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President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

The Georgia state Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily reinstated the state's six-week abortion ban, which had been struck down by a lower court last week.

The big picture: The Georgia attorney general indicated they plan to appeal last week's decision on the ban shortly after it was issued. They simultaneously asked the state Supreme Court to temporarily “stay” the lower court ruling and reinstate the law in the meantime.

What they're saying: "While disappointing and deeply frustrating, we were not surprised when the Kemp administration filed a petition for an emergency stay following last week’s ruling,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, the lead plaintiff in the case.

"The governor and attorney general of Georgia are doubling down to control access to reproductive health care, and while the stay was granted, we will not stop fighting until this ban that is steeped in white supremacy is gone."

The plaintiffs also said that the court denied their request to receive 24-hour notice before reinstating the ban.

Details: Last week's decision from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it was signed into law in 2019, when Roe v. Wade and other U.S. Supreme Court precedents were in place and prohibiting the regulation of abortion before viability.

Catch up fast: The law took effect in July, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It had been blocked since 2019.

The law bans abortion when cardiac activity is detected, which is at approximately six weeks of pregnancy and before many people know they are pregnant.

What we’re watching: Wednesday's order is a temporary measure. The state attorney general is expected to file its appeal brief, and the justices will then review the appeal and the merits of the lower court ruling that struck down the law.

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Georgia Supreme Court reinstates state's 6-week abortion ban

The Georgia Supreme Court reversed a lower court's ruling that struck down the six-week abortion ban.

Picture of an abortion rights protest in Georgia

Abortion

Health

Georgia's highest court on Wednesday denied the state GOP and national Republican groups' attempt to stop in-person early voting on Saturday, Nov. 26 for the state's high-profile Senate runoff. 

Driving the news: In an order Wednesday, all justices agreed to deny Republicans' request to overturn two lower court rulings, which determined counties may in fact hold in-person early voting this Saturday, following a lawsuit from Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Democratic groups.

Catch up quick: Democrats sued after Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office originally said counties could not hold Saturday early voting the weekend after Thanksgiving, citing a preexisting law that prohibits early voting the days after a holiday.

The court of appeals denied the state's first appeal of the original lower court ruling Monday. But then on Tuesday, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Georgia Republican Party took their case to the state Supreme Court.

Zoom in: In their appeal, the Republican groups argued that counties, "all of them Democrat-leaning," plan to conduct early voting on Nov. 26, "eviscerating the statutorily-required uniformity among Georgia’s counties on that day."

They argued that it creates "an unequal system, where some counties will vote on Nov. 26 and others will not."

Yes, but: As the Democrats pointed out in their response, some Republican counties also announced plans to hold Saturday early voting. 

Plus, counties are by law granted leeway to decide whether or not to hold additional early voting, beyond the required Mon.-Fri. Nov. 28-Dec. 2. 

What we're watching: Some Georgia counties have already begun early voting Tuesday and Wednesday. Nearly two dozen, including some of the state's largest, plan to hold in-person early voting on Saturday. 

Go deeper: A guide to voting in Georgia's runoff. 

Georgia court rejects GOP appeal, Saturday early voting goes forward

In an order Wednesday, all justices agreed to deny Republicans' request to overturn two lower court rulings.

A Georgia voter on Nov. 8, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Georgia

Vice President Kamala Harris' chief legal adviser, Josh Hsu, is departing the White House at the end of the year, two people familiar with the matter told Axios.

Why it matters: Hsu's departure comes as the administration gears up to respond to House GOP investigations and President Biden contemplates a re-election decision with implications for Harris' political future.

He spent more than five years working with Harris across the Senate, the 2020 presidential campaign and the White House.

What we're watching: Hsu, who is leaving for private practice, helped with the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and advises on judicial nominations and policy issues, including reproductive rights and voting rights.

He is the first Asian American to serve as counsel to the vice president.

Before joining the Biden administration, he served as national policy director for Harris' presidential campaign and was her deputy chief of staff in the Senate.

He advised her through the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh and the questioning of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and then-FBI Director James Comey on the Russia investigation.

Hsu was previously chief counsel for nominations for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What they're saying: "Josh is an incredible legal mind and this entire White House has greatly benefited from his talent," White House chief of staff Ron Klain told Axios.

"I've been through many judicial confirmations, and Josh's perspective on the White House’s Supreme Court confirmation team ensuring the historic confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, was very impressive," he said.

 "Josh was a great partner who always provided excellent counsel and sound judgment to help further advance our Administration priorities — from judicial nominations to actions on reproductive rights and protecting democracy," former White House counsel Dana Remus told Axios.

Scoop: VP Harris' top legal counsel leaving White House

Josh Hsu spent over five years working with Harris across the Senate, the 2020 campaign and the White House.

