Ukraine "expressed readiness to accept" a U.S. proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia, the two countries said in a joint statement after a key meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Why it matters: A ceasefire, if implemented, would be a major diplomatic breakthrough in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. But the Kremlin has yet to weigh in on the U.S. proposal.
A dozen House Republicans on Tuesday helped their Democratic colleagues bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and force a vote to allow House members to vote by proxy for up to three months after having children.
Why it matters: The Republican defections came despite Johnson, who helped lead a GOP lawsuit aimed at eliminating COVID-era proxy voting, calling the proposed rules change "unconstitutional."
The fault line in a Tuesday House hearing on modernizing payments largely fell around how far laws should go to prevent crime covering its tracks on blockchains.
The big picture: The particular kind of modernization that lawmakers focused on was stablecoins, tokens designed to serve as U.S. dollars in the crypto world. Dealing with them has been the first order of business as Congress considers how to write the digital assets industry into U.S. law.
The man poised to become the first Louisiana death row inmate executed in 15 years scored a significant win Tuesday as he challenges the state's plan to use nitrogen hypoxia to carry out his death sentence.
Why it matters: A federal judge decided Jessie Hoffman Jr. cannot be put to death as planned March 18 while his legal team argues the method is a violation of the 8th Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment.
The U.S. House voted Tuesday to pass a short-term federal funding bill that would stave off a government shutdown until at least September.
Why it matters: The bill removes the specter of a shutdown hanging over President Trump as he tries to use the early months of his presidency to pass a sprawling fiscal bill.
Ontario's energy minister said Tuesday that electricity tariffs on the U.S. were meant to signal that the country is ready to respond in full force if the U.S. continues its trade war.
Why it matters: The 25% tariffs that the Canadian province slapped on the U.S. — which it later agreed to suspend — cover an extremely tiny fraction of the electricity actually used by Minnesota, Michigan and New York.
Just over half of U.S. voters say K-12 schools should be off-limits for immigration enforcement, a question that's been thrust into the national conversation amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Columbia University has not helped the Department of Homeland Security identify individuals the government claimsengaged in "pro-Hamas activity," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Tuesday press briefing.
Why it matters: Columbia, which has already had $400 million in federal grants and contracts canceled over allegations of allowing antisemitism on campus, has said in statements it will continue to support its students and staff despite pressure from the Trump administration.
The National Transportation Safety Board "urgently recommended" Tuesday that the Federal Aviation Administration permanently prohibit helicopter traffic near Reagan National Airport when two runways are in use following the deadliest aviation disaster in the U.S. in decades.
The big picture: Reagan National Airport has the nation's busiest runway, while commercial planes and choppers, often carrying top officials, share the nearby airspace. The midair collision that left 67 dead amplified long-held concerns about congestion in the busy skies around DCA.
President Trump's new FTC chair Andrew Ferguson told a group of big business CEOs on Tuesday that he wouldn't let proposed deals "die on the vine," but warned them not to expect automatic approval for big mergers.
Why it matters: Ferguson is explaining the Trump administration's approach to M&A, giving fresh guidance to the group it will need to help bolster the economy and usher in a new age of prosperity.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched a new app that officials say will allow immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to report when they "self deport."
Why it matters: The move comes after the Trump administration shut down the CBP One app that facilitated the legal entry of migrants at the border, and as immigrant removals in President Trump's first days in office fall behind the daily average in the final weeks of former President Biden's term.
House Democrats gathered in a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning to rail against House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) short-term federal funding bill.
Why it matters: Even some of the party's most centrist members are lining up against the bill, arguing it doesn't do enough to counter DOGE.
House Democrats and Republicans are teaming up for a third time in a year to try to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on forcing a House vote without his sign-off.
Why it matters: This issue — allowing House members who recently had children to vote by proxy — is politically thorny, with Johnson positioning himself firmly against allowing any form of proxy voting.
