Former President Trump's court drama will run right into primary season:

• Trump's next Manhattan court date is Dec. 4, and prosecutors asked the judge to set a trial in January — the month before the Iowa caucuses.
• Charges in two other probes targeting Trump — an election-interference investigation in Georgia, and the federal investigation of his handling of classified documents — are possible as early as summer, if prosecutors want to complete the trials before the 2024 election.

Why it matters: Trump could be facing a criminal trial — maybe more than one — just as the presidential campaign heats up, Axios' Sam Baker writes.

State of play: Yesterday's indictment is strengthening Trump so far in the Republican primary — so much so that some rivals may wind up gun-shy about entering.

• But the months of legal drama could further discredit him with general-election swing voters.

Between the lines: The lengthy schedule laid out yesterday by Judge Juan Merchan raises the possibility that the New York trial might not even be the first one Trump faces.

• The Justice Department's probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents — potentially the most serious legal threat he’s facing — appears to be gathering steam and turning up new evidence.
• The Justice Department also is investigating Trump's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
• Fulton County, Ga., prosecutors are weighing whether to file charges after a grand jury investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn Georgia's election results in 2020.

Any combination of charges, motions, hearings and trials in those cases would keep Trump preoccupied — and fuel accusations that any prosecutions of him heading into an election year were motivated by politics.

• Trump's supporters have expressed confidence that he’ll be able to paint himself as the victim of an overzealous prosecutor in the New York case, and turn criminal charges into a net political positive.

But multiple trials, in multiple jurisdictions and for multiple alleged crimes, would make that a harder sell — even before accounting for the risk of a potential guilty verdict.

Get the latest ... Read the indictment and Statement of Facts.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, as big a Trump critic as there is in the Republican Party, issued a statement saying the former president is "unfit for office" — but that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg "has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda":

• "The prosecutor's overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system."

Why it matters: Bragg's legal theory is complex and hasn't been fully explained — giving Trump cover from some of his biggest critics, who lambasted the case as shaky and wide open to defense challenges.

An even harsher critic than Romney — former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, now a CNN analyst, who was fired by Trump hours before retirement — said the indictment "landed like a dud ... an unimpressive document."

• "Commentators across the spectrum are saying: 'Boy, there's really not much in here. Raises all kinds of questions about the legal theory behind this case. They're gonna have a tough time, facing motions to dismiss,'" McCabe said.

William Barr — Trump's former attorney general, who has called election-fraud claims by his former boss "all bull---" — said on Fox News before the indictment was unsealed that it appears to be "a pathetically weak case."

Wisconsin, an increasingly red state in recent years, is on track to lose conservative abortion and redistricting wins.

• Milwaukee Judge Janet Protasiewicz was elected to Wisconsin's Supreme Court last night, giving the key swing state's highest court a liberal majority that could potentially expand abortion rights there, Axios' Oriana González reports.

Sign of the times: She ran as an overtly political figure, boasting about abortion views — a big break from the traditional sole emphasis on the law.

What's happening: The seven-member Wisconsin Supreme Court has had a conservative majority since 2008.

• It's poised to decide in the next few years the constitutionality of a 19th century abortion ban that was cited to restrict access to the procedure in the state after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

🧮 By the numbers: The contest, with over $40 million in spending, was the most expensive judicial election in American history.

Brandon Johnson, a progressive, upset moderate Paul Vallas last night to win Chicago's mayoral election, which focused heavily on crime and education, Axios' Justin Kaufmann and Monica Eng write from the Windy City.

• Why it matters: The win signals another leftward shift in the city's politics, where a progressive political movement has been gaining strength among voters in recent years.

🔎 Zoom in: The result reflects the power of the Chicago Teachers Union, whose early support for Johnson catapulted the former teacher and union organizer from an unknown candidate to mayor-elect.

• Johnson, a Cook County Board commissioner, won backing from other powerful unions and national progressive politicians, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
• He'll replace Mayor Lori Lightfoot, another Democrat who was elected as a progressive, but lost in the first round.

The other side: Vallas, the February frontrunner backed by establishment Democrats and even some Republicans, ran a campaign focused on using police to combat the city's high violent crime rate.

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Electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 7% of new vehicle registrations in the U.S. in January, up from 4.1% in January 2022 — another sign that the EV transition is gaining momentum.

• Why it matters: EVs aren't just for early adopters anymore, transportation correspondent Joann Muller writes in Axios What's Next.

As the overall EV pie grows, Tesla's market share continues to shrink:

• Since January 2022, Tesla's share of the EV market fell from 72% to 54% — and it will likely slide below 50% in the next month or two, says Tom Libby, associate director of industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility.

What's happening: With broader selection and some signs of moderating prices, mainstream car buyers are increasingly turning their EV curiosity into purchases.

• At the end of 2022, 47 electric models were for sale in the U.S., up from 33 the prior year.

🔎 Between the lines: Axios has been tracking the historic shift away from gasoline using vehicle registration data from S&P Global Mobility.

• EVs made up 5.6% of all new U.S. car registrations in 2022.
• That's up from 3.1% in 2021 and 1.8% in 2020 — but still way behind China and Europe.

🥊 Reality check: Less than 1% of the 279 million cars and light trucks on American roads are electric.

• Even in California, the country's leading EV market, they represent just 2.6% of all registered automobiles.

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Walmart — the nation's largest retailer and private employer — announced that by the end of FY 2026, 65% of stores will be serviced by automation as part of a "greater use of data, more intelligent software and automation."

• Why it matters: The result will be more "roles that require less physical labor but have a higher rate of pay," Walmart said yesterday as an investor event opened in Tampa.

CEO Doug McMillon said Walmart will "improve our operating margin through productivity advancements."

• Walmart said it "anticipates increased throughput per person, due to the automation while maintaining or even increasing its number of associates as new roles are created."

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that McMillon plans to remain CEO for at least three more years.

Trump scowls as he is escorted to the courtroom.

Trump sits with attorneys (from left) Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, Joe Tacopina and Boris Epshteyn during his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

• Trump stayed mostly still — with his hands steepled or interlaced — and looked ahead during the proceedings, which lasted just under an hour.

Back in his safe space, Trump spoke for 25 minutes in prime time last night to supporters at Mar-a-Lago.

Above is the invitation for the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

• For the first time, his wife is officially identified as Queen Camilla. Until now, she has been described as queen consort.

Why it matters: The new title reflects the remarkable transformation of a woman once derided as a homewrecker because of her role in the breakdown of Charles' marriage to the late Princess Diana, AP reports.

• Camilla is given equal billing on the ornate, medieval-style invitations, which will be sent to 2,000+ guests.

President Biden won't attend. He talked with King Charles yesterday and said First Lady Jill Biden will represent the U.S.

• Biden said he wants to meet with the king in the U.K. at a future date.