House Speaker Mike Johnson is staring down a brutal stretch of deadlines and uncomfortable votes when the House returns from recess next week.

⏰ Why it matters: Johnson bought himself time this spring by punting a series of politically difficult fights. But those deadlines are now coming due.

• Johnson faces expiring surveillance authorities, a growing push for another reconciliation package and several politically difficult floor votes.

✈️ Driving the news: Congress left town last week without approving funding for ICE and Border Patrol by President Trump's self-imposed June 1 deadline.

• House conservatives are frustrated with their Republican counterparts across the Capitol and are expected to renew demands for action when lawmakers return.
• Senators are deadlocked over the path forward after a revolt over Trump's $1.8 billion weaponization fund, which was temporarily blocked today by a federal judge.

🛑 GOP leaders scrapped a vote on a war powers resolution to rein in Trump's military operations in Iran just before the House left town after concluding they didn't have the votes to defeat it.

• 🗳️ The war powers vote will happen next week and is expected to pass with a handful of GOP defections, which would mark Congress' first successful rebuke of Trump's Iran war effort.
• ✍️ Leaders are also bracing for another successful discharge petition vote, as a package of Russia sanctions and billions of dollars in Ukraine aid is expected to pass.

🕵️‍♀️ Johnson faces a thorny path on a three-year extension of FISA, which is set to lapse on June 12.

• Congress has twice punted the issue.
• Conservatives want warrant requirements attached to the surveillance program, while the White House and GOP leadership are pushing for a clean extension.

There are also members who want to take another crack at reconciliation to refocus on affordability before the midterms.

• Johnson has repeatedly dangled the prospect of a third reconciliation bill to cut deals with his members.
• But lawmakers are running short on in-session days before the August recess. Many members view that recess as the practical deadline for getting another package across the finish line.

The intrigue: Johnson is also losing one of his closest advisers.

• Longtime chief of staff Hayden Hayes is departing the speaker's office, Punchbowl News first reported today.
• Hayes was a key adviser throughout Johnson's rise to the speakership.

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— Kate Santaliz

Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) is in what fellow House Democrats and other sources familiar with his race describe as an "existential" battle for reelection.

🤺 Why it matters: The race embodies the Democratic civil war being waged across the country, with an establishment-aligned member of the party's old guard fending off a challenge from a younger leftist.

• Espaillat, a longtime fixture in Upper Manhattan politics, is touting support from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
• His rival, community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, is backed by the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Justice Democrats and, most recently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

🦻🏻 What we're hearing: A House Democrat told us that Espaillat "did hand me a floor card early on to ask for support," which caught their eye because the Hispanic Caucus chair had "never asked me for money."

• Another House Democrat said the widely held perception among members is that Espaillat may be in trouble, telling us the "polling is much closer than it should be."
• "He indeed has a tough primary," a third lawmaker told us.

💰 By the numbers: Pro-Espaillat groups are starting to spend big on the race — another indication that the lawmaker's allies are taking Avila Chevalier's challenge seriously.

• In addition to Jeffries and the CHC, Espaillat has been endorsed by leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus.

The other side: Avila Chevalier's biggest outside backer is Justice Democrats, the left-wing group that helped fuel Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) rise. It is spending more than $250,000 on ads supporting her.

The bottom line: "Congressman Espaillat is proud to have the support of colleagues from across the Democratic Caucus who know his record, leadership and effectiveness firsthand," Espaillat campaign spokesperson Reginald Johnson said in a statement to us.

• "He continues to enjoy strong support and collaboration from his colleagues in Congress and, more importantly, from the constituents he serves every day."

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— Andrew Solender