Axios

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to replace longtime ally Sergei Shoigu as defense minister with an economist, the Kremlin announced Sunday.

Why it matters: In the biggest security overhaul since Putin's forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Shoigu will be appointed head of Russia's Security Council after serving since 2012 as defense minister.

In a 2024 rarity, President Biden and former President Trump campaigned yesterday at the same time.

Why it matters: Trump spends Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in a courtroom — and Biden does most of his events during the week.

Republicans are increasingly joining former President Trump on hedging or dodging when asked whether they'll accept the results of the 2024 elections.

Why it matters: Promising to accept the results of elections used to be a cliche. But in the Trump era, that's no longer a guarantee.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken confirmed Sunday that Israel has not shown the U.S. a plan for protecting civilians in Gaza, or for how the enclave could be run after the war's end.

Why it matters: The Biden administration's concerns over Israel's planned military operation in Rafah led President Biden to warn that he would withhold weapons which prompted backlash from Republicans.

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.