Rep. Rashida Tlaib urged Michigan voters to look at the “whole ballot” in November rather than stay home in protest of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war while declining to say if she would back the president in the general election.

“Don’t stay home,” she said when asked whether voters who cast “uncommitted” protest ballots should sit out the November elections. “One thing that I know about staying home is you’re making us more invisible. I want you to exercise your right to vote, I really mean this. But also think of the whole ballot.”

She encouraged voters to consider other pro-cease-fire candidates on the ballot or other important local issues “and not always think about that top of that ticket.”

Asked if she’d be voting for Biden in November, the member of the progressive “squad” did not respond. Tlaib did not endorse Biden in the 2020 elections, though she campaigned against Donald Trump.

Tlaib, who backed the “uncommitted” campaign, has been openly critical of the president as she presses the White House to call for a Gaza cease-fire. More than 100,000 Michigan voters opted to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s primary earlier this week, sparking jitters among some Democrats about Biden’s chances in the crucial swing state.

Tlaib had also declined to call for similar protest votes in other states, telling reporters: “We’re not going to go into the backyards of other states and tell them what to do. I think what is so beautiful about our country is every community is different. “

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin came under fire Thursday from House Republicans, who faulted the Pentagon chief for not blaming anyone for failing to notify the White House of his January hospitalization.

“Who will be held accountable for this, this embarrassment?” asked Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), leading off a contentious House Armed Services Committee hearing with Austin.

Republicans zeroed in on the fact that Austin was in the hospital for three days before President Joe Biden and the White House learned about his status, arguing it shows his lack of influence on national security.

“Either the president is that aloof or you are irrelevant,” Banks said.

Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) added that the White House not noticing his absence “suggests Secretary Austin’s advice is not sought or heeded in the White House, even while military operations were ongoing in the Middle East.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) also sharply criticized Austin for failing to inform the president of his whereabouts while the U.S. is engaged in conflicts around the world. In particular, she pointed to a Jan. 4 strike on Iranian proxies in Iraq, which occurred while Austin was still in the hospital.

“The president of the United States was not aware that you were not in the chain of command. So God forbid there was a retaliatory strike that would have caused potential delays,” Stefanik said. “Do you understand why this is unacceptable to the American people until those military families?”

Meanwhile, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) slammed Austin for holding himself to a “different standard” than the rest of the American people. He noted that the Marine Commandant Gen. Eric Smith had a “medical incident” — a heart attack in October — and informed the relevant parties.

“My teenage daughter knows to tell her supervisor if she’s not going to work. The American people — truck drivers, bartenders — know they have to tell their boss or they get fired. But you’ve held yourself to a different standard. And that’s unacceptable,” Waltz said.

Austin, in his first appearance before lawmakers since the January incident, told them he did not instruct his staff to withhold news of his hospitalization from the White House. He repeatedly appeared to blame the communications breakdown on his staff.

“I was the patient, and so I expect that my organization would do the right thing,” Austin said.

However, he gave few new details during the hearing, focusing on changes the Pentagon has made to ensure top officials are notified when his powers are transferred to his deputy.

The secretary, who transferred power to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks the day after he was rushed to the hospital, emphasized that there was no gap in Pentagon leadership. But he reiterated that the episode was mishandled.

“Again: We did not handle this right,” Austin told lawmakers. “And I did not handle this right.”

The panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, hit back at Republicans who noted that adversaries were paying attention to the events, arguing “there was nothing that makes us appear weak” about the flap.

“We were doing everything that we needed to do to meet the national security needs of this country,” Smith said. “And if members of this committee incorrectly imply otherwise, they are merely giving aid and comfort to those adversaries that they claim to care about confronting.”

Austin’s testimony is the result of congressional backlash over his failure to notify the White House of his hospitalization in January for complications from earlier surgery to treat prostate cancer.

A classified 30-day review ordered by Austin’s office and sent to Capitol Hill last week found “no ill intent” by his staff in not informing the White House, but Republicans have criticized the report for not holding anyone accountable and for being mostly classified.

Several Republicans also noted that an underling would face discipline if they had gone to the hospital without reporting it to the chain of command.

“If a private soldier or a sailor or Marine would’ve done this, or an airman, there would’ve been consequences,” said Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.). “They may not have been discharged from service, but there would’ve been consequences.”

Democrats, meanwhile, used the hearing to thrash House Speaker Mike Johnson and conservative Republicans for holding up a supplemental funding package that would provide billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Johnson has so far refused to move on the Senate-passed supplemental without border security requirements, as House Republicans dig in against providing additional aid for Ukraine.

