The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is pressing the Biden administration on its plans to make sure humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank isn't diverted to Hamas or other terrorist groups.
Why it matters: Investigations are one of the few ways in which House members can work around a speaker vacancy that otherwise has hamstrung their ability to respond to the escalating Israel-Hamas war.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy doesn't support sending aid to Israel in its war with Hamas, telling Axios during a sit-down interview on Tuesday that the U.S. should provide diplomatic cover without getting directly involved.
Driving the news: "In my ideal view of this, Israel should be able to make the decisions of how it defends itself and its national self-existence," Ramaswamy told Axios. "And we provide a diplomatic Iron Dome for Israel to be able to carry that out. And that's it. No money."
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the House speaker's race barely four hours after winning the Republican nomination today, a staggering new milestone in the GOP's cycle of self-destruction.
Why it matters: In the three weeks since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was unceremoniously ousted, three Republican nominees have come and gone. The House remains paralyzed with no clear escape hatch.
Why it matters: The GOP stalemate over the next speaker of the House comes as the U.S. contends with multiple global threats and a fast approaching deadline to avert a government shutdown.
Former President Trump echoed the growing list of hardliners campaigning against House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), whose GOP nomination for House speaker Tuesday ultimatelylasted only hours.
Why it matters: Trump has clashed with Emmer before, though the two reportedly had a "polite conversation" over the weekend, per NBC.
Driving the news: Cohen testified Tuesday that he falsified the values the ex-president's assets to match "whatever number Mr. Trump told us," per Reuters.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on Tuesday withdrew his candidacy for House speaker just hours after winning the GOP nomination for the role.
Why it matters: Emmer's decision brings to a stunning end the brief third chapter of the House's three-week speaker vacancy, which has paralyzed the chamber's legislative work.
West Maui will expand its tourism reopening on Nov. 1, months after catastrophic wildfires in Lahaina killed about 100 people and displaced thousands.
The big picture: The August wildfires severely affected the tourism industry in the area, which is a large source of income for the island, where about 7,000 residents remain displaced, per the Maui County mayor.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on Tuesdaywon the GOP nomination for speaker of the House.
Why it matters: The House speaker vacancy has torpedoed Congress' ability to pass legislation during a period of global upheaval and as a federal funding deadline draws near.
Georgia's abortion ban will remain in effect after the state Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court's previous decision that it was unconstitutional.
Driving the news: The state's highest court sent the lawsuit back to Fulton County Superior Court on Tuesday morning, where the fight over the anti-abortion law will continue.
Why it matters: Club Q's doors have remained closed since a gunman walked inside and opened fire on Nov. 19, 2022, killing five people and injuring dozens.
The number of federally-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses has nearly doubled in two years, hitting a record $3 billion, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Why it matters:Latino-owned firms are among the nation's fastest-growing small businesses, but a lack of access to capital, credit and loans has prevented some of these businesses from scaling and growing.
Why it matters: The new arguments come on top of a previous claim from his lawyers that he has absolute immunity from federal prosecution because his actions after the 2020 election and on the day of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were performed within his official role as president.
In a 7,000-word tour of the globe's future, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan writes that amid Middle East peril, America needs a long-term "sustained sense of confidence in our capacity to outcompete any country."
Driving the news: "In the decade ahead,U.S. officials will spend more time than they did the past 30 years talking with countries that they disagree with, often on fundamental issues," Sullivan writes in the cover story of the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs, shared first with Axios.
Virginia Republicans are embracing early voting this year, causing concern amongDemocrats as Gov. Glenn Youngkin's team eats into the share of votes that Democrats traditionally bank before Election Day.
Why it matters: Youngkin is testing the willingness of the GOP's base to reject years of fearmongering from former President Trump that early voting could never be trusted.
Israel is willing to delay a ground invasion of Gaza for a few days to allow talks on releasing a large number of the hostages Hamas is holding there, two Israeli officials tell Axios.
"Both Israel and the Biden administration want to exhaust every effort to try and get hostages out of Gaza. If Hamas proposes a big package, of course we will be ready to do things in return," a senior Israeli official said.
U.S. border officials have removed or returned more individual migrant family members in the last four months than in any previous full fiscal year amid a global humanitarian crisis.
The big picture: While new U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows this to be the largest number of southern border crossings, that's only when you count people crossing at legal ports of entry through the CBP One app or via legal parole programs, Axios' Stef Kight notes.
A former National Security Agency employee admitted trying to sell classified national security information to Russia, according to a plea deal Monday.
Driving the news: Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to six counts of attempting to transmit classified National Defense Information to a person he believed to be a Russian agent, but who was actually an undercover FBI employee.
House Republicans will hear Monday from nine lawmakers vying to be the next speaker of the House, with a candidate forum that ushers in a grueling day of voting Tuesday.
Why it matters: Candidates will be given just minutes to pitch themselves as the best option to unify the fractured House GOP, which is going on three weeks without a speaker.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo is heading to Europe this week to collaborate with officials in London, Brussels and Berlin on how to degrade and deny Hamas' ability to raise money, according to U.S. officials.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is bracing for a protracted conflict between Israel and Hamas — with deep concerns about the war expanding to Israel's northern border — and wants to prevent Hamas from buying arms and ammunition for its terrorist operations.
