White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told administration officials Monday to expect senior aides to be replaced at many government agencies, according to an internal email obtained by Axios.
Behind the scenes: Meadows asked the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office John McEntee "to look at replacing the White House Liaisons (WHLs) at many of your agencies," according to the email. "John will be working with outgoing liaisons to explore other opportunities."
A Canadian woman allegedly mailed a letter addressed to President Trump containing the poison ricin and the threat "give up and remove your application for this election," court papers filed Tuesday show.
Driving the news: Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 53, was arrested trying to enter New York from Canada on Sunday. She appeared briefly in a Buffalo, New York, courtroom where a judge entered a not guilty plea on her behalf to the charge of threatening the president, per CBC.
Cindy McCain formally endorsed Joe Biden for president on Tuesday, calling the former Vice President the only "candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation."
Why it matters: McCain, the widow of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, appeared in a video presentation at last month's Democratic National Convention praising Biden, with whom her husband had a longtime bipartisan friendship. With an official endorsement, she will join a number of prominent people in Republican circles to endorse the Democratic candidate over Trump.
President Trump tweeted Tuesday that he plans to announce his Supreme Court pick on Saturday. He later told reporters that the announcement will come at 5 p.m.
Why it matters: Republicans are moving fast to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which would tilt the balance of the high court in conservatives' favor and have lasting impact on climate policy, immigration and the Affordable Care Act.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections on Tuesday announced it will tentatively count mail-in ballots received by Nov. 12 — up to nine days after the election — so long as they're postmarked on or before Election Day.
Why it matters: If approved by the court, the agreement — which settles a lawsuit brought by a group representing retirees — could see scores of additional votes counted in the crucial battleground state.
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a public service announcement on Tuesday warning that mail-in ballots "could leave officials with incomplete results on election night," and that foreign actors are likely to spread disinformation about the delays.
The bottom line: The agencies called on the public to "critically evaluate the sources of the information they consume and to seek out reliable and verified information from trusted sources," including state and local election officials.
Around 70% of all immigration detention centers are run by private companies, including the one at the heart of a new whistleblower complaint that alleges systemic medical neglect and malpractice.
Axios Re:Cap digs into the business of immigrant detention, including oversight and profit incentives, with Jonathan Blitzer, a staff writer for the New Yorker who’s covered the subject for years.
Joe Biden's campaign is storming states with competitive Senate races this week to help boost Democratic candidates in the run-up to the election.
Why it matters: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death is galvanizing Democrats to fight harder for control of the Senate with less than two months before Election Day.
The House on Tuesday voted 406-3 in favor of a bill to ban products made with forced labor in China's mass detention camps.
Why it matters: The U.S. has ramped up pressure recently on China to address human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has engaged in a campaign of cultural and demographic genocide against Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities.
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday addressed the question of whether Democrats will eliminate the legislative filibuster if they take control of the Senate, telling CNN that it's "not a question of if it's going to be gone, it's only when it's going to be gone."
Why it matters: Current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that "nothing is off the table" if Republicans move ahead with replacing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election — a threat that likely includes abolishing the Senate's long-standing 60-vote threshold in order to pass sweeping legislation.
The Trump administration will reimpose a new wealth and health "public charge" test for green card applicants in the U.S., after the rule was previously blocked by a court injunction in July because of the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
Why it matters: The rule could have a drastic impact on the half million or so immigrants in the U.S. who receive green cards — the first step to citizenship — each year. 69% of recent green card recipients had at least one negative public charge factor, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace has selected what topics he'll cover while moderating the first presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden next week.
What to watch: Topics for the Sept. 29 debate will include Trump and Biden's records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, economic policy, racism and the integrity of the election, the Commission for Presidential Debates announced on Tuesday. Each topic will receive 15 minutes of conversation and will be presented in no particular order.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday that the expiration of Congress' coronavirus stimulus will weigh on the U.S. economy.
Why it matters: Powell warned that the effects of dried-up benefits are a looming risk to the economy, even if the consequences aren't yet visible.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tells Axios that President Trump will not meet with shortlisted Supreme Court candidate Barbara Lagoa during a campaign visit to Florida on Friday, and that any talks with court candidates will take place in Washington.
