• House Republicans passed their legislation to raise the debt limit, with four intraparty dissenters. The measure is dead on arrival in the Senate and opposed by President Joe Biden, but it’s seen as a move to get the White House to the negotiating table ahead of a summer deadline to avoid a default. (Politico)
• In an 11-10 vote, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted to advance Julie Su’s nomination to be secretary of Labor. Her future faces major questions on the Senate floor, where Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) remain undecided despite supporting her as the department’s deputy in 2021. (Roll Call)
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is reportedly poised to launch an exploratory committee for the Republican presidential nomination in mid-May, with some of his supporters urging him to declare his candidacy as soon as May 11. (NBC News) At home in Florida, DeSantis is facing a new lawsuit by Walt Disney Co. accusing him of weaponizing his power to punish the company for exercising its free speech rights. (CNN)
• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is expected to launch his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Manchin’s Senate seat today. Manchin has yet to say whether he’ll seek re-election. (The Washington Post)

• • Justice’s move could set up a marquee race in a solidly red state between one of America’s most popular governors and one of its least popular senators if Manchin does run, according to our latest quarterly approval ratings. (Morning Consult)

Happening today (all in ET):

• 9 a.m. House in session.

• 11 a.m. South Korean president speaks to a joint meeting of Congress.

• 12 p.m. Senate in session. 

• 1 p.m. IRS commissioner testifies to House Ways and Means Committee. 

• 1:30 p.m. FBI director testifies to House Appropriations subcommittee. 

• 1:45 p.m. White House press secretary holds briefing.
• 2:15 p.m. Reps. Scalise, Jordan speak on Republican immigration legislation. 

As Yoon Visits White House, Public Opinion Headwinds Are Swirling at Home
Morning Consult

Bidens host glamorous state dinner to cap off visit from South Korean president
Betsy Klein and Sam Fossum, CNN

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden capped South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official state visit with a glamorous state dinner at the White House Wednesday night to celebrate the two nations’ 70-year alliance.

Joe Biden’s Secret Oval Office TV
Eli Stokols, Politico

We might never again have a president like Donald Trump, a reality TV star who spent hours in the Oval Office watching TV and reacting in real time to coverage of himself. But while he can’t match his predecessor’s compulsive appetites, that doesn’t mean Joe Biden isn’t obsessed with the media in his own way.

U.S. planning to send a consular team to Sudan to assist fleeing Americans
Alexander Ward and Lara Seligman, Politico

The State Department is planning to send a consular “fly away” team to the Port of Sudan to help evacuating Americans get home, three people familiar with the plans said.

Border officials are already short on space and money, and a massive migrant surge is coming
Julia Ainsley, NBC News

On Sunday, 18,000 migrants were already in CBP processing centers along the border, and when the Title 42 Covid ban ends May 11, a surge of potentially record size will begin.

Hunter Biden lawyers meet with Justice Department
Paula Reid et al., CNN

Lawyers for Hunter Biden met with Justice Department officials on Wednesday to discuss the long-running criminal investigation into the president’s son.

The GOP wonks trying to get their party not to detonate the debt limit bomb
Jeff Stein, The Washington Post

An increasingly personal spat among conservative policy nerds could have big implications as U.S. nears economic disaster.

Senate votes to overturn Biden truck pollution limit
Rachel Frazin, The Hill

The Senate on Wednesday passed a Republican-led effort to undo a Biden administration rule that aims to cut pollution from heavy-duty trucks.

Why Republicans see electoral gold in talking up energy
Ack Colman and Josh Siegel, Politico

The GOP believes its energy plan is a winner on the campaign trail. Most people don’t know about it.

Congress Considers Paying Developers of New Antibiotics
Dominique Mosbergen, The Wall Street Journal

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives plans to introduce legislation aimed at encouraging drugmakers to develop antibiotics and antifungal drugs to address a growing public-health threat. 

House, Senate craft separate health care packages
Lauren Clason and Jessie Hellmann, Roll Call

House lawmakers are kick-starting the legislative process for a number of health care bills at the same time their Senate counterparts are shaping their own package on drug pricing, and members appear to be finding common ground on pharmacy benefit managers.

GOP senators grow weary of Tuberville abortion stalemate on defense nominees
Alexander Bolton, The Hill

Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) prolonged hold on the promotions of Pentagon officials is rattling fellow Republicans, who worry the potential cost to national security is starting to outweigh whatever political points Tuberville may be scoring against the Biden administration.

Goldman Sachs sees late July deadline for hiking debt limit
Brian Faler, Politico

The government is unlikely to hit the drop-dead date for raising the debt limit until late July, Goldman Sachs said Wednesday.

Tucker Carlson breaks silence but fails to address firing from Fox News
Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times

Tucker Carlson, the polarizing conservative prime-time host ousted by Fox News on Monday, has broken his silence. Carlson posted a two-minute video to Twitter on Wednesday evening, speaking out for the first time since being let go.

