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Senator Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the upper chamber’s history, will stand aside from his leadership post after the November general election.

The Kentucky Republican, who has been the GOP’s leader since 2007, announced his decision from the Senate floor yesterday.

Speaking from the front-row desk traditionally allotted to the party floor leader, McConnell told his colleagues that the loss of his sister-in-law in recent weeks had led him to “a certain introspection”.

The Bluegrass State senator, who has in recent months had several public episodes in which he appeared to freeze for several seconds, leading to concerns over his health, also noted that at 82 years old, the “end of [my] contributions” were “closer than I prefer”.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Congressional leaders announced late on Wednesday that they have reached a tentative agreement to prevent a US government shutdown – for now.

The announcement comes just in time to meet an end-of-the-week deadline that risked shuttering some government departments.

Under the new plan, Congress will temporarily fund one set of federal agencies through to 8 March and another set through to 22 March.

In the meantime, lawmakers will try to draw up and pass packages of legislation to fund the government for the remainder of the budget year.

But there was no immediate plan to approve the $95bn emergency national security funds for Ukraine, Israel and other allies that was passed by the Senate earlier this month.

“We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government,” said a joint statement from House speaker Mike Johnson, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, along with the Appropriation Committee leaders.

Speaker Johnson said the lower chamber would vote on Thursday to approve the temporary funds – ahead of Friday’s deadline.

The Senate will then follow suit.

The deal comes together as negotiators in Congress have been working furiously to finish up a federal spending plan and Washington joined Ukraine and other American allies around the world in watching and waiting for Speaker Johnson’s next move.

The new Republican leader is facing the test of his career trying to keep the US government open by Friday’s midnight deadline for several federal departments.

At the same time, emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies remains stubbornly stalled. President Joe Biden convened the top congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday in the hope of pushing them toward a deal.

Congress is in what has become a familiar cycle of threatened shutdowns and disruptions as hard-right Republicans in Speaker Johnson’s majority strive for steeper spending reductions than Democrats and even some other Republicans are willing to accept. This would be the fourth short-term funding extension in about five months.

Congressional leaders said they had reached an agreement on six bills that will adhere to spending levels previously agreed to last year.

Those bills involve veterans affairs and the departments of agriculture, transportation, the interior and others and will be voted on and enacted before 8 March.

The remaining six bills for the Pentagon, homeland security, health and human services and the state department still need to be finalised, voted on and enacted before 22 March.

Leaders said a short-term extension would be voted on this week so that funding would continue for agencies while lawmakers worked on the two packages.

Lawmakers would be given 72 hours to review the broader legislative packages, as is expected under House rules.

If the deal and the subsequent bills are approved, it would keep the federal government funded until the end of the budget year, on 30 September, and avoid more short-term measures.

Ariana Baio reports on how Gen-Z feels about having two candidates running for president who are nearly 60 years older than them:

There are seven Republican senators who could take over as Republican Party leader in the upper chamber:

Bevan Hurley reports:

Alabama lawmakers introduced two bills on Tuesday that would shield medical providers that offer in vitro fertilisation services from civil and criminal liability.

The state Senate and House put forward the proposed bills nearly two weeks after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally protected children, forcing hospitals and clinics to halt treatments.

Senate Bill 159, introduced by Republican state senator Tim Melson, would provide “civil and criminal immunity provided for in vitro fertilization goods and services in certain circumstances”, according to the document’s text.

Later on Tuesday, Republican representative introduced House Bill 237 that would provide the same legal protections for IVF goods and services “except acts of omission that are intentional and not arising from or related to IVF services”.

Neither bill addressed the Supreme Court’s ruling that defined frozen embryos as children.

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After today’s avalanche of news, this feels like it happened a long time ago...

John Bowden writes:

he Republican primary now heads to Super Tuesday with one clear theme: Donald Trump is the party’s first choice for the 2024 general election, even if a majority of Americans look with dismay at the possibility of a rematch between him and Joe Biden.

So why is Nikki Haley, fresh off two latest defeats in Michigan and her home state of South Carolina, still in the race?

The answer can be found in this quote from her on Monday, when she appeared in Grand Rapids a day ahead of the state primary: “The Democrats, I fully believe, are going to have a younger candidate going into the general election.”

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