President Biden's plan to jump-start demand for electric vehicles has been so successful that it could cost tens of billions of dollars more than projected.

• Why it matters: This is what Biden and congressional Democrats wanted — to seed a domestic EV supply chain, and reduce America's dependence on China. But it looks like it'll be a lot more expensive than advertised, Joann Muller writes for Axios What's Next.

What's happening: The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, is loaded with goodies for consumers and carmakers to spur EV sales.

• Among them are new tax credits as an incentive to scale up domestic battery manufacturing.

It worked: Auto companies announced more than $73 billion in planned U.S. battery plants in 2022 alone, according to Atlas Public Policy.

• Now, the value of those tax credits may wind up being four times higher than Congress' budget experts anticipated.

By the numbers: When the bill was being debated last summer, the Congressional Budget Office projected the tax credits would add up to about $30.6 billion over 10 years (including credits for solar and wind manufacturing).

• The surge of new battery plants across the country means that tab will almost certainly be higher.
• One estimate, prepared by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence for Axios, pegs the cost of the battery rebates at $136 billion over 10 years.
• Tesla announced plans that will drive the number even higher.

Between the lines: That adds up to big money for automakers.

• Tesla alone expects to earn up to $1 billion in battery tax credits this year.
• On a recent earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the value of such credits could become "very significant" and potentially "gigantic" in future years.

The big picture: Other companies also stand to reap huge credits as they ramp up domestic battery production.

• Ford expects more than $7 billion in tax breaks from 2023 to 2026, with CEO Jim Farley recently predicting a "large step-up in annual credits" starting in 2027.
• GM chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said the automaker will earn about $300 million in EV incentives this year, with the credits eventually being worth $3,500 to $5,500 per vehicle.

White House assistant press secretary Michael Kikukawa tells Axios: "President Biden is delivering on his commitment to put America in the driver's seat for the clean energy economy ... We have already seen hundreds of billions of dollars in new private-sector investments across clean energy industries including batteries, electric vehicles, and solar panels."

• "No one should be surprised that the historic Inflation Reduction Act will lead to an explosion in new EV plants that will showcase how American workers are the finest in the world."

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Nearly 30% of educators in red states that limit discussions of Black history say they've altered their curriculum, Axios' Russell Contreras and Keldy Ortiz write from a new survey of teachers.

• Why it matters: Conservative-led states' and school districts' bans on so-called critical race theory have led some teachers to scrap once-noncontroversial Black history lessons for fear of being fired or shamed on social media.

🧮 By the numbers: A quarter of 7,740 teachers said their choices for materials or instructional practices had been influenced by limitations placed on how educators can address race or gender, an American Instructional Resources Survey by the RAND Corporation found.

Context: In the past year, at least 18 states enacted legislation to limit the teaching of "divisive concepts" or CRT.

🔮 What's next: Lawsuits over limiting diverse education are coming.

• Keep reading ... Read the Rand Corp. report, "Walking on Eggshells —Teachers' Responses to Classroom Limitations on Race- or Gender-Related Topics."

Republicans were tightly allied with the American Medical Association for decades, but the two have split because of social issues, Axios' Caitlin Owens and Victoria Knight report.

• Why it matters: The fractured relationship — like GOP strains with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — reflects a tectonic shift in Washington power dynamics.

Several GOP doctors voiced frustration with the AMA in interviews with Axios, frequently citing the organization's positions on issues like abortion and gender-affirming care.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Axios that the nation's largest physicians' group "has been very much left-wing or left-of-center for a long time."

🖼️ The big picture: The fractured relationship represents major shifts within both the GOP and the AMA, including an increasing openness by the trade group to a larger role for the federal government in the health care system.

• The group inveighed against "socialized medicine" for decades, opposing President Harry Truman's national health insurance plan in the 1940s, the creation of Medicare in the 1960s and President Bill Clinton's health care plan in the 1990s.

In 2009, FiveThirtyEight reported that 64 percent of the AMA's donations to federal candidates in the previous decade had been to Republicans.

• The AMA opposed the inclusion of a public option in Democrats' health care plan under President Obama, but eventually became a crucial supporter of the Affordable Care Act — which passed without any GOP support.

But it's been the group's positions on major social issues that may have caused the most friction with congressional conservatives.

• The AMA issued policies in the last year declaring climate change a public health crisis and supporting gun reform.
• The group has said it opposes restrictions on transgender medical care.

🩺 Jack Resneck, president of the AMA, told Axios in an interview that while he knows some of AMA's policies may be seen as controversial, no doctor is likely to agree with all of the group's stances.

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The top two leaders of the newly renamed House Oversight and Accountability Committee, at yesterday's organizational meeting:

• The ranking member — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who announced in December that he has serious but curable lymphoma — talks with Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.).

Secretary of State Tony Blinken publicly reminded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the values of democracy this week — reflecting just how concerned the Biden administration is about the new Israeli government's plan to overhaul the country's judicial system.

• Why it matters: It's rare that the U.S. weighs in on domestic legislation of such a close ally, Axios from Tel Aviv author Barak Ravid reports.

Blinken's public remarks — albeit diplomatic and polite — urged Netanyahu to get a broad consensus on his judicial overhaul plan.

• They highlight the growing anxiety U.S. officials have about what the legislation could mean for Israel's democracy.

Standing next to Netanyahu during joint televised remarks on Monday at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Blinken gave a detailed description of the "shared values" that have been the foundation of the U.S.-Israel relationship for 75 years.

• "That includes our support for core democratic principles and institutions — including respect for human rights, the equal administration of justice for all, the equal rights of minority groups, the rule of law, free press, a robust civil society," Blinken said.

Netanyahu said during Monday's televised joint statement that the two countries "share common values" and they will remain "two strong democracies."

• Read Blinken's remarks ... Share this story.

Tyre Nichols will be laid to rest in Memphis today, three weeks after he died from a brutal beating by police.

• Today will focus on Nichols as a human — a 29-year-old skateboarder and amateur photographer who made boxes at FedEx, made friends during morning visits to Starbucks, and greeted his mother and stepfather when he returned home with a sunny: "Hello, parents!" (AP)

Nikki Haley will announce her presidential campaign Feb. 15 in Charleston, S.C.

Haley, 51 — former South Carolina governor, and U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under President Trump — had said she wouldn't run against her former boss.

• Now she is. She recently tweeted: "It's time for a new generation. It's time for new leadership."

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DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn unveiled plans for a reboot of the DC Comics cinematic universe, including a slew of new movies and television shows.

• Why it matters: Fans endured years of disconnected, confusing and polarizing projects from DC, Axios' Herb Scribner writes.

The rebooted slate will directly compete (again) with the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an interconnected story told through live-action and animated projects.

• DC's plan for 10 new projects includes a Superman film in 2025, a Wonder Woman prequel and a Batman movie.

See the full lineup.