Congress passed a highway bill extension. "Congress dug itself out of a hole of its own creation by clearing a transportation extension Thursday...The Senate cleared the bill by voice vote, following on the heels of House passage, 266-158. Lawmakers have now given themselves a three-month window to come to some kind of agreement on a longer-term transportation bill...The ultimate endgame for the long-term bill is as unclear as ever, particularly since Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) announced that she will object to moving any more transportation extensions this year. And the need for another extension seems likely, given the difficulties the House has had moving anything at all and the complexities inherent in negotiating a transportation bill. To meet that time frame, the House would have to regroup, pass a bill and work through a conference agreement with the Senate. A close examination of the congressional calendar pushes the goal line even farther away. Within that three-month time span, the House will be in session for just 31 legislative days, the Senate for just 45." Kathryn Wolfe in Politico.

3) House GOP leaders may move major tax votes to before Election Day. "The tax debate cometh -- and sooner than you think. House Republican leaders are privately considering moving a politically hot debate on tax cuts to before Election Day, according to aides and GOP lawmakers who have been involved in conversations...A slew of tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush are set to expire at the end of 2012 and soar to pre-2001 levels, including the individual tax rates for all Americans...Republican leaders are also weighing whether to take up a number of other tax credits and rebates -- loopholes in the Tax Code known as tax extenders -- that favor certain industries. While GOP leaders are unlikely to move forward on an extension of the individual tax rates before November, there is growing support among rank-and-file House Republicans to force a showdown with Democrats and the White House over the other tax provisions." John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman in Politico.

4) Obama has developed a more expansive view of executive power. "When he ran for president, Barack Obama promised to roll back President George W. Bush's use of executive power, a defining point of the Bush presidency. The pledge was part of a broader pitch about Mr. Obama's governing style, which he said would focus on solving problems in a pragmatic, cooperative way. The allure of executive power, it turns out, is hard to resist. Most every chief executive has found ways to escape the shackles of the legislature and expand the power of the presidency. Three years into his first term, Mr. Obama has developed his own expansive view of going it alone, asserting new executive powers and challenging members of Congress in both parties...Traditionally, clashes about executive power have centered on national security and foreign policy...What's unusual about Mr. Obama is that he also has used executive power to press his domestic agenda." Laura Meckler in The Wall Street Journal.

5) The House cleared Ryan's budget on a party line vote. "The House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $3.5 trillion budget plan proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on a 228 to 191 vote, largely along party lines...The Ryan plan, which proposes cutting tax rates and a dramatic revamping of Medicare to curb costs for future retirees, faces all but certain rejection in the Senate but will frame the parties’ election-year debate on fiscal issues. The plan cuts $5.3 trillion over the next decade -- entirely through deep cuts in entitlements and agency spending. The House vote breakdown was 228 Republicans in favor, and 181 Democrats and 10 Republicans opposed. After the vote, Republicans ground out press releases praising the vote for proposing 'real solutions' to improve the economy. Democrats responded with a round of statements decrying the GOP effort to revamp Medicare...In many ways, the bitter debate and lopsided vote were a repeat of a House debate over a Ryan plan introduced a year ago." Rosalind Helderman and Paul Kane in The Washington Post.

@brianbeutler: House GOP votes to replace Medicare with Obamacare in the hope that the Supreme Court will throw the whole thing out.

@morningmoneyben: So Ryan got not one single Dem vote? Not one? Yowzers.

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