Senate Republicans are looking for an off-ramp on an issue that divides their leadership team: year-round ethanol sales.

• "We are probably going to have to make a tweak on the small refinery exemption, which we're working on," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told us.

⛽️ Why it matters: Public splits between Senate GOP leaders are rare. But few issues fracture Republicans like ethanol.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants to kill two birds with one bill: increase corn prices for vulnerable senators, and increase the fuel supply to help lower gas prices.
• But he needs to deconflict with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), his second-in-command.
• "I oppose the year-round E15 mandate," Barrasso said on the Senate floor today, referencing a gas blend of up to 15% ethanol. "I oppose it because it hurts small oil refineries and all of the people who work at them."

☑️ Between the lines: "We need to get E15 done," Thune said at an Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday.

• "That solves a couple of important problems, one of which is demand for corn in this country."
• A Senate leadership aide acknowledged there's a geographic split in the Senate but told us passing the bill is a priority.

🚜 Zoom in: After the House passed a standalone E15 bill last night, senators immediately began discussing potential revisions — and possible legislative vehicles.

• "Sen. [John] Boozman [R-Ark.] would like to include it in the Farm Bill. That'd be one option," Hoeven told us.

🛢️ The big picture: For all of Barrasso's opposition, he made it clear that his main concern is small refiners.

• 🌽 But corn-state lawmakers and candidates need a political win, GOP strategists tell us.
• That includes Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), as well as Rep. Ashley Hinson, the likely GOP Senate nominee in Iowa.

🐄 The other side: Some Republicans oppose government support for ethanol on ideological grounds.

• "I'm not a real fan," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. "I like corn as food."

— Hans Nichols

House Speaker Mike Johnson is out of wiggle room to stop Democrats on war powers votes.

• Today's vote failed in a tie after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) voted with Republicans. There are now three Republican "yes" votes on war powers.

➕ Why it matters: Democrats expect a missing member to return for votes next week, while Republicans are waiting in limbo on Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), who hasn't voted in two months.

🔎 Zoom in: Johnson was pressed today on Kean's whereabouts.

• "I have spoken to him," Johnson told reporters today about Kean, "about two weeks ago."
• Kean is recovering from a "personal health condition," his chief of staff told reporters.
• His return doesn't seem imminent: He backed out of a local New Jersey breakfast event on May 28, the New York Times reported today, and organizers wished him a fast recovery.

🔙 The other side: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has his own missing lawmaker.

• Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) told Jeffries she'll be back on Wednesday, we learned today from Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones. He spoke with Wilson, who has missed votes for a month, this afternoon.
• "You've got to come. The numbers are too small," Jeffries told Wilson during their call, referring to the House's extremely narrow vote margin, a senior House Democrat and another source familiar with the discussion told us.
• The 83-year-old Wilson has told allies she will run for reelection after rumors swirled about a possible retirement.

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— Justin Green, Andrew Solender and Marc Caputo