Evan Vucci / AP

Steve Bannon met with Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows on Monday afternoon at the "Breitbart Embassy" — the Capitol Hill townhouse so-named because those who work at the right-wing website like to think of themselves as the ambassadors for "real America" in Washington, D.C.

Joining Bannon and Meadows at the dining table on the second floor of the townhouse was Breitbart's Washington editor Matt Boyle. The three men plotted for nearly two hours on the agenda for the month ahead, with an emphasis on the Breitbart-Freedom Caucus war against Republican leadership on multiple fronts.

  • They discussed the Freedom Caucus's plans for taking on GOP leadership over the debt ceiling, tax reform, health care payments, the budget and the government funding bill.
  • Expect them to demand payments for the wall and to combat leadership's plans to attach Hurricane Harvey aid to the debt ceiling increase.

A source familiar with the meeting told Axios: "This is bigger than Breitbart or the Freedom Caucus...The topics discussed included conservative alternatives to everything the anti-Trump Republican leadership has planned on every major policy matter facing the United States of America in September."

"Including," the source added, "Paul Ryan's and Mitch McConnell's demonstrated failure to govern, and how to effectively implement the Trump agenda moving forward."

Why this matters: Republican leadership already has a brutal month ahead, but the House Freedom Caucus — a collection of around 40 ultra conservative members — is going to fight them every step of the way.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 36,164,596 — Total deaths: 1,055,815 — Total recoveries: 25,242,930Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3:30 a.m. ET: 7,550,204 — Total deaths: 211,828 — Total recoveries: 2,999,895 — Total tests: 111,077,086Map.
  3. Health: Top medical journal calls for U.S. leaders to be voted out over COVID response.
  4. VP debate: Harris calls Trump's COVID response greatest presidential failure in U.S. history — Pence defends hosting Barrett Rose Garden ceremony
  5. Trump: President calls getting virus "a blessing in disguise" — White House physician: Trump "symptom-free for over 24 hours" — President returns to Oval Office despite infection.
  6. States: Wisconsin to open field hospital as COVID-19 surges.
  7. World: Brazil becomes third country to surpass 5 million infections
    Cases soar across Europe: Countries tighten restrictions

JPMorgan commits $30 billion to fight the racial wealth gap


Data: Fortune 500, Axios analysis of company statements, get the data; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon, Naema Ahmed/Axios

JPMorgan Chase announced Thursday a $30 billion investment over the next five years that the company says will address some of the largest drivers of the massive wealth gap between Black and white Americans.

  • The commitment makes the bank by far the largest monetary contributor to efforts by businesses to fight systemic inequality and racism in the U.S.

Harris: If you have pre-existing conditions, Trump and Pence are "coming for you"

Sen. Kamala Harris said at Wednesday's vice presidential debate that the Trump administration does not have a plan to protect health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, looking into the camera and declaring: "If you have a pre-existing condition — heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer — they're coming for you.

Why it matters: The Biden campaign has consistently sought to make the Trump administration-backed lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act — which protects coverage for pre-existing conditions — a core election message, particularly as the U.S. continues to struggle to control the pandemic. Health care has been proven to be one of the issues that resonates most with voters.