Subject: POLITICO Huddle: REPUBLICANS RESPOND TO BRENNAN NEWS -- Trump, McCarthy talk midterms -- PELOSI OPENS UP ON FUTURE LEADERSHIP -- Trump irks Arizona GOP in Senate race
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2018 05:59:47 -0600
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08/16/2018 07:58 AM EDT

By Nolan D. McCaskill ([email-masked] or @NolanDMcCaskill)
 
SOME REPUBLICANS UNEASY WITH BRENNAN LOSING CLEARANCE -- It turns out President Donald Trump wasn't just "trolling" people with threats to revoke security clearances, as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters last month. Trump followed through on his previous threat, pulling former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance on Wednesday. He said in a statement that "any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Mr. Brennan are now outweighed by the risks posed by his erratic conduct and behavior." He also accused the former intelligence chief of leveraging his status "to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations" against the Trump
 administration while signaling that nine others may lose their security clearances, too, including former FBI Director James Comey.
 
House Republicans were able to escape reporters' questions -- those members are still in recess -- but senators weren't so lucky. "Even as much of the GOP either backs the president or professes ignorance of Trump's decision to revoke Brennan's clearance and threaten future action against other critics, Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Susan Collins of Maine said they disagreed with the move," Burgess reports. Collins called it "unwise" because recently retired intel officials generally "have a lot to contribute to the analysis that is being done." And Corker said he just doesn't like it. "It just feels like sort of a ... banana republic kind of thing," he lamented.
 
Trump, however, does have allies who support his decision. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) argued that Trump's move is "entirely appropriate," though Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) suggested public criticism isn't adequate reasoning for revoking Brennan's security clearance, and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said, "I think it's a good thing to get counsel and advice" from former officials. "Former top intelligence officials are used frequently as resources for current national security teams as they navigate domestic and international crises," Burgess points out. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209f2dec651f171a5ff63b9494b7ace5b4235c014bb4d3067500300a41983e14b7b524be32aba08e7d3 
 
Brennan responds in The New York Times: "President Trump's Claims of No Collusion Are Hogwash": http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209b864448fef147359e740fcb6e4f8a85d2fe93714b4fe7c826be2fc8171c1b239f169db15170e0ea0 
 
TRUMP EXPECTS A 'GREAT' SHOWING -- The president expects Republicans to do "great" in the midterms, though incumbent presidents tend to suffer steep losses in the first midterm election of their administration. Trump, however, believes he'll be a difference-maker this fall by campaigning for candidates. "As long as I can get out and campaign, I think they're going to win, I really do," he told The Wall Street Journal's Peter Nicholas. "It's a lot of work for me. I have to make 50 stops, it's a lot. So, there aren't a lot of people that can do that, physically. Fortunately, I have no problem with that."
 
"Asked if his campaign appearances might also mobilize Democratic voters, Mr. Trump said, 'It may,' Nicholas writes. "But it energizes my people much more than it energizes them," Trump continued. "I think the Democrats give up when I turn out. If you want to know the truth, I don't think it energizes them. I think it de-energizes them. I think they give up when I turn out." Trump suggested after Tuesday's primaries that Republicans "have the team we want." He endorsed several winners Wednesday morning, including Minnesota Senate candidate Leah Vukmir and Bryan Steil, a former aide to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) who is running to succeed him in the 1st Congressional District. Much more: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209fa164cdc9a9af2af4775da863bb6ed2d68088c022b63c7b146ca18309d5e2184426faae60bab7950 
 
MCCARTHY ON MIDTERMS -- House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) acknowledged during a Public Policy Institute of California event, where he was confronted by immigration protesters, that "history is against" House Republicans' effort to maintain their majority. He noted the party in power almost always loses seats during midterms and cited an enthusiasm gap the GOP needs to overcome this year. "The intensity level is greater on the Democratic side than on the Republican side," added McCarthy, who has been fundraising for endangered incumbents. He told the audience he'll be in Indianapolis; Iowa; Minneapolis; Omaha, Nebraska; and California again on Sunday before hitting the road
 again.
 
"Democrats have done quite well at raising money across the country outside of their districts," he said. But Republicans have a built-in advantage, McCarthy insisted, from relying more on suburban districts while Democrats' base is in urban areas. That means "if we get 49 percent of the vote, we'll get about 51, 53 percent of the seats," he reasoned. "And he predicted voters would reward Republicans for economic growth while rejecting Democratic overreach on immigration, health care and the drive to impeach President Donald Trump," Jeremy B. White reports from Sacramento. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209c5f383b0d88b9cd19e36356861db463161c4aa9af1040ca611bd57718ae27d6f0edec2821582880f 
 
Related: "'If they take the House, he wins big': Trump loyalists see upside in impeachment," by Christopher Cadelago: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209a36cecb678cc22ece3ee8714317266cb8e2986ae9c49445ed7e933d9268ffb99425a315ff4420803 
 
GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Aug. 16.
 
What is it really like for women hitting the campaign trail in 2018? Women Rule's three-part podcast series, entitled "Women Rule: Tracking the candidates," will focus on the gritty realities of running for office. Tune in each Wednesday in August to hear from three women running for office, the challenges and opportunities they face and the lessons other women can take from their campaigns.
 
WEDNESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: McClatchy's report on Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) openly discussing a potential run for speaker if Democrats win the House.
 
PELOSI ACKNOWLEDGES BRIDGE TO NEW LEADER -- At 78, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) won't be the top Democrat in Congress forever, and she recognizes that. "Pelosi is facing unrest from older lawmakers critical of her style, younger Democrats demanding generational change and candidates across the party who have sought to inoculate themselves against Republican attacks by distancing themselves from her," The New York Times' Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin report. Pelosi "has also begun to acknowledge more candidly that a transfer of power is coming at some point." 
 
Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) has cast himself as an alternative candidate for speaker if Pelosi can't reach 218 votes. Clyburn, however, won't challenge Pelosi and supports her bid for speaker. Pelosi said she isn't troubled by Clyburn's interest in the speakership. "But Ms. Pelosi signaled any Democrat who aims to succeed her would have to pass an exacting political test, demonstrating that 'they do have a following, that they've shown a vision for the country,' as well as the necessary fund-raising prowess," they write.
 
"What I have always tried to do is build a bridge to the future, and hope that would be in the majority," Pelosi said. "If people want to be the bridge that I'm building toward, they have to show what's on the other side of the bridge." She said she doesn't care that Democratic candidates are vowing to oppose her as speaker because "we have to win the election." And as for whether a younger member should succeed her when the time comes: "That's not up to me. But I do think we are going to win the Congress and we're going to elect a Democratic president, so we're going to be in a whole other era." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed22091a24243349822f5eacf9f440c0769ce2bb836a1035ba89f01b62b81883332a2fc9c38385d2821ee9 
 
Related: "Pelosi pulls in staggering sums for Dems despite facing opposition in the ranks," via CNN's Manu Raju: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed22091041548518f885b051d264852c5fb00443e10e155d0d44823558151c65b4c06c509b297c56d9860a and "Democrats Discard Washington Platform in Bid for House Control," per The New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Nicholas Fandos: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed2209e5a39c4dd9826ae4371410848bf24d0f73bb09fae529a39970cdf3ca1e4d08aea4a69a85556a3ae1 
 
NOT ONE, NOT TWO... -- President Donald Trump hasn't endorsed a candidate in Arizona's GOP Senate primary. But the president has praised all three: Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "McSally is airing ads featuring a video clip of President Donald Trump calling her 'the real deal,'" James Arkin and Alex Isenstadt report. Meanwhile, Ward is circulating mailers that feature a photo of her smiling alongside the president, and Arpaio, who was pardoned by the president, recently sent out a video of Trump praising him to potential donors. 
 
"The president's decision so far to withhold his endorsement has led to a total muddle, prolonging the GOP slugfest in one of the most important Senate races in the country and allowing the presumed Democratic nominee, Kyrsten Sinema, to get a free pass," they write. "With the Aug. 28 primary less than two weeks away, establishment Republicans have grown increasingly anxious that they're squandering a critical window of time to define Sinema, who faces a nominal primary opponent. She's spent millions of dollars running positive TV ads to boost her image and set the terms of the general election, while no Republican groups have countered." More: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed22093f8b359ef4cbbeecc7d2c948a8c2a0a3bafeae0c3c725b261843f0e0bfbb8fa78a7e8fe00fea6d2b 
 
Related reads: "Martha McSally, Kyrsten Sinema refuse to debate rivals in Senate primary races," by the Arizona Republic's Yvonne Wingett Sanchez: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed22092ccbc11db8117e0f11517d49a1d1719b750438ab1effd4c25382be79a9ceceb260425c14b6f15be3 and "Kelli Ward doctors President Trump tweet in campaign mailer 2 weeks before Senate primary," also from Wingett Sanchez: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5e9cc8821ed220934fdd9a38a803d963d3a3e23f58aaadb79c86e264965b6cd9ffa5c529031850b93d90f96d543f894 
 
IN THEIR OWN WORDS -- Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) met with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday. Donnelly described his sit-down as "wide-ranging" and "productive." "I take my responsibility as senator to consider Supreme Court nominees very seriously and will continue a thorough review of Judge Kavanaugh's record and plan to follow his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing closely," he said in a statement. "Hoosiers rightly expect careful and thoughtful consideration of a nomination to our nation's highest court, and I plan to keep doing my homework and make a decision sometime after Kavanaugh's committee confirmation hearing."  
 
Heitkamp said she had a "thorough and substantive discussion" with Kavanaugh. She acknowledged the pressure she's faced from outside groups who have tried to impact her vote. "Before making a decision, I needed to meet with Judge Kavanaugh, as I did [Wednesday], and I will also closely study his answers at his Senate hearing," she said in a statement. "I'll also continue reviewing his record." The two senators join Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) as the only Democrats who have met with Kavanaugh. The three are seen as the most likely Democrats to back Kavanaugh. They each voted for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch last year. 
 
TRANSITIONS -- Ann Marie Hauser, deputy staff director to Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) at the Senate Republican Conference, will start as the vice president of public affairs at the Hudson Institute next month.
 
TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. to resume consideration of judicial nominee A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. At 12 p.m., the chamber will vote on Quattlebaum's nomination and hold a procedural vote on judicial nominee Julius Ness Richardson. The House is out. 
 
AROUND THE HILL -- Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will hold a hearing on protecting care for Americans with preexisting conditions at 10 a.m. in SVC-210/212.
 
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Michael O'Rielly, Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel will testify before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on oversight of the agency at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
 
WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Ian Gill was first to correctly guess that 2014 is the last time at least one state had both of its Senate seats on the ballot on Election Day. That year, Oklahoma and South Carolina each held elections for both Senate seats.
 
TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Ian: In the Capitol's Statuary Hall, there are two statues for every state, recognizing important figures in the state's history. Which state does not have a single American citizen in Statuary Hall, and who are the historic people? 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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