Axios

The U.S. House on Friday overwhelmingly passed a bill to extend government funding until March.

Why it matters: The vote came after days of political crisis and GOP infighting over a spending plan — and just hours before government funding is set to lapse. The measure now heads to the Senate.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has privately floated embracing the wholesale elimination of the debt limit next year rather than simply raising it, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: President-elect Trump will almost certainly need Democratic votes when the debt limit's "X-date" is reached — which experts say could be as soon as mid-June.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) relied on an unclear, unrealistic and unenforceable promise on the debt ceiling to convince President-elect Trump and House conservatives to keep the government open.

• It worked.

Why it matters: Trump killed Johnson's Plan A because it didn't include anything on the debt ceiling.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) confirmed his 235th federal judge on Friday, breaking the record set by Republicans under the first Trump administration.

Why it matters: It's the most confirmations in a single term since the Carter administration and the end of the line for Democratic judicial nominees for at least four years.

For the first time in modern history, the House majority will rest on thinner margins than the Senate's in the 119th Congress.

Why it matters: The House is going to be a bigger headache for President-elect Trump than the Senate.

Elon Musk seemingly endorsed the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Friday.

The big picture: The X owner has used his social media platform to promote his own ideologies. Since gaining more influence in the incoming Trump administration, the billionaire CEO appears to be exercising that power over politics in the U.S. and abroad.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told his members Friday that he and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have reopened negotiations on a government funding deal, sources familiar with his comments told Axios.

Why it matters: The restarted talks come just hours before the government is set to shut down at midnight Friday.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued 30 temporary drone flight restrictions over parts of critical New York infrastructure from Thursday through mid-January.

Why it matters: Dozens of reported mystery drone sightings have been reported across the northeast, raising suspicions and fueling conspiracies.

Top State Department officials visited Damascus on Friday and met with the leader of the opposition group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Ahmad al-Sharaa, U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: It was the first public meeting between U.S. diplomats and al-Sharaa, who led the Syrian revolution that toppled the Assad regime.

The daughter of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is telling Americans to "pay attention" to the words of President-elect Trump during his inauguration and also honor her father's birthday.

Why it matters: The inauguration and MLK Day fall on the same date in January, creating anxiety among many Black Americans who strongly opposed Trump amid his repeated use of bigoted language during his campaign.

A podcast hosted by Kylie Kelce — yes, the wife of Jason Kelce and sister-in-law of Travis — has unseated Joe Rogan's influential show as No. 1 on Apple's podcasting chart since it launched two weeks ago, the N.Y. Times writes.

The big picture: Her show's success may "reflect shifting desires among listeners. With the exception of true crime and Alex Cooper, the top spots on the podcasting charts of Spotify and Apple are dominated by comedy, news and talk shows hosted by men."

The Biden administration is canceling another $4.28 billion in student loan relief for about 54,900 borrowers who work in public service, the White House announced on Friday.

Why it matters: This will likely be one of the final rounds of relief Biden delivers before President-elect Trump takes office next month. The incoming administration is not expected to prioritize debt forgiveness.

When things are going fine, blow everything up and risk it all. That principle has made Elon Musk the richest human alive — and he's now applying it to the government of the United States.

Why it matters: High risk can mean high return — or it can mean ruin.

This week's epic fight over funding the government captures the power — and flaws — of the new information ecosystem.

Why it matters: Elon Musk and his followers on X proved they dominate the Republican media industrial complex — using a digital revolt to kill a spending bill, and open the door to a government shutdown. That revolt was powered by some false information, tweeted with total self-certainty.

The pharmaceutical industry and its allies — which once included most elected Republicans — have met President-elect Trump's nomination of one of America's leading vaccine skeptics to lead the country's premier health agency with surprisingly muted response.

Why it matters: Trump's domination of the Republican party and the pharmaceutical industry's public acquiescence have made a Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. not only possible, but likely.

House Republican anger flew in all directions on Thursday as House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) bill to fund the government failed on the House floor.

Why it matters: The federal government is set to shut down in just one day if a spending bill isn't passed, ratcheting up the tension on Capitol Hill.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) demonstrated Thursday that he will be able to bring virtually the full weight of his caucus to bear against Republicans' razor-thin majority next year.

Why it matters: Jeffries and his members felt betrayed and cut out of the government funding process, so they held firm against House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) revised stopgap spending bill.

The U.S. House failed to pass a bill to extend federal funding on Thursday night — just one day before the government is set to shut down.

Why it matters: The spending measure's demise prolongs a chaotic fight that has seen House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) forced to repeatedly change tactics.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 271,000 people last fiscal year — the highest number in nearly a decade, according to an annual report released Thursday.

The big picture: The report marks a 90% increase in deportations from 2023 even as Republicans assailed President Biden as weak on the border throughout the election.