Congress' Jan. 6 investigators face an inevitable reckoning with their GOP colleagues  —  As congressional investigators accelerate their probe of Donald Trump's 2020 election challenges that culminated on Jan. 6, one thing is clear: All roads run through a handful of their GOP colleagues.

Democrats edge toward dumping Iowa's caucuses as the first presidential vote  —  President Biden is not a big fan.  Former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez is openly opposed.  And elsewhere in the Democratic inner sanctum, disdain for Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucus has been rising for years.

McConnell's done dealing  —  Less than 24 hours after Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made a point of trying to spin the narrative to his party's favor, telling President Biden via letter that Republicans will not assist again if Democrats …

‘Mad Men’ advice for Biden  —  BUILD BACK BETTER, BETTER — Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, and whatever you think of the substantive merits of the multi-trillion dollar bill that Joe Biden has staked his presidency on, you will probably agree that the bill has been terribly named.

Kyrsten Sinema Wants to Cut $100 Billion in Proposed Climate Funds, Sources Say  —  The Arizona senator, who started in politics as an environmentalist, is one of two centrist Democrats who could make or break a spending bill at the center of President Biden's legislative agenda.

French elections: Far-right TV pundit climbs to second behind Macron  —  A far-right firebrand is shaking up the French presidential election and, with six months to go, has pulled into second in the polls.  —  Why it matters: This race had long seemed on course for a rematch between President …

Appeals court reinstates Texas's six-week abortion ban, two days after it was lifted  —  A federal appeals court late Friday reinstated the nation's most restrictive abortion law, which bars the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.

America's unemployed are sending a message: They'll go back to work when they feel safe - and well-compensated  —  September marked the weakest hiring this year, and an alarming number of women had to stop working again to deal with unstable school and child-care situations

Hungary's Orban backs Polish court ruling challenging EU law  —  Hungary has called on European Union institutions “to respect member states' sovereignty” after it backed a Polish court ruling that some EU law is incompatible with the Polish constitution.  —  Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed …

Major Harris surrogate goes full DGAF  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  “Her portfolio is trash.”  —  That's what BAKARI SELLERS, one of the most public and vocal defenders …

The Democrats' Privileged College-Kid Problem  —  To anyone who's spent time in Democratic politics in the past decade, a certain type of young person will immediately be familiar: bright-eyed, old enough to drive a car but not old enough to rent one without insurance fees …

Why outlawing harmful social media content would face an uphill legal battle  —  Even in cases with tragic facts, courts have resisted penalizing speech involved with some general societal harm.  —  Testimony from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen has given new life to a pair of ideas that …

National Democrats seek to intervene in GOP-backed challenge to mail voting in Pennsylvania  —  The Democratic National Committee is seeking to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania Republicans aimed at curbing the use of mail voting, according to a copy of the filing shared with NBC News.

Harrison Nominates New Corporate Lobbyists to Join the DNC  —  DNC members say they were not allowed input on the nominees, who were put forward as a slate by Chair Jaime Harrison and will almost certainly be approved.  —  EDITED BY  —  Tomorrow, Democratic National Committee members …

Stephanie Grisham says she needed to be ‘deprogrammed’ after leaving the White House  — Stephanie Grisham says she needed to be “deprogrammed” after the chaos of the Trump White House.  — “I know for me, a toxic environment was normal,” she said of her time at high levels of the White House.

Luo Changping Detained in China After Criticizing ‘The Battle at Lake Changjin’  —  The police arrested Luo Changping on Thursday, two days after he questioned China's role in the Korean War, the subject of China's box office hit “The Battle at Lake Changjin.”

Three U.S. Embassy staff in Russia face expulsion over allegations of property theft  —  MOSCOW — Russia on Friday accused three U.S. Embassy employees of theft and demanded that they leave the country or face prosecution, exacerbating already tense relations.

Berlin police investigating ‘Havana syndrome’ cases at U.S. Embassy  —  German police said on Friday they are investigating several cases of so-called Havana syndrome at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, a mysterious ailment believed to have affected 200 U.S. diplomats, officials and family members worldwide.

Global Supply-Chain Problems Escalate, Threatening Economic Recovery  —  Component shortages, surging prices of raw materials and transportation backups compound the bottlenecks  —  in Hong Kong, William Boston in Berlin and Alistair MacDonald  —  Global supply-chain bottlenecks are feeding …

‘Battered on trust, doubted on leadership’: A ‘brutal’ poll for Biden shows no easy fix  —  “These new poll numbers are frankly brutal for the president,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper reported on Wednesday after a new Quinnipiac University poll showed that President Biden is at his lowest approval number yet — 38 percent.

White House condemns NC Lt Gov Robinson's anti LGBTQ comments  —  The Biden White House condemned on Friday North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's comments calling transgender people and homosexuality “filth.”  —  “These words are repugnant and offensive,” said Andrew Bates …

Capitol Police whistleblower delivers scathing rebuke to two of its senior leaders on Jan. 6  —  A former high-ranking Capitol Police official with knowledge of the department's response to the Jan. 6 attack has sent congressional leaders a scathing letter accusing two of its senior leaders …