SCOOP: Mitch McConnell-linked super PAC raises 7.1 million -- GROUNDHOG DAY: Health care back on the front burner -- TRUMP to S.C. tonight for fundraiser -- PENCE raising money for Chris Collins 
 
 Driving the Day 
 
 Good Monday morning. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- SENATE LEADERSHIP FUND and ONE NATION -- the leading Senate GOP outside groups -- will report raising $7.1 million in the third quarter, the organization told us. The entities have raised $24.1 million this election cycle. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL is closely tied to Senate Leadership Fund and raises it piles of cash. STEVEN LAW, who heads SLF and One Nation, said they have $6.1 million in pledges for the fourth quarter, calling it the “best off-year fundraising” SLF has had in its history. Law declined to release its cash on hand number. 
 
 Law said their donors are “very very fired up.” Senate GOP donors aren’t “happy with the glacial pace of Washington, but they are not willing to walk away with the investment they’ve made in Washington,” Law said. “I think if we get tax reform we are going to have a blockbuster year … If Congress doesn’t get it done there is nothing we will be able to do to rescue these members for the hole they will have dug for themselves.” 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 -- ON BANNON: Law said he is a “noisy sideshow,” recalling how the last time Stephen Bannon had a large presence in electoral politics it was 2010 and he pushed forward candidates who “squandered Senate seats.” In the 2010 cycle, conservative candidates like Todd Akin in Missouri, Christine O’Donnell in Delaware and Sharon Angle in Nevada all lost. 
 
 -- ON LOSING THE ALABAMA PRIMARY: Law said Luther Strange’s loss in Alabama, a race SLF spent nearly $5 million on, has a “silver lining.” “Every election cycle we try to sharpen our game and when you have two back-to-back successful cycles in 2014 and 2016 it’s easy to get lax,” Law said. “[The race] forced us to go back to basics, tear apart everything we did.” 
 
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 BIG IN OCTOBER -- “Health Care Back on Congress’s Front Burner,” by WSJ’s Stephanie Armour and Kristina Peterson: “The Senate this week will grapple with President Donald Trump’s decision to stop making subsidy payments to health insurers, with lawmakers seeking a deal that would keep the money flowing while Republicans try to fold in conservative-oriented health-care priorities. 
 
 “It remains unclear whether a package could emerge that attracts support from a critical mass of senators and also from House Republicans. That could be put to the test quickly, as Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are expected to introduce a plan within days and Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) unveils his own, more-conservative-leaning version. 
 
 “The result, driven by unexpectedly far-reaching moves by Mr. Trump on health care last week, could be a resumption or even escalation of the legislative battle that unfolded during Republicans’ attempts to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It comes as insurers press some state and federal officials to let them reset their rates for 2018 in light of the halting of the subsidies, while one state, Oregon, already has told insurers to jack up rates for their most popular plans.” http://on.wsj.com/2gcDZwj 
 
 -- KEEP AN EYE ON THIS: Republicans at the White House and in Hill leadership stopped the bipartisan process last time around, hoping that Congress would fully repeal the health care law. Now that full repeal is all but dead, will leaders give the bipartisan approach the green light? 
 
 WAPO’S PAUL KANE: “Partisan clash on Obamacare raises specter of government shutdown”: http://wapo.st/2zbgVFU 
 
 SOMETHING TO WATCH -- Trump is breaking bread with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump and McConnell’s relationship has hit new lows recently. The president has publicly castigated him on Twitter. Stephen Bannon, one of the president’s top allies and outside advisers, is actively trying to overthrow McConnell as majority leader. THE REALITY: The president has been publicly skeptical of McConnell’s efficacy. But in the next few months, they face perhaps their most important stretch as they try to get tax reform through Congress. If they can’t do that, it’s tough to see what Republicans will run on in 2018. 
 
 -- FROM MCCONNELL SPOKESMAN DAVID POPP: “The Leader will join the president and Vice President for a working lunch where they will discuss the fall agenda which includes completing the budget resolution, passing tax reform to help American families and workers, confirming well-qualified judicial and other nominees, and continuing to provide resources to communities affected by the recent hurricanes.” 
 
 TRUMP’S MONDAY -- In addition to lunch with McConnell, Trump will hold a Cabinet meeting. He’ll also travel to South Carolina to speak at a McMaster for Governor reception at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Greenville Golf Resort and Conference Center. 
 
 KEEPING LAWYERS BUSY -- “Trump campaign’s legal spending tops $1 million during third quarter,” by Maggie Severns: http://politi.co/2zbHYAQ 
 
 SERIOUS SITUATION ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA -- NYT’S CHOE SANG-HUN in SEOUL: “U.S. Military to Begin Drills to Evacuate Americans From South Korea”: “The United States military said on Monday that it would practice evacuating noncombatant Americans out of South Korea in the event of war and other emergencies, as the two allies began a joint naval exercise amid heightened tensions with North Korea. 
 
 “The exercise, known as Courageous Channel, is scheduled from Oct. 23 to 27. The annual training drills are aimed at preparing American ‘service members and their families to respond to a wide range of crisis management events such as noncombatant evacuation and natural or man-made disasters,’ the United States military said in a statement.” http://nyti.ms/2hKBX6W 
 
 -- “The World Once Laughed at North Korean Cyberpower. No More,” by NYT’s David Sanger, David Kirkpatrick and Nicole Perlroth: “Their track record is mixed, but North Korea’s army of more than 6,000 hackers is undeniably persistent, and undeniably improving, according to American and British security officials who have traced these attacks and others back to the North. Amid all the attention on Pyongyang’s progress in developing a nuclear weapon capable of striking the continental United States, the North Koreans have also quietly developed a cyberprogram that is stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and proving capable of unleashing global havoc. 
 
 “Unlike its weapons tests, which have led to international sanctions, the North’s cyberstrikes have faced almost no pushback or punishment, even as the regime is already using its hacking capabilities for actual attacks against its adversaries in the West. And just as Western analysts once scoffed at the potential of the North’s nuclear program, so did experts dismiss its cyberpotential — only to now acknowledge that hacking is an almost perfect weapon for a Pyongyang that is isolated and has little to lose.” http://nyti.ms/2yNDBA0 
 
 TRUMP’S WASHINGTON -- “Kelly tries to get empty administration jobs filled fast,” by Nancy Cook: “White House chief of staff John Kelly is giving Cabinet secretaries more autonomy to pick top political appointees, reversing efforts under his predecessor Reince Priebus to run most appointments through the West Wing. Kelly’s goal, according to 10 interviews with White House officials and advisers close to the administration, is to do a better job of finding candidates for the hundreds of jobs throughout the administration that remain vacant almost nine months into President Donald Trump’s first term. 
 
 “‘Being somebody from the Department of Defense, normally you’ve got key people in place and a clear chain of command,’ said Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff himself and former Secretary of Defense, who spoke to Kelly around the time he accepted the White House job. ‘It’s very difficult to run anything if you don’t have people responsible in those positions.’ Kelly entered the White House with an unusually clear understanding of the flaws of the personnel process, according to two people close to him.” http://politi.co/2zc7QN2 
 
 -- RACHAEL BADE and BURGESS EVERETT: “Deficit hawks trampled in GOP tax cut stampede”: “Republicans’ unified control of Washington is triggering an identity crisis within the party over what it means to be a fiscal conservative in the age of Donald Trump: Do deficits even matter, or do tax cuts trump all? … 
 
 “The debate is causing some hard feelings within the GOP. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) recently questioned the deficit cred of one of the House’s proudest fiscal hawks before he left to become Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney. 
 
 “In his new gig, Mulvaney is now insisting it’s okay to increase the deficit with tax cuts, because an expanding economy will eventually pay the bill. ‘Our OMB guy, I say this with humor, what happened to him?’ Corker said in an interview. ‘Do you understand what I’m saying? He used to be the fiscal hawk.’ Mulvaney responded in kind during an interview last week, accusing Corker of ‘ignoring reality.’ ‘Macroeconomic changes will always lead to change in the larger economy, okay?’ he said. ‘You raise a tax, it has impact. You lower tax, it has impact. It just does.’” http://politi.co/2xIiqKn 
 
 IMPORTANT READ -- “Menendez faces critical moment in bribery trial,” by John Bresnahan and Matt Friedman: “The bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez has reached a critical moment, with the judge overseeing the case deciding whether to dismiss a big chunk of the corruption allegations facing the New Jersey Democrat. U.S. District Judge William Walls stunned federal prosecutors last week when he expressed doubts over whether the Justice Department’s bribery charges against Menendez should move forward in light of the Supreme Court’s 2016 decision throwing out the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. That ruling impacted the legal definition of bribery, including the ‘string of benefits’ theory used by prosecutors to charge Menendez. 
 
