Former President Trump issued a formal statement on abortion Monday with a simple calculus in mind: his position might infuriate conservative activists — but they'll vote for him in November anyway.
Why it matters: Trump has spent months privately wrestling with how to insulate himself from Democratic attacks on abortion, knowing that the issue could be one of his biggest vulnerabilities in the 2024 election.
An appeals court on Monday denied another attempt from former President Trump to delay his New York hush money trial that is set to start next week, AP reports.
Why it matters: Earlier Monday, Trump's lawyers argued at an emergency hearing that the upcoming trial should be postponed in order to find a new venue outside of Manhattan.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for action to restrict TikTok on Monday, saying it is "a platform that is beholden to our foremost strategic competitor."
Why it matters: Momentum in the Senate has stalled for a bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless Chinese parent company Bytedance sells its stake.
The big picture: Thepresumptive GOP presidential nominee said Monday that abortion laws should be left to the states to decide, though he did not take a stance on whether he supports a national limit.
The Biden campaign released an ad Monday featuring a Texas woman who said she almost died because she was not able to get the abortion she needed following a miscarriage.
Why it matters: The ad places the blame on former President Trump for the state-level bans on abortion, like in Texas, that lawmakers have passed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Former President Donald Trump on Monday formally announced his position on abortion rights, saying the issue should be left up to states to decide.
Why it matters: The announcement contrasts Trump's earlier hints that he would support a national abortion ban and risks angering anti-abortion rights groups who favor restrictions on the national level.
The Department of Justice on Monday refused to hand over to House Republicans the audio of President Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Why it matters: Republicans have threatened to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for not producing the audio.
A group of top House Democrats is already laying the groundwork for the return of the House's diversity and inclusion office should their party retake the majority in November, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Eliminating the office as part of a bipartisan spending bill passed last month was a rare win for congressional Republicans in their fight against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
BEIJING — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spent the last several days in China warning of a huge threat that could rattle the global economy in the years ahead: another "China shock," resembling the one in the early 2000s that wrecked key U.S.-based industries.
Why it matters: The Biden administration has hinged its economic legacy on industrial policy — supporting sectors like climate technology that it hopes will thrive without much dependence on China and other trade partners with whom the U.S. has fraught diplomatic ties.
Former President Trump said Monday that abortion laws should be left to the states to decide.
Why it matters: The presumptive GOP presidential nominee did not take a stance on whether he supports a national limit on abortion, which some of his most vocal conservative allies have urged Trump to support.
Special counsel Jack Smith'sblistering response this week to a request by Judge Aileen Cannon was one of several instances over the last 10 months challenging her competency or impartiality in a case involving former President Trump's handling of classified secrets.
Why it matters: Cannon has left unresolved numerous issues that would move the case forward, raising the likelihood it drags beyond the November election. The pace and decision-making has fueled critics' concerns that the Trump-appointed judge is intentionally slow-walking the case.
A group of former senior officials from Republican and Democratic administrations — co-lead by President Biden's personal lawyer — is urging Congress to rein in a president's ability to deploy the military inside the U.S.
Why it matters: The reforms would restrict any future administration — including a second Trump one — from unilaterally sending troops into American cities using the centuries-old Insurrection Act.
The Biden administrationon Monday announced a new sweeping student loan forgiveness plan that would provide relief for more than 30 million borrowers.
Why it matters: The plan is Biden's latest attempt to cancel student debt after the Supreme Court blocked his signature student debt cancellation plan last year.
Janet Yellen said Monday that TikTok was discussed "briefly" in meetings with her counterparts in China — the latest sign that the prospect of a ban is rattling top officials in Beijing.
Why it matters: A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pushing legislation — recently passed by the House — that would require the popular video app to be spun off from its parent company, China-based ByteDance, or risk being banned.
The biggest urban experiment in decades is coming to New York City in June, when vehicles will be charged $15 and up to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street.
Why it matters: It's a first-in-the-nation policy that other American cities — like Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. — might be eager to replicate.
One of Democrats' most in-demand speakers in the 2024 campaign is a law professor who's as comfortable waxing poetic about democracy as he is delivering searing takedowns of Donald Trump.
Why it matters: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has campaigned for Democrats in 17 states this cycle and plans to visit at least nine more — a stark display of his rise to top anti-Trump crusader after just four terms in Congress.
Republicans' impeachment probe of President Biden is unraveling because of a lack of evidence — but their work could become the basis for federal investigations and even prosecutions of the Biden family if Donald Trump wins re-election, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Trump has vowed retribution against his enemies if he wins in November. House Republicans have struggled to show Biden has done anything illegal, but people close to Trump are still plotting to use the Justice Department against Biden and his family.
A bipartisan coalition with support from Hollywood power players and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation is working to prepare U.S. voters for a possible deepfake onslaught as the campaign year goes into high gear.
Why it matters: Withfederal agencies and social media companies barely talking to each other about AI-driven misinformation threats, "this is a disaster waiting to happen — no one's doing the public inoculation," warned Miles Taylor, chief policy officer of The Future US, which is coordinating the campaign.
A Brazil Supreme Court judge is investigating Elon Musk for alleged obstruction of justice after the billionaire vowed to defy a court order in Latin America's largest nation blocking certain accounts on his platform, per multiple reports.
The big picture: Brazilian officials have been cracking down on social media accounts that spread misinformation and hate speech and X at first followed the order, though noted in a Saturday post that Brazilians, "regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech."
/2024/04/07/1712525122071.gif?w=3840)
