Axios

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is on the hunt to find a new leader for his outside super PAC, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: As outgoing president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, Dan Conston essentially runs a $200+ million company that needs to develop and execute a new business plan every two years.

California lawmakers are gearing up for a legal battle against the incoming Trump administration by proposing to allocate $25 million to help the state protect its progressive laws that could be challenged.

Why it matters: California often leads the nation in setting progressive policies on immigration, reproductive rights, climate, and health care, which could yet again be at the center of a costly legal fight between the state's Democrats and President-elect Trump. 

Rep. Jamie Raskin's (D-Md.) decision to challenge House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has sparked a new skirmish for his lead role on the Oversight Committee.

Why it matters: The Oversight panel is likely to be one of the vanguards of Democratic resistance to the President-elect Trump after playing a central role in investigations into the Biden administration.

Israel and Lebanon both told the White House on Monday that despite the recent flare-ups on the border, they are committed to the ceasefire agreement and want it to continue, sources with knowledge of the issue said.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has been concerned the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon could unravel after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire in recent days, U.S. officials said.

A staffer for House Administration Committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) is no longer employed after he was arrested Monday morning on suspicion of bringing ammunition into a U.S. House office building.

Why it matters: It's the second time in three years that a congressional staffer has been arrested and charged with possessing ammunition at the Capitol.

President Biden is facing a steady trickle of condemnation from members of his own party for issuing a pardon of his son Hunter over the weekend.

Why it matters: The pardon is already having downstream political ramifications for Democrats as Republicans try to tie them to it.

President-elect Trump threatened on Monday that if hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are not released before his inauguration "there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge."

Why it matters: This is the first time since he won the election that Trump has weighed in publicly on the hostages that are being held in Gaza.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Monday formally launched his campaign to unseat House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.).

Why it matters: House Democrats are engaged in an intense battle over whether to oust their oldest committee leaders in favor of relatively younger alternatives in an effort to better combat the Trump administration.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday explained President Biden's process in his decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden.

The big picture: Biden's decision to issue a presidential pardon for Hunter Biden, which he previously said he would not do, has been met with condemnation, including from members of the president's own party.

The Biden administration is concerned the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon could unravel after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire in recent days, U.S. officials say.

Why it matters: The ceasefire announced last Tuesday ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is expected to become the number three ranking Democrat in the Senate, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) — who wanted that position — will notch a leadership position just under her, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will shuffle his leadership roster to give both lawmakers top leaderships gigs, avoiding a clash between two ambitious and well-liked members of his caucus.

President-elect Trump had a blunt warning Saturday to countries looking to shift away from the U.S. dollar as the dominant global currency — but his threats are in tension with his broader economic agenda.

Why it matters: The dollar's international role is one of several areas in which different aspects of Trump's agenda involve internal contradictions.

House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said Monday he will not seek to retain his committee leadership role in the 119th Congress.

Why it matters: Grijalva faced a tough challenge from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) fueled by concerns about his ability to lead the panel into the Trump administration.

First Lady Jill Biden's final holiday season at the White House features decor around the theme "A Season of Peace and Light."

The big picture: The theme encourages Americans to reflect on the peace and light of the holidays following the contentious election cycle.

Scrolling through silly or nonsensical social media posts can have an unofficial side effect: "brain rot."

Why it matters: It's a phrase Oxford University Press said "gained new prominence in 2024" — so much so that Oxford dubbed the term its word of the year.

President Biden sent shockwaves through Washington Sunday night when he issued a pardon of his son Hunter — a move he'd previously vowed he wouldn't make.

Why it matters: Biden's pardon for his son is the most sweeping presidential pardon in decades, since then-President Ford issued a blanket pardon for former President Nixon, Politico reported.

Three of the biggest investment firms in the world were sued by 11 states last week, in a case that not only could transform the way trillions of dollars is managed, but could also hobble global efforts to transition to a sustainable level of carbon emissions.

Why it matters: Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, along with 10 of his colleagues, is attempting to use the U.S. judicial system to forcibly derail the global consensus that investors can and must play an important role in the transition to a net-zero world.

Just for fun, our friends at Penta Group are keeping a spreadsheet of the accolades President-elect Trump bestows on his picks for Cabinet and staff in the emailed announcements.

Why it matters: "Great Honor" (capitalized) seems to be the highest compliment. "Pleased" is standard fare.

President-elect Trump is turning to a Tampa-area sheriff to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration's efforts to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs across the southern border.

Why it matters: If confirmed, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister would be the point person for containing a highly addictive man-made opioid that's a leading cause of death and frequently disguised in unexpected forms.

President Biden has privately expressed guilt for years about the investigations and convictions of his son Hunter. Late Sunday night, he tried to lighten that guilt by giving him a broad pardon.

Why it matters: Biden's pardon marks the end of a central drama of his presidency that has both weighed him down and propelled him forward.

The sluggish federal response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak could become even more disjointed and ineffective in the second Trump administration — if it isn't abandoned altogether, some public health officials warn.

Why it matters: Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called for a break in infectious disease research that could leave the nation unprepared for a host of pandemic threats by discouraging vaccines and shortchanging surveillance.

Unflattering stories about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s personal life and influential criticisms of his public health stances are already starting to pile up — more than a month and a half before President-elect Trump takes office and can even officially nominate him to lead Health and Human Services.

Why it matters: Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican senators' votes, assuming all Senate Democrats vote against him. The question is how much the handful of wavering members will accept.

President Biden signed a presidential pardon for his son Hunter Biden on Sunday, a reversal from previous statements he would grant him neither a pardon nor commutation.

Why it matters: Presidents regularly sign pardons at the end of their terms. They rarely involve cases where their own family members are in the middle of the legal process. Hunter Biden was set to appear at sentencing hearings on Dec. 12 and Dec. 16.

President Biden announced Sunday that he has pardoned son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month after being convicted of felony gun charges and pleading guilty to felony tax charges.

Why it matters: Biden had previously ruled out pardoning his son. But he said in a statement on Sunday: "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong."

Read the president's statement on and pardon of Hunter Biden in full, via DocumentCloud:

More from Axios:

• House Republicans rage at Biden's pardon of Hunter
• Democrats meet Hunter Biden pardon with groans and shrugs
• Trump reacts to Biden pardoning son Hunter by raising Jan. 6 rioters' cases

President Biden's pardon of his son Hunter on Sunday met with a mix of disapproval and understanding from Democrats in Congress.

Why it matters: Democrats have spent the last two years walking a cautious line of parrying GOP investigations into the president while largely avoiding defending his son as he faced criminal prosecution.

Congressional Republicans reacted with swift fury on Sunday after President Biden announced a full and unconditional pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.

Why it matters: Hunter was a central figure in GOP probes, with House Republicans basing their impeachment inquiry into the president in large part on his son's business dealings.

President-elect Trump responded to President Biden signing a presidential pardon for his son Hunter Biden on Sunday by highlighting the cases of the Jan. 6 rioters.

The big picture: "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?" wrote Trump on Truth Social, in reference to those convicted in the U.S. Capitol riot who he's pledged to pardon. "Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is taking steps towards a run to unseat House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) after initially leaning against it, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Raskin has seen a groundswell of support from colleagues serious enough that it prompted leadership to check in with him about his intentions, sources familiar with the matter tell Axios.