Axios

Buckle up: President Trump's prime-time Oval Office speech tonight comes on Day 18 of a shutdown he caused on the issue he wants to define his presidency — immigration.

Following Trump's speech at 9 pm ET, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will appear on air from the House Speaker's Balcony Hallway.

The heads of seven House committees sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Tuesday asking him to explain why the Trump administration has moved to end sanctions on entities linked to Russian aluminum oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Between the lines: Deripaska previously employed Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and is under sanctions for extortion and illegal business practices. Manafort, who was reportedly in debt to the Russian oligarch, offered to provide Deripaska "private briefings" during the 2016 campaign, according to the Washington Post.

Eight members of President Trump's Cabinet, including Trump himself, are currently scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Between the lines: The number may shrink if the government shutdown continues, as some officials seem to be aware it won't be a great look for the Trump Cabinet to be seen socializing with plutocrats and global elites while federal workers are furloughed and programs for vulnerable Americans are threatened.

With approximately 800,000 federal employees currently out of work — or working without pay — as a result of the 19-day long partial government shutdown, Americans across the country are feeling the effects of reduced government operations.

The big picture: As Axios' Jonathan Swan has reported, White House officials are increasingly worried about the optics of the shutdown and its impact on everyday life across the country.

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, known for attending the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with top Trump campaign officials, has been charged with obstruction of justice in an unrelated money laundering case featuring a prominent Russian businessman, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The Justice Department's indictment highlights Veselnitskaya's deep ties to the Kremlin, which she has previously denied, and alleges that she worked with a senior Russian prosecutor to draft a Kremlin-backed denial of the money laundering claims.

Some banks are forgiving late payments and service fees from customers among the approximately 800,000 federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown, which is in its third week.

Details: Wells Fargo will be automatically reversing monthly service, overdraft and insufficient fees, a spokesperson tells Axios, which Chase and Capital One are already doing. Capital One is also extending some loan payment due dates and waiving or refunding some credit card fees. Bank of America is working with customers on fee refunds, waivers, repayment plans and loan modifications.

Parkland school shooting survivor and gun control activist David Hogg criticized President Trump's proposal for a national emergency to fund a border wall on CNN Tuesday, countering that "40,000 Americans dying annually from gun violence is a pretty damn good" topic for a national emergency instead.

The state of play: House Democrats will introduce a bill that will require background checks on private transactions for gun sales on Tuesday. The bill's introduction coincides with the 8th anniversary of the shooting of former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, was nearly killed in a shooting that left six others dead in 2011.

Go deeper: Parkland survivor David Hogg says he'll attend Harvard in the fall

A Virginia court ruled Monday that government officials can't block constituents on social media accounts that they use for official business.

Why it matters: The case has big implications for an upcoming circuit court case on whether President Trump can block voices he doesn't like from his official @realdonaldtrump Twitter account, a practice that the White House has defended since he took office.

President Trump is curious — and White House aides, alumni and reporters are anxious — ahead of the Jan. 29 publication of the tightly embargoed "Team of Vipers," a delicious, unsparing memoir by former Trump aide Cliff Sims.

Driving the news: ABC News has won a fiercely competitive effort to score the first broadcast interview with Sims, whose book deal was seven figures.

White House officials are increasingly concerned that the impending real-world effects of the shutdown could swamp Republicans if they don't find a way to make a deal fast.

The big picture: Trump's prime-time address at 9 pm ET tonight, his first from the Oval Office, is part of an urgent PR strategy designed to make up for what some Republican officials feel was a languid use of the president's bully pulpit over the holidays.

The presidency of the World Bank — the most powerful job in international development — is up for grabs, in the wake of the surprise resignation of Jim Yong Kim.

Why it matters: Kim's departure puts the Trump administration in a tough position. It can nominate an internationally-acceptable globalist to the job, or face rejection as the world selects a non-American to head the Bank for the first time in its history.

Former Federal Reserve economist Nellie Liang, who President Trump nominated last year to serve on the Fed's board of governors, has withdrawn her name from consideration, a White House spokesperson said Monday, according to Reuters.

"We regret to announce that today Nellie Liang notified us that she has withdrawn from nomination to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. We supported her nomination and believe she would have made a good Governor."

The backdrop: Axios Jonathan Swan reported last year that Liang, a Democrat who favors strong regulations on banks, "has significant problems with Republicans and may not even make it to the Senate floor for a vote." A number of key Republicans in the Senate, Pat Toomey on the Senate Banking Committee, have expressed doubts about her.