• President Joe Biden is reportedly set to meet tomorrow with congressional leaders for discussions about raising the federal debt limit following staff-level negotiations over the weekend. The two sides are said to have found common ground on issues such as permitting reform, rescinding unspent COVID-19 funds and potential spending cuts. (CNN)
• The Border Patrol made 6,300 arrests on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a sharp drop from the 10,000-plus on the three days ahead of Thursday’s expiration of the pandemic-era Title 42 border rules. That initial reprieve is expected to be followed by a surge to as many as 14,000 a day, according to a Border Patrol official. (The Associated Press)
• Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2012 and 2016, suggested he might seek the Republican Party’s nomination next year and distanced himself from former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid.  (CNN)

Happening today (all in ET):

• 2 p.m. House in session.
• 3 p.m. Senate in session.

Gas prices have fallen 30% in the last year
Axios

Republicans, Democrats Making Progress in Debt-Limit Talks, Yellen Says
Andrew Duehren, The Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration and congressional Republicans are making progress in their negotiations over federal spending and raising the debt limit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, adding that she believes the talks could result in an agreement.

Plunging Tax Revenue Accelerates Debt-Ceiling Deadline
Richard Rubin, The Wall Street Journal

​​Wall Street and Washington got jolted this month by government warnings that the U.S. could become unable to pay all its bills as soon as June 1. That crunch came months sooner than expected, raising the specter of a default on federal obligations unless Congress increases the debt ceiling. 

The end of Ukraine aid is rapidly approaching. Reupping it won’t be easy
Paul McLeary et al., Politico

The Pentagon could run out money for weapons by midsummer.

Biden calls white supremacy greatest terrorism threat as 2024 race heats up
Toluse Olorunnipa, The Washington Post

At Howard University, president says U.S. history ‘has not always been a fairy tale’ and urges unity against racism.

Top Republican investigating Biden administration Afghanistan withdrawal requests transcribed interviews
Alayna Treene, CNN

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul announced Sunday that he had formally requested a series of transcribed interviews from current and former State Department officials as part of his panel’s investigation into the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Manchin ratchets up battle with Biden
Al Weaver and Alex Gangitano, The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is becoming a bigger problem for President Biden and Democrats in the Senate as he faces an uphill reelection battle in West Virginia, a state where former President Trump won one of his biggest victories in 2020. 

California Democrats further torn after seeing Sen. Feinstein’s return to Washington
Seema Mehta and Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times

As she approaches retirement age, Democrat Donna Perkins understands reluctance about telling Sen. Dianne Feinstein what to do as she winds down her career.

US senator denounced as ‘profoundly ignorant man’ over remarks on Mexico
Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian

Mexicans “would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback” Steakhouse restaurant if it were not for their nation’s proximity to the US, and their country should be invaded because of the presence of drug cartels there, the US senator John Neely Kennedy said.

Capitol Hill Staffer Is A Prominent Follower Of Neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes
Hunter Walker, Talking Points Memo

Evidence shows Congressman Paul Gosar’s digital director is behind an online persona that Fuentes called one of his “strongest soldiers.”

G7 leaders to target Russian energy, trade in new sanctions steps
Trevor Hunnicutt and Andreas Rinke, Reuters

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations plan to tighten sanctions on Russia at their summit in Japan this week, with steps aimed at energy and exports aiding Moscow’s war effort, said officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.

G-7 Leaders Expected to Take Aim at Chinese ‘Economic Coercion’
Annie Linskey et al., The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. and its allies are poised to increase pressure on China at this week’s Group of Seven summit in Japan, with an expected joint statement rejecting use of economic retaliation against nations over policy disputes and other disagreements, according to people familiar with the situation.

Wagner chief offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine, leak says
Shane Harris and Isabelle Khurshudyan, The Washington Post

Yevgeniy Prigozhin said he would tell Ukraine’s military where to attack Russian troops if they pulled their own forces back from the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, where Wagner mercenaries were taking heavy losses.

How the Supreme Court might view the debt limit fight
Betsy Woodruff Swan, Politico

A debt-ceiling deadlock could push Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment — setting up a showdown at the high court.

Memos show how Supreme Court justices scramble at the end of the session
Joan Biskupic, CNN

Supreme Court justices are entering the peak season for back-channeling. This is when individual justices intensify their private huddling to try to resolve seemingly intractable differences and when a personal plea – out of sight of the others – might persuade someone to abandon a concurring opinion that undercuts the main decision for the court

Eric Adams Says He’s a Progressive. Democrats Beg to Differ.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons, The New York Times

Left-leaning New Yorkers say the mayor is moving the city in a more conservative direction on issues like policing, rent and providing shelter to those in need.

