Subject: POLITICO Huddle, presented by ZERO TO THREE: GOVT. FUNDING DEADLINE FRIDAY – WH pushing Obamacare repeal vote – TRUMP’S 100TH DAY APPROACHES – McCain, Graham dine with the president
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2017 06:02:28 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_6548681.xt.local>

04/24/2017 07:55 AM EDT

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

With an assist from Josh Dawsey 

NO, I WON'T BACK DOWN - Congress needs to reach some kind of bipartisan agreement this week to keep the government funded beyond Friday. It's likely lawmakers will pass a short-term extension in the coming days to give them an extra week or so to get a big deal through both chambers. In the meantime, President Donald Trump and Democrats are playing a game of chicken over border wall funding. 

The White House is looking for a big win - border wall money, an Obamacare repeal vote, something - ahead of Trump's 100th day in office on Saturday. But Democrats have said for weeks there's no way they will back a spending bill that funds a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the wall "immoral, expensive, unwise" on NBC Sunday. And Republicans, recognizing the reality that they'll need Democratic votes to deliver the bill, are urging the administration to fight another day. 

When it might be time to throw in the towel: Even Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who wrote the 2006 law authorizing the wall, says the White House should punt that battle down the road. "Once the government is up and running, and stays open and running, then we have to fight this out over the next year," King said on Fox News Sunday. Rachael, Burgess and Kyle bring you the latest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c66381804600dc556138b2572d813a7ba132e6a70291c999cb5bdd91e9f70ce80f00ac0b2f7330885de 

DEMOCRATS are feeling emboldened by Republicans' continued stumbles. In addition to taking a hard line on the wall, they're also calling on Trump to work with them to uphold the Obamacare cost-sharing subsidy program during funding talks. Yours truly with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c661772c5719e3e7d7e251281c2e4117b0f47e03c8e4fc7ba051648d5a47a354eb3cd1c2945ca99eb00 

REPUBLICANS, meanwhile, are increasingly nervous about the impact that Trump's lack of legislative accomplishments and rock-bottom approval ratings could have in 2018. GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson "hasn't contributed to pro-Trump outside groups since the inauguration, a move that's drawn notice within the party, and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell is warning associates that Trump's unpopularity could weigh down the GOP in the election." Alex Isenstadt reports: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c6684739c41950e591aa8a1c8500688a777092286fb99dacf545a4d8fd2281701f528746f404bf9a310 

REPEALING OBAMACARE? NBD, MULVANEY SAYS - Despite Trump's public pronouncements otherwise, that 100-day mark is looming large over the White House. Hence the pressure on House Republicans to hold an Obamacare repeal vote this week. "We don't think there's any structural reason that the House and the Senate cannot" both consider government funding and an Obamacare repeal in the same week, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said on Fox News Sunday. "We've also heard rumors that the House and Senate might stay until Saturday."

Reality check: As a former House member, Mulvaney knows it's nearly impossible for the House to juggle those two massive legislative priorities at once. Not to mention, as Rachael, Burgess and Kyle report, House leaders have no plans to keep lawmakers here over the weekend.

White House advisers were working with House Republicans over the weekend to finalize a proposal that could win support from the hard-right and moderate wings of the caucus, the Washington Post's Kelsey Snell and Robert Costa report. And key conservative groups that helped fuel the downfall of the House GOP's repeal efforts are now quietly signaling they won't oppose the White House's renewed push to pass the bill, Josh and Rachael report. 

But as House Speaker Paul Ryan told members in a call over the weekend, the chamber will vote on a bill when GOP whips are confident the proposal has the votes to pass and not a moment before. Rachael and Jen Haberkorn with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c6699a85e0e7e470ae568c3cd757172a6187198f725f8c5bd835664651169b7240bc2328930f687790d 

THEY'RE BACKKKKKK. Welcome to Monday, April 24. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. 

FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: You guys were digging the story we wrote on White House demands disrupting shutdown negotiations on Capitol Hill. 

WATCH LIVE TONIGHT - Rebuilding America: A New Infrastructure Agenda - Join POLITICO for a discussion on the prospects for a major national infrastructure push from the new administration and Congress. Speakers include: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Building America's Future President Marcia Hale, Club for Growth President David McIntosh, and Chamber of Commerce's Ed Mortimer. Livestream begins at 5:50pm here.

** A message from ZERO TO THREE: It's time to Think Babies. Hey Congress: We're coming to your crib! Babies and parents from every state are coming to Capitol Hill to see you - and to bring national attention to what babies and families need to thrive. Meet the babies May 2 at 12:00pm, Upper Senate Park. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c66d990981e33f04fac519480d5db9f6c6ad41598f1d210b65b312f5309e4cd8dbe90474ce2c8357898 **

WATCH OUT FOR WEDNESDAY - Trump has put Capitol Hill on notice, saying lawmakers should expect a "big tax reform and tax reduction" plan from the White House midweek. But top administration officials are trying to tamp down expectations, saying the plan will just outline broad strokes. "Trump wants to talk about taxes so we are talking about taxes," said one senior administration official. "It is better to be talking about something than talking about nothing." 

