Republican field narrows; Haley’s New Hampshire endorsement

Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential race, throwing his support behind Donald Trump. Mr DeSantis, the 45-year-old popular governor of Florida, pitched himself as Mr Trump without the chaos, but his campaign struggled to gain momentum. Having invested heavily in Iowa, he came a distant second to Mr Trump in the state’s caucuses on January 15th. He suspends his campaign two days before New Hampshire goes to the polls. His ex-rival, Nikki Haley, is hoping for a strong showing there.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley earned an endorsement from New Hampshire’s most influential newspaper. The New Hampshire Union Leader called the former South Carolina governor “easily the most qualified candidate”, but she still faces an uphill battle ahead of Tuesday’s primary vote. She trails Donald Trump by nearly 15 points, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Joe Biden signed into law a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government funded until March. The legislation cleared the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, despite an 11th-hour campaign by hardline Republicans to stymie it by attaching controversial border-security measures. Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker who earlier promised not to pass short-term extensions, could face consequences for his stand against the far-right Freedom Caucus.

The prosecutor trying the racketeering case against Donald Trump in Georgia must respond in court to accusations of misconduct, a judge ordered. Fani Willis, who filed sweeping RICO charges against 19 people, was accused by one of Mr Trump’s co-defendants of having a relationship with a special counsel she appointed and improperly benefiting from public funds. The role is meant to remain independent.

House Republicans and Hunter Biden, the president’s son, agreed on a date for Mr Biden to give testimony behind closed doors in connection with the impeachment inquiry into his father. Mr Biden previously refused anything but a public interview. Last week two Republican-led House committees moved forward with a process to hold Mr Biden in contempt of Congress; they have paused proceedings for now.

What can the results of the Iowa caucuses—a quirky contest that Donald Trump dominated—reveal about Mr Trump’s prospects for a general election? The Economist’s county-level analysis of his vote share shows where he might be vulnerable. College-educated voters represent one weak spot: in Iowa’s ten most educated counties, Mr Trump won 42% of the vote, compared with 66% across the ten least educated ones.

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