A migrant woman tried to take her own life this month while waiting in a shelter in Monterrey, Mexico, for a U.S. asylum decision — the first known suicide attempt of Joe Biden's presidency under the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" program he was forced to restart, Axios has learned.
What we're watching: Biden officials are awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision they hope will allow them to end a program that advocates say places migrants at risk. The ruling could come as soon as tomorrow.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief Pete Arredondo has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately, said Hal Harrell, superintendent of Uvalde CISD.
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Wednesday he plans to retire from politics after losing Alabama's Senate runoff this week.
Driving the news: Brooks' decision comes less than 24 hours after he lost the runoff election to Katie Britt, the former chief of staff to retiring Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).
Driving the news: The plead comes two weeks after the 26-year-old California man was arrested near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's Maryland home with a weapon.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chair of the Senate Republicans' campaign arm, said Wednesday he could not agree with the Texas GOP's stance on homosexuality, criticizing it as not "inclusive," according to AP.
Why it matters: The Texas GOP characterized homosexuality as "an abnormal lifestyle choice" as a resolution in its newly adopted platform, saying it believes that "there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior."
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack is extending its hearing schedule to July and weighing the possibility of additional hearings, the panel's chair said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The committee has seen an uptick in new information as the hearings have unfolded and is trying to figure out how to incorporate those materials into the hearings, Axios previously reported.
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) sued the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on Wednesday in a bid to access public records related to the Uvalde school shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 children.
Why it matters: The public is still grappling with failures in the police response to the shooting after law enforcement retracted several statements and revealed that 19 officers waited outside the classroom for almost an hour as the gunman locked himself inside with children who made multiple 911 calls.
The White House has been working on a “road map for normalization” between Israel and Saudi Arabia ahead of President Biden’s visit to the Middle East next month, according to four U.S. sources briefed on the issue.
Why it matters: The trip could show that the Biden administration has continued to help foster progress on the warming of relations between Israel and the Arab world after the Trump administration brokered the Abraham Accords, which led to normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries.
The big picture: The survival of Prime Minster Naftali Bennett's government, which sidelined former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was the top priority of the Biden administration when it came to its policy on Israel.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Wednesday that a U.S. recession is a "possibility" as it plots an aggressive interest rate hike campaign to contain prices that are rising at their fastest clip in over 40 years.
Why it matters: Fears of a recession have grown among some market watchers and economists as the Fed signaled it will be more aggressive in slowing down the economy in an effort to get inflation under control.
Andrew Gillum, who ran for Florida governor in 2018 as a Democrat against current Gov. Ron DeSantis, was indicted Wednesday on 21 counts connected to campaign wire fraud.
The big picture: The indictment alleges Gillum and co-defendant Sharon Lettman-Hicks conspired to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to divert donations back to Gillum for personal use, per a Justice Department press release.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and his lawyers launched a "shadow investigation" to influence the NFL's internal investigation into workplace misconduct at the team and discredit victims and witnesses, according to investigative findings by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Driving the news: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the Oversight Committee, said that she plans to issue a subpoena for Snyder's testimony after he declined to testify voluntarily at a hearing Wednesday, citing due process concerns.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who represents Uvalde, said Wednesday that he would support the bipartisan gun safety bill when it reaches the House.
Driving the news: "As a Congressman it's my duty to pass laws that never infringe on the Constitution while protecting the lives of the innocent," Gonzales wrote in a tweet.
The U.S. dollar will feature the signatures of two women for the first time after President Biden announced Tuesday that he intends to appoint Marilynn Malerba as U.S. treasurer.
Driving the news: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sat for her official currency signing in March 2021, but federal rules dictate that her signature cannot appear on the dollar until a treasurer is in place so that both signatures can be added to a new series of currency at the same time, per the New York Times.
Why it matters: The prime-time hearing sought to capture America's fleeting attention — and it largely did. But the daytime hearings have struggled to garner it at the same level.
Former President Trump criticized House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for his response to the Jan. 6 select committee, telling Punchbowl News on Tuesday there's "not even a question" he should've picked Republicans to join the panel.
Driving the news: McCarthy initially picked five GOP members, including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.), to take part in the select committee. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected Jordan and Banks due to their previous objections to President Biden's Electoral College victory.
One year after a 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed, killing 98 people, the federal agency in charge of investigating the accident has yet to determine the cause.
