Axios

Senate Democrats pushing a bipartisan ban on stock trading for lawmakers are eyeing a vote on the bill before the November election, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Banning members of Congress from stock trading is one of the most popular policy proposals for American voters.

A large, raucous pro-Palestinian protest Tuesday at a U.S. House office building is spiking lawmakers' concerns about security around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming speech.

Why it matters: The protests spilled over from a common area to several individual lawmakers' offices, with one office calling the police on demonstrators.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday contrasted her record as a prosecutor with that of former President Trump, who is a convicted felon, during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Why it matters: Harris, who stepped into the 2024 race with just over 100 days until the election, is ensuring she stands in stark contrast to her rival.

More than three-fourths of Washington's delegates to the Democratic National Convention plan to support Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's presidential nominee, state party officials said after conducting an informal survey this week.

Why it matters: Since President Biden announced Sunday he is ending his campaign, Democrats across the country have coalesced around Harris — and local Democrats appear to be no exception.

Former President Trump said Tuesday he's "absolutely" willing to debate Vice President Kamala Harris more than once ahead of the 2024 election.

The big picture: The comments are among his most extensive about Harris since she joined the race for the presidency following Biden's departure after a disastrous debate performance last month.

Vice President Kamala Harris is firing up core Black and Asian American voting blocs that saw their enthusiasm wane when President Biden was at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Why it matters: Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American woman to lead a major party's presidential ticket, faces an extremely tight presidential race against former President Trump, but her candidacy is giving Democrats a new chance to turn out marginalized groups' votes.

Republicans have yet to follow through on their threats to take Democrats to court over Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the new presumptive presidential nominee after President Biden's last-minute withdrawal.

Why it matters: The GOP is trying to peg Democrats as a "threat to Democracy" for replacing their nominee after primary voters had their say. But it's unlikely legal action would get very far.

Local law enforcement saw the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Trump on multiple occasions before he first fired shots, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris told lawmakers Tuesday.

Why it matters: Key details from the rally, and the extent of the security failures that led up to the shooting, are coming into clearer focus amid a series of federal and congressional probes.

President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 Tuesday, according to a White House memorandum.

Why it matters: Biden's historic announcement that he would be suspending his 2024 campaign came as he was recovering from an infection in Delaware, away from the campaign trail and public eye.

Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) will resign from the Senate next month, his staff was told Tuesday, after he was found guilty in a federal corruption trial for accepting bribes.

Why it matters: Menendez's resignation will keep Senate Democrats from having to expel one of their own.

Vice President Kamala Harris is launching her bid for the U.S. presidency with an advantage that former President Trump and President Biden never had: a long history of appealing to Latino voters.

Why it matters: To win crucial swing states, Harris will have to drive Latino turnout in urban centers like Phoenix, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Detroit.

The American Red Cross is encouraging more Latinos to donate blood amid a nationwide shortage.

The big picture: 53% of Latinos have Type O+ blood, compared to 47% of Black Americans, 37% of white Americans and 39% of Asian Americans, per the Red Cross.

• O+ blood is the most common blood type.

Zoom in: The Red Cross has a 20,000-unit shortfall, and type O blood is especially needed.

• Summertime is a slow season for blood donations.

Learn more about blood donation.

1. Venezuela's electoral commission, CNE, said yesterday the voting system is "fully secure" based on the final audit before this Sunday's presidential elections, and dismissed criticisms of bias as coming from just "one small group."

• The Venezuelan opposition has said it's worried that electoral authorities will try to manipulate the result.
• Most of the commissioners are allied with President Nicolás Maduro, who is badly trailing in polls to opposition candidate Edmundo González.

2. Indigenous activist groups in Honduras led a protest yesterday against the planned construction of a jail on an island that's a national park.

Details of Isaac Cervantes' design using duct tape. Source: via Telemundo and DuckTape

A U.S. teen who made a charro-style suit using 12 rolls of duct tape has won a $15,000 college scholarship for his creation.

State of play: Isaac Cervantes, of Texas, was named as a winner last week of the "Stuck at Prom" contest.

• He said he spent about 123 hours (more than five days) to put everything together, including the sombrero and the designing of a monarch butterfly insert for the back of his jacket.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) cautioned lawmakers there will be a "zero-tolerance" policy for disruptions during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress on Wednesday, warning that guests who disturb the speech may be arrested.

Why it matters: Netanyahu's scheduled appearance has sparked pushback from Democrats frustrated with his handling of the the Israel-Hamas war, with Johnson trying to preempt any controversial moments.

A majority of elected Democrats have quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday.

