The Trump campaign's new threat against House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.) confirms what many suspected:

• Anyone who endorsed a rival candidate before the Iowa caucuses is now a prime target for retribution.

Why it matters: The rush of Republicans who endorsed former President Trump in the weeks before his blowout win in Iowa on Monday clearly saw the writing on the wall, as the campaign is now signaling its intent to destroy Good over his early backing of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

• "Bob Good won't be electable when we get done with him," Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita told the southern Virginia-based Cardinal News.
• It's the latest sign that loyalty — not ideology, given that Good is one of the most conservative Republicans in the House — is the organizing principle of Trumpism.

The big picture: Even with New Hampshire — widely viewed as the primary's definitive crossroads — still to come on Jan. 23, top Republicans are quickly closing ranks behind Trump.

• Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whom Trump demeaned as "Little Marco" during the 2016 primary, endorsed the former president one day before Iowa.
• Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) — the No. 3 Senate Republican — also backed him last week, bringing the total number of endorsements in the Trump-skeptical Senate GOP to 25.
• House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) endorsed Trump on Jan. 3, despite Trump personally tanking Emmer's speaker bid. The former president reportedly quipped in response: "They always bend the knee."

Zoom in: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — who Trump warned last month "must be very careful" in his re-election efforts — may become a test case for how late is too late after he held off on endorsing Trump until Iowa.

• "I believe this race is over," Cruz told Fox News last night, calling for the GOP to unite around a front-runner who once insulted his wife.
• In private, Trump has trashed Cruz for holding out, according to the New York Times: "I could've destroyed him. I kind of did destroy him in 2016, if you think about it. But then I let him live."

What to watch: The viciousness of the primary has divided top DeSantis surrogates on whether to embrace Trump — assuming he wins the nomination — to avoid being blacklisted from GOP politics.

• Steve Cortes, a former Trump official who joined the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down last year, wrote in a conciliatory op-ed today: "I believed that Republican voters were ready for a new post-Trump chapter of the America First movement. I now believe I was wrong."
• Top DeSantis aide Christina Pushaw, on the other hand, tweeted in a lengthy statement: "Thanks everyone who has added my name to a 'hit list' of 'disloyal' conservatives so I won't get a job in the fantasy/hypothetical Trump Administration. I appreciate that because I'm not interested."

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House Republican leaders are coming to terms with a cold, uncomfortable reality this January: They'll need Democratic votes to pass any real legislation in 2024, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.

Why it matters: Call it governing under suspension. Legislation can pass the House, but only with Democratic support.

Driving the news: GOP leaders have telegraphed to rank-and-file lawmakers that any consequential piece of legislation this year — like funding the government or a potential tax bill — will be brought to the floor under the suspension of the rules, according to aides and lawmakers.

How it works: The procedural move essentially bypasses the House Rules Committee, preventing conservatives from strangling legislation before it reaches the floor.

• It then requires a two-thirds majority to pass, or roughly 290 votes, according to Punchbowl News.
• In practice, it makes the House look suspiciously like the Senate, where legislation typically needs 60 votes to stand any chance of becoming law.

The big picture: Congress is considering three consequential pieces of legislation this winter: A Ukraine funding and border bill, a tax proposal that trades business breaks for a child tax credit, and legislation to keep the government open (which will likely be two separate bills).

• The first two are somewhat optional. The third one is more pressing, if lawmakers want to avoid a painful government shutdown.
• Congressional leaders met with President Biden at the White House Wednesday to air their differences on the emerging Ukraine-border package, which could receive a Senate vote as soon as next week.

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LITTLETON, N.H. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supports Biden's re-election, but the senator's longtime senior aide and former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, is working to oppose it, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.

What's happening: Weaver is the most seasoned operative on Rep. Dean Phillips' (D-Minn.) renegade campaign against the president, serving a key role that has raised eyebrows among Biden's team and in Bernieworld.

• "There's a tremendous amount of concern among people who work in politics about the kind of retribution that would come down from the DNC, or from the White House if people worked on this campaign." Weaver told Axios.
• "I happen not to give a damn."

Why it matters: To make any splash in the Democratic primary, Phillips' campaign must do well next week in New Hampshire — where Weaver guided Sanders' victories in 2016 and 2020.

• Sanders has argued for the past nine months that progressives should unite around Biden because the threat from Trump is so severe.
• But Weaver argues that "Biden may be the only way to lose to Trump. ... "What we're left with is the choice of: Do we stand with Biden and give the country back over to Trump, or do we do something else?"

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White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients called former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson this morning to apologize on behalf of Biden, after the DNC issued a statement mocking the Republican for suspending his campaign.

• "This news comes as a shock to those of us who could've sworn he had already dropped out," DNC press secretary Sarafina Chitika said in response to Hutchinson's announcement Tuesday.

Why it matters: The snide statement was widely criticized by Democrats who said Hutchinson — despite being an arch-conservative — was courageous for being one of few GOP candidates to stand up to Trump.