The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended a temporarily hold on a Texas law that would allow local authorities and judges to arrest anddeportimmigrants suspected of illegally crossing the U.S. border.
State of play: The order by conservative Justice Samuel Alito extends the freeze, which was due to expire Wednesday, until March 18.
From the start, hot election-year politics shadowed former special counsel Robert Hur's testimony Tuesday about his report on President Biden's mishandling of classified documents.
The big picture: Both Republicans and Democrats came prepped to try to humiliate the other party's elderly presidential candidate. Videos of Biden (81) and former President Trump (77) committing gaffes or fumbling for words dominated the hearing's first few minutes.
House members were presented with two competing options on Tuesday in cross-party efforts to force a vote on sending aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Why it matters: The fracturing of these efforts could make it more difficult to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) refusal to put any bill with Ukraine funding up for a vote.
House Republicans are panicking about their shrinking majority after Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said he will resign at the end of next week, stunning GOP leadership.
Former President Trump clinched the Georgia Republican presidential primary on Tuesday to move on the cusp of clinching the GOP nomination after dominating every early state contest, AP projects.
Driving the news: Trump had 1,184 delegates heading into Tuesday after dominating every early primary state.
The House Judiciary Committee chamber was brimming with bitterness on Tuesday as former special counsel Robert Hur sat for lawmakers' questions about his final report on President Biden's handling of classified documents.
Why it matters: Members grilled Hur on his decision not to charge Biden while simultaneously disclosing damaging details about his memory — all right at the start of the 2024 campaign season.
Arkansas will no longer allow "X" to be listed as the holder's sex on driver's licenses or other state-issued IDs, instead requiring a designation of male or female, the state's Department of Finance and Administration announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The X designation gave nonbinary, gender-nonconforming and intersex people the option to not define sex on their IDs. And transgender people whose IDs do not match their gender expression risk being outed every time their ID is checked.
The House GOP is in turmoil ahead of its policy retreat in West Virginia on Wednesday, with attendance expected to be sparse and a keynote speaker dropping out.
Why it matters: Fewer than 100 GOP lawmakers are expected to be in attendance at the three-day event, which is aimed at unifying the conference and crafting policy goals outside of the Capitol grounds.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), the chair of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, will fundraise with Arizona Republican Kari Lake next month — a snapshot into the party's full-court press to help elect the pro-Trump election denier.
Why it matters: Republicans view the Arizona opening as one of their top opportunities to gain a Senate seat in November, prompting every corner of the party to coalesce around Lake, despite her controversial past.
Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez is resigning from the city's force, a public information officer confirmed to Axios Tuesday.
The big picture: The resignation, effective April 6, comes days after backlash to an independent report that cleared local law enforcement officers of blame for the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which 21 people were killed.
A House bill requiring Chinese-owned Bytedance to sell TikTok — or face a U.S. ban — faces a murky path through the Senate.
Why it matters: There's significant bipartisan suspicion toward TikTok. But sudden opposition from former President Trump, constitutional questions and other concerns could complicate the fate of the House bill, which will be voted on Wednesday morning.
Robert Hur, the former special counsel who oversaw the probe on President Biden's handling of classified documents, on Tuesday said it was "necessary" for his report to include details on the president's sketchy memory.
Why it matters: The hearing on Hur's report quickly became a partisan back and forth over the differences between how Biden and former President Trump handled classified documents — and over their mental faculties.
The Biden administration announced a new $300 million military assistance package for Ukraine on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The latest tranche of aid comes as Congress continues to drag its feet on passing a new foreign aid package that would include fresh assistance for Ukraine.
House Democrats' discharge petition on legislation providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan opened for lawmakers' signatures on Tuesday morning.
Why it matters: It's an effort to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he refuses to put the Senate's bipartisan foreign aid bill on the House floor for a vote.
Just about every Cuban restaurant in Miami features a small walk-up window — a gathering point for Miamians to stir and shapeideas that influence national politics and conversations far beyond South Florida.
Why it matters: Miami's ventanitas are a cultural pillar in a metro area whose voters have enormous political sway.The city's Hispanic voters have shifted right in recent years and carried former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis to victory and reshaped the GOP.
Former Latino aides from the Biden White House are starting a team at a New York-based consulting firm to engage Latinos in politics, policymaking, and business.
Congress seems to relish its new role as TikTok antagonist, almost as if it's the exasperated parent of an app-addled teenager.
The big picture: This was supposed to be job of CFIUS, the federal inter-agency committee charged with evaluating the national security risks of foreign investments in the U.S. But CFIUS has been missing in action.
The intelligence community's annual global threats report is a stark reminder of what the fast-moving TikTok debate is actually about: China's advancing cyber prowess.
