• Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department would seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court to preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone following an appeals court ruling that allowed the drug to stay on the market but imposed restrictions on its use. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation that would ban most abortions in his state after six weeks, with exceptions for victims of rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks into a pregnancy if a woman provides evidence such as a police report. The move could help DeSantis, who’s expected to launch a presidential bid later this year, stand out among conservative voters, but poses a risk in a general election campaign should he secure his party’s nod. (Politico)
• House Republicans are said to be coalescing around a budget plan that would propose  recapturing unspent COVID-19 relief funds, ending President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation program, rescinding Democrats’ climate spending and capping Affordable Care Act subsidies. However, there continues to be disagreement among GOP lawmakers over whether potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare should be on the table. (Axios)
• A handful of Republican senators are said to be pushing for some sort of deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would allow him to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee while she’s on medical leave. (NBC News) Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will return to the chamber for its session next week after being hospitalized for a concussion in March. (NBC News)

Happening today (all in ET):

• 12 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the National Action Network National Convention.

• 2 p.m. Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak at the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action’s leadership forum in Indianapolis. 
• 4:15 p.m. Biden speaks in County Mayo, Ireland. 

Nearly Half of the Public Opposes Texas Judge’s Decision to Overturn FDA’s Approval of Abortion Pill
Morning Consult

Ireland Marks Biden ‘Homecoming’ More Than 150 Years After His Ancestors Fled
Catherine Lucey, The Wall Street Journal

President Biden often turns to Irish poets to convey his deepest emotions. In Ireland this week as he reflected on the visit, he spoke more plainly: “It feels wonderful. Feels like I’m coming home.”

White House asks agencies to step up workers’ return to offices
David Shepardson, Reuters

The White House on Thursday asked federal agencies to revise workforce plans as it aims to “substantially increase” in-person work by government employees at headquarters offices and improve services, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Biden wants to coax Americans into electric cars. These 3 groups have other ideas.
Tanya Snyder et al., Politico

President Joe Biden’s attempt to force automobile companies to supercharge the supply of electric vehicles could spur a huge fight with the oil and gas industry — and provoke a partisan feeding frenzy from Republicans looking for their next gas-stoves-style culture war.

The climate change debate dividing the World Bank
Zack Colman and Ben White, Politico

Addressing climate change by transitioning the world’s power grids, automobiles and industries to greener sources will cost trillions — and Janet Yellen and European authorities have no desire for massive new spending right now.

Marjorie Taylor Greene defends National Guardsman suspected of leaking classified docs
Zoë Richards, NBC News

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday defended the man arrested in connection with a high-profile investigation into leaked classified documents.

House GOP Subpoenas FTC for Twitter Investigation Documents
Ryan Tracy, The Wall Street Journal

House committee says agency is making burdensome demands as part of privacy probe.

Inside the GOP’s 100-day “weaponization” war
Stef W. Kight, Axios

100 days into their majority, the House GOP’s top two investigative panels have issued nearly three dozen subpoenas — plowing forward in a range of aggressive probes even as Democrats and federal agencies claim foul play.

Pelosi seeks balance in post-Speakership role
Mike Lillis, The Hill

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seeking a delicate balance in the new Congress where she’s ceded her official leadership duties but still exerts outsized influence within a caucus she piloted for 20 years.

Suspected leaker of top-secret Pentagon documents arrested
Shane Harris et al., The Washington Post

Officials say Jack Teixeira, a National Guard technology support staffer, is suspected of mishandling U.S. military security secrets.

Former DNI John Ratcliffe is latest Trump adviser to appear before Jan. 6 grand jury: Sources
Katherine Faulders et al., ABC News

Former President Donald Trump’s one-time director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, appeared before a federal grand jury investigating Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Former Trump intel official testifies in Mar-a-Lago classified documents probe
Zachary Cohen et al., CNN

Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell testified Thursday before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents. CNN identified Grenell as he was departing the courthouse in Washington, DC. 

Appeals court refuses to decide if Trump can be shielded from rape accuser’s defamation suit
Reuters

The Washington, D.C., federal appeals court said it didn’t have enough facts to decide whether Trump was acting as president when he accused writer E. Jean Carroll of lying about the alleged encounter.

Trump Answered All Questions at Second Deposition, Opting Not to Plead the Fifth
Erik Larson, Bloomberg

Former President Donald Trump defended his real estate business during a seven-hour deposition with New York Attorney General Letitia James, defying expectations that he would plead his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as he did the first time he was questioned.

Supreme Court allows $6 billion student loan debt settlement
Lawrence Hurley, NBC News

The justices declined to intervene over a class-action settlement that could lead to the cancellation of more than 200,000 loans based on claims that colleges misled students.

Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.
Justin Elliott et al., ProPublica

The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.

Clarence Thomas’ Mom Definitely Still Lives in the House the Billionaire Bought
Shirin Ali, Slate

The revelations about Clarence Thomas’ financial ties to billionaire donor Harlan Crow—most of which the justice has routinely declined to disclose in his annual ethics documentation—keep coming.

Republican 2024 Hopefuls Look to Navigate Gun Politics at N.R.A. Meeting
Katie Glueck, The New York Times

The current and potential 2024 presidential candidates are expected to show support for gun owners’ rights — a core issue for the party’s base, but one that can be a tougher sell in a general election.

Ron DeSantis, Down in Polls and Taking Flak From Donald Trump, Looks to Rebound
Alex LearyFollow, The Wall Street Journal

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies are sharpening their message nationally and in early GOP primary states as he copes with a drop in his poll numbers and sustained attacks from Donald Trump.

Tim Scott gets tripped up on abortion ban questions
Natalie Allison and Lisa Kashinsky, Politico

The senator is courting the evangelical vote. But he has difficulty detailing where he is on one of the group’s main issues.

‘We’re Getting Killed on Abortion’: Inside Trump’s Secret Meetings With the Religious Right
Tessa Stuart and Asawin Suebsaeng, Rolling Stone

Since late last year, Donald Trump has been holding private meetings with religious right figures in an effort to remind them about his anti-abortion record and ensure their support. But instead of thanking Trump for his role in repealing Roe v Wade, the leaders are pressing for hardcore commitments that go far beyond what he is comfortable with — and what he thinks voters will allow him to get away with.  

North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd Endorses Donald Trump for President
Matthew Boyle, Breitbart News

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), the freshman U.S. Senator who just won in the 2022 midterm elections, is formally endorsing former President Donald Trump for president in 2024, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson forms committee to explore run for Romney’s Senate seat
Suzanne Bates, Deseret News

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson announced he’s forming an exploratory committee for a 2024 run for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mitt Romney.

Republicans look to stave off chaotic primaries in Senate races
Liz Goodwin and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Washington Post

A secret meeting of potential GOP Senate candidates in Arizona was missing a key player, underscoring the difficulty in shaping intraparty races.

McCarthy, Scalise, cash transfers fuel House GOP campaign arm fundraising haul
Paul Steinhauser, Fox News

House Republicans aim to expand fragile majority in 2024 elections.

Jeffries raises $33.4 million in first quarter as top House Dem
Ali Vitali, NBC News

As first reported by NBC News, Jeffries raked in tens of millions of dollars in his first three months as Minority Leader.

George Santos has a possible challenger, as ex-Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi considers a run for his old seat
Brian Schwartz, CNBC

Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York is telling political leaders and wealthy donors that he is considering running for his old seat held by embattled Republican Rep. George Santos, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Politics Rooted in Protest Fuels ‘the Justins’ of Tennessee
Clyde McGrady et al., The New York Times

The young Black Democrats expelled from the legislature bring an activist approach, and model themselves after civil rights leaders of the past.

Facing Tough Senate Race, Montana G.O.P. Looks to Change the Rules
Nick Corasaniti, The New York Times

An election bill moving through the Republican-led legislature would rewrite the rules for a single race: the looming battle against Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat.

Newsom faces push to name Black woman to Senate if Feinstein retires
Lara Korte and Rachel Bluth, Politico

No Black women currently serve in the upper chamber.

Whitmer signs gun control bills passed in response to deadly MSU shooting
Craig Mauger, The Detroit News

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the most far-reaching new laws aimed at curbing gun violence in decades in Michigan on Thursday, two months after a mass shooting on the campus of Michigan State University left three students dead and five severely injured.

Missouri AG issues emergency order restricting gender-affirming health care
Brooke Migdon, The Hill

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) on Thursday put into effect an emergency regulation claiming gender-affirming health care for transgender minors is already illegal under a state law prohibiting certain medical interventions in the absence of “substantial guardrails.”

Conservative business group taps Barr to helm legal arm
Caitlin Oprysko, Politico

The conservative business group seeking to win over former allies of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has enlisted a powerful player to help take their fight against government regulation to the courts.

The Biden-Trump Plan to Cut Social Security
David McIntosh, The Wall Street Journal

Doing nothing won’t protect beneficiaries. It’ll subject them to automatic 23% cuts in 10 years.

I Oversaw the Massachusetts Air National Guard. I Cannot Fathom How This Happened.
Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic

The government may classify too much intelligence, but that doesn’t mean a low-level employee should be able to see it.

Washington Imagined It Would Become a Big-time Business Town. Of Course That Never Happened.
Michael Schaffer, Politico

In a city of politics-and-government titans, the business scene remains comparatively puny.