1/ The Senate approved $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan by a 70-29 vote. Despite efforts by Trump, hard-right Republicans, and House Speaker Mike Johnson to kill the legislation, Senate Republican support for the deal increased overnight, with 22 Republican senators voting in favor of the package. Hours before the vote, Johnson preemptively rejected the legislation and said he would not bring the Senate package to the House floor for a vote. Further, many hard-right Republicans have threatened to oust Johnson if he brings the legislation up in the House. Democrats, however, are limited in their options to bring the legislation to the floor: It would require a bipartisan group of lawmakers getting 218 members to sign on to a discharge petition to circumvent Republican leadership and force a floor vote. Discharge petitions rarely succeed. Biden, meanwhile, called for House Republicans to pass the aid package, saying: “Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin. We can’t walk away now. That’s what Putin is betting on.” (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / Associated Press / NBC News / CNN / Bloomberg) 2/ The Supreme Court gave special counsel Jack Smith one week to respond to Trump’s request to delay his federal criminal election subversion trial. Trump is appealing a court ruling that unanimously rejected his claim that he’s absolutely immune from criminal charges for actions he took while in office. Smith, however, has already urged the Supreme Court to resolve the immunity dispute quickly so that Trump’s trial, originally set for March 4, can begin later this year, but the court’s timing suggests that it might take its time reviewing the broader questions related to the issue of immunity. (Politico / New York Times / CNBC / Bloomberg) All 4 of Trump’s criminal cases reach inflection points this week: “In Trump’s New York case, a judge is slated to finalize the timetable for his trial on charges that he falsified business records to cover up an affair with a porn star; In his Washington, D.C., case, the Supreme Court may signal whether it will quickly resolve Trump’s claim that he is “immune” from federal charges; In his Georgia case, where Trump is also facing state charges related to the 2020 election, a judge has scheduled a Thursday hearing to examine an effort by Trump and several co-defendants to disqualify the prosecutors; And in his Florida case, a judge is weighing Trump’s latest motion to postpone...

1/ Trump said he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that were “delinquent” in meeting the group’s guidelines for defense spending. Trump, recounting an exchange from his time in office with the leader of a “big country” who asked whether it would be protected if Russia attacked, said: “You didn’t pay. You’re delinquent […] No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.” The White House called Trump’s comments “appalling and unhinged,” adding that “encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes […] endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home.” NATO’s secretary-general meanwhile, said that “any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk.” After Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, NATO countries pledged to spend 2% of their economic output on defense. So far, only 11 of the 31 member countries have hit that target. (NBC News / Washington Post / NPR / New York Times / BBC / Associated Press / USA Today / The Guardian / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN / CNBC) 2/ More than a dozen Republicans ignored Trump and voted to forward on a bill to send $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The vote was 67 to 27, with 18 Republicans voting to advance the foreign aid package. Last week, Republicans rejected a bipartisan version of the bill, which included border policy changes they had demanded, after Trump campaigned against the legislation for fear it could be seen as a win for Biden. It’s unclear, however, if House Speaker Mike Johnson would take up the legislation if it passes the Senate. (CNN / Politico / Washington Post) 3/ Despite Biden warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a military operation in Rafah “should not proceed” without a “credible and executable” plan to protect the more than 1 million people sheltering there, Israel launched a “wave” of airstrikes that killed dozens of people, including children. The operation free...

1/ The Senate advanced a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan after Republicans rejected a version of the bill that included the border policy changes they had demanded. The vote of 67-32 allows the Senate to begin consideration of the legislation, which would provide $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in global conflicts. The bill, however, still faces an uncertain future, and it’s unclear if the final package will clear the 60-vote threshold in Democratic-led Senate. It’s also expected to be even more difficult to win approval in the Republican-controlled House. Nevertheless, Chuck Schumer described the vote as a “good first step,” adding: “Failure to pass this bill would only embolden autocrats like Putin and Xi, who want nothing more than America’s decline.” (NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Axios) 2/ The EPA set strict, new limits on one of the deadliest types of air pollution. The new rules will limit the annual amount of fine particulate matter – also called PM2.5 – from factories, power plants, and other industrial facilities from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9. The new standards – the EPA’s first tightening of the rules since 2012 – are expected to prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and avoid around 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms. (NPR / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post) 3/ The special counsel examining Biden’s handling of classified documents recommended “no criminal charges,” but did find evidence that Biden had “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials.” The report from special counsel Robert Hur said that while Biden’s practices “present serious risks to national security,” he wouldn’t recommend charges because Biden presents as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” The report also made clear the “material distinctions” between a theoretical case against Biden and the pending case against Trump for his handling of classified documents. “Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr. Trump, if proven, would present serious aggravating factors,” Hur writes. “Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.” (Washington Post / Associated Press / New York Times / <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/special-counsel-says-evidence-biden-willf...

