President Trump condemned political violence in a video Wednesday evening exactly one week after a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol in a deadly siege, and hours after the House voted to impeach him for a second time.
Why it matters: The video, posted to the White House's official Twitter account, came as the president faces an impeachment trial in the Senate after 10 Republicans voted with House Democrats for impeachment.
Senate Republicans are heeding calls to protect national security, agreeing to hold a confirmation hearing Friday for Joe Biden's nominee for director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: The president-elect's transition team has argued swift confirmation hearings — especially for its national security nominees — are crucial following last week's attack on the Capitol, threats of violence surrounding next week's inauguration and global political tensions.
10 Republican lawmakers voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, one day after GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) became the highest-ranking House Republican to do so.
Why it matters: Trump's second impeachment in the House is the most bipartisan in U.S. history, garnering support from more members of the president's own party than ever before. House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment that accuses Trump of inciting insurrection against the U.S. government, after a mob of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The House voted 232-197 to impeach President Trump for “incitement of insurrection" after a violent pro-Trump mob breached the U.S. Capitol last week while Congress met to count the Electoral College vote.
Why it matters: Trump is now the only president in history to have been impeached twice — his first impeachment happened just over a year ago in December of 2019. He has just one week left in his term before President-elect Biden is sworn-in on Jan. 20.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), while making his case against impeaching President Trump for a second time on Wednesday, noted that Trump "bears responsibility" for a mob of his supporters breaching the U.S. Capitol last week.
President Trump urged the American public on Wednesday to refrain from violence ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, again calling for a peaceful transition of power.
Why it matters: The statement was released as the House debated whether to impeach Trump for a second time, after the president was accused of inciting the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol and left five dead last week.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell will not consent to reconvening the Senate on Friday under emergency authorities, delaying the start of President Trump's likely impeachment trial until Jan. 19 at the earliest, McConnell's team confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: If the House votes to impeach Trump for incitement of the Capitol riot on Wednesday, as is expected, the trial will likely not take place until after President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20.
President-elect Biden's selection of William Burns, a retired top diplomat, as his nominee for CIA director marks a potential pivot point for the agency.
Why it matters: Burns’ background is in statecraft, not subterfuge. His appointment may offer an unusual opportunity to better integrate the CIA’s intelligence-gathering, analysis and covert action capabilities with larger U.S. foreign policy aims.
Top allies of President Trump in the House Republican conference circulated a petition on Wednesday demanding that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) resign from her leadership position over her support for Trump's impeachment.
Why it matters: It captures the stark divisions in the GOP between the die-hard Trump loyalists and the establishment Republicans who want him gone for good.
Following last week's violent Capitol siege by Trump supporters during the counting of the Electoral College vote, troops from the National Guard have been sent to secure the House and downtown Washington, D.C., as warnings of possible violent demonstrations continue.
The state of play: Capitol Hill prepares for President Trump's second impeachment on Wednesday. If the House votes to impeach Trump, as they are expected to do, he would be the only president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.
President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated Samantha Power, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Why it matters: Biden's decision to bring Power, another veteran of the Obama years, into the administration is a reflection of his intent to revitalize foreign assistance as an instrument of soft power and to achieve humanitarian goals, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
New York City will end its contracts with the Trump Organization following the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mayor Bill De Blasio said Wednesday.
Why it matters: It's the latest potential financial blow to President Trump in the fallout of the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. The Professional Golfers Association on Sunday terminated its agreement to hold the 2022 PGA Championship at President Trump's New Jersey golf course.
Klete Keller, a two-time U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist, was identified by former teammates and coaches as being among the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol last week, NYT reports.
Driving the news: Keller was charged with three federal crimes on Wednesday, including obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct, after infiltrating the Capitol during theviolent protests in Washington.
Over the last year, jobs that we never considered dangerous have turned into hazardous occupations.
Why it matters: Millions of Americans are finding themselves on the front lines of crises that they didn't see coming — and they're often not trained, or paid enough, to be there.
