“Dude. Don’t blame the intern.”

— Monica Lewinsky reacting to Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WY) explanation of how his chief of staff ended up in possession of a slate of fake electors.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has put her home in Maine up for sale and intends to purchase “a slightly smaller house with more land,” the Bangor Daily News reports.

Their current home “has been the site of numerous protests.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) disclosed he sustained a major injury to his right hand while doing yard work over the weekend with “a high risk of infection and the possible need for amputation” of some fingers, Politico reports.

After revelations that he was asked to give slate of fake electors to Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) appeared to fake a phone call to avoid taking questions from reporters as he walked away from the Capitol.

Said Johnson: “I’m on the phone right now.”

Replied the reporter: “No you’re not. I can see your phone. I can see your screen.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) insisted that “there’s no conspiracy here” when CNN pressed him over his staff’s newly-revealed attempt to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election.

Text messages show Johnson had an “alternate slate of electors” to personally deliver to Vice President Mike Pence, but the senator claimed that “some staff intern said the vice president needs this, or whatever. I wasn’t involved.”

It’s worth remembering that Johnson had already acknowledged that Biden won the election in mid-December 2020.

“A top aide to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) attempted to arrange a handoff of false, pro-Trump electors from the senator to Mike Pence just minutes before the then-vice president began to count electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021,” Politico reports.

“The aide, Sean Riley, told Pence’s legislative director Chris Hodgson that Johnson wanted to hand Pence lists of the fake electors from Michigan and Wisconsin for Pence to introduce during the counting of electoral votes that certified Joe Biden’s win.”

“Senate Democrats are preparing for possible summer action on their still-elusive climate, tax reform and prescription drugs bill, grinding behind the scenes on a new version during high-profile gun safety talks,” Politico reports.

“With much of Washington’s attention on guns, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) met twice this week on a potential party-line package. There’s more afoot: Schumer and his staff are working with the Senate parliamentarian to help tee up a possible July or August vote. And a prominent Democratic pollster has tested how popular major components of a hypothetical bill would be in Senate battleground states.”

“Leaked text messages between Utah Sen. Mike Lee and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows suggest Lee was a participant in the plot to keep Donald Trump in office, a charge Lee vehemently disputes,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“Recently released court documents could prove problematic for Lee’s defense.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) “is backing away from a proposal to require low-income Americans to pay at least some federal income tax, shifting his stance after facing criticism from fellow Republicans and handing an attack line to President Biden and Democrats,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The proposal “now states that able-bodied Americans under 60 should work if they don’t have young children or incapacitated dependents.”

Also new in Scott’s revamp: making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is throwing his support behind Steve Dettelbach, President Biden’s nominee to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Hill reports.

The Senate hasn’t confirmed a permanent leader of the agency since 2013. 

“The Senate failed to confirm Lisa Gomez to lead the Employee Benefits Security Administration within the Labor Department on Wednesday. The vote was 49-51, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer voting nay for procedural reasons to allow a vote again at a later date,” Politico reports.

“The problem here? Vice President Kamala Harris is needed to break a tie on the nomination. But she was on the West Coast.”

Jill Lawrence: “To be clear, Manchin will never be a progressive hero. He’s got corporate ties and sympathies. He was once on the board of the super-conservative American Legislative Exchange Council. He’s worried about the federal deficit. He’s skeptical about government spending. He’s an unreliable partner. And, yes, that 95 percent score is in part because he blocks some nominees and bills before votes are cast.”

“But could another Democrat win statewide in West Virginia? Would progressives prefer a Republican over Manchin? It’s time to stop bashing him, and appreciate him for what he is—a Democratic ally, more often than not.”