GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, July 1, where we hope you have a safe long weekend.
Programming Note: We'll be off this Monday for Independence Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. DEMS MAKING IT ABOUT MAGA — It seems like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is talking about "MAGA" more than ever, but it isn't just about former president Donald Trump. DCCC Chief Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) tells Sarah that Democrats will be highlighting the most far right candidates running as Republicans this fall, in an effort to hang on to suburban voters. Some of those fringe candidates are running in swing districts. For voters who think the MAGA era is over with Trump out of the White House, Democrats want them to think again. Republican Yesli Vega in VA-7 recently suggested rape victims were less likely to get pregnant (that's Todd Akin's theme music) and Frank Pallotta in NJ-7 has defended the Oath Keepers far-right militia. Others have shared QAnon conspiracy theories with their supporters, including JR Majewski in OH-9 and Mayra Flores in TX-34. Democrats' latest strategy is to unite the toppling of Roe and Jan. 6 — two issues that they know polls in their favor in swing seats — to make the case against the GOP candidates running there. "There's all these dangerous people running under the new MAGA Republican brand. They're going to pay a price for it," Maloney told Sarah. It's a slight shift from past cycles, when battleground Democrats haven't always been so willing to take direct shots at the GOP, noting that many of their voters as well as their allies in Congress are conservative. Things have changed in the Trump years. The NRCC is shrugging off the play. They say the election will be almost entirely decided on the economy — which, with inflation and gas prices hurting voters, they see as a clear advantage. More from Sarah: Dems unite Jan. 6 and Roe for new battleground target: 'MAGA' Republicans ROE ON THE ROAD: WISCONSIN'S SENATE RACE — Democrats are in a bind, trying to push back on the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, without the votes to legislate. That has them looking even more intently at Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which are the Democrats' best chances to net two extra Senate seats — which could be enough to change the chamber's filibuster rules that empower the minority party to block legislation. President Joe Biden boosted their effort Thursday by endorsing an exemption to the 60-vote threshold to preserve nationwide abortion rights. (Dems holding the House is also a key part of this calculation, but is looking like a long shot.) Burgess dives into the Badger State, where the abortion ruling has "supercharged competition among the leading Democratic contenders" who are throwing elbows to try and take out Republican Sen. Ron Johnson this fall: The Democratic primary that could determine the future of abortion rights "The race has a decidedly Midwest-nice vibe, with the candidates generally staying publicly trained on Johnson rather than each other — though there's plenty of trash-talking behind the scenes. And since Democrats need to beat Johnson to have any hope of executing their agenda next year, party leaders are trying to keep it that way," he writes. COST WORTH PAYING — As the clock ticks closer to the midterm elections and voters back home struggle with inflation, gas prices, Covid and gun violence, it is not at all clear that Congress could come together to keep aiding Ukraine in the fight against Russia. Lawmakers who attended the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain this week said they expect that with the war dragging on, another cash infusion could be necessary in the winter. Can lawmakers convince Americans that, in the words of the U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "The cost of freedom is always worth paying?" (Some Trump-loyal Republicans are taking an isolationist stance.) Sen. Thom TIllis (R-N.C.), who co-led the delegation to Madrid, has a message: "I would tell the American people that if we allow Putin to succeed, the costs go up dramatically. Not only the risk to democracy, but the real pocketbook issues that Putin is in part responsible for today," Tillis said. "And it's on us to go back to our respective states and back to the American people and explain that." Andrew and Paul McLeary has more from the lawmakers who were at NATO this week: Ukraine gets top billing at NATO, but questions mount over West's resolve HEEDING CASSIDY HUTCHINSON — Several members of the Jan. 6 select committee are rallying around Cassidy Hutchinson, who delivered bombshell testimony this week about her experiences with Trump's inner circle leading up to and during the attack on the Capitol. She's facing blowback from Trump and his allies who are aiming to discredit her testimony. But lawmakers on the panel say Hutchinson isn't the one with credibility problems — it's her doubters. Namely Tony Ornato, a former Trump White House aide who Hutchinson says relayed the scene of Trump lunging towards the steering wheel and fighting his Secret Service detail. Kyle unpacks the facts, criticism and credibility of the firestorm stirred up by Tuesday's hearing. RELATED: New details of Jan. 6 panel's mystery messages emerge, from Besty Woodruff Swan and Kyle
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