The backstory: Axios reported on Tuesday that Trump would meet with Lagoa during his Friday campaign trip, citing two sources familiar with his plans. When we initially approached the White House with this reporting, officials declined to comment.
North Carolina GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, facing a tight re-election race, said President Trump is expanding his recent offshore drilling ban to include the coast of his state.
Driving the news: The administration told Tillis that the state "will be included in a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing new leasing for offshore oil and gas developments for the next 12 years," his office said.
With President Trump planning to nominate his third Supreme Court justice nominee this week, key Republican senators are indicating their stance on replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with less than 50 days until Election Day.
Driving the news: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), one of the few Republican senators thought to be a potential swing vote, said Tuesday that he would support moving forward with the confirmation process before the election.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Tuesday that he would support moving forward with a Senate vote on President Trump's selection to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Why it matters: Barring any big surprises, Democrats have virtually no shot at stopping the confirmation process for the president’s nominee before November’s election.
The big picture: WeChat's ban has had a lower profile than TikTok's, but the fate of the app, widely used by Chinese people around the world to stay in touch with family and friends, is at least as consequential.
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has raised over $16 million to help felons pay outstanding fines and fees to regain their voting rights in Florida.
The big picture: A 2018 state constitutional amendment in Florida allows for felons who have completed their sentences to regain their right to vote — so long as they've also paid back any outstanding fines, fees or restitution.
The fight over a new Supreme Court justice will take Washington's partisan bickering to a new level and undermine any chance for needed coronavirus relief measures before November's election, Wall Street analysts say.
What we're hearing: "With the passing of Justice Ginsburg, the level of rhetorical heat has increased, if that seemed even possible," Greg Staples, head of fixed income for the Americas at DWS Group, tells Axios in an email.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a rising conservative star, writes about traveling with President Trump from New Hampshire to Dover Air Force Base for the return of the remains of two constituents killed in Afghanistan in his book, "Firebrand," out Tuesday.
"He insisted we cut the politics short," Gaetz told Axios. "He said: 'Matt, we have to show the country the impact of these wars.' ... President Trump understands that to move people, you have to create scenes and use images. It's not enough to talk."
Health care wasn't the top issueheading into the 2020 election — and then Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.
Between the lines: This poll was conducted in the days before her death, which has significantly increased the threat to the Affordable Care Act and thus the threat to the law's pre-existing conditions protections.
Joe Biden's campaign released on Tuesday a letter signed by 13 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics who say that while their views are different, they all think his policies "will result in economic growth that is faster, more robust, and more equitable."
Our thought bubble, via Axios Hans Nichols: These economist letters are often little more than veiled job applications from academics hoping for a Fed or White House position. But given that these laureates are éminence grises of American economics, they probably just want to be on the record supporting Biden.
A stark difference between the Trump and Biden campaigns is Trump-Pence's aggressive continuation of traditional door-knocking amid the pandemic, while Joe Biden emphasizes virtual techniques. And President Trump travels more.
The state of play: Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien is now quantifying the difference, arguing in a new memo that candidate travel and the campaign's ground game give the president an advantage at a time when the airwaves are saturated.
America's elected representatives have failed America.
Why it matters: The bipartisan inability to deliver economic stimulus could impede economic growth for months to come. It will create widespread damage across America — from small businesses to large industries to schools and day cares — and leave many Americans without jobs or homes.
Bills designed to address the issue of missing and murdered Native Americans that passed unanimously in the House Monday are headed to President Trump's desk to be signed into law.
Why it matters: The first bill, Savanna's Act, "addresses a tragic issue in Indian Country and helps establish better law enforcement practices to track, solve and prevent these crimes against Native Americans," said Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chair John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who co-sponsored the bill, in a statement.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will vote to confirm President Trump's nominee to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he announced in a statement Monday.
Why it matters: The development is a win for President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). It should mean Republicans are all but assured to have enough support to hold hearings for Trump's potential nominee.
