1/ The House is scheduled to vote on a short-term funding bill to avert a shutdown and keep the federal government funded through March 11 while talks on a broader spending package continue. Funding is currently set to expire on February 18. Once the House passes the stopgap bill, the Senate would need to approve it before it can be sent to Biden to be signed into law. House Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro said the stopgap bill is needed to allow time for more negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on a complete $1.5 trillion appropriations package that would keep the government funded at least through September. (Bloomberg / CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

2/ The Supreme Court allowed a congressional map drawn by Alabama Republicans to remain in place despite a lower court saying the map violated the Voting Rights Act. A lower court had ordered Alabama Republicans to redraw the map because it resulted in one congressional district with a majority of Black voters even though they make up more than a quarter of the state’s population. “Black voters have less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress,” the lower court wrote, ruling that the state had likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote, however, means the upcoming elections will be conducted under the current map, drawn by Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent, who called the order “a disservice to Black Alabamians” who under Supreme Court precedent “have had their electoral power diminished — in violation of a law this Court once knew to buttress all of American democracy.” (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Mitch McConnell criticized the Republican National Committee for censuring two Republican lawmakers who serve on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In remarks at the Capitol, McConnell called the attack a “violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.” On Friday, the RNC approved a resolution accusing Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of participating in the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.” Cheney and Kinzinger are the only GOP members of the House panel. (NBC News /