Today in one sentence: A judge rejected Trump’s effort to have his felony conviction dismissed on presidential immunity grounds; Trump filed a civil lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer, accusing them of engaging in “brazen election interference” and consumer fraud; Trump threatened to fire federal employees who refuse to return to the office, despite existing labor contracts that secure remote work arrangements for thousands of workers; Congress reached a bipartisan deal to prevent a government shutdown; Kamala Harris urged young leaders to “stay in the fight”; and House Democrats selected 74-year-old Gerry Connolly – who is battling esophagus cancer – over 35-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the top spot on the Oversight Committee.

1/ A judge rejected Trump’s effort to have his felony conviction dismissed on presidential immunity grounds. Judge Juan Merchan, addressing the Supreme Court’s decision to grant presidents “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution” for “official acts,” ruled that Trump’s actions were “decidedly personal.” Merchan wrote that it was “logical and reasonable to conclude that if the act of falsifying records to cover up the payments so that the public would not be made aware is decidedly an unofficial act, so too should the communications to further that same cover-up be unofficial.” Merchan also rejected Trump’s argument that he’s protected by presidential immunity because of his election win. Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of orchestrating an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by falsifying business records. It’s unclear if the case will proceed to sentencing, and Trump’s lawyers now claim they have evidence of misconduct by a juror. (CNN / New York Times / Bloomberg / NBC News / NPR / Axios / CBS News / Associated Press)

2/ Trump filed a civil lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer, accusing them of engaging in “brazen election interference” and consumer fraud over a poll shortly before the election that showed Harris leading Trump by three points. Selzer’s prediction, however, was wrong, and Trump won Iowa by 13 percentage points. Two weeks after the election, Selzer retired from the polling business after three decades. “I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing this because I feel I have an obligation to,” Trump said. “We have to straighten out the press. Our press is very corrupt, almost as corrupt as our elections.” The lawsuit comes days after ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit Trump brought against them over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ using the word “rape” rather than “sexual assault” of writer E. Jean Carroll. The network agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s presidential library. Trump is also suing CBS News for $10 billion over the network’s “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, claiming the editing amounted to “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” intended to “mislead the public and attempt to tip the scales” of the election in her favor. Separately, Trump is suing journalist Bob Woodward, who published the audio tapes of their 19 interviews he permitted Woodward to record for his book “Rage.” Trump is seeking at least $49 million in damages. (CNN / Puck / NBC News / CNN / Politico / Axios)

3/ Trump threatened to fire federal employees who refuse to return to the office, despite existing labor contracts that secure remote work arrangements for thousands of workers. “If people don’t come back to work, come back into the office, they’re going to be dismissed,” Trump said. A recent contract between the Social Security Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees union requires its 42,000 members, depending on their role, to work in the office between two and five days a week through 2029. Trump called the agreement “ridiculous […] like a gift to a union.” (Bloomberg / NBC News / USA Today)

4/ Congress reached a bipartisan deal to prevent a government shutdown. The continuing resolution pushes the government funding deadline to March 14, and includes $10 billion in aid for farmers and more than $100 billion in emergency aid for disaster relief. Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill could be released Tuesday, and he expects to honor the 72-hour review rule between the release of text and a vote – meaning the package could land in the Senate just before the Friday night government shutdown deadline. One member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, however, called the package “a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage,” while another said “we get this negotiated crap, and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich.” Johnson and the Republicans hold a narrow 219-211 majority in the House. Republicans have relied on Democrat support to pass the past five continuing resolutions. (Politico / CNN / ABC News / NBC News / The Hill / Politico / Washington Post / Reuters)

✏️ Notables.

  1. Kamala Harris urged young leaders to “stay in the fight” as Trump prepares for a second term. (NBC News / New York Times)

  2. House Democrats selected 74-year-old Gerry Connolly – who is battling esophagus cancer – over 35-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for the top spot on the Oversight Committee. In a closed-door Democratic caucus vote, Connolly defeated Ocasio-Cortez 131 to 84. After the vote, Connolly said the most “capable” candidate won. (NBC News / ABC News / Washington Post)

  3. A federal appeals judge reversed his decision to retire from active service on the bench, denying Trump’s ability to fill that court seat with someone younger and more ideologically conservative. (HuffPost / Reuters)

  4. Trump’s pick for secretary of defense justified the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and promoted debunked election fraud claims. Pete Hegseth also advocated for deploying U.S. troops to respond to domestic unrest, supported waterboarding, and opposed women and openly gay individuals serving in combat roles. (CNN)

  5. Thirteen Republicans who participated in the 2020 “fake electors” scheme to reverse Trump’s loss in 2020 will cast real Electoral College votes for Trump. Some are still facing felony charges from their actions four years ago. (CNN / NPR)

Three years ago today: Day 332: "Deliberate efforts."
Four years ago today: Day 1428: "A grave risk."
Six years ago today: Day 697: A form of compromise.