Lacking the reliable boogeyman of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to fundraise against, House Republicans are choosing to focus on President Biden.
Why it matters: "Fire Pelosi" was a central component of Republican's messaging strategy in previous cycles. But top House Republicans don't see that script playing out with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in 2024.
Former President Trump on Wednesday attended a fundraiser hosted by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Min.) at Mar-a-Lago, mending a longtime rift between the two, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The outing from Trump puts Emmer back in the former president's good graces, months after Trump came out against Emmer's campaign to be House speaker.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is at risk of being boxed out from Senate GOP leadership by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) who beat her to the punch in announcing his run for the No. 3 position, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Ernst is currently the highest-ranking Senate Republican woman, but she could lose her leadership leverage in the middle of the broader GOP shakeup this year.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has quietly built up a formidable social media presence, especially on TikTok.
Why it matters: His strong following on TikTok — an app that has exploded in popularity among young people — could give him extra exposure among this key voter demographic ahead of November.
A U.S. Army Apache helicopter crashed near Fort Carson, Colorado, during a training exercise, leaving two soldiers hospitalized with minor injuries, military officials announced Thursday.
The big picture: The second such incident involving an American military Apache helicopter in 48 hours comes after the U.S. Army National Guard ordered a safety stand-down of its entire fleet of the models following two crashes in February.
Several family members of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza who have dual U.S.-Israel citizenship told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting on Thursday that they get better treatment from the White House than from the Israeli government, two sources who attended the meeting told Axios.
Why it matters: Netanyahu is facing growing public pressure in Israel and abroad as critics accuse him of not pursuing a hostage deal for political reasons.
A new rule announced Thursday is intended to yield a more accurate census of people with Hispanic, Middle Eastern and North African heritage.
Why it matters: Critics have long said the government's approach to asking about people's race or ethnicity is confusing or misrepresentative — and the stakes are huge when it comes to the distribution of billions in federal funds.
Democrats are more angry and fearful about a potential second Trump term compared to GOP attitudes toward President Biden being re-elected, new polling reveals.
Why it matters: There's a bipartisan lack of enthusiasm for a Biden-Trump rematch in November, though anger and fear are powerful emotions simmering beneaththe surface.
Maryland officials on Thursday requested $60 million in initial federal emergency relief funding to assist recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
The big picture: Six Baltimore construction workers were presumed dead as a result of the collapse Tuesday morning, which is also expected to have far-reaching economic ramifications.
Four Canadian school boards announced Thursday that they are suing TikTok, Meta and Snapchat for allegedly disrupting student learning and harming the education system.
Why it matters: The Ontario school boards join a growing number of U.S. school districts that are taking legal action against social media giants, as an expanding body of research shows how social media harms youth mental health.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republicans have notified the Senate they plan to present impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 10, shortly after the House returns from recess.
Why it matters: Johnson is pushing for the Democrat-led Senate to hold a full trial despite expectations the upper chamber will quickly dismiss the impeachment case.
Many Democrats see the impeachment push against Mayorkas over the border crisis as an election-year attempt to embarrass the Biden administration over a complex problem rooted in Congress' longtime failure to deal with border and immigration issues.
Zoom in: In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the House Republicans argue there is "clear evidence" that Mayorkas' handling of the border situation meets the threshold for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
They say his "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" amounts to a "breach of the public trust."
"To table articles of impeachment without ever hearing a single argument or reviewing a piece of evidence would be a violation of our constitutional order and an affront to the American people," the group wrote.
Mayorkas became the first cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876 in a party-line vote last month.
Between the lines: House conservatives have been ramping up pressure on GOP leadership to advocate for a full trial in the Senate.
But Senate Democrats and even some Republicans in that chamber have pushed back, arguing that "snap impeachments" are bad for the institution and being misused.
Senators in both parties have said they're skeptical of attempts to impeach a public official over policy disputes, rather than actual crimes.
The big picture: The impeachment case against Mayorkas is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate — but everyone expects the border to be a major issue in the 2024 election.
House Democrats are adding four more candidates to their "Red to Blue" program as they attempt to flip enough Republican-held seats to take the House majority, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: All four candidates are in districts President Biden won in 2020 — a sign that Democrats are doubling down on a strategy of trying to ride Biden's coattails in November.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America is backing two Democrats challenging members of the progressive Squad who have been outspoken critics of Israel.
Why it matters: It's the first time the group, closely aligned with the Democratic establishment, has endorsed against incumbent Democratic lawmakers.
Few politicians have commanded the loyalty of the religious right like former President Trump, whose decision to begin selling $60 Bibles for Holy Week has outraged his critics — but drawn little reaction from evangelical leaders.
Why it matters: Trump has developed a sense of impunity when it comes to religious messaging, forged through a grand compromise with Christian conservatives who see him as a flawed — but effective — champion of their movement.
President Biden's campaign says his Radio City fundraiser on Thursday night with former Presidents Obama and Clinton is expected to raise over $25 million.
Why it matters: The impressive haul — the campaign says — would make it the "most successful political fundraiser in American history."
The Trump-led Republican National Committee is scrambling to boost staffs and give loyalty tests in seven battleground states at a time when several GOP state parties are plagued by dysfunction and disarray.
Why it matters: Less than eight months before the Nov. 5 election, significant parts of the RNC's get-out-the-vote operation in states likely to decide the election are playing catch-up after Trump's team ousted 60 staffers in its recent takeover.
Kellyanne Conway, the former Trump campaign manager-turned-spokesperson who made the phrase "alternative facts" famous, is considering a return to Trumpworld.
Driving the news: Conway is weighing an offer to join Trump's 2024 team, according to a person familiar with her thinking who wouldn't specify what that role would be or who made the offer.
Efforts by Hunter Biden's lawyers to dismiss tax charges against the president's son were met with skepticism by the judge overseeing the case on Wednesday, per multiple reports.
Why it matters: The bid to dismiss the case,if successful, would lighten the legal and political quagmire Hunter Biden has been embroiled in.
President Biden is facing pressure from dozens of lawmakers and hundreds of rights groups to expand immigration protections for people fleeing extreme violence from armed gangs in Haiti.
Context: Weeks of violence by armed Haitian gangs have left thousands of people dead, kidnapped or injured and aggravated one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with some 5.5 million Haitians needing assistance and over 125,000 children "imminently" at risk of severe malnutrition, per the U.N.
The voyage data recorder of the cargo ship that crashed into the Baltimore bridge and led to its collapse was recovered on Wednesday as National Transportation Safety Board investigators work to determine the cause of the incident.
The big picture: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told CNN that investigators would examine the recorder from the Singapore-flagged Dali to try and determine how it lost power and would look into reports that dirty fuel may have played a role in the ship losing power and hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
John Eastman, a conservative former lawyer to ex-President Trump, should be disbarred over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election, a California judge ruled Wednesday.
