Axios

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Driving the news: The 82-year-old, who is fully vaccinated and has gotten his booster, said in a statement Tuesday that he is experiencing mild symptoms and plans to work from home this week while he isolates.

Each party may be allowed to invite just 25 House members to attend President Biden's State of the Union Address in person, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told colleagues on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The possible restrictions are yet another reminder the nation is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. The president is slated to deliver his first State of the Union address on March 1; attendance for his address to a Joint Session of Congress last April also was capped.

Child care workers in Washington, D.C. will receive checks for at least $10,000, after the city's council approved a measure to redirect tax revenues from the city's wealthiest residents to the child care workers, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: The move is expected to raise child care workers' annual incomes by an average of 25%, according to a task force established by the council.

The U.S. gross national debt exceeded $30 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, according to new figures from the Treasury.

Why it matters: The nation arrived at the number far earlier than projected due to the pandemic, which amped up federal spending into the trillions, the New York Times writes. The new record comes as the U.S. struggles to deal with worsening inflation.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke late last week but is expected to make a full recovery, his office announced on Tuesday.

Driving the news: Luján began experiencing dizziness and fatigue on Thursday and went to a Sante Fe hospital for an evaluation. He was then transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where they discovered a stroke had occurred in his cerebellum.

A Virginia state Senate panel voted 9-6 along party lines Tuesday to block former Trump EPA head Andrew Wheeler from joining Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Cabinet as secretary of natural resources.

State of play: The majority-Democratic Privileges and Elections Committee voted to remove Wheeler's name from a resolution to approve Youngkin's cabinet picks. But Republicans could still approve Wheeler's nomination with the support of at least one Democrat in the full Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said during a Senate Republican leaders press conference Tuesday that he would oppose shortening the sentences of people who participated in the deadly Capitol riot.

Why it matters: McConnell's comments come days after former President Trump suggested that he may pardon people who have been charged and sentenced for their roles in the Capitol riot if he is re-elected.

The number of Black immigrants in the U.S. has soared 475% over the last 40 years and is expected to keep rising in the coming decades, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

Why it matters: The report using census data over the last four decades highlights the growing diversity of immigrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa and the often-overlooked diversity of the nation's Black population.

Martín Espada, the recipient of the 2021 National Book Award for poetry whose past works were the targets of conservative outrage, is urging authors of recently banned bo0ks to forge on.

The big picture: The Brooklyn-born poet is one of only a handful of Latinos to win the award.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) sued members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections on Monday, saying it does not have the authority to prevent him from running for re-election.

Driving the news: North Carolina voters in January petitioned the NCSBE to disqualify Cawthorn from running because of his involvement in the rally that preceded the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

U.S. Border Patrol agents grilled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at meetings last week on immigration policy, staffing concerns and COVID-19, among other topics, according to audio leaked from the meetings.

Why it matters: The hostile conversations underscore the growing tension between border patrol and lawmakers as illegal border crossings rise and the pandemic persists.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent letters to seven governors reasserting the need to have National Guard members vaccinated against COVID-19.

What he's saying: Austin said in the nearly identical letters that the coronavirus "takes our service members out of the fight, temporarily or permanently, and jeopardizes our ability to meet mission requirements."

The environmental group Climate Power is launching ads this week on D.C. cable and digital channels to push for Congress to invest in clean energy technologies, as a way to create jobs.

Why it matters: The TV ads are part of a $3 million campaign from a coalition of environmental groups, including EDF Action, the League of Conservation Voters and NRDC Action Fund, among others, in the run-up to the State of the Union address on March 1.

Qatar has reached a deal with the Taliban to resume chartered evacuations out of Kabul's airport, ending a dispute with the Afghan government that's caused a months-long pause in flights, the Gulf nation's foreign minister told Axios.

Why it matters: The agreement for two flights per week, chartered by Qatar Airways, will allow the U.S. and other countries to evacuate thousands more of their own citizens and at-risk Afghans who face dual threats of Taliban retaliation and a humanitarian crisis.

U.S. officials have received a written response from Russia's government to the American proposal on de-escalating Ukraine border tensions, the State Department said on Monday.

Why it matters: The letter comes ahead of a Tuesday phone call between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and as an estimated 100,000 troops from Moscow amassed at Ukraine's border raise concerns of an imminent Russian invasion.

Ottawa Police are launching a hate crime hotline Tuesday for reporting offenses committed during pandemic demonstrations following reports of violence, racist abuse, harassment and the displaying of Nazi imagery at the protests in Canada's capital.

Driving the news: Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly told a Monday briefing that intelligence and investigative officers were being deployed in response to unruly behavior at the protests, which began as a rally last week against a U.S. vaccine requirement for cross-border truck drivers.

Some of Donald Trump's handpicked candidates are hitting an obstacle in their efforts to purge the Republican Party of Trump skeptics: money. Lots of it.

Driving the news: Key Trump-backed Republican challengers were heavily outraised by their Republican primary opponents late last year, newly filed financial reports show.

COVID-19 vaccines could become available for children younger than 5 by the end of February, the Washington Post first reported and a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Axios on Monday.

Between the lines: Pfizer's vaccine would initially be available as a two-dose regimen under this plan. But recent data has shown that two doses do not provide a strong enough immune response in all age groups — meaning a major goal of the plan would be to begin the multi-week vaccination process while data is gathered on a third dose.

All U.S. federal prisons have been placed on lockdown after an altercation in a federal penitentiary in Texas that left two inmates dead and two injured.

State of play: The four inmates were fighting at a penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas. As a result, the Bureau of Prisons issued a nationwide lockdown "to ensure the good order of our institutions. We anticipate this security measure will be short-lived," the BOP said in an emailed statement to Axios.

The Senate Republicans' campaign and fundraising arm is launching a new podcast — with Donald Trump as its debut guest and donor lure.

Why it matters: It shows how crucial the GOP considers Trump to its chances of taking back the majority.

Moderate frontline Democrats, desperate to score a win after months of party failures, are planning to sell the new House competition legislation as a jobs bill that will ease inflation — not a China bill.

Why it matters: These members see the rebranding as a life raft ahead of their tough re-election fights. They're urging leadership to make the new competition bill Congress' top legislative priority.

Individual Senate Democrats are heading toward this fall's midterms in a strong position, at least cash-wise — outraising their respective challengers in key states.

Why it matters: Many other metrics portend doom for the party. Raising lots of money, and the messaging it propels, is among the Democrats' best hope for protecting their vulnerable seats.

A federal judge on Monday rejected plea agreements reached by federal prosecutors and two of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed while out jogging in Georgia.

Why it matters: Travis and Gregory McMichael, who along with William "Roddie" Bryan were sentenced to life in prison this month for Arbery's killing, reached the deal with prosecutors ahead of the start of their Feb. 7 hate crimes trial.