A bipartisan group of House members from high-tax blue states huddled Tuesday on tax relief for their districts that is set to be included in President-elect Trump's massive fiscal bill.
Why it matters: Democrats from those districts aren't ruling out voting for the package if it contains a sufficiently generous State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) cap increase.
Why it matters: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and some Republican governors are promising to fly flags at full-staff Monday after Trump repeatedly complained about them being lowered for his swearing in.
Talk of a possible sale of TikTok's U.S. assets to Elon Musk reflects his increasingly powerful stance as a power broker at the nexus of U.S.-China relations.
Why it matters: Beijing-based TikTok owner ByteDance faces a Jan. 19 deadline to sell the video platform's U.S. business or stop updating the app, which would eventually make it obsolete.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for secretary of Defense, dodged several questions during his often contentious Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday.
The big picture: Republicans' narrow Senate majority means they can only lose a handful of votes, and Democrats used the hearing to air Hegseth'sallegations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement and excessive drinking and question how far he would go on Trump's behalf.
Student loan borrowers impacted by the Los Angeles-area fires, a federally declared natural disaster, are eligible for temporary relief.
The big picture: The wildfires caused much devastation, destroying entire neighborhoods and displacing thousands, with more than 88,000 people still under evacuation orders Tuesday — a week after the fires began.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump'spick for Defense secretary, repeated his claim Tuesday that he is the target of a "smear campaign" when faced with pointed questions from lawmakers over his fitness to lead the military amid misconduct allegations.
The big picture: After Trump chose the former Fox News host for the Cabinet post,Hegseth was besieged with scandals that threatened to tank his nomination before he ever faced lawmakers.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has been making calls and telling people she is likely to make a bid for governor, D.C. and Tennessee sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Blackburn would be a formidable contender in the 2026 gubernatorial race. She would be running to be the first female governor in the state's history.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it will challenge state laws that make it easier for President-elect Trump to adopt his mass deportation plan and urge other states to put up legal roadblocks to slow mass raids.
Why it matters: The ACLU — the nation's largest civil liberties organization — has the reach to mobilize activists, with chapters in many states, and is expected to be the main litigate to lawsuits against mass deportations.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick to for Defense secretary and a U.S. Army veteran, was identified "as an extremist" by his own unit over one of his tattoos and was barred from working President Biden's 2021 inauguration, Hegseth testified during his confirmation hearing Tuesday.
The big picture: The former Fox News co-host has turned heads with his comments about the military, arguing it had "allowed itself to go woke" and saying that women should not serve in combat roles.
President-elect Trump's administration will be intently focused on making the U.S. border more secure and deporting people who are in the country illegally, but may prove more open to legal immigration of highly skilled workers.
Done right, that would be an economic boon, a new paper argues.
Why it matters: The report, out Tuesday morning from the centrist Economic Innovation Group, finds that when some of the world's most talented and entrepreneurial people are allowed into the United States, the results are faster growth, higher wages for native-born citizens, and lower fiscal deficits.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and flattery is one of the quickest ways to Donald Trump's heart.
Why it matters: That's the easiest way to understand what we saw yesterday from Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves, who for nearly two hours spoke and took questions during a rambling press conference that veered from bravado to xenophobia to attacks on the press.
The New Year's Day attack injured 57 people, the FBI said Tuesday, increasing its latest count from 35.
The latest: The suspect's internet history, the FBI said in its update, also revealed that he had researched Mardi Gras, how to get onto a Bourbon Street balcony and reviewed details about recent New Orleans shootings.
Once seen as saviors to a dying industry, some billionaire media owners are now facing a backlash from their newsrooms.
Why it matters: President-elect Trump's victory has prompted wealthy executives to reconsider their resistance to the MAGA movement. Journalists say they're pandering to power by meddling with important work.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has been removed from the House Rules Committee after being the lone vote against Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) reelection.
Why it matters: Massie's departure from the influential panel could make it easier for Johnson to get legislation to the House floor.
The archives of a pioneering Chicano Studies historian were destroyed in the devastating wildfires charring through Los Angeles County, his widow confirmed.
The big story: The loss of groundbreaking materials from the late historian Juan Gómez-Quiñones comes as the wildfires so far have claimed 24 lives and flatted the many Black-owned homes in Altadena, California.
Most packaged foods may soon carry front-facing nutrition labels under an 11th-hour proposal the Biden administration unveiled on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Consumer advocates say front-of-package labels have been shown in other countries to steer consumers to healthier options and incentivize food companies to reformulate their products.
President-elect Trump engaged in an "unprecedented criminal effort" to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith alleged in the final report of his investigation into Trump's election subversion case.
Why it matters: The report's release early Tuesday came despite Trump's legal efforts to block it, making the Justice Department's findings public less than a week before Trump's inauguration.
