Axios

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that it is a "nonstarter" to attach California wildfire aid to a debt limit increase, throwing cold water on an idea floated by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Why it matters: Given Johnson's narrow margins in the House, any dissent from House Democrats could further complicate the speaker's efforts to strike a deal ahead of the looming showdown over raising the federal borrowing cap.

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Why it matters: The files relating to JFK's killing have been the focus of decades of speculation.

DAVOS, Switzerland — In his first major speech since the inauguration, President Trump said he'd mandate the Fed lower interest rates imminently — a threat that could undermine the central bank's political independence, Axios Macro co-author Courtenay Brown writes.

• Speaking virtually today to the World Economic Forum, Trump re-upped the pressure he placed on the Fed during his first term, which was unusual for a president.

DAVOS, Switzerland — Brian Moynihan, chair and CEO of Bank of America, embraced the business optimism that ran rampant at the World Economic Forum this week — with the prospect of reduced regulation energizing attendees.

Inflation and interest rate decreases were getting "overwhelmed" by new rules from the Biden administration, Moynihan told Axios' Courtenay Brown and Mike Allen during an onstage conversation.

1. 🚒 Thousands have evacuated after the Hughes Fire near LA exploded in size yesterday. Warm, dry and windy conditions were expected to continue into tomorrow morning, Axios weather expert Andrew Freedman and Bec Falconer report.
2. ⚖️ A federal judge ruled Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is "blatantly unconstitutional," temporarily blocking it nationwide. Go deeper.
3. 📺 CNN laid off around 200 people — 6% of the workforce — in the network's latest expected round of cuts, CEO Mark Thompson announced. The company plans to invest more heavily in digital, including a cross-device streaming strategy, and will be posting new positions, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

"Emilia Perez" swept up Oscar nominations, announced today, with a total of 13.

• The movie is about a Mexican cartel leader who undergoes gender affirmation surgery to become a woman.

🎥 Other top nominees included "Anora," "The Brutalist," "A Complete Unknown" and "Wicked."

• Snub to know: Nicole Kidman for Best Actress in "Babygirl." Come on!

Full list of nominees.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a crypto working group to be led by David Sacks, the administration's AI and crypto czar, but he did not create a bitcoin stockpile — yet.

Why it matters: The order charges the team, which will include the Treasury secretary, attorney general and head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, with coming up with an overal federal strategy for regulating crypto assets and stablecoins.

Federal agencies have until Friday to revise their telework policies with a recommended goal of all employees being back within a month after President Trump ordered full time in-office work.

Why it matters: The order, which could affect thousands of federal workers, fits into Trump's broad initiative to reshape the federal government, slash the civic workforce and target the so-called "deep state."

President Trump wants to see lower interest rates. But the cost of borrowing money is not something he or any president controls directly — and the ways he can affect rates are subtle and counterintuitive.

Why it matters: Rates may well come down as the Trump administration progresses, but if so it will be because of changing policy from the politically independent Federal Reserve and global investors' outlook for the economy in the long-term.

President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is "blatantly unconstitutional," a federal judge said Thursday, temporarily blocking it nationwide, multiple outlets reported.

The big picture: The decision came a day after the president offered his first defense of the order, which seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents and undocumented immigrants.

Pete Hegseth cleared a major hurdle on his path to be President Trump's Defense secretary, with all but two of the Senate's Republican members supporting him in a Thursday procedural vote.

Why it matters: President Trump's defense secretary nominee now has a clearer path to confirmation despite "no" votes from GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine.)

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Thursday that she can't "in good conscience" vote for Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary.

Why it matters: Hegseth, who has been besieged with scandals after Trump tapped him to helm the Pentagon, now faces a rocky path to Senate confirmation.

The Senate voted 74-25 Thursday to confirm John Ratcliffe as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, moving quickly to install another member of President Trump's national security team during his first week in office.

Why it matters: It's the second time the Senate has confirmed Ratcliffe to a top intelligence job, this time with bipartisan support.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Elon Musk for making a series of Nazi-related jokes on X, calling it "inappropriate and offensive to make light" of the "singularly evil" Holocaust.

Why it matters: Just days earlier, the ADL had defended Musk over an awkward hand gesture he made during an inauguration event that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute — saying "all sides should give one another a bit of grace."

Axios has obtained a copy of the memo from HHS directing a pause in federal health agencies' public communications that was first reported earlier this week by the Washington Post.

Why it matters: The blackout has been met with outrage in some medical and science circles, while other sources have said it's more or less routine for a new administration, if not clumsily handled.

