Washington in 60 Seconds -- Immigration Reform Next?

Good morning, Capitolists! It's mid-week in Washington, and we're shocked to report that optimism has broken out on Capitol Hill. After days of filibuster threats and veto promises, Democrats and Republicans went back to work on the Wall Street reform bill yesterday, with Senate Banking Committee ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) telling the Capitolist, "The spirit is good in negotiations."

We'll try to absorb that, while you absorb today's top Washington stories in the next 60 seconds.

- Reform on the Border? President Obama took a moment during his flight home from California yesterday to call Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) about Wall Street reform, but Brown told the Wall Street Journal that the president also raised the issue of immigration reform and said it would be next on the Senate agenda. Brown told the prez that he's open to reading any ideas the White House has, but that "doesn't mean that I will vote for granting amnesty to anyone."

- Hedging the Bettors. The Senate Agriculture Committee will debate a bill this morning designed to rein in derivatives, those exotic, esoteric financial products that became so exotic and esoteric in 2007 that even the CEOs on Wall Street didn't understand them -- until they lost billions of dollars because of them. Why the Ag Committee, you ask? Because it has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees futures, commodities and derivatives.

- Supreme Start. At 10:30 this morning, Obama will meet with top Democrats and Republicans from the Senate to talk about his potential nominee to the Supreme Court and a timeline for the Senate to consider him or her. The White House wants a fast track for the newest justice, but look for Republicans to say they need plenty of time to consider someone for a lifetime appointment. Look for hearings this summer and a final vote before the fall.

- Not So Fast, Obama Nominees. Senate Republicans may say they're all for timely consideration of the president's nominees, but GOP leaders objected to 56 of the White House's picks yesterday, delaying the consideration of people for slots from U.S. Attorney to federal judges to ambassadors and leaders of the Coast Guard. GOP senators did not give a reason for blocking the appointments, but Jamie Dupree at WSB radio has the list of who is affected.

- Trouble in Paradise. Marco Rubio has gone from unknown underdog to presumptive favorite in the Republican primary for the Florida Senate. But this morning he's the subject of an IRS investigation into the credit cards of several GOP officials in the state. His campaign manager says there's nothing to it, but The Miami Herald has the rest of the story, including an FBI probe into other party officials.

- No Substitute for Guts. As the GOP's man in charge of the 2010 House races, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) channeled his inner Bear Bryant yesterday, telling reporters that his strategy for 2010 is simply to win. "Anything less [than winning back the House] and I did not fulfill my mission statement," Sessions said, as reported by CQ Politics. But what about coming close with, say, with 38 or 39 seats? "That's as good as a warm bucket of spit," he said.