Subject: POLITICO Huddle: LYNCH TESTIFIES ON CLINTON THIS A.M. – Huelskamp wants a little establishment help – CORNYN HEADS TO DALLAS, BUT NOT ON AF1 – The Pony Express rides again
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:50:47 -0600

07/12/2016 07:49 AM EDT

By Heather Caygle ([email-masked] or @heatherscope)

With assistance from Seung Min Kim and Daniel Lippman 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR GUN CONTROL? House GOP leaders have officially put the kibosh on voting on their anti-terrorism package this week-the divide was just too great with both Democrats and conservative hard-liners opposing-shelving the plan at least until September. But GOP leaders are looking to do something, anything on the issue before they leave for a seven-week recess. One possibility? A bill aimed at addressing community and police relations following the shootings in Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Dallas last week, reports Roll Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fc16bffbdc474a1ae91f14b05e0614f4c7b74b5a867028fa82 

Rep. Dave Reichert, who huddled with House Speaker Paul Ryan on the floor Monday, said late last week that he was pushing to boost funding for a neighborhood outreach program started in the Clinton-era that creates local task forces to reduce gun violence. 

"What I'm hoping for is that we come to an agreement to move forward and move people off gun control because this is a political argument that will not go anywhere. And if it does go anywhere, it will not go far enough to solve the problem," Reichert said. 

Will that be enough to pacify Democrats? It's unclear. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy "has talked to [Minority Whip Steny Hoyer] and Steny wants to be part of this conversation," Reichert told reporters Friday. But Democrats continue to call for gun control votes, with several press conferences on the issue scheduled this week, and haven't ruled out more extreme tactics to bring attention to the issue before recess.

LYNCH TESTIFIES ON CLINTON THIS A.M.-Attorney General Loretta Lynch will testify before the House Judiciary Committee this morning on her impromptu meeting with Bill Clinton amid the then-ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton's email use while secretary of State. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz asked DOJ on Monday to investigate whether Clinton perjured herself on the email controversy while testifying before the Benghazi Committee late last year. Rachael with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fcfffbce3742dce72b6cbf7a850ad1d74b172a50a118cb97dc 

CAN YOU HELP ME NOW? Rep. Tim Huelskamp is in a tough spot. Last fall, he banded together with other conservative rabble rousers to push for the ouster of House Speaker John Boehner. But now, facing a tough reelection, he needs a little assistance from the establishment he bucked in the fall. 

Rachael and Elena Schneider: "In an only-in-D.C. twist, the Freedom Caucus member is pleading with Boehner's replacement, Paul Ryan, to save his hide by reinstalling him on the Agriculture panel." 

What it means: "The episode marks an unexpected moment in the evolution of the Freedom Caucus. The roughly 40-strong group of conservative agitators that drove Boehner out of office has long demanded that leadership stay out of House primaries; now some members of the caucus are desperately seeking Ryan's help in a Republican vs. Republican contest." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fcf00d3452ff513ccb353545b8073286d2678c66a3447322d3 

GOOD MORNING, IT'S TUESDAY, July 12. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, your play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate gavels in at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the opioid bill with votes possible later in the day. The House meets at 10 a.m. with afternoon votes to finish work on the Separation of Powers Restoration Act. Late night votes are also possible. 

AROUND THE HILL-- Sens. Rob Portman and Kelly Ayotte hold a press conference on the opioid bill at 9:45 a.m. in S-207 (the Mansfield room). Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Ruben Gallego introduce legislation to reduce accidental gun deaths at 10:15 a.m. in SVC-201.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Vice Chairman Joe Crowley will hold a 10:00 a.m. press availability on gun control in HVC-210 following Democrats' weekly caucus meeting. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise hold a press conference on the GOP's Better Way agenda in H-207 at 10 a.m. following Republicans' weekly caucus meeting. 

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer holds his weekly pen and pad at 11 a.m. in H-144. Reps. Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison and Progressive Caucus Members will call for an assault weapons ban at a 1 p.m. press conference in the House triangle. 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Whip Hoyer and members of the LGBT Equality Caucus will hold a candlelight vigil to honor victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting at 7 p.m. on the Capitol's front steps. 

OFF THE HILL- Speaker Ryan will participate in a CNN townhall starting at 9 p.m., part of a three day push to promote the GOP's policy agenda. 

CORNYN ATTENDS DALLAS MEMORIAL-- Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn will be headed to Dallas today to join President Barack Obama, former President George Bush, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and others for an interfaith service honoring the Dallas cops killed last week. But Texas' senior senator won't be catching a ride on Air Force One. "I was [invited on Air Force One]. But I couldn't go because I need to get down there earlier. So we thanked them very much and said give me a rain check," he told reporters Monday night in the Capitol. 

On Obama speaking in Dallas: "This is something he's good at. We're glad to have him, we appreciate the gesture on his part," Cornyn said. 

SCOTT USES HIS SENATE 'SOAPBOX' - Sen. Tim Scott is delivering a three-part speech on the Senate floor this week after all the recent gun violence, including the deaths of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, killed by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota. Emma Dumain: "In an interview with The Post and Courier on Monday, Scott said he was 'surprised' his GOP colleagues didn't release statements or comment publicly on the deaths of Sterling or Castile, yet held moments of silence to commemorate the police officer victims of the Dallas shooting. All these emotions were ultimately what compelled Scott over the weekend to call his staff and declare: 'Listen, we've got to do
 something.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fcd47e70d2cf2c4591b98bb55c5eb4fea0453505b6c8a1e935 

BAYH, BAYH, BAYH-Former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's surprise decision to jump in the race for the state's open Senate seat all leads back to Sen. Chuck Schumer, who spent months trying to persuade Bayh on the merits of running. "The surprise entry by the former two-term senator and governor instantly upended the Senate landscape by putting in play a red state that had been all but written off by Democrats," report Burgess and Maggie. 

