Muslim Americans in several swing states are scheduled to gather in Michigan on Saturday to start a campaign they're calling #AbandonBiden, a reflection of their outrage over President Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Why it matters: Arab American and Muslim American anger could hurt Biden's re-election prospects in most of the 2024 swing states he won in 2020, as those groups have been heavily Democratic.
Newsmax is clashing with the Republican National Committee after the conservative, Trump-friendly channel wasn't able to co-sponsor one of the first four GOP presidential primary debates.
Why it matters: The dispute is a view into the delicate and at times fraught negotiations over the debates, which can propel or depress a candidacy — and add prestige and viewers to networks that sponsor them.
House Republican leadership is facing some internal backlash over their last-minute opposition to expelling former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and spokesperson Andrew Bates acted "contrary" to a Hatch Actwarning, an independent federal agency said in a letter made public Friday.
Driving the news: The Office of Special Counsel sent the White House a separate letter, obtained by NBC News, concluding that use of the term "MAGA" went against official guidance on adhering to a federal law restricting government employees from engaging in partisan political activities.
A federal inmate was charged with attempted murder on Friday in the stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
Driving the news: John Turscak, 52, is accused of stabbing Chauvin 22 times with an "improvised knife" while incarcerated in Tucson, Arizona, per the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which heads the party's efforts to win control of state legislatures, is smashing records for off-year grassroots fundraising.
Why it matters: For decades, Republican have trounced Democrats at the state level — helped by their ability to control the redistricting process in key states. The record $5.5 million DLCC has brought in from small-dollar donors this year will be key for flipping seats in 2024.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Friday formally responded to a letter from Hunter Biden's lawyer earlier this week that contained an offer to publicly testify in a committee hearing in December.
Why it matters: Comer, who rejected the public hearing request, claimed in a letter that Biden's willingness to sit for a public hearing as part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry into the president "amounts to a demand that he receive special treatment."
Democrats are looking to the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Friday as a chance to not only flip a highly competitive House seat, but get a political boost ahead of 2024.
Why it matters: Even as more than 100 Republicans voted to kick Santos out of Congress, a majority of the party voted against expulsion, including most of GOP leadership.
Former President Trump can be sued over his alleged role in inciting violence in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
Why it matters: The 2024 presidential candidate would not be protected by presidential immunity regarding remarks made before the attack because his re-election campaign was "not an official presidential act," a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held.
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was expelled from Congress on Friday, which means a special election will soon be scheduled to fill the vacancy in New York's third Congressional district.
Why it matters: Democrats are vying to re-claim a district that President Biden carried in 2020, while Republicans are hoping to keep the seat that Santos flipped.
Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor died on Friday at the age of 93, the court said in a statement.
Driving the news: O'Connor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 1981.
The White House on Friday fired back at claims from House Republicans that the Biden administration has been "stonewalling" efforts to investigate the president and his son, Hunter.
Why it matters: House Republicans are weighing a formal vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry into Biden, which the White House called "illegitimate" and a "fishing expedition."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging state GOP Chair Christian Ziegler to resign after news surfaced Thursday that Ziegler is the subject of a police investigation.
Driving the news: The governor's remarks came hours after the Florida Trident revealed accusations of sexual battery against Ziegler — allegations that Ziegler denies.
Why it matters: Members of GOP leadership came out against booting the embattled Long Islander in recent days even as they told members to vote their conscience.
June 12, 2024, will mark 100 years since the birth of the late President George H.W. Bush. The day before, Random House will publish a commemorative volume by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham, "A Call to Serve."
Zoom in: Drawn in part from Meacham's New York Times bestseller, "Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush," the book features 450+ photos — some never published. Others are classics by David Hume Kennerly, David Valdez and others.
We told you in a "Behind the Curtain" column last month that Trump allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential appointees and employees in case he wins back the White House. Now we have copies of the exact questionnaires Trump allies are using — and that then-President Trump used himself during his final days in office.
Why it matters: These future Trumperswould staff an unprecedented effort to centralize and expand presidential power at every level of the administration.
Driving the news: Newsom came in with a theme — that DeSantis is "trying to out-Trump Trump" in the GOP 2024 presidential primary race — and hammered the point home.
Texas lawmakers' effort to block the Biden administration from removing razor wire fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border was blocked by a federal judge on Thursday.
The big picture: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has been battling with the administration over keeping razor wires and buoy barriers with blades along the Southern border as the state reports a surge in the number of migrants attempting to enter the country amid a wider global humanitarian crisis.
Former President Trump will hold a closed-door fund-raiser in Hallandale Beach, Florida, when the fourth Republican presidential debate takes place next week.
The big picture: Trump has been touting in fund-raising emails a "VIP contest" to win tickets to the "end-of-year reception" near Miami on Wednesday as the GOP presidential front-runner's 2024 rivals, including former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, take to the stage for the debate.
The newly formed House Jewish Caucus' first organizational meeting on Friday morning is poised to be marked by discord, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Frustration among some Jewish lawmakers threatens to deny the group the virtually full Democratic membership that other congressional affinity groups enjoy.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) thanked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for rushing to her aid when she choked at a Republican conference lunch on Thursday.
The big picture: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) used the Heimlich maneuver on Ernst, Politico first reported and Ernst confirmed in an online post that joked about the situation.
Gov, Ron DeSantis (left) and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photos: Joe Raedle; Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faces a fraught challenge in his showdown with California Gov. Gavin Newsom — one that's raised scrutiny over the strategic wisdom of debating an opponent who claims he has nothing to lose.
What we're watching: DeSantis must make an argument for his leadership that's less about Florida and more about the future, GOP strategists tell Axios. That's a tall order for a face-off billed as "The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate" — and for a governor plenty proud of his Florida story.
