Close Trump ally Russell Vought urged Senate Republicans in a closed-door lunch to delay this year's government funding fight to 2025 — to maximize options in a potential second Trump administration, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the latest of several early efforts to start clearing the way for an ambitious, rapid-fire start should former President Trump succeed in ousting President Biden.
President Biden assured onlookers at a commencement speech on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point that the country "will not walk away" from Ukraine during the Israel-Hamas war. He also reinforced limits to American support.
Why it matters: Biden used the speech to further distinguish himself from 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump, who delivered the commencement speech at the academy in 2020.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has successfully undergone an elective and minimally invasive medical procedure and has resumed his duties after temporarily relinquishing them, the Pentagon said.
The big picture: The announcement comes after criticism of the initial secrecy surrounding Austin's two-week hospitalization earlier this year following complications from prostate cancer treatment.
Details of the turmoil in Joe Biden's famously-insular family keep being made public by the president's own Justice Department.
Why it matters: Some legal experts argue that the level of personal details in the filings ahead of Hunter Biden's criminal trials are meant to embarrass rather than prosecute, a feeling shared by many people close to the president's family.
A resolution to censure Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over reports of flags with connections to the Jan. 6 riot flying at his properties is picking up support from House Democrats.
Why it matters: The measure is unlikely to get a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber, but lawmakers who have signed on say it's a way to send a message of disapproval across branches of government.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requested a meeting with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts "imploring" him to ensure Justice Samuel Alito recuses himself from Jan. 6-related cases, Durbin's office announced on Friday.
The big picture: Alito is facing growing calls from Democratic lawmakers to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the Capitol insurrection after the New York Times reported two instances of controversial flags affiliated with the rioters flying outside his homes.
The International Court of Justice is the latest international judicial body facing intense fire from pro-Israel members of Congress in both parties for directing Israel to halt its military operation in Rafah.
Stephen A. Schwarzman — chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, the private equity and real estate giant — tells Axios he will support Donald Trump as a "vote for change."
Schwarzman said Friday that he plans to donate to Trump and various Republican Senate candidates.
Why it matters: The endorsement gives Trump access to a potent network of Republican donors Schwarzman has cultivated. Trump also could get a new look from some business leaders who have been reluctant to back him.
Ed Dwight, a Black Air Force captain selected in the '60s for the U.S.'s astronaut trainee program, but who never made it to space because of racism, finally reached space this week at the age of 90.
The big picture: Dwight was aboard a Blue Origin flight that successfully launched and returned to Earth on Sunday, ending a long-awaited journey that began during the Civil Rights Movement.
President Biden marked the second anniversary of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas with a letter to the community, saying more must be done to prevent gun violence and mass shootings.
The big picture: Nineteen children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
The families of four Marines who died in a V-22 Osprey crash in California in June 2022 filed suit accusing Bell Textron, Boeing and Rolls-Royce of failing to address known mechanical failures with the aircraft.
Why it matters: Over 40 accidents involving Ospreys have caused more than 30 deaths since the aircraft entered service in 2007. The military temporarily grounded its fleet of Ospreys after a deadly incident late last year.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a top possible VP pick for former President Trump, has spent the past six months lobbying some of the heaviest hitters in Silicon Valley to back Trump.
Vance's crown jewel is a fundraising dinner with Trump in San Francisco on June 6, led by tech investors David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, co-hosts of the hot "All-In" podcast. Tickets start at $50,000.
Many House Democrats are engaged in a tortured calculus over whether or not to attend a potential address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
THE SOUTH BRONX, N.Y. — Former President Trump's rally on Thursday night drew a crowd that looked very different than the typical MAGA flock.
Why it matters: The unusual sight of Trump speaking to several thousand people in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in deep blue New York is a sign of the realignment happening between the two parties.
Former President Trump said Thursday he "appreciated" ex-Republican presidential rival Nikki Haley's vow this week to vote for him in November and he thinks she will be on his team "in some form."
Why it matters: Trump acknowledged during an interview with News 12 New York following a rally in the Bronx borough of New York City that his and former South Carolina Gov. Haley's rivalry during the campaign was "nasty."
Mike Allen writes in Axios Finish Line: Axios CEO Jim VandeHei delivered an entertaining, no-BS commencement address on May 18 at his alma mater, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
It was funny, inspiring, relatable ... and brief. Here's our Finish Line highlight reel:
I can't believe they're letting me give this commencement address — and not even asking what I'm going to say first. So we'll have some fun.
More than 1 million pounds of humanitarian assistance has been transferred into Gaza through the U.S.' newly finished temporary pier, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The big picture: The pier opened up a critical delivery route into Gaza, which has been beset by famine during the Israel-Hamas war as the entire population faces crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.
