Axios

The U.S. Army released the names on its independent civilian panel which will conduct a review of Fort Hood's culture following the murder of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillen in June.

The state of play: The five panel members will hold interviews within the Fort Hood community and analyze data — including climate surveys, inspector general reports, criminal reports and records related to sexual misconduct — to determine whether the culture at the base reflects the Army's values.

Steven Calabresi, co-founder of the Federalist Society, called President Trump's suggestion to delay the November election "fascistic" and grounds for the president’s impeachment, in a New York Times op-ed on Thursday.

Why it matters: The Federalist Society is an extremely influential conservative and libertarian organization that advocates for a text-based and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Calabresi said he voted for Trump in 2016 and defended the president during the Mueller investigation and impeachment trials.

The Senate has adjourned until 3pm on Monday, as Congress failed to reach an agreement on extending extra unemployment benefits that are set to expire on Friday.

Why it matters: Tens of millions of Americans are out of work and have been receiving $600 per week on top of their regular unemployment payments. That money has been used both to pay expenses and to prop up the broader economy via consumer spending.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday agreed with former President Obama's proposal to eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to pass the Voting Rights Act.

Why it matters: Sanders rejected abolishing the filibuster during the third Democratic primary debate in September 2o19, suggesting that congressional Democrats could instead pass progressive policies by attaching them to budget reconciliation bills, which cannot be filibustered by the minority party, according to Senate rules.

Former President Obama endorsed a slew of progressive policies related to voting rights during his eulogy for the late Rep. John Lewis on Thursday, including abolishing the Senate filibuster.

Why it matters: Revoking the Senate's long-standing 60-vote threshold used by senators to delay or block legislative action would significantly limit the minority party's power in the chamber.

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday eulogized the late Rep. John Lewis as "a founding father of that fuller, fairer, better America" that lies in the nation's future.

The state of play: Obama also called out President Trump — though not by name — by repeatedly referencing Trump's actions to discourage mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Obama said he's talking about it today because Lewis "devoted his time on this Earth fighting the very attacks on democracy ... we're seeing circulate right now."

The Trump administration has rescinded the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, an Obama-era policy aimed at curbing discriminatory housing practices and racial segregation.

Why it matters: The suburbs are where some of the fiercest zoning battles regarding affordable and multifamily housing are playing out across the country.

The Census Bureau has placed a big bet on digital outreach, especially on social media networks, as it enters the last big push to get people to respond to the 2020 count.

The big picture: Not only is this year the first online census count, it's also a giant experiment in how to reach people virtually in a fragmented media environment during a public health crisis that sidelined in-person field operations.

The escalating war of words between President Trump and Democratic big-city mayors — brought it to a head by confrontations in Portland and Seattle — is a preview of what's to come in the months leading up to November.

The big picture: Trump is using Democratic mayors as the foils for his law-and-order reelection message, while they've called his deployment of federal agents in their cities "a step short of martial law" and heightened their criticism of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Top Republicans in Congress shot down President Trump's suggestion on Thursday to delay November's election, which he made on Twitter while claiming, without evidence, that mail-in voting will cause mass voter fraud.

Why it matters:: Congress, not the president, has the sole power to change the date of Election Day.

The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Thursday to rehear whether it should accept the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The big picture: After oral arguments on Aug. 11, the court's 11 judges will decide the ultimate fate of Flynn's case after its initial 2-1 ruling last month ordered a district court judge to drop it. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017 about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the Trump transition, but a DOJ review this year alleged prosecutorial misconduct by FBI agents who had interviewed him.

Former President Bill Clinton spoke at Rep. John Lewis' funeral on Thursday, recounting the congressman's civil rights legacy and describing him as a "walking rebuke" to those who wanted to give up in the fight for equal justice.

The big picture: Former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are all speaking at Lewis' socially-distant service in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as a co-pastor.

Speaking at the funeral of the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis on Thursday, President George W. Bush urged Americans to "keep ourselves open to hearing the call of love, the call of service and the call to sacrifice for others," stressing that "the story that began in Troy isn't ending here today, nor is the work."

Why it matters: Bipartisan former presidents Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are honoring Lewis at the service. President Trump, who had a contentious relationship with Lewis, is notably absent.

Members of the Ohio House voted on Thursday to strip Speaker Larry Householder (R) of his leadership position following his arrest earlier this month related to an alleged $60 million bribery scheme.

Why it matters: The Ohio House has never before removed a speaker, AP reports. Bipartisan support for removing Householder has accumulated since the affidavit’s release. The vote was unanimous; he retains his seat.

Former Republican presidential candidate and ex-CEO of Godfather's Pizza Herman Cain, 74, has died almost a month after being hospitalized for coronavirus.

The big picture: Cain, the co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, was in a high-risk group due to his history with cancer. Cain's positive coronavirus test came less than two weeks after he attended President Trump's controversial June 20 campaign rally in Tulsa, where he tweeted a picture of himself without a mask.

President Trump suggested delaying November's election in a Thursday tweet, again claiming without evidence that mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud.

The state of play: While this is the first time that Trump has actively floated changing Election Day, he does not have the power to do so. That lies exclusively with Congress, per a Washington Post breakdown of the issue.

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis told young people to "let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide" while fighting to enact change in a posthumous New York Times op-ed written shortly before his death.

Why it matters: The piece, timed to be published on the day of his funeral, hits many of the themes Lewis espoused during his life — and says that the current generation "filled [him] with hope about the next chapter of the great American story" as protests against systemic racism took hold around the country in his last weeks.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and other intelligence community officials warned about China’s increased capability to interfere in U.S. elections in separate classified hearings with the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, two sources familiar with the hearings tell Axios.

What we're hearing: Wray and other officials cited concerns that China is developing the ability to interfere with local election systems and target members of Congress to influence China policy, the sources said.

The Trump administration is sending increased personal protective equipment, coronavirus test kits and top health officials like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx to coronavirus hotspots across the U.S. as part of a campaign called the “Embers Strategy," White House officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: The push is part of a larger effort to show that President Trump is taking the pandemic seriously, something White House officials describe as a "renewed focus."

A judge issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday restricting police from using stinger grenades, rubber bullets and pepper balls against protesters in Oakland, California, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero's injunction follows a request from the Anti-Police Terror Project, a nonprofit watchdog group, which accused local police of using excessive force against Black Lives Matters protesters.

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from denying permanent residency to immigrants who are likely to use public welfare programs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: Judge George Daniels said that denying immigrants green cards as part the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services "public charge" rule could harm mitigation efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google testified in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, ostensibly about antitrust issues. It was the highest-profile showdown to date in the increasingly fraught relationship between Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley, which could culminate in efforts to break up one, or more, of the companies.

Axios Re:Cap speaks with Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), chair of the subcommittee on antitrust, about what he learned, why he wanted the quartet to testify together, and which companies he thinks should be broken up.