House Democrats are homing in on a new attack against DOGE at their annual retreat: That they don't even get a heads up about cuts that will clobber their constituents.
Why it matters: Republicans have been able to work back-channels to get cuts in their districts rolled back, but Democrats don't have the same privilege, as Axios previously reported.
The S&P 500 entered correction territory Thursday, closing more than 10% below the all-time high the index hit in mid-February.
Why it matters: Less than two months into the second Trump presidency, markets are telling the administration they're concerned about the impact of tariffs and rising odds of a recession.
Elon Musk visited the National Security Agency on Wednesday and met with NSA chief Gen. Timothy Haugh, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: This is Musk's first recorded visit to an intelligence agency as a special adviser to the president. The visit came a week after Musk called for an overhaul at the agency.
The Senate Banking Committee voted Thursday to advance legislation seeking to strike "reputational risk" from the toolkit of U.S. regulators considering vulnerabilities at financial institutions.
Why it matters: Supporters of the FIRM Act argue that it removes a subjective standard open to abuse by administrations looking to target disfavored industries.
NBCUniversal and its parent Comcast have struck a new $3 billion deal with the International Olympic Committee to extend its exclusive U.S. media distribution rights on all platforms through 2036.
Why it matters: Comcast NBCU's existing $7.65 billion deal with the IOC, struck in 2014, runs through 2032.
Wholesale egg prices are starting to drift lower amid signs that the bird flu is easing, but don't expect to find lower prices at grocery stores yet.
Why it matters: Even as President Trump is claiming victory, his administration is acknowledging that the upcoming Easter holiday could cause prices to jump again.
The Senate Banking Committee Thursday voted to send a stablecoin bill to the full chamber for debate.
Why it matters: The committee markup on the GENIUS Act was a key step in advancing a stablecoin bill, one of the top digital asset-related priorities for Republican lawmakers in the new Congress.
The "go direct" strategy — skirting intermediaries like the media to get out a message — remains largely misunderstood and is leading to major debates within the communications industry.
Why it matters: The evolving media landscape and continued audience splintering make going direct an effective strategy that's possible for some but unattainable for most.
GSR Ventures tells Axios that it has formally separated its U.S. business from its China business, and renamed the U.S. effort as Informed Ventures.
Why it matters: GSR was one of several VC firms rebuked last year by Congress for its cross-border investing activities, and has decided that its 20-year history as a global firm is no longer worth the political pain.
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday asked a court for extra time before proceeding on a case against Amazon, claiming its resources are too constrained, before reversing course just hours later.
Why it matters: This suggests that the FTC may struggle to meet its responsibilities, including enforcing antitrust law, or at least could become more selective.
Catch up quick: The FTC in 2023 sued Amazon for allegedly enrolling customers in its Prime program without consent and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions. In short, a deceptive practices case, as Axios' Ashley Gold and I report.
Yesterday, an FTC attorney named Jonathan Cohen told the judge overseeing the case: "Our resource constraints are severe and really unique to this moment. We have lost employees in the agency, in our division and on the case team."
Later in the case, after media coverage of Cohen's request for a trial delay, he fell on his sword, saying: "The commission does not have resource constraints and we are fully prepared to litigate this case."
Behind the scenes: A senior FTC official tells Axios that Cohen was "going rogue," and that his supervisors were unaware of his delay request before it was made. The agency is said to be investigating what happened.
At the same time, however, the FTC — which already had a reputation for being under-resourced — has lost some personnel from DOGE's "fork in the road" resignation offer and cut a dozen staffers on its own.
It's unclear if DOGE itself has been inside the FTC, but Elon Musk has directed FTC staff to soon move into USAID offices, while also rendering government-issued credit cards ineffective.
The bottom line: Trump's FTC is widely expected to keep Big Tech's feet to the fire, including by continuing to pursue its case against Microsoft, so this episode likely reflects internal strife more than a directional change.
Alcohol appears to be one of the earliest casualties of President Trump's trade war, one he escalated Thursday with a threat to impose massive levies on European wine and Champagne.
Why it matters: The alcohol industries may not have had the same influence in the tariff fight so far as automakers, but there's still billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs at stake.
HOUSTON — The prominent geothermal startup Fervo Energy has its eyes on an IPO, CEO Tim Latimer tells Axios.
The company is targeting a multibillion-dollar valuation in discussions with Wall Street banks, a source familiar with the negotiations says.
Why it matters: The discussions come as power demand rises, big tech seeks clean electrons, and geothermal enjoys the Trump administration's atypical embrace.
President Trump's public intervention on behalf of Tesla marks the most extraordinary chapter yet in the partisan war over America's preeminent electric vehicle brand.
Why it matters: Elon Musk's assault on the federal government has supercharged Tesla's evolution from liberal status symbol to pride-of-MAGA protectorate. The company's stock has taken a beating along the way.
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court following his arrest in Manila in connection with his deadly war on drugs during his presidency, the ICC confirmed Wednesday.
The big picture: The ICC Office of the Prosecutor alleged in a statement "there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Duterte bears criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of murder" for the drugs crackdown.
President Trump's tariffs that targeted Canada, Mexico and China before being expanded to all steel and aluminum imports have not only triggered trade wars, they're also leading to a "Boycott USA" global consumer backlash against U.S. goods.
The big picture: "Boycott USA" has spiked on Google in the past seven days, with four EU countries and Canada topping the search list and multiple countries have large Facebook groups dedicated to boycotting U.S. products.