President-elect Trump will remotely address heads of state and CEOs at the World Economic Forum next week, days after he officially takes office.
Why it matters: Top government officials and business executives flock to Davos, Switzerland annually to discuss the globe's economic issues. This year, Trump's agenda and how such policies will ripple around the world will consume attendees' attention.
The creation of ARPA-H and first-ever limits on "forever chemicals" in consumer products and drinking water are among the significant legacies of the cancer "moonshot," Biden administration officials said Monday.
Why it matters: The moonshot aimed to cut the cancer death rate by at least half and was a passion project for President Joe Biden, though skeptics said the substantial sums directed at it could have been better spent and that the regulatory regime encouraged quantity over quality.
Enrollment of first-year Black and Hispanic medical students fell sharply in the year after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education, according to new data from the institutions.
Why it matters: Research shows that a racially diverse physician workforce can improve patient outcomes.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's controversial pick for secretary of Defense, will have his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Why it matters: The former Fox News host and Army combat veteran likely faces a tough hearing due to allegations against him ranging from sexual assault to excessive drinking. Axios has obtained a prepared text of his opening statement.
Pete Hegseth admits he's an unorthodox pick to lead the Pentagon — but says it's "time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm," according to his opening statement, obtained by Axios, for his confirmation hearing Tuesday.
Hegseth, one of President-elect Trump's most controversial Cabinet choices, plans to tell the Senate Armed Services Committee that he'll "[r]estore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon," give "new defense companies" a better chance to win contracts, and rapidly deploy emerging technologies.
Donald Trump is about to become the oldest person ever sworn in as president — but he hopes to have the youngest group of top Cabinet officials and advisers of any president in more than three decades.
Why it matters: Even as he's sought to regain his grip on power, the once and future president has tried to build the next generation of his MAGA movement, as seen in his choice of JD Vance, 40, as his vice president.
After two years of mostly playing defense, the left-wing group Justice Democrats is reengaging with its founding mission: Unseating establishment Democratic lawmakers it deems insufficiency progressive.
Why it matters: The group has has been behind some of the biggest primary upsets of the past few election cycles, namely Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) shock win against a House Democratic leader in 2018.
Conservative commentators, amid the deadly Los Angeles wildfires, have narrowed in on a target they've deemed unnecessary and distracting at emergency briefings: American Sign Language interpreters.
The big picture: To members of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, ASL interpreters provide a critical service to millions of Americans — and in emergencies, their role can be life-saving.
President-elect Trump allegedly spread "demonstrably and, in many cases, obviously false" claims about his 2020 election loss in an effort to overturn results, special counsel Jack Smith alleged in the final report of his investigation, published early Tuesday.
Why it matters: The Justice Department closed its investigations in the face of Trump's November election win, but Smith maintains in the report he would have secured a conviction in the case if it had gone to trial.
The Department of Justice's final report on President-elect Trump's dismissed federal election subversion case was published early Tuesday, revealing new details of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation.
Why it matters: Smith claims in the report less than two weeks from Trump's inauguration that he could have secured a conviction if the Republican leader hadn't won November's election and the case had gone to trial.
Greenland is seeking to work more closely with the U.S. on defense and mining, Prime Minister Múte Egede said at a Monday briefing, per local media.
Why it matters: House Republicans introduced a bill Monday that's designed to allow President-elect Trump to enter into negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory that's part of the Danish kingdom.
House Democrats' two largest ideological factions are trying to tamp down their disagreements ahead of President-elect Trump's return to the White House, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: HouseDemocrats see their number one task as taking on Trump and winning back control of Congress in 2026. Everything else, they say, can wait.
The big picture: Hunter Biden was the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges. He was convicted on felony gun charges in Delaware in June, and pleaded guilty on felony tax charges in California in September.
House Democrats are warning Speaker Mike Johnson that tying federal wildfire relief for California to the debt limit could set a precedent that would come back to bite Republicans.
Johnson told reporters this afternoon (video) that there's "some" discussion of tying disaster aid to raising the debt limit.
Why it matters: Disaster prone red states such as Florida and Louisiana — Johnson's home state — could face a similar squeeze from Democrats if they retake the House, lawmakers told us.
Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing is becoming a test of will for Republicans on ensuring FBI files aren't distributed throughout the entire Senate.
Why it matters: The Trump transition team is demanding that the president-elect's nominees be treated the same way they insist Joe Biden's were.
House Democrats are warning Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that tying federal wildfire relief for California to the debt limit could set a new precedent that would come back to bite Republicans.
Why it matters: Disaster prone red states like Florida and Louisiana — Johnson's home state — could face a similar squeeze from Democrats if they retake the House, lawmakers told Axios.
