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House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Saturday that there's a chance Republicans will filibuster former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel's nomination as secretary of defense. "Sen. Hagel did not do a very good job before the Armed Services committee," McConnell said. "I think the opposition to him is intensifying. Whether that means he will end up having to achieve 60 votes or 51 is not clear yet." McConnell did not say how he planned to vote.

When Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) announced Saturday that he wouldn’t seek a sixth term, Republicans rejoiced at the possibility of picking up the seat in 2014. But, that joy soon gave way to political reality — the likelihood of a primary between conservative, tea-party-aligned Rep. Steve King and a more establishment GOP figure such as Rep. Tom Latham or Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. And, just in case Republicans thought they might avoid that sort of primary fight, King released this statement Saturday night: “Iowans now have a real opportunity to elect a true Constitutional conservative.” (In case you were wondering, he is referring to himself.)

Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said Wednesday that he is standing by his statement that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape "that's something God intended." He says some people have twisted the meaning of his comment....

"Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock’s comments do not reflect Gov. Romney’s views," Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an email. "We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him."

The FiveThirtyEight forecast model now gives Republicans just about a 16 percent chance of winning control of the Senate. This is a precipitous drop from just two months ago.

Todd Akin’s list of allies has grown yet again. Akin this morning won the endorsement of the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), the PAC founded by influential conservative Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. DeMint himself endorsed Akin Wednesday in a joint announcement with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Under fire from his own party for controversial comments on rape, U.S. Republican Representative Todd Akin on Thursday won the support of social conservatives in his effort to stay in Missouri's US Senate race.

... Last year, Akin, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and most of the House GOP cosponsored a bill that would have narrowed the already-narrow exceptions to the laws banning federal funding for abortion—from all cases of rape to cases of "forcible rape."

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says the odds of Republicans taking over the Senate after November's elections and him becoming the new majority leader are "50-50."