1/ House Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after four Republicans joined Democrats in voting against what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official. Although the vote failed 214-216, Republicans immediately moved to bring back the resolution up for another vote, but it’s unclear when or if that will happen. (New York Times / NPR / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press) 2/ House Republicans failed to pass a standalone bill to send $17.6 billion in aid to Israel after Speaker Mike Johnson called the bipartisan Senate package that combined Israel and Ukraine with stricter border security and asylum laws “dead-on-arrival” in the chamber. The vote failed 250 to 180, with 166 Democrats and 14 Republicans opposing the measure. The bill required the support of two-thirds of the House to pass. (NBC News / Washington Post / Axios / CNN / CBS News) 3/ Senate Republicans blocked the $118 billion bipartisan border package that Republicans had demanded but then rejected after pressure from Trump, who is making the border a campaign issue. The bill failed to advance 49-50, falling short of the 60-vote threshold and essentially guarantees Congress won’t pass any broad immigration or border legislation before the presidential election. Republicans had initially demanded strict border policy changes in exchange for Ukraine aid, but abandoned that trade-off when House Republican leadership called the bill “dead on arrival.” After the failed vote, Chuck Schumer released a narrower, $95.3 billion version of the same package that would fund Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but without the border-security provisions or funding. “Why have Republicans backed off on border when they know it’s the right thing to do?” Schumer said. “Two words: Donald Trump.” (Associated Press / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-07/senate-vote-ends-bord...

1/ A federal appeals court rejected Trump’s claim that he’s immune from federal prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results,” the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit wrote. “Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count.” Trump has repeatedly argued that his actions before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection were part of his official duties as president and therefore he can’t be prosecuted for those crimes without first being impeached and convicted by Congress. Since the Senate acquitted Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump has claimed he’s now subject to “double jeopardy.” The D.C. Circuit panel, however, rejected the double jeopardy argument, writing that “the weight of historical authority indicates that the Framers intended for public officials to face ordinary criminal prosecution as well as impeachment.” The court concluded: “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.” Trump has until Feb. 12 to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the decision or ask the appeals court’s entire judicial lineup to take up the issue. He faces four counts, including conspiring to defraud the U.S. and to obstruct an official proceeding. (NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / CBS News / ABC News / CNBC / CNN / Associated Press / Axios / Bloomberg) 2/ House Republicans now plan to vote on a standalone Israel aid bill after rejecting a bipartisan border deal they had previously demanded. It’s not clear, however, whether Speaker Mike Johnson has the two-thirds majority needed to pass the standalone bill to provide $17.6 billion in aid to Israel. Nevertheless, Biden called on congressional Republicans to “show some spine” and pass the $118 billion bipartisan package that paired strict border security measures with assistance to Israel a...

