The Note: Trump has to show his cards on whether he backs Roy Moore It’s time for President Donald Trump to choose.

 -- The TAKE with Rick Klein

It's time for President Donald Trump to choose.

In the intraparty war over Roy Moore, does Trump try to push him out of the race – aligning himself (again) with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell?

Or does he stay just enough removed from the Alabama Senate race to be one of the last Republicans standing, giving Steve Bannon's candidate a sliver of a chance to bounce back?

The answer could have lasting implications for governance and the midterm elections and maybe the future of the Republican Party.

The insider vs. outsider war has already been playing out – even in Alabama, of course, where Trump and McConnell couldn't stop Moore in the primary race. The stakes are even higher now in a defining political episode that's coinciding with the major cultural moment around powerful men and sexual misbehavior.

As Trump returns to work in Washington today, the official White House line remains that Moore should step aside "if these allegations are true."

Most leadership Republicans have now abandoned qualifiers in favor of outright calling for his exit.

Notably, Moore's latest fundraising appeal evokes Trump sliming his critics in the media: "It's the same playbook they used in their failed attempt to keep Donald Trump out of the White House." Moore goes on to attack McConnell and other Republicans he calls "vicious thugs."

It's not at all clear that Trump's urging would force Moore from the race. Moore won the primary in part with voters who felt like Trump was duped into supporting Sen. Luther Strange.

But as battle lines are drawn for 2018, the president's language matters.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

The last time Senate Republicans voted on scrapping key parts of the Affordable Care Act it didn't go so well for them.

But Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said on Fox News Tuesday he thinks Senate Republicans now have the votes to repeal the so-called "individual mandate, " the rule that requires Americans to have health insurance, one of the key pillars of the current law.

Republicans' plan, it seems, is to lump that repeal provision into the Senate tax reform package. When publicly confronted with those rumors, Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch first tried to dodge, but then copped to the idea.

Tacking on the partial Obamacare repeal is a major gamble.

It could help Republicans get the cost of their pricey tax cut legislation down a bit, but also add some potential political pitfalls. The Senate is looking to score wins with two top priorities in one swoop, but tying health care to tax reform could alienate key allies and put the Senate bill in peril.

"RED ALERT," Sen Al Franken tweeted at the news, "Senate GOP just added provision to their tax plan that would gut ACA & kick 13M people off insurance."

Repealing the mandate alone would not "kick" people off insurance, but it would result in 13 million more Americans without health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The research office says millions of Americans who buy their own coverage would be priced out of the market and unable to afford plans.

As a consolation, the Senate could also include the bipartisan bill from the health care committee that was designed to help stabilize prices in those individual insurance marketplaces.

But remember, that bill was written after the president vowed to stop paying the federal cost-reduction subsidies. Repealing the mandate would bring a different level of chaos to those markets.

The House bill does not include a repeal of the mandate at this point — though a growing chorus now want it included. The chamber has passed that before, but is unlikely to add it before voting this week.

The TIP with Katherine Faulders and Alexander Mallin

The Republican National Committee is cutting off its relationship with Roy Moore's campaign, terminating their joint fundraising agreement with him as well as a coordinated field program that consisted of about a dozen canvassers in Alabama.

The report first surfaced in POLITICO, the details of which were confirmed by two RNC officials to ABC News. The RNC has also updated its FEC filing online.

The move follows the National Republican Senate Committee's announcement Friday that it was withdrawing from its own fundraising agreement with Moore, a move that put the RNC under increasing pressure through the weekend to follow suit.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY:

The Senate Finance Committee continues its markup of the Senate tax bill.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus holds a news conference to urge the passage of the bipartisan DREAM Act before the end of the year on Capitol Hill.

Advocates for Opioid Recovery and the Collaborative for Effective Prescription Opioid Policies hold a briefing on the national opioid emergency and need for medication assisted treatment.

On ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" podcast with Rick Klein and Mary Bruce, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, discusses the ongoing investigation into Russian election meddling.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I will not accept, and reject, accusations that I have ever lied under oath. That is a lie." - Attorney General Jeff Sessions during congressional testimony on Tuesday.

NEED TO READ

Senate Republicans include individual mandate repeal in tax plan. Senate Republicans have included a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, which requires people to purchase health insurance or face penalties, in their tax plan, complicating the party's efforts to reshape the tax code by year's end. (Benjamin Siegel) http://abcn.ws/2jqAMyk

5 key moments from Jeff Sessions' testimony before House Judiciary Committee. Attorney General Jeff Sessions denied suggestions Tuesday that he misled Congress in previous appearances before Senate committees in which he was asked about Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials. (Adam Kelsey) http://abcn.ws/2igWhxU

ANALYSIS: Sessions gives Trump what he wants - a return to ‘Crooked Hillary.' After months of public and private pressure, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is giving President Donald Trump what he's long demanded, going back to the days of "Crooked Hillary" and "lock her up." (Rick Klein) http://abcn.ws/2z2zL6E

Legal experts weigh in on Sessions' call to evaluate Clinton allegations. "Certainly Sessions' involvement with the Trump presidential campaign, which already branded Secretary Clinton a criminal, would raise a question of his impartiality in these circumstances," said Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center and a former Republican chair of the Federal Election Commission. (Lauren Pearle) http://abcn.ws/2zHtrjV

ANALYSIS: Trump ends his ‘grueling' Asia tour happy to come home. It was the longest trip to Asia by any U.S. president in more than 25 years -- 13 days, five countries and multiple time zones that had the 71-year-old president upside down, his working days happening during the overnight hours back in Washington. (Karen Travers) http://abcn.ws/2z0dw0X

ANALYSIS: China, South Korea grapple with Trump trip effect. Here's how the tenuous relationship of the three most powerful countries Trump visited -- South Korea, China and Japan -- could play out after his visit. (Joohee Cho and Karson Yiu) http://abcn.ws/2jwpite

What all 52 Republican senators say about embattled Alabama candidate Roy Moore. A small but growing number of Republican senators are calling for Roy Moore to drop out of the Alabama Senate race, but so far Moore insists he will continue to run. (Mariam Khan and Justin Fishel) http://abcn.ws/2yYA4zh

Senate committee considers president's power to launch nuclear weapons. For the first time in 40 years, a Senate committee reviewed the president's singular authority to launch nuclear weapons — a move which comes amid increased tensions with North Korea. (Sarah Kolinovsky) http://abcn.ws/2hztd7E

Congressional Black Caucus members grill Jeff Sessions on relationship with minority communities. During his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Sessions said he has yet to hire an African American to a senior level staff position at the Department of Justice. (Erica Y. King) http://abcn.ws/2hrt2I7

What you need to know about the "Uranium One' deal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has inquired about the need for a special prosecutor to investigate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's role in approving the 2010 acquisition of U.S. uranium stockpiles by a Russian energy company. (Justin Fishel) http://abcn.ws/2zBsnOW

Tillerson to visit Myanmar amid violence against Muslim minority. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is heading to Myanmar amid continued hostilities towards Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine province. (Justin Coleman) http://abcn.ws/2zKSCQK

Congresswoman warns of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. Two female members of Congress said Tuesday that victims of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill have had their private parts grabbed on the House floor and have been exposed to Congress members' genitals. (Benjamin Siegel) http://abcn.ws/2joMKZ3

FiveThirtyEight ranks the House Republicans who could cause problems for the tax bill. http://53eig.ht/2zJLvrA

NYT: Roy Moore, long divisive in his hometown, and even more so now. Delores Abney, 63, a retired domestic violence counselor, said she and her husband had heard things about Roy Moore and his interest in younger women, for years. http://nyti.ms/2iiBMkL

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.