By prioritizing organizations authorized to pay his legal bills, Donald Trump is signaling that the multi-pronged court offensive against him is taking a financial toll, experts told the Associated Press.

“The reason most candidates don’t do this is because the hardest money to raise is money that can be spent directly on the campaign,” executive director of the Campaign Legal Center Adav Noti said. “No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has.”

According to the AP, donors at Trump’s 6 April fundraiser in Florida will see their funds first channeled to the former president’s campaign. After that receives the maximum allowable under law, money will go to Save America Pac, which spends most of its money on Trump’s lawyers.

“No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has,” Noti said.

Campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel summed it up: “Trump is in dire need of money to pay his legal fees and he’s draining his PAC and he’s spending huge amounts of money out of his campaign committee.”

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Donald Trump may be on course to once again win the Republican presidential nomination, but he’s also dealing with big legal bills brought on by the four criminal cases against him, along with several civil suits that have won pricey judgments thus far. The Associated Press reports that the former president has come up with a solution: an agreement with the Republican National Committee that will allow him to first funnel donations to organizations that cover his legal bills, before they reach the RNC. He’ll hope to start raking it in – and potentially cover his massive finance gap with Joe Biden – on 6 April, when Trump has invited donors to a fundraiser in Florida.

He may be behind the president in money, but polls continue to indicate Trump is leading Biden in public support. CNN and SSRS this morning released new polling that found the two men are tied in Pennsylvania, and Trump is ahead of Biden in Michigan – both swing states crucial to either’s path to victory. The survey also found a familiar dynamic: less than half of voters in the two states say they are happy with their choices for president, confirming other polls that have found Americans are not exactly fired up about the 2020 rematch expected to play out in November.

Here’s what else is going on today:

• Congress is scrambling to pass a $1.2tn bill that will prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin at midnight. The first votes are expected in the House of Representatives at 11am, and it will need a two-thirds majority to pass – a tight margin for any bill.

• The United States is expected to introduce a resolution at the United Nations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. We have a separate live blog following the latest on that.

• The White House press briefing kicks off at 1.30pm ET. Expect questions about Israel, Biden’s polling, and the beleaguered impeachment effort.