Warts and all: "Bayh has baggage as a Washington insider and Obamacare supporter in a red state. But he also comes with nearly $10 million in the bank, statewide name recognition and strong ties to Democratic leaders." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fc1b77ee9ad0856db4e13559b16e5d2a239932a55c8deff7f4 

HUDDLE SCOOP: PERDUE UNVEILS CLINTON-INSPIRED BILL- Sen. David Perdue is rolling out a bill this morning that would explicitly prohibit all State Department officials from using private email servers for work purposes, a la Hillary Clinton. "Isn't it obvious that the federal government should not be sending sensitive and classified information through insecure channels?" he said in a statement. 

THE PONY EXPRESS RIDES AGAIN-- Dr. Phil Roe (R-TN) took the stage at Hill Country Monday night with the Pony Express, his bluegrass band who cut their first and only record in 1972. Original Band Members: Phil Roe, Tom Eades, Steve Barnes and Jim Arthur. Spotted: Reps. Benishek, Stivers, Paulsen, Bucshon, Blackburn, Black, Stefanik, Hill, Carter, Trot, La Malfa, Blumenauer, Hurt, Babin, &amp; Flores. The pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fc340757fe1a57d8632d57810c8a98b7955c2aa582cc485bdf 

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? A tipster emailed your Huddle host to point out that the National Security Working Group co-chaired by Sen. Marco Rubio meets at 5 p.m. today in the Capitol, the first meeting since 2015. Rubio's office was criticized earlier this year for taking an annual $100,000 reimbursement for staffing the task force even though it had only met three times since 2013. A Rubio spokesman didn't return a Huddle request for comment. Refresh yourself: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=54cf2180862df1fcc85d045a744b113a15c3d8bf1f186e661529fd6684b007b0 

TWEETS DU JOUR-- Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton): BREAKING NEWS! See the pic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a71581ba351b3d8708c71afd480088fd74b78a590738ffee125 (h/t Burgess Everett)

Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr): I love Krispy Kremes and Cheerwine. I'm willing to give this a chance. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a71cd6bcb1d100b22417f68c9ccd943780c6bf1bba0e2adbd4d 

Lynn Jenkins (@RepLynnJenkins): Things I have caught in my office: 1) Mice 2) This: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a717523219abf14ea2db89ce81809c7e8603646bde72bfad587 (h/t Michael Byerly) 

HECKUVA HILL TO CLIMB- "There is a strong headwind this election season for Republicans in Nevada, where control of the Senate could be decided: Democrats are registering voters at a higher rate than in the last two presidential elections." Roll Call: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a7108c3503a9435d5507116bd37b935b23890b2abd696bacf35

HUDDLE SCOOPLET-- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will now join Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Rep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, in a symposium on transgender military service Wednesday, according to a release going out later this morning. 

SEN. SASSE ON MEDIUM- "I am writing this open letter in advance of the national conventions with sympathy for the millions of Americans who yearn to cast our ballots for someone we judge to be trustworthy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a71fd91ef583e50be36462d199efd6196412742c7c17adfb349 

TAKANO TO FILL IN ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS-- Rep. Mark Takano announced Monday that he's "humbled" to serve as acting ranking member on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee while Rep. Corrine Brown faces a multi-count corruption indictment. 

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - James Casto was the first to answer that Rufus Choate turned down consideration for seats on the Supreme Court and Massachusetts' supreme judicial court after he left the Senate.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - James with today's question: In 1969, responding to editorials lambasting him for steering federal highway dollars to his home state, what late senator asked if the Washington press would denounce the federal dollars going to build the Washington Metro as pork-barrel spending? "Not in a thousand years!" he thundered. 

The first person to correctly answer will get a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail: [email-masked].

HELP ME HELP YOU -- Know any hot gossip, scoops, tips or transitions happening on the Hill? Send 'em my way: [email-masked]

POLITICO AT CONVENTIONS - Live programming originating from the POLITICO Hub during both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this July will feature a range of conversations from headline interviews and policy discussions to watch parties and performances. Sign up to receive notifications about live programming: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a71123e5966f257d41669fde0f76eb84ddb245d6d4d785ca48a

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a7137cd4aa2aa0a6de0572de6f7a811916ce5f0f635d5c5fb23

To view online:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a712333b46f7885ae163fc2ef7959bd07a839a4c06266b71210
 To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=40c82e19f0f66a7194cd1478e15c8ca3ec1795a56e13af957fe53d3db9dc16c8 or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd4f493cd2545a0d858f4cee1723cf838b08a198d857c1060774a34a82a0d4147b7
This email was sent to [email-masked] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

To unsubscribe,http://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000155-def1-dc66-a3ff-ffff0d650000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=c21a3e7675d9dcc0a9d30c533aa4381e666e1baedc95d696ad74c0ff2b0a18d833c0e94169a93a16e814494dcce798167b1484c9d399bf7d76e2765c75c60bc6