House Democrats are considering how to leverage Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) struggles to avert a government shutdown to realign the lower chamber's power dynamics in their favor, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: While House Democrats have been largely cut out of the GOP's spending debate, they will inevitably have a role to play in any resolution to fund the government — and potentially save McCarthy’s speakership.
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed last week that themega-deal with Saudi Arabia should be based on the principle of preserving the prospect for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in the future, an Israeli official and a source briefed on the meeting told Axios. But the specifics must still be worked out.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is pushing to get a mega-deal with Saudi Arabia and Israel before the 2024 presidential campaign consumes Biden's agenda.
Former President Trump is no longer seeking to move his Georgia racketeering case to federal court, per a Thursday court filing.
The big picture: The move is a reversal for the former president, who had indicated he'd ask to move his prosecution for criminal charges related to his alleged efforts to subvert Georgia's 2020 election results.
As the U.S. careens toward its latest government shutdown, infighting in the Republican-led House has been on display.
Why it matters: A small group of House members refuses to back a short-term funding deal — in a blow to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's leadership that's leaving thousands of government employees to face delayed pay.
During an impassioned speech about the future of democracy on Thursday, President Biden announced federal funding to create a library and community facility at Arizona State University to honor the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
What's happening: The McCain Library will be a "multipurpose facility that will provide Arizonans a place to learn, research, develop and work," according to the McCain Institute, a partner in the project.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus sent a letter demanding answers from Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on his plan for passing appropriations bills.
Why it matters: The small group of hardliners says they won't back any short-term spending stopgap unless individual appropriations are passed first.
House Republicans showed their roadmap at Thursday's first hearing for their impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Why it matters: Top House lawmakers are zeroing in onfour lines of questions around Biden's connection with his son's foreign business dealings. But a chaotic hearing exposed cracks in House Republicans' plan.
The Biden administration said Thursday it will use the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit antisemitism and Islamophobia in federally funded programs.
Why it matters: Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. hit a record high last year. The move is part of the first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which the White House calls the most comprehensive effort to counter antisemitism in American history.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) got in a heated exchange during a Thursday morning conference meeting, with the Florida Republican accusing the speaker of paying influencers to attack him on social media.
Why it matters: The confrontation comes while Gaetz is threatening to introduce a motion to vacate — a mechanism to oust a speaker — if McCarthy backs a bipartisan stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown.
Former President Trump and his three eldest children will be called to testify in a civil trial that begins next week, a new court filing from New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed.
Driving the news: A New York judge on Tuesday ruled that Trump and his business had committed fraud, adding to the 2024 Republican frontrunner's legal woes as he campaigns for another term in the White House.
House Republicans are holding their first hearing Thursday as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which will look at his purported involvement in his son Hunter Biden's business dealings.
Driving the news: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched the impeachment inquiry earlier this month, directing the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees to spearhead the effort.
The percentage of U.S. Latinos living in poverty has dropped significantly in the last decade but is well above the national average.
Why it matters: Latinos make up 19% of the population and are set to be a plurality of the country's population by midcentury. Failure to address systemic economic inequalities may act as a drag on the nation's future prosperity, some experts say.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Thursday slammed Republicans for proceeding with their impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden as the U.S. government teeters on the brink of a shutdown.
Why it matters: Conservative legal scholar Jonathan Turley, a GOP witness during the hearing, said that "the current evidence doesn't support articles of impeachment," but that an inquiry is warranted.
Former President Trump's campaign linked GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley to Hillary Clinton as the former South Carolina governor stood out on the debate stage again Wednesday night.
Why it matters: Haley, former United Nations ambassador, saw the biggest polling boost after her first debate performance and built on that momentum in the second GOP primary debate.
Chaos reigned in the second GOP presidential debate, which brought together seven candidates who are collectively polling at around 37% — a full 16 points below former President Trump.
Why it matters: Trump has paid no price for skipping the debates — his polling share has actually increased from 52% to 54% since the August affair — and he looks set to steamroll his way to the GOP nomination absent a political earthquake or consolidation of the field.
Kari Lake told the WSJ she'll announce at a rally on Oct. 10 that she's running for Senate in 2024, setting up a possible three-way race with Independent incumbent Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.
Why it matters: Lake, who still hasn't accepted her narrow loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the 2022 governor's race, is one of former President Trump's most vocal defenders and has been discussed as a possible 2024 running mate — though her Senate run could complicate that equation.
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, whose allies thought he was too nice in the first GOP presidential debate last month, is a "fighter." Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, whose camp worried that he came off as a know-it-all in that first debate, is actually quite "humble."
Why it matters: Those were among the messages the campaigns were pushing in the "spin room" after Wednesday night's GOP debate — themes that helped explain the strategies behind the candidates' performances that viewers saw on TV.
CLINTON, Mich. — While other GOP contenders chided him for skipping the debate in California, former President Trump was in the Detroit suburbs, courting blue-collar workers and taking aim at President Biden as the UAW strike neared the two-week mark.
Why it matters: Trump's appearance came a day after Biden walked a picket line with striking autoworkers in nearby Wayne County, Mich., and reflected how the GOP hopes to cut into Biden's edge in union support in Michigan, a swing states likely to be key in deciding the 2024 election.
Following a heated exchange over TikTok between former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy during the second GOP primary debate, the commercial break featured an ad for, well, TikTok.
Why it matters: As candidates sparred on stage, an assortment of interestingly timed ads took the spotlight — touching on political flashpoints and one from the Biden campaign taking aim at former President Trump.
Several GOP presidential candidates took aim at China and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy on Wednesday for his previous work with Chinese companies and his presence on TikTok.
Why it matters: The debate again showed how hawkish China policy has become synonymous with the GOP and how politically dangerous it is for any candidate who doesn't take a hard line on China.
Retiring Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley said he's taking steps to ensure his own safety and that of his family after former President Trump accused him of treason in an online post.
Driving the news: Milley made the comments during an upcoming interview on "60 Minutes" after CBS' Norah O'Donnell noted that Trump last week said that his dealings with China were "so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed former President Trump on Wednesday for his recent comments on abortion, saying that he should be at the debate to defend his comments calling Florida's six-week abortion ban "a terrible thing and a terrible mistake."
Why it matters: Abortion has repeatedly been a losing issue for Republicans after the fall of Roe last summer. But the issue remains critical for a substantial part of the party's base, making attacking Trump from the right on abortion a potentially powerful short-term strategy.
Republican presidential candidates touted hard-line immigration postures during the second GOP primary debate, aligning with party positioning but pushing policies broadly indistinguishable from one another's.
Why it matters: The Republican field has moved further to the right on immigration since the Trump administration — and extreme proposals have become mainstream views for many in the GOP.
Driving the news: Christie accused Trump of being "afraid of being on stage and defending your record. You're ducking these things. ... If you keep doing that ... they'll call you Donald Duck."
The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to make business attire a requirement on the Senate floor.
The big picture: The moves comes after backlash to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) directive to scuttle the chamber's informal dress code, which was widely viewed to be inspired by Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