1/ House Republicans vowed to kill the Senate’s bipartisan $118.3 billion national security bill that pairs strict border enforcement policies with aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies. For months, Republicans have demanded concessions from Democrats, threatening to tank any deal that didn’t link significant new U.S. immigration restrictions with unrelated aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies. The proposed agreement includes $20.2 billion to improve security at the U.S. border, and would require the president to close the border if the number of migrant crossings reach a certain threshold, allow the government to more easily expel migrants at the border, and make it more difficult for migrants to claim asylum. In exchange, the bill includes $60.1 billion in aid for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, $2.33 billion for refugees from the war in Ukraine, and $4.83 billion for allies to “deter aggression by the Chinese government.” Nevertheless, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the legislation “even worse than we expected” and declared it “dead on arrival” in the House. Trump, who’s made the border his signature campaign issue, called it a “great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party.” Several Republicans have admitted they’d rather walk away from border security policies they’ve sought for years than give Biden a win ahead in an election year. Biden, meanwhile, called the agreement some of the “toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades,” and ones that he “strongly” supports. “Now, House Republicans have to decide. Do they want to solve the problem? Or do they want to keep playing politics with the border?” The Senate is expected to hold a key test vote on the package this week, which would require 60 votes to pass. It’s unclear whether it has the support to pass a filibuster. (Axios / Politico / NBC News / Associated Press / CNN / NPR / New York Times) 2/ Trump’s federal 2020 election trial was officially postponed indefinitely. The case had been paused since December while Trump appealed a lower-court’s rejection of his immunity claims. “The court will set a new schedule if and when the mandate is returned,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said in her order. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals eventual ruling will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court, prompting further delays. The delay in the federal election interference case makes it likely that the first of Trump’s four criminal trials will begin March 25 in Manhattan on New York state charges of business fraud in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 election. (NBC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Axios / <a href="https://www.bloomberg.co...

1/ The House passed a bipartisan tax package that pairs a temporary expansion of the child tax credit with a trio of business tax breaks. The bill includes $33 billion to expand the child tax credit for three years. The bill is estimated to benefit roughly 16 million children in low-income families in the first year, and lift half a million children out of poverty. The legislation would also revive some expired parts of the 2017 Republican tax cuts for businesses, including deductions for research and development, interest expenses, and investments in equipment. The vote was 357 to 70, with 188 Democrats and 169 Republicans voting in favor and 23 Democrats and 47 Republicans opposed. The bill will next go to the Senate, where Republicans can block the bill with a filibuster. (NPR / Politico / Washington Post / NBC News / Associated Press) 2/ Biden signed an executive order to impose new sanctions on four Israeli settlers involved in violent attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. At least eight Palestinians, including a child, have been killed, and 115 more have been injured in the nearly 500 attacks by Israeli settlers since Oct. 7. The first round of sanctions block the four from using the U.S. financial system and bar American citizens from dealing with them. The order notes that the violence by settlers undermines U.S. foreign policy objectives, “including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis and Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity, and freedom.” (Politico / NPR / Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal) 3/ The U.S. carried out airstrikes against a drone ground control station belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. U.S. officials also confirmed that plans have been approved for a series of strikes over a number of days against targets inside Iraq and Syria in response to drone and rocket attacks on U.S. forces in the region. “This is a dangerous moment in the Middle East,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. “We will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region, but we will take all necessary actions to defend the United States, our interests and our people, and we will respond when we choose, where we choose and how we choose.” (CNN / <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-strike...

1/ FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that Chinese hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real-world harm” to critical U.S. infrastructure, including water treatment plants, electrical grids, oil and natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems. Wray, appearing before the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, argued that “there has been far too little public focus” that Chinese hackers are targeting U.S. infrastructure, adding: “And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention — now.” During congressional testimony, Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said: “This is a world where a major crisis halfway across the planet could well endanger the lives of Americans here at home through the disruption of our pipelines, the severing of our telecommunications, the pollution of our water facilities, the crippling of our transportation modes—all to ensure they can incite societal panic and chaos and to deter our ability to marshal military might and civilian will.” (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNN) 2/ The State Department is reportedly exploring the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state following the end of the Gaza war. Secretary of State Tony Blinken asked State Department officials to review options for the recognition of a Palestinian state, including what a demilitarized Palestinian state would look like and how a two-state solution could be implemented in a way that assures security for Israel. While there has been no policy change, the consideration represents a major shift in American thinking, and the Biden administration has made linking normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia to the creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has opposed the establishment of Palestinian state after the Israel-Hamas war. Negotiators, meanwhile, have been discussing a framework for a hostage release and six-week ceasefire. The Israeli government has also discussed an internal plan to exile top Hamas officials involved in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack to a third Middle East country as a step toward ending the war in the Gaza Strip. (Axios / Wall Street Journal / Semafor / Washington Post) 3/ The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at a 22-year-high amid improving consumer confidence and a declining inflation rate. The Fed, however, continued to signal that they expect to cut rates by three-quarters of a percentage point over the course of 2024 as they gain “greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.” The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, ended 2023 at 2.6% from a year earlier – well below the 5.4% increase at the end of 2022. Interest rates, meanwhile, have remained at 5.25% to 5.5% since last summer, after the central bank raised rates 11 times since March 2022 in an effort to catch up with inflation that soared to 40-year highs. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/news/research/2024/2024010...

