Axios

Democrats on Tuesday nominated former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to face Republican Glenn Youngkin in the state's November gubernatorial election, per AP.

Why it matters: McAuliffe, who entered the primary in December as a clear front-runner, beat four Democratic candidates to secure the nomination.

The Senate on Tuesday failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation intended to address the gender pay gap.

The big picture: The 49-50 vote saw Democrats in support and Republicans opposed. At least 60 votes were required to end the filibuster and move the measure to the floor for a vote.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed into law Tuesday a pair of bills aimed at improving the state's main power grid and reforming the agency that operates it.

Why it matters: The move comes months after a winter storm blew out Texas' power infrastructure and left over 4.8 million homes and businesses without power for days, per Texas Tribune. Calls to revamp the power infrastructure have grown since.

The Senate voted 68-32 on Tuesday to approve a sweeping China-focused global competition bill, overcoming Republican objections that had threatened to derail the $200 billion+ bipartisan package.

Why it matters: The bill's supporters cite the measure as evidence that the deeply divided Senate can still function on a bipartisan basis, despite the last-minute chaos that forced Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to delay final passage for weeks.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Tuesday demanded that Microsoft explain why the company blocked images and videos of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests on anniversary of the massacre, CNN reported.

The big picture: A Microsoft spokesperson previously said the removal of the images was a mistake, and blamed it on "accidental human error," per CNN.

During her first in-person meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said that the U.S. and Mexico are "embarking on a new era," with greater cooperation between the two countries on immigration, AP reports.

Why it matters: Harris was tapped by Biden to work on fixing the migrant surge at the southern border, a crisis that has threatened to overshadow some of the administration's early successes.

Kalamazoo's Western Michigan University on Tuesday announced it received a $550 million donation from a group of anonymous alumni.

Why it matters: The donation is the "largest gift for a public institution of higher education in U.S. history," WMU said.

Infrastructure negotiations between President Biden and a group of Republicans led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) have officially broken down, and Biden now plans to turn his attention toward striking a deal with a separate, bipartisan group of senators, administration officials said Tuesday night.

What we're hearing: When Biden and Capito spoke by phone on Tuesday, the call only lasted a few minutes, and it was clear that the two sides remain too far apart to find a compromise.

Senate Democrats and Republicans today are expected to overwhelmingly pass a $247 billion spending package focused on competing with China on technology. 

Axios Re:Cap is joined by California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, who cosponsored the bill and who has been concerned about the issue since he first campaigned for office.

The collective worth for the 25 richest Americans rose $401 billion from 2014 to 2018, but they only paid a total of $13.6 billion in federal income taxes, according to a ProPublica report based on confidential IRS tax data.

Why it matters: The analysis found that billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg "were able to benefit from a complex web of loopholes in the tax code," the New York Times notes.

In order to pass its infrastructure bill, the Biden administration will need to focus it on "traditional infrastructure," such as roads, bridges, water, and wastewater supplies, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said during an Axios virtual event on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Biden and Senate Republicans have been in the midst of negotiations over what an infrastructure package will look like but they are still far apart on any deal. Republicans, like Womack, are opposed to many of the initiatives proposed by the Biden administration.

A Virginia judge on Tuesday ruled that a Loudoun County teacher who refused to use the current names and pronouns of transgender students should immediately return to work, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture: A handful of states are considering bills brought by Republican lawmakers to bar schools from teaching about gender identity and in some cases, to prevent teachers from using pronouns that match a student's gender.

The Charlottesville City Council voted Monday to remove two statues of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson from the city's public parks, according to the Washington Post.

Why it matters: The statues were the flashpoint for the violent "Unite the Right" rally in the city in August 2017 during which a self-professed neo-Nazi killed counter-protester Heather Heyer by driving his car into counter-protesters.

The Senate voted 66-33 on Tuesday to confirm Julien Xavier Neals to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey.

Why it matters: Neals is President Biden's first judicial nominee to be confirmed, as Democrats begin a push to "restore the balance" of the courts after the GOP-led Senate confirmed a record number of conservative judges under former President Trump.

Jerome Adams, the U.S. surgeon general under former President Trump, criticized states who are offering lottery tickets, beer and donuts as prizes for getting the coronavirus vaccine.

Why it matters: Adams said he was "uncomfortable" with the "public health trade offs" involved with certain kinds of vaccine incentives, pointing to a report put out by the current surgeon general warning about the health effects of alcohol consumption.

Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount defended his decision Tuesday to pay the hackers that launched a ransomware attack against the crucial fuel line, telling a Senate panel it was "the right choice" and that he put "the interests of the country first."

Why it matters: Federal investigators for years have recommended that companies do not pay hacking groups to decrypt their computer systems over fears that the transactions would encourage more groups to conduct future attacks.

Vice President Kamala Harris defended her decision to not personally visit the U.S.-Mexico border during an interview with NBC News that aired Tuesday, arguing that her focus is on addressing the underlying causes of migration.

Why it matters: President Biden has put Harris in charge of solving the migrant surge at the southern border, a crisis that has threatened to overshadow some of the administration's early successes.

