Democrats on Saturday approved a revised schedule for presidential primaries in 2024, a plan that elevates South Carolina as the nation's first primary and removes Iowa from the list of early contests.
Why it matters: If the states follow through on the plan adopted in Philadelphia by the Democratic National Committee, they would upend a half-century-old schedule that has had New Hampshire's primary and Iowa's caucuses as the first presidential nominating contests.
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Saturday that the high-altitude balloon flying over the U.S. this week that came from China is "embarrassing" for Beijing.
The big picture: The Pentagon has accused China of using the balloon to collect information on sensitive military sites. China has denied those allegations and said the balloon is a civilian airship for "mainly meteorological" purposes.
China downplayed Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceling a visit to Beijing in the wake of a suspected spy balloon flying over the U.S., saying that a meeting between the two countries had never been formally announced.
Why it matters: Blinkenconfirmed Friday that he postponed a planned trip to China after the surveillance balloon was discovered.
Thirteen advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee this week, requesting an investigation into Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and allegations about tasks she requires of her staff.
Driving the news: In a letter first reported by The Hill, Sinema is accused of requiring her Senate staff to "conduct a wide variety of activities unrelated to their job responsibilities," including personal errands, household tasks at her private residence and advancing their own money for her personal purchases.
Tennessee's emergency medical services board voted Friday to suspend the licenses of two first responders accused of failing to provide treatment to Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died days after being beaten during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
Driving the news: Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge of the Memphis Fire Department were called to the scene to provide medical treatment to Nichols for a pepper spray injury.
The Memphis Police Department announced it fired another officer Friday in the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died days after being beaten during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
Driving the news: The department fired Preston Hemphill, who used a taser gun during the initial traffic stop, after finding that he "violated multiple departmental policies," according to a statement.
House Republicans sent subpoenas to three top Biden administration officials on Friday, escalating a probe into what GOP lawmakers see as bias in the government's investigations of school board protesters.
Why it matters: The subpoenas, reviewed by Axios, were sent by the House Judiciary Committee to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. It was the most aggressive move yet by Republicans who plan to investigate a range of actions by Biden's administration.
Police have arrested a man suspected in the disappearance of two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo after he was spotted at another local animal attraction, officials said Friday.
Driving the news: Davion Irvin, 24, was arrested Thursday “in connection with the case involving emperor tamarin monkeys," Dallas police said in a statement, and was charged with six counts of animal cruelty for non-livestock.
U.S. lawmakers are urging Azerbaijan to end the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh as the region remains cut off from food, medicine and often fuel for a 53rd day.
Driving the news: House Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) joined demonstrators at the Capitol Thursday, calling for the U.S. to hold Azerbaijan accountable for the human rights abuses against the people of Karabakh and urging support for a bipartisan House resolution.
House Republicans and Democrats will negotiate how to make it more difficult for the majority party to hold votes on removing the other party's members from committees.
Why it matters: The changes could defuse an ongoing spat over committee assignments that lawmakers in both parties say is fueling already-boiling tensions in the House.
Driving the news: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced bipartisan talks to change the process for removing members from panels after Thursday's vote to kick Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) off the Foreign Affairs Committee.
She was ousted over comments about Israel that Republicans cast as antisemitic.
What they’re saying: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who had been a key holdout on Thursday’s vote, told reporters that McCarthy agreed to move toward changing House rules in exchange for her vote to remove Omar.
“We shook hands, we looked mano a mano into the eye, and I got this commitment from him,” Mace said, adding that the talks will last 30 days and include lawmakers from both parties.
McCarthy told reporters he asked Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to select Democrats to deal with McCarthy's negotiators, who include Mace and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), another holdout swayed by McCarthy's vow to change the process.
"We'll work to … clarify the rules and pass something for not only this Congress but future congresses as well," McCarthy said.
The details: The rules change is expected to require the House majority to get approval from the Ethics Committee before holding a vote on removing a member of the minority party from committees.
The ethics panel is split evenly between the two parties and requires a majority vote to conduct business, meaning any removal effort would need bipartisan support to reach the House floor.
The panel would have to conduct an investigation and hold a hearing before voting on any removal.
The big picture: Lawmakers in both parties have grown increasingly frustrated with the partisan warfare over committee assignments.
The fight kicked off in 2021, when Democrats and a few Republicans voted to remove Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from their committees, prompting McCarthy to vow retribution.
Some House Republicans told Axios they hoped their vote to remove Omar would be the last such vote they, or their colleagues across the aisle, ever had to take.
What's next: After the bipartisan group hashes out the language of the rules change, the House will vote on it.
Mace's office said that vote is expected within a month.
The big picture: The changes come after strong backlash from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and conservative politicians who claim it teaches critical race theory, a college-level framework that is rarely taught in grade school but often conflated with teachings on systemic racism.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) on Friday announced she plans to retire from Congress and won’t run for any other office in 2024.
Why it matters: It’s a rare move for a two-term member — especially one as high-profile as Spartz, who made waves this year by voting present in last month’s historic Housespeaker election and temporarily resisting efforts to kick Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) off the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% — the lowest level in over a half-century, the government said on Friday.
Why it matters: Employers added jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace, the latest sign of a hot labor market despite aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to cool it down.
U.S. officials are tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that's flying over the continental United States.
Driving the news: Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the balloon was "traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."
In Jeff Zients’ White House, meetings will start (and end) on time, decks and slides will replace memos, and subordinates will be empowered to make decisions.
Why it matters: As Chief of Staff Ron Klain’s successor, Zients will bring a decidedly different management style to the position, with ripple effects across an administration pointing toward the 2024 election, current and former officials say.
Majid Khan, a detainee at the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, has been transferred to Belize after completing his sentence, the Department of Defense announced Thursday.
The big picture: Khan was the first person to publicly testify about the brutal treatment he experienced as part of the U.S. government's interrogation program at CIA black sites. His transfer comes as the Biden administration moves to make good on its promise to close the Guantánamo prison.
The Biden administration has reunited more than 600 migrant children separated from their families during the Trump presidency — but nearly 1,000 still need to be reunited, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.
Why it matters: It's been two years since the launch of the Family Reunification Task Force, which is focused on fulfilling one of President Biden's biggest campaign promises: to reunite migrant families torn apart by Trump's "zero-tolerance" policy.
