WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

While Donald Trump took the stage alone at a competing town hall, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis debated one-on-one for the first time, days before the Iowa caucuses. But did their dueling barbs do more damage to their own campaigns than to the frontrunner? Plus, Chris Christie suspends his campaign before the New Hampshire primary, leaving questions about who will inherit his supporters and what his next political move might be.  

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After Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin checked into a hospital last week, no one apparently informed President Biden or the White House, a breakdown of communication in Washington that is prompting calls for the Pentagon chief to resign. Plus, Hunter Biden makes a surprise appearance on Capitol Hill, as the House considers holding him in contempt for defying a subpoena.

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With parts of the federal government scheduled to run out of money next week, the new House Speaker makes an agreement with Democrats on a 2024 spending level. What's in this deal, which largely tracks the plan advanced last year by the ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy? And can Johnson get Republicans on the same page, given opposition from the Freedom Caucus?

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With a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, Donald Trump tries to stop Nikki Haley's rise. Plus, Joe Biden tries to frame the presidential campaign as a fight over the legacy of Jan. 6, 2021, and the future of democracy. Will it work against Trump?

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Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have all revved up their attacks as the political world counts down to the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. Can Nikki Haley continue her climb and go head-to-head with Donald Trump? Can Ron DeSantis live up to the early promise of his campaign? Or has Donald Trump won the nomination before the race even started? 

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More violence and disorder has broken out in the Middle East as ISIS takes responsibility for two bombings that killed dozens of people in Iran. Will Iran respond to the acts of terrorism and widen the war, and what could the U.S. and its allies do to prevent any escalation? Plus, Speaker Mike Johnson takes GOP members of the House to the border to pressure Joe Biden into reforming immigration policy.

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Amid twin scandals involving academic plagiarism and campus antisemitism after Oct. 7, Claudine Gay resigns as president of Harvard. Could this be a moment for the Ivy League, and academia broadly, to refocus itself on learning instead of activism? Plus, a study commissioned by the Pentagon dispels some myths about the alleged rise of extremism in the U.S. military. 

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A second state has removed Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot, after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows rules that the Jan. 6 riot was an insurrection. Will the Supreme Court decide this question for good, as other states consider following the lead of Maine and Colorado? Plus, the House passes a bill to increase transparency on foreign money going to U.S. universities.

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Paul Gigot, Kim Strassel and Kyle Peterson make their selections for the most significant stories of the year, including the Hunter Biden investigation, the indictments of Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy's election to Speaker of the House and his eventual removal.

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Paul Gigot interviews political scientist Ruy Teixeira on why Democrats have been losing working-class voters and what they can do about it as the U.S. enters a polarizing presidential election year. 

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