Why it matters: Harris' political support paired with surge in donations will be vital to her potential ascension as her party's presumptive nominee — and so far all the Democrats viewed as potential challengers have backed her.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Why it matters: The Democratic congressional leaders were among the last major Democratic Party figures who have held out on backing Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the ticket.

Election officials are already preparing for how best to fight a fresh wave of disinformation about the voting process following President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race.

Why it matters: Americans were already highly susceptible to lies about the voting process — and they're expected to be even more susceptible to those about the process to pick a new Democratic candidate, experts warn.

Vice President Kamala Harris is launching her bid for the U.S. presidency with an advantage that former President Trump and President Biden never had: a long history of appealing to Latino voters.

Why it matters: To win crucial swing states, Harris will have to drive Latino turnout in urban centers like Phoenix, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Detroit.

President Biden announced Tuesday he will give his first nationwide address after bowing out of the presidential race Wednesday evening from the Oval Office.

Why it matters: Biden's Sunday announcement that he would no longer be seeking a second term and subsequent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris sent shockwaves through the party just weeks before the Democratic National Convention.

George Clooney and Melinda French Gates have thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, providing celebrity pop while she solidifies her position as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Why it matters: The high-profile endorsements add to Harris' wins since announcing her candidacy, which include record-level fundraising and backing from elected officials.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) welcomed the news on Tuesday of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's resignation following the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

Why it matters: Johnson asserted that the House will move forward with its bipartisan investigation into the security failures that led to Trump being shot, and told reporters the resignation "should have happened sooner."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said during a closed-door meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday morning that Vice President Harris will be the 47th president, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have thus far held off on joining the rush to publicly endorse Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Delta Air Lines is under federal investigation over how it's been handling delays and cancellations amid technical issues with its crew scheduling software.

Why it matters: Delta's continuing problems, as its competitors have rebounded from a widespread software outage, are a black eye for the company, which has strived to build a reputation as a premium airline.

The most vote-rich swing state will test the political salience of the Biden-Harris energy record — and whether Kamala Harris' move left in her brief 2019 primary run will help Donald Trump.

Why it matters: Pennsylvania is likely a must-win for Harris (if she's indeed the Dems' nominee), and it's the nation's second-largest natural gas producing state after Texas.

From Howard University to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris has a deeper history with local D.C. than most Beltway politicians.

Why it matters: If nominated, Harris' warm embrace of everyday Washington will stand in stark contrast to former President Trump's arm-distanced view of a city he says is in need of a federal takeover.

It's over.

Why it matters: Because it never began.

• The Democratic establishment, with breathtaking speed, pushed a struggling President Biden out of his bid for reelection. Now they've virtually locked in Kamala Harris as the party's nominee.

At least three of Vice President Kamala Harris' prospective running mates already have members of their state's congressional delegation pressing their cases from Capitol Hill.

Why it matters: Several lawmakers, eager to see their states represented at the top of the ticket, told Axios they are privately making their argument to the Harris campaign or plan to do so.

Weeks of political upheaval punctuated by President Biden's explosive decision not to seek re-election have placed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress far back in many Democrats' minds.

Why it matters: Some lawmakers believe this dynamic has reduced the potency of the speech as a way for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to expose and inflame Democrats' divisions on Israel.

Democrats' rapid consolidation behind Vice President Kamala Harris has set the stage for an election of astonishing contrasts, beginning with age — the very issue that drove President Biden from the race.

Why it matters: Never before has a party's biggest vulnerability been so suddenly neutralized — and then weaponized. At age 78, Trump is now the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history, and the candidate known for mixing up names.

Vice President Kamala Harris said late Monday she's "proud to have secured the broad support needed" to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee — one day after President Biden suspended his re-election campaign and endorsed her.

The big picture: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made a motion at a virtual meeting of California's delegates in Harris' home state to endorse the vice president, putting her campaign over the top, a Pelosi spokesperson told Axios' Andrew Solender.

Disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz's defamation lawsuit against Fox News was dismissed by a Delaware judge on Monday.

The big picture: Nina Jankowicz alleged she resigned as executive director of the Biden administration's since-disbanded Disinformation Governance Board "as a result of Fox's false statements and the ensuing harassment."

President Biden pledged to spend his remaining six months in office trying to end the Israel-Hamas war and bringing home the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Why it matters: Biden, who called in to Vice President Kamala Harris' first meeting with her campaign staff, will meet later this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the efforts to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Vice President Kamala Harris needs 1,976 Democratic delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination — and she's surpassed this number in delegate endorsements as of Monday night, according to an AP survey.

Why it matters: Although the delegates who have endorsed Harris are not bound to her, it's the latest sign that she is on track to shore up the party's nomination with ease.