National

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

It's "sick" that the U.S. still allows the purchase of semi-automatic firearms, President Joe Biden said Thursday, while renewing his push to ban assault weapons.

The big picture: His comments come on the heels of the most recent spate of gun violence in America, which included shootings that killed six at a Virginia Walmart, five in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado, and three at the University of Virginia.

What he's saying: "The idea that we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick," Biden told reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he and his family are spending Thanksgiving.  

"It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers."

With the Senate filibuster firmly in place and an incoming Republican-controlled House, the chance of a ban actually clearing Congress remains slim.

Nevertheless, Biden said: "I’m going to try. I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons."

Don't forget: The House passed a ban on assault weapons, 217-213, in July but it was largely seen as a symbolic step with the measure all but certain to fail in the Senate.

Worth noting: Biden and first lady Jill Biden called the owners of Colorado's Club Q, Nic Grzecka and Matthew Haynes, to offer condolences on Thursday. "They reiterated their support for the community as well as their commitment to fighting back against hate and gun violence," the White House said in a statement.

Biden calls sale of assault weapons "sick" and renews push for ban

"The idea that we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick," the president said.

Photo of Joe BIden speaking while gesturing with both hands

President Biden speaks on Nov. 18. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Joe Biden

President Biden said Thursday that negotiations between the U.S. and its allies over imposing a price cap on Russian oil are ongoing and confirmed that he had spoken to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the issue.

What they're saying: "It's in play," Biden told reporters while visiting a fire station in Nantucket, Massachusetts, per a White House pool report.

“This is no time to walk away from Ukraine, not at all," Biden said.

The big picture: The U.S. and its allies for months have been debating a potential price cap on Russian oil. The cap is intended to limit Russia's ability to profit from its oil exports and curb its ability to fund its war against Ukraine, while also limiting the invasion's effect on global energy prices.

Russia is the world's second-largest crude oil exporter, and Europe, unlike the U.S., is hugely reliant on Russian oil, gas and coal, Axios' Ben Geman writes.

Officials from the European Union's 27 member states will continue negotiations Thursday over what limit to set for how much buyers outside the EU can pay for Russian oil, the New York Times reported.

State of play: The policy needs to be in place before the EU's planned embargo on Russian oil enters into effect on Dec. 5, per the Times.

But member states have been deeply divided for months over what the price cap should be.

The G7 countries — including the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan — as well as the EU and Australia, will implement the price cap starting Dec. 5, per Reuters.

The price cap will require unanimous consent among the EU's 27 members, and the U.S. has allowed the bloc to take the lead in determining a price that can win the bloc's approval, according to the New York Times.

The other side: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that efforts by the West to impose a price cap on Russian oil are "contrary to the principles of market relations and are highly likely to lead to grave consequences for global energy markets," the Kremlin said in a readout of Putin's call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Agence France-Presse reported.

Biden on Russian oil price cap negotiations: "It's in play"

Joe Biden visits with firefighters at a Nantucket, Massachusetts, fire station to thank first responders during the Thanksgiving Day holiday, on Nov. 24. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia

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

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

E. Jean Carroll, a writer who has alleged former President Trump raped her in the mid-1990s, filed an upgraded lawsuit against him on Thursday, AP reports.

Why it matters: The new lawsuit was filed minutes after the Adult Survivors Act, a law that allows adult survivors of sexual violence to sue over attacks that occurred decades ago, went into effect.

Carroll has been in the middle of a high-profile defamation suit against Trump, for which the former president sat for a deposition in October and a trial is set to begin next year.

Until now, however, she had been unable to pursue legal action for the actual alleged assault due to the state's statute of limitations.

The new law changes that, giving adult survivors of sexual misconduct a one-year window to sue their abusers regardless of when the incident occurred.

The big picture: In the new lawsuit, Carroll is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for psychological harms, dignity loss, pain and suffering, and reputation damage, AP reports.

It's possible the presiding judge in the defamation case will decide to include the new claims in the trial beginning next year, per AP.

At least hundreds of lawsuits are expected to be lodged by sexual assault victims under the new Adult Survivors Act.

