Three people who were on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 stand a serious chance of returning to the site of the deadly riot next January — this time as duly elected Republican members of Congress.
Why it matters: Democratic members who were on the other side of the attack aren't prepared to simply forgive and forget, telling Axios they have concerns about their personal security and the broader ramifications for democracy if these candidates are elected.
Why it matters: Biden called the debt relief a "game changer" with the plan canceling up to $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers who make under $125,000 per year.
Acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O’Farrell said Monday he removed Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo from their committee chairmanships and assignments.
Driving the news: De León and Cedillo have faced calls to step down for participating in a discussion with anti-Black and anti-Indigenous comments, according to leaked audio obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a lawsuit challenging a series of racist century-old rulings in a bid to pursue birthright citizenship for residents of American Samoa.
Why it matters: The rulings, known as the Insular Cases, dictated that residents of territories do not have the same access to certain rights and benefits because they are "savages" and "alien races, differing from us." Three people born in American Samoa and now living in Utah appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court affirmed a federal law that classified them as U.S. nationals but not citizens.
Driving the news: Some charges were as high as $1,185 per room per night at the former Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. — more than five times the government rate, according to the committee.
The D.C. attorney general is opening an investigation into governors who are relocating migrants to the nation's capital, according to the Texas Tribune and ProPublica.
The big picture: Governors from Texas, Florida and Arizona have sent thousands of migrants to Washington D.C., as well as New York and Chicago, in recent months.
The Justice Department has required lobbyists for Hikvision, a leading Chinese surveillance equipment company, to register as foreign agents, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The move comes amid a broader federal crackdown on Chinese industries deemed potential U.S. national security threats. The push is now reaching D.C. representatives for the world's largest manufacturer of video surveillance equipment.
Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee in Georgia's Senate race, told NBC News that he gave a $700 check to a former partner in 2009, but he denied allegations that the money was used to pay for an abortion.
Driving the news: "That's my check," Walker told NBC's Kristen Welker during an interview in which she showed him a copy of the check. "I have no idea what that could be for," he also said.
Venture capitalists Blake Masters and J.D. Vance are Republicans running for the U.S. Senate, but many voters in Arizona and Ohio may be unaware of their business backgrounds.
Why it matters: This is a departure from conventional campaign strategies for political novices who have spent most of their careers in the private sector. If successful, it could represent a new normal.
The Department of Justice on Monday recommended that former Trump adviser Steve Bannon receive a six-month jail sentence and a $200,000 fine for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee.
Driving the news: The DOJ in the Monday filing said that Bannon from the moment that he accepted the subpoena "has pursued a bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt."
From Chapter 11 of "Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress's Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump," out tomorrow from Rachael Bade of Politico and Karoun Demirjian of The Washington Post:
"Privately, Trump and his top White House aides were extremely concerned about losing GOP lawmakers' support once they learned the full extent of what Trump had done in Ukraine."
In the race to be Georgia's next attorney general, two candidates have very different views on how to do the job. And that contrast has crystallized around the issue of abortion.
Why it matters: While it doesn't get the same attention as other races, the attorney general is the state’s top prosecutor with the power to file lawsuits on behalf of the state and to defend its laws.
Ro Khanna, the Democrat who represents a big chunk of Silicon Valley in Congress, is still optimistic that his party will hold onto the House and that Congress will pass meaningful regulations of Big Tech . But if Republicans win the House, he warns, they'll devote less time to those issues and more to investigating Hunter Biden.
What they're saying: "These debates are going to be about the Republicans interested in perpetuating a cultural war, where they are going to be targeting the most vulnerable in our societies, people who they think are don't fit the mold of how they define a true American, and it is going to be an ugly, ugly two years," Khanna told Axios' Ina Fried in an interview at last week's Lesbians Who Tech Summit.
A new, well-funded super PAC is supporting the political priorities and policy agenda of Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, an ambitious GOP House member expected to compete for the House majority whip role if his party wins power, people involved in the effort tell Axios.
Why it matters: A Banks-blessed super PAC — which plans to help his colleagues in this final stretch before the midterms — could aid his leadership ambitions.
The killer app for hurricane prediction? It could be lightweight drones that explore some of the fiercest parts of a hurricane and send back real-time data — or new satellite tech that gives forecasters a better look at storms from above.
Why it matters: Seesawing forecasts and delayed evacuations for Hurricane Ian may have contributed to deaths in Florida — and have spurred soul-searching about how to do better.
China's former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli has made his first public appearance since Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai accused him of sexually assaulting her, attending the Communist Party Congress in Beijing Sunday.
Thought bubble, via Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: All public events at the 20th Party congress are highly choreographed. Zhang's appearance almost certainly received approval from top Communist Party figures, suggesting that his position within the party remains secure despite the allegation.
WNBA star Brittney Griner's release from prison in Russia is not a priority for the Kremlin, an aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Sunday.
The big picture: President Biden and U.S. officials have pushed for the release of Griner, whom a Russian court convicted on drug charges in August. U.S. officials maintain she's been wrongfully detained.