What they're saying: "HHS has issued a pause on mass communications and public appearances that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health," the department said in a statement.

• "This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization. There are exceptions for announcements that HHS divisions believe are mission critical, but they will be made on a case-by-case basis."

Between the lines: The exact scope of the directive remains murky, along with whether it affects content like the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

• The FDA, for example, on Wednesday issued a safety warning about allergic reactions to a multiple sclerosis drug.
• Public Citizen called for the communications pause to end by Feb. 1, saying: "There is zero reason for standard public health communications that people rely on to stay safe to be paused, and for scientific meetings to be postponed or cancelled."

President Trump said in a virtual address at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that his administration is going to give "rapid approvals" to AI companies looking to build power plants attached to their data centers.

Why it matters: This makes it clear that a motivation for his national energy emergency declaration is easing construction of new fossil fueled-power plants to serve AI data centers.

President Trump's early barrage of executive orders may seem familiar to anyone who paged through the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.

Why it matters: The conservative organization's blueprint to expand executive power and reshape American life became a campaign trail headache that Trump tried to distance himself from. But his new administration has already seemingly taken a few pages out of it.

CEOs across industries — from pharma to tech to banking — are committed to working with President Trump's new administration and are seeing very little internal pushback.

Why it matters: This is a dramatic shift from the employee activism seen during the tail end of the first Trump administration.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called a last-minute closed-door meeting on Thursday to hash out the party's internal fight over engaging with Republicans.

Why it matters: Schumer has put himself right in the middle of his caucus' tug-of-war over immigration. More tough votes are coming, including over Israel and trans rights.

Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) is now the chair of the House subcommittee focused on cryptocurrency.

Why it matters: After years of talk, it's this one — the 119th Congress — that will update financial rules with blockchain technology in mind.

The new Senate subcommittee focused on the blockchain world will be led by two solidly pro-crypto legislators: Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R.-Wyo.) will chair while Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) will serve as its ranking member.

Why it matters: Gallego had the backing of Fairshake and its affiliated pro-crypto PACs. His appointment is a win for the industry and puts an ally in a key gatekeeping position.

President Trump's team offered its first defense of an executive order on birthright citizenship, telling a federal court that children whose parents aren't citizens are "not subject to" American jurisdiction as envisioned in the 14th Amendment.

Why it matters: It's the first time the Trump administration has laid out an argument for the legal merits of the executive order, but much of the brief filed in a federal court in Seattle argues lawsuits brought by states are premature because the order hasn't yet taken effect.

President Trump said in a virtual address at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that he will mandate the Federal Reserve lower interest rates imminently, a threat that undermines the Federal Reserve's political independence.

Why it matters: In his first major speech since the inauguration, Trump re-upped pressure on the central bank — a frequent feature of his first term, though it had previously been rare for presidents to comment on Fed policy.

President Trump celebrated the start of his administration Thursday while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, lauding his agenda while taking digs at former President Biden.

Why it matters: Trump vowed this week to usher in a "golden age" in the U.S. and immediately issued a flurry of executive orders reshaping the country's immigration and environmental policies, civil rights protections and federal workforce.

Two new data points suggest that President Trump's meme coin attracted lots of new people to cryptocurrency — and while plenty made money, it's not clear how much profit is left to be had.

Why it matters: Trump's coin instantly created tens of billions of dollars in new paper wealth for him, but also caused blowback from crypto luminaries who thought the offering hurt the whole industry's credibility.

Economic orthodoxy is out. Rule-busting and experimentation are in. That's a key takeaway from this week's gathering of top executives and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Why it matters: Economic mini-experiments are happening in nations big and small as government officials embrace tariffs, protectionism, anti-immigration and other policies.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer panned President Trump's budget director nominee Thursday, arguing that Russell Vought will use the position to implement Project 2025.

Why it matters: The intensity of Senate Democrats' opposition to Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is notable: That nomination is usually more low-profile.

President Trump on Tuesday revoked a decades-old executive order that strengthened protections against workplace discrimination.

Why it matters: Trump's desire to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government's employment practices could set the tone for private companies nationwide to do the same.

Andrew Bates, a veteran communicator for Joe Biden's White House and presidential campaign, is launching Wolfpack Strategies, a strategic communications firm based in Washington.

Why it matters: As White House senior deputy press secretary, Bates was a prominent voice for President Biden. Bates is among the first of Biden's White House crew to hang out a shingle.

President Trump's sweeping executive order revoking decades of federal diversity and affirmative action practices — and potentially making private sector DEI programs illegal — augurs a fundamental change in the way American government and companies do business.

