Good Monday morning. I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audi Briefing, sponsored by SoftBank.

And I'm Jake Sherman. We are beginning what could be one of the most momentous weeks in Donald Trump's presidency, a week that could set the tone for the rest of his term.

Not only is former counsel Bob Mueller testifying live on national TV for five hours, but his administration is struggling to cut a budget deal that could avoid more than $100 billion in spending guts come the beginning

of next year and dispense with the nettles some debt limit until after the 2020 election.

There are four days until the August recess. Democratic leadership has said they will not keep

the chamber in session passed this week.

The Washington Post is reporting that the final product is unlikely to include spending cuts

despite the debt limit being lifted for two years. The Post describes the deal as a retreat

for the White House since they originally called for spending cuts. The larger question inside

the White House is this. Will Mnuchin win and get Trump to support the bill?

Or will the fiscal hawks and OMB, backed by Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, inject enough skepticism to make him wary and tank the deal?

The larger question in the Capitol, how do members of Congress view this deal? A two-year debt limit coupled with a

boost of budget caps is, broadly speaking, an attractive proposition for Congress in today's day.

But there are tripwires. There will still be a few Republicans who balked spending increases.

There will be Democrats who are wary of any agreement that could allow Donald Trump to enact

policies they disagree with. It would be in Pelosi and Mnuchin's interest to get this deal wrapped up,

get Trump on board, get the votes in line, and have it posted as soon as possible. The House is

only in session until Friday. Democrats have a rule that a bill must be posted 72 hours before a vote.

So if this isn't wrapped up this week, Congress will face a massive time crunch after Labor Day to lift the debt limit.

On Wednesday, Robert Mueller will come to Capitol Hill to testify.

There's two theories rattling around town.

One, that the hearing will be a bust since Mueller has said he won't say anything outside the four corners of his report.

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