Axios Homepage

Following a surprise vote and intense negotiations over calling witnesses, House impeachment managers and former President Trump's defense team agreed on Saturday afternoon to push forward with the conclusion of the impeachment trial.

The latest: In their closing arguments, House impeachment managers allege that former President Trump egged on his supporters for months, culminating in the deadly attack on Jan. 6. Trump then sat by during the riot, waiting hours as his vice president and members of Congress were under siege, to tell his supporters to go home, the managers claim.

President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Saturday that the administration is concerned by the World Health Organization's (WHO) probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: Sullivan said the administration fears the Chinese government may have intervened or altered the findings of the investigation.

1. Education: CDC releases guidelines on safely reopening schools — Experts say school closures are hurting teens' mental health.
2. Health: What pregnant people face during COVID-19 — The pandemic's racial disparities extend to nursing homes — Coronavirus infections are plummeting.
3. Vaccine: Why vaccine production is taking so long — Pentagon approves 20 more military vaccination teams.
4. Politics: Biden blasts Trump's vaccination efforts.
5. World: America’s extra vaccine doses could be key to global supply.

The Senate voted 55-45 on Saturday in favor of calling witnesses in former President Trump's second impeachment trial after three days of presentations from House Democrats and Trump's defense team. Five Republicans voted with Democrats to call witnesses.

The state of play: The vote opens up new possibilities for Democrats to strengthen their case, which alleges that Trump incited an insurrection on Jan 6. Witnesses were not called in Trump's first impeachment trial, but Republicans held the Senate majority at that time.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his fellow Senate Republicans in an email that he will vote to acquit former President Trump in his impeachment trial over the deadly U.S Capitol riot on Jan. 6, two sources familiar with the email told Axios.

Why it matters: McConnell's acquittal vote will likely shrink the number of Republicans who considered voting to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, making a conviction on the House's single charge of "incitement of insurrection" unlikely.

The Biden administration’s purchase of 200 million additional Pfizer and Modern doses means the U.S. could fully vaccinate 300 million people with just those two vaccines — and 355 million more people if four additional vaccines gain FDA approval.

Why it matters: The U.S. is home to 250 million adults, many of whom won’t elect to be vaccinated. It's also now in control of a big chunk of the global vaccine supply. The White House says the U.S. will eventually donate excess doses to other countries, but it hasn’t released a plan to do so.

The Biden administration has indicated that it will continue to press for the extradition of Julian Assange from the United Kingdom and prosecute the WikiLeaks founder in the United States, according to the New York Times.

Driving the news: The Justice Department filed a brief on Thursday asking a British court to overturn a ruling that blocked Assange's extradition to the U.S., as human rights and civil liberties groups urged acting attorney general Monty Wilkinson to abandon the prosecution.

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) has called on those close to former President Trump and former Vice President Pence to reveal what they know about Trump's actions as a violent mob of his supporters was assaulting the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Why it matters: Herrera Beutler, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to support Trump's impeachment for inciting the Capitol insurrection, also claimed in a statement on Friday night that the president accused House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of not supporting him when McCarthy urged Trump to publicly and forcefully call off the riot.

Donald Trump directed his own defense via speakerphone on Friday, repeatedly calling his lawyers in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Room on the Senate side of the Capitol to relay his feedback, sources tell Axios.

What we're hearing: In contrast to Tuesday's widely panned start of his defense, the Trump was said to be thrilled with his lawyers' performances on Friday — particularly by Michael van der Veen and David Schoen, both of whom "went full Trump," one person familiar with the situation told Axios.

It's not lost on historians that Donald Trump's likely impeachment trial acquittal could fall on Presidents' Day weekend, a holiday celebrating the examples set by America's first president, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, who held the republic together through civil war and ended slavery.

Why it matters: Through his repeated efforts to overturn the election, Trump put the country through one of the toughest tests of democracy it has ever faced. Historians say his expected acquittal on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection will have consequences we are only beginning to understand — and they'll be felt for years.

One of Silicon Valley's most formidable venture capital firms is doubling down on content, putting some tech media outlets on edge.

Why it matters: Andreessen Horowitz isn't interested in traditional journalism, but, in an era where content and reach is power, it wants to exert more influence over how people think about tech and business issues.

The arrests and charges in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill insurrection made clear the power of facial recognition, even as efforts to restrict the technology are growing.

Why it matters: With dozens of companies selling the ability to identify people from pictures of their faces — and no clear federal regulation governing the process — facial recognition is seeping into the U.S., raising major questions about ethics and effectiveness.

The Biden administration has ruled out requiring negative COVID-19 tests for passengers on domestic flight for now, per multiple reports on Friday.

Driving the news: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told "Axios on HBO" earlier this month that the U.S. was considering the possible mandate. But the White House said Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is "not recommending required point of departure testing for domestic travel" at this time, per Bloomberg.

Executives at the center of the GameStop trading saga — including from Reddit and Robinhood, plus hedge funds Melvin Capital and Citadel — will testify before Congress next week, the House Financial Services committee announced on Friday.

Why it matters: The virtual hearing is the first since the fallout of the Reddit stock trading frenzy that pushed stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment to meteoric heights — and the first time some of these executives will speak publicly about it.

The Senate passed a bill Friday to award Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman the Congressional Gold Medal for his actions in response to the deadly Jan. 6 siege.

Driving the news: Goodman has been widely praised for leading the mob of pro-Trump supporters away from members of Congress during the riot. New footage of the siege released by House impeachment managers on Wednesday showed Goodman directing Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) to safety.

Donald Trump's legal team argued four key points during its defense of the former president on Friday — all focused on process.

The big picture: The lawyers delivered a swift defense in which they called the House charge that the former president incited the Jan. 6 insurrection a "preposterous and monstrous lie." In their presentation, the defense team asserted that the trial itself is unconstitutional; there was no due process; convicting Trump violates his First Amendment rights; and impeachment fails to unify the country.