Among the five Democrats in Virginia's gubernatorial primary Tuesday is Jennifer Carroll Foy, a former state delegate who shaved her head when she became a Rat — a first-year Virginia Military Institute cadet.

What she's saying: "I wore a man's uniform," she told me over coffee as she campaigned in Old Town Alexandria. "And it was some of the most trying times and experiences that I've ever had."

With Pride Month underway, Gallup reports that U.S. support for legal same-sex marriage hit a record 70%.

Why it matters: The number has continued to trend upward since Gallup began conducting the poll a quarter-century ago. This year's figure marks a 10% increase since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriages as constitutional.

Last December, the Capitol Police intelligence division began gathering data from social media about plots to breach the Capitol, as well as specific calls for violence on Jan. 6 and maps of the building's tunnel systems, a new Senate report finds.

Why it matters: The scope of these threats was not relayed to USCP leadership, rank-and-file officers or federal law enforcement agencies. As a result, all were unprepared for the worst attack since the War of 1812, the 127-page document reveals.

New data shows that since President Biden has taken office, topics such as “foreign policy," “climate” and “voting rights” have become a much bigger percentage of political and issue ad spending on Facebook, compared to the Trump era.

The big picture: Political ad spending can be a good proxy metric for the types of issues gaining traction amongst policymakers and interest groups.

President Biden will announce a new task force today to focus on the supply chain disruptions created by the pandemic and economic shutdowns, according to administration officials.

Why it matters: By naming Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the new task force, Biden is trying to ensure that the economy reopens as smoothly as possible as more Americans return to work.

Massive anti-Colombian government protests that erupted five weeks ago have resulted in the deaths of 58 people — and there are reports of 400 human rights violations, the country's human rights ombudsman said Monday, per AP.

What's happening: Representatives of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (CIDH) traveled to Colombia Monday for a three-day visit following allegations and video evidence of police violence — including firing guns at unarmed protesters and onlookers.

An FBI-led sting using an encrypted messaging app has resulted in the arrests of hundreds of suspected organized crime figures around the world, authorities in Australia announced Tuesday.

Driving the news: Authorities decided to use the AN0M messaging app to track suspects globally in an investigation after Aussie police officers and FBI agents came up with the idea to run the platform while having some after-work beers in 2018, according to Australian police.

President Biden's Department of Justice indicated in a court filing Monday night that it's continuing with the DOJ's defense of former President Trump in a defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

Why it matters: When President Biden was a presidential candidate last year, he criticized the DOJ's highly unusual move to intervene and replace Trump's private lawyers with attorneys from the department, per the New York Times.

Former President Obama in an interview with CNN broadcast Monday criticized "large portions of Congress" for "going along with the falsehood that there were problems" with the 2020 election.

Driving the news: Obama noted to CNN's Anderson Cooper that Republicans spoke out against former President Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, but then "poof, suddenly everybody was back in line."

The Senate unanimously passed legislation Monday offering financial support to government employees experiencing symptoms including brain injuries that are consistent with "Havana Syndrome."

Why it matters: Over 130 cases of the illness first detected in the U.S. Embassy in Cuba in 2016 have been reported among overseas U.S. personnel. The head injuries are "from likely directed energy attacks in Cuba, China, and elsewhere," per a Senate Intelligence Committee statement.

Oregon's state legislature approved a resolution Monday night to update the lyrics of the state song in order to remove racist language and be more inclusive, per Oregon Live.

Why it matters: "Oregon, My Oregon" was written 101 years ago and the lyrical changes are intended to ensure that the song reflects the "cultural, historical, economic and societal evolution" of the state, according to the resolution.

A super PAC closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is prepared to intervene in GOP primaries — and potentially challenge former President Trump — as it looks for the most viable candidates to reclaim the Senate.

Driving the news: Trump’s weekend endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) in his state's 2022 Senate race put the GOP establishment on notice that party leaders won’t necessarily get to handpick their preferred candidates for the crucial midterms.

The number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border this fiscal year is already the most since 2006 — with four months left to go, according to preliminary Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The numbers quantify a lingering problem. Nearly 900,000 migrants were stopped by the Border Patrol from Oct. 1 to May 31. There also were more than 170,000 apprehensions last month — in line with 20-year records set in March and April.

A Republican has won a mayoral race in a South Texas Hispanic Democratic bastion, sparking celebration from the GOP nationwide and alarm from some Democrats.

Why it matters: Javier Villalobos' victory Saturday in Mexican American-majority McAllen, Texas, comes as some Latino Democrats say their party has been ignoring Mexican Americans in Texas, New Mexico and California as the Republican Party makes dents in areas once solidly blue.

CNN has obtained audio of a July 2019 call by Rudy Giuliani in which he suggests to an Ukrainian official that the country could have a "better relationship" with the U.S. if it investigated Joe Biden.

Why it matters: The call shows the extent of pressure Giuliani put on Ukraine to investigate the then-Democratic presidential nominee and his son, Hunter Biden, for unsubstantiated corruption claims — a matter that was central to former President Trump's first impeachment.