How to Raise $89 Million in Small Donations, and Make It Disappear
David A. Fahrenthold and Tiff Fehr, The New York Times

A group of conservative operatives using sophisticated robocalls raised millions of dollars from donors using pro-police and pro-veteran messages.

Trump Interview Hits DeSantis, Abortion, New Media Blitz
Marc Caputo, The Messenger

Former President Donald Trump’s CNN town hall appearance marked a turning point in his media management strategy, as his campaign plans to do more outreach beyond conservative media. 

The Ratcatcher
The American Conservative

In an exclusive interview with The American Conservative, Florida’s Ron DeSantis explains his war with Disney for the soul and sovereignty of America.

Trump puts DeSantis in a bind on 2020: Can he bring himself to say Trump lost?
Sally Goldenberg, Politico

The Florida governor is making the case that he’s more electable than Trump. Just don’t ask him if Trump lost.

DeSantis Impresses in Iowa, Showing Up an Absent Trump
Nicholas Nehamas and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times

The former president canceled a rally in Des Moines, citing a storm warning. The Florida governor made the most of his rival’s absence, as DeSantis allies taunted Mr. Trump.

Trump Changed GOP Rules to Make Winning the Nomination Even Easier — for Trump
Gregory Korte, Bloomberg

Republicans seeking to keep Donald Trump from becoming their party’s nominee will have to overcome rules even more favorable to the former president than the ones that helped him clinch the 2016 nomination.

Nikki Haley Says Pledging a Federal Abortion Ban Wouldn’t Be ‘Honest’
Maggie Astor, The New York Times

The Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley refused on Sunday to endorse a federal abortion ban at a specific number of weeks’ gestation, saying that to do so would be to lie to the American people about what is politically possible.

Biden team aims to compete in North Carolina, test ground in Florida
Michael Scherer and Tyler Pager, The Washington Post

The strategy could provide alternate paths to victory if the president falters in other battleground states.

Dems’ great hope to hold the Senate: GOP primary implosions
Burgess Everett and Holly Otterbein, Politico

Despite Republicans’ new strategy, Democrats are looking for “extreme candidates” to come out of Senate GOP primaries and give them a leg up in an otherwise bleak electoral map.

The GOP’s shrinking Senate map
Josh Kraushaar, Axios

One of the biggest immediate consequences if Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket in 2024: Republicans may campaign aggressively in fewer Senate battleground races.

How Kyrsten Sinema Uses Campaign Cash for Her Marathon Habit
Sam Brodey, The Daily Beast

When Kyrsten Sinema ran the Boston Marathon last year, it was a proud moment the Arizona senator—an avid marathoner and triathlete—wanted to publicize.

How Much Did Election Denial Hurt Republicans in the Midterms?
Nick Corasaniti, The New York Times

Denying the results of the 2020 election and casting doubts about the nation’s voting system cost statewide Republican candidates 2.3 to 3.7 percentage points in the midterms last year, according to a new study from States United Action, a nonpartisan group that promotes fair elections.

How Florida became a conservative bastion
Max Greenwood, The Hill

Florida has become the nerve center of the modern Republican Party. Once the nation’s largest and most volatile swing state, Florida has lurched to the right in recent years, becoming a mecca for the GOP’s most influential luminaries and wealthiest donors. 

Abortion Showdown in North Carolina May Hinge on a Single Vote
Kate Kelly, The New York Times

After the G.O.P.-led legislature passed a 12-week ban, the Democratic governor vetoed the bill. The Republicans could override it, if all their members stay unified.

ChatGPT CEO heads to Congress as lawmakers face AI explosion
Rebecca Klar, The Hill

The CEO of the company behind ChatGPT will head to Congress next week as lawmakers’ race to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and more companies steam ahead with the technology.

Planned Parenthood calls for major judicial reform
Oriana González, Axios

Planned Parenthood is calling for the major reform of the federal judiciary less than a year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, including expanding the Supreme Court and adding term limits.

The Case for Violating the Debt Limit Is Dangerous Nonsense
Michael W. McConnell, The New York Times

President Biden is playing a dangerous game. When the federal government’s deficit spending is about to exceed the amount Congress has authorized it to borrow and the Treasury has run out of what are known as extraordinary measures to stave off disaster, Congress and the president must negotiate a compromise resolution, or the nation faces the prospect of default.

What Congress can do, right now, about Justice Thomas
The Editorial Board, The Washington Post

As reports about the financial dealings of Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, dribble out, the country’s institutions of government appear to be stuck.