shut off funding for the group, even if it means a shutdown. They're vowing to vote against any
 spending bill that allows such funding to continue.  The warning to Boehner is obvious: The speaker can either do what they want on Planned Parenthood, or they'll force a vote to replace him." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a23b9606f43a5499ddfa66912a4cbfc41220e559b794730704

Toomey dogged by gun rights group after campaign launch. Burgess Everett has the story, "As Sen. Pat Toomey officially launched his reelection campaign over the weekend, a gun rights group was planning to interrupt the festivities by protesting the Pennsylvania Republican's support for universal background checks. At the last minute, though, Pennsylvanians for Self Protection canceled the protest. A group official said it was scrapped after a Toomey staffer promised the senator would not reintroduce the high-profile gun control bill known as the Toomey-Manchin proposal that stalled in the Senate two years ago. Toomey's aide denied that account, saying no such assurance was made. But the
 incident highlights the high wire the freshman senator is walking as he tries to reconcile the signature bipartisan effort of his term with vehement conservative opposition to new gun controls." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2763485e2595ea118fd08ad142da7f1f39cc8ea4069c78e59

Pope TO make push on criminal justice reform. Sarah Wheaton writes, "Of all the timeless and timely issues Pope Francis plans to address during his visit to the United States, there's one that could result in an actual political "deliverable" - criminal justice reform. On a U.S. tour that begins next week, Francis is likely to bring up the subject of criminal justice reform during a speech to Congress - the first time a pope has addressed U.S. lawmakers in a joint meeting. The speech comes as senators are ironing out a bipartisan compromise to reform mandatory sentencing laws that have been blamed for swelling the U.S. prison population. Advocates hope Francis' message of mercy will add
 moral momentum and overcome a summer crime wave and renewed tough-on-crime rhetoric from the GOP primary field that threatens to dampen support for the deal." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2c3044747b2fc5ff467daf3f65a09c0b08dedb8b340142225

It's Tuesday, September 15, 2015 and welcome to the Huddle, where we are wondering how staffers and other Hill creatures will ever return to a normal work schedule when the House and Senate take such regular breaks. You can reach me at [email-masked] or find me on Twitter at @laurennfrench.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is out. The Senate is expected to hold a vote at 6 p.m. 

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Linda Sanchez are preparing to slam the Republican presidential candidates for their rhetoric toward Hispanics. The call is at noon. California Democrat Rep. Karen Bass will follow that with a media call at 1 p.m. to discuss the GOP presidential field's approach to African-American priorities.

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HILL MOVES. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will announce Tuesday that her longtime communications director has been promoted to deputy chief of staff. Drew Hammill, who has been with the California Democrat since 2006, will focus on communications and messaging strategy in the new role. He'll continue to serve as Pelosi's chief spokesperson. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2b62a8d3c013a164217517e028be1df57941f9152286c9a39

THEY MADE THEIR NAMES WITH IRAN. "The Iran deal rose and fell in Congress on some longstanding divisions - but the debate also showcased some new, influential foreign policy voices emerging in both parties. Particularly in the Senate, the deal challenged lawmakers to devise a process for Congress to decide whether the agreement should be implemented through a rare and unorthodox resolution of disapproval vote. The two-month review process also gave lawmakers a chance to influence not only how their colleagues would vote but also how they explained their positions on a major foreign policy issue." They are: Sens. Ben Cardin, Chris Coons, Bob Corker, Tom Cotton, Jeff Flake, Tim Kaine and
 Chris Murphy. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2f015b321917fc60af19f874fafe9dab0ad430fd3833475e9

Senate eyes Clinton IT staffer. Rachael Bade reports, "Two Senate chairmen are pressing the State Department for more information about the staffer who maintained Hillary Clinton's controversial email server, including requesting an audience with his former supervisor. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) asked that Steven Taylor, State's chief information officer, sit for a closed-door interview about the duties of his former subordinate Bryan Pagliano, according to a letter the senators sent to Secretary of State John Kerry." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2fd0917515383eb2bb245301f2b698b7985464378363dd7dd

Former Garcia staffer charged. From the Miami Herald's Jay Weaver, "At first, it looked like Jeffrey Garcia, the former campaign manager for ex-Congressman Joe Garcia, was heading to prison for breaking an election law, even after a prosecutor recommended probation as punishment...But in the end, after telling the defense attorney for Jeffrey Garcia that he was confronting an "uphill road," Martinez gave the defendant a two-year probationary sentence with eight months of home confinement and a $1,000 fine. Jeffrey Garcia and Joe Garcia are not related." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7afae9dff18f54a2510bb9a7a0935f770764d89d0e081ea73cb75a07a78bf2bf

DEBRIEF INTERVIEW WITH STAN COLLENDER: What's at stake in the budget showdown on Capitol Hill? The renowned budget expert tells us how the protracted negotiations hurt government agencies, weighs the consequences of a government shutdown and fills us in on which key players he's watching right now. Find out on this week's Debrief video from The Agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0062d6ce4727ea41f34311a7f857506d3826ea59226d0abaa72dd891b0de6230

Rubio, Smith team up for China push. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey GOP Rep. Chris Smith will team up today to draw attention to political prisoners in China through a social media push that you're reading about first in Huddle. The two co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China are hoping to raise pressure ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping's state visit to the U.S. later this month. The campaign will start by drawing attention to Liu Xiaobo and Ilham Tohti - two political dissidents currently held in China. 

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER Justin Arnold was the first to answer that President James Polk is the only Oval Office occupant who also served as speaker of the House.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Justin has today's question. James Polk's wife, Sarah, isn't that well known even though she was much beloved during her day. However, she does have one record that stands out among first ladies. She holds the titles for longest what, and for how long was it? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail [email-masked]

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0062d6ce4727ea4174c336bd80252f53afcf72a4b466fe39ac3a6f461f151f4c

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