The Senate voted 64-33 on Monday to confirm Miguel Cardona as President Biden's education secretary.
Why it matters: Cardona will play a key role in the Biden administration's efforts to safely reopen schools currently closed to in-person learning due to the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has pledged to reopen schools within his first 100 days, but some are skeptical he will be able to meet this goal.
New York Attorney General Letitia James received a formal referral letter on Monday from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office to begin an investigation into sexual harassment allegations made against the governor by two of his former aides.
Why it matters: The investigation will provide independent oversight after a lengthy back-and-forth between the offices on how the probe would operate. Findings from the review will be made public after the investigation is complete.
Bethany Christian Services, one of the U.S.'s largest adoption and foster agencies, said Monday it will begin offering services to LGBTQ parents nationwide, effective immediately, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: It's a major shift for the 77-year-old evangelical organization which has traditionally referred LGBTQ parents to other agencies. The change comes as cities and states increasingly require agencies to work with LGBTQ parents at the risk of losing government contracts.
Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were both vaccinated at the White House in January, a Trump adviser tells Axios.
Why it matters: Trump declared at CPAC on Sunday that "everybody" should get the coronavirus vaccine — the first time he's encouraged his supporters, who have been more skeptical of getting vaccinated, to do so.
Obamacare is still standing, despite numerous GOP efforts to repeal it and progressive pleas to expand it.
Dan talks with Jonathan Cohn, a longtime health care reporter at the Huffington Post and author of a new book on the ACA, “The 10 Year War,” to learn where the law stands today and what we should expect to come next.
The Biden administration will provide about $2.3 million to help bolster Affordable Care Act sign-ups in underserved communities, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Monday.
Why it matters: This funding for ACA "navigators" who provide in-person enrollment assistance will help uninsured Americans take advantage of the special enrollment window that opens later this month.
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced Monday that the Biden administration will explore "lawful pathways" to allow migrant families separated under the Trump administration to reunite in the U.S.
Why it matters: Biden has pledged to reunite the hundreds of families still separated as a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, and signed an executive order last month creating a family separation task force chaired by Mayorkas.
Why it matters: Biden has faced criticisms that the U.S. response to the finding— which includes sanctions on entities implicated in the murder but not on Bin Salman directly — does not square with his campaign pledge to make the Saudi regime “pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) sent a letter on Monday calling on President Biden's director of national intelligence to declassify and release intelligence on an alleged Russian campaign to pay bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Biden's campaign called Donald Trump's response to the controversy last year "absolutely despicable," after the former president initially called reports on the alleged bounties a "hoax" and told "Axios on HBO" that he did not raise the issue in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday introduced a bill in the Senate that would impose a new tax on the assets of America's wealthiest individuals.
Why it matters: The plan, which Warren introduced along with Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) is similar to a proposal that was the centerpiece of Warren's campaign for the presidency in 2020.
The trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the killing of George Floyd is set to begin in just one week, and tension is palpable in many parts of the city.
What's happening: Barbed-wire fences, concrete barriers and plywood are fortifying city buildings and private towers downtown, as officials prepare for the possibility of large crowds and civil unrest.
President Biden expressed support for a union vote by Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama in a two-minute video posted on Twitter Sunday, though he did not name the tech giant specifically.
Why it matters: A vote by workers at the Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union would make the facility the first Amazon warehouse to unionize in the U.S., per NPR. The election will run through March 29.
Teneo,the global CEO advisory firm, will announce today that it has bought a "significant minority stake" in WestExec Advisors, and that former Sen. Chris Dodd today will become a senior adviser at Teneo.
Why it matters: The moves reflect shifting power centers in the Biden era. WestExec is among the firms with the very closest connections to the administration — Secretary of State Tony Blinken was a founder. And this shows New York-based Teneo making a big play in D.C.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is pushing to make bitcoin a part of his city's economic future, and in an interview with "Axios on HBO," he pushed back against the economic orthodoxy of people like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who say it's a bad idea.
Why it matters: Miami's inclusion of bitcoin as a way to pay city employees or as part of the city's emergency cash holdings, as Suarez has proposed, would add legitimacy to the cryptocurrency and further entrench it in the U.S. economic system.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez's ambitions to attract Big Tech has generated a lot of headlines — but it will likely come with some negative impacts for current residents, for which the mayor admits there may not be solutions.
What he's saying: "Gentrification is real," Suarez told "Axios on HBO." But even with his efforts to promote affordable housing, he argues that "government has a limited amount of resources and a limited amount of ability to stop things that are market driven."
President Biden has a thin, short path to success in his first six to nine months, top advisers tell Axios. His success, or failure, will dictate whether he can hold off both Republican critics — and activist Democrats who want him to go bigger, faster.
The big picture: Biden has to get vaccinations moving and the stimulus bill pumping, so the economy will start rocking, advisers said. That’s why he loaded his White House with veteran loyalists focused almost exclusively on these two topics.
Most states have not made much of their incarcerated populations eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The big picture: Jails and prisons have seen big outbreaks and a higher death rate than the general public, but with supplies still limited, most governors aren't putting prisoners at the top of the list for vaccines.
White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond told "Axios on HBO" that it's "doable" for President Biden to make first-term progress on breaking down barriers for people of color, while Congress studies reparations for slavery.
Why it matters: Biden said on the campaign trail that he supports the creation of a commission to study and develop proposals for reparations — direct payments for African Americans.