Following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week, economic confidence among Republicans and Democrats has gone in opposite directions.
What happened: While overall consumer confidence edged lower, according to Morning Consult’s Index of Consumer Sentiment, dropping 0.64 points, confidence among Democrats rose nearly 4 points while it fell by 5.6 points among Republicans.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on late Tuesday warned that the Justice Department will have "no tolerance whatsoever" for anyone looking to disturb President-elect Biden's inauguration.
What he's saying: "I want to send a clear message to anyone contemplating violence, threats of violence or other criminal conduct: We will have no tolerance whatsoever for any attempts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 20 that our Constitution calls for," Rosen said in his first appearance since last week's Capitol siege.
Top Republicans want to bury President Trump, for good. But they are divided whether to do it with one quick kill via impeachment, or let him slowly fade away.
A House impeachment vote, which would make Trump the first president to be impeached twice, is expected in mid-afternoon.
The big picture: Sources tell Axios Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would be more likely than not to vote to convict Trump — a green light for other Republican senators to follow.
Americans are losing trust in leaders across every area of their lives — and the information coming from every source of their news, according to the 21st annual Edelman Trust Barometer, out Wednesday, which measures trust in institutions globally.
Why it matters: The sobering report shows that people crave facts more than ever, but most have bad habits and a growing distrust of everything from journalists to vaccines and contact tracing.
Lisa Montgomery became on Wednesday the first female inmate to be executed since 1953, per AP.
The big picture: The 52-year-old Kansas woman was declared dead at 1:31am after having a lethal injection at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, following a Supreme Court ruling late Tuesday.
In a vote of 223-205, the House of Representatives on Tuesday night approved a resolution calling on Vice President Pence to remove President Trump from office by invoking the 25 Amendment.
Why it matters: The resolution — introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — is highly symbolic, as it does not bind Pence to take action, but it looks to pressure the vice president.
Republican digital operatives are worrying about themselves and their clients after major technology companies cracked down on prominent conservative websites and organizations.
Why it matters: Amazon’s decision to remove the popular conservative social media site Parler from its hosting services, and Twitter’s suspensions of President Trump and tens of thousands of his supporters, have segments of the online right fearing they will be "deplatformed" themselves.
There's a better than 50-50 chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial, sources tell Axios.
What they're saying: "The Senate institutional loyalists are fomenting a counterrevolution" to Trump, said a top Republican close to McConnell.
The freshmen class of House Republicans has been fighting since last Wednesday's Capitol assault, creating a clear split just over a week after being sworn in.
What we’re hearing: On Tuesday, Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) got in a tart back and forth on a text chain with all freshmen GOP members, according to sources who've read the text messages.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) urged President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday night to immediately call on Congress to pass $2,000 stimulus checks for the American people as a sign of congressional unity, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Rubio has supported such payments before, but in asking the incoming president to "break the paralysis in Washington by delivering desperately needed relief," the possible 2024 presidential candidate is presenting himself as a practical partisan. Biden already supports the payments.
House Speaker Nancy on Tuesday named Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and eight other representatives as managers of the impeachment trial of President Trump.
Why it matters: They will present the House's case for impeachment and attempt to convince senators to convict Trump during his Senate trial if the House votes to impeach him on Wednesday.
Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that he will not invoke the 25th Amendment t0 remove President Trump from office because it would "set a terrible precedent."
Why it matters: Although Pence's announcement was expected, it paves the way for House Democrats to move forward with impeachment legislation.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) introduced a resolution on Tuesday evening to censure President Trump for "trying to unlawfully overturn" the presidential election and "violating his oath of office" by instigated the violent mob that assaulted the U.S. Capitol last week.
The Supreme Court granted a Trump administration appeal on Tuesday and reinstated a federal requirement obligating women seeking an abortion pill to obtain the drug from a hospital or medical center in person.
Why it matters: It's the court's first ruling on abortion since the arrival of the conservative Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
