“As the debt ceiling fight heats up on Capitol Hill, House Democrats are eyeing an end-around strategy to bypass Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — and the conservative hawks driving his agenda — to avoid a federal default later in the year,” The Hill reports.

“Democratic leaders have already begun talks about tapping a procedural tool, known as a discharge petition, to force a debt-limit hike to the floor without the accompanying cuts McCarthy is demanding, according to sources familiar with the closed-door discussions. That would align House Democrats with President Biden, who is insisting on a ‘clean’ debt-ceiling increase absent any other budget changes.”

“President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet one-on-one for the first time today. The White House has positioned this meeting as a relatively standard session, during which the leaders will discuss a range of topics,” Punchbowl News reports.

“McCarthy, however, sees this as a face-to-face with the president that will focus on two of his key legislative priorities this Congress – boosting the debt limit and cutting government spending.”

“To review, Biden says he won’t negotiate over the debt limit and believes it should be lifted without preconditions. Several senior White House aides tell us that even if Biden and McCarthy were to cut a deal, they’re skeptical McCarthy would have the support to pass it through the fractious House.”

Playbook: “The White House strategy, therefore, is patience. House Republicans are divided, and Biden’s team believes McCarthy is unlikely to craft a budget plan that can secure 218 votes given the internal contradictions within his conference among libertarians, defense hawks, and moderates representing Biden districts. McCarthy’s effort to do so will be wrenching and instructive, they believe, and will shape the contours of the debate as the debt ceiling deadline approaches in early summer.”

“The House is preparing to vote on a resolution to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the Foreign Affairs Committee as soon as Wednesday after Republicans found a way to bring a key GOP holdout on board,” Axios reports.

“The Rules Committee is meeting Tuesday evening to consider the resolution kicking Omar off her committees, slating it for a vote in the House as soon as this week.”

“The meeting comes after Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), who had been one of three Republicans planning to vote no, said Tuesday that she will vote for the resolution after it added language that allows members to appeal their removals from committees.”

Politico: Omar, now a Dem unifier, faces down her GOP critics.

Multiple men have described to ABC News past romantic relationships with Rep. George Santos — some allegedly occurring when they were still teenagers — that they said turned toxic due to a flood of lies that Santos told to try to manipulate and trap them.

“House Democrats are placing Rep. Adam Schiff on a high-profile committee at the center of combating Republican investigations for the next two years, fresh off Speaker Kevin McCarthy booting him from another panel,” Politico reports.

“The California Democrat is one of a roster of party fighters who will now serve on the House Judiciary or Oversight Committees, with the full lineup of members approved by the House this week.”