Good morning from the WSJ Washington Bureau. We write this newsletter each weekday to deliver exclusive insights and analysis from our reporting team in Washington. Sign up.

Biden Administration: President Biden is set to depart the White House at 10:50 a.m. ET en route to Valhalla, N.Y.,  where he will deliver remarks on the debt ceiling at 1:30 p.m. Mr. Biden is set to attend campaign receptions in New York City at 5:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. He will depart for the White House at 8:30 p.m.

Economy: The Labor Department is set to release at 8:30 a.m. its April consumer-price index, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s strategy over whether to pause its interest-rate increases.

Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine said it had destroyed two units of a Russian brigade in the eastern city of Bakhmut after months of grinding combat.

The jury, following a two-week civil trial in which the columnist alleged the former president raped her in a Manhattan department store nearly 30 years ago, didn’t find that Mr. Trump committed rape but found it more likely than not that he sexually abused Ms. Carroll, report James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey. The verdict injected new uncertainty into the 2024 presidential race, testing whether voters and Republican allies will stick with Mr. Trump  through another controversy.

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remained at loggerheads after the meeting, but the parties set plans for a new round of talks, report Andrew Restuccia and Natalie Andrews. After the meeting, Mr. Biden said that he and his advisers are exploring whether it is possible to invoke the 14th Amendment to unilaterally issue debt, but added that he doesn’t view that as a quick fix because the legality of such a move is disputed and it would be litigated in court. (▶️Video)

• ‘Stop Printing Money.’ How Voters Would Solve the Debt-Ceiling Standoff (Read)

• What Happens if the Limit Isn’t Raised? (Read)

Republicans worry they risk another disappointing election and two more years in the minority, reports Siobhan Hughes. In 2022, the party expected a “red wave” fueled by economic anxiety would carry it to power in the Senate, but candidates lost races in battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, leaving Democrats with a 51-49 majority. 

In other politics news...

• New York Rep. George Santos Charged in Justice Department Probe (Read)

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein to Return to Senate After Extended Absence (Read)

• Tucker Carlson Announces Twitter Show, Alleges Fox Breached Contract (Read) (▶️Video)

Prices dropped in more parts of the U.S. than they have in over a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors, reports Nicole Friedman. During the peak of the housing boom, home prices surged in practically every corner of the U.S. Now, the housing market is split down the middle of the country, with prices still rising in many parts of the Midwest, South and Northeast while sliding in Western states.

• The Home Buyer’s Quandary: Nobody’s Selling (Read)

The operation highlights the FBI’s increasing efforts to go beyond arresting hackers and find new ways to disrupt cyberattacks, report Aruna Viswanatha and Dustin Volz. The operation effectively hobbled one of Russia’s most well-known and oldest cyber espionage groups, officials and security experts said, a vaunted hacking team that has been previously linked to devastating thefts of U.S. secrets.

In other national security news...

• U.S. Senators Revive Bid to Form Covid-19 Commission (Read)

▶️Video: The U.S. is trying to counter China’s militarization of the region by strengthening alliances and gaining access to bases near Taiwan and the South China Sea. WSJ’s Shelby Holliday traveled to the Philippines to see how the strategy is playing out.

In other world news...

• Venezuelan Migrants Set Sights on U.S. After Finding Hardship in Colombia (Read)

• Pakistan Seeks to Extend Imran Khan’s Detention (Read) (▶️Video)

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s 11 Democrats requested details on payments or gifts worth more than $415 to any Supreme Court justice or justice’s relative, as well as details on real-estate transactions, lodging, transportation and private club benefits, reports Jess Bravin. The requests of Mr. Crow and the entities that formally own his private resort, jet and yacht came after the Republican real-estate magnate rebuffed a request for information on his gifts to and business dealings with Justice Thomas.

In other legal news...

• Ex-Coinbase Worker Gets Two-Year Prison Term in First Cryptocurrency Insider-Trading Case (Read)

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis severed his connection to his longstanding state political committee and its nearly $86 million, a step he needs to take ahead of a presidential campaign. (Politico)
• Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump have positioned themselves as economic nationalists, self-consciously abandoning the precepts of the old order of global interdependence. (The Atlantic)
• A U.S. college education, once a status symbol for Chinese families, appears to be losing its appeal as many consider alternative destinations. (Axios)

Yesterday, we asked if a federal government default would benefit Democrats or Republicans politically,

A government default wouldn't benefit either party. It would only increase the unfavorable ratings of both parties and the current administration. Americans are sick and tired of political drama that doesn't result in real meaningful actions to solve the deficit and debt problems.
–Greg Winchester, Florida

While I feel any default truly benefits no one particularly, I feel that any political benefit would ultimately go to the group not trying to gum up the works with political games, which would be the Democrats. The national debt has grown over numerous administrations and political combinations and is a nonpartisan if undesirable reality. To intentionally create a debt crisis and its accompanying misery through political chicanery, as the Republicans are trying to do, instead of simply their sovereign duty as they have often done in the past, has to eventually cost them.
–Steve Sutton, Arizona

As the threat of a default grows, Republicans will benefit politically, due to poor expectation management by the Biden team. President Biden’s message has been consistent but unrealistic. Even his own team never believed there would be a “clean debt limit” raise, so no matter how close to a solution the two sides get, it won’t be “clean” and if Biden refuses to sign, voters will remember that he was never realistic in the first place. On the other hand, expectations on the Republican side were set so low that it seemed doubtful that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could even get his party to agree on a position. Now it looks to voters like the McCarthy team did its job.
–Hack Heyward, Oregon

Responses have been condensed and edited.

Should the latest court decision against Donald Trump count against his candidacy for the Republican nomination in 2024?

Let us know at politics@wsj.com or reply to this newsletter. Include your full name and location, and we may publish your response in an upcoming issue.

This newsletter is written by the WSJ Washington bureau. Send feedback to politics@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.