Josh Hsu talks to Vice President Kamala Harris while walking. 

Counsel Josh Hsu (left) with Vice President Kamala Harris and other aides. Photo: Lawrence Jackson via the  White House

Kamala Harris

Tel Aviv

Axios from Tel Aviv

An Israeli teen was killed and at least 15 others, including two U.S. citizens, were wounded in two explosions in Jerusalem on Wednesday in what Israeli officials are calling a terrorist attack.

The big picture: These are the first bomb attacks against Israeli citizens in years.  

The explosions in Jerusalem come as the security situation in the occupied West Bank continues to deteriorate.  

The escalation in violence has also taken place against the backdrop of the political crisis in Israel, increased Israeli raids in the West Bank and the weakening of the Palestinian Authority. 

A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed overnight in Nablus amid a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli soldiers who were escorting Orthodox Jewish worshippers to a shrine in the Palestinian city. 

Driving the news: Israeli police officials said in a briefing with reporters that the two explosive devices were similar. Both were built in a professional way and were detonated remotely using a mobile phone, the officials added.

Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agencies believe the two explosions were part of the same terror plot and were orchestrated by an organized group that prepared for a long time, Israeli officials said. No organization has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Israeli police had information about threats of bombing attacks in Jerusalem in recent weeks but the threats weren't specific, the officials said.

State of play: There has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli military raids into West Bank cities and a growing number of stabbing and shooting attacks by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

The Biden administration has expressed concerns that the Palestinian Authority could collapse and that the situation in the West Bank could turn into a third intifada.

In the West Bank city of Jenin, the body of an Israeli Druze man was kidnapped from the hospital by a group of gunmen affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, Israeli officials say. A family member of an Israeli who was at the hospital when the kidnapping took place claimed the gunman took the body while the man was still connected to life support.

The Palestinian gunmen demanded that Israel return the bodies of Palestinians who were killed during attacks and those Israel is holding.

Overnight, the Palestinian Authority's security forces tried to retrieve the body from the gunmen but failed in doing so, Palestinian and Israeli sources say.

UN officials said they are still negotiating with the Palestinian Authority to retrieve the body.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout. 

Explosions in Jerusalem kill 1 and injure at least 15

Israel officials called it a terrorist attack.

Israeli security forces gather at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Israeli security forces gather at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Photo: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

Jerusalem

Israel

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

"Thankstaking," the Native American-influenced alternative to Thanksgiving, has become more noticeable in the U.S. amid a racial reckoning.  

Why it matters: Indigenous tribes in recent years have been asserting their sovereignty around water rights, criminal justice and political representation. Thanksgiving, where Indigenous people are the center of a national myth, is also a target.

Details: Indigenous activists, scholars and artists are using the hashtag #thankstaking in November to bring attention to land theft, removal and the exclusion of Native American history in schools. 

It's a play off the word centering giving thanks to one acknowledging theft — of land, culture and history.

Zoom in: Native Americans say the Thanksgiving myth glosses over the decades of horrific violence imposed on Indigenous tribes after a three-day feast between Pilgrims and the Wampanoags.

Some use Thankstaking, sometimes referred to as Truthgiving, as a call to donate to Indigenous nonprofits.

Others use it to spread humorous memes and informative videos about Indigenous history. 

Background: The modern Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. commemorates the 1621 three-day feast between Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, though historians debate what happened and what was eaten on those days. 

President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day celebration at the height of the Civil War to "heal the wounds of the nation." Indigenous scholars point out that Lincoln at the same time was engaged in a violent campaign to remove Native Americans.

Schools introduced the Thanksgiving story to children without discussing the violence that followed, and often encouraged students to make cut-out, paper Indigenous headdresses — which some find offensive.

What they're saying: "Thanksgiving is nothing but government propaganda," Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of the Indigenous advocacy group IllumiNative, told Axios.

Echo Hawk, an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation, said Indigenous people are tired of the romantic version of Thanksgiving and old stereotypes of Native Americans.

"Real talk: The pilgrims would have died if we didn't help out. Thankstaking is an opportunity to underline...that after the first Thanksgiving, we just didn't disappear like some forest ghosts," TV writer Joey Clift, a member of the Cowlitz Tribe, told Axios. 

Between the lines: Thankstaking has its roots in the National Day of Mourning, which was launched in 1970. 

National Day of Mourning became an annual event and coincided with Un-Thanksgiving Day — a similar ceremony held on Alcatraz Island in California.

Un-Thanksgiving Day commemorates the 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz by Indigenous activists who wanted to bring attention to genocide.  

What's next: IllumiNative has launched Good Relatives, an online campaign exploring "the diversity, beauty, and resiliency of Native peoples in the 21st century." The kickoff film is titled, "Setting the Table."