What they're saying: "As we have been saying since last summer when the Adult Survivors Act was passed, E. Jean Carroll intends to hold Donald Trump accountable not only for defaming her, but also for sexually assaulting her, which he did years ago in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman," Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told Axios in a statement.

"Thanksgiving Day was the very first day Ms. Carroll could file under New York law so our complaint was filed with the court shortly after midnight," Kaplan added.

In a statement last week, Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said the expected new filing was "completely inappropriate and we will take up this issue with the court," the New York Times reported.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Carroll's attorney.

E. Jean Carroll files new lawsuit against Trump

It was filed minutes after a new state law took effect allowing victims of sexual violence to sue over attacks that occurred decades ago.

E. Jean Carroll is seen outside state Supreme Court in March 2020 in New York. Photo: Alec Tabak for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Donald Trump

We live in a world where bombastic CEOs, loudmouth politicians and Twitter tantrums often command our attention online.

Why it matters: Let’s give thanks that most people in our real lives are ... normal. They work, they give, they help, they live quietly and generously.

First, think of the 100+ people you spend enough time with each year to appraise their character and values. I bet almost all are good, sane, worthy friends.

Now, think about your coming Thanksgiving meal. Maybe one loud uncle who slams one too many whiskeys will dominate the conversation. That’s social media! And it’s not reality.

🔭 Zoom way out: The chief reason so many people seem nuts or unhinged is because Twitter, cable TV and TikTok amplify the drunk uncle. 

And because the uncle gets liked, followed, and invited back, he has an irresistible incentive to get nuttier. 

This loop creates the false impression that more people than we think are bat-shit crazy. 

Hence, the thought experiment above re: people you actually know.

Two stats to savor when you think the world has lost its mind: 

On an average weeknight in January, just 1% of U.S. adults watched primetime Fox News and 0.5% tuned into MSNBC.

The bottom line: Everyone else is too busy being ... normal.

In an online world, we're thankful for real people

Let’s give thanks that most people in our real lives are normal.

Thanksgiving

Axios AM

Look for a voluminous final report from the House Jan. 6 committee in mid-December — I'm told to expect around 1,000 pages. 

Why it matters: The committee has exceeded expectations, hearing by hearing — turning up constant new information about one of American history's most consequential, but also most documented, events. 

Committee members will hold a presentation event, as they synthesize their findings for history, ahead of the Republican takeover of the House majority in early January.

🔎 The intrigue: Fifteen former and current Jan. 6 committee staffers tell The Washington Post they're angered and disillusioned by Vice Chair Liz Cheney's "push to focus the report primarily on former president Donald Trump." 

These sources "have bristled at the committee morphing into what they have come to view as the vehicle for the outgoing Wyoming lawmaker’s political future," The Post reports on today's A1, "Jan. 6 panel report is the subject of dispute." 

The sources also have "expressed concerns that important findings unrelated to Trump will not become available to the American public."

🔥 Jeremy Adler, spokesman for Congresswoman Cheney, said in a statement to The Post and Axios: "Donald Trump is the first president in American history to attempt to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. So, damn right Liz is 'prioritizing' understanding what he did and how he did it and ensuring it never happens again.

"Some staff have submitted sub-par material for the report that reflects long-held liberal biases about federal law enforcement, Republicans, and sociological issues outside the scope of the Select Committee's work.

"She won't sign onto any 'narrative' that suggests Republicans are inherently racist — or smears men and women in law enforcement, or suggests every American who believes God has blessed America is a white supremacist. 

"Rep. Cheney has been clear the committee report will cover every aspect of the attack of Jan. 6, including the security response, and the role of domestic violent extremist groups, but they will not blame federal law enforcement officers for Donald Trump's attack on our democracy."

🥊 Reality check: The hearings focused on Trump. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the report will, too. 

Dems spooked by Cheney's focus on Trump for Jan. 6 report

The hearings focused on Trump. It shouldn't surprise anyone that the report will, too.

This is Liz Cheney speaking at a microphone.

Liz Cheney at a Michigan campaign event in early November. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Liz Cheney

Opinions on Thanksgiving and politics in the U.S

Data: Axios and Ipsos Research; Chart: Tory Lysik/Axios Visuals

The overwhelming majority of Americans say they don't want to talk politics at the Thanksgiving table, according to the Axios-Ipsos Two Americas Index.