 “Walls openly questioned whether Menendez and his co-defendant, Florida ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen, had engaged in a bribery scheme in light of the McDonnell ruling. But Walls said he would allow the jury to decide whether Menendez made false statements when he failed to report gifts from Melgen on his annual financial disclosure form filed with the Senate. ‘I know the prosecution had a heyday before McDonnell, and now they have a doomsday after McDonnell,’ Walls said. 
 
 “Walls’ bombshell left open the possibility that Menendez could escape the most serious allegations against him, possibly even allowing him to remain in office. A stint in prison would also be much less likely if Menendez were only convicted on the more narrow false statements charge. And Menendez’s lawyers have sought to have that charge thrown out as well.” http://politi.co/2igNcIf 
 
 -- WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: If Menendez is convicted and has to step down, Chris Christie, the Republican governor, will fill the seat. The gubernatorial election is in less than a month, and the Democrat is favored. Of course, if Menendez is acquitted, he’s not going anywhere. 
 
 
 
 ****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: Small businesses are the cornerstones of communities across America. This month, Goldman Sachs is continuing its commitment to small business by hosting the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC—connecting business owners with policy makers. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ****** 
 
 SCOOP – “Trump Given A Subpoena For All Documents Relating To Assault Allegations,” by BuzzFeed’s Jessica Garrison and Kendall Taggart: “A high-stakes legal showdown is brewing for President Donald Trump, as a woman who said he groped her has subpoenaed all documents from his campaign pertaining to ‘any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.’ The subpoena — whose contents have not been previously reported — was issued in March but entered into the court file last month. ... Summer Zervos, a former contestant on the Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, accused Trump of kissing and grabbing her when she went to his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007 to discuss a possible job at the Trump Organization. After Zervos made the accusation last October, just weeks before the election, Trump denied her accusation and called it a lie. She responded by suing him for defamation.” http://bzfd.it/2xIc1P 
 
 JARED INC. – “Kushner Plan for Fifth Avenue Tower Is Being Blocked by Partner,” by Bloomberg’s David Kocieniewski and Caleb Melby: “An ambitious plan by Jared Kushner’s family to recast its indebted Fifth Avenue office building as a luxury architectural trophy is collapsing, setting off a chain of events that may imperil the Kushners’ ownership of a property central to their real estate empire. Their partner, Vornado Realty Trust, is telling brokers to plan for a much more mundane renovation that would leave the property as an office building, according to three people familiar with the matter. Vornado Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Roth was never enthusiastic about the Kushner plan although until now he hadn’t stood in its way. 
 
 “Putting an end to the Kushner effort -- to salvage their overpriced investment by turning it into a Midtown jewel with expensive condos, hotel and five-floor mall -- could have profound ramifications for the family. Vornado, which owns 49.5 percent of 666 Fifth Ave., is unlikely to invest further in the property without first being reassured of its future … That means returning to the negotiating table with lenders -- a battle that could result in Kushner Cos.’ losing control of the building.” https://bloom.bg/2xJ4THi 
 
 VALLEY TALK -- “Facebook Is Said to Seek Staff With National Security Clearance,” by Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier and Bill Allison: “Facebook Inc. is looking to hire people who have national security clearance, a move the company thinks is necessary to prevent foreign powers from manipulating future elections through its social network, according to a person familiar with the matter. Candidates with such clearance are often former government and intelligence officials or contractors. This status becomes inactive when they leave, but it can be reactivated on Facebook’s behalf ... This could help the company be more proactive by better knowing where to look for questionable social media campaigns ahead of elections.” https://bloom.bg/2yl6R0j 
 
 --“Amazon Turns on the Charm Amid Criticism From Right and Left,” by NYT’s Cecilia Kang: http://nyti.ms/2gI24Mo 
 
