Axios

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Wednesday called on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, making him the first Senate Democrat to do so.

Why it matters: Eight House Democrats have called for Biden to step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee following his shaky debate showing, but senators have been more hesitant to voice their concerns publicly.

Michael Cohen asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let him sue his onetime boss, former President Trump, for allegedly violating his constitutional rights and retaliating against him, according to the appeal obtained by Axios.

The big picture: The appeal is the latest in a years-long standoff between Trump and his one-time fixer and personal attorney and comes after Cohen's testimony in the hush money case that led to the former president's conviction.

Longtime Democratic fundraiser George Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on Wednesday that President Biden should step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Why it matters: Clooney — who headlined a record-breaking Biden fundraiser in June — is the latest Hollywood heavyweight to turn away from the president after his shaky debate performance.

As President Biden tries to shore up support on Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats with doubts about his candidacy are making clear they won't be silenced so easily.

Why it matters: The president has said firmly he is not dropping his candidacy, but nothing he or his team have done so far has been enough to quiet his persistent detractors.

President Biden's support in deep blue New York may be shrinking, polling shows.

Why it matters: Biden's still ahead by a sizable margin. But a lurch to the right would put recapturing the House majority at risk, and be a major embarrassment in a state that's home to some of the country's most prominent elected Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is privately signaling to donors that he's open to a Democratic presidential ticket that isn't led by President Biden, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: In public, Schumer has been insistent that he is "for Joe." In private, he's singing a different tune.

Vending machines that sell bullets are now operational in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas.

• American Rounds, the Texas-based company that owns the machines, said they use an ID scanner and facial recognition software to verify the buyer's age.
• Gun-control advocates say making ammunition available in grocery stores will lead to more shootings.

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides Wednesday, demanding they sit for depositions regarding President Biden's health, according to letters obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The subpoenas signal Republicans' desire to investigate whether some of Biden's closest aides essentially have hidden the 81-year-old president's true condition, in a probe that could drag through the Nov. 5 election.

President Biden will sit for an interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt on Monday, the network announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: Biden is doing damage control as he faces pressure to withdraw from the presidential race following his lackluster performance during a debate with former President Trump last month.

Leaks from House Democrats' private meetings about President Biden's candidacy are adding extra chaos to the combustible atmosphere on Capitol Hill.

Why it matters: The paranoia and sensitivity around leaks has gotten to a point where one top Democrat profusely apologized to colleagues for their office inadvertently leaking a colleague's comments in a Sunday ranking members meeting that was the subject of prolific leaks.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a group of House progressives on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Why it matters: It's a long-shot element of a broader legislative push by House Democrats to rein in the court after a spate of decisions in June that incensed liberals.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that "we're all encouraging" President Biden to make a final decision on whether he will continue his re-election bid.

Why it matters: Pelosi is one of just a few top Democrats who could influence Biden's thinking on his political future, despite the president's insistence that he's determined to stay in the 2024 race against former President Trump.

U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and could aid in Kyiv's defense against Russia as soon as this summer, the White House said Wednesday.

Why it matters: The jets will bolster Ukraine's air defense capabilities, allowing its air force to thwart Russian air attacks, as well as seek and destroy drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian cities.

A bipartisan group of senators reached a deal Wednesday on legislation to ban stock trading by members of Congress, setting the bill up for action in the Senate later this month.

Why it matters: The agreement breathes new life into the push to ban stock trading by lawmakers, which is supported broadly by voters but has stumbled on Capitol Hill.

The Biden administration will give the most full-throated defense yet of its tariffs on Chinese imports in a speech Wednesday afternoon by a top Treasury Department official.

Why it matters: Biden-era tariffs were intended to head off what officials see as a threat to the global economy: China producing more clean-energy goods than the world can absorb, distorting global prices.

The new GOP platform is two things at once on energy: an aspirational document yet one that arguably describes present reality, too.

Why it matters: The Trump-y document calls for the U.S. to be energy "dominant" and to "drill, baby, drill" and end "crippling restrictions" on production and ... you get the point.

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos apologized Tuesday for telling a stranger that he doesn't think President Biden can serve another four years in office.

Why it matters: Stephanopoulos conducted a closely watched interview of the president last week. The primetime sit-down was a part of the White House's push to quell calls for Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee following his disastrous debate performance.

Strife within the House Freedom Caucus is sparking some members to consider leaving the powerful conservative group after the recent ouster of Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), multiple senior GOP sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The decision to boot Davidson — an early member of the caucus — over his decision to back Chairman Bob Good's primary opponent has some questioning the group's future as feuds between members spill into the public eye.

