Dennis Cheng, a longtime Hillary Clinton aide and fundraiser, is preparing to join the White House as deputy political director, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: Cheng will be part of the small White House team setting the direction for President Biden's official re-election campaign.
After a contentious closed-door meeting on Thursday, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) plans to hold a third speaker vote on Friday morning, setting up another ballot where he's expected to lose.
Why it matters:Jordan lost support between the first and second speaker votes, and Republicans and Democrats signaled they were prepared to make a push to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. But the plan met fierce backlash.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order Thursday banning the use of terms like "pregnant person" and "chestfeeding" in state government documents. The terms are to be replaced with "pregnant woman" and "breastfeeding."
The big picture: Legislatures in all but two states introduced more than 500 bills during the 2023 session targeting the LGBTQ+ community, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
President Biden is planning to ask Congress for more than $8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security and billions more for agencies with a role in immigration, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The sweeping emergency funding request will reportedly total around $100 billion, with $60 billion for Ukraine and $10 billion for Israel. The sizable border component underscores how urgent the migration crisis has become for the Biden administration.
California Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) will not run for office next year, she told the New York Times on Thursday.
Why it matters: The announcement truly opens up the field for an already growing pool of candidates, which includes three Democratic representatives and a former MLB star running as a Republican,
The Pentagon plans to send Israel tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells that had been destined for Ukraine from U.S. emergency stocks several months ago, three Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.
Why it matters: The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Ministry of Defense told their U.S. counterparts they urgently need artillery shells to prepare for a ground invasion in Gaza — and a potential escalation of the war by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli officials say.
The White House on Thursday drew a sharp contrast between President Biden's leadership in Israel this week following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, with the House GOP speaker race chaos.
The big picture: Two GOP speaker nominees — Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) — failed to garner enough support in recent days to unite the fractured conference, causing a stalemate that has paralyzed Congress for more than two weeks.
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has received a maximum campaign contribution from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
Driving the news: West received $3,300 from the GOP megadonor in August, according to his public filing with the Federal Election Commission, before he announced he was running as an independent in 2024.
Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-Ohio) endorsement of a plan to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) until January has set off a furious reaction among House conservatives.
Why it matters: The McHenry resolution — which Jordan backed Thursday after it became clear he was bleeding GOP support ahead of a planned third ballot — will require support from Democrats in order to alleviate the speaker crisis that has paralyzed Congress for more than two weeks.
A U.S. State Department official who worked on global arms transfers resigned Wednesday due to his opposition to the Biden administration's additional military aid to Israel amid the war with Hamas.
Why it matters: Josh Paul, who was director of congressional and public affairs at the department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, announced his resignation on LinkedIn in a rare act of public dissent against the Biden administration as the president prepares to ask Congress for an unprecedented military aid package for Israel following his visit to Tel Aviv Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is monitoring a "heightened threat environment" in the U.S. because of the escalating war between Israel and Hamas, a spokesperson told Axios Wednesday.
Former President Trump has endorsed West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in the state's Republican Senate primary, a contest that is being eyed as a possible pick-up for Republicans as they seek to take control of the chamber.
Why it matters: Trump, who is running for president, has so far made a small number of endorsements ahead of the 2024 elections, after backing over a dozen candidates during the 2022 midterm elections.
After two weeks of disagreement and disarray, the House may ultimately decide to empower acting speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to be temporary speaker.
An Atlanta-based bank will enter a $9 million agreement to settle allegations of redlining predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
Driving the news: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the DOJ has filed a consent decree in federal court involving Ameris Bank following an investigation into its lending practices.
Why it matters: She is the first of Trump's inner circle to enter a guilty plea and admit to crimes in connection with subverting 2020 election results.
Voters in the top seven swing states are rejecting the Bidenomics message that's central to President Biden's reelection bid, according to a poll out Thursday from Bloomberg News and Morning Consult.
Why it matters: What's important in a presidential election isn't national polling, but how the candidates are doing in the swing states that decide the winner. But there aren't many polls that wrap in multiple swing states.
The U.S. House of Representatives soon may move to make Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) temporary speaker, following a series of failed GOP nominations. A vote could even come later on Thursday, if Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) loses for a third time.
Why it matters: Beyond stemming the D.C. dysfunction: Crypto and crypto investors don't have a lot of heroes right now, but one of them seems poised to become one of America's most powerful politicians.
Several communities along the U.S.-Mexico border saw homicide rates fall last year to levels that are well below the national average, according to an Axios analysis of the latest FBI crime data.
The Biden administration eased sanctions primarily on Venezuela's oil and gas sector Wednesday after Nicolás Maduro's regime agreed with the U.S.-backed opposition to a roadmap to presidential elections in 2024.
Opponents of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are projecting their ranks will only continue to grow if the Judiciary Committee chair contests a third ballot to become House speaker.
Why it matters: It's a dire position for both Jordan and House Republicans as they try to end a two-week speaker vacancy that has paralyzed the House.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) said Wednesday she received "credible death threats" and "a barrage of threatening calls" after withdrawing her support for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to be House speaker.
State of play: The lawmaker was one of fourHouse Republican members to support Jordan in the first round of voting but to go against him in the second ballot.
