Tipsheet: Senate GOP: We will grow our majority in midterms — Sponsored by FICO

View in your browser     Senate GOP: We will grow our majority in midterms By Alexander Bolton      Senate Republicans say they are confident about expanding their majority even while their party faces strong political headwinds amid growing sentiment that GOP control of the House is in serious jeopardy.  Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), gave colleagues a pep talk during a private meeting Tuesday, pointing out poll numbers showing Republicans beating five vulnerable Democratic incumbents.  Read the full story here     House GOP frets over Pennsylvania race By Melanie Zanona and Scott Wong House Republicans are fretting over the results of Pennsylvania’s special election, worried that the tight race in the heart of Trump country might be a harbinger of a Democratic wave in the midterm elections later this year. Read the full story here     Five takeaways from the Pa. special election By Ben Kamisar and Lisa Hagen CANONSBURG, Pa. — Democrat Conor Lamb looks likely to win Pennsylvania’s close special election, giving his party a significant morale boost heading into the battle for the House majority this fall. Read the full story here     Gun protests sweep nation as House passes school safety bill By Melanie Zanona and Lydia Wheeler The House passed a school safety bill on Wednesday that does not contain any new gun measures as thousands of students walked out of classrooms across the country to protest gun violence and demand tougher gun laws. Read the full story here     Trump names Larry Kudlow as top economic adviser By Jonathan Easley President Trump has picked CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow to be the next White House economic adviser. Read the full story here     Senate passes bipartisan bill to roll back Dodd-Frank By Sylvan Lane The Senate on Wednesday passed a bipartisan measure to exempt dozens of banks from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law enacted by former President Obama in 2010. Read the full story here     Do Dems need someone people like to beat Trump? By Amie Parnes Democrats are debating how likable their nominee will need to be ahead of a 2020 presidential race they predict will be the most negative and bruising political campaign in history. Read the full story here     CIA torture could stymie nominee By Katie Bo Williams Senate confirmation of President Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, will likely hinge on how the 30-year intelligence veteran handles questions about her involvement in the agency’s brutal interrogations of terrorism suspects in the post-9/11 era. Read the full story here     Manafort asks judge to throw out criminal charges By Max Greenwood Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is asking a federal judge to throw out five criminal charges against him.  Read the full story here     Trump sends signal with Broadcom veto By Harper Neidig President Trump’s decision to block Broadcom’s hostile takeover of Qualcomm, which would have been the biggest tech acquisition in history, shows that he is taking a broader view of what constitutes a national security threat than his predecessors. Read the full story here         SPONSORED CONTENT   Sponsored by FICO Don't be fooled. VantageScore is not an independent startup -- it's owned by the three credit bureaus. Allowing the credit bureaus to offer a credit score they own and control in mortgage lending decisions would consolidate their power over the entire credit reporting process. That's not good for competition or for consumers. Read More.         Tillerson's firing was abrupt, but it was necessary in order to tackle issues with Iran and North Korea By Ned Ryun OPINION | While there were plenty of gasps, handwringing and pearl-clutching among some when President Trump abruptly fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, one would have had to be completely blind to not see if coming. Read the full story here     America has a broken political system our leaders need to fix By Former Rep. Tom Ridge (R-Pa.) and Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) OPINION | Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill coined the saying, “All politics is local.” Today, it is fair to say that all politics is personal and Americans, in their gut, are suffering from the tribal divisions growing in Washington and across the country. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Democrat’s win in Pennsylvania upends parties’ midterm plans By Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin   Conor Lamb scored a razor-thin but extraordinary upset, winning a House seat in a district that President Trump carried by nearly 20 points. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: In fundraising speech, Trump says he made up information in meeting with Justin Trudeau By Josh Dawsey, Damian Paletta and Erica Werner   President Trump boasted that he insisted to the Canadian prime minister that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north. But, he said, “I didn’t even know. ... I had no idea.” The U.S. trade representative's office says the country has a trade surplus, not a deficit, with Canada. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Trump Organization tied to deal to keep ex-porn star quiet By Michael Rothfeld and Joe Palazzolo   An assistant general counsel at the president’s flagship holding company intervened in arbitration proceeding in California to enforce a nondisclosure deal with former porn star. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Tillerson’s dismissal may hasten demise of Iran nuclear deal By Matthew Lee The Iran nuclear deal was in near terminal condition and on life support even before President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson’s dismissal this week may hasten its demise. Read the full story here     Reuters: Weathering Trump's skepticism, US officials still fighting global warming By Timothy Gardner and Alister Doyle   U.S. President Donald Trump has bashed international efforts to combat climate change and questioned the scientific consensus that global warming is dangerous and driven by human consumption of fossil fuels. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet           Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.