• House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) accepted an invitation from President Joe Biden to congressional leaders to meet on May 9 about raising the debt ceiling. The meeting comes amid renewed urgency for Washington to reach an agreement after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the country could default on its debt by June 1. (CNN)
• McCarthy emphasized his support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine and urged Russia to end its invasion in response to a question from a Russian reporter in Israel, distancing himself from some in the Republican Party who have opposed American spending there. (The Associated Press) McCarthy also offered an informal invitation to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for high-level meetings on Capitol Hill, an implicit challenge to Biden, who has refrained from inviting him to Washington. (The New York Times)
• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he will not launch a presidential campaign this year, likely ending speculation about a Republican bid. (CBS News) Our tracking of the 2024 GOP primary has shown Youngkin with 1% support or less among the party’s national electorate since tracking began in December. (Morning Consult)
• Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said he will not run for re-election, setting up a potentially highly competitive Democratic primary for a rare open Senate seat in the blue state. (The Baltimore Sun) Meanwhile in Texas, Democratic Rep. Colin Allred is reportedly planning to launch a campaign against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz as soon as this week. (Politico)

Happening today (all in ET):

• 9:30 a.m. Interior secretary testifies to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

• 10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearing on Supreme Court ethics.

• 10 a.m. Senate in session.
• 1 p.m. White House press secretary holds briefing.

3 in 10 Americans Say They Know Someone Affected by Opioid Addiction Amid Surge in U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths
Morning Consult

Biden Secured Trillions in Domestic Spending. Now Comes the Hard Part.
Andrew Restuccia, The Wall Street Journal

President Biden is reorienting swaths of the federal government to focus on implementing the sweeping legislation he signed into law in his first two years in office and directing his senior advisers to guard against the waste and fraud that have bedeviled previous government programs.

US Weighs More Business Deposit Insurance After Banks Fail
Katanga Johnson, Bloomberg

A top US regulator wants a sweeping overhaul of deposit insurance after recent bank failures partly drained a pool of money the government uses to protect lenders’ clients.

Biden eyes Mike Whitaker for FAA administrator
Hans Nichols and Joann Muller, Axios

Mike Whitaker, a former Federal Aviation Administration official under President Obama, has emerged as a leading candidate to head the agency for President Biden, according to people familiar with the matter.

White House Considers Two Key Nominations at the Fed
Jeanna Smialek and Jim Tankersley, The New York Times

Administration officials are considering Adriana Kugler, an official at the World Bank, for a Fed governor job, while elevating a sitting governor to the role of vice chair.

Biden administration to let Afghan evacuees renew temporary legal status amid inaction in Congress
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News

The Biden administration is planning to allow tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of their homeland to apply to stay and work in the country legally for at least another two years, as efforts in Congress to legalize them have stalled, four people familiar with the plan told CBS News.

Most federal covid vaccine mandates to end May 11
Dan Diamond, The Washington Post

The Biden administration will end its requirements that most international travelers, federal workers and contractors, health-care workers and Head Start educators be vaccinated against the coronavirus effective on May 11 — the same day it terminates the pandemic-related public health emergency.

Biden’s Willow approval may get a sequel
Lamar Johnson, Politico

The Biden administration may back yet another big fossil fuel project in Alaska, thanks in part to a boost from the president’s landmark climate law.

Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general
Amanda Seitz, The Associated Press

Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic.

Muslim NJ mayor demands answers after being turned away from White House Eid celebration
Hannan Adely, NorthJersey.com

The longest-serving Muslim mayor in New Jersey said he was stunned after he got a call Monday afternoon disinviting him from an annual Eid al-Fitr celebration at the White House while he was in his car just miles away from the event.

Hunter Biden must answer more questions about his finances and art sales in Arkansas paternity case, judge says
Marshall Cohen, CNN

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, will need to sit for a sworn deposition and answer additional written questions about his investments, art sales and other financial transactions as part of a paternity-related case, an Arkansas judge said Monday.

Senators to hear testimony on Supreme Court ethics
Nina Totenberg, NPR News

Supreme Court ethics are front and center Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony from a variety of witnesses ranging from judicial ethics experts to a former attorney general in the George W. Bush administration.

Manchin tries again on permitting reform
John Bresnahan, Punchbowl News

After trying but failing to push through a permitting reform proposal in the closing days of the 117th Congress, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will try again today by introducing the American Energy Security Act of 2023.

Manchin’s ‘playing with fire’ — and some Democrats are tired of the drama
Josh Siegel, Politico

The West Virginia senator contends the administration is defying Congress in its rollout of the last year’s climate law. Some fellow Democrats fear he’s undermining the legislation he shaped.

The Republican border bill is in limbo over a crackdown on illegal workers
Kadia Goba, Semafor

Before Republicans bring their border bill to the floor next week, they’ll need to agree on one last component: E-Verify.

Some of the billions in farm bill funds could flow to lawmakers writing the bill
Garrett Downs, Politico

Lawmakers are hoping to boost farm subsidies in the upcoming farm bill. Some watchdogs say they’re paying themselves.

Suspect in Texas massacre had been deported 4 times after entering US illegally, ICE source says
Ed Lavandera et al., CNN

The man wanted by law enforcement for the killings of five Texas neighbors – including a 9-year-old boy – had entered the US illegally and been deported by immigration officials at least four times, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement source said.

Supreme Court accepts case that challenges authority of federal agencies
Robert Barnes, The Washington Post

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would reconsider whether judges should defer to federal agencies when interpreting ambiguous federal laws, a decades-old precedent long targeted by conservatives concerned about the power of the administrative state.

Trump’s defense grills E. Jean Carroll about old social media posts in rape allegation trial
Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian, NBC News

In Carroll’s last day of scheduled testimony, Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina asked her about old Facebook posts in which she praised Donald Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice.”

Feds: Hospitals that denied emergency abortion broke the law
Amanda Seitz, The Associated Press

Two hospitals that refused to provide an emergency abortion to a pregnant woman who was experiencing premature labor put her life in jeopardy and violated federal law, a first-of-its-kind investigation by the federal government has found.

Trump to sit down with CNN in implicit dig at Fox
Alex Isenstadt, Politico

The president has ridiculed the cable news network relentlessly. He will do a town hall event with it next week.

“Get Him Out of Here”: Donald Trump Tossed NBC Reporter’s Phones During Tirade Aboard Campaign Plane
Charlotte Klein, Vanity Fair

In a recording obtained by Vanity Fair, the former president lashed out at Vaughn Hillyard over his questions related to the Manhattan DA’s case, demonstrating that the ex-president’s hostile attitude toward the press remains unchanged going into 2024.

Big trouble managing funds for Managed Funds Association PAC
Alexandria Jacobson, Raw Story

Fraudsters keep coming for big bucks from political action committees and politicians — and repeatedly.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says he won’t seek a fourth term
Caroline Vakil, The Hill

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced on Monday that he will not seek reelection for a fourth term next year.

Florida oversight board votes to sue Disney as part of the company’s ongoing fight with DeSantis
Matt Dixon, NBC News

The local governing board that oversees much of Walt Disney World voted Monday to sue the company as part of an ongoing political feud fueled by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis expands Florida death penalty law, defying U.S. Supreme Court
Tim Craig, The Washington Post

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) expanded Florida’s death penalty law on Monday, signing a measure making it a capital crime to rape a child under the age of 12, a law that could set up a future U.S. Supreme Court case.

The first arrests from DeSantis’s election police take extensive toll
Lori Rozsa, The Washington Post

The fallout came fast when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new election police unit charged Peter Washington with voter fraud last summer as part of a crackdown against felons who’d allegedly broken the law by casting a ballot.

Republican-controlled states target college students’ voting power ahead of high-stakes 2024 elections
Fredreka Schouten and Shania Shelton, CNN

Republican-controlled legislatures around the country have moved to erect new barriers to voting for high school and college students in what state lawmakers describe as an effort to clamp down on potential voter fraud. Critics call it a blatant attempt to suppress the youth vote as young people increasingly bolster Democratic candidates and liberal causes at the ballot box.

Montana trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr sues state over censure
Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News

Zephyr was disciplined over criticism of a gender-affirming care ban.

Oklahoma governor signs legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors
Jack Forrest and Joe Sutton, CNN

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law Monday banning gender-affirming care for minors with the possibility of a felony charge for health care professionals who provide it.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott promises to keep busing migrants to Democratic cities
Natasha Korecki, NBC News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday that he would not stop sending migrants to her city, even though she pleaded with him to halt the action.

Biden Loses Debt-Limit Leverage as Business Groups Push for Talks With McCarthy
Jordan Fabian, Bloomberg

President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure from business groups to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the US debt limit, a blow to the White House’s goal of avoiding talks with Republicans on raising it. 

Leonard Leo used Federalist Society contact to obtain $1.6 billion donation
Heidi Przybyla, Politico

Leonard Leo, who helped to choose judicial nominees for former President Donald Trump, obtained a historic $1.6 billion gift for his conservative legal network via an introduction through the Federalist Society, whose tax status forbids political activism.

Hitting 50, Heritage Foundation looks to move past ‘Conservatism Inc.’
Emily Brooks, The Hill

The Heritage Foundation is having a midlife transformation. At the age of 50, the conservative think tank is rethinking itself and testing whether it’s possible for the conservative Washington institution to get edgy.

Biden Isn’t the Only Official Who Could Pardon Trump
Kim Wehle, Politico

Now that the criminal justice system has begun bringing charges against former President Donald Trump, it’s only a matter of time before he gets convicted of something, somewhere. And as soon as that happens, the next question to face our political system is, will he be pardoned?

Small-dollar donors didn’t save democracy. They made it worse.
David Byler, The Washington Post

Small-dollar donors were supposed to save democracy. Reformers had hoped that grass-roots political fundraising — connected by the internet and united against corruption — would become a formidable force to counter the money that wealthy individuals funnel to candidates.