The big picture: There is no single, obvious trigger for the collapse, investigators have said, and conclusions could take at least another year.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was subpoenaed to testify before the House Jan. 6 committee Tuesday, says he believes the panel is serving a productive purpose — but wishes it were reaching some of the conservative viewers who need to hear it most.
Driving the news: "I wish that Fox News would have carried all of it, because I think it would have helped our party heal, given [people] more facts," Raffensperger told Axios in an exclusive interview after his testimony.
Paper records, exhibits and artifacts from the Watergate trial have been digitized for the first time as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the break-in that eventually led to President Nixon's resignation.
What's happening: Materials from the United States v. G. Gordon Liddy case are now available in the National Archives Catalog and can be viewed via a new website, rather than exclusively in person in Maryland.
President Biden will on Wednesday call on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months, ask states to do the same and demand that oil and gas companies boost production and pass on any savings directly to consumers, according to administration officials.
The City of Brooklyn Center has agreed to pay a $3.25 million settlement to the family of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man fatally shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop, it was announced Tuesday.
Driving the news: The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit following the April 2021 shooting near Minneapolis by former police officer Kim Potter, who's serving a two-year prison sentence after being convicted of manslaughter.
Despite being outspent at least 11-to-1, Chris West defeated Jeremy Hunt in the Republican primary runoff in Georgia's 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday night, per AP.
Why it matters: West, an attorney and officer in Georgia's Air National Guard, will take on Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) in what is considered Georgia's only competitive congressional race in November.
A bipartisan group of senators released legislative text Tuesday for their gun bill, which includes enhanced background checks for those under 21, funding for mental health and school safety, incentives for states to implement "red flag" laws and limits on the "boyfriend loophole."
The latest: The Senate voted 64-34 in favor of advancing the bill on Tuesday night. Fourteen Republicans joined all 50 members of the Democratic caucus to support the procedural motion.
Yesli Vega, a Prince William County supervisor endorsed by some of the GOP’s most outspoken culture warriors, has won the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
Why it matters: The district is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country, with Republicans viewing it as a key opportunity to pick up one of the seats they need to regain a majority in the U.S. House.
Katie Britt, the former chief of staff to retiring Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), won Alabama's Senate runoff on Tuesday, beating out Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.).
Why it matters: Britt gained momentum in recent weeks and her prospects were boosted by a late-stage endorsement by former President Trump, who had initially endorsed Brooks and then un-endorsed him.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin accused the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) of releasing contradictory information, perpetrating "false leaks" and having its own agenda in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Why it matters: Law enforcement officials have changed the narrative about what happened multiple times since a gunman shot and killed 21 people. McLaughlin's press conference, which comes after DPS Director Steven McCraw called the Uvalde police response "an abject failure," only heightens the breakdown in relations among the law enforcement agencies that responded that day.
Rich McCormick, an emergency room physician and Marine veteran, defeated his Trump-backed opponent Jake Evans in a GOP primary runoff for Georgia's 6th Congressional District on Tuesday, AP reports.
Driving the news: McCormick, who ran unsuccessfully in the previously drawn 7th District, raised nearly twice as much money as Evans. Evans, whose father was a Trump-appointed ambassador to Luxembourg, received Trump’s backing in May.
Jen Kiggans, a state senator and former Navy helicopter pilot, has won the Republican nomination in the race to represent Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Why it matters: Kiggans will face Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), herself a Navy veteran, in a race that is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country for Republicans.
Threats against members of Congress investigated by U.S. Capitol Police increased by 144% between the first year of former President Trump's term and the first year of President Biden's, according to data shared with Axios.
By the numbers: In the first three months of this year alone, Capitol Police have opened cases into more than 1,800 threats.
Oz's campaign website on April 15 (left) and June 18 (right). Source: Internet Archive
Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, is quietly shifting his campaign messaging away from former President Trump as he transitions into what's likely to be one of the most hotly contested Senate elections of the midterms.
Why it matters: Oz's transition for the general election highlights the tightrope many Trump-endorsed candidates have attempted to walk — embrace the former president where it counts, while keeping him at arm's length in situations where his brand is toxic.
Trucking executive Mike Collins defeated former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones, the self-described "Black Donald Trump," in a GOP primary runoff in Georgia's 10th Congressional District on Tuesday, AP reports.
Why it matters: In this deep red eastern Georgia district, Collins is all but guaranteed to take office in November.
