Axios

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) could try returning to the congressional seat he resigned from, but he would potentially have to run for election again. And it's not clear he wants to.

Why it matters: The scandal-prone Republican firebrand withdrew Thursday as President-elect Trump's intended attorney general nominee — leaving his political future uncertain.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will announce Monday whether he is challenging Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Should he jump in, it would be the latest in a series of challenges against septuagenarian committee leaders by relatively younger Democrats vowing to put up a more vigorous fight against the Trump administration.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew his nomination for attorney general Thursday amid mounting scrutiny over alleged sexual misconduct.

Why it matters: Gaetz, a Trump loyalist who has been dogged by scandals for years, faced the possibility of rejection by a Republican-controlled Senate as more details emerged about a House Ethics Committee probe into him.

Matt Gaetz's former congressional colleagues, in both parties, raised a collective cheer Thursday as the onetime Florida congressman withdrew his nomination for attorney general.

Why it matters: Gaetz's decision spares the House from a brutal fight over an Ethics Committee report on him and the Senate from an even bloodier battle over his nomination.

Sexual misconduct allegations have tanked one of President-elect Trump's most high-profile Cabinet picks, Matt Gaetz, but other choices to staff his administration have also been accused of participating or overlooking sexual misconduct.

Why it matters: While the first Trump administration's staff also included members who faced sexual misconduct allegations, Trump's picks the second time around are set to fill much more prominent and influential roles.

Elon Musk's alliance with President-elect Trump shaped the 2024 election and its aftermath — but longtime observers of both men doubt their honeymoon can last.

Why it matters: The Trump-Musk power duo could fall out over appointments, competing interests or just jealousy over sharing a spotlight.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) withdrew as President-elect Trump's choice for attorney general on Thursday after being dogged by allegations of sexual impropriety and drug use.

Why it matters: The highly controversial pick's path to confirmation was becoming "a distraction" to the White House transition, Gaetz said.

Matt Gaetz said Thursday that he is withdrawing his name from consideration for attorney general in President-elect Trump's second term.

Why it matters: The right-wing firebrand, who resigned from Congress after Trump nominated him, was one of the president-elect's most controversial Cabinet picks and his pathway to the confirmation appeared tenuous.

For the third year in a row, high preterm birth rates earned the U.S. only a D+ in a March of Dimes report on the state of maternal and infant health.

The big picture: Black, Latina, Native American and Pacific Islander women experience disproportionate rates of preterm births, infant mortality and maternal deaths.

Officials from Vice President Harris'2024 campaign will meet with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Senate Democrats out-performed Harris in every single swing state this year, and it is the first meeting between the groups since Nov. 5, when Harris lost and Republicans won control of the Senate.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray did not show up to provide testimony at a routine hearing scheduled Thursday before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Why it matters: It's the first time in at least 15 years that the agency heads have refused to appear publicly for the annual hearing, the committee's chairman said in a statement.

The expected "burst of legislating and power-stretching," from the new administration and Congress could put corporate America's penchant for silence to the test.

Why it matters: There's a recalibration happening as executives navigate how and when to address socio-political issues in the era of Trump 2.0.

Congress is embroiled in what's essentially a workplace fight over bathrooms that is pretty outside the norm in the private sector.

Why it matters: Most private companies have made efforts over the past decade or so to foster an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees — that means adults can use the bathroom they feel most comfortable using.

A woman told police she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to 22 pages of graphic investigative reports made public late Wednesday.

The big picture: Hegseth, a former Fox News personality who is President-elect Trump's nominee to be Defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter was consensual, and he denied any wrongdoing, AP reports.

Vice President Harris' 2024 vote total has now surpassed President-elect Trump's total in 2020 for third-highest of all time.

Why it matters: The Trump-Harris popular vote margin is the narrowest since Bush vs. Gore in 2000, despite Trump's decisive electoral college victory.

Many people in media have asked us over the years for copies of a step-by-step memo Axios CEO Jim VandeHei wrote long ago about how to be a great journalist at Axios. Jim and Mike Allen on Thursday night will accept the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award.

• So we're posting the memo in hopes that the next generation of Jims and Mikes will read it, practice it — and join Axios and other media companies in the fight for truth.

You can be great. But you have to want it, fight for it, work for it, relentlessly.

• First, you need to spot it.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a bruising fight in his quest to become Health and Human Services secretary, regardless of whether he's confirmed by the Senate.

Why it matters: The confirmation process will test how willing GOP senators are to let his disproven vaccine claims and pro-abortion stance go unchallenged, either in the belief it's important to get an outsider-provocateur running federal health care or in deference to President-elect Trump.

The House GOP's decision to bar Congress' first-ever transgender member from women's bathrooms spotlights a national trend: Republicans see targeting trans rights as a sure-fire political winner.

Why it matters: Republicans are treating their victory as a mandate to further restrict trans people from accessing bathrooms, youth sports and gender-affirming care, citing President-elect Trump's closing message: "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you."

The Department of Justice is pushing for Google to sell its Chrome web browser after a landmark ruling found the tech giant had illegally abused its search monopoly.

Why it matters: The proposal for a partial breakup of Google and an overhaul of the running of its Android mobile operating system, among other changes, would mark the biggest antitrust action in the U.S. in decades if it's approved.

House Democrats are facing a rare phenomenon: A senior committee member is challenging the incumbent leader of his panel for the gavel.

Why it matters: It is part of a trend in which House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) younger members are trying to leapfrog their older colleagues after a disappointing 2024 election.

Some House Republicans are prepared to block President-elect Trump from using a recess appointment on attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz.

Why it matters: In the case of recess appointments, the House can use a procedural trick to block a president from bypassing the Senate.

Neither of the House members who oversee the administration of the lower chamber has a clear answer on how House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) new transgender bathroom ban will be enforced.

Why it matters: Transgender bathroom access is a fight that has raged for years on the state level, and enforceability has been a central point of tension. Now Johnson is bringing that fight to Congress' doorstep.

A pair of House Democrats on Wednesday attempted to force votes on releasing the House Ethics Committee's report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), President-elect Trump's nominee for attorney general.

Why it matters: Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told reporters that the panel failed to reach agreement Wednesday on the matter.

Gautam Adani, the billionaire chair of India's conglomerate Adani Group, was indicted in New York on charges related to allegations of "an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials," prosecutors said Wednesday.

The big picture: Adani, one of the world's richest people, and two other executives of a renewable energy firm are accused of conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud.