Subject: POLITICO Huddle, presented by the Coalition for Contact Lens Consumer Choice: MCMORRIS RODGERS UNDER SIEGE -- Former Ryan driver is GOP front-runner to succeed him -- FORMER MILITARY LEADERS OPPOSE HASPEL -- Barragán, Comstock make Playbook Power List
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

04/23/2018 07:59 AM EDT

By Nolan D. McCaskill ([email-masked] or @NolanDMcCaskill) 
 
CMR UNDER SIEGE IN BOTH WASHINGTONS -- House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the only woman in House GOP leadership, could lose her seat in a Democratic wave this year. And "several fellow GOP members are pining for her job, questioning her effectiveness as chairwoman of the conference and weighing whether to challenge her," Rachael reports. "But assuming she survives her own reelection, Republicans will be hard-pressed to push McMorris Rodgers out of her post in leadership heading the conference's communications strategy. She still enjoys support from many Republicans and, more important, she's a prominent female figure in a conference dominated by men:
 Only 9 percent of House Republicans are [women]."
 
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) is seriously considering challenging McMorris Rodgers, while other lawmakers are hoping she steps down or seeks another post. "McMorris Rodgers said she's not going anywhere," Rachael writes. "And her allies say she's certainly not stepping down as conference chair anytime soon." Allies, in fact, say McMorris Rodgers could eye moving up in leadership and run for majority whip or majority leader. Many Republicans, however, say only a woman could replace McMorris Rodgers, as the optics of an all-white male GOP leadership team would be damaging. Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7bb694045c9423623c7cf5a2123248074d1ff382002ed84ee6877374199c384a8378c3282cb3549c699b6bdfc7ef0156 
 
MCCASKILL STANDS BY AS GOP IMPLODES, AGAIN -- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) won a second term in 2012 when GOP Rep. Todd Akin's (R-Mo.) made his comments about "legitimate rape." If she wins a third term, she can thank Republican Gov. Eric Greitens, who is openly waging war against McCaskill's likely general election opponent, state Attorney General Josh Hawley. "Hawley demanded that Greitens resign and triggered a new investigation into the governor's fundraising, resulting in a second indictment last week," Daniel Strauss reports. "Greitens has fired back by seeking a restraining order against the attorney general, saying that Hawley's call for resignation meant he could not conduct an
 impartial investigation of the governor."
 
"The scandals are damaging the GOP at the most critical interval of its six-year wait to unseat McCaskill," he writes. "Democrats can hardly believe their good fortune at the same time they pounce." Democrats say Hawley's outrage rings hollow and are criticizing him for accepting a $50,000 campaign donation from Greitens in 2016. The feud doesn't guarantee McCaskill will win in November, but it doesn't hurt to have another GOP implosion in an election year. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7bb694045c942362a249bf86c7aaeee46582d116f342545a2d156eeb07c773354125730f63b79098bbc7473e1e04bfcf 
 
Related: "Hawley shakes up fundraising team amid GOP concerns," by Alex Isenstadt: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7bb694045c942362f91c56cb83ffe0bae8447d058cbe8473ae52778f21278104342a8c9bc78522fcf927209d4888c58d 
 
FORMER RYAN DRIVER ENTERS RACE TO REPLACE HIM -- Bryan Steil, an attorney from Janesville, Wisconsin; a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents; and a former driver for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is likely the GOP front-runner after announcing his campaign Sunday. Steil -- pronounced "style" -- "is well-known to GOP activists in Ryan's southeastern Wisconsin congressional district, but lacks a high public profile," The Associated Press' Scott Bauer reports. "That will change in the coming weeks, with money expected to pour in as Republicans look to keep the seat and to avoid a potentially embarrassing Democratic win." Other candidates include Republicans Jeremy Ryan, a
 prominent protester, and Paul Nehlen, and Democrats Randy "Iron Stache" Bryce and Janesville teacher Cathy Myers. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7bb694045c94236204d875387b6deae6c6e7980c4d56464ae06b4eb6106763305bd9706e78a957ae240c9a50791e5b0e 
 
GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, April 23. 
 