 THE JUICE … 
 
 -- VP MIKE PENCE is speaking at a luncheon for Rep. Chris Collins tomorrow, according to an invitation. Collins, a New York Republican, was an early Trump ally. The money will go to Collins Victory Fund, a joint committee that raises money for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Collins for Congress and CHRIS PAC -- Collins leadership fund. The invite http://bit.ly/2ym0ZDX 
 
 -- BIG MONEY FOR TRUMP … -- Trump Victory Fund got six-figure checks from Ron Perelman ($125,000), NY Knicks owner James Dolan ($125,000), and Jeff Loria, who recently sold the Marlins to Derek Jeter ($100,000). 
 
 -- LAURA INGRAHAM, Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News are holding a “special cocktail reception and book signing” of Ingraham’s book “Billionaire at the Barricades” at the Breitbart Embassy Thursday. “Event is strictly off the record,” according to the invite. 
 
 
 
 Playbook Reads 
 
 PHOTO DU JOUR: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to reporters outside the South Portico of the White House after returning from a golf outing in Virginia with President Donald Trump on Oct. 15. | Michael Reynolds/Pool/Getty Images 
 
 FOR YOUR RADAR – “Iraqi forces drive Kurds from disputed areas near Kirkuk,” by AP’s Balint Szlanko in Kirkuk: “Iraqi Kurdish officials said early Monday that federal forces and state-backed militias have launched a ‘major, multi-pronged’ attack aimed at retaking the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, causing ‘lots of casualties’ in fighting south of the city. Kurdish forces known as the peshmerga were digging in at the edge of the international airport after withdrawing from their positions outside the city. Hundreds of armed Kurdish residents were taking up positions inside the city anticipating an attack. Residents of the multi-ethnic city, home to some 1 million Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians, stayed inside and reported hearing sporadic booms they said sounded like shelling and rocket fire.” http://bit.ly/2xIx44v 
 
 -- AP at 5:44 a.m.: “KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) - AP reporters: Iraqi Kurds abandon positions outside Kirkuk airport, civilians fleeing city.” 
 
 BULLETIN -- AP at 5:32 a.m.: “JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli military says it has struck Syrian anti-aircraft battery near Damascus after its planes were fired upon.” 
 
 CALIFORNIA FIRES -- “California wildfires have killed 40 people; dozens still missing as firefighters make progress,” by L.A. Times’ Laura Nelson, Joseph Serna, Ben Poston and Soumya Karlamangla: “Firefighters made significant progress Sunday on two of the biggest wildfires raging across Northern California, but officials cautioned that they still face major challenges. The winds that bedeviled firefighters Saturday remained mostly calm, allowing them to go back on the offense after a day of new evacuations. Officials said they strengthened containment lines on the massive Tubbs and Atlas fires, which by Sunday evening were 60% and 65% contained, respectively.” http://lat.ms/2xGS1Ng 
 
 -- “As crews gain ground, California fire victims return home,” by AP’s Sudhin Thanawala in Santa Rosa and Brian Melley in San Francisco: “With the winds dying down ... thousands of people got the all-clear to return home. While the danger from the deadliest, most destructive cluster of blazes in California history was far from over, the smoky skies started to clear in some places. People were being allowed to go back home in areas no longer in harm’s way, and the number of those under evacuation orders was down to 75,000 from nearly 100,000 the day before. ... In hard-hit Sonoma County, Sheriff Rob Giordano said authorities have located 1,560 of the more than 1,700 once listed as missing.” http://bit.ly/2xHMDhv 
 
 CLICKER – “Deadly Wildfires Continue Across Northern California” – The Atlantic -- 26 pictures on one page http://theatln.tc/2ihjEdT 
 
 JANE MAYER in The New Yorker, “The Danger of President Pence: Trump’s critics yearn for his exit. But Mike Pence, the corporate right’s inside man, poses his own risks”: “Marc Short, the head of legislative affairs in the Trump White House, credits Pence for the Kochs’ rapprochement with Trump. ‘The Kochs were very excited about the Vice-Presidential pick,' Short told me. ... Bannon is ... alarmed at the prospect of a Pence Presidency. He told me, ‘I’m concerned he’d be a President that the Kochs would own.’ ... 
 
