Axios

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is facing a growing outcry from members of Congress over the secrecy around his hospitalization.

Why it matters: Calls for Austin to clear up unanswered questions about the incident are now coming from congressional leaders in both parties, creating pressure for the Pentagon to cooperate.

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have come to an agreement on topline spending numbers for the rest of 2024, congressional leaders announced Sunday.

Why it matters: Congress still has to cut deals on the individual spending bills left to pass, but this is a key step to dodging a government shutdown later this month.

President Biden's principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Sunday that Biden and former President Obama are "aligned" in their thinking about Biden's re-election campaign.

Why it matters: Fulks' remarks come in response to many high-level Democrats, including Obama, expressing concerns that Biden and his re-election team are too complacent about the threat of losing to former President Trump, Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen report.

Former President Trump's presidential campaign is on track to collide with his packed courtroom calendar right as the Republican primary is heating up.

Why it matters: Trump is confronting the crushing reality of fighting four criminal indictments and numerous other legal battles, while also trying to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) declined on Sunday to commit to certifying the 2024 presidential election results.

Why it matters: Stefanik, a staunch supporter of former President Trump and chair of the House Republican Conference, was one of the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the 2020 election results in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Nearly a majority of U.S. adults believe there will be violence regarding future presidential election losses, new polling reveals.

Why it matters: Three years out from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and only months away from the 2024 presidential election, over two-thirds of Americans feel that democracy is under threat.

Lots of high-level Democrats are warning that President Biden and his reelection team are too complacent — and unimaginative — about the threat of losing to Donald Trump, sources tell us.

• The latest alarm was sounded Saturday in a leak to The Washington Post about a private meeting in which former President Obama pointed Biden to a different way to attack this campaign. We're told it was a lunch just before the holidays. Obama pushed Biden to consider moving his political operation outside of — and beyond — his White House advisers, as the former president had done with his Chicago-based 2012 reelection team.
• "Obama also recommended that Biden seek counsel from Obama's own former campaign aides, which Biden officials say they have done," The Post added.

Why it matters: "Someone wants to light a fire under the asses of some of these people," a top Democratic strategist told us. Jim Messina, manager of Obama's reelection campaign, often warns Democrats not to be worrywart "bedwetters." The strategist added: "It's hard to call it bedwetting when it's Barack Obama."

Three people in Florida who had been charged for crimes related to Jan. 6 and described by authorities as "fugitives" were arrested on Saturday.

The big picture: Jonathan Daniel Pollock, Olivia Michele Pollock and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III were captured in Florida and taken into custody, per a statement from the FBI.

Republicans in Congress reacted with swift fury over reports that the Pentagon waited several days to inform top officials about the hospitalization of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Why it matters: Some GOP lawmakers are already calling for Austin to testify or even be ousted over what one described as a "serious breakdown" in communications.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), the only swing-district Democrat left standing in New York, is coming into 2024 with a $2.2 million war chest, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Ryan's allies say the figure should make House Republicans reconsider him as a top target as they defend five of their own vulnerable New York incumbents who will be key to keeping their majority.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has invited President Biden to deliver the State of the Union address on March 7, days after Super Tuesday, when more than a dozen states will hold nominating contests.

Why it matters: It's a month later than last year's Feb. 7 State of the Union and is set to follow two critical government shutdown deadlines.

In the years since Jan. 6, 2021, the Republican party has been shifting its stance on the worst attack against the U.S. Capitol in two centuries.

Why it matters: Prominent Republicans have softened their criticism of the insurrection in an apparent loyalty test to former President Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner who is under two indictments over the 2020 election.

The National Rifle Association — a one-time lobbying powerhouse — is heading into a civil trial over fraud and mismanagement allegations without its longtime leader.

The big picture: The group, whose CEO announced his resignation on Friday, is attempting to stave off declining luster and impact in Washington.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed an executive order on Friday that bans transition-related surgeries for minors and announced separate restrictions that will severely limit access for adults and youth in receiving transition-related care.

The big picture: The Ohio ban comes amid a growing number of states authorizing restrictions on gender-affirming care.

A report from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released Thursday accused former President Trump of receiving at least $7.8 million in foreign payments to his properties during his presidency.

Why it matters: It’s the most solid figure to date on the scope and scale of Trump’s private windfall from foreign sources, which Democrats allege is a clear-cut violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause.

The Navajo Nation, one of the nation's largest Indigenous tribes, is asking that human remains not be placed on the moon as planned by two private companies scheduled next week.

The big picture: The moon holds a sacred place among Navajo people and other Indigenous tribes. Navajo Nation president Buu Nygren said private companies placing cremated human remains violate tribes' religions and traditions.

President Biden told congressional leaders on Friday that a U.S. air strike in Baghdad was authorized in part by a 2002 Iraq War measure that many Democrats and his own administration have called to repeal.

Why it matters: The 2002 resolution, as well as a broader 2001 measure that authorized the Global War on Terror, have been the subject of fierce, bipartisan repeal efforts in recent years as lawmakers try to claw back war powers from the executive branch.