Last Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President Trump with a stunning tip: Iran's supreme leader and his top advisers were all set to meet at one location in Tehran on Saturday morning.
They could all be killed in a single devastating airstrike, Netanyahu told Trump and his team, according to three sources briefed on the discussion.
Why it matters: The Feb. 23 call — held from the White House Situation Room and unreported until now — was a pivotal moment that set the Iran war in motion.
The vast majority of Republican midterm advertisements for House and Senate candidates are about President Trump, according to Axios analysis of AdImpact data on ad airings between Jan. 1, 2025, to Feb. 18, 2026.
Why it matters: As primary season gets underway, candidates are focused on distinguishing themselves from rivals within their parties.
A lawyer representing Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has withdrawn from her case just days before a scheduled public House Ethics Committee hearing, the panel announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The development could signal internal trouble for Cherfilus-McCormick, who is being federally prosecuted on charges that she funneled $5 million in taxpayer funds to her congressional campaign.
Now that Paramount Skydance has won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, it faces a complicated road of regulatory approvals from governments across the globe.
Why it matters: Antitrust experts do not expect regulators in the U.S. or abroad to block the deal, but the approval process will likely be long and cumbersome, which could impact how quickly the company can realize synergies and growth opportunities.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos never met with President Trump or any White House officials last week when he visited Washington, according to sources familiar with the engagement.
Sarandos was informed shortly after arriving at the White House that his meeting was canceled because of a last-minute scheduling conflict, and then he promptly left the building.
Why it matters: Media onlookers were quick to speculate that Sarandos' meeting at the White House on Thursday prompted Netflix to drop out of the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Justice Department on Tuesday withdrew its request to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit appeals against Big Law firms representing or employing some of President Trump's critics.
The big picture: Changing a course set less than 24 hours earlier,the department asked the court Tuesday to disregard its Monday's order, saying it still wants to pursue appeals against the firms that won rulings against Trump's executive orders.
A group of centrist House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a war powers resolution that would give the Trump administration more leeway on Iran than the measure their leadership is pushing.
Why it matters: The effort reflects the extreme reluctance some hawkish Democrats have towards voting for the resolution introduced by anti-interventionist Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
Republicans put Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem under fire Tuesday over actions her agency has taken amid President Trump's immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: It was a public rebuke of the government's face for immigration policies, and at times became an airing of grievances about how Noem manages DHS, forcing her to justify some decisions.
President Trump said the U.S. will "immediately" offer "political risk insurance and guarantees" for energy tankers and other ships in the Gulf region, and that the Navy will escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if needed.
Why it matters: The White House is trying to ease oil price spikes that are starting to boost U.S. gasoline prices. Oil prices retreated Tuesday as word of the plans began to emerge.
Fear of Iran getting nuclear weapons drove the U.S. and Israeli strikes over the weekend, but the location and security of Tehran's uranium stockpile remains unclear.
The big picture: The UN's nuclear watchdog hasn't been able to inspect key Iranian nuclear sites, and a prolonged conflict could mean even less transparency.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, once a Manhattan neighbor of Jeffrey Epstein, voluntarily agreed to an interview with the House Oversight Committee over past ties to the convicted sex offender, Axios has learned.
Lutnick told Axios: "I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight."
The State Department is organizing military aircraft and charter flights for American citizens who want to leave the Middle East as the conflict with Iran widens.
The big picture: For days, the Trump administration told thousands of stranded Americans to book commercial flights despite airports suspending operations after many were hit by strikes.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is threatening to disrupt Senate business over Kristi Noem's leadership at the Department of Homeland Security.
Why it matters: Tillis, who is not running for re-election, has spearheaded GOP criticism of Noem in the narrowly divided Senate and seized on Tuesday's oversight hearing to turn up the pressure.
President Trump spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and what might come next, three sources with knowledge of the calls told Axios.
Why it matters: The Kurds have thousands of soldiers along the Iran-Iraq border and control strategic areas that could be significant as the war develops. Iraq's Kurds also have close ties to Iran's Kurdish minority.
Republican candidates in Tuesday's primary have called the weekend mass shooting in Austin an act of terror motivated by radical Islam, even as the FBI has yet to draw conclusions.
Why it matters: The statements issued by candidates at the top of the Republican ballot follow GOP efforts to target sharia law in Texas and label a prominent Muslim civil rights group as a terrorist organization.
Katie Miller interviewed Fox News' Sean Hannity for an upcoming episode of "The Katie Miller Podcast," and Hannity jabbed at former prime-time colleague Tucker Carlson:
"I don't ever talk to him, ever," Hannity said. "I wish him well. I've read a lot of what he says. I just completely disagree with it. And it's not the person that I knew when he was at Fox."
MAGA's ascendant "America First" wing erupted after Secretary of State Marco Rubio effectively blamed Israel for drawing the U.S. into war with Iran.
Why it matters: Rubio's remarks were the first time a Trump official had so explicitly acknowledged Israel as a driving force behind the war — landing at a moment when Americans' public support for Israel has hit historic lows.
"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action" against Iran, Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill on Monday. "We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces" by the Iranian regime.
Changes to SNAP work requirements outlined in President Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act" went into effect Sunday.
Why it matters: The changes mark a historic cut to the social safety net — which experts say could leave more people hungry and uninsured — even as Trump frames the new requirements as a victory for his administration's handling of the affordability crisis.
An expensive Democratic civil war is brewing this election cycle, with a staggering 30 House Democrats facing at least one primary challenger who has raised $100,000 or more, an Axios analysis found.
Why it matters: These primaries are drawing tens of millions of dollars from Democrats' efforts to retake the House while priming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to inherit a rebellious class of new freshmen.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two drones, according to initial estimates, resulting in a limited fire and minor material damage to the building, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson said.
The big picture: Tehran has launched a wave of counterattacks following weekend airstrikes by American and Israeli forces on Iran, firing missiles at Middle Eastern countries that are allied with the U.S. into Tuesday morning — as the U.S. and Israel continued to target Iran.
Retired Gen. Paul Nakasone, former NSA and U.S. Cyber Command director and an OpenAI board member, criticized the Trump administration's decision to label Anthropic a supply chain risk.
Why it matters: Designating just one American AI company as a risk could dismantle the Pentagon's decades of work to build trust across Silicon Valley, he warned.
The Department of Justice moved to dismiss its civil case against four leading law firms that won rulings against President Trump's executive orders targeting them for employing or representing his critics.
The big picture: The DOJ's motion to dismiss its lawsuit appeals against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey comes after other prestigious law firms caught in Trump's crosshairs agreed to provide almost $1 billion worth of legal work to the president instead of going to court.
Senate Democrats expect to lose a symbolic vote this week to check President Trump's authority to strike Iran. They're preparing for a bigger fight over the war's funding.
Why it matters: The War Powers Resolution vote, which could come as soon as Tuesday, will unite the Democratic Party on process. But a potential funding debate could expose deeper foreign policy disagreements in the party.
President Trump on Monday confirmed he will be accepting an invitation to this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Why it matters: Trump never attended the event that's historically known for poking fun at presidents and their policies during either of his presidential terms.