Nearly half (49%) of the media companies cited by President Trump in his Truth Social posts since his inauguration are Murdoch-owned, according to an Axios analysis. Around 17% are mainstream outlets, including ones he's suing or has banned.
Why it matters: While Trump relies heavily on MAGA-affiliated influencers and media to reach his base, his Truth Social activity shows how much he still cites mainstream outlets for credibility and reach.
President Trump has nominated Sean Plankey, a veteran cyber official from his first administration, to run the lead U.S. cyber agency, according to a list of nominations sent to Congress.
Why it matters: If confirmed, Plankey will oversee the agency charged with securing the nation's critical infrastructure amid growing questions about its budget and workforce needs.
NASA has cut its office of the chief scientist and its Office of Science, Policy, and Strategy, among other entities, the agency said in an internal email that Axios has viewed.
Why it matters: Eliminating these offices comes ahead of potentially deep cuts to the agency's science programs.
They did it delicately, privately and belatedly. But some Cabinet members and top confidants warned President Trump that two pillars of his flood-the-zone strategy could backfire: tariffs and Elon Musk's budget-gutting.
Why it matters: Both moves hacked off allies — some Hill Republicans and Cabinet officials with cuts, Canada and Mexico with tariffs — and created the impression and reality of uncertainty or outright chaos.
Federal agents' arrest of Columbia University protest leader Mahmoud Khalil — a lawful permanent U.S. resident with a green card — is being criticized by free-speech advocates who see it as a chilling escalation of President Trump's immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: The White House doesn't see Khalil's arrest as a First Amendment issue. It says his actions — helping to lead campus protests against Israel's treatment of Palestinians last year — run afoul of President Trump's recent executive order banning antisemitism.
A federal judge ruled President Trump does not have "unbounded power" on foreign aid and ordered his administration to pay some congressionally appropriated funds that USAID owes grant recipients and contractors.
Why it matters: "The constitutional power over whether to spend foreign aid is not the President's own — and it is Congress's own," wrote U.S. District Judge Amir Ali in an order partially granting a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's moves to gut USAID.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody at Manila's international airport on an Interpol arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on Tuesday morning local time, local officials said.
President Trump said Monday he will "lead the charge" to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for his refusal to support Republicans' government funding bill.
Why it matters: A doctrinaire libertarian, Massie has been a persistent thorn in the side for both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) by defecting on key votes and imperiling major GOP legislation.
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is planning to travel to Moscow later this week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a source with direct knowledge confirmed.
Why it matters: The meeting with Putin is planned to take place several days after a key meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that will focus on a possible ceasefire in the war with Russia.
D.C. began dismantling Black Lives Matter Plaza on Monday, less than a week after Mayor Muriel Bowser announced it would be transformed.
Why it matters: The mural near the White House went up in summer 2020 to protest police brutality and as a rebuke to President Trump in his first term.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) spent the weekend in Ukraine gathering harrowing information on the impact of President Trump's pause on military aid and information sharing.
Why it matters: "When you negotiate the end of a conflict, you want to be negotiating from a position of strength," Kelly said. "What the administration did — cutting off weapons to Ukraine and cutting off intelligence — is the exact opposite of that."
Recruitment for anti-terrorism posts at the Treasury Department was halted last month, despite a carveout in President Trump's hiring freeze for national security jobs.
Why it matters: Treasury's Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) office tracks terrorist and criminal financing and is responsible for enforcing a wide range of government sanctions.
The show of House party discipline in Mike Johnson vs. Hakeem Jeffries is on course to shatter in the Senate.
Why it matters: House Democrats can vote "no" and hope "yes" on a six-month spending package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Democrats don't have that luxury.
The centrist House Democrats who House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) may need to avert a government shutdown are lining up against his plan — with many pointedly noting they haven't heard a word from his leadership team.
Why it matters: This isn't a new problem, some Democratic moderates say. "There's been no outreach all year," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told Axios.
