John Brennan, who was CIA director under Obama, was referred to the Justice Department Tuesday by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who accused him of lying to Congress about the Steele dossier.
Why it matters: The recommendation is a high-profile effort by House Republicans to prosecute a former intelligence official, aligning with President Trump's broader goals to legally target his political enemies.
Three bills designed to ramp up pressure on Russia are teed up to pass the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday, according to lawmakers and aides.
Why it matters: The committee action will coincide with a last-minute visit to Washington by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who will meet Wednesday with President Trump as well as key lawmakers.
Pentagon staffers will now need to get prior approval before sharing any information with Congress, according to a new memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his deputy that Axios reviewed.
The White House has halted its work on a second summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. officials said.
Why it matters: The change of plans is an acknowledgment by the White House that the gulf between Russia and Ukraine is too wide to reach a deal to end the war.
More than 40 Democratic senators, led by Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) asked President Trump to "reinforce" his opposition to Israel annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: While Trump told Arab and Muslim leaders several weeks ago he will not allow Israel to annex parts of the West Bank, it was not part of his 20-point peace plan for ending the war in Gaza.
Vice President JD Vance, who is visiting Israel, said on Tuesday that he is optimistic the Gaza ceasefire would hold, but stressed it required "constant monitoring and supervision" by the U.S. and its allies.
Why it matters:Vance's trip is part of an air train of U.S. officials arriving in Israel to work on stabilizing the fragile ceasefire, which has been the Trump administration's biggest diplomatic breakthrough so far.
The U.S. military has killed at least 32 people in seven strikes off the coast of Venezuela without telling Congress or the American people who was killed, or on what evidence.
The big picture: The U.S. is eight weeks into a military campaign in the Caribbean Sea with the twin aims of stopping drugs and, potentially, toppling Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
China's weaponization of all-important rare earth minerals is sending the Trump administration scrambling to find new sources for the materials that power the modern world.
Why it matters: From Australia to Ukraine, and at all points in between, the U.S. position on rare earth minerals in the Trump administration is clear — get them out of the ground, at any cost, and the sooner the better.
Amazon Web Services, the biggest cloud computing provider, went down Monday morning — crippling thousands of services from some of the biggest companies on earth.
Why it matters: For all its complexity and size, the global economy is fragile — breaking just one weak link drives big disruptions, online and in the real world.
