POLITICS: Although 19 Democrats are wrestling in the 2020 presidential primary race, Republicans remain fixated on Hillary Clinton nearly three years after Trump defeated the former secretary of State in the Electoral College. With Clinton back on the scene in recent weeks to promote a new book, rumors emerged from some GOP circles that she might run for president for a third time. Among those who have fanned that flame are Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and Breitbart chief, and Michael Goodwin, a New York Post columnist; and with multiple members of Congress and GOP strategists. However, Democrats and those in Hillaryland tell Amie Parnes that there's no truth to the rumblings, arguing a 2020 bid by Clinton is a figment of the GOP's imagination. Democrats dismiss it as Republican troublemaking. "The Republican Party has made such a long-term investment in obsessing about Hillary Clinton that they literally can't stop," said Tracy Sefl, a 2016 Clinton campaign surrogate. "In some ways, she's all they know. "She's the permanent Mad Libs subject matter of the GOP," she added. The Hill: Biden apologizes for likening Clinton impeachment to 'partisan lynching' in 1998. 
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Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that national Democrats are wondering if Clinton, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg or another high-profile Democrat will launch a late 2020 bid if Biden continues to falter, with his lackluster third quarter fundraising serving as the source of much of the concern. As Jonathan Martin of The New York Times reports: "Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Bloomberg have both told people privately in recent weeks that if they thought they could win, they would consider entering the primary — but that they were skeptical there would be an opening, according to Democrats who have spoken with them. "Former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who associates say has wondered aloud about whether he should have run and has found it hard to watch Mr. Biden's missteps, has also been urged to get in. But he still thinks the former vice president, who was once his longtime Senate colleague, is the party's best nominee. "Another Obama administration official who weighed a campaign at the start of the year, former Attorney General Eric Holder, is considering a last-minute entry but has conceded it may be too late, according to a Democrat familiar with his thinking. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who nearly entered the race earlier this year, said the pressure on him to reconsider from labor leaders, Democratic officials and donors has 'become more frequent.' "And Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, who also weighed a campaign run before deciding not to, said he too has been nudged by friends to reconsider. 'It's nice to be rumored about,' he said, before notably refusing to rule out a last-minute entry. 'Don't ask me that question,' he said." The Wall Street Journal: Trump's rallies aren't a sideshow. They are the campaign. The Hill: Red-state governor races put both parties on edge. The Associated Press: Pennsylvania's gas politics churn as Trump embraces industry. Politico: Dick's Sporting Goods CEO quietly tests presidential bid. Elsewhere on the political scene: Biden will sit down for an interview with "60 Minutes" set to air on Sunday night, CBS News announced on Tuesday. Biden, along with his wife Dr. Jill Biden, talked to CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell at their home in Delaware and discussed "the state of his campaign." … Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) is expected to attend a campaign rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Detroit on Sunday and endorse the Vermont senator. With the endorsement, Tlaib will become the third member of "the squad" to support Sanders after Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) did so over the weekend (The Hill). *** CONGRESS: Senators broke a months-long stalemate over funding the government on Tuesday, but major hurdles remain to avoid a shutdown next month. House and Senate lawmakers are stuck over issues related to a mammoth defense bill and GOP demands for Trump's border wall, and the divisions are raising the prospect of another stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating once the current one runs out on Nov. 21. The package advanced in the Senate on Tuesday includes the funding measures for agriculture; interior; commerce, justice and science; and transportation and housing and urban development — four largely noncontroversial bills — and senators in both parties say they are optimistic the package will pass. The House, by comparison, has passed 10. Republicans are hoping that this week's votes could help end the logjam over funding the government. "Hopefully the Democrats will play ball and we can actually get the appropriations process moving," said John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican (The Hill). > Syria: McConnell and other top Republicans on Tuesday introduced a resolution warning the Trump administration against withdrawing U.S. troops from northern Syria. According to the GOP leader, the measure is backed by Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) — the chairmen of the Armed Services, Intelligence, Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, respectively. "Withdrawing from Syria will invite more of the chaos that breeds terrorism and creates a vacuum our adversaries will certainly fill," McConnell said on the Senate floor. The resolution calls on Trump to halt the pullback of U.S. forces and warns that a "precipitous withdrawal" would "create vacuums." It also urges Trump to rescind his invitation for Erdoğan to visit the White House next month and opposes Turkey's military action. "The Senate needs to speak up. We cannot effectively support our partners on the ground without a military presence," McConnell added (The Hill). The Hill: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocks vote on House-passed Syria resolution for second time. > Housing: A hearing Tuesday highlighted the deep divide between House Democrats and the Trump administration over housing policy as lawmakers pressed officials on their plans and accused them of ignoring what they said was a housing affordability crisis. Three top Trump administration officials testified before the House Financial Services Committee to explain efforts to reform the federal housing finance system. But the hearing was a contentious affair, as Democrats challenged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria over the rise in housing costs and its devastating results. "The Trump administration's housing finance reform plan would be disastrous for our housing system," Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said (The Hill). | 
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