| We’re on deal watch after legislative leaders and the governor fished and met all weekend to negotiate a global budget agreement. And as far as we know, they weren’t able to net one. There was no Mother’s Day pronouncement from the powers that be, although they did have an evening meetup on tap. With a week left in session before adjournment day, some Capitol veterans acknowledged that it’s getting tough to wrap things up on time at this rate. House Ways and Means Committee GOP Co-Chair Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, said, “The math is starting to be a little more difficult to work out, but it's still not impossible to finish on time.” Peter has this report on where things stand and what’s left to get done this week.
Some of the challenge in closing down the session on time comes from division among Democrats about whether to tweak priority proposals they moved under the DFL trifecta. Some Democrats say they’re not willing to negotiate changes to paid family and medical leave, earned sick and safe time, unemployment benefits for hourly workers or eliminating MinnesotaCare access for undocumented people. Those are big asks that Republicans have brought to the table and some more moderate Democrats have said they’re willing to support changes. Dana has more about the divide and what it could mean for a budget agreement.
Minnesota’s moves to encourage less screen time by school students and possibly order phones kept out of sight during the day involves a checkerboard of approaches. Some schools have imposed strict requirements while others are letting students themselves work it out. There are naturally pros and cons to keeping devices away from school, and a lot of people watching the results of the varying approaches. There could be more direction from lawmakers in St. Paul after this session. Nicole Ki writes that while the Senate has passed a version of the cell phone ban bill, it’s by no means certain or maybe even improbable this year.
The U.S. and China have announced a deal to cut tariffs, temporarily easing trade war. Both countries met over the weekend for trade talks in Switzerland, adding yet another dramatic turn in a dispute that has roiled financial markets and rocked the global economy in recent weeks. American levies on Chinese goods will drop from at least 145 percent to a base levy of 30 percent for an initial period of 90 days, while Chinese levies are set to fall from at least 125 percent to 10 percent on American goods.
Add Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar to the list of those now publicly voicing dissatisfaction with the way her party dealt with the presidential nominee swap-out last summer. On “Meet the Press” Sunday , Klobuchar acknowledged that President Joe Biden’s retreat wasn’t ideal for the Democratic Party and a better nomination process should have taken place. “We would have been served better by a primary. But we are where we are,” Klobuchar said. She didn’t rule out another run herself (she ran in 2020) and said she hopes the Kamala Harris loss won’t hold back other women who run for the highest office. “I know it’s not easy running as a woman,” Klobuchar told NBC. “If it was, we could play the game ‘Pick your favorite woman president.’”
President Donald Trump’s administration has laid off thousands of federal workers this year and overwhelmingly those being cut are men. Elisabeth Gawthorp and Craig Helstetter, our colleagues at American Public Media Group, dove into the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that 15,000 men lost federal jobs compared to about 2,000 women. A he-cession? Their report also breaks down the sectors and areas hardest hit by layoffs. | 