“Mr. Secretary, it is not you that is the problem. It’s not what happened in your health emergency that’s the problem,” said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). “When will this committee actually stand up for the defense of this nation? When my colleagues on the Republican side of this committee find the courage to get the job done?”

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) also pivoted from Austin’s health to Ukraine, hitting Johnson for not putting the supplemental package up for a vote.

“We’re seeing the risk play out on the battlefield each and every day as the Ukrainians fight valiantly to defend their sovereign territory,” Courtney said. “Without our support, the Ukrainians will be outgunned in terms of artillery.”

And Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) called out “the outrage and the drama” from Republicans over Austin’s mistake, while those same lawmakers failed to take steps to protect Ukraine from Russian President Vladimir Putin and approve funding for weapons.

“Look, you made a mistake. You admitted it. You’re taking steps to address it. And you want to know what accountability is. Accountability is having to come and sit in front of people and their outrage and their drama in public about your health issues and the mistakes you’ve admitted you made when the entire world is wondering what the hell is going on with the United States of America,” Slotkin said.

House lawmakers will vote early Thursday afternoon on a short-term spending patch, allowing them more time to wrap their government funding work for the fiscal year.

How it’ll work: The legislation — just six pages long — will move through an expedited process requiring two-thirds support in the chamber for passage. Look to see how many Republicans Speaker Mike Johnson loses.

How does the suspension work? The bill maintains the so-called laddered approach for funding the government. Effectively, certain agencies see their funding lapse at different points. Those deadlines apply to the following bills:

March 8: Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science bills

March 22: Everything else and the more controversial funding measures. Those include Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS, Legislative Branch, and State and Foreign Operations.

Reminder: The top four congressional leaders and spending chiefs issued a joint statement Wednesday announcing an agreement on the first tranche of spending bills. They said the extension will enable “adequate time to execute on this deal in principle, including drafting, preparing report language, scoring and other technical matters, and to allow members 72 hours to review” the agreement.

Assuming everything goes to plan in the House, attention will turn to the Senate, where any senator could slow down consideration. More likely, though, is some sort of agreement on amendment votes to placate conservatives and allow speedy consideration of the bill. Jet fumes, as always, remain a powerful motivator.

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation allowing the D.C. city government to redevelop the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium as a possible location for the Washington Commanders football team.

The bipartisan legislation, passed 348-55, would permit construction of a stadium and additional housing, while preserving “at least 30 percent” for park lands. It comes as the city is reckoning with the possible loss of two professional sports teams — the Washington Wizards and Capitals — to Virginia in coming years.

“This is a big day for D.C.,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) told POLITICO in an interview. “I’m not certain we’ll be able to keep the [Wizards and Capitals] in the city anyways, but this certainly would be important.”

“It’s an all-around excellent bill for the city,” she added.

Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) said on the floor that the effort would succeed in “turning what was once a plight on our nation’s capital into a thriving area of commerce and community.”

Norton expressed confidence the Senate would act on the measure. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is seen as the most likely backer of shepherding it through the upper chamber.

Norton noted the bill “takes a lot of land which was used only for a public stadium and a parking lot and makes it into an all encompassing bill.”

The GOP-led House hasn’t been shy about inserting itself into local D.C. affairs, but the stadium project has been an uncommon point of bipartisanship. Norton worked with House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to advance the legislation.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi praised Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after he announced Wednesday he would step down as the Senate GOP party leader.

“Leader Mitch McConnell is to be recognized for his patriotism and decades of service to Kentucky, to the Congress and to our Country,” the veteran California Democrat said in a statement. “He and I have worked together since we were appropriators, long before either of us were Leaders in the Congress. While we often disagreed, we shared our responsibility to the American people to find common ground whenever possible. I send best wishes to him and Elaine as they prepare for their next chapter.”

Pelosi made a similar exit from party leadership after last Congress, stepping aside as House Democrats’ party leader to make way for a new generation. Like McConnell, Pelosi had opted to stay in Congress even after departing from leadership. She and other former top party leaders have instead become elder sages in the caucus.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) blocked passage Wednesday of a bill to protect access to in-vitro fertilization nationwide — the first federal clash in the roiling debate over fertility care that an Alabama court sparked earlier this month by granting legal personhood to frozen embryos.

“The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far,” she said. “Far beyond ensuring legal access to IVF, the act explicitly waives the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and would subject religious and pro-life organizations to crippling lawsuits.”

In the wake of the scuttled vote, Democrats are more eager than ever to tie Republicans to the threat to IVF — part of their ongoing campaign to make the fallout of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a top issue in the presidential and congressional election.

“It’s a little personal when a majority male state Supreme Court suggests that people like me who became pregnant with the help of modern medicine should be in jail cells and not nurseries,” said bill author Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), the mother of two daughters conceived through IVF.