Judge Sentences Trump Allies in ‘We Build the Wall’ Scheme
Colin Moynihan, The New York Times

Andrew Badolato was sentenced to three years in prison and Brian Kolfage four years and three months, after being accused of channeling donor contributions into their own pockets.

Trump can’t stop Pence from testifying to Jan. 6 grand jury, court rules
Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post

Donald Trump cannot block his former vice president from testifying before a grand jury investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

Trump lawyers: Notes for calls with foreign leaders are among classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago
Betsy Woodruff Swan, Politico

The new detail was revealed in a letter from Trump’s lawyers to Congress.

GOP study on poor 2022 election showing doesn’t mention Trump
Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer, The Washington Post

Republican officials said they avoided including the former president in part because the party aims to stay neutral in the 2024 primaries.

Is Trump Inevitable? Some in the GOP Are Starting To Wonder
Jonathan Martin, Politico

It’s still quite early, but the parade of sycophants to Mar-a-Lago worries Chris Christie and others who’ve rejected the ex-president.

Trump is racking up GOP endorsements, even amid criminal jeopardy
Isaac Arnsdorf et al., The Washington Post

The former president is consolidating support among GOP members of Congress and others, even as he faces a thicket of legal woes.

Republican billionaire rules out supporting DeSantis: ‘Doesn’t even return phone calls’
Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner

New York billionaire and Trump megadonor John Catsimatidis is ruling out supporting Ron DeSantis for president in the 2024 election, telling the Washington Examiner in an interview that the Republican Florida governor “doesn’t even return [his] phone calls.”

DeSantis seeks to burnish foreign credentials with Israel speech
Hannah Knowles, The Washington Post

The Florida governor is in Jerusalem for his highest-profile platform yet to discuss foreign affairs ahead of a 2024 presidential campaign.

Asa Hutchinson formally launches 2024 campaign in Arkansas
Andrew DeMillo and Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched his Republican presidential campaign Wednesday, pledging to “bring out the best of America” and aiming to draw contrasts with other GOP hopefuls on top issues, including how best to reform federal law enforcement agencies.

The Tiny, Tight-Lipped Circle of Aides Guiding Biden 2024
Reid J. Epstein and Katie Glueck, The New York Times

They rarely give on-the-record interviews. Only two are on Twitter. But they will be the main force behind the president’s political strategy.

Biden took ‘hard look’ at his age, would run even if Trump wasn’t
Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News

Biden told ABC’s Mary Bruce he respects voters taking a look at his age.

Trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr banned from House chamber after supporting protesters
Sam Wilson et al., Billings Gazette

Republicans in Montana’s House of Representatives voted Wednesday to ban a Democratic transgender lawmaker from the chamber, following her support for protesters who shut down the body’s proceedings earlier in the week. 

Gianforte’s son one of many lobbying governor against trans bills
Mara Silvers, ProPublica

In late March, David Gianforte made an appointment to talk about three bills with Montana’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, who happens to be his father.

Missouri judge temporarily blocks limits on gender-affirming care for trans youth and adults from going into effect
Devan Cole, CNN

A state judge in Missouri temporarily blocked the state’s limits on gender-affirming care for minors and adults in the state on Wednesday, putting them on hold just hours before they were set to go into effect.

Florida’s conservative chief justice once affirmed abortion protections
Beth Reinhard and Caroline Kitchener, The Washington Post

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a strict abortion ban hours after it overwhelmingly passed the Republican-led legislature this month — yet whether the law can take effect hinges on a case before the state Supreme Court.

Clemency denied for death row inmate after unprecedented move by Oklahoma AG attending hearing on inmate’s behalf
Brynn Gingras et al., CNN

Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday denied clemency in the case of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate who has long insisted he is innocent of the 1997 murder for which he’s scheduled to be executed next month.

He Calls the Shots for New York’s Governor. He Lives in Colorado.
Nicholas Fandos and Jeffery C. Mays, The New York Times

Adam Sullivan holds deep influence over Gov. Kathy Hochul, her administration and campaign team, even as skepticism mounts over his judgment and distance from New York.

Elon Musk is back on Capitol Hill and meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Daniella Diaz and Anthony Adragna, Politico

The billionaire Twitter and Tesla owner visited the Capitol earlier this year to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Inside a new FAA reauthorization flight: Washington Reagan flights
Jake Sherman, Punchbowl News

Delta Air Lines is backing a new coalition aimed at altering the perimeter requirements at Washington Reagan Airport as part of the FAA reauthorization.

How the Other Half Votes: Manchin and Tester’s Challenge
Kyle Kondik, Sabato’s Crystal Ball

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) are outliers in Congress — no other Senate or House member holds a state/district that is more hostile to his or her party at the presidential level than this pair.

Biden’s economic diplomacy push with China is high-risk, low reward
Josh Rogin, The Washington Post

As he kicks off his reelection campaign, President Biden is doubling down on his push for economic engagement with Beijing. Seeking such dialogue makes political sense, but it risks lifting U.S. pressure on China without achieving real gains in return.