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CEO CONVERSATION -- Join POLITICO CEO Patrick Steel for a conversation with Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and founder of USAFacts, to talk data transparency, disruption in civic and business leadership, and the government's impact on society. RSVP for the CEO conversation -- 4/26 at the Newseum -- Doors open 11:30 a.m.
 
FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Vice News' report on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) plan to introduce a bill to decriminalize marijuana was the winner.
 
WIN OR GO HOME -- Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is calling for a leadership shakeup if the party fails to retake the House in November. "If we're still in the minority, all of us have got to go," Clyburn told POLITICO at his annual fish fry in Columbia. He was referring to himself, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). "While an overhaul of Democratic House leadership is almost certain if the party falls short in the midterm elections, a re-ordering is possible even if Democrats win the majority," David Siders reports, noting that "a younger class of Democrats [is] clamoring to break into leadership." More: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a39f650145ee919b1074fc796e27102049202b4fa79800bfe3809a90faf4190b9a87b2cdcdc3176d0 
 
Related reads: "S.C. Democrats running for Congress yearn for new party leadership to replace Pelosi," via The Post and Courier's Jamie Lovegrove: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a977cadf3a0c066af7997ce4283bda4d886b224de80ab449f20be9f7302fb25948895647853733fec "Fearing Chaos, National Democrats Plunge Into Midterm Primary Fights," by The New York Times' Alexander Burns: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512aa07cb116605d9b9c37520b64891f62f0b0be838a9e3c4be7233f33a97ae3102bdb154565a58f6099 and "Bernie Sanders Says 'Trump's Agenda Is Dead' if Democrats Win Midterms," from The New York Times' Elizabeth Dias and Shane Goldmacher: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a3d47a12ab5e2d86a5744911d3d70d9413434044a8ae12912fe4ae7c49304bb31c30d81998a70c59e 
 
108 RETIRED MILITARY LEADERS URGE SENATORS TO OPPOSE HASPEL -- Dozens of former military leaders will express their "profound concern" about Gina Haspel's nomination to lead the CIA in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee this morning. The retired officials will call on senators to "examine closely the full extent" of Haspel's involvement in detention and interrogation programs, including her role in any torture or abuse of people in U.S. custody. "We are deeply troubled by the prospect of someone who appears to have been intimately involved in torture being elevated to one of the most important positions of leadership in the intelligence community," they write. Haspel is one of
 three controversial Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominees the narrowly divided Senate is working to confirm. The letter: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a52318a4576fa9013aab469f9b1aa8f47e36dc69114c38edc3078ae36f49f991115b438fdbb2c6903 
 
Related: "CIA: Haspel 'acted appropriately' in destruction of torture tapes," by Elana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a67c7d541f958918285549df4b01a71ba667a74dd3a134fe48eb59be5bb59dd5205beffa0f9d13bd4 and "How the C.I.A. Is Waging an Influence Campaign to Get Its Next Director Confirmed," from The New York Times' Adam Goldman and Matthew Rosenberg: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512aa4da62ecdca025c325d9e833cfee912ed56d60f8c3da05e16ffe9892ff2655ff7bad20533643c0d8 
 
GOP SPLIT AS BANKS TAKE ON GUNS -- Republicans across the board are split over how to react as major banks cut off business with the gun industry. "Some Republicans ... have called on government agencies to cancel contracts with the banks and defer deregulation proposals that would benefit them. But other Republicans want to keep their hands off, saying lenders are free to decide who they do business with," Zachary Warmbrodt reports. "It's a conundrum that puts the free-market principles at odds with gun rights." Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) isn't going to tell the private sector what to do. "It's dumb and it's dangerous waters," he said. Much more: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a0a4f64dc364f3e9c88621ee756a65db51fd0d84ac4bc4e0430cb2824c38fbe65f6e7fdd485dc0cd1 
 
