Axios

Young voters' advocacy groups cheered President Biden's recent move to ease restrictions on marijuana, though some cautioned it's only an incremental step toward making weed legal.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has made concerted efforts — from joining TikTok to pursuing student debt relief — to appeal to young voters, a key bloc behind his 2020 victory that's looked less in the bag this time around.

Well, that was fast. A day after sources told Axios that Nikki Haley was under active consideration by Donald Trump's campaign to be his running mate, he stepped in and nixed the idea.

• "Nikki Haley is not under consideration for the V.P. slot, but I wish her well!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
• He signed it "DJT," making clear it was a personal message.

The Justice Department is asking that the man convicted of kidnapping and assaulting Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), be sentenced to 40 years.

The big picture: Prosecutors say in a 20-page sentencing memo filed Friday that David DePape's sentencing should be used to discourage others from enacting political violence.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas condemned critics and what he dubbed "nastiness" and "lies" in comments Friday a judicial conference in Alabama, per multiple news outlets.

Why it matters: Thomas was accused in a ProPublica ethics investigation last year of failing to disclose costly trips sponsored by a noted Republican megadonor.

The Republican-controlled House is priming a multi-pronged effort to combat President Biden's pauses on transfers of weapons to Israel.

Why it matters: The plan includes a vote next week on a bill to break the administration's holds on congressionally appropriated military aid — which is likely to divide Democrats.

President Biden's campaign is investing in dozens of field offices in some of the nation's reddest counties, pressing its early money advantage to establish political beachheads in hostile territory.

Why it matters: Biden's team isn't under the illusion it can win these rural counties Donald Trump won in 2020. It's fighting to cut into Republicans' margins — particularly in swing states such as Wisconsin.

• The goal is to establish a ground presence early in the election cycle and keep rural Biden supporters motivated — while letting voters dismayed by Trump or curious about Biden know they're not be alone.

Zoom in: Biden's campaign has opened more than 150 offices and hired more than 400 staffers in the seven battleground states and will have 200 offices and 500 staffers there by the end of May, the campaign says.

• In Wisconsin, Biden now has 46 offices across 42 counties, including 23 where Trump won by double digits in 2020.
• Biden's strategy still calls for a heavy presence in Wisconsin's Democrat-heavy population centers, with three field offices in Milwaukee County, the most populous in the state.
• But the president's team also has offices in places like Rusk County, home to about 14,000 people. Trump trounced Biden by 35% there four years ago, receiving 2,740 more votes.
• That's the kind of rural-county margin Biden is hoping to reduce at a time when polls have suggested that voter enthusiasm within Biden's base isn't as energized as it was in 2020, when he won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes.

What they're saying: "The name of the game is to lose by less" in red counties, Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler told Axios.

• "You lose a place by 25 instead of by 35, that can be really vital" in a close battle to win the overall vote in a state, said Dan Kanninen, the Biden campaign's battleground states director.
• "If you're not cutting margins and competing in a bunch of other places that you might not normally win, it's death by a thousand cuts," said Kanninen, referring to the 2016 election when Trump banked thousands of votes in smaller, more rural counties to offset Hillary Clinton's urban advantage.

Zoom out: Democrats are determined not to avoid a repeat of the rural turnout surprise of 2016.

• In that election Democrats watched their sizable urban margins in the "Blue Wall" states — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — get eaten away when dozens of smaller counties began reporting their vote totals.
• The 2020 election also saw record turnout, but Biden supporters came out in droves, giving him a 4-point victory over Trump.

Four years ago, Democrats went light on door-knocking and in-person contact, mindful of COVID protocols. Biden spent most of the campaign at home, leasing a plane late in the cycle.

• This year, Biden's relying more heavily on a ground game, telling volunteers in Nevada last month: "It's all blocking and tackling and making the case face-to-face with voters."
• Biden was in Wisconsin's Racine County on Wednesday to tout a $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft on the same site where Trump planned for a Foxconn facility that never materialized.

The other side: Trump's team is behind in organizing state staffs, in part because his takeover of the Republican National Committee involved ousting many RNC staffers.

• As Axios has reported, Trump's team has rehired many of the 60 RNC staffers who were fired when Trump took control in March.
• "We have paid staffers and volunteer-powered field programs in every battleground state, including Wisconsin, and they are expanding daily," said Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign.
• "Our aggressive and experienced operation is focused on turning out votes and highlighting the contrast between Joe Biden's weakness and failures with President Trump's record of success."

President Biden is moving to defang Donald Trump on a trio of issues central to his political identity: toughness on the border, aggressiveness with China and closeness with CEOs.

Why it matters: Biden is vulnerable in all three areas. His plans to trump Trump, expected in coming weeks, show the hawkish direction Trump has moved the politics of China and immigration.

While Donald Trump is on trial in New York and his team is restructuring the Republican National Committee, President Biden's team is aggressively campaigning and advertising — a reflection of Biden's early fundraising advantage.

Why it matters: Democrats have long had an edge in fundraising. But Trump super PACs and outside groups are helping to even the playing field — even as the ex-president's legal fees eat into his funds.

• At the end of March, Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee had nearly double the cash on hand that Trump and the RNC had.
• Even when adding in Trump's main super PAC — MAGA Inc. — the Biden campaign and the DNC still had more cash.

