Axios

Former President Carter's remains were transported Tuesday from Georgia to Washington D.C., where he'll be taken to the U.S. Navy Memorial before a procession to the Capitol.

The big picture: Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100, will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda until his state funeral Thursday.

President Biden is infuriating critics in the twilight of his term, unburdened by optics as he resorts to raw instincts — and seemingly a bit of trolling — to write the final pages of his polarizing presidency.

Why it matters: Biden's legacy will be defined, in many ways, by Donald Trump's reelection. But the 82-year-old president appears too proud to allow MAGA's rising tide to sweep him into premature irrelevance.

A federal judge on Tuesday granted permission for a Jan. 6 defendant to travel to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Trump's inauguration.

Why it matters: Trump has reiterated that he plans to pardon rioters who participated in the Capitol attack as one of his first priorities in office.

The 119th House passed its first bill of 2025 Tuesday: The Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for certain non-violent crimes such as theft.

Why it matters: It's a sign of just how central immigration and border security will be for Republicans under the incoming Trump administration.

President-elect Trump during a lengthy press conference on Tuesday did not rule out using the U.S. military to reclaim the Panama Canal or acquire Greenland.

Why it matters: Speaking for over an hour during his second press conference since winning the White House, Trump floated renaming the 'Gulf of Mexico' to 'Gulf of America' and reiterated that he's "looking at" pardoning Jan. 6 defendants.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Tuesday she plans to introduce legislation renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

Why it matters: The measure is in response to President-elect Trump floating the idea at an earlier press conference — during which he also declined to rule out seizing Panama and Greenland by military force.

President-elect Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will join negotiations over a Gaza hostage-release and ceasefire deal on Wednesday in Doha.

Why it matters: Witkoff's trip is part of a last-minute effort by the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration to reach a deal to release hostages held by Hamas and establish a ceasefire in Gaza before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

A New York appeals court judge judge on Tuesday rejected President-elect Trump's request to dismiss his felony hush money conviction, just days before he is set to be sentenced.

Why it matters: The move was Trump's latest 11th-hour bid to avoid his Friday sentencing, which will take place mere days before Trump's inauguration.

Senate Democrats are forcing a delay in Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation hearing next week, claiming she hasn't provided required vetting materials — while Republicans accuse them of playing games, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's the first taste of what's expected to be a drama-filled few weeks as the Senate takes up some of President-elect Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks.

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked special counsel Jack Smith from releasing a final report summarizing findings from his investigations into President-elect Trump.

Why it matters: It's a win for Trump, who fought the release of the report on his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and handling of classified documents.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) will speak to the Delaware Republican Party this week about her efforts to institute transgender bathroom bans at the U.S. Capitol and on federal property, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Mace has been positioning herself as the chief antagonist to Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the state's newly elected congresswoman and the first openly transgender member of Congress.

President-elect Trump said Tuesday that billionaire Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Dubai-based developer Damac Properties, is investing at least $20 billion in the U.S. to support new data centers.

Why it matters: Sajwani's investment comes as Big Tech's data center spending explodes.

Monday's decision by the Federal Reserve's top bank regulator to step down from his job — but not from the Fed entirely — is simultaneously less and more than meets the eye.

Why it matters: Michael Barr's self-demotion clears the way for President-elect Trump to appoint a vice chair for supervision. It is no radical departure from past precedent: Fed governors have, in the past, stepped aside on the principle that a new president should get to appoint their own chief financial regulator.

President-elect Trump is seeking to stop special counsel Jack Smith from releasing a final report on the Republican leader's two dismissed federal criminal cases, per a letter included in court filings on Monday night.

The big picture: Monday's letter from Trump's attorneys to Attorney General Merrick Garland was included in filings from his former co-defendants in his dismissed classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.

Never has it been easier to spread misinformation at scale — with less concern about media meaningfully policing it, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column.

Why it matters: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are of one mind. The most powerful global information platforms should be governed by free speech — and the people — not by the platforms themselves.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday finalized a new rule banning medical debt from being included on credit reports.

Why it matters: The policy will remove medical debt from about 15 million Americans' credit reports, making it easier for them to obtain loans, per a CFPB press release.

Matt Boyle, Washington bureau chief of Breitbart News, tells Axios the aggressively pro-MAGA publication is gearing up for Trump II by surging "troops into battle in the heart of the swamp in Washington, with the plan to win the information war we've been fighting for over a decade."

• "It's nothing personal with the establishment; simply business, and we mean it," boasted Boyle, who has been with the publication for 12 years.

Telehealth brand Hims & Hers donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee, the company told Axios, becoming what's believed to be the first digital health firm to do so.

Why it matters: It joins major tech players the likes of Amazon and Meta, as well as drug giant Pfizer and PhRMA, which have each reportedly contributed in what's seen as a chance to earn goodwill with the incoming president.

Several major U.S. manufacturing sectors are primed to be clear winners under President-elect Trump's tariff plans, even if consumers take a hit.

• At the top of the list: defense-related minerals, medical supplies and power generation and storage.

Why it matters: By making cheap foreign imports more expensive, Trump's tariffs are expected to incentivize domestic manufacturers to expand.

The Biden administration is a step closer to lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes after an 11th-hour proposal cleared a key White House review.

Why it matters: The Food and Drug Administration rule, whose precise language hasn't been made public, offers the administration one more chance to address the harms of smoking after it punted on banning menthol in tobacco products.

Republicans are set to control the legislative process in far more states than Democrats in 2025.

Why it matters: State laws can have an even greater impact on your life than those passed by Congress.

• Democratic lawmakers and governors, meanwhile, could be a bulwark against some of the incoming Trump administration's policies in states they control.

President Biden mourned with New Orleans Monday night at a prayer service at the St. Louis Cathedral.

Why it matters: The community gathering was meant to help begin the healing after a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street killed 14 people and injured at least 35 more.

Hundreds of people marched with the Society of Joan of Arc on Monday night, taking to the streets and taking back some of the joy stolen earlier this week from the start of Mardi Gras, New Orleans' most exuberant celebration.

The big picture: The procession wound its way through the French Quarter, passing the St. Louis Cathedral just after President Biden gathered with mourners inside to pay respects to the 14 people who died in the New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street.

President-elect Trump confirmed his son Donald Trump Jr. is visiting Greenland in a Monday evening post that renewed his call for the U.S. to take ownership of the autonomous territory that's part of of Denmark.

The big picture: Greenland's government was told the president-elect's elder son was due to arrive Monday in the capital, Nuuk, per a statement from the territory's Ministry for Independence and Foreign Affairs that noted he wouldn't meet with anyone from the government because the "visit is not official."

Hill leaders are setting up the first votes of the 119th Congress this week — on a bill at the center of a heated political debate over illegal immigration.

Why it matters: The expected votes in both chambers on the Laken Riley Act make clear Republicans plan to keep hitting the border issue — putting pressure on vulnerable Democrats trying to find their post-election footing.

President-elect Trump is set to visit Senate Republicans on Wednesday — after publicly siding with House Speaker Mike Johnson over how to pass major policy wins.

Why it matters: The new GOP trifecta needs to get on the same page before the much harder decisions come due.

Coming out of the House chamber Monday after certifying President-elect Trump's 2024 victory, Democrats argued that their party set an example by allowing the process to go smoothly and peacefully.

Why it matters: The uneventful 30-minute proceedings reversed a precedent in recent election cycles of members of Congress trying to object to elector slates for the opposing party's presidential candidate.

President Biden has signed a bill that renames the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles after the Latino parents who helped end legal school segregation in California and set up the 1954 landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling.

The big picture: Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez U.S. Courthouse comes decades after Latino activists tried to draw attention to the pre-Brown case, which set the stage for racial desegregation nationwide.