Clift has released a humorous digital short, "Six things you didn't learn about Native American people in high school," to counter stereotypes. Among the most common: Indigenous people have magical powers.

"If a grown adult. who went to college and lives in a major metropolitan area, asks another fellow adult, if they can turn into a wolf when the full moon comes around... there's nothing that you could do except laugh."

The rise of Thankstaking

Thankstaking, the Native American-influenced alternative to Thanksgiving, is growing.

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe, Katie McTiernan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Native Americans

InfoWars founder Alex Jones must pay the full $49 million a jury awarded the parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim, a Texas judge ruled on Tuesday evening, according to multiple reports.

Why it matters: The amount is much higher than the cap set by Texas law that limits punitive damages to $750,000 per plaintiff — the constitutionality of which U.S. District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble questioned in this case,  per the New York Times.

What they're saying: This was "a rare case" due to the emotional impact Jones' claims had on Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son was among 20 students and six staff killed in the 2012 elementary school shooting, said the judge in Travis County, where InfoWars is based, per the NYT.

By the numbers: The jury in Texas awarded them $45.2 million in punitive damages last August for Jones falsely calling the mass shooting  in Newtown, Connecticut, a hoax.

They also ordered the conspiracy theorist pay more than $4 million in damages to Heslin and Lewis, parents of the murdered 6-year-old Jesse Lewis.

What we're watching: Jones could appeal the ruling.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates. 

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Texas judge backs jury's $49M award against Alex Jones

The amount is much higher than the cap set by Texas law that limits punitive damages.

InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, in September. 

InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, in September. Photo: Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

Alex Jones (radio host)

Former President Trump reported hundreds of millions in losses on his tax returns for a decade, according to his longtime accountant who testified Tuesday, AP reports.  

The big picture: The Trump Organization has been accused in a criminal tax fraud trial of helping executives avoid income taxes on compensation they got in addition to their salaries. 

Prosecutors said longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg avoided paying taxes on rent and private school tuition.

 The company could be fined more than $1 million if convicted, AP writes. 

By the numbers: The former president claimed nearly $700 million in 2009 and $200 million in 2010, said Donald Bender, the accountant at Mazars USA LLP who prepared Trump's personal tax returns for years. 

The New York Times previously reported on Trump's earnings and taxes, debunking his claims of self-made wealth and revealing allegations of a business empire riddled with tax dodges.

What he's saying: Trump last week blamed Bender and Mazars for the legal woes, saying in an online post: "The highly paid accounting firm should have routinely picked these things up - we relied on them. VERY UNFAIR!"

Of note: The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Trump's emergency application asking it to block a Democratic-led House committee from obtaining his tax returns.

It allows Trump's tax returns to be released to the House Ways and Means Committee, which has been attempting for years to obtain them from the Internal Revenue Service as part of its investigation into the service’s presidential audit program.

Trump accountant says former president claimed decade of huge tax losses

Trump allegedly claimed nearly $700 million in losses in 2009 and $200 million in 2010, accountant testifies.

Former President Trump. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Donald Trump

The public defenders for the suspect in the mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub said in a Tuesday night court filing obtained by a New York Times reporter that their client is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

The big picture: The suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is facing multiple murder and hate crime charges over the shooting at Club Q last weekend that killed five people, per Max D'Onofrio, a city spokesperson.

Aldrich was injured during the shooting but released from a local hospital and "booked into the El Paso County Jail," earlier on Tuesday, per the Denver Post.

What we're watching: Aldrich was due to make their first court appearance via video link from jail Wednesday, according to the Denver Post.

What we know about the 5 Club Q shooting victims 

Veteran hailed a hero in Colorado shooting says he did what he was trained to do

Club Q a "haven" for Colorado Springs LGBTQ community

Colorado Springs vigil honors LGBTQ club shooting victims

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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Colorado club shooting suspect is nonbinary, attorneys say

The suspect faces multiple murder and hate crime charges over the shooting at Club Q.

People visit a makeshift memorial near the Club Q nightclub on November 22, 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

People visit a makeshift memorial for the Club Q mass shooting victims near the nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Tuesday. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Mass shootings

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) is considering a run for U.S. Senate after failing to secure a House Republican leadership position, Axios has learned.

Driving the news: Banks' spokesperson Buckley Carlson told Axios in a statement. "He will strongly consider it if Sen. [Mike] Braun runs for governor in 2024."

Banks' interest in the seat was first reported by IndyPolitics, an Indiana political news website, which also reported that Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) is looking at a run.

Braun (R-Ind.) has been telling associates he plans to run for governor but has yet to make an official announcement, Politico reported in September.

The backdrop: Banks, the outgoing chair of the powerful Republican Study Committee, narrowly lost the race for House GOP whip last week.