Zoom out: But overall, outside groups supporting Trump are helping him close the gap. They've raised nearly $192 million this cycle as of the last filing in April, according to the 10 groups tracked by OpenSecrets.

• Seven similar groups backing Biden raised less than $87 million over the same period.
• The numbers don't include every outside group, action fund or victory fund that may bolster either candidate.

The decades-long exodus of white working-class voters from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party has a new jolt: Latino working-class voters are joining the shift.

Why it matters: To win key swing states, President Biden needs the support of some dissatisfied white, Latino and Black working-class voters who polls suggest are upset about inflation and some Democratic policies.

Barron Trump, 18, former President Trump's youngest child, has declined to serve as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention after being selected to do so, multiple outlets reported.

Why it matters: The former first couple largely kept their son out of the spotlight while they were in the White House.

Democrats in Congress are attempting to flip the script on border security, going on offense to try to blunt Republican attacks on a central 2024 election issue.

Why it matters: The strategy shift reflects growing public hawkishness on the issue, even among Democratic voters.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is on record saying he doesn't anticipate passing a nationwide abortion ban if Republicans achieve a majority in both chambers of Congress in November.

Why it matters: Johnson's remarks, shared in an interview Politico published Friday, coincide with those former President Trump made against a national abortion ban.

A growing number of pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers is speaking out against President Biden's decision to pause weapons transfers to Israel.

Why it matters: It adds to pressure from Israelis, Republicans and major Democratic donors, even as Biden has gotten support from much of his party.

The cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore could be moved next week in a significant step toward reopening the vital East Coast shipping channel, the White House said Friday.

Why it matters: Shipping traffic to Baltimore, which is a key port for vehicle manufacturers, has been restricted since the cargo ship M/V Dali struck the bridge across the Patapsco River in late March.

More than 2,950 people have been arrested at pro-Palestinian protests on at least 61 college campuses across the U.S. in recent weeks.

Why it matters: University administrations have cracked down on student demonstrators in unprecedented ways as protests grow in size and intensity.

The House Homeland Security Committee is trying to get Microsoft president Brad Smith to testify this month on the company's recent cyberattacks.

Why it matters: Microsoft has recently come under fire in Washington over its cybersecurity practices after a series of high-profile cyberattacks — but it's been years since a congressional committee grilled the tech company on the topic.

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected former Trump White House adviser Steven Bannon's appeal of his conviction for contempt of Congress.

Why it matters: By upholding Bannon's conviction, the three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paved the way for him to eventually begin serving his four-month prison sentence.

New York Judge Juan Merchan on Friday rejected former President Trump's bid to subpoena former Manhattan assistant D.A. Mark Pomerantz as part of his ongoing hush money criminal trial.

Why it matters: Trump's legal team had sought documents from Pomerantz's time at the Manhattan district attorney's office as well as some dated after his departure.

Three Travis Heights Elementary students have created a project to help their peers understand why they wear hijabs — and have even secured funding to spread their message throughout their school.

Why it matters: Travis Heights has a large population of Afghan students who wear hijabs, and the project by the fourth graders aims to spread understanding and inclusivity at their campus.

A new documentary from D.C.-based filmmakers examines the Jan. 6 insurrection from the perspective of six people who lived through it.

Why it matters: "The Sixth" is an up-close look at how Washingtonians who simply showed up to work that day watched an event unfold with far-reaching consequences.

Former President Trump and the oil industry are sketching out audacious plans to begin dismantling President Biden's fossil fuel regulations on Jan. 20, 2025:

• At Mar-a-Lago last month, Trump asked some of the industry's top executives to help raise $1 billion for his campaign as he outlined his pro-drilling agenda for a second term, the Washington Post first reported.
• Separately, oil industry officials have begun drafting the text of oven-ready executive orders to start reversing the Biden administration's green policies on day one of Trump's presidency, according to Politico.

President Biden has become increasingly critical of Israel — and some of his campaign's biggest pro-Israel donors are becoming more critical of him.

Why it matters: Whether he is aiding or criticizing Israel, every move Biden makes has potential negative political consequences.

Here's a big reason former President Trump is so motivated to win in November:

• If he's a private citizen, he faces years of expensive trials and could spend the rest of his life in prison if found guilty.
• If he wins the election, the three felony cases against him that haven't gone to trial could be pushed off indefinitely.

A Virginia school board voted early Friday to reinstate the original Confederate names of two public schools.

Why it matters: The Shenandoah County School Board's 5-1 vote in favor of the move appears to be the first such action since authorities began removing Confederate symbols from U.S. institutions and public spaces in 2020 following racial justice protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to submit to Congress as soon as Friday a highly critical report about Israel's conduct in Gaza that stops short of concluding it has violated the terms for its use of U.S. weapons, three U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: The report assessing whether Israel complied with international law and restricted humanitarian aid to Gaza sparked the most contentious internal debate in the State Department since the Oct. 7 attack, U.S. officials said.

The Senate late Thursday passed a five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration that includes programs to improve safety and protect consumers, ending weeks of grappling that threatened to disrupt air travel.

Why it matters: Senate leadership struggled to find a path to reauthorize the aviation safety authorities ahead of Friday's deadline. Senators filed more than 100 amendments to what will be one of the last must-past packages before the election.

Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation aimed at stopping President Biden from withholding weapons shipments to Israel.

Why it matters: The administration's move to block the arms sales has drawn backlash from pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties.