Jan 4, 2018

Billionaire Mercers distance themselves from Bannon

Steve Bannon. Photo: Andrew Harrer / Getty

Rebekah Mercer, a primary financial supporter of Steve Bannon and Breitbart News, has released a statement saying she and her billionaire father have not spoken to Bannon "in many months" and do not support his "recent actions and statements," after Bannon attacked President Trump and his family in interviews for a forthcoming book, per the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the Mercers and other Breitbart board members have seriously discussed removing Steve Bannon as chairman of Breitbart due to his feud with Trump, the Wall Street Journal reports and Axios' Jonathan Swan has corroborated.

Why it matters: If the Mercers abandon Bannon he'll be left without the main funders of his political activities, harming his ability to take on the GOP establishment in this year's midterm elections. Mercer said in the statement that her family has "provided no financial support to [Bannon's] political agenda" in recent months.

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Axios
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Jeff Sessions loses Alabama Senate primary runoff

Jeff Sessions. Photo: Michael DeMocker/Getty Images

Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions has lost the Republican nomination for Senate to Tommy Tuberville in Alabama in Tuesday night’s primary runoff, AP reports.

Why it matters: Sessions had been the underdog in the race against former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville, who had the backing of President Trump. Tuberville will now face off against Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) in November, who is considered to have one of the most vulnerable Democratic Senate seats in the country.

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Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 13,273,537 — Total deaths: 577,006 — Total recoveries — 7,367,106 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 3,424,304 — Total deaths: 136,432 — Total recoveries: 1,049,098 — Total tested: 41,764,557 — Map.
  3. Politics: Biden welcomes Trump wearing mask in public but warns "it’s not enough"
  4. Public health: Four former CDC heads say Trump's undermining of agency puts lives at risk — CDC director: U.S. could get coronavirus "under control" in 4–8 weeks if all wear masks.
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Courtenay Brown
7 hours ago - Economy & Business

Bank CEOs brace for worsening economic scenario

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. Photo: J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Wells Fargo swung to its first loss since the financial crisis — while JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup reported significantly lower profits from a year earlier — as the banks set aside billions of dollars more in the second quarter for loans that may go bad.

Why it matters: The cumulative $28 billion in loan loss provisions that banks have so far announced they’re reserving serves as a signal they’re preparing for a colossal wave of loan defaults as the economy slogs through a coronavirus-driven downturn.

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