Republicans in the Problem Solvers Caucus are weighing quitting the bipartisan group after Democrats opted against helping former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) keep his leadership position on Tuesday.
Why it matters: GOP members in the group are furious at their Democratic colleagues who voted to remove McCarthy. The Republicans say he was punished for "doing the right thing" after advancing a stopgap funding bill on a bipartisan basis.
The removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House speaker on Tuesday threw an already fragmented caucus deeper into chaos.
The big picture: The unprecedented ouster depicts a House divided against itself, particularly within the GOP, and could result in a stalemate over who assumes the speakership.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said an internal investigation isn't necessary into an allegation that documents were altered or omitted by members of her staff.
Why it matters: The documents were in response to a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the $19,000 lectern paid for by her administration, known widely as Podiumgate.
Kari Lake, the Trump-aligned former news anchor who still hasn't accepted her 2022 Arizona gubernatorial defeat, filed paperwork on Tuesday to run for U.S. Senate.
Why it matters: Lake's entrance into the race sets up a potential three-way race with Independent incumbent Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.
The House of Representatives made history on Tuesday by voting to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post, setting up another grueling speaker election without a clear successor.
Why it matters: This could create an unprecedented stalemate in the House. McCarthy's speaker election in January took the most ballots since before the Civil War, and Republicans have struggled to maintain a functioning majority for moving legislation.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced to House Republicans on Tuesday that he won't run again for speaker after becoming the first in history to be removed by a motion to vacate.
Why it matters: The California Republican's initial speaker election took 15 ballots, the most since before the Civil War. Eight of his fellow Republicans voted for his removal on Tuesday, a group that could have blocked his return to leadership.
Driving the news: "With an estimated $2.6 billion fortune, he is $300 million shy of the cutoff" for the "annual measurement that Trump has obsessed over for decades, relentlessly lying to reporters to try to vault himself higher on the list," Forbes said.
State Rep. Justin Jones accused House Speaker Cameron Sexton of suppressing his right to free speech in a federal lawsuit filed in Nashville on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The lawsuit escalates the bitter feud between one of the most powerful Republicans in state government and a young Democrat who rose to national prominence as one of three lawmakers subject to expulsion votes over a gun reform protest who became known as "the Tennessee Three."
Why it matters: Trump, who was not required to attend the first two hearings, turned Monday into a spectacle, pausing in front of the cameras and excoriating the judge who will rule on the fate of his business.
The New York judge overseeing former President Trump'scivil fraud trial issued a gag order on Tuesday on the former president after he made a post on his Truth Social account attacking the judge's law clerk.
Driving the news: New York Judge Arthur Engoron said that "personal attacks on members on my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won't tolerate them," during the second day of the civil fraud trial, according to the Associated Press.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) shouldn't expect a lifeline from across the aisle as he fights to keep his job.
Why it matters: If a half dozen Republicans support the motion to vacate introduced by right-wing Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), which is set for a vote on Tuesday afternoon, McCarthy will need Democratic votes to survive.
The U.S. is gearing up to fight a possible onslaught of cyber threats targeting the country's artificial intelligence models and tools.
Driving the news: The National Security Agency is standing up a new AI Security Center that will focus on protecting AI systems from hacks, intellectual property theft and other security threats, Gen. Paul Nakasone, the outgoing head of the agency, said during a National Press Club event last week.
President Biden in a conference call Tuesday morning stressed to the leaders of nearly a dozen U.S. allies and partners that he is committed to continue giving military assistance to Ukraine as long as it takes, according to the White House.
Why it matters: There are mounting fears among America's allies, particularly in Europe, that the U.S. may stop providing aid to Ukraine amid opposition from a growing number of Republicans in Congress.
Latinas with bachelor'sor professional degrees have to contend with a wider pay gap between them and their non-Hispanic white male peers than do other working Hispanic women, per a National Women's Law Center analysis.
The big picture: Although educational attainment is seen a means to economic stability, college-educated Latinas are still paid less than their white male peers and in some cases less than white men with less education.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a federal court in Wilmington, Delaware to three counts related to his alleged illegal possession of a firearm, his lawyer said.
Why it matters: The three felony counts that the president's son is facing could carry a combined maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, the judge said Tuesday.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told his members during a closed-door meeting that he's ready to face a leadership challenge head-on when votes start on Tuesday.
Why it matters: McCarthy’s speakership is facing its most difficult test yet, leaving him at risk of becoming the first speaker to ever be removed from his post if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is successful in his motion to vacate.
The local police chief who led an August raid of a local newspaper in Marion County, Kansas resigned on Monday, AP reported.
Why it matters: The search of the Marion County Record office, as well as the home of its owners, drew widespread condemnation over First Amendment concerns.
NPR host Steve Inskeep is out Tuesday with a new book on Abraham Lincoln titled "Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America."
Why it matters: The book lays bare "a great politician's strategy in a country divided," offering "lessons for our own disorderly present," the publisher says.
House Democrats sound like they're willing to save Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his right-wing revolt — but he'll have to pay a price.
Why it matters: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday introduced a "motion to vacate," meaning the House will vote this week on whether to remove McCarthy from the speakership.
Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker (D) in a letter to President Biden on Monday said "the federal government's lack of intervention and coordination" over migrants at the border "has created an untenable situation" for the state.
Driving the news: Pritzker wrote that governors and mayors from border states had in the past 13 months transported 15,000 people to Illinois "like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points."
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked on Monday night outside an apartment building that houses dozens of fellow House members, according to his office.
Details: D.C. Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Hugh Carew confirmed a "report of an armed carjacking" in D.C.'s Navy Yard neighborhood, near Capitol Hill. Cuellar's chief of staff Jacob Hochberg said in a statement that Cueller was unharmed in the incident.
The Biden administration is scrambling to try to assure U.S. allies that war aid to Ukraine will continue despite the growing number of Republicans in Congress who oppose it, four sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Ukraine's government, U.S. allies in Europe and NATO officials are increasingly worried that if the aid doesn't continue, Ukraine's ability to resist Russian forces could be weakened dramatically.
California launched a new civil court process in several counties this week that is aimed at helping people with schizophrenia and other psychological disorders into treatment plans.
The big picture: Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's championedCARE court allows first responders, family members, behavioral health providers and others to directly petition the court for behavioral health services.
Former President Trump didn't want to visit a cemetery near Paris for Americans who fought and died in World War I because it was filled with "suckers" and "losers," John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff, said in a statement to CNN on Monday.
Why it matters: In the statement, Kelly supported this and several other instances of Trump disparaging service members that were reported by The Atlantic in 2020 and vehemently denied at the time by the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner.
The U.S. Postal Service released a stamp honoring the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just as the Supreme Court she served for 27 years began a new term on Monday.
The big picture: The USPS announced last year plans for the stamp that features an oil painting of the liberal high court member, known as "RBG," who died in 2020 at age 87.
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