Yes, but: 41% of Democrats and 29% of Republicans said they'll probably do it anyway.

What they're saying: "Arguing about politics may be Americans' least favorite Thanksgiving activity, but it may actually serve an important function in our body politic," said Cliff Young, Ipsos' president of U.S. Public Affairs. 

"People who engage in these kinds of discussions across the aisle are more likely to accept the legitimacy of elections."

Details: Our first post-midterms survey on American polarity found mixed feelings about the midterm elections. But the survey found broad consensus that losing candidates must concede; seven in 10 respondents said that's the only way the country can move forward.

61% overall — and 53% of those who identified as Republicans — say the GOP must move on from Donald Trump.

But only 55% say Americans must reject claims that the 2020 presidential election results weren't valid.

The intrigue: Respondents who said they have shared meals in the past year with people of different partisanship, race or ethnicity were more likely to say that Americans must reject election deniers' claims and move beyond Trump; that losers must formally concede — and that they'll probably discuss politics at Thanksgiving.

Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Poll was conducted Nov. 18-21 by Ipsos on their online survey panels in English. This poll is based on a sample of 1,005 general population adults age 18 or older, weighted on age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and location to be nationally representative.

The credibility interval is ±3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.

Two Americas Index: No politics at Thanksgiving, please

2022 elections

Brazil's electoral court fined parties in outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro's government Wednesday after they challenged his presidential election loss to leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last month.

Details: Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who heads the electoral court, rejected the challenge and issued a fine totaling 22.9 million reais ($4.27 million) for "bad faith litigation" and ruled government funds for the Liberal Party coalition must be suspended until the penalty is paid, per Reuters.

The big picture: Lula won the Oct. 30 runoff by a slim margin in a stunning political comeback for the former president, who was sidelined during the previous presidential election because of corruption convictions. 

What he's saying: "The complete bad faith of the plaintiff’s bizarre and illicit request ... was proven, both by the refusal to add to the initial petition and the total absence of any evidence of irregularities and the existence of a totally fraudulent narrative of the facts," wrote de Moraes in his ruling, according to AP.

Bolsonaro's defeat is a climate turning point

Lula looks to restore Brazil's tarnished global stature

Brazil court fines Bolsonaro allies over $4M for "bad faith" election challenge

Judge slammed parties for "totally fraudulent narrative of the facts."

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appears to make a statement for the first time since Sunday's presidential run-off election, at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, on November 1.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia on Nov. 1. Photo: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images

Jair Bolsonaro

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

This article originally appeared in Axios Finish Line, our nightly newsletter on life, leadership and wellness. Sign up here.

Hundreds of Axios readers sent us reflections on gratitude this Thanksgiving. We're inspired by the humility, resilience and love in their stories.

Why it matters: We feel grateful for all sorts of blessings in life, but most of us rarely take the time to think about those things — let alone write them down.

Here is a selection of reader reflections:

"[A]s I sit here typing this story, my sister willingly toils in the kitchen making pies, special dishes and prepping a turkey. I cannot cook at all! She does not judge or resent me but takes satisfaction in how much I appreciate her efforts in preparing Hungarian foods that recreate our mother's home cooking." —Barbara R., Washington, D.C.

"I am grateful for the smell of salt air, the sound of seagulls, the crisp breeze, the evergreen trees and the mountains." —Denna M., Port Angeles, Washington

"My dad just died last week. I'm grateful that so many people have reached out to my mom, brother, and me and told us how much he touched their lives." —Ross K., Oak Park, California

"I'm grateful for my manager taking the time to check in with me this week following the hate-based attack on LGBTQ people in Colorado Springs ... [T]hese one-on-one conversations go a long way toward ensuring all people feel seen and heard." —Joseph W., Stratham, New Hampshire

"I am grateful to be a mom through adoption. I am 85 years old, and my son and daughter are so good to me." —Marilyn L., Maple Grove, Minnesota

"I'm grateful to be experiencing my first Thanksgiving with my partner, Clay. He's meeting the whole extended fambam for the first time, and it feels so right! Eek!" —Dayna A., Los Angeles, California

"I'm grateful that my parents, who were Holocaust survivors, were able to emigrate to the United States, where I have been given opportunities they could never have dreamed of, including the ability to pay it forward and help others." —Howard W., West Orange, New Jersey

"I am grateful for my colleagues in county government. They strive daily to make life better for all citizens, knowing most folks will never think about them unless something goes wrong." —Steve W., Lancaster, South Carolina

"There is no higher and stronger measure of gratitude than being a heart transplant recipient. I am eternally grateful to my unknown donor every morning I open my eyes." —Frank A., San Marcos, California

"I am grateful for the chance to be a firefighter, where I helped many people, pulling 6 people out of burning buildings. It is so true that giving is so much more rewarding — that the giver gets more than the receiver." —Mikey C., Dayton, Ohio

"I'm grateful for my nightly task of cleaning the kitchen because it means my life is full of satisfying, quiet routine and family ritual. I'm grateful for the example of persevering and positive people caught in tragedy, injustice or unexpected chaos because they show me how to live when quiet routines are not possible." —Tom A., Falls Church, Virginia

"I am grateful for the sound of my two sons talking and laughing as I fall asleep. They've just turned 25 together; how wonderful is that?" —Carrie K., Albany, California

Axios Finish Line: A flood of gratitude from coast to coast

"I am grateful for the smell of salt air."

Illustration of a turkey that changes into a heart icon.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) beat Trump-backed Republican foe Kelly Tshibaka in Alaska's Senate election, the state's Division of Elections announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: Murkowski's victory represents another blow for the former president's handpicked candidates, many of whom lost their midterm races.

State of play: Election officials on Wednesday announced the results of the state's new ranked-choice voting system. 

For races in which no candidate earns 50% of the vote, the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated.

When a candidate is eliminated, their votes are reallocated to voters' second choice, per the state's division of elections. 

The big picture: Murkowski, a moderate Senate Republican, held off an intra-party challenge from Tshibaka, who earned Trump's endorsement, and is the former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Administration.

Trump had vowed to unseat Murkowski, who was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Murkowski earned the support of the Senate GOP's campaign arm and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC run by allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

Go deeper... Republicans narrowly capture House after Democrats held Senate

Murkowski beats Trump-backed opponent in Alaska's Senate race

Her victory represents another blow for the former president's handpicked candidates.

en. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) speaks to supporters at an election night watch party on November 08, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) speaks to supporters at an election night watch party on Nov. 8 in Anchorage. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Alaska

Midterm Elections 2022

Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola quashed a challenge from former Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to win Alaska's at-large House seat, the state's Division of Elections announced Wednesday.

The big picture: Peltola made history earlier this year when she won the state's special election to represent Alaska's lone U.S. House seat, making her the first Alaska Native elected to Congress.

She also became the first Democrat to represent the seat in nearly half a century, Axios' Andrew Solender notes.

Peltola won in August to serve the rest of Republican Rep. Don Young's term after he died earlier this year. That term ends on Jan. 3.

Peltola served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009.

Zoom in: Election officials on Wednesday announced the results of the state's new ranked-choice voting system. 

Democrat Mary Peltola beats Sarah Palin in Alaska's at-large House race

She also becomes the first Democrat to represent the seat in nearly half a century.

 Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks to supporters at a watch party on November 08, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. 

 Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) speaks to supporters at a watch party on Nov. 8 in Anchorage. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Arizona  Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said Wednesday his administration will ensure a smooth transition to Democratic Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs, even as the defeated Republican candidate Kari Lake refuses to concede.

Driving the news: "All of us have waited patiently for the democratic process to play out. The people of Arizona have spoken, their votes have been counted and we respect their decision," Ducey said in a statement after meeting with Hobbs more than a week after her win was clear.

A screenshot of a tweet by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey with Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, congratulating her on her win.

Context: Ducey called to congratulate Hobbs the day after news outlets called the race but had not made a public statement, AP reports.

The outgoing governor was a co-chair of the Republican Governors Association, which spent more than $10 million on ads attacking Hobbs, per AP.

Yes, but: Although Ducey endorsed the entire Republican ticket for the general election, he did not campaign with Lake, according to AP.

