Texas state senators acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of all impeachment charges Saturday, allowing him to return to his post.
Why it matters: Despite an overwhelming majority of House Republicans voting to impeach Paxton earlier this year, Senate Republicans rallied around one of their own.
Republicans "itching" to impeachPresident Biden are "relying on an imagined history," Rep. Ken Buck wrote in an op-ed criticizing his own party and the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, of which he is a member.
Driving the news: "Trump's impeachment in 2019 was a disgrace to the Constitution and a disservice to Americans. The GOP's reprise in 2023 is no better," the Colorado Republican wrote in the op-ed published Friday in The Washington Post.
Former President Trump, 77, said he isn't concerned that he'd be in his 80s if re-elected during an interview for Kristen Welker's debut on as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press."
Driving the news: "No, because my father lived much longer than that [age 93]. My mother lived much longer than that [age 88]. So genetically, that's a good thing," Trump said in an interview taped Thursday in Bedminster, N.J. — his first broadcast-network interview since leaving office.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) joined United Auto Workers members on the picket line Saturday after the union launched an unprecedented strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
Driving the news: "Hold that line, @UAW ! On my way to join you now," the Democrat wrote on social media Saturday as union leaders and the Big Three automakers were set to resume contract negotiations.
The extraordinary collision course between former President Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and his legal morass will be on stark display the next two weeks.
Why it matters: His two-week schedule features nearly half a dozen court hearings and 2024 campaign-related events, previewing what's to come over the next 15 months as he navigates his re-election bid amid mounting legal fights.
Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a "narrowly tailored" gag order on Friday for former President Trump to limit his public statements in regard to the 2020 election interference case.
The big picture: Smith's office said in a filing that Trump has tried "to undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and prejudice the jury pool" through "disparaging and inflammatory attacks" on those involved in the case.
Capitol physician Dr. Brian Monahan's positive updates on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's health have drawn scrutiny and contradicted other doctors' reported impressions of the top Republican's condition.
Why it matters: Monahan's role as a medical doctor for Congress has gained more attention as McConnell has remained committed to staying in office following multiple health episodes this year.
The Biden administration at the moment does not plan to announce its decision on whether to ship longer-range missiles that Kyiv is seeking during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington next week, according to a source familiar with the issue.
Why it matters: Ukrainian officials had hoped President Biden would approve the delivery of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, a surface-to-surface guided missile system with a range of up to about 190 miles, next week, according to a Ukrainian source.
Thousands of members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union went on strike against automakers General Motors, Ford and Stellantis on Friday.
Why it matters: The massive strike is unprecedented, as there has never been a strike against all three automakers at once, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports.
President Biden on Friday urged U.S. automakers to share more of their "record profits" with striking union workers to bring a quick end to a historic labor walkout that threatens his political and economic agendas.
Why it matters: Biden, who describes himself as the "most pro-union president ever," seemed to put his thumb on the scale in favor of the United Auto Workers, saying, "Auto companies have seen record profits…they have not been shared fairly with workers."
A jury on Friday acquitted three men charged over a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and violently overthrow the state government before the 2020 election, AP reports.
Why it matters: The three men, William Null, Michael Null and Eric Molitor, were the last of 14 people who faced charges in state or federal court over the scheme, which prosecutors alleged was an example of "domestic terrorism."
Three Senate Democrats are asking for answers from the Department of Defense over Elon Musk's role in reportedlythwarting a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian military ships, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Musk was heavily criticized for denying a request last year to activate SpaceX's Starlink satellite communications network over part of the Crimean coast to allow Ukraine to strike Russian ships at the Sevastopol Naval Base on the Black Sea.
The U.S. said on Friday it was issuing a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian individuals and entities that played a role in the "violent suppression" of protests that rocked the country following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody a year ago.
Driving the news: The death of Amini, who died on Sept. 16, 2022, after being detained by the country's morality police for allegedly violating a religious law requiring women to wear headscarves, prompted mass calls for greater rights and freedoms for women in Iran.
Rep. James Comer, the leader of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into President Biden, has repeatedly exaggerated and distorted the findings of his investigation into the Biden family this year.
Now, with the spotlight getting brighter, even some of Comer's Republican colleagues and their aides are worried about him being the public face of the inquiry — and hope he'll take a more measured approach, according to four House GOP officials familiar with the situation.
Former President Trump denies ever asking a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete surveillance video footage sought by investigators as a part of the classified documents probe that led to one of his federal indictments.
Driving the news: "That's false," Trump said when asked of the allegation in an interview on with NBC's "Meet the Press" that will air in full on Sunday. Asked whether he'd testify to the claim under oath, Trump said: "Sure, I'm going to — I'll testify."
The Biden administration notified Congress this week of plans to deny Egypt $85 million in military aid and redirect much of it to Taiwan due to concerns about political prisoners and other human rights abuses in Cairo.
The big picture: The administration was criticized by lawmakers for both not going far enough to hold Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government to account for abuses including detaining political prisoners and for not assisting Taiwan enough in the face of threats from China.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said during an Axios event Thursday she is "fearful that any day" planes of migrants could be sent to L.A., as Republican governors continue to transport migrants to Democratic-run cities.
Driving the news: "What they're trying to do is destabilize cities … it's the narrative that these are Democratic-run cities and that we don't know how to govern and that everything is chaotic here," Bass told Axios' Russell Contreras during Axios Visionarios in Los Angeles.
Julie Sweet is the 55-year-old CEO and chair of Accenture — the largest IT consulting company in the world by workforce.
Why she matters: Sweet leads more than 730,000 people across 49 countries in roles that — because of Accenture's strength in strategy and consulting — ultimately drive how other companies harness change.
President Biden spoke with the head of United Auto Workers and executives from Detroit's three legacy automakers Thursday ahead of a looming strike deadline, the White House said.
The big picture: The union is ready to strike all the Detroit Three automakers at midnight if a deal is not reached – an unprecedented move that could disrupt the economy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Washington next week to meet President Biden at the White House and hold meetings on Capitol Hill during his trip to the U.S. for the UN General Assembly, according to two sources.
Why it matters: Congress is currently weighing President Biden's request to approve more than $20 billion in additional aid for Ukraine.