Duckworth excoriated Republicans for blocking the legislation — accusing them of hypocrisy after so many voiced support for the treatments over the last week.

Democrats brought up the bill under unanimous consent — an expedited process that allows any senator to object. Leadership has not indicated whether they will bring the bill back to the floor.

Duckworth told POLITICO on Wednesday that she plans to ask for a traditional roll call vote that forces members to take a public stance, though she acknowledged it’s “not going to happen any time soon.”

“I don’t want to shut down the government. We’ve got border security to work on,” she said. “There is a lot in the way in terms of the Senate calendar.”

Whether they continue to push for passage of the bill, Democrats made it clear that they plan to keep hammering Republicans on the issue. The Democratic National Committee is putting up dozens of billboards in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin tying the IVF ruling to former President Donald Trump, and the abortion rights group Reproductive Freedom for All has launched TV ads calling the Alabama decision “part of the Republican plan to control our bodies and lives.”

“Republicans can do and say all they want to try and run away from the truth, but the American people are not buying it,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday ahead of the vote. “They’re not buying it today. They won’t buy it tomorrow. They won’t buy it come November.”

Republican strategists insist they are not worried, arguing that voters won’t hold the entire GOP responsible for the actions of the Alabama court and that it’s not senators’ place to intervene

“Dobbs talked about states rights — what is it you expect Congress to do?” pollster and former Trump administration adviser Kellyanne Conway told POLITICO. “People recognize that the lack of compromise, moderation and reasonableness is on the side of the professional, political left, and the Democrats.”

The GOP’s opposition on Wednesday was a repeat of 2022, when Duckworth attempted to call up the bill a few months after the fall of Roe v. Wade and Hyde-Smith objected without explanation and scuttled the vote.

Republicans signaled in the leadup to the vote that the recent suspension of IVF services in Alabama — and the swath of other states now considering their own restrictions — had not changed their minds. Some argued that fertility treatments are a state’s rights issue in which Congress should not meddle, while others claimed that Alabama lawmakers would solve the problem and federal action is unnecessary.

“I think the issue is going to be fixed by the Alabama legislature,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). “I haven’t talked to any Republican that is not for IVF.”

Yet the Senate maneuvering highlights the bind Republicans face as they struggle to coalesce around a response to the Alabama ruling. Many GOP officials have expressed support for IVF but have largely avoided detailing how clinics should handle unimplanted, viable embryos.

In the meantime, influential anti-abortion groups are turning up the pressure. In a Wednesday statement, Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America condemned Duckworth’s bill, a nonbinding resolution by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) expressing “strong support” for IVF, and the legislative fix Alabama lawmakers are debating that would shield IVF providers from lawsuits and allow services to resume in the state.

Congressional leaders struck a government funding deal Wednesday on half a dozen annual spending bills alongside a stopgap that pushes two shutdown deadlines later into March, according to a senior leadership aide.

Top lawmakers closed out negotiations on the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science bills, assigning all of those a deadline of March 8. Leaders hope to release text by this weekend and clear the spending bills next week, funding those agencies through September.

The rest of the fiscal 2024 measures, including more contentious bills that would fund the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, will get a new deadline of March 22.

Negotiating the second tranche of spending bills before that deadline will be the true test of whether Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders can work together to fully fund the government, already five months into the fiscal year. The deal, which negates the risk of a government shutdown just as President Joe Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union address, is the final product of weeks of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations, as well as intense sparring over policy provisions. It follows the funding framework struck by Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last month.

Both chambers only have a couple days to pass the stopgap before a partial government shutdown kicks in on Saturday. And there’s still a few hiccups on that point: Johnson will almost certainly need help from Democrats to pass the measure in the House, and all 100 senators will have to agree to speed up debate to move the stopgap through the upper chamber before the March 1 deadline.

If Congress manages to meet its funding deadlines this time, appropriators will have to immediately pivot to the next slate of spending bills for the new fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1. Biden is set to unveil his fiscal 2025 budget request on March 11.

Senior appropriators, deeply frustrated by the partisan feuding over government funding that has consumed the better part of a year, said Wednesday that they’re ready to wrap up this chaotic cycle.

“Look, there’s no reason this shit couldn’t have been done by the end of September,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who oversees the defense spending bill. “We’re five and a half months into [the fiscal year] … Nearly six months in and we’re still talking about whether I’m confident or not about whether it’s going to be done? We need to get this done.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the upper chamber’s most notorious contrarians, has already signaled that he’s “open” to allowing a fast-tracked vote that would avert a partial government shutdown on Saturday.

Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.