Updated May 21, 2025 - Axios Events
Top moments from Axios' Building The Future event
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Axios had some of the biggest voices in defense, artificial intelligence and commerce on our stage Wednesday in D.C. to talk about the new rules of power.
The big picture: We're making it easier for you to follow along with our event in D.C.
ICYMI...
- 📞 Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told Axios' Hans Nichols that Russian President Vladimir Putin is playing President Trump "like a fiddle" after a two-hour call they had this week ended without a ceasefire in Russia's war with Ukraine.
- 💼 CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis told Axios' Colin Demarest that his agency wants an "elite workforce" and "global meritocracy" when asked about the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce, including the Pentagon. "It's actually an opportunity, in some ways, to reshape the workforce, to get that right blend of technical expertise, acumen and skill sets."
- 💰 Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios' Mike Allen that the "gold card" website allowing people to buy U.S. permanent residency for $5 million will launch within a week. He said the U.S. expects to make trade deals with "most" of its key partners before a pause on tariffs runs out this summer.
- 🌿 Bayer CEO Bill Anderson told Axios' Nathan Bomey the company is fighting to keep the popular agricultural herbicide Roundup available for farmers in the U.S., but warned it could "reach the end of the road" and pull out of the market amid mounting challenges.
- 🇨🇳 Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House select panel on China, told Axios' Neil Irwin that China is "not not a friendly nation," adding: "We don't want to completely decouple, but at the same time we need to be strategic and have our supply chains." He said the U.S. is "getting to the end of a runway" on the TikTok ban and if ByteDance doesn't divest from the app, it should shut down.
- 🪖 U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Axios' Colin Demarest that artificial intelligence can best help "transform the business side of the army." On the combat side, "targeting and defending against incoming air attacks, it requires a complexity of thought that a human being just can't pull off," he said.
Editor's note: This story was updated throughout the event.