 “‘Trump thinks Pence is great,’ Bannon told me. But, according to a longtime associate, Trump also likes to ‘let Pence know who’s boss.’ A staff member from Trump’s campaign recalls him mocking Pence’s religiosity. He said that, when people met with Trump after stopping by Pence’s office, Trump would ask them, ‘Did Mike make you pray?’ Two sources also recalled Trump needling Pence about his views on abortion and homosexuality. 
 
 “During a meeting with a legal scholar, Trump belittled Pence’s determination to overturn Roe v. Wade. The legal scholar had said that, if the Supreme Court did so, many states would likely legalize abortion on their own. ‘You see?’ Trump asked Pence. ‘You’ve wasted all this time and energy on it, and it’s not going to end abortion anyway.’ When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, ‘Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!’” http://bit.ly/2xIiudf 
 
 SUSAN GLASSER talks with AI WEIWEI in the latest “Global Politico” podcast: “‘China Is Laughing About This Situation’”: “Ai Weiwei is making a strong case for himself as America’s leading dissident of the Trump era. Never mind that he’s Chinese, or that he lives in Berlin in de facto exile these days. The legendary artist, who has long embraced political themes in his work, has gone full-out activist in a new feature-length documentary film about the global refugee crisis, called Human Flow and released in theaters across the U.S. Friday, and in a new, New York City-wide public art exhibit of 300 works in dozens of locations called ‘Good Walls Make Good Neighbors.’ 
 
 “Both are explicit rebuttals of the nationalistic, America-First-fueled policies espoused by Trump, from his proposed Mexican border wall to his curbs on immigration that include admitting the smallest number of refugees to the U.S. in decades. In a new interview for The Global Politico during a rare visit to Trump’s Washington, Weiwei referred to Trump’s win as ‘the moment I think history stopped,’ a ‘backward’ evolution that undermines liberal ideas like freedom of speech and human dignity everywhere. 
 
 “Authoritarian leaders in China and elsewhere are the beneficiaries of Trump and the crisis of American democracy, said Weiwei, who spent four years under house arrest and forbidden to leave China before being allowed to leave the country two years ago. ‘China is laughing about this situation,’ he said. ‘China, Russia, they all laugh about it.’” http://politi.co/2yqRD92 … Listen and subscribe to the full podcast http://apple.co/2kAoZfH 
 
 ****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: There are more than 29 million small businesses in the United States. All of their voices matter, but all of their voices are not always heard. That is why Goldman Sachs is hosting the 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC—one of the largest gatherings of small business owners on job creation. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ****** 
 
 2018 WATCH -- “Florida’s Senate race shaping up as a clash of titans,” by Marc Caputo and Isaac Dovere: “Sen. Bill Nelson went to Democratic leader Chuck Schumer this summer with an urgent plea. Florida’s Democratic Party was in disarray after the 2016 presidential debacle, the senator said, and he needed help from D.C. to prepare for a likely challenge next year by GOP Gov. Rick Scott, who’s spent at least $86 million of his own fortune on his two gubernatorial campaigns. 
 
 “Anxious about holding onto seats — and aware that a milquetoast moderate who’s been in politics for 30 years might not be ideal in the current political environment — the Senate minority leader convened a meeting of party hands. Present were Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez, his aides and [DSCC] staff. They discussed reworking budgets and underwriting the Florida Democratic Party effort to help the three-term senior senator. 
 
 “Nelson told the group that Democrats desperately needed to catch up on field staff in Florida, especially in the wake of the presidential and Senate race results last year that saw Republican-leaning voters flood the polls and took even plugged-in Democrats by surprise. ‘The Democrats executed the 2012 playbook to perfection in 2016,’ said one person who attended the meeting. Republicans ‘wrote a new playbook, and it was a better one. [Nelson’s] point was and is that they didn’t stop organizing.’” http://politi.co/2xIqPgX 
 
 NYT’S JONATHAN MARTIN, the pride of Virginia, in Richmond: “Not on the Ballot, but Dominating the Virginia Governor’s Race: Trump”: “Ed Gillespie, the Republican nominee for Virginia governor, deployed just about every tactical evasion he had learned from a lifetime in politics as he dodged questions about President Trump. Then he finally flashed irritation. 
 
 “‘I don’t know the president,’ Mr. Gillespie said in an interview at his headquarters here when asked whether he thought Mr. Trump was ethical. ‘I’ve not met him.’ … ‘Where there’s room to work with him, I will. Where he’s dangerous, I’ll stand up and protect Virginia,’ said the Democrat, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, suggesting he was prepared to do business with a man he spent much of this year calling ‘a narcissistic maniac.’” http://nyti.ms/2gIqYv5 
 
 STAY TUNED -- “No One Knows What Steve Bannon’s ‘War’ Will Actually Look Like,” by BuzzFeed’s Tarini Parti and Alexis Levinson: “Steve Bannon has sucked up gobs of political oxygen with his budding operation to take down establishment Republicans in next year’s elections. But his political army, and the secretive financiers backing it, so far are just loosely organized upstarts in an ecosystem dominated by well-established groups. ... As the GOP appears to be on the verge of another civil war and reports of Bannon’s 2018 plans dominate headlines, the big question Republicans are still trying to figure out is: Beyond a photo op, what does Bannon’s support actually mean for [Michael] Grimm and several other candidates he is backing? Asked that question directly, a close Bannon ally responded: ‘It’s actually still TBD.’” http://bzfd.it/2ylXGwo 
 
 NOT THE ONION – “Russian trolls were schooled on ‘House of Cards,’” by Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff: “The Russians who worked for a notorious St. Petersburg ‘troll factory’ that was part of Vladimir Putin’s campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election were required to watch the ‘House of Cards’ television series to help them craft messages to ‘set up the Americans against their own government,’ according to an interview broadcast Sunday (in Russian) with a former member of the troll factory’s elite English language department. ... [M]ore broadly, the instructions given to employees of the English language department were to stoke discontent about the U.S. government and the Obama administration in particular. ‘We had a goal to set up the Americans against their own government,’ he says. ‘To cause unrest, cause discontent [and] lower [President] Obama’s rating.’” https://yhoo.it/2wYRFSI 
 
 MEDIAWATCH -- per Michael Calderone's Morning Media: "Nicholas Carlson, most recently editor-in-chief of Business Insider’s lifestyle site Insider, is being promoted to Business Insider’s chief content officer and global editor-in-chief, Morning Media has learned. Business Insider co-founder Henry Blodget will remain CEO and shift from editor-in-chief to editorial director." 
 
 
 
 Playbookers 
 
 SPOTTED: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) shopping at the new Capitol Hill Trader’s Joe Sunday afternoon ... Nationals GM Mike Rizzo “drinking a beer, by himself at Willie’s in Navy Yard, wearing a baseball style tee with the Chicago Bulls logo,” per a tipster. 
 
 “KASIE D.C.,” Kasie Hunt’s new “Morning Joe” style Sunday-night show, premiered last night live from NBC’s studios in D.C. Ben Mayer is the executive producer and Kendall Breitman, a POLITICO alum, is moving back to D.C. to work as a producer on the show. The show airs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday nights. Photo of debut-night crew: Phil Rucker, Kasie Hunt, Mike Steel, Ashley Parker, Jake and Shari Berger and Sarah Ploss http://bit.ly/2gdeU4w 
 
 THE EDWARD M. KENNEDY INSTITUTE FOR THE SENATE honored JOHN KERRY with a lifetime achievement award for outstanding public service. More than 400 people attended the event where Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren spoke, former President Barack Obama sent a letter to be read at the event and former Vice President Joe Biden sent a video message. SPOTTED: Mike Barnicle and Anne Finucane, Carolyn Kennedy and Ed Schlossberg, Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), Teresa Heinz Kerry, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), former Ambassador David Thorne and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. 
 
 TRANSITIONS -- OBAMA ALUMNI -- CLARK JENNINGS, the former chief of staff at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, is now a director at C&M International, the international policy and regulatory affairs affiliate of Crowell & Moring. Jennings is also an Obama National Economic Council alum. … Patrick Rodenbush recently started as communications director for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Rodenbush is an alum of the Obama administration, where he was a spokesperson at DOJ and assistant press secretary at the White House… 
 
 … Miguel Mendoza, deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), left the office after 13 years. Mendoza starts today on Amazon’s transportation policy team. 
 
