"Abortion" landed in the top five most-Googled midterm topics in every single congressional district in America in the week the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — compared to just one district the week prior, according to Axios' midterms dashboard.
Why it matters: Abortion has now surged as a top issue for potential midterm voters. It's a trend Democrats hope will fuel turnout in their favor come November, but the potency of the issue will depend on future state actions and Americans' attention spans.
A new political group led by veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins is looking to jump-start a potential Ron DeSantis presidential bid with a legally extraordinary attempt to beef up his donor contact list, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The group, Ready for Ron, says it plans to gather the names and contact information of more than 1 million DeSantis supporters nationwide by the end of the year — then provide that potent political asset, free of charge, to the DeSantis camp.
Republican strategists have discovered a problem: Personal attacks on two of the most vulnerable Democratic senators are falling flat because of their likability.
Why it matters: In a broadly unfavorable national environment for Democrats, control of the Senate may rest on a pair of incumbents with two of the most compelling backstories in politics — Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Representatives for some Indigenous tribes tell Axios they have no plans to set up abortion clinics on their lands and would take offense at any non-Native Americans, including progressives, telling them what to do.
The big picture: The Biden administration has made clear it has no plans to pursue such moves, telling progressives who leaned on them to set up abortion clinics on federal land in red states that they're underestimating the legal risks and other complications.
A majority of Latinos say they support a Trump-era policy that cites concerns about the pandemic to rapidly turn away migrants at the border, according to a new Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo has found.
Why it matters: It's a fresh data point reflecting the complex views Latino voters have on immigration. Earlier on Thursday, a Supreme Court ruling allowed President Biden to end "Remain in Mexico" — another Trump-era border policy that has been criticized by immigration activists.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) put Senate Democrats and the White House on notice that they can kiss their bipartisan China bill goodbye if they continue to chase a climate, energy and tax deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Driving the news: In a tweet that ricocheted from Washington to Wall Street, McConnell declared his intent to hold the China bill hostage. "Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill,” he said, referring to the bill's Senate acronym.
A federal judge Thursday ordered two men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to face a retrial about three months after jurors failed to reach a verdict, multiple outlets report.
Why it matters: The two suspects, Adam Fox and Barry Croft, sought acquittal from the court after their earlier trial in the kidnapping plot ended in a mistrial.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote Thursday in a dissenting opinion that coronavirus vaccines were developed using cells from "aborted children."
Driving the news: Thomas dissented to the Supreme Court's refusal to hear a case challenging New York's vaccine mandate based on religion.
Nearly half of Americans believe former President Donald Trump should be charged with a crime for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, an AP-NORC poll out Thursday indicates.
The big picture: The poll comes as the Jan. 6 committee continues to reveal new information about Trump's role in the riot in its public hearings.
New York City will begin offering free antiviral medications at mobile testing sites for vulnerable residents who test positive for COVID-19, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.
Why it matters: Mobile testing units will now include a clinician who can prescribe the antiviral medication Paxlovid at no cost for those who are eligible.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into the New York Police Department's Special Victims Division on Thursday over its handling of sexual assault cases.
Driving the news: The department said that it received information alleging the division has, over the course of more than a decade, failed to conduct basic investigative steps and shamed and abused survivors, "re-traumatizing them during investigations," according to a press release.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA may not be the worst outcome environmental advocates feared, but it is a major blow to the Biden administration's efforts to reduce the severity of human-caused global warming.
In repeatedly questioning the scope of the EPA's authority from Congress and using the term "administrative state," the conservative justices may also be inviting future challenges to rules imposed by other agencies beyond the EPA.
Why it matters: The filibuster has been a roadblock for Democrats, who have a slim majority, seeking to push their legislative agenda — and that's unlikely to change anytime soon, even with Biden's comments on Thursday.
Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday was sworn in as the first Black female Supreme Court justice, shortly after Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement became effective.
The big picture: The Supreme Court's 2021-2022 term came to an end Thursday morning after it issued its last two rulings. While the next term starts in October, Justice Jackson could potentially start hearing cases before the fall if the high court needs to consider emergency requests.
Fewer than one in five U.S. Latinos keep guns in their homes, and an even smaller share have used them to hunt or fire them for any reason, according to a new Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo.
Why it matters: The results offer a rare window into the firearms culture among groups of Hispanics, and come a month after a gunman killed 19 children and two adults in the largely Mexican-American city of Uvalde, Texas.
The Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear a case next term that examines a legal theory that would grant state legislatures significantly more power over federal elections.
Why it matters: The decision could allow state legislatures to set the rules for federal elections — even if they result in partisan gerrymandering or violate state constitutions, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The 6-3ruling in West Virginia v. EPA will likely make it harder for the Biden administration to meet its climate targets — and may tie the hands of future administrations that want to take aggressive action on climate change.
President Biden said Thursday he would not lobby Saudi leaders to produce more oil during a planned visit to the country next month.
Driving the news: "No I’m not going to ask," Biden said in response to a question from a reporter at a press conference in Spain Thursday. "I've indicated to them that I thought they should be increasing oil production generically, not to the Saudis, particularly."
Why it matters: It is a major victory for the Biden administration, allowing it to follow through on one of the president's clearest campaign promises on immigration.
However, the court is also sending the case back to a lower court to consider one of the Biden administration's attempts at ending the program.
A state court on Thursday temporarily blocked two restrictive abortion laws in Kentucky, a six-week ban and a complete abortion ban that the state's attorney general threatened to enforce.
Driving the news: Kentucky's only two abortion clinics had stopped offering abortion services after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in fear that the two laws could be brought back.
Inflation stayed steep in May, though the pace of cost spikes is showing some signs of leveling off, according to the personal consumption expenditures price index, the inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve.
After President Biden leaves Europe, the White House will announce he'll meet Friday with governors whose states moved swiftly to protect women's access to abortion following the court ruling.
Why it Matters: Access to abortion is still guaranteed in 16 states after the Supreme Court issued a ruling overturning Roe v. Wade last week, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reports.
The acrid state of politics is seeping into Americans' relationships and behavior, according to a poll out today from the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics (IOP), headed by David Axelrod.
Driving the news: Three-quarters of respondents in each party think people in the other "are generally bullies."
Former Vice President Mike Pence is expanding his involvement in the anti-abortion movement’s work ahead of the 2022 midterms, contributing $500,000 to an existing multimillion-dollar ad campaign run by the largest national anti-abortion group, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Why it matters: Prominent movement leaders are already taking notice of the Republicans who’ve been their strongest and most vocal allies after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — and the anti-abortion constituency will be an important one for any 2024 GOP hopeful.
The big picture: Democrats' generic advantage over Republicans among U.S. Latino adults dropped since March, with the economy driving respondents' discontent. But the findings also suggested gun safety is an issue on which Latinos are far more aligned with Democrats.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Wednesday it's become clear from what the Jan. 6 select committee has learned that former President Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election were "more chilling and threatening than we imagined."
What she's saying: The U.S. faces a domestic threat it's never faced before — a former president who's "attempting to unravel the foundations of our Constitutional Republic ... aided by Republican leaders and elected officials," the vice chair of the House panel investigating the Capitol riot said at the Ronald Reagan Library in California.
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was sworn in as the president of the Philippines on Thursday, more than three decades after his father was overthrown in a popular uprising.
The big picture: The return of a Marcos to the presidency is the stunning conclusion to a decades-long process to rehabilitate the family's political brand, Axios' Dave Lawler writes.
Former President Trump is no longer in contempt of court after a New York Supreme Court judge lifted the civil order on Wednesday, per multiple reports.
Driving the news: Justice Arthur Engoron found Trump in contempt last April for failing to turn over documents to New York Attorney General Letitia James for her investigation into his business, but ruled Wednesday that the former president met conditions required to lift the order, AP notes.
Two men are facing smuggling charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants who were found inside a tractor-trailer in searing heat in San Antonio, Texas, this week, federal officials announced late Wednesday.
Driving the news: Prosecutors said the alleged driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, was charged with smuggling resulting in death, and Christian Martinez, 28, was charged with "conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death," per a Department of Justice statement.
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, stands by her testimony before the Jan. 6 select committee investigating the Capitol riot, her lawyers said Wednesday.
Driving the news: Some Republicans disputed Hutchinson's testimony Tuesday of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, calling it "hearsay."
President Biden will ask the Federal Trade Commission to use tools at its disposal to protect consumers' data privacy in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, an official familiar with the plans told Axios.
Why it matters: In states where abortion is banned, there are growing fears those who are pregnant or miscarry may have their information harvested and used against them.
