The House of Representatives voted 252-175 on Wednesday to pass a bill to set up a bipartisan 9/11-style commission to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Why it matters: Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy andGOP leadership oppose the commission, but 35 House Republicans voted in support of the bill, underscoring the fault lines within the party in the aftermath of the insurrection.
An emergency shelter for migrant adolescent boys at the downtown Dallas Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center is expected to shut down in the next two weeks, the Dallas Morning News reports citing information from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The state of play: The unlicensed shelter once housed roughly 2,300 minors, but has since reduced its population to about 200. Its imminent closure comes after nearly 10 weeks of operation, per the Dallas Morning News.
The New York Attorney General's office announced late Tuesday night that its investigation into The Trump Organization has expanded from a civil one into a criminal one.
Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with David Fahrenthold, a Washington Post reporter whose beat is the Trump family's business interests, to learn how the investigation started, why it's turned criminal and what big questions remain unanswered.
Bodycam footage obtained and released by AP shows Louisiana state troopers stunning, punching and dragging Ronald Greene, a Black man who died in police custody in 2019 following a high-speed chase near the city of Monroe.
Why it matters: The arrest of Greene is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, and Louisiana authorities refused to publicly release footage captured during the arrest for two years, which incited accusations of a cover-up.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Wednesday will block a Republican resolution that underlines United States support for Israel, calling the GOP response to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict "destructive," his office said.
Why it matters: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will co-sponsor Sanders' alternative to the GOP resolution, his office told Axios' Alayna Treene. The resolution calls for the Senate to urge "an immediate cease-fire" and to protect the human rights of Israelis and Palestinians.
What to watch: The floor debate on the resolution begins Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) publicly announced his opposition Wednesday to a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, after informing Republican colleagues at a closed-door lunch on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The House is set to vote Wednesday on creating the bipartisan commission, also opposed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), that would investigate the "facts and circumstances" of the Capitol attack led largely by supporters of former President Trump.
A bipartisan bill being introduced in the House Wednesday would hold President Biden accountable for taking tangible steps to address the Chinese Communist Party's genocide of the Uyghur population, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Amid concerns about a rapidly aging population, the government has begun encouraging Chinese women to have more children, after scrapping its previous "one-child" policy. But authorities in Xinjiang have implemented extremely restrictive new birth policies on Muslim ethnic minorities.
Aiming to sway budget-conscious legislators on the value of federal funding, the chip industry's U.S. trade group says that $50 billion in investment would boost the U.S. economy by $25 billion per year and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Why it matters: Congress gave conceptual blessing to the spending as part of a defense authorization bill, but has yet to allocate the funds.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), who was attacked by former President Trump and several other Republicans for rejecting false claims about the 2020 election, announced Tuesday that he is running for reelection in 2022, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
I'm told Nate Silver, the popular political seer, is writing a second book, "On the Edge: How Successful Gamblers Think and What It Tells Us About Navigating Risk," expected from Penguin Press in late 2022:
"At a time when everyday Americans increasingly grapple with complex decisions about risk, Silver will investigate gamblers not only in fields like poker and sports — but also those who run the financial, cryptocurrency, and real estate markets, change the way art is valued and bought, continually redefine American capitalism in the name of risk, and more."
Allowing people to fly maskless on planes is a “complicated issue,” in part because the U.S. doesn’t have a vaccine passport system, NIAID director Anthony Fauci said at an Axios event that airs Wednesday.
Why it matters: Fauci said that in accordance with the new CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated people could “easily” fly without face masks, but the problem is determining who is vaccinated and not and the airlines "don't want to see spread."
The New York attorney general's office said Tuesday night it has informed the Trump Organization that its investigation into the company "is no longer purely civil in nature" and is now also a criminal one.
Why it matters: The attorney general's office is now working with the Manhattan district attorney's office, which has been investigating the Trump Organization for potential bank, tax and insurance fraud.
The state of play: In addition to his filing with the Federal Election Commission, McCloskey also launched a campaign website accepting donations for his bid.
Arizona Senate's Republican President Karen Fann said at a meeting Tuesday that a recount of 2020 presidential election ballots would go ahead despite objections from the GOP-led Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
The big picture: Board officials said Monday they wouldn't help with the audit, which they called a "sham" that should be called off. Fann said Tuesday the recount was needed to answer constituents' questions. She added that the audit was "not personal." The Florida-based Cyber Ninjas, whose chief has supported baseless voter fraud claims, is conducting the recount.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his fellow Republicans during a closed-door caucus lunch Tuesday he can't support a Jan. 6 commission in its current form, two sources familiar with his remarks tell Axios.
Why it matters: Senate Republicans are bracing for a House vote Wednesday. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opposes the commission but several Republicans are expected to buck leadership — making it more difficult for Senate Republicans to dismiss it.
A conservative anti-tax group views President Biden’s proposal to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service as a means to sink his tax-and-spend infrastructure package.
Why it matters: By launching a six-figure cable and local TV buy for an ad against first-year Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.) and Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), the group is testing a broader potential line of attack against the $2.3 trillion package.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) votes against her party most often, at a rate of 16.3%, compared to all other freshman members in the House and Senate, data collected by Quorum reveals.
Driving the news: The top five freshman members who voted against their party the most are all Republicans — and four of the five are House Republicans.
Governors are seeing their pandemic-related broad reach and executive powers wane as the public health emergency subsides and the necessity for restrictions and emergency action ends.
Why it matters: Governors took on outsize roles from Maine to California as much of the burden fell to the states. In some, their powers are about to revert to the norm. In others, their expanded reach is triggering a re-examination of whether they should have such authority in the future.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill into law Tuesday that includes an amendment to keep health care providers from prescribing hormone treatment for transgender minors who haven't yet hit puberty, according to the state's General Assembly.
Why it matters: Tennessee is now the second state to pass legislation that aims to restrict transition-related or gender-affirming care for trans minors, as a record number of state bills targeting trans youth have been introduced across the U.S.
