Axios

Critics say President Biden's moves to clean house at America's military service academies creates a precedent that politicizes a traditionally nonpartisan — if patronage-heavy — system.

Driving the news: The White House's personnel office today sent letters to all six members of each of the three service academy visitors boards — overseeing West Point, Annapolis and the U.S. Air Force Academy — demanding they resign by 6pm or face termination.

In the 20 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Republicans — far more than Democrats — have increasingly come to view Islam as more likely than other religions to encourage violence among believers, according to surveys by Pew Research Center.

Why it matters: Muslims have continued to face bias and discrimination in the U.S. two decades after 9/11, and those negative biases have become increasingly partisan.

The fight over President Biden's $3.5 trillion spending package begins for real on Capitol Hill at 10am Thursday as the first of several committees starts hashing out details of the mammoth infrastructure proposal.

Why it matters: The legislative marathon comes amid Democrats' internal squabbling that underscores just how tough it could be for Biden to get something across the finish line.

Nxivm co-founder Nancy Salzman was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday for her role in running and enabling the cult that entangled Hollywood figures and subjected members to sexual abuse.

Details: She has been ordered to turn herself in to the authorities on Jan. 19, 2022.

Vice President Harris attended a Bay Area campaign event Wednesday in support of California Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of next week's recall election.

Why it matters: The Tuesday election will be only the second time in California history that a gubernatorial recall campaign has succeeded in getting on the ballot. Newsom, a Democrat, is facing challenges from numerous candidates, including conservative talk radio host Larry Elder.

Veteran suicides decreased by 7% in 2019 to the lowest level in 12 years, according to the new data released by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The risk level of suicide among veterans is significantly higher than in the general adult population in the U.S. The drop deviates from rising rates observed by the VA in preceding years.

The FBI released new information and footage on Wednesday of the suspect who planted pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee on the eve of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Why it matters: Former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund has testified that he believes the undetonated bombs were a diversion intended to draw law enforcement resources away from the Capitol as the violence escalated on Jan. 6, suggesting it could be evidence of "significant coordination with this attack."

Dylann Roof, who was found guilty of murder for killing nine members of a Black church congregation in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, petitioned a full federal appeals court Wednesday to review his previously upheld death sentence.

The big picture: Roof's move comes after a three-judge panel rejected his first appeal in August. Asking the court to rehear his case is one of the few options he has to avoid the death sentence, along with petitioning the Supreme Court or seeking a presidential pardon.

Governor Larry Hogan (R) announced on Wednesday that elderly people who live nursing homes and people who are immunocompromised are eligible to get a COVID-19 booster shot effective immediately.

Why it matters: Maryland is the first state to announce a plan for distributing boosters to a wider population of people, outside the immunocompromised. Hogan said "confusing and contradictory" guidance from the federal government forced him to act now.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Taliban leaders Wednesday to allow charter flights to leave Afghanistan, saying it would demonstrate the group's "willingness to respect freedom of movement."

Driving the news: For days, the Taliban has been preventing the departures of at least four chartered evacuation flights from Mazar-e-Sharif airport, in northern Afghanistan.

President Biden is tapping former ambassador Lee Wolosky, who led President Obama’s efforts to shut down Guantanamo Bay, to coordinate the administration’s legal efforts to resettle Afghan evacuees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: By bringing in a seasoned attorney with experience in the public and private sector, Biden is trying to ensure that his administration’s unprecedented resettlement program stands on solid legal footing.

Second Circuit Judge John Cooper on Wednesday upheld Florida schools' ability to enforce mask mandates, ruling against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) appeal, CNN reports.

Why it matters: The ruling brings a pause to the state of Florida’s enforcement of mask bans — which up until this point had included withholding funds from school districts with mandates — until a higher court rules on the appeal.

U.S. Capitol Police chief Tom Manger on Monday will brief congressional leadership about security preparations ahead of a Sept. 18 rally in support of jailed Jan. 6 rioters, two sources familiar with the meeting tell Axios.

Why it matters: The "Justice for J6" rally, which is being organized by a former Trump campaign staffer, has raised fresh security concerns over the potential for violence on Capitol Hill.

Qatar played host Tuesday to both Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a sign of how the Gulf country's role in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has strengthened its standing in Washington.

Why it matters: Qatar became a central partner for the U.S. in the region as it mediated between the U.S. and the Taliban, and Doha was the largest hub of the massive U.S. evacuation effort.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to travel to Egypt next week for the first public visit by an Israeli prime minister in over a decade.

The big picture: Israel officials speculate that by inviting Bennett publicly so early in his term, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government is trying to signal Egypt's importance in the region to the Biden administration.

