1. WHEELING AND DEALING: Negotiations on President Biden's $2.3 trillion jobs plan are in full swing. He will meet later today in the Oval Office with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, some of whom are former mayors and governors. Meanwhile, Vice President Harris will head to North Carolina touting the plan as she delivers her first major speech on the economy. However, the more talks continue around the plan, the more it becomes apparent that some major roadblocks remain.
A deal is said to be forming around corporate taxes: Biden and Democrats, Axios reports, are increasingly prepared to accept a 25% rate rather than the 28% currently in the plan. Trump and the GOP's 2017 tax law lowered the overall corporate rate from 35% to 21%.
Time remains a factor: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has privately told lawmakers that she wants House passage before July 4, a speedy timeline in an institution that moves notoriously slow. Unlike Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue plan, the White House expects the infrastructure plan to move through a more normal process of hearings and mark-ups.
2. Fauci expects a decision on Johnson & Johnson this week: Dr. Anthony Fauci hopes there will be a call on the paused COVID-19 shot by Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a meeting that day to discuss what to do about the vaccine that was paused after six women developed rare blood clots.
3. These are the stocks lawmakers are trading: Rep. Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts, is one of the newest investors in Swedish company Oura, the maker of a high-tech wearable ring that measures all sorts of biometrics. Moulton invested up to $250,000 in the private company. He told Insider that he's recused himself from decisions related to his or his wife's investments. Here's a peek at our exclusive look at the portfolios of the powerful.
Dogecoin is in the halls of Congress. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of the cryptocurrency. And Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, sold off his investment in Revival, a custom window company. He netted between $1 million and $5 million from the sale, which his office said was managed by a private trustee like all of his other investments.
4. Poll shows McConaughey with a double-digit lead over Gov. Greg Abbott: Texans favor Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey over Abbott, the Republican governor, according to a poll released by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler. Respondents back McConaughey (45%) over Abbott (33%) while 22% would support someone else. McConaughey has said he's considering a run but has yet to make a decision.
5. Closing arguments in Derek Chauvin's murder trial are due today: Minneapolis and cities throughout the country are preparing for unrest as the jury is expected to begin deliberations later today. CNN reports that Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco are readying extra officers in anticipation of the verdict. More on the preparations here.
The top House Republican warned Pelosi about Waters' comments:
6. The top things for your calendar, all times Eastern:
10:00 a.m.: Chauvin's trial resumes for closing arguments
11:50 a.m.: Harris speaks at the Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina.
12:15 p.m.: Jen Psaki holds the White House daily news briefing
1:15 p.m.: Biden meets with a group of bipartisan lawmakers in the Oval Office
7. Bush shares a big regret: Former President George W. Bush said his failure to get comprehensive immigration reform passed is one of the "biggest disappointments" of his presidency. Bush said he would still support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the US. More comments from a rare interview.
8. Authorities are searching for the suspect in a deadly Austin shooting: Police are searching for a former Travis County deputy who is suspected of killing three people in a domestic violence incident, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The man in question is also facing charges for sexually assaulting a child. The manhunt is still ongoing as of just after 5 a.m. ET.
Today's trivia question: Speaking of soccer, who is the only president who played college soccer? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at bgriffiths@insider.com.
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