Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised U.S. senators in a private meeting Tuesday that Kyiv will provide transparency for how it uses U.S. aid as Congress weighs more funding, according to lawmakers in the room.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett bashed some of her Republican colleagues, calling them names and saying it's "insulting" that they're in Congress.

Senate lawmakers on Tuesday are expected to begin voting on the $886 billion annual defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act. The measure is expected to pass with bipartisan support before senators send it to the House for a vote before Congress begins its holiday recess.

The House Freedom Caucus has elected Rep. Bob Good of Virginia as its new chairman, putting a backer of Ron DeSantis' presidential bid in charge of the arch-conservative group that is most closely associated with former President Donald Trump.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney said Rep. Kevin McCarthy is "pathetic" for saying he would consider a spot in the Trump administration if he gets elected.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is expected to endorse Nikki Haley's bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

AS TRUMP LEAD WIDENS, PROSECUTORS STEP UP PURSUIT. Two things are true today. One, former President Donald Trump's polling, nationally, in key swing states, and in the first-voting state of Iowa, has never been better. And two, Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed by the Biden Justice Department to prosecute Trump, is taking self-described "extraordinary" measures in a rush to put Trump on trial before the 2024 presidential election. The two things are not unrelated. And nothing could more effectively illustrate the contrast between Trump's rising political fortunes and the administration's effort to imprison him before the election.

That Harvard University is standing by its beleaguered president, Claudine Gay, should not be a surprise: Gay is a perfect representation of the arrogant mediocrity of the university and its brand.