Also happening Wednesday, all 100 senators are invited to the White House for a members-only briefing on North Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will lead the briefing. Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c66515ca6a64a7ab7899f974b4f0f3e3b7dd9e1bfa382059f6f3077cffbe2c791346cda8226dfd6e5fa 

DEMOCRATS CONFRONT ABORTION-RIGHTS DEBATE - Democrats have been a little squishy lately about whether to embrace pro-life candidates in a party that has so adamantly fought for a woman's right to choose. The question has been raised in recent days due to Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) full-throated embrace (and the DNC's backing) of an anti-abortion Democratic mayoral candidate in Nebraska. 

Pelosi said on Sunday "of course" members who are against abortion are still welcome in the party. But Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) took a harder line: "As long as they are prepared to back the law, Roe vs. Wade, prepared to back women's rights as we have defined them under the law, then I think they can be part of the party." The Huffington Post's Jen Bendery: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c663548c90be76aa26cdb90c049e79ed49da769dfa74e6d473158ae7cd3c70a6f16bded88feca22fe97 

Speaking of the DNC and Sanders, how's that unity tour going? In Miami, "a Sanders fan rushed the stage, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, 'Bernie would have won!' The audience joined in the cheer, loudly repeating an alternate reality rallying cry that didn't exactly scream, 'Democratic Unity Tour.' The DJ quickly drowned out the chant with a new song - Johnny Cash's 'I've Been Everywhere.'" NPR's Scott Detrow: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c669703f89bf6d31d6e41f6fdb1c39f64ed7e386b799a6b2704dd4fa3d9059a90271e90efee18934d98 

TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE - The Daily Beast's Tim Mak with an update on the Senate's bipartisan Russia probe: "The investigation does not have a single staffer dedicated to it full-time, and those staff members working on it part-time do not have significant investigative experience," Mak reports. And "no interviews have been conducted with key individuals suspected of being in the Trump-Russia orbit ...according to two sources familiar with the committee's procedures." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c66b1f3add111cf5c3ae7c71ed1784f728c36c4022ef44c52a59994485e88930a11eccb38419a9d4d0d 

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES - Charlie Anderson is joining Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) office as senior tax policy adviser. Bennet is also adding Candace Vahlsing as senior energy and environment adviser. Samantha Slater, an alum of former Rep. Steve Israel's office, is joining as communications director. Vivek Chilukuri will work as Bennet's speechwriter and Shannon Beckham is joining the office as communications adviser.

Aisha Johnson is joining Sen. Bob Casey's (D-Pa.) team as press secretary for the Special Committee on Aging. Aisha previously worked as press assistant on the Senate Energy Committee. 

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 3 p.m. with two votes at 5:30 p.m. including a vote to confirm Agriculture secretary nominee Sonny Perdue. The House meets at noon in a pro forma session with no votes scheduled today. 

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and DNC Chairman Tom Perez hold a 9:30 a.m. conference call on the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. 

Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) hold a 4:30 p.m. conference call on their recent visit to the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda and the ongoing worldwide food crisis. RSVP to [email-masked] for dial-in information. 

President Trump has dinner with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) tonight at the White House. 

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Kirtan Mehta was the first to guess that George Washington in 1792 and James Monroe in 1820 are the two presidents who ran unopposed for reelection. 

THE GLOBAL POLITICO PODCAST: REVENGE OF THE NEOCONS? In an exclusive for The Global POLITICO, Paul Wolfowitz, architect of the Iraq war, talks Trump, Iraq and his fears the country could descend into "chaotic violence" all over again, and the need for America to step back up in the melting down Middle East. An original #nevertrumper, hehe says he's now seeing "fantastic opportunity" in Trump's newly assertive foreign policy. Listen and subscribe iTunes | Soundcloud | Stitcher 

TODAY'S TRIVIA - I'll take today's question: How many times since the 25th Amendment was adopted in 1967 has the vice president become acting president and what were the circumstances? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in tomorrow's Huddle. 

And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: [email-masked] 

GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. 

** A message from ZERO TO THREE: It's time to Think Babies. The science is clear: Our brains grow faster from birth to age three than at any other point in our lives. Every second, more than 1 million new neural connections form. These connections have a lifelong impact on how babies learn and grow, and are stimulated and strengthened by nurturing relationships, early learning experiences and good nutrition. Giving all babies a strong start in life benefits everyone by increasing graduation rates, enhancing the quality of the workforce, improving health and reducing crime. Meet the babies May 2 at 12:00pm, Upper Senate Park. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=87fcc66ca4086c66d990981e33f04fac519480d5db9f6c6ad41598f1d210b65b312f5309e4cd8dbe90474ce2c8357898 **

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