In a sign of how concerned the White House is over immigration, President Biden is considering borrowing a page from former President Trump.

Why it matters: The Senate's bipartisan border negotiations are dead. But the president's political problem at the border hasn't gone away, Axios' Hans Nichols and Stef Kight report.

• The dramatic actions that Biden is considering on the southern border — including an executive order that would restrict the ability of migrants to claim asylum — don't require congressional approval.

Zoom in: Through executive action, Biden would attempt to turn asylum-seekers away at the border if they cross illegally, similar to what the Senate compromise plan contemplated, as first reported by CNN.

• Trump repeatedly tried to restrict access to asylum — and is planning to do so again if he returns to the White House.
• The legal authority that Biden is considering powered Trump's Muslim ban and similar sweeping restrictions at the border, which got tied up in courts.
• If elected again, Trump wants to use Section 212f of the U.S. code, which grants the president broad power to "suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants" if their entry "would be detrimental to the interests of the United States."

The White House still wants a deal from Congress, said spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.

• "No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected," he said.

The bottom line: The actions under consideration will inflame Latino groups and the progressive wing of Biden's party, which has expressed alarm about some of the policy changes Biden has been mulling.

• A White House official cautioned that a final decision has not been made on any potential executive actions.
• But the official noted the administration wanted to preserve its ability to secure the border.

Democrats plan to use Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as a first line of attack against Larry Hogan, the state's former Republican governor who is now running for Senate, Axios' Stephen Neukam reports.

Why it matters: Hogan's decision to jump into the Senate contest has thrown a safely Democratic seat into play for Republicans.

• The seat is open: Longtime Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is not seeking-re-election.
• Moore plans to launch an offensive against Hogan's record as governor in the coming months, three sources told Axios.
• The attacks on Hogan's record will sour a mostly rosy relationship between the two governors.

Zoom in: Hogan alums were helpful to the Moore staff as the governor's mansion changed hands last year, said a senior Democratic source who was involved in the transition.

• "The relationship was very cordial," the Democratic source said. "They were very kind to each other."

Moore has criticized Hogan for blocking millions in funding for abortion care while he was in office.

• "Anyone who thinks that there is no threat to women's reproductive rights and abortion access is delusional," Moore said on X, formerly Twitter.
• Hogan fired back at Moore's "delusional" comment, telling Fox 5 that Moore "ought to pay attention to his day job."

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The House Freedom Caucus confirmed today that it's ready for a fight on a government shutdown, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

Why it matters: The Freedom Caucus' official position leaves Speaker Mike Johnson having to choose between defying the hard-line conservative group and working with Democrats to pass a budget — or working with it and risking a shutdown.

• Freedom Caucus members prefer a yearlong spending stopgap if they can't get their way on using the budget process to push other policy priorities, they said in a new letter to Johnson today.
• That's a dealbreaker for Democrats, who won't support the 1% across-the-board cuts triggered by a long-term stopgap.

Between the lines: Johnson and Democrats have reached an advanced phase of negotiations on individual spending bills, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

• The current spending negotiations aren't expected to include many, if any, of the numerous restrictions on abortion, gender-affirming care and border policy that were included in earlier bills to secure enough Republican support to pass.

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Nikki Haley commented today on a new Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be protected as "unborn life."

• "Embryos, to me, are babies," Haley told NBC News.
• "When you talk about an embryo, you are talking about, to me, that's a life. And so I do see where that's coming from when they talk about that."

The big picture: Alabama has one of the strictest bans on abortions in the country, and the court's decision on Friday resulted in the University of Alabama at Birmingham pausing IVF treatments.

• "We are saddened that this will impact our patients' attempt to have a baby through IVF, but we must evaluate the potential that our patients and our physicians could be prosecuted criminally or face punitive damages for following the standard of care for IVF treatments."