Why it matters: TikTok is activating a group of lobbyists and creators this week to convince lawmakers to vote against a bill aimed at forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest its ownership in the platform.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said Monday that she won't return to ABC for interviews anytime soon, days after she got into a heated exchange with "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos.
The big picture: Mace, who has spoken openly about her experience as a rape victim, said thatStephanopoulos tried to shame her for her political views.
The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee opened Tuesday's hearing with former special counsel Robert Hur by playing a super-cut of gaffes and memory lapses by former President Trump.
Why it matters: Re-focusing the attention on Trump's mental faculties and criminal liability is central to Democrats' strategy for countering Hur's findings about Biden's poor memory, which Republicans see as a potent line of attack.
In his five-hour interview with special counsel Robert Hur, President Biden repeatedly mixed up dates, countries and the timeline of significant events, including the years his son Beau died and Donald Trump was elected, according to a transcript of the interview reviewed by Axios.
Why it matters: The transcript supports Hur's account that Biden had multiple mental lapses, despite recent pushback from the president and the White House.
Why it matters: Hur released a report last month detailing his findings that raised questions about Biden's memory and mental acuity,which Republicans seized on to question the president's fitness to run for reelection.
Caleb Smith, a top digital communications staffer for former House Speakers John Boehner, Paul Ryan and most recently Kevin McCarthy, is launching a public affairs firm.
Why it matters: Smith has been embedded in some of the most significant legislative battles of the last decade in Congress.
Special counsel Robert Hur will tell Congress on Tuesday that he "did not sanitize" his explanation of why he declined to levy criminal charges against President Biden for his handling of classified materials.
Why it matters: Hur's final report, which described Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory," ignited a political firestorm upon its release. Democrats chastised Hur and the report for what they said was "highly prejudicial language" about the 81-year-old president.
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out contradictory "red lines" about the war in Gaza in recent days that could put them on a collision course if Israel invades Rafah in southern Gaza in the next few weeks, three U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: U.S. officials say an Israeli military operation in Rafah would likely lead to a significant shift in U.S. policy — including an end to the defense of Israel at the United Nations and restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons by Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
President Biden often goes days without a public event, but this week he's planning to capitalize on the good vibes surrounding his State of the Union address with a robust schedule of speeches in swing states and Washington, D.C.
Why it matters: The flurry of events will contrast with special counsel Robert Hur's testimony before Congress on Tuesday, when Hur is expected to defend his portrayal of Biden as an "elderly man with a poor memory" in the report he issued last month.
Trump allies welcomed reports that the Republican National Committee's new leadership team began firing dozens of staff on Monday.
Why it matters: Reports of plans to purge some 60 staffers come days after likely Republican 2024 presidential nominee former President Trump's allies were installed in key committee leadership roles.
Former President Trump vowed Monday to "free" Jan. 6 rioters as one of his first acts if he's elected for a second term in November.
Why it matters: Trump's comments on his Truth Social platform appear to mark the first time the likely Republican presidential nominee has indicated that releasing those imprisoned over the U.S. Capitol riot would be an early priority of his presidency.
China's government has used the wildly popular video-sharing platform TikTok to influence recent U.S. elections, the American intelligence community warned in its annual threat assessment on Monday.
Why it matters: The warning comes during an election year and as the House prepares to vote on legislation to force China's ByteDance to divest from TikTok or else the platform will be banned from app stores in the U.S.
A former Mar-a-Lago employee told CNN Monday he had "no clue" that boxes he helped move at former President Trump's estate potentially contained classified documents.
Why it matters: Brian Butler, who said he worked for Trump for 20 years, is a key witness in the classified documents case and prosecutors refer to him in court documents as "employee 5," CNN notes.
As their hopes for a vote to impeach President Biden fade, House Republicans are looking at upcoming testimony from Biden special counsel Robert Hur as a consolation prize.
Why it matters: Details from Hur's report about Biden's memory lapses are set to play a key role stage in the Tuesday Judiciary Committee hearing as Republicans look to damage Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
TikTok didn't hold back in replying to a letter from the House China Select Committee Monday, defending its right to engage users to advocate against a fast-moving House bill that could lead to a ban of the Chinese-owned app.
Why it matters: TikTok is gearing up for an ugly fight with Congress, escalating its communications strategy at a moment when its existence in the U.S. is under greater threat than ever.
Congress is moving forward with legislation to force China's ByteDance to divest from TikTok or else the popular video-sharing platform will be banned from app stores in the U.S.
Why it matters: For years, U.S. officials wanted to take action against TikTok over alleged national security concerns about the Chinese government's access to user data.
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