After finishing first among three candidates on the first ballot, Banks fell short by 9 votes in a head-to-head with National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

The three-term Afghanistan veteran has emerged as a conservative rising star. His appointment by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy last year to serve on the Jan. 6 select committee was blocked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Rep. Jim Banks eyes Senate bid

His office said he will "strongly consider" a bid if the seat opens up.

Jim Banks arrives for the House Republicans leadership elections in the Capitol Visitor Center on Tuesday, November 15.

Rep. Jim Banks at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

House Republicans

Districts House Majority PAC is targeting in 2024

Data: Dave's Redistricting Atlas, Daily Kos, New York Times; Table: Simran Parwani/Axios

House Democrats are already sizing up the 2024 election map, circling Republicans in districts that mostly voted for President Biden as their top early targets.

Why it matters: The early primer of the 2024 battleground could influence how certain House Republicans vote and comport themselves, as well as where presidential candidates spend their time and parties focus their resources.

Driving the news: A memo from House Majority PAC, House Democrats' main super PAC, lists 19 districts that it says are "the path to retaking the Majority." 

The list includes every district that voted for President Biden in 2020 but had been called for Republicans as of Sunday, plus three seats that narrowly went for Trump in 2020.

Among the targets are some Biden-district GOP incumbents who secured easy victories this year, including Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who won by nearly 10 points, and Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), who won by almost 14 points.

The list is likely to be expanded — the memo calls the targets "initial, but not comprehensive" — but it shows where Democrats see their best opportunities.

Between the lines: The list signals that a key part of House Democrats' strategy in 2024 will be to harness the Democratic presidential ticket's coattails — a luxury the party didn't have in the 2022 midterms.

Flashback: Even before Election Day, Democratic strategists working on House races pointed to Democrats' underwhelming gubernatorial campaigns in states like New York, California and Oregon as a key cause of House candidates' underperformance in those states.

Those governors won't be on the ballot in 2024 — but Biden may be.

What we're watching: Whether Democrats make another run at taking down far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who is on track to win her Trump +5 district by just a few hundred votes over Democrat Adam Frisch.

The memo notes the proliferation of Trump-aligned GOP candidates in swing districts forced Republicans' super PAC "to spend millions in an effort to save their preferred candidates from the MAGA wing of the party."

Another dynamic to watch is whether Democrats make any investments in Florida, another state where Republicans did unusually well this year — but one Democrats see as slipping out of reach, especially in presidential contests.

House Democrats eye lost ground in 2024

A list of initial targets includes some GOP incumbents who won easily in 2022.

House Democrats

House Republicans will soon inherit a legacy of subpoena defiance and delay that many of them cheered on while Democrats pursued sprawling investigations into the Trump administration.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered the final blow to former President Trump's efforts to block a House committee from obtaining key tax and financial records. Legal stonewalling that began in early 2019 will finally come to an end — but with just 41 days left of the House Democratic majority.

Trump and his allies' combative relationship with congressional oversight only hardened through two impeachments and the formation of the House Jan. 6 committee, which has faced resistance even with Trump no longer in office.

An increased appetite to litigate subpoenas — if shared by the Biden administration and GOP targets in the private sector — will further test the legislative branch's standing as a co-equal branch of government. 

The big picture: House Republicans are leaning hard into plans for oversight and investigations starting, even more so than their legislative agenda.

At a press conference at the southern border Tuesday, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign or potentially face an impeachment inquiry.

Other GOP targets for investigations and subpoenas include Hunter Biden, Big Tech companies and financial giants pushing environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

What we're watching: Law firms are broadly advising prospective clients on what to expect and how to prepare. Several lawyers tell Axios they anticipate both government and private sector clients will push back on requests from Congress more than in years past.

"Over the past two years, we've seen more federal litigation around congressional subpoenas than I've seen at any point in my career, " Alyssa DaCunha, co-chair of WilmerHale's congressional investigations practice, told Axios.

"There has been an increasing appetite to litigate these matters over the last number of years, and on the right issues, I don’t see that trend abating," said Rafi Prober, co-head of Akin Gump's congressional investigations practice.

The focus on popular issues like ESG is "going to position corporations involved in a congressional investigation between Congress and their shareholders," Jim Flood, chair of the government relations group at Crowell & Moring, told Axios.

That's likely to "increase the probability that they will want to litigate congressional subpoenas and push back on congressional committees," Flood predicted.

"At the end of the day, a committee can’t launch an investigation untethered to a legislative purpose," said Karen Christian, another co-head of Akin Gump's congressional investigations practice. "[W]hen the committee continues to push for information that doesn’t have that link, there may be more of a stomach to push back." 

GOP's subpoena test

Many Trump allies cheered on subpoena defiance during Democratic investigations.

Wednesday's politics & policy stories