Axios

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday that President-elect Trump has invited him to attend the inauguration — but it may be difficult for Bolsonaro to attend amid his ongoing legal troubles.

The big picture: Bolsonaro — like Trump — had refused to concede his election loss while his supporters rioted. Now Bolsonaro is taking inspiration from the president-elect's impending White House return to plan his own political comeback.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is privately pressing his senators to create fireworks when they question President-elect Trump's nominees in the coming weeks, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: "Republicans spent four years attacking the Democratic brand and we need to use the hearings to begin returning the favor," Schumer told his top committee Democrats in a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Federal Reserve officials are worried that President-elect Trump's trade and immigration policies will stoke inflation, according to minutes from their latest policy meeting released on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Higher tariffs and mass deportations could make America's bumpy battle against inflation more difficult. In that scenario, the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer — and put the central bank on a collision course with Trump.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum clapped back at President-elect Trump on Wednesday and said parts of the U.S. should be called "América Mexicana," in response to Trump's proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" at a press conference on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The response, using a troubled history of the U.S.-Mexican War in 1846-8, signaled that the Sheinbaum administration would not be intimidated by Trump's antics and threats.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday signaled that Democrats can be expected to form ranks against President-elect Trump's vision of a new U.S. imperialism.

Why it matters: Should Trump's musings morph into a serious push to expand the nation's borders, opposition from Democrats could make it difficult to get the kind of congressional approval he would need.

A watchdog group alleged Robert F. Kennedy Jr. committed voter fraud by registering for and voting in the 2024 election from a New York residence where he does not legally reside.

Why it matters: The complaint Accountable.US filed with the New York State Board of Elections on Wednesday marks yet another controversy for President-elect Trump's pick to lead America's health agencies.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a new multimedia campaign in southern border states highlighting the stories of asylum seekers who have fled Mexico, El Salvador and Cameroon.

Why it matters: Immigrant rights and civil liberties groups are preparing a public relations and court challenge blitz ahead of President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan in hopes of slowing down immigrant removals.

The multitrillion-dollar bond market is sending a message to President-elect Trump and the new Congress: There is no fiscal free lunch to be had.

Why it matters: A surge in longer-term borrowing costs over the last couple of months may reflect deepening concern about high fiscal deficits among global investors who buy U.S. government debt.

Attorney General Merrick Garland in a court filing on Wednesday said the Justice Department plans to release publicly special counsel Jack Smith's findings on Donald Trump's alleged efforts to subvert 2020 election results.

Why it matters: Trump's federal 2020 election case was dropped after his presidential victory, and he has relentlessly fought any effort to release information about the investigation's findings.

President-elect Trump is asking the Supreme Court to halt Friday's sentencing in his New York hush money case, according to a new court filing.

Why it matters: If the high court intervenes, it could hand Trump another legal win by delaying the hearing or blocking the lower court from proceeding with levying a punishment for his historic felony conviction.

President Biden insisted in a new interview out Wednesday that he could have beaten President-elect Trump in the 2024 election, even as he admitted he was unsure that he had the stamina for another term.

Why it matters: Since Democrats' defeat, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' teams have reportedly blamed each other for the outcome.

The Biden administration's final rules for technology-neutral energy tax credits won praise from renewable energy groups but criticism from fuel cell companies.

Why it matters: The Clean Electricity Investment and Production Tax Credits — known as 45Y and 48E — apply to projects beginning construction this year. The rules were issued Tuesday.

Three massive, concurrent tectonic shifts are reordering in dramatic ways how America and the world will get, and consume, information in the years ahead:

1. Trust in traditional media is vanishing.
2. Where people are getting information instead has shattered into dozens of ecosystems.
3. The world's most powerful social platforms — X, Facebook, Instagram — no longer police speech or information.

A review of 74 medical studies links higher fluoride exposure to lower IQ in kids — but mostly draws on research that took place outside of the U.S. and had a high risk of biased results.

Why it matters: The federally funded analysis could further stoke the debate over adding fluoride to drinking water as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who's called for ending the practice, is poised to take over the Health and Human Services Department.

State Department officials told the Trump administration transition team there could be a humanitarian "catastrophe" in Gaza when a new Israeli law barring contact with the UN refugee agency for Palestinians takes effect at the end of the month, three U.S. officials told Axios.

Why it matters: The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is the primary aid agency operating in Gaza. U.S. officials say there's no serious backup plan for providing humanitarian supplies and services to Palestinians.

Distinguishing truth from falsehood is frustrating, endless, thankless work — and now Mark Zuckerberg is walking away from it.

The big picture: Facebook's latest content-moderation pivot looks like part of a plan to win over Donald Trump as he takes power again. But the field Zuckerberg is abandoning is one he never wanted to play on in the first place.

House Republicans are already laying down potential dealbreakers for the massive fiscal legislation President-elect Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are planning.

Why it matters: The chamber is set to have a roughly two-vote majority when the package is voted on, meaning just a handful of GOP defections could sink the entire initiative.

The delays are piling up for some of President-elect Trump's top nominees.

Why it matters: The vetting process already got off to a slow start with the Trump team taking until December to sign an agreement for the FBI to run background checks for nominees.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) privately opened the door on Tuesday to Senate Democrats negotiating amendments after the House passed the Laken Riley Act.

Why it matters: Senate Republican leaders will need the support of at least eight Senate Democrats to ultimately pass the bill.

President-elect Trump is preparing to invite the entire Senate Republican conference to Mar-a-Lago for a mega-MAGA party in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: Trump is keen to celebrate a victory he sees as historic and fete the senators who helped him achieve it. He also wants to build trust with the lawmakers he needs to pass his sweeping legislative agenda.

The suspect responsible for the Tesla Cybertruck blast in Las Vegas on New Year's Day used AI to plan the explosion, authorities said Tuesday.

The big picture: Matthew Alan Livelsberger searched ChatGPT to get information on how to carry out his plot, including how many explosives he would need and what pistol would set them off, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a news conference.

The Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that Greenland is not for sale after President-elect Trump refused to commit to avoiding use of military force to take control of Greenland.

Why it matters: Trump's remark, which he also applied to the Panama Canal at a press conference on Tuesday, is an escalation of his rhetoric regarding Greenland and the Panama Canal.