1/ Republicans – who have for months insisted on changes to border and migration policy as a condition of approving any additional aid to Ukraine – declared that the bipartisan Senate-proposed border deal would be “dead on arrival” in the House. The bipartisan deal, which represents the Republican’s best chance in decades to make substantial changes to immigration and border security, would require the U.S. to close the border if about 5,000 migrants cross illegally on any given day. It would also speed up the asylum process. Speaker Mike Johnson, who still hasn’t seen the legislative text, said House Republicans won’t accept any proposal that allows “even one illegal crossing,” calling it “surrender” and that “the number must be ZERO.” Asked whether the House Republican opposition to the legislation is due to Trump’s campaign against it, Johnson responded: “That’s absurd.” Immigration has been Trump’s defining issue, dating back to his first presidential campaign news conference on June 16, 2015 when he accused Mexico of sending “rapists” to the U.S. (The Hill / Politico / HuffPost / Politico) 2/ The Illinois State Board of Elections voted unanimously to dismiss an effort seeking to disqualify Trump from the state’s primary ballot, saying it didn’t have the authority to decide whether Trump had engaged in insurrection. The board’s unanimous ruling comes after its hearing officer found that a “preponderance of the evidence” shows Trump engaged in insurrection and is ineligible to run for president. The hearing officer, however, said “the Election Code is simply not suited for issues involving constitutional analysis,” and recommended that the board let the courts make the decision. While the decision is expected to be appealed in state courts, the issue will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which hears arguments on whether Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol disqualifies him from the presidency. (Associated Press / CNN / New York Times / ABC News) 3/ A federal appeals court rejected a request to review a ruling that threatens to make it harder to enforce the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination in the election process. The full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that federal law doesn’t allow private groups or individuals to pursue cases enforcing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because the law doesn’t explicitly name them. Only the U.S. attorney general can file lawsuits to enforce the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination. The vast majority of Voting Rights Act lawsuits for decades, however, have been filed by private parties – not the Justice Department. The ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Reuters / NPR) 🔎 What’s ...

1/ House Republicans released two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing him of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust.” Republicans have repeatedly accused Mayorkas of failing to enforce immigration laws as a record number of migrants arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as obstructing congressional oversight, and rolling back Trump-era policies, including the construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The articles of impeachment will be reviewed in committee on Tuesday. If they pass the committee, they then go to the full House for an impeachment vote. It would then be up to the Democratic-led Senate on whether to convict and potentially remove Mayorkas. (ABC News / CBS News / Axios / Politico / NPR / NBC News / Associated Press) 2/ Biden promised to “shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed” if Congress passes a border security package. In the Senate, a bipartisan group reached a deal that would force the federal government to shut down the border for migrants crossing illegally during surges and expedite the asylum process. Biden said the deal would “be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country […] I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.” Trump, who has made immigration reform and the border a central part of his election campaign, has pressured House Republicans to kill the deal, writing that “it is the WORST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, an open wound in our once great Country.” At the same time, Trump demanded “CLOSE THE BORDER!” Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said the bipartisan Senate deal would be “dead on arrival” in the House. (Associated Press / Politico / CNN / Axios / Washington Post) 3/ Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages for repeatedly defaming her. The jury awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages – $11 million for repairing her reputation and $7.3 million for emotional harm – and $65 million in punitive damages. The verdict came after Trump stormed out of the courtroom during Carroll’s closing argument. He later posted on his personal social media site that he would be appealing, because “They have taken away all First Amendment Rights. THIS IS NOT AMERICA!” A different jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s, and for defaming her by mocking her claims after he left the White House. They awarded her $5 million in damages, which Trump is appealin...