The Department of Homeland Security is coming under unprecedented scrutiny from Congress after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, with Democratic attacks more strident and Republican defenses more muted than ever, Axios' Andrew Solender and Avery Lotz write.

• Why it matters: The growing tension could result in a government shutdown next weekend (Jan. 31), politically charged hearings and even an impeachment vote.

At least 120 Democrats have signed on to articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

• Senate Democrats are threatening to allow a partial government shutdown unless a funding bill is altered to rein in the agency.
• Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked the heads of ICE, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to testify.

🔎 Zoom in: A noticeably large group of Republicans, including longtime Trump allies, demanded a thorough investigation into the shooting, a sign that broader backlash is brewing.

• One of the highest-profile warnings came from Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), who signaled to the administration — albeit gently — that federal agents should leave Minneapolis.
• Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) called the situation "horrifying" and urged a "prioritized, transparent investigation."
• Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) told CNN's Dana Bash the tragedy is "causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability. Americans don't like what they're seeing right now."

🥊 Reality check: Many of the Republicans who spoke out, including Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), are retiring or have frequently broken with Trump.

• They implored federal agents to cooperate with local law enforcement and avoid a rush to judgment.
• "The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing," wrote Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake."

The other side: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson praised the "heroic" immigration officers for capturing criminals "despite violent resistance and dangerous, untrue smears against them."

🏛️ What to watch: The most immediate impact of the shooting will be in the Senate, where a package of six spending bills is now in significant peril.

• The package would fund a huge portion of the federal government beyond DHS, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Labor.
• Several Senate Democrats who voted to end the last government shutdown — including Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia — have said they'll oppose DHS funding.

📱 Go deeper: Former President Obama says the killing of Alex Pretti should be a "wake-up call to every American."

• Former President Clinton says: "Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them."

Trump-driven political shocks are rippling through Wall Street, unsettling investors and companies with abrupt policy swings that disrupt global trade and corporate decision-making, Axios Markets author Madison Mills writes.

• Why it matters: The market is on shaky ground without the strong performance of tech stocks to carry it through more bouts of volatility.

The Magnificent 7 tech stocks are down 0.4% year to date as investors are getting more skeptical about the AI trade.

• The S&P 500 is up just 1% so far this year.

Zoom in: Since the beginning of the year, investors have been met with:

• 🇻🇪 Venezuela: The capture of Nicolás Maduro spiked volatility and dropped energy prices.
• 🇬🇱 Greenland: President Trump threatened to take Greenland and proposed tariffs on European nations that didn't support the effort, which helped trigger the broadest U.S. asset selloff since 2020. He later walked back the threats.
• 🏛️ Trump vs. Powell: The Justice Department launched an investigation into Fed chair Jay Powell, sparking concerns about Fed independence. Markets, meanwhile, are still waiting to hear who the next Fed chair might be.
• 🇨🇦 Canada vs. the U.S.: Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped tariffs on Chinese EVs and said in a viral Davos speech that "not every partner will share all our values" — an acknowledgment that China may not be the country Canada needs to worry most about.

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We're rolling out two new Axios shows to build on our popular interview series, "The Axios Show."

• This is a personal passion project for CEO Jim VandeHei and me. We're eager to hear what you think: [email protected] and [email protected].

Why it matters: This is a hinge moment for humanity. Job 1 for Axios is to help you navigate, understand and thrive … with clinical, essential, useful coverage on all platforms.

The short-video shows:

1. "Just Lead!" This series, debuting this morning, brings our blunt advice, based on real-world experience in life and business, on how to better lead yourself, friends, families and work colleagues.

• 🚨 First up: Blunt advice on AI, based on Jim's recent letter to his family and Axios readers on the fierce urgency to understand and use AI. The episode includes the reaction of his wife, an AI skeptic, and daughter, an AI agnostic.
• Please watch, share and follow us on YouTube!

2. Next week, we'll debut a series based on our "Behind the Curtain" columns — cleverly called "Behind the Curtain." 😉

• Watch the debut of "Just Lead!": "Blunt advice about AI."

Kids sled near the Capitol in D.C. during yesterday's storm that brought up to nine inches of snow around the Beltway.

• 213 million people were under some sort of weather warning yesterday.

National snowfall totals.

A man snowboards on stairs near the Lincoln Memorial yesterday.

• But 800,000+ homes and businesses are without power this morning.

Sledders slide down the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum by the Rocky statue.

• U.S. flight cancellations today: 3,636. Go deeper.

Wild news from China this weekend, with a top general fired … The N.Y. Times' Nick Kristof, who won a Pulitzer for Tiananmen Square coverage, reposts coup rumors, saying that "something serious happened in the Chinese military leadership, leading to the purge."

China's top general was removed and placed under investigation for "leaking information about the country's nuclear-weapons program to the U.S. and accepting bribes for official acts," The Wall Street Journal reports.

• Gen. Zhang Youxia, once Xi's most-trusted military ally, is accused of leaking "core technical data on China's nuclear weapons to the U.S.," the Journal writes.

Why it matters: "By decapitating the command structure … Xi is signaling that rampant corruption, entrenched patronage networks, and the compromise of state secrets are existential threats to his goal of gaining control over Taiwan," The Journal notes.

🗯️ The money quote: "This move is unprecedented in the history of the Chinese military and represents the total annihilation of the high command," Christopher Johnson, head of China Strategies Group and a former CIA analyst, told the Journal and the N.Y. Times.

• Keep reading.

AI is increasingly being used as a research collaborator for mathematicians and scientists, Axios' Ashley Gold writes from a new OpenAI report.

• Why it matters: OpenAI argues that AI can make scientists more productive by upping the amount of research that can get done, ultimately leading to more life-saving breakthroughs.

Topics include graduate and research-level math, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering.

• Keep reading.

Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of "Supercommunicators," writes in The New Yorker that MAGA can teach Dems the value of creating broad coalitions over imposing litmus tests:

"Today's Democratic Party is great at mobilizing: it can propel people into the streets with big marches, raise billions of dollars for national candidates, and get liberals to bombard congressional offices with letters and phone calls. However, it's less talented at organizing — building the kinds of local infrastructure and disparate leaders that are needed to sustain a large and ideologically diverse coalition. MAGA, on the other hand, is great at organizing."

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, tells Duhigg: "You win by offering people a set of values that give them meaning. Celebrities don't deliver that. Small groups of neighbors do."

• Keep reading.

Climber Alex Honnold, famous for "Free Solo," takes a selfie atop Taipei 101 in Taiwan after free soloing the 11th-tallest skyscraper (1,667 feet) in the world.

• The ascent, streamed on Netflix, took just over an hour and a half without ropes.

Watch: The best moments from his climb.