Politico: “Following a low of 39 percent in the Politico/Morning Consult poll last month after his controversial reaction to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump is back at 43 percent in this week’s survey. Other surveys show similar results: Trump bottomed out at 35 percent in Gallup’s weekly tracking poll in late August, but ticked up to 38 percent last week. Trump is at 40 percent in the RealClearPolitics average, up about 2.5 points from his low-water mark last month.”
Senate Democrats Weigh Using Procedural Tricks
Politico: “Senate Democrats are weighing whether they have enough procedural tricks — and stamina — to kill a possible GOP attempt to repeal Obamacare. The Democrats are considering whether they could force enough amendment votes on the Senate floor to run out the clock and effectively kill the Obamacare repeal, by taking debate past Sept. 30, when the GOP’s special procedural tool to pass a bill with just a simple majority expires.”
“If Republicans move forward … they would be faced with an extremely tight timeline. They left Washington on Tuesday ahead of Rosh Hashanah and are not expected to return until Monday evening. Yom Kippur will begin Friday evening, just about 30 hours before the reconciliation deadline hits on Saturday, Sept. 30. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the authors of the latest Obamacare repeal bill, who attends a Baptist church, said he won’t try to get the Senate to work through the Jewish holiday.”
‘He Just Lied Right to My Face’
More Trump Aides Caught Up In Russia Probe
Bloomberg: “Four months as a communications adviser to Donald Trump’s campaign have turned Michael Caputo’s life upside down. Since congressional investigators decided they wanted to interview Caputo as part of an investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, he’s drained his children’s college fund to pay more than $30,000 in legal fees, he said. He bought guns for his home and office after receiving death threats. He worries about the stress on his wife and daughters.”
“Outside the spotlight, a large cast of peripheral characters are finding themselves drawn into the probe, incurring legal fees that can run up to $1,000 an hour and infecting the West Wing and Trump’s orbit with a deep paranoia.”
Senate May Vote on Health Plan Next Wednesday
“Senate leadership is aiming to start voting on the Cassidy-Graham health care plan next Wednesday,” according to Caitlin Owens.
Keep watching Sens. Lisa Murkowski and John McCain: “If either of them (or a wild card) comes out against the bill before next week, it’s unclear whether it would come to the floor.”
Spicer Won’t Get Network Gig
“The big five news organizations have passed on offering former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer a job as an exclusive paid contributor,” network sources confirmed to NBC News.
Said one media executive familiar with the conversations: “They won’t touch him.”
Mueller’s Focus on Manafort Goes Back 11 Years
Special Counsel Robert Mueller “is reaching back more than a decade in its investigation of Paul Manafort, a sign of the pressure Mueller is placing on President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman,” CNN reports.
“The FBI’s warrant for a July search of Manafort’s Alexandria, Virginia, home said the investigation centered on possible crimes committed as far back as January 2006, according to a source briefed on the investigation.”
“The broad time frame is the latest indication that Mueller’s team is going well beyond Russian meddling during the campaign as part of its investigation of Trump campaign associates.”
GOP Lawmaker Shares Meme of Assaulting Protesters
South Dakota Rep. Lynne DiSanto (R) faced calls to apologize after she shared an image on Facebook depicting protesters being hit by a vehicle under the caption, “All Lives Splatter,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.
Blair Sees Chance Brexit Will Be Reversed
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told Bloomberg he thinks there is a 30% chance that Britain’s decision to quit the European Union will be reversed.
Said Blair: “I still have some difficulty seeing how, after the general election which produced a hung parliament in the U.K., this government is going to get its form of Brexit through.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Here’s the choice for America: socialism or federalism when it comes to your health care.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by CNBC.
Trump Using Campaign Funds to Pay Legal Bills
President Trump “is using money donated to his reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee to pay for his lawyers in the probe of alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election,” Reuters reports.
“The U.S. Federal Election Commission allows the use of private campaign funds to pay legal bills arising from being a candidate or elected official.”
“While previous presidential campaigns have used these funds to pay for routine legal matters such as ballot access disputes and compliance requirements, Trump would be the first U.S. president in the modern campaign finance era to use such funds to cover the costs of responding to a criminal probe, said election law experts.”
Senate GOP Reaches Tentative Deal on Budget
Senate Republicans have reached a tentative budget deal that would set the parameters for a tax overhaul being pursued by the party and President Trump, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Reuters notes the deal “could allow U.S. tax revenues to decline by as much as $1.5 trillion over 10 years, but they have not agreed on whether to prevent such losses from expanding the federal budget deficit.”
Moore Claimed Endorsement of Dead Conservative
Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) “is racking up endorsements from inside Alabama and around the country for his challenge to GOP Sen. Luther Strange, but one in particular stood out: renowned — and deceased — conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly,” Roll Call reports.
“Schlafly died September 5, 2016 at the age of 92, two months before Donald Trump won the presidential election and four months before Republican Jeff Sessions left his Senate seat in order to become attorney general, yet she was included on the endorsements page of Moore’s campaign website.”
Collins Leaning Against Graham-Cassidy Plan
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told ABC News that she is “leaning no” on the latest Senate Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has already come out publicly against the bill.
Jonathan Swan says it’s likely coming down to the votes of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): “Graham, who was on the flight with Pence, told me McCain will speak for himself — but added with a knowing smile that he feels good about McCain’s vote.”
Ryan, White House Reject Bipartisan Health Fix
Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House “have informed Senate Republican leaders that they oppose a bipartisan plan to stabilize Obamacare being written in the Senate… in a clear bid to boost the Senate’s prospects of repealing the health law,” Politico reports.
“After Senate Republicans failed to repeal Obamacare in July, talks began on fixing the law rather than dismantling it. The dose of cold water from senior GOP officials will put pressure on Republican senators to back a last-ditch bill to gut Obamacare before a Sept. 30 deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell backed that approach publicly on Tuesday.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“You wonder why we’re having shootings, and killings here in 2017? Because we’ve asked for it. We’ve taken God out of everything. We’ve taken prayer out of school, we’ve taken prayer out of council meetings.”
— Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R), quoted by CNN.
Officials Reject Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees
“Trump administration officials, under pressure from the White House to provide a rationale for reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year, rejected a study by the Department of Health and Human Services that found that refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than they cost,” the New York Times reports.
The story hints the information was kept out of the final report by White House adviser Stephen Miller.
“An internal email, dated Sept. 5 and sent among officials from government agencies involved in refugee issues, said that ‘senior leadership is questioning the assumptions used to produce the report.’ A separate email said that Mr. Miller had requested a meeting to discuss the report. The Times was shown the emails on condition that the sender not be identified.”
An Accidental Scoop
Kenneth Vogel writes about how he happened to be sitting next to two of President Trump’s lawyers at a restaurant:
To my astonishment, they were in the midst of a detailed discussion of the Russia investigations being conducted by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and various congressional committees, as well as the strategy of Mr. Trump’s team for responding.
They were in a public place where they could have been overheard by anyone. I just happened to be a reporter, so I figured their conversation was fair game. I ordered another iced tea, pulled out my phone and began typing out notes, hoping that they would assume I was merely responding to emails, tweeting or surfing the internet.