With the manhunt for six Palestinian prisoners who tunneled their way out of an Israeli maximum-security prison continuing for the third day, riots have been reported at three additional prisons.

Why it matters: The “Shawshank Redemption” style escape turned the six prisoners into heroes in the West Bank and Gaza, with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza threatening an escalation if they are harmed. Thousands of police and Israel Defense Forces soldiers are searching for them.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Budget Committee, on Wednesday insisted that the Democrats' budget proposal should remain at $3.5 trillion, dismissing calls from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) for a lower number.

Driving the news: Manchin has warned the White House and Congress leadership that he has concerns about the proposal and is willing to support as little as $1 trillion of it. His vote is crucial in the 50-50 Senate.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen again called on congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling in a letter Wednesday, saying the country may soon be unable to meet its financial obligations if nothing is done.

Why it matters: Yellen said the Treasury estimates that it will run out of cash and "extraordinary measures" used to finance the government in October.

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it would hear all oral arguments scheduled this fall from the courtroom.

Why it matters: The justices last sat together in session on March 9, 2020, when Ruth Bader Ginsburg was still on the court and conservatives held a narrow 5-4 majority.

Virginia took down Richmond's Robert E. Lee statue on Wednesday, days after the state's Supreme Court paved the way for its removal.

Why it matters: It's the latest Confederate monument to come down following the racial justice protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd last year. It comes two months after a Lee statue was removed in Charlottesville.

Environmental groups are laying out funding levels they want for energy pieces of the big spending-and-tax package Democrats hope to move on a party-line vote that faces huge political hurdles.

Driving the news: An open letter from 20 groups lays out estimates for the programs that would create a "clear path" to cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030 relative to 2005 levels.

Entering a critical period on Capitol Hill, President Biden spent Tuesday touring flood damage in New Jersey and New York, where the most lives were lost to Hurricane Ida.

Why it matters: During his walkthroughs of damaged neighborhoods, Biden unequivocally made the connection between the disastrous deluge that broke all-time records and human-caused global warming.

The State Department expressed concern late Tuesday about the Taliban's new all-male interim Cabinet in Afghanistan, which includes a minister who's on a U.S. terrorism list.

What they're saying: "We note the announced list of names consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates and no women," the State Department said in an emailed statement.

Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested four leaders of a group that organizes the Asian financial hub's annual Tiananmen Square massacre vigil.

Why it matters: The arrest of barrister Chow Hang Tung and other Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China activists marks the latest setback for the city's pro-democracy movement. The group has been accused of foreign collusion, in violation of the repressive national security law.

About 50 Detroit health care workers have filed a lawsuit against a hospital system, claiming its upcoming COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of "personal autonomy and bodily integrity."

Why it matters: This is the second major legal test concerning vaccine mandates in the health care sector, after an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming a Texas hospital's policy requiring all staff be vaccinated against the virus was unlawful.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) signed an executive order on Tuesday requiring abortion medications to be picked up from a doctor's office.

The big picture: The move comes on the heels of Texas' near-total ban on abortion and other Republican lawmakers pledging to follow suit.

President Biden demonstrated during visits Tuesday to flood-ravaged New Jersey and New York that he's keen to link recent extreme weather events with calls to tackle climate change.

Why it matters: It could convince more resistant audiences about the seriousness of global warming and also fuel the case for some of those major infrastructure investments Democrats have been promoting.

The GOP's House campaign arm is shuffling its winter fundraising schedule, putting Donald Trump in front of its top financial backers for its annual dinner.

Driving the news: The National Republican Congressional Committee told donors on Tuesday afternoon that "circumstances beyond our control" forced the cancellation of its major December retreat in New York City, according to an email obtained by Axios.

As natural disasters ravaged the country and Texas enacted lightning-rod abortion restrictions, Afghanistan still held the vast share of online attention last week, according to exclusive data from NewsWhip.

Why it matters: Democrats are banking on the Afghanistan chaos having little impact on the 2022 midterms. But the data, which comes as Biden's approval rating slid underwater, shows the potential potency of a story unfolding thousands of miles away.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) has privately warned the White House and congressional leaders that he has specific policy concerns with President Biden's $3.5 trillion social spending dream — and he'll support as little as $1 trillion of it.

• At most, he's open to supporting $1.5 trillion, sources familiar with the discussions say.

Why it matters: In a 50-50 Senate, that could mean the ceiling for Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda — and that many progressive priorities, from universal preschool to free community college, are in danger of dying this Congress.

Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Department of Justice to take legal action "up to and including the criminal prosecution" against anti-abortion rights activists who attempt legal challenges under Texas' new abortion ban.

Why it matters: The state's new law bars abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and awards at least $10,000 to people who successfully sue anyone suspected of helping a pregnant person obtain an abortion.