Why it matters: It builds on the anti-DEI activist pressure of recent years, and could pave the way for a world where the government prosecutes, not protects, corporate diversity efforts.

President Trump's order to revoke what he calls the "EV mandate" gives automakers a welcome reprieve from regulatory hurdles — but could make it harder for them to compete on a global scale with Chinese rivals.

Why it matters: The rise of lower-cost Chinese manufacturers is an existential threat to U.S. car companies that are already in the midst of a once-in-a-century transformation.

Violent crime in 40 U.S. cities dropped in 2024 to at or near pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report out Thursday that shows the COVID-era crime wave evaporating.

Why it matters: President Trump has falsely asserted that immigration caused rising crime nationwide, but the new report suggests crime fell dramatically in President Biden's last two years — even below levels of Trump's last year in office.

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn would the "clear frontrunner" in the 2026 GOP primary for governor if she decided to run, Donald Trump's longtime pollster tells Axios.

Why it matters: The fact that Tony Fabrizio is polling for Blackburn indicates that she's seriously thinking about leaving the U.S. Senate next year in a bid for the governor's mansion in Nashville.

A federal website on reproductive rights that became inaccessible following President Trump's inauguration on Monday was captured for posterity by the media company theSkimm, which reproduced the content on its own site.

Why it matters: ReproductiveRights.gov, launched by Health and Human Services in 2022, provided a one-stop shop for information on abortion rights and coverage of birth control and other reproductive and women's health services.

Immigrants and advocacy groups nationwide are scrambling to prepare for the waves of raids President Trump has promised under his plan to deport millions of people unauthorized to stay in the U.S.

Why it matters: Confusion and persistent rumors about how the raids will be carried out — and what will happen to those detained by immigration agents — are leading some anxious immigrants to refuse to go to work or send their children to schools, the groups say.

President Trump's threats of retribution are rapidly materializing in policies across the U.S. government, an early warning to Trump critics that bygones will not be bygones.

Why it matters: Trump is flexing his vast new powers to target what he's described as "the enemies from within" — enforcing loyalty tests, purging career officials and attempting to rewrite the history of the last eight years.

President Trump plans to have a "whole big discussion very shortly" on the Federal Emergency Management Agency because he'd "rather see the states take care of their own problems," according to an interview broadcast Wednesday evening.

Why it matters: Trump has signed a multitude of executive orders since taking office again on Monday and he indicated on Fox News in his first interview since being inaugurated that he could have FEMA in his sights.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and two of its chapters are suing to halt President Trump's attempt to expand "fast-track" deportations without a full hearing.

Why it matters: The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is the latest of many legal challenges against the Trump administration in its first week after the president signed several executive orders on immigration.

President Trump on Wednesday tapped Sean Curran, his special agent in charge, to be the next director of the U.S. Secret Service.

Why it matters: Curran will be tasked with leading the agency Congress reported had operational failures during the first assassination attempt against Trump during the presidential campaign.

The Trump administration, seeking to stamp out federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, is calling on government employees to snitch on any colleagues that continue to follow such policies.

Driving the news: In a series of form letters sent to government departments Wednesday, President Trump's acting agency chiefs threatened "adverse consequences" for anyone still doing work related to DEI initiatives in defiance of a Trump executive order.

Freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) will introduce his first piece of legislation on Thursday — a bill that would significantly restrict access to asylum.

Why it matters: Moreno, a Colombian immigrant, won the most expensive Senate campaign in history with a big focus on cracking down on the border.

President Trump's transition team is quietly confident that Pete Hegseth will survive the latest allegation against him, transition officials and senators tell Axios.

Why it matters: Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) hinted Wednesday that she might vote against Hegseth, referencing a sworn affidavit by his brother's ex-wife. Collins' comments ricocheted across the Republican Party.

Some Senate Republicans are zeroing in on Tulsi Gabbard's 2020 call for the U.S. to drop charges against Edward Snowden, a man many of them still consider a traitor.

Why it matters: Gabbard is quickly becoming the most endangered Trump nominee.

National Urban League president Marc H. Morial on Wednesday called President Trump's executive order dismantling federal diversity and affirmative action practices "an assault on the Civil Rights Movement and everything we've achieved in the last 60 years."

Why it matters: Morial's comments came during a meeting of more than a dozen leaders — across racial, ethnic, and religious communities — gathered in D.C. to strategize a response just hours after Trump, fulfilling a campaign promise, moved against 60-year-old government guidelines designed to promote equity in hiring.