Jan 23, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Pelosi denies Trump his State of the Union during shutdown

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent President Trump a letter Wednesday stating that the House "will not consider a resolution authorizing the President's State of the Union in the House Chamber until the government has opened."

The state of play: Trump said at the White House that he'll come up with another plan: "We'll do something in the alternative. I'll be talking to you about that at a later date." As Axios' Jonathan Swan reported this morning, the administration has a Plan B outside Washington, perhaps in the Southwest as a way of sending a message about immigration.

Read Pelosi's full letter:

Editor's note: This post has been updated to note Trump's remarks about doing an "alternative" event in place of the State of the Union.

Go deeper

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.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
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.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
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.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow