Axios

Former President Trump will travel this week to Nashville, the epicenter of a growing youth-led backlash over the Tennessee House's expulsion of two Black Democratic state lawmakers for joining protests against gun violence.

The big picture: Trump's appearance at the Republican National Committee's donor retreat Friday comes as thousands of young people are joining nationwide protests calling for gun reform and condemning inaction by GOP state lawmakers.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to send state Rep. Justin Pearson back to Nashville.

Driving the news: Republicans expelled Pearson (D-Memphis) and state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) from the Tennessee House last week for violating decorum rules by leading protest chants for gun control from the chamber podium in the wake of The Covenant School shooting.

Minneapolis is poised to allow mosques to broadcast Muslim prayer calls five times a day.

Why it matters: This change would make Minneapolis the first major U.S. city to explicitly allow the full set of broadcasts all year, according to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN).

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) joined a chorus of outside progressive voices in calling for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign amid concerns that her medical absence is keeping Senate Democrats from confirming more judges.

Why it matters: The 89-year-old Feinstein has missed 58 Senate votes since she was diagnosed with shingles in February. Her absence has been most acutely felt on the divided Senate Judiciary Committee, where Democrats are unable to advance judicial nominees who do not have Republican support.

Republicans are blasting decades-old comments from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as "racist" and "indefensible."

Why it matters: Jeffries, the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress, is attempting to squash the first crisis about his past politics since taking leadership.

Anti-abortion groups are deploying a 19th century law named for an "anti-vice crusader" in the ongoing court battles over access to a drug widely used in medication abortion.

The big picture: In the post-Roe era, conservatives have seized on the long-dormant Comstock Act against medication abortion — with a high-profile case involving it potentially headed to the Supreme Court.

Former President Trump filed a lawsuit against his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen just one week after his historic arraignment on charges related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Driving the news: Legal experts say the filing is likely a move to distract from the ex-president's arraignment and cast doubt on Cohen's credibility as a witness in the Manhattan criminal trial.

The Arizona House expelled freshman GOP Rep. Liz Harris on Wednesday for inviting a speaker to a joint elections committee hearing who spread baseless accusations of drug cartel bribery and election rigging by elected officials, judges and others.

Driving the news: The House expelled Harris by a 46-13 vote.

Two Tennessee House Democrats have been returned to their seats on an interim basis in respective local government meetings shortly after their expulsions.

Why it matters: The expulsions of Reps. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) over a gun reform protest have attracted national attention — from the White House to civil rights groups — as the country continues to grapple with an unending stream of mass shootings.

Tennessee House Republicans' decision to expel two Democratic lawmakers silenced thousands of voters' voices, state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) wrote in a New York Times op-ed Wednesday.

Why it matters: The expulsions of Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) over a gun reform protest last week has prompted a national outcry, sparking debate about Democratic norms, racism, and gun violence.

A group of congressional leaders has been granted access to classified documents found at the residences of former President Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Why it matters: Lawmakers with oversight over the intelligence community have spent months fighting for access to the documents, railing against the administration's briefings on the matter as insufficient.

House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) subpoenaed Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan on Wednesday over that agency's probe of Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to copies of the subpoena obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: House Republicans have made the FTC's investigation into Musk's purchase of Twitter one of many targets in their war against what they view as the weaponization of the U.S. government against conservatives.

Black lawmakers — flanked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — are calling on help from the Justice Department to prevent other GOP-led legislatures from copying Tennessee.

Why it matters: Democrats are claiming the expulsions of Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are the latest example of GOP opposition to democracy.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) on Wednesday announced she’s running for reelection in 2024.

Why it matters: The two-term senator's decision means Senate Democrats will maintain the advantages of incumbency in one of the many swing states where they are playing defense this cycle.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced Wednesday that he is launching an exploratory committee to run for president, becoming the latest Republican to enter the 2024 contest.

Why it matters: Scott's potential presidential bid sets up a match-up with fellow South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley — who recently launched a bid — as the two candidates will each look to carve out their own niches within the party's traditional wing.

Overall consumer price gains cooled last month, though underlying measures continued to show sticky inflation pressure, according to government data released on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The consumer price index rose 0.1% in March, a much slower pace than the 0.4% gain in the prior month. But the inflation gauge that strips out volatile food and energy costs continued to rise at a quick pace.

State and local governments across the country are trying to alleviate their housing crises by allowing denser development in areas dominated by single-family homes.

Why it matters: The nation's affordable housing crisis has significantly worsened over the last few years, but allowing builders to build more housing has sparked a backlash among some homeowners.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has gone public with details of death threats and what he calls "violent and racist vitriol" from Trump allies in the week since the former president was indicted.

Why it matters: A new lawsuit is part of the prosecutor's ferocious resistance to GOP efforts to call him to testify. Bragg's court battle with Trump now has a parallel court battle between Bragg and Trump backers.

The top four Republicans in the House raked in over $50 million in the first three months of the 118th Congress, despite the delay from the fiery speakership battle in January.

By the numbers: Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) previously reported a record $35 million late last month, but according to a source familiar with the haul, the final number came in at $38 million.

Former President Trump made clear Tuesday evening he won't drop out of the 2024 presidential race if convicted of charges related to a 2016 illegal hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Driving the news: Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Trump if there's anything legal that could make the 2024 Republican presidential candidate drop out of the race. "No, I'd never drop out," Trump said.

U.S. officials released a set of proposals Tuesday for distributing cuts from the Colorado River — including one that would break from precedent by evenly assigning reductions among lower basin states, forcing users in California to shoulder more of the load.

Driving the news: The proposals would amend 2007 guidelines that govern cuts in the event of a shortage as climate change and other factors threaten the river that provides drinking water to 40 million people in seven states and 30 tribal nations.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wants state lawmakers to develop a "new, stronger order of protection law" that would keep firearms away from people who are deemed a danger to themselves or to others.

• He also signed an executive order Tuesday seeking to bolster background checks.