What he's saying: "Today I congratulated Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in a hard-fought race and offered my full cooperation as she prepares to assume the leadership of the State of Arizona," Ducey said.

“My administration will work to make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible."

Catch up quick: Hobbs, Arizona’s secretary of state, won the governor's race against the Trump-backed Lake and will become the first Democrat in the position since 2006.

Lake, a former local TV news anchor, was widely viewed as a rising star in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party.

She indicated that she's planning to challenge the results of her loss and previously refused to commit to accepting the election results if they weren't in her favor.

Go deeper: How Kari Lake lost her bid for Arizona governor

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Arizona's GOP governor congratulates Hobbs as Lake refuses to concede

The outgoing GOP governor offered his "full cooperation" to the incoming Democrat.

Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on Nov. 5 in Phoenix. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Arizona

Donald Trump and his allies have ramped up their war against newly appointed special counsel Jack Smith, reviving a playbook they hope will defang the latest unprecedented legal threat bearing down on the former president.

Why it matters: This isn't 2017. The political and legal conditions that allowed Trump to emerge virtually unscathed from Robert Mueller's Russia investigation no longer apply. No amount of mudslinging — or claims he "won't partake" in the investigation — will protect Trump from indictment if Smith determines he has the goods.

"I was described by Steve Bannon ... as a pit bull," former top Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissman tweeted. "Jack Smith makes me look like a golden retriever puppy."

"Jack Smith came after me. If he goes after Donald Trump with the same unrelenting ferocity, Trump will be in trouble," Intercept journalist James Risen wrote in a column detailing Smith's role in a CIA leak prosecution.

Driving the news: Trump's allies on Capitol Hill and in conservative media have already accused Smith — who is still working remotely from Europe, where he was a war-crimes prosecutor at The Hague — of political bias, citing his wife's donations to Democrats.

Garland appointed Smith to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest after Trump declared his 2024 candidacy, but that hasn't stopped some Republicans from accusing the registered independent of being a secret liberal.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are among those who have sought to discredit Smith's appointment, branding it as the latest example of DOJ "politicization" under President Biden.

Catch up quick: Smith, a widely respected veteran federal prosecutor, was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland to take over two of the most explosive investigations involving a former president in modern history.

The first is the Justice Department's sweeping probe into Trump's efforts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power after the 2020 election, including the scheme to certify false slates of electors on Jan. 6, 2021.

The second is examining whether Trump illegally retained classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstructed the government's efforts to get them back.

Between the lines: At least three major factors distinguish the new special counsel from the challenges and constraints of the Mueller investigation:

Protection: Trump is no longer in office, meaning the Justice Department policy that barred Mueller from indicting a sitting president does not apply. The tools Trump wielded to discredit and jam up the investigation — threatening to fire DOJ officials, dangling pardons and using his bully pulpit — are no longer available to him. Nor is his loyalist Attorney General Bill Barr, who cushioned the blow of the final Mueller report by releasing a summary before making it public.

Timing: Both Garland and Smith have stressed that the appointment will not slow the pace of either investigation. Smith is inheriting teams of prosecutors and agents that have already made significant headway, unlike Mueller, who had to "fly and build the plane simultaneously," as Weissman wrote in a recent N.Y. Times column.

Scope: The sprawling Mueller probe involved both criminal and counterintelligence elements, with much of the key information buried in the bowels of a hostile foreign power. By comparison, the House Jan. 6 committee has already unearthed massive amounts of evidence expected to be referred to DOJ, while the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case is viewed by many legal experts as open-and-shut.

The bottom line: The lionization of Mueller by online liberals ended in disappointment and reinforced Trump's Teflon reputation.

Smith, like Mueller, is only human. But the similarities between the two special counsels' situations largely end with the title they share. 

In 2010, after being criticized for closing corruption cases into members of Congress, Smith told the N.Y. Times: "[I]f I were the sort of person who could be cowed — ‘I know we should bring this case, I know the person did it, but we could lose, and that will look bad,’ I would find another line of work."

Trump's new nemesis

Trump and his allies are reviving an old playbook they used to attack Mueller

Illustration of President Trump with words from the Mueller report printed over his face

Thursday's politics & policy stories