President Biden is losing support among Asian American voters, one of the nation's fastest-growing voting blocs, a new survey finds.

Why it matters: The drop in support is yet another warning sign for Biden, who is losing support from another coalition of voter just months before his expected rematch with Donald Trump.

Former President Trump is adjusting his agenda, the GOP platform, his vice-presidential plans — even his debate style — to win over more than a half-dozen persuadable voter groups in seven states, advisers tell us.

Why it matters: Starting with the debate, every Trump move — from personally editing the Republican platform to lying low while President Biden's debate debacle sucked up attention — has been designed to nudge double-haters and truly undecided voters.

Don't get hysterical about your child's screen time or yank away their cellphone protectively, says Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician who runs a leading treatment program for kids with so-called "internet addictions" (a term he detests).

• Children will go through life with a smartphone, he points out — and it's important for the adults in their lives to teach them to use one wisely.

The 65-and-up population grew in all of America's biggest cities from 2020 to 2023 — by close to 20% in some cases, according to the Census Bureau's latest population estimates.

Why it matters: Cities with growing senior populations must be mindful of older residents' specific needs, like health care, transportation and affordable housing.

President Biden appears, for now, to have stalled the Democratic coup triggered by his disastrous debate performance — but at a potentially massive cost.

Why it matters: If Biden remains the nominee and loses to former President Trump in November, as many Democrats privately and publicly believe he will, the failed rebellion will haunt the party for years.

Democrats in Congress, increasingly resigned that President Biden will be their party's nominee, are deeply divided on how he should plow through the next four months.

Why it matters: After a tense, dramatic day in which Biden has at least temporarily withstood a revolt by some Democrats, emotionally spent lawmakers laid out two sharply different paths for Biden's candidacy.

President Biden's campaign staff, battling low morale and disillusionment, held its second all-hands conference call in less than a week Monday with Democratic National Committee staffers.

Why it matters: Biden's team leaders are scrambling to keep their staffs motivated while trying to avoid more defections from donors and Democratic lawmakers.

Former President Trump escalated his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday night.

Why it matters: His comments at the rally at Trump National Doral Golf Club that saw him repeatedly tease Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as his 2024 running mate indicate he's preparing for the possibility that President Biden may drop out of the race.

Donald Trump supporters stood in line for hours to hear the former president speak at his Miami golf resort on Tuesday, despite a heat advisory in South Florida.

Why it matters: Trump's rally came the week before the Republican National Convention and amid a crisis of confidence among supporters of his presumed November opponent, President Joe Biden.

Three Democratic senators, including two of the chamber's most vulnerable, told their colleagues Tuesday that they don't think President Biden can win re-election in November, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Their concerns, voiced behind closed doors, are a clear indication that Biden still has more work to do to convince lawmakers that he should be the Democratic nominee.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said Tuesday night that President Biden was likely to lose re-election in November, dealing a blow to the 81-year-old's efforts to contain damage on Capitol Hill.

Why it matters: Bennet is the first Senate Democrat to publicly break with Biden, as the president's allies try to reassure members of their party that Biden should be their presidential nominee.

Vice President Kamala Harris dropped by the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team's practice in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday, as the star-studded team that includes LeBron James and Steph Curry was preparing for the Paris Games.

The big picture: Harris called the team "ambassadors for who we are as a country" as head coach Steve Kerr escorted her onto the court at the University of Nevada's Mendenhall Arena, per a pool report.

President Biden wants to use this week's NATO summit in Washington to reassert his leadership over two anxious audiences: the Democratic Party, and Western allies unsure what to make of the unfolding political crisis.

Why it matters: The summit, which kicked off Tuesday and commemorates 75 years since the alliance was established, is Biden's first major international event since last month's debate raised doubts about his capacity to lead NATO's most important ally.

"If this is vindication, vindication has never been so unfulfilling," Rep. Dean Phillips told reporters on Capitol Hill today about his failed 2024 presidential primary challenge against Biden.

• Biden trounced Phillips in state after state, even as the Minnesota Democrat raised concerns about Biden's age and polling numbers.

House Democrats with lingering concerns about President Biden's ability to take on former President Trump in the November election are engaged in a difficult formulation over how, and whether, to make those apprehensions known.

Why it matters: There is a growing sense of resignation among Congress' Biden skeptics about being able to force him off the ticket, which has led some Democrats to wonder whether speaking out publicly is the right approach.