©  AP

FBI Director Christopher Wray is in the middle of a bitter battle with Republican lawmakers, who have accused the FBI of unfairly targeting conservatives.

House Republicans are now preparing to hold Wray in contempt of Congress amid a dispute over a subpoena related to an unverified law enforcement tip about President Biden. The contempt effort is expected to begin Thursday.

Wray, who climbed the ranks of the Justice Department with nominations from two Republican presidents, is a little more than halfway through his 10-year tenure at the helm of the FBI, leading the agency through one of its most heavily scrutinized periods.

“It is an incredibly challenging job and all FBI directors — and I worked for two — face waves of difficult decisions and vexing problems,” Chuck Rosenberg, a former senior FBI official, told The Hill.

As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch writes: “Democrats see the contempt vote as a foregone decision for Republicans — one that allows them to appeal to former President Trump while aiding their narrative” that the FBI is acting politically and concealing alleged misdeeds for the Biden administration.

“Donald Trump, of course, appointed Christopher Wray. And so at one point, Donald Trump liked him,” Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) told The Hill. “Now that Christopher Wray is investigating Donald Trump, he doesn’t like him as much. And it’s quite transparent what’s going on here. And it’s just disappointing to see the House Republicans falling for this obvious trap,” he said.

• It’s the latest in an ongoing GOP vs. FBI feud that has spanned from claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol to individual members believing they’ve been targeted.
  
  
• In this round, House Republicans want information about a confidential informant’s Biden claims.

“The FBI again refused to hand over the unclassified record to the custody of the House Oversight Committee,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading the contempt effort, said this week.

“Given the severity and complexity of the allegations contained within this record, Congress must investigate further. Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially.”

Read more on the story here.

IT’S TUESDAY, June 6. I’m Elizabeth Crisp, filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up.

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Send me your tips, add me to your media list, share your funny animal videos and pass along your White House or 2024 campaign gossip: ecrisp@digital-staging.thehill.com and follow me on Twitter @elizabethcrisp.

The PGA Tour will merge with Saudi-backed competitor LIV Golf, settling a long-standing and litigious feud between the rival golf organizations.

• According to the deal, PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s commercial businesses will be merged into one for-profit entity that’s yet to be named.
  
  
• The agreement also includes DP World Tour, also known as European PGA Tour.

PGA and LIV have been engaged in antitrust litigation for over a year, but this new agreement would end any pending lawsuits.

LIV Golf, founded in 2021, used big signing bonuses to poach top golfers from the nearly century-old PGA Tour. (The Hill)

© The Hill

Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who has used his centrist positions to bring himself to the negotiating table on key pieces of legislation, faces a tough road to winning a fourth Senate term — but his allies say national pundits shouldn’t be so quick to write him off.

The difficult path Manchin faces in 2024 prompted veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod to label Manchin a “dead man walking in West Virginia.”

“There’s nowhere for him to go. He’s got a popular Republican governor in the state that Donald Trump carried by almost 40 points. He didn’t win by very much last time. So he knows that he can’t win reelection in that state,” Axelrod said on CNN.

Manchin allies are pushing back at the claim:

“David Axelrod doesn’t know a lot about West Virginia politics and is a brilliant strategist but probably doesn’t spend much time in West Virginia with Joe Manchin and should before he counts him out,” Jonathan Kott, a Democratic strategist who served as a Senate aide to Manchin, told The Hill.

Manchin hasn’t publicly made a decision about his political future. He’s said he wants to wait until the end of this year, but he hasn’t done anything to knock down speculation that he may run for president.

• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) and Rep. Alex Moony (R) have both announced campaigns seeking a chance to take on Manchin next year.
  
  
• The state went heavily for former President Trump over President Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton has the latest on the situation in West Virginia.

Senators will get three bipartisan briefings on artificial intelligence (AI) to learn more about what’s happening and what could be on the horizon of the emerging technology.

• The first hearing will provide an overview of AI and “what it’s currently capable of,” while the second will touch on the future of the tech and “how it could develop over the next decade.”
  
  
• The third briefing will be classified — set to cover how the Department of Defense and the intelligence community are using AI, as well as adversaries’ capabilities with the tech.
  
  
• Dates and times for the briefings have not yet been released.

“As AI transforms our world, the Senate must keep abreast of the extraordinary potential, and risks, AI presents,” reads the “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

“The Senate must deepen our expertise in this pressing topic,” they added.  (The Hill)

A House Oversight panel is hearing today from Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari about Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement staffing shortages on the southern border. Tune in here for the video of their discussion.

© AP

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is set to launch 2024 presidential bid at New Hampshire town hall this evening.

Christie, who lost to former President Trump in the 2016 GOP primary and was a close ally until Trump refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, is portraying himself as the only Republican willing to hit hard at Trump.

Others in the race include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Read more on Christie’s campaign pitch here.

Ukraine is blaming Russia for the collapse of a major dam on the Dnipro River that has unleashed severe flooding, prompting evacuations from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region.

“Russian terrorists,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted this morning. “The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land.”

Russian leaders have denied any involvement in the dam’s damage.

The attack comes as Ukraine appears to have launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces to reclaim land that the Russians have seized. (The Hill)

Kentucky’s race for governor this year is starting to rack up the ad spending.

Media tracker Medium Buying tweeted this morning the latest figures from The Bluegrass State.

In TV and radio ads so far, forces supporting Gov. Andy Beshear (D), the figures show $2.12 million has been spent, while the anti-Beshear effort has spent about $379,000. (View tweet)

A delegation from Puerto Rico is lobbying lawmakers this week on efforts to “decolonize” the island territory.

Attorney and former gubernatorial adviser Ramón Rosario Cortés tweeted a photo of himself with Congressional delegate and former Gov. Ricardo Rossello and Luis D Dávila Pernas, executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration. He noted Gov. Pedro Pierluisi would be joining the effort today. (View tweet)

The House convened at 10 a.m., and the Senate convenes at 3 p.m. President Biden is in D.C., and after a quick trip to Philadelphia this morning, Vice President Harris is heading back to D.C.

• 11:45 a.m.: President Biden received the Presidential Daily Briefing

•  1 p.m.: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters.

•  2:15 p.m.: Biden holds a Cabinet meeting.

All times Eastern.

See the full committee schedule here.

• 1 p.m.: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. (Watch here)

• 6 p.m.: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) announces his run for president. (Watch via C-SPAN)

Today is National Yo-Yo Day — and not the kind that’s expected in politics!

The toy that was popularized in the United States nearly 100 years ago has its own special day. If you happen to come upon a yo-yo or own one, it’s a great excuse to bust it out and show off. Whether you’re Walking the Dog or Shooting the Moon, try to learn (or relearn) a new trick, even.

Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to ecrisp@digital-staging.thehill.com. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here.

View past issues of 12:30 Report here and check out other newsletters from The Hill here. See you next time!