 ENGAGED – Ruth Guerra, comms director for American Action Network and the Congressional Leadership Fund, got engaged to Roy Milan Schultheis, chief of staff for Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.). The couple met when she was at the RNC. “Roy had a whole day planned starting with spa and pool day at the Montage in Laguna Beach followed by champagne on the beach to watch the sunset where he then got on one knee and popped the question.” Pic http://bit.ly/2gcmpZz 
 
 --OBAMA ALUMNI -- Clare Doody, principal at West Wing Writers, on Friday got engaged to Stephen Krupin, the director of executive communications at SKDK and a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama and Secretary John Kerry. “Like all great love stories, ours started when Steve called in some writers to collaborate on a humor speech. ... He proposed at Kramerbooks in Dupont, which was the first place he went after our first date so he could buy a book I’d recommended. He accidentally bought the wrong book that night— but held onto it and, last Friday evening, hid a ring in it.” Pics http://bit.ly/2ykmFAp … http://bit.ly/2kSWP0X 
 
 BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Sarah Westwood, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, celebrating with her fiancé, Jon Conradi, her son and a few friends. How she got her start in journalism: “I interned the summer before my senior year in college at my hometown paper, the Marietta Daily Journal, and instantly loved it.” Read her Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2gkz0xq 
 
 BIRTHDAYS: Bob Weir is 7-0 … Jim Courtovich ... Rokk Solutions’ Rodell Mollineau (hat tips: Sheena Arora and Mark Paustenbach) … John Goodwin, head of comms at the Weather Channel and a Herald Group alum, is 39 … Bully Pulpit Interactive partner Ben Coffey Clark ... former North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple is 69 ... Amy Walter ... Politico’s Jenny Hopkinson and Beatrice Petersen … Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) is 43 ... Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) is 57 ... Rep. Dave Trott (R-Mich.) is 57 ... WaPo’s Alexandra Lemley ... Dan Hirschhorn, director of news at TIME, is 34 … Steve Friess is 45 … Tiph Turpin ... Linda Miller (h/ts Jon Haber) ... WaPo tablet editor Andrew Heining ... Frank Green ... Ryan Walters ... Michael Pratt, AEI’s director of digital strategy ... Tyler Evans, American Bridge’s senior digital strategist ... 
 
 ... Christopher Cox, former SEC chairman, is 65 … Daniel Henke ... Lindi Harvey ... Dan Gross, deputy comms director for Mayor de Blasio ... Ivette Fernandez, Bush 43 WH and DHS alum (h/t Ed Cash) … Bradley Becnel ... Garrett Murch … Vanessa Dennis, PBS NewsHour’s director of product (h/t Nick Massella) ... Delacey Skinner ... Nate Morris, CEO of Rubicon Global … Avi Fink … Devora Kaye, Obama 2012 alum, now comms director at the NYC Dept. of Education ... Bruce Plaxen ... Emily Karl ... Alexandra Fetissoff … Elizabeth McGreevy … Becca Milfeld ... Ric Arenstein ... Richard Penze ... Robert Lewy ... Jim Pribyl ... Mark Bohannon ... Jeff Link ... McCloy Dickson ... Susan Friebert (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) 
 
 ****** A message from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: The overarching goal of 10,000 Small Businesses is to help small business owners create jobs and economic opportunity. To celebrate their achievements, Goldman Sachs is hosting the first-ever 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, DC. Learn how we can #MakeSmallBig on February 13 and 14: GS.com/10KSBSummit ****** 
 
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 FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Trump and McConnell are scheduled... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration officials in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Trump and McConnell are scheduled... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017, file photo, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Congressional leaders and administration... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump blames the Senate's GOP leader for the health overhaul failure, hints at tantalizing deals with Democrats and watches his former strategist work to bulldoze the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill. 
 
 There's no need for air conditioning at the White House with that chill in the air when Trump, a public official since January, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, first elected to Congress in 1984, meet on Monday. 
 
 "Mitch McConnell's not our problem. Our problem is that we promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, and we failed. We promised to cut taxes and we have yet to do it," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of Congress since 1995. "If we're successful, Mitch McConnell's fine. If we're not, we're all in trouble. We lose our majority and I think President Trump will not get re-elected." 
 
 Steve Bannon, back at Breitbart News after helping Trump win the presidency and serving in the West Wing, is committed to dumping McConnell, R-Ky. In a speech to religious conservatives Saturday, Bannon put on notice some of those incumbents who are at risk of a challenge from his flank of the party. He said the lawmakers possibly can avoid that wrath if they disavow McConnell and meet other conditions. 
 
 "This is our war," Bannon said. "The establishment started it. ...You all are gonna finish it." 
 
 Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine moderate who just passed up a run for governor and was a pivotal "no" vote on health care, said Bannon's rhetoric is exactly what the American people are tired of. "They don't want this hyper-partisanship. They want us to work together. And they want us to get things done," she said. 
 
 Collins, who's served in the Senate since 1997, added that Bannon's "over-the-top rhetoric is not helpful. Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader. The president needs him. I'm glad they're working together on tax reform and a lot of other issues. And I'm glad they're meeting this week." 
 
 McConnell responded to Trump's Twitter barrage after the failed health care effort by saying that the challenges of governing should come as no surprise. 
 
 "A lot of people look at all that and find it frustrating, messy. Well, welcome to the democratic process. That's the way it is in our country," McConnell said at a GOP event in Kentucky this summer. 
 
 Trump, a former Democrat himself, cut a deal with Democratic leaders on raising the U.S. borrowing limit and keeping the government running into the winter. The president has also talked about future arrangements, though his recent list of immigration demands soured Democrats who had seen an earlier opening for legislative progress. 
 
 Hard-right conservatives frustrated by the stalled agenda in Congress wrote in a letter last week during the Senate's break that McConnell and his leadership team should step aside. The senators' weeklong recess also drew criticism from the White House: "They're on another vacation right now. I think that we would all be a lot better off if the Senate would stop taking vacations, and start staying here until we actually get some real things accomplished," Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said. 
 
 Meanwhile, a McConnell-backed political committee spent millions to support Alabama Sen. Luther Strange and Trump endorsed him in a recent primary election, but Bannon-backed Roy Moore prevailed. Moore, a former judge, has defied federal court orders, described Islam as a false religion and called homosexuality evil. 
 
 Senate Republicans had been upbeat about adding to their 52-48 edge in the chamber, especially with Democrats defending more seats next year — 10 in states Trump won in last year's presidential election. But the Bannon challenge could cost them, leaving incumbents on the losing end in primaries or GOP candidates roughed up for the general election. 
 
 "If we don't cut taxes and we don't eventually repeal and replace Obamacare, then we're going to lose across the board in the House in 2018. And all of my colleagues running in primaries in 2018 will probably get beat. It will be the end of Mitch McConnell as we know it. So this is a symptom of a greater problem," Graham said. 
 
 He added that Bannon "can't beat us if we're successful. And if we're not successful, it doesn't matter who tries to beat us, they'll be successful." 
 
 Collins spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Graham appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation."
– President Trump blames the Senate's GOP leader for the health overhaul's failure, hints at tantalizing deals with Democrats, and watches his former strategist work to bulldoze the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill. There's no need for air conditioning at the White House with that chill in the air when Trump, a public official since January, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, first elected to Congress in 1984, meet on Monday, per the AP. A McConnell spokesman says their lunch topic will focus on the fall agenda, per Politico. That includes "completing the budget resolution, passing tax reform to help American families and workers, confirming well-qualified judicial and other nominees, and continuing to provide resources to communities affected by the recent hurricanes.” But it comes amid serious tension. Steve Bannon, back at Breitbart News after helping Trump win the presidency and serving in the West Wing, reaffirmed his commitment to dumping McConnell in a speech to religious conservatives Saturday. "This is our war," Bannon said. "The establishment started it. ...You all are gonna finish it." Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine moderate who just passed up a run for governor and was a pivotal "no" vote on health care, said Bannon's rhetoric in favor of "hyper partisanship" is exactly what the American people are tired of. "Mitch McConnell is the Senate majority leader," she said. "The president needs him. I'm glad they're working together on tax reform and a lot of other issues. And I'm glad they're meeting this week."