Related read: "Gun control advocates push to make voter registration the legacy of Parkland shooting," from The Washington Post's Katie Zezima: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a6b2e94bade0edda8e4388810313f816143e89a9ca2f86e100f009c5319eaca1c2cd03fb725f30b3d 
 
CAPITOL HILL WOMEN MAKE POLITICO PLAYBOOK'S POWER LIST -- Reps. Nanette Barrag&aacute;n (D-Calif.) and Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) are among POLITICO Playbook's Power List of 18 women to watch in 2018. Barrag&aacute;n, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, won't even say the name "Trump" -- unless it's Melania. The freshman Democratic lawmaker represents a heavily Latino majority-minority district and backed an impeachment resolution late last year. "I'm here to be the face for the very community that this president is attacking," she told me in an interview.
 
Comstock is a vulnerable incumbent running for reelection in a district Hillary Clinton won in 2016. "Eight Democrats have already raised a combined $1.2 million last quarter to take her on in November," Elena Schneider reports. "But Republicans believe that Comstock, a prodigious fundraiser and battle-tested incumbent, can weather a chaotic midterm cycle by relying on her brand." Other women to watch on the Hill include chiefs of staff Tessa Gould, Parker Poling and Monica Popp. The list: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a5d4fdc7a1223082c5ca6fef3e9c5684e5aa1e1ae9d5d4cca6913288350d79b6e2f4d93644063629c 
 
THE CONGRESSMAN ALREADY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT -- Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) announced he was running for president six months into the Trump administration. He's since spent more than $1 million on TV in Iowa, hired staffers and opened a campaign office in Des Moines. He's also made 110 campaign stops in 48 of the state's 99 counties and six trips to New Hampshire. "While higher-profile Democrats remain coy about their intentions, Delaney is unabashedly in," David Siders reports. "But in his massive investment of time and resources ... he is testing the limits of a virtually unknown politician's ability to gain early-state traction by starting first and spending heavily." Much more: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512aa3ba459bb8594f90e67420a3a5e8c693209d3b6f4dcfa99683f0dca48f4bf9d513995b96fa4e82b2 
 
LESKO, TIPIRNENI FACE OFF TUESDAY IN AZ SPECIAL ELECTION -- Republican Debbie Lesko is favored to win Tuesday's Arizona special election to replace former Rep. Trent Franks, who resigned in December following sexual misconduct allegations. "But at a time when independents, and even some Republicans, nationally are increasingly wary of the GOP, Democrat Hiral Tipirneni has mounted a serious challenge to Lesko," The Arizona Republic's Ronald J. Hansen reports. "How close is the race? Recent polls show anything from Lesko winning by 10 percentage points to Tipirneni by 1." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a50fa47d14616480ece12c6d1f0b0750bfbbfef851163835cc4e1c378367ca392b46e33603a1e7c07 
 
CORKER'S AWKWARD ENDORSEMENT -- After heaping praise on former Gov. Phil Bredesen last week, retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Sunday said again that he won't campaign against the Democrat running for his seat. In an awkward exchange with Dana Bash on "State of the Union," Corker noted that he's "sent the maximum contribution to the Republican nominee on our side" and has said he plans "to vote for this person." Asked why Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), whose name Corker notably refused to say, is the better candidate to represent Tennessee, Corker acknowledged that, as a Republican representing a red state, Blackburn would support Mitch McConnell for majority leader. 
 
Told that his response wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, Corker laughed uncomfortably and reiterated that he's "supporting the nominee." "I have worked with the nominee for some time," he added. "And I don't know what else to say." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a22fa1d98e4253ebff34dda9fe775ee2be294fde255e48114fbb4ba41e88f04290c9905870642b0c6 
 
ROMNEY GETS A PRIMARY -- Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate and presumptive successor to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), narrowly lost to state Rep. Mike Kennedy, 49 percent to 51 percent, at Utah's state GOP convention over the weekend, forcing him into a June primary. "Romney ... is still heavily favored to win the seat," Alex Isenstadt reports. "Romney had already qualified for the June 26 primary ballot because he filed the needed number of signatures, the only candidate in the GOP field to have done so. But had he received 60 percent of the vote at the convention, he could have won the Republican nomination outright and avoided the two-month primary battle."
 
"The convention process draws the state's most ardent activists, and typically favors conservative candidates like Kennedy over more mainstream ones like Romney," he continues. "Success in the convention has not always translated into success in the primary, which draws a broader swath of the Republican electorate." Romney has a major fundraising advantage over Kennedy, with $1.1 million cash on hand through the end of March compared to Kennedy's $257,000. The winner is expected to face Democratic Salt Lake County councilwoman Jenny Wilson in the general election. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512acc75d6ed1b765dc3e3787bbda2318434c40ec08249e8b26fd4d058ac6e4383d46930a300ffe34079 
 
Related: "'I Was Trump Before Trump Was Trump,'" from The New York Times' Jeremy W. Peters: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a4b0a44164915e92eb814aec0d4d65fb12c1829b8c8e7509b6567e3295ecdfe8d777790cc8ba87070 
 
DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- Jennifer Talhelm has left the office of Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), where she served as communications director.
 
ENGAGED -- Daniel Schwarz, director of strategic comms for House Judiciary Committee Democrats and communications director for Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), proposed to Jamie Geller, senior adviser and comms director for Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and alum of House Foreign Affairs. "There was a CoDel to Israel that Rep. [Eliot] Engel was leading. Jerry asked Eliot for his staffer's information and was able to get Jamie's cell phone number. The rest is history. The couple were engaged Thursday night and celebrated with family and friends over the weekend." Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a5171dd91bb89ae3b5c974632afc844a8431a666c333d1d54d53d75dbe4e87524af6f69535802b2e9
 
WEEKEND WEDDING -- Ted Dooley, the executive director of the College Republican National Committee, and Nicole Paciello, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), got married at Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Chatham, Massachusetts. They met in College Republicans. Pic http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a276568146e4874e8f3fb730c4313a2e38effc6aea566ab9e067169d328516a497f8d263034426e61 
 
SPOTTED: Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and his wife Diana, Alex Smith, Gus Portela, Julia Hoy, Chandler Thornton, Massachusetts state Rep. Shawn Dooley, Eric Amidon, Clinton and Joanna Soffer, Ross Hemminger, Bryan Watkins, Megan Dutra, Kaitlyn Martin, Sinead Casey, Patrick Griffin, Alyssa Farah, Justin Griffin, Pat Griffin and Rob Oliver.

** A message from the Coalition for Contact Lens Consumer Choice: The Coalition for Contact Lens Consumer Choice urges Congress to support the FTC's update to the Contact Lens Rule and protect the rights of America's 41 million contacts wearers. Optometrists too often fail to provide prescriptions following eye exams, denying consumers the ability to shop around for their contact lenses. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a9b85fa26dbf512a3ac349307d7a54e5b65c5209f42d9970f9b1c5b563dd6f9862e11530ea11ee68e112e52cc90f251c **
 
TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The Senate meets at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of judicial nominee Stuart Kyle Duncan. The chamber will hold a procedural vote on his nomination at 5:30 p.m. The House is out.
 
AROUND THE HILL -- Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) and others will hold a conference call briefing to discuss a Texas redistricting case to determine whether state House maps and congressional maps intentionally discriminated against Texas minority voters beginning at 3 p.m. The call-in number is 785-424-1667, and the password is TX REDISTRICT.
 
FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Tony Mazzaschi was first to correctly guess that former Sen. Howell Heflin is Alabama's former Supreme Court justice who received a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts after his service in the Marine Corps during World War II.
 
TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Tony: Who replaced then-Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) in 2009 when he was nominated to be Commerce secretary? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: [email-masked].
 
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** A message from the Coalition for Contact Lens Consumer Choice: Medical research shows no connection between eye health and where contact lenses are purchased. Yet, optometrists and lens manufacturers continue to claim there are health risks from purchasing lenses online or from warehouse stores. These false claims conceal their true motivation - allowing optometrists to profit from selling more lenses and keeping prices high for manufacturers